Our 15 Favorite Mardi Gras Celebrations Outside New Orleans
Here's our top 15 places for party-lovers and Catholics everywhere for Mardi Gras celebrations, Carnival festivities and other pre-Lenten festivals. A traditional period of celebration that begins on 12th Night in January, and culminates on Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday (also called Shrove Tuesday), it's always celebrated 47 days before Easter to mark the first...
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Playing With Ice – Ice Safety
Whether you're snowboarding, fishing, skating, or just taking a slippery stroll, knowing ice safety could save your life. During the winter season, families from Maine to Siberia will take to frozen lakes and ponds to ice fish, play hockey, or snowmobile. Accidents will happen, but they can be avoided by following these guidelines...
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The Best Family Getaways to Light Your Winter
Don’t let shorter days get you down when the best family getaways and family vacation deals can really light up your winter. The shoulder season travel weeks between the holidays and spring break are a great time to plan an affordable vacation with the kids, whether it’s exploring quieter beaches, a family ski or snowboard vacation at one of North America’s top mountain...
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The Best Ski and Snow Family Vacations
Winter is a great time to get outdoors with the kids, whether it's a ski and snow family vacation at one of North America’s top mountain resorts, snowmobiling, snowboarding or snow shoeing on local trails, fun in the snow on a tubing run or seeing wildlife at a national park.
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Celebrate First Night On New Years
Archaeologists believe the Babylonians were the first civilization to celebrate "First Night" or the New Year, with an 11-day holiday tied to the vernal (spring) equinox starting with a first-night festivity. Sometime during the Roman era, New Year's was set as January 1st, a custom that was adopted in the Middle Ages by many Western countries. For millions who equate New Year's...
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Pennsylvania Ski Resorts Welcome Beginners
January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month and Pennsylvania ski resorts want all the beginners in your family to learn in their state! Did you know that tens of thousands of winter enthusiasts migrate to the slopes in Pennsylvania every week to ski and snowboard on trails that truly offer something for everyone?
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Christmas Gifts to Surprise Family Travelers
Now that we’ve planned a few short trips with Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday online deals, we are turning our attention to some practical Christmas gifts to surprise family travelers by making their travels more fun. Here’s a quick guide to gifting that may surprise you!
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Kids Free Learn To Ski Passes
The amazing Kids Free and Student Learn To Ski Passes which are available to local (and visiting) schoolchildren in several states are a great value for family ski vacations. Their goal is to introduce residents to the winter recreation around them and develop a lifelong love of snow sports. We like to apply the expression “think globally, act locally” to teaching our kids snowsports –-...
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Christmas Tree Farms: Where and How to Harvest Your Own Tree
Family excursions make the holidays special, so why not take the kids to a Christmas tree farm this winter? We make it easy with this guide to the U-Pick Christmas Tree Farm nearest you. Did you grow up with a fake Christmas tree? According to the National Christmas Tree Association, about...
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Top Holiday Lights Celebrations Across America
We love the festive season, when bright holiday lights, Christmas decorations, menorahs, colorfully wrapped gifts and imaginative retail displays illuminate cities and towns around the world, regardless of whether there is sun or snow outside. For many, ’tis the season to spend time with family, bake and decorate (see our
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Holiday At Europe’s Favorite Christmas Markets
Despite chill winds and snowflakes, the holiday cheer radiating from the tents and stalls of European Christmas Markets is enough to make visitors feel welcomed and toasty warm. Here's our pick of the very best places in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Great Britain and Austria to celebrate the season with kids at Europe's great Christmas Markets.
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Mount Rushmore, South Dakota’s Shrine of Democracy
I finally scratched it off the list: the very best of South Dakota's Black Hills region including Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and Badlands National Park! Ever since seeing the debonair Cary Grant and the beautiful (but dangerous?) Eva Marie-Saint climb atop the presidents' faces on Mount Rushmore in Hitchcock’s classic movie “North by Northwest,” South Dakota has been on my travel bucket...
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Air Travel Tips To Ease Family Vacation Hassles
We're sharing some air travel tips because travel has never been as challenging for families, with road rage taking to the skies, confusion about carry-ons, misinformation on service animals, exorbitant fees for seat reservations, glitches in airport software and less than stellar customer service at most airlines.
