Torrey Pines Beach Trail

So, one recent Saturday we headed to the nearby Torrey Pines Beach Trail Hike with seven kids in tow (all under 12 and obviously not all of them ours). Torrey Pines is a pretty small, but unique California State Reserve located just of Interstate 5, north of San Diego, near Del Mar. It's an interesting and educational place, and a good place to just have some fun, especially with kids.

We parked in a nearby residential area and walked to the entrance of the park. If you can find it, the beach parking is free and close to the entrance, but Saturday is not a great time to snag one. The park itself is free, but parking inside the entrance is $10 per car. There is a lower lot just past the entrance and the bathrooms, but for hiking it's much better to park in one of the two smaller upper lots. If like us you walk in, or if you end up parking in the lower lot, then you'll have to walk up the hill. With only wide dirt areas next to the paved road, this was not an ideal walk with kids. Occasionally we had to cross over from one side to the other to walk on the "safer" side of the road. Luckily there wasn't much traffic on this road. Drinking water is a must. It's hot, steep and has little shade, so do not try this if you have any doubts about your health and abilities. There are several hikes along the road, most of them are loops that have beautiful or interesting views and lots of native plants and small wildlife: rabbits, lizards, birds and bugs. We saw what I think was a giant nest, hanging like a decorative ornament ball on a pine tree. Be sure to watch out for snakes.

To get to the Beach Trail hike, we continued to the very top of the hill where there is a Visitors Center hidden on the left and two small parking lots. Veer through the parking lot on the right and stop to read the large map on the bulletin board. The Beach Trail hike is not well marked at the trail head, but just walk on the wide dirt path to the right of the bulletin board and you're on it. This trail winds down the sandy beach cliffs to the ocean. The trail is dry and dusty and surrounded by native Californian scrub and chaparral, but is well-marked. It's best to stay on the path, since wandering off the path is detrimental to both the ecosystem and your health if you happen to be one to find a rattlesnake. After the all-uphill walking just to get to the trail head, the trail was all downhill and very easy. There are striking views of dusty scrub mixed with chaparral and cactus, with carved sand cliffs and ocean as a backdrop. At every split, stay to the left until the split on the left is a steep rise, then turn to the right over sand boulders. The most difficult portion of the trail is the very end, getting from the cliffs down to the beach. Years ago we had hiked the trail and the cliff portion was very narrow, washed out and even dangerous. Now they've installed metal stairs, which are very steep, but are much safer than the eroding dirt cliff path. It took less than an hour from head to tail, and the kids loved the hike.

The final reward is stripping down to swimsuits at the water's edge and jumping in to cool off, or tide pooling the giant rocks to the south of the metal stairs. We played for hours, and then had a long, but lazy walk on the beach back to the park entrance. Check out http://www.torreypine.org/index.html for maps and more detailed information on the park.

Overnight Trip to LA

So we zipped up to LA for an overnighter. We had seriously considered taking the kids to Disneyland, but we have sort of a love hate relationship with the park. We love how excited our kids get, we love the atmosphere and some of the rides, but we definitely hate the high price tag and the crowds, crowds, crowds.

There is nothing like paying nearly a hundred dollars (per person, for the cheap tickets) and realizing that we paid it to stand in lines for hours. Total bummer. So while everyone else was trying to get in a last fling before school starts, we decided to try Knotts Berry Farm. We'd never been (having always favored Disney), but the late day discount beckoned us. At 4pm, tickets are discounted to $20 per paying person. Better yet, the park is starting to cool from its blistering heat, and the crowds are all headed the other direction. The kids loved the rides, and there were a lot of rides, especially in Camp Snoopy that were just their size that they didn't mind that there were still many rides they were too short to go on.

What really surprised me was that Knotts has a big emphasis on the American Old West with trains, coaches, Pony Express history and geode (a type of rock) lessons that made it a little more of an educational experience than I had expected. A nice surprise. Next time we'll read a book about the Old West first, and then go and get a little of an Old West experience at Knotts Berry Farm.

A word of warning though, although there are at least two drinking fountains located around the park, we couldn't find one when we really needed one and had to pay $4 for a small bottle of water. To prevent this, just bring your own bottles and refill when you see the fountains.

