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Archive for the ‘Family Adventure Guidebooks’ Category

Happy Trails, 2009!

December 31st, 2009 by bsmith | 4 Comments | Filed in Disneyland, Family Adventure Guidebooks, Family Travel

Fireworks Over Disneyland, 2009

Can it really be New Year’s Eve already?  Hard to believe that it has flown by so fast!  I’m thankful for this year filled with Smith Family Adventures and for you my faithful readers.  One of my resolutions for next year is to go back to bi-weekly posts.  This fall I returned to life as a college student, and it has taken some adjustment to discover a work/school/life balance.  Well actually I’m still searching…

The above picture is one of my favorites of 2009.  I captured it while leaving Disneyland before the end of the fireworks show to beat the crowds.  It was a magical moment and a small miracle to catch the shuttle without the lines.

This year I hope to develop another Family Adventure Guidebook, perhaps take an international trip with the kids, and enjoy some family camping adventures.  I hope you’ll join me!

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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And the winner is…

October 4th, 2009 by bsmith | 2 Comments | Filed in Family Adventure Guidebooks
Destiny Picks a Winner

Destiny Picks a Winner

Well, I decided to include my daughter in the fun of picking a winner for the Family Adventure Guidebooks Birthday Blog Giveway.  I cut out strips with everyone’s comments.  She folded each one handed (note the cool green cast), and then we put them in her cowboy hat. 

She drew a name and it was Michael who proceeded to jump around his apartment doing a happy dance when he found out.  Stay tuned for a guest post on Legoland for grownups.  I’m really looking forward to a fresh perspective on the subject that I know so well.

Thanks to all who entered and to Beth Downing at Legoland California for providing the tickets.  This is a  very generous company.  Legoland hosts a yearly fundraising day for the Carlsbad Educational Foundation… a great opportunity for discount Legoland tickets.

Looking forward to another year of blogging.  Need to start thinking about next year’s birthday giveaway.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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Family Adventure Guidebooks:Tips to Travel Green in 2009

April 22nd, 2009 by bsmith | 6 Comments | Filed in Family Adventure Guidebooks, Travel Tips, Uncategorized

A few months ago a friend out there in the blogosphere asked me to be “Green Mom” for her website.  I turned her down, because I am not a paragon of green living…at least not yet.  Sure my recycling bins are overflowing ,  I have solar panels on my roof.  On the other hand, my kids love super long showers and our family adventuremobiles are made up of a minivan and a big honking SUV.  (No hate mail please)

Dear American Car Makers,

The moment that you produce a hybrid minivan that I can afford, I will be at the dealership in a heartbeat (At least as soon as you have used ones for sale.)

Regards,

Wanna be Green Mom Bridget Smith

P.S.  Get a clue! I can’t fit my kids, their friends, and all of their stuff into a Prius.

Anyway,  in honor of Earth Day I wanted to share three ways that our family is trying to travel a little greener in 2009. 

The Smith Kids Clean Up Carlsbad State Beach

The Smith Kids Clean Up Carlsbad State Beach

Save a Shovel…Save The World !

Our family loves to hit the beach in the early evening.  We pack up a dinner picnic, pick up Daddy at the train station, and hit the beach just as everyone else is heading home.  Sunscreen is less important and the sunset is beautiful.  Before we leave  we comb the beach for buckets and shovels left behind by visitors.  We never have to buy beach toys, and  we keep all that plastic from floating out to sea.  This year I plan to bring an extra garbage bag, and do an impromptu beach clean up by picking up any other “safe” trash we find.

The Untimely Demise of the Happy Meal Toy

The Untimely Demise of the Happy Meal Toy

Break The Happy Meal Toy Addiction

I’ll confess…I let my kids eat at fast food restaurants while on vacation.  Every year I make one or more road trips from San Diego to Santa Cruz by myself.  When you are a mom traveling alone with two grumpy toddlers,  a Mc’Donald’s Play Place is paradise.  Usually our stops have included a Happy Meal, but as my former neighbor Larry pointed out, the toys come home and usually end up being thrown away.  Our dog seems to see them as a source of food and entertainment.  See the above photo for our latest victim. 

On our trip to Las Vegas I tried to go cold turkey and  order from the dollar menu for the kids instead of going the Happy Meal route.  Twice I caved as a result of extremely stressful circumstances (the end of the endless drive to Las Vegas and the sensory overload of Circus Circus).  On our trip up to Santa Cruz this year, I will do my best to hold firm to my Happy Meal moratorium. 

If your kids must have those little doo dads for a brief period, find a good home for them when the novelty wears off.  Teachers and Sunday School teachers are always looking for prize giveaways.  One of Justin’s most prized possesions is a Burger King Star Wars watch he won at  a Fun Friday auction.

happy-earth-day-bag

Bring a Bag

On my Las Vegas trip I found my rayon Vons shopping bags to be very useful.  I used them to schlep stuff from the car and to store my sunscreen, key and sunglasses when I headed to the pool.  If you are like me, you will also end up shopping for some snacks and forgetten items.  Bringing your own bag  will help you to keep your shopping green even during your travels. 

My friend Sharon mother and entrepreneur makes chic shopping  bags out of recycled fabric (I’ve been giving her some of those clothes with rips and impossible stains to transform into an amazing creation.)  Your new bag may be Ken’s shirt!  Currently she is selling kid sized versions of these beautiful bags at Dreamy in Encinitas.  They would make a perfect earth friendly place to store your little ones toys and crayons on their travels.  You can also contact me @bridgetasmith at Twitter if you would like to purchase one of Sharon’s adult sized bags, and I’ll post when she has her online shop up and running.

Destiny Models Sharon's Creation

Destiny Models Sharon's Creation

 May all your 2009 adventures be happy and green!

P.S. In non Earth Day related news there is a children’s book party with free books being given away at the Spreckels organ pavillion at Balboa park between 8:30 and 10 am.  Don’t know if I will be up early enough to make it, but I sure wish I could.  Sounds like fun…refreshments and books what more do I need? http://www.childrensbookparty.org/bookparty_2009.htm

Dreaming of travel to fun and exotic places? Ck out Delicious Babies Photo Friday http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2009/apr/23/photo-friday-reading-rome/ .

Love her latest post “Reading in Rome”

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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Why Family Adventure Guidebooks?

October 30th, 2008 by bsmith | 1 Comment | Filed in Family Adventure Guidebooks

Hi Everyone,

Next week, I promise I’ll have a cute picture of Jared and Destiny at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  For now, I wanted to take a minute to share a little “fairy tale” that my friend Deb wrote for me, after I asked her to envision  where my business might take me. 

I received  some great ”vision statements”  from many friends and family members through this exercise, but this one was certainly the most poetic.  I also think that it captured why I have embarked upon this venture (or misadventure as it seems at times) of blogging about family travel and writing travel guidebooks. 

Deb has given me a eloquent mission statement of sorts.  In the coming days, months and years I’ll be trying to live up to her high standards.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

 

 

 

Deb’s Dream for Me

 

Once upon a time there was a woman who, because of divine determination, destined herself to be the female steward for 3 amazing kids.  In her search to introduce said children to the wonders of this amazing planet this woman became perplexed.  Why, said she, did family vacations and adventures need to be so problematic.  Where were healthy eating places, kid friendly and affordable lodging, potties with toilet paper and smiles, no entrance fees, fresh air and natural sounds of birds and musical instruments rather than the clanging and crashing of all things battery driven?  

 

 

In this age of “Greening” why are interactive toys and games made with a seasonal expiration date.  If we are teaching our children to be saviors of the earth, she thought, why do we provide them with landfill?  What happened to literature for kids and art and singing and meals together and conversation and laughter?  There must be places, other than in my amazing home, where these values are truly valued, where the village is valued regardless of political bent, where the entrance fee isn’t an IZOD T-shirt, or where there’s no entrance fee at all, because of course God didn’t intend for His amazing handiwork to be inaccessible to anyone. 

 

 

“Wait”, thought the woman.   “God has blessed me with the gift of faith.  He has also provided me incredible brains, patience, hutzpah, and kindness. I also know that the rewards to me of using these “God gifts” will more than satisfy my needs.   And although at times I rue the day that Gates and Jobs were born, I have developed skills and a compatibility with computers that affords me an opportunity to enhance peoples lives in ways beyond one person’s ability to imagine.”   “I CAN CHANGE THE WORLD; ONE KID, ONE DESTINATION, ONE HAPPY MOMENT, ONE EFFORTLESS TRIP, ONE OVERWORKED MOM, ONE FRAZZLED DAD, ONE DAY AT A TIME”,   Bridget said.   And she smiled.

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