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Road Trip USA: Great Sights of the West – Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone And The Grand Tetons
Plan a driving trip to experience many national parks and monuments, as well as other interesting Western sights in South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. When Yellowstone, America's first national park, was founded by Congress in 1872, it established a tradition for the preservation of our country's natural resources. Today, we count nearly 400 natural treasures from Acadia to Mt. Zion in our National...
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Disney Springs Discount Orlando Rates
It's time to finally take the family to Walt Disney World, and booking one of the seven value Disney Springs Hotels lets you take advantage of specials for stays almost all year long. Bargain watchers take note: These hotels (in the commercial area formerly known as Downtown Disney) are closest to the parks without being Disney managed, offer free shuttles every...
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Agri-Tourism Opportunities Around the World
This directory of agri-tourism resources will help you plan a farm stay so your kids can learn where food comes from, and also lists other environmentally-friendly accommodations around the globe. Agri-Tourism hasn't quite caught on in the United States yet the way it has elsewhere, particularly in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. But more and more families are considering agri-vacations for organic,...
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Washington DC Family Attractions
There are hundreds of free family attractions in Washington DC, the American capital where presidents and their legacies are celebrated, and now it's also a very cool city to visit, with fresh dining, art and cultural happenings. The only challenge is making time to do them all. What follows is a review of our favorite Washington DC attractions and activities for families. Try...
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Rome, Italy Family Attractions
At the heart of Rome’s family attractions is la dolce vita – that easy-going, laidback lifestyle the Italians have perfected. Why not do as the Romans and allow plenty of time to savor each of our top family attractions over a cappuccino or gelato? Anything you don’t get to do on this trip will wait for your next visit to the Eternal City. Great Fun for the Kids (Toddler...
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Family Travel Forum Announces Winners Of 2019 Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
(New York, NY – September 24, 2019) Family Travel Forum (FTF) and its travel industry partners congratulate the winners of the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship. Completing its 13th year, this annual merit scholarship is hosted by the award-winning vacation guide to promote teen literacy and reward teens’ best travel blogs with cash prizes for college...
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Surviving Halloween Horror Nights
Having survived a night of gleeful terror at Universal Orlando Resort’s annual Halloween Horror Nights, I can report that #HHN is a blast. It's a frightful fest of doom taking place over 39 nights between Sept. 10 and Oct. 31, 2020 in Orlando. Halloween Horror Nights also takes place at Universal Studios Hollywood and at the Singapore and Osaka, Japan theme parks with dates T.B.D....
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Fabulous Fall Vacations and Getaways
Harvest season. Kid-friendly festivals. Halloween. Let the fall fun begin! There’s no better time than autumn to get outdoors and get away whether you have a day, a weekend or a week for fall vacations. The climate is ideal; there is the right ratio of visitors to locals, and grandparents can savor their preschoolers without the crowds. In many places, shoulder season prices make a fall getaway...
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Apple Picking And Pick Your Own Pumpkins
Whether you're hungry or looking for a cheap staycation, u-pick apple farms and pumpkin picking at a local orchard or farm are among Fall's best family getaways. Read along as the apple-a-day FTF staff divulges the best places across America to pick your own fruit. Whether you're hungry or looking for a cheap staycation, u-pick apple orchards...
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Autumn Interludes and Fall Family Vacation Ideas
If a uniquely American and slightly eccentric fall festival in North Carolina,Texas, Wisconsin, Maine or Vermont is your idea of a fun fall getaway, read on. Autumn is the time to harvest some of the many free activities and discounted hotel rooms offered in small towns across America. Whether you combine a stay deal with
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Leaf Peeker’s Guide To America’s Fall Foliage
Fall foliage tours and affordable leaf peeping road trips are easy to plan if you use this How-To, Where-To guide to Leaf Peeper Hotlines plus tips on the best places to see leaf colors changing en route. You’ll probably find a fall festival at your destination to make it a fun day’s outing or enough harvest events...
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High Times at Fall Festivals
Fall for a fun festival or free outdoor activity this season, when there are so many options for adult getaways, whether you’re BFFs or couples. For example, on Sept, 14- 15, Altamont, New York celebrates the harvest season with the Capital Region Apple & Wine Festival where they make local specialty beverages....
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Washington Apple Farms – U-Pick ‘Em And Enjoy
The late summer and early fall is apple picking time at the u-pick apple orchards and farms and pumpkin patches surrounding the city of Seattle. Did you know that Washington State is the country's Apple Capital? It's true, in 2006, a survey found that 56% of all apples consumed in the U.S. were grown in Washington. The state is also well known for...
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Our Favorite Vacation Deals and Booking Sites
We are often asked how to save money planning a vacation, so we are sharing our favorite sites for discount travel booking. We really do use them all. You can click on any of these site ads, search for your needs and pay for your bookings through them, knowing they are trustworthy. Through our affiliate relationship with them, we will get a small commission payment. Our commission doesn't...
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Las Vegas, Nevada Attractions
We'll roll the dice on this and guarantee fun on your next Nevada vacation -- if you pack our age-appropriate rundown of the best attractions for kids, teens and families in adult-oriented Las Vegas. Great Fun for the Kids (Toddler to Age 8) Circus Circus Adventuredome 2880 Las...
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Illinois Apple Farms – U-Pick ‘Em And Enjoy
Stick with us while we drive to countryside U-Pick apple farms in Rockford, Caledonia, Winnebago and other regions near Chicago, Illinois then head southwest across the state to Alton to check out the orchards near the Mississippi River and St. Louis, Missouri. In our family, a day...
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Haunted Houses, Halloween Ideas and Weekend Breaks
Halloween is an estimated $9 billion holiday -- with more than $300 million of that spent to dress up family pets -- so it's no wonder that kids have ghost stories and candy on their minds from the beginning of the school year. When the chill winds blow, a family Halloween weekend away at any of America's haunted houses for kids, an outing to a creepy place, or just a costume shopping spree may restore...
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Autumn Adventures In A Corn Maze
We think visiting a farm -- one with a huge corn maze the kids can puzzle on -- is a great autumn family getaway and, according to the directory at Corn Mazes America, there are approximately 800 to choose from in the U.S. this season. If you can also pick apples, sit on a hay bale, buy some local produce, and bring home a big pumpkin at half the price it sells for in your home town, it's a value getaway...
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Best Family Plantations Along Louisiana’s Great River Road
The glamorous life of old on display in New Orleans’ Garden District is far surpassed by the many riverfront antebellum mansions and plantations lining the Great River Road. Be sure to allow half a day to tour one, show the family the agricultural heart of the state, and discover how the lives of plantation owners differed from that of their slaves. Preparing for your Plantation Visit If...
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Lighthouses For The Night
August 7th is National Lighthouse Day and if you've never thought about staying in one, this is your chance. In 1789, the United States passed an Act in support of all lighthouses, beacons, and public piers. Now 230 years later, several historic beacons offer affordable, family-friendly lodging along the East and West coasts of North America. When compared to hotels, lighthouses...
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Lake Compounce – Fun Family Activities In Northwest Connecticut
The northwestern corner of Connecticut around Waterbury has many fun attractions for the family including the traditional Lake Compounce amusement park. Whether you’re going for a day or a weekend away, here are suggestions for popular and lesser-known attractions. Lake Compounce, a Classic Midway Bristol is home to Lake...
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Beat the Heat on the Slopes of New Zealand
This summer, while some families are lying on beach blankets, others are making snow angels at Southern Hemisphere resorts that are celebrating "winter" with crisp ski deals. For example, the Queen's Birthday long weekend in early June often marks the earliest resort opening for Coronet Peak, New Zealand. This mountain...
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Hello Kitty is Catnip at Japan’s Family Friendly Hotel
To wow your family with unforgettable memories, Keio Plaza Hotel Tama rents stunning Hello Kitty Rooms, special guest rooms decorated with the favorite character “Hello Kitty.” Guestrooms sleeping up to three have two queen beds and feature the adorable feline fatale on the walls and the furniture, all over the floor, and throughout the room service menu. The headboards...
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Hershey, Pennsylvania Attractions
A trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania is not complete without the taste of chocolate, and the Hersheypark themepark, ZooAmerica and Chocolate World are all fun attractions for everyone in the family.
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Wet And Wild At Schlitterbahn Waterparks
It hasn’t been voted the “World’s Best Waterpark” for 21 years for nothing; Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort is a fun, imaginative, aquatic entertainment center. Since its opening in 1979, the original 70-acre resort in New Braunfels, Texas -– both an amusement park and a hotel with 238 rooms -– has been one of the top-attended amusement parks in the country. The name is German for ‘slippery...
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Car Trip Survival Kit
We polled staff and site visitors to compile a list of the top 30 health, safety, and entertainment items guaranteed to keep road trip travelers -- from infants to adolescents -- in their seats. So, without breaking the bank or loading down parents with a lot of excess gear, here's a Car Trip Survival Kit any parent can assemble, probably from gear you already own. For Parents To Carry and...
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How To Get Your Own US Passport To Adventure
Getting a U. S. passport (or replacing or renewing an old one) is a travel essential for any age traveler, since a U.S. citizen's birth certificate will no longer suffice to cross borders. It's a great souvenir of your family travels, too. So whether your family has planned an exotic getaway, or has a new baby on board, whether your passport's about to expire or just needs...
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Disneyland Hotels And Resorts
Three fun family hotels are located within the Disneyland Resort theme park complex in Anaheim, California. Although they may charge more than some local chains, guests receive privileges such as one-hour early admission to both Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure Park (early entry to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is not available at this time); special breakfast opportunities...
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Santa Cruz, California – From Surfing To Redwoods
From playing on the "SC" Boardwalk in summer to apple picking in the fall, some of the best family vacations south of San Francisco happen when you do Santa Cruz with kids. When most people think of excursions from San Francisco, their compass points north toward the wine valleys of Napa, the rocky coast north from Bolinas, the stark hills and pine forests of Sonoma. But turn around, and the first...
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Rome, Italy Hotels
When in Rome, you'd prefer to do as the Romans do, and have a nice villa with extra bedrooms available for your family visit. But Italy's capital can seem unwelcoming if you're trying to find a family-friendly hotel room large enough to lay several sleepy heads. It is expensive and challenging to find accommodations that sleep more than two people; connecting rooms are rare as well. So, here are our...
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50 Tips For Car Trips
Here's our pick of the top 50 tried n' true road trip tips, culled from families who've logged enough road miles to circumnavigate the globe. Whether you're driving to the local mall or across the sands to Timbuktu, there's bound to be a tip for soothing the kids that you haven't thought of! Prepare the Car & Family Before Departure 1. Make sure...
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Sargassum Seaweed Attacking Our Beaches
According to recent media accounts, an influx of the disruptive and hated-by-brides seaweed known as sargassum has washed up around the Caribbean and Atlantic beaches for summer 2019. I first lived through it in 2015 on a trip to Mexico's east coast, embedded with the troops fighting the onslaught of seaweed. It came back with force in the summer of 2018 (1,000 square miles of seaweed)...
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Cheyenne Wyoming Welcomes Families
Cheyenne, Wyoming describes itself as the place to "come live the legend" and during the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days -- one of the world's largest rodeos -- those legendary days of the Wild West really do come to life. At any time of year, though, families can appreciate Cheyenne's colorful...
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51 Great Family Summer Vacation Ideas
Two-thirds of leisure travelers plan to take vacations this summer, according to AAA Travel, with good reason. Summer is the traditional time for families to reconnect. Parents and grandparents strive to recreate favorite childhood memories and make new ones together with the youngest generation. Each year, we present 51 great summer vacation ideas in collaboration with our partners at
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This Summer Will Save The Universe For Star Wars Fans
Start the countdown to May 31 if you’re headed to California, or August 29 if Florida is a stopover on the way to a galaxy far, far away. In a surprise announcement at The Walt Disney Company shareholders meeting March 7, 2019, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products revealed the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opening dates. Rey, Finn, BB-8 & Friends Land at Disney Both...
