Travel With Teens and Tweens

Our Five Favorite Passports with Purpose Prizes for 2011

Dec 112011

With just a week to go, the annual travel blogger Passports with Purpose fund raiser has passed the $33, 000 mark, but we still need many more donations to reach our goal of $80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia in partnership with Room to Read. How are we going to get there? With your support of course! If you haven’t made a donation yet, its time to head on over to the Passports with Purpose donation page and make a $10 pledge for each prize you would like to win. Dream big, there are luxury hotel stays, international tours, passes for all kinds of family fun, luggage, and more. Donations will only be accepted until 11:59 pm PST on Friday December 16, 2011. All prizes will be awarded just [...]

A Family Heli-Hiking Adventure Q & A

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Dec 052011

Guest Post By Topher Donahue, Sponsored by CMH Summer Adventures Thinking about an adventure vacation with your teens and extended family? CMH Summer Adventures offers a wide range of hiking and outdoor adventure vacations. The following discussion with recent participants shows adventurous holidays can be fun for family members ages 2 to 90. Last summer, a family of 12 from Toronto, representing four generations, gathered to share a Heli-Hiking trip with CMH Summer Adventures, in the Bugaboo Mountains on the British Columbia/ Alberta boarder in Western Canada. The youngest, Cooper, was not quite two years old, and the oldest, Helen, was 90 years old. Afterwards, I tracked down three women from the family to find out how the trip went for everyone. Helen, Barbara and Sarah all took time to [...]

A Sunny Summer Sunday Seattle Tour with Teens

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Sep 142011

On our way to Alaska we stopped for a short weekend to visit with some grown up Tacoma-based cousins. We expected to be playing tourists under typical misty Seattle skies, but were instead treated to a wonderfully sunny summer Sunday. The Seattle metro area is home to over 3 million people so as you might expect there are unlimited activities to choose from. Given that we had just one day, the cousins opted to show us some of the City’s most iconic locations. If you have limited time to get a sense of Seattle, our sunny summer Sunday tour offers a good starting point – beginning with the famous 605 foot Seattle Space Needle. View of the Seattle Space Needle on a sunny summer Sunday While the Columbia Center is actually taller, the view from the Needle’s [...]

Off the Slopes: Out and About at Smugglers’ Notch

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Mar 042011

Off the Slopes: Out and About at Smugglers' Notch

The endless list of things to do at Smugglers’ Notch extends well beyond Snow Sports University and a wide range of downhill trails. During our recent visit, non-skier Mary T took some time to explore the off-mountain activities available at the resort. Many activities are included in the resort activity pass, including ice skating, guided winter walks, and access to cross-country and snowshoe trails. Rental equipment is available at the Nordic Center. The Nordic Center is also the place to arrange for a number of other activities including Dog Sled rides and snowmobiling. Evening rides are available right at the Resort while daytime rides are offered at nearby locations. While the teens were skiing and snowboarding, Mary T and Camera Guy opted to book a daytime snowmobile ride with the Sterling Ridge [...]

Teen’s Favorite Smugglers’ Notch Ski Trails

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Feb 282011

Teen's Favorite Smugglers' Notch Ski Trails

During our recent visit to Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch resort, #1 Son had a chance to ski the vast majority of the trails on 3,640 ft Madonna Mountain and 3,040 ft Sterling Mountain. During the few days we were there he developed the list of favorites shown below. If you go be sure to check them out. Scenic Favorites on Madonna Mountain Madonna’s majestic views across the valley, the Notch and well beyond won hands down when it came to selecting scenic trails. Don’t miss out on: Upper Chilcoot: 4,500 feet long and accessed from the summit of Madonna Mountain via the Madonna I chairlift. Named after a mountain pass in Alaska, this trail provides a lot of entertaining twists and turns to go with the stunning views. Connect with the Waterfall Trail and Gary B’s Northwest [...]

Smugglers’ Notch Lodging Choices and Tradeoffs

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Feb 272011

Smugglers' Notch Lodging Choices and Tradeoffs

Smugglers’ Notch offers visitors one of the largest self-contained ski resort village experiences we have seen on the East Coast. From humble beginnings as a local ski hill with two Poma Lifts in the 1950s, Smugglers’ has evolved into a full service, four season destination with a wide range of lodging options. Based on what we saw, they definitely have something for everyone. Here’s a quick summary of the choices and trade-offs to consider when booking your stay. Families visiting Smugglers’ Notch can choose from hundreds of timeshare and rental condos ranging from studios to premium 5-bedroom chalets. The original condos built in the 1960s and 70s are located closest to the base village. The base village houses several restaurants including the Morse Mountain Grille and Pub, which serves up a teen-pleasing [...]

Teens Review Smugglers’ Notch Ski and Snowboard Lesson and Camp Options

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Feb 252011

Teens Review Smugglers' Notch Ski and Snowboard Lesson and Camp Options

As we noted earlier, Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch Resort offers a wide range of ski and snowboard camps for teens and tweens as part of the mountain’s Snow Sports University program. From regular group lessons, to full day camps and age-appropriate mountain explorations, Smugglers’ tries hard to help each teen and tween find their own niche. During our recent visit, the Princess participated in the all-day Notch Squad snowboard camp for kids ages 11-15. #1 Son experimented (briefly) with the Mountain Explorer program for 16 and 17 year olds before opting to explore the mountain solo. Their experiences remind us why it is so important to know your teens and tweens and make an effort to match their personalities to the available programs. Making sure that your teen or tween enjoys their lessons at [...]

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