MOXIE MOM on Life & Kids
Summer Travel … and Winter
Every summer, I look forward to getting out of town, preferably east over the mountains for a shot of dry heat. But this year, we’re thinking of going to Vancouver Island because no one in my family is as keen as I am to log miles. And close as it is, the island is almost unknown to our family. Why would you travel close when you can go far? That’s my motto, anyway, and it leaves me (and my kids) woefully ignorant of certain nearby surroundings.
If you, too, are considering a local journey this summer, whether to save gas $$, to minimize travel time, or simply to stay Cascadia, I highly recommend taking along a copy of Lora Shinn’s Northwest Kid Trips. You can pick it up in the Northwest section of Village Books.
Lora is a Seattle travel/parent writer and author of the travel website, Cascadia Kids, and her travel preferences align well with Bellinghamster sensibilities. The book focuses on Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Victoria, with some of the surrounding areas thrown in (Whistler, for example). The mother of two kids under 11, she’s got families in mind, and her book is well laid out and thorough, catering to a variety of family tastes and styles. You’ll be glad to have the book along.
One of the reasons I can handle staying on the west side this summer is the winter trip we’ve got up our sleeve. At long last (I’ve been yearning to go for years), our family is heading to Hawaii next winter. Now that Alaska Airlines flies right out of Bellingham, it’s just so easy. Our focus is the Big Island, as well as a bit of time with friends who live on Oahu. As luck would have it, there’s a book out there for us.
Bellingham friend and author Dana Rozier wrote a kids’ book for fans of Hawaii, which you can also pick up at Village. Natural Hawai’i: An Inquisitive Kid’s Guide, geared for those 12 and under, features color photos and kid-friendly information about Hawaiian plants, animals, marine life, and volcanoes. If you’re considering a trip to Hawaii (even if you’re not), this book is fun, accessible, and full of great information. Your kids won’t even realize they’re learning.
Dana had a presentation at Village Books planned recently, but the fine weather kept everyone outdoors, so she is rescheduling for October. Locals, keep your eyes open for the announcement.
In the meantime, happy summer travel.
leave a comment!Biking at Whistler
For our Memorial Day escape, we headed north to Whistler Village, a locale I’ve never visited because we’re not really into posh winter ski scenes. That said, I’ve always wanted to see what Whistler is about, and late spring, it turns out, is a great time to visit because it’s the shoulder season. Accommodation rates are low and available (we got our room for $78 on Priceline). After we got home, I learned about the accommodation deals you can get right on the Whistler website. A travel writer buddy tells me you can get deep discounts here. We’ll try that next time.
Whistler Village is indeed the scene I expected (although I couldn’t quite picture it): a 
family-friendly, Euro-style getaway with great pedestrian-only streets and bricked squares for easy wandering. We decided it’s Leavenworth meets Disneyland with a dash of Switzerland and a smidge of Amsterdam (we actually caught a whiff). It’s fun — even Dad, who prefers the backcountry, enjoyed himself.
Leah, for her part, decided she needs to go back with friends — all she could think about was how fun it would be to ski and shop with buddies (you’ll encounter a shop for every high-level outdoor brand there is, along with all other kinds of shopping).
Mountain biking is the thing this time of year. You can take out a second mortgage to put your family and their bikes on the chairlifts for some screamin’ rides down the ski runs, OR you can bike for free on the many trails that start right from the village (much more our style). The trails are beautiful (within minutes you forget you’re anywhere near the village), and they feature single track options, from easy to difficult, that radiate off the main graveled and paved paths. Truly, there’s something for everyone.
The highlight? We saw three bears on the Sea to Sky Highway, two on the way north, and one on the way home.
We’ve already decided we’re going back.
Winter Vacation
Every year our family travels to Manning Park Resort for a weekend of skiing and snowplay. I wrote up a post for Cascadia Kids, a travel website for Cascadia families — if you’re unfamiliar with the term, that’s families who live in the Northwest and B.C. Lower Mainland.
Anyway, you can catch up at Cascadia Kids on why we love Manning. In fact, Cascadia Kids offers all kinds of ideas for nearby places to travel. Troll around it for ideas on where to go for spring break.
leave a comment!Idol Upset
Our family is buzzing with the latest network news: Kris Allen has won this season’s American Idol competition, and no one in our family can quite believe it (“No guy who spells Chris with a K should win,” my husband said). Leah, who has been tuning in to this show every week on our computer, is spinning. She was so sure Adam would win. So were we all. America surely got it wrong. So says I, the person with no musical talent whatsoever.
We got hooked on this season’s line-up back in January when we were at Disneyland and had three evenings of cable TV at our disposal. Just so happens that American Idol auditions were going on, the very early stages of them, and we laughed and laughed and looked forward to the next evening’s worth of bad performances and what Simon would say.
“Are these people delusional?” I asked (did I mention what a Simon fan I am?). “Do they not know they can’t sing?” Apparently not.
Kris can sing, but I do believe this is a case of good looks winning out. Kris is just so dang cute in a boy-next-door kind of way, while Adam is a little edgy with his guy liner and spiky hair. Even so, I thought the country was ready for Adam. And yet, when it came to voting off the cutie, the country couldn’t bring itself to do it.
Kris seemed shocked, and a little sheepish, when his name was announced, and yet that’s part of who he is and what makes him so likeable. He was pleased, too, of course. But I wonder how he feels today. A friend of mine, whose kids also tune in, says being voted #1 is overrated, and most often the #2, 3, and 4 singers do more with their singing prowess.
But maybe I know less than I thought. This Idol article points out why Kris came out the winner, so maybe there’s more to Kris than I give him credit for. Or not. This article describes the polarizing effect Adam had on people, and why Kris was the beneficiary. I felt embarrassed for him last night, but I’m rethinking that today. Adam will find his way, no doubt, and if there’s a place in the music world for the self-effacing nice boy too, I’m good with that.
American Idol’s newest fans will be keeping track.
leave a comment!