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Teen Bloggers Compete for Family Travel Forum Travel Writing Scholarships
Media Alert: 2019 FTF Scholarship will earn Talented Teen Bloggers up to $1,000. Students Explore the Teen Travel Experience in 13th Annual Merit Competition for College Grants (New York, NY- May 1, 2019) Teen bloggers are welcome to apply for the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship hosted by Family Travel Forum, the award-winning vacation planning...
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11 Driving Tips for Easier Road Trips
Family roadtrips, whether over busy holidays like spring break, the height of summer or for end-of-year festivities, can be made easier with preparation and these handy road trip tips. When it comes to travel, if things can go wrong, they usually do. Do we agree that few things spoil a pleasant journey like car trouble, major congestion, unexpected toll roads or needless fines? What about...
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Sponsor Allianz Global Assistance Helps Student Travelers Every Day
We want to thank Allianz Global Assistance for their sponsorship of the annual FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship for 2019. Did you know they assist student travels every day, in many other ways? Operating in 34 countries, Allianz Global Assistance is a leading insurance and assistance company that provides...
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Unaccompanied Minors – Our Most Vulnerable Passengers
Smooth out the vacation planning hassles when kids fly solo as unaccompanied minors with these travel tips. Especially in summer, kids are off, on their own, to see the Wizard, to visit grandma, or to spend quality time with a divorced parent who's moved to a Caribbean isle to find himself... While each year there's at least one highly publicized mishap in the transport of minors (one year an...
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Adventures By Disney AmaWaterways River Cruises
The Adventures by Disney tour company and AmaWaterways are bringing pixie dust to European river cruises. Family-oriented, luxury river cruises have Disney-trained Adventure Guides, engaging activities for a variety of ages, behind-the-scenes tours and after-hours cultural experiences at Europe's most popular ports. The trips are all-inclusive, too, so there are no surprises when it comes to...
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Gazillion Bubble Show is Back in Town!
It's survived and flourished through those painful tween years, and now a great kids show -- Gazillion Bubble Show -- is celebrating its 13th birthday as one of New York's best value live theatre experiences. It’s hard to believe that it was 2007, when performer Fan Yang brought his unique brand of bubble artistry to New York City for a limited run. Since then, big and small and...
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The Very Best Spring Break Vacation Ideas
Spring break is our favorite time to get away with the family, an ideal time to travel affordably between the pricey winter holidays and crowded summer months. Why is spring break such a wonderful escape? Maybe because you’ve been working so hard all year. Maybe because you get to feel the sun on your shoulders after being cold for months. Or maybe because you get to spend a week making great...
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Washington DC Hotels
Washington DC has approximately 132 hotels with 31,673 hotel rooms, (DC Press - 2019) ranging from economical chains to 5-star blowouts frequented by presidents and kings from the world over. The list below represents our favorites for adults traveling with school-age or older children because we know, with so many DC...
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The King of Tupelo, Mississippi
I recently overheard two guys who'd scaled Kilimanjaro, run Class VI rapids on the New River, and rested their heads on the most expensive pillows in Paris agree that, of all their travel journalism adventures, none was as much fun as the Tupelo Elvis Festival in Mississippi. Turns out Tupelo is one of the best places on earth. From my research, Elvis Presley fans who have been...
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The Baby B’Air Infant Vest For Lap Children
Just because the airplane doesn't give your little ones their own chair, doesn't mean they can't buckle up in a Baby B'Air designed Flight Travel Harness. If you've read our 8 Must Know Tips for Infant and Toddler Airplane Travel you know we are serious about in-flight safety. That's why we love this product. The...
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San Francisco, California Hotels
With so many lodging options and a plethora of unattended rentals, choosing the right hotel -- with a good staff and a convenient neighborhood -- can make your visit to San Francisco, California less stressful. This great walking city full of hills will tire everyone out, so prioritize your attractions, choose...
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Car Rentals: Child Safety Not Included
One would think that at any car rental agency, child seats would be available without much fuss. Think again; our report just may convince you that the only safe thing to do is bring your own. According to Consumer Reports, a number of the major agencies won’t unconditionally guarantee child seat availability. Rates also change depending on location. While they typically run $10-$15...
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