The park right now is open until 10pm, but we didn't even make it that long before my feet were hurting and our tummies were groaning for a late dinner. Of course there are plenty of dining options within the park, but my wallet refuses to part with that much money for a meal (unless we're in Europe and have no other option). This is definitely a place we'll go again.

We stayed at the Hilton Suites in Anaheim, just off Hwy 5. Which has extra large rooms with a sitting area, kitchenette and desk area, and a separate sleeping room with with king sized beds and another TV, and a large bathroom with separate tub and shower. I would give it good marks overall, as the rooms were nice, clean and comfortable (but not amazing) pools were good (an indoor, a large outdoor and a hot tub), there was a free internet computer in the lobby, and the staff were helpful, but busy. I wasn't a big fan of the decorative green metal railings with gaps that ran around the large open space on every floor and overlooked the first floor dining area. Every time my littlest one went near it I imagined her trying to stick her head through (followed closely by her body). I didn't actually test the width of the railing gaps to see if her head would fit, so this may be the dark imaginings of an active and paranoid parent, but we were on the sixth floor and I didn't have an actual desire to see if I was right or not. Also, as with any "nice" hotel, they charge crazy expensive prices for parking ($11 per night) and for breakfast in the hotel ($15.50 per person). We didn't need laundry services this time or I'm sure I would have been outraged by those prices too. Needless to say we went elsewhere for breakfast, but did end up parking at the hotel.

Overall, a great fast trip. Nothing like a little at-home tourism to spice life up a little. As if the kids didn't do THAT often enough.

Summer Sand, Sea, Sun in Albufeira Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful country. Coming as it did at the very end of our trip we opted for serious downtime. So we didn't really "see" Portugal as this meant alternating beach days with pool days. Not hard to do in Albufeira in the south of Portugal , where you will find dozens of similar seaside towns with perfect summer weather: warm and dry. Getting around was quite easy. Everyone we met spoke some level of English and we found many things catered to the UK tourism industry, including the escalators down to the beach (enter on the left, exit on the right). Fish 'n chip shops abound, and books, even kids books, are readily available in certain bookstores. A mini train is a fun, but more expensive way to get to and from the beach, and buses run very regularly. Bull fighting is one entertainment option and local shopping is another. There are beautiful handmade linens and expensive (10 euro per) but well made beach towels for sale near the beach. Local events, summer concerts or sporting events are frequently there as well. We basically lived in our swimsuits for a week before starting the long journey home. The entire southern county of Portugal, the Algarve, is a well known "family friendly" destination. The weather is warm and dry and the sand is soft with generally gentle waters. The sun is very hot and strong but the water is very cold. The downside to this lovely place is that some parents brought their kids here to get a vacation FROM rather than WITH their kids and inconsiderate and childish, obnoxious behavior often went unchecked by tuned out adults. As an added FYI, you can't go to a pool or beach here without seeing topless women. All throughout Europe, men, boys and kids wear the speedo bottoms and babies go naked. Directly opposite the American cultural norm, we saw girls up to the age of twelve wearing only bottoms. And when they do graduate to wearing tops, it's bikini style. I just convinced all the men where to go! We didn't find this offensive as it's really normal here, but it required a little explanation to our girls. This coincides with the European mentality generally. In Croatia we learned that any beautiful beach can easily become a nudist beach, but here in Albufeira the usual thing is to lay down to take off your top, but this not a hard and fast rule by any means.

Overall, we found southern Portugal to be the perfect temperature with plenty to do and see and we'll probably be back for more.

Neuschwanstein- Land of Dreams and Fairytales

Last summer, in June, we traveled to Bavaria, the southern region of Germany. After having been to Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, we were very excited to finally see what my kids call "Cinderella's Castle" and drive some of the famous Romantic Road that runs from Wurzburg to Fussen. Although Walt Disney's animators did use Neuschwanstein Castle as the pattern for the castle located in the center of Disney's theme parks, it doesn't resemble Neuschwanstein very closely. While Disney's Cinderella is magical, it can't touch the magic of the real thing.

The village of Schwangau (Swan Land) is actually home to not one, but two beautiful castles almost directly across from each other. Schloss Newschwanstein (meaning the New Swan Stone Castle, named after a Wagner opera) is the more elaborately built and famous castle. It is the creation of bachelor King Ludwig II, and is only one of several (see the Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee Castles as well). Hohenschwangau (High Swan Land or Country) is the yellow-colored castle that was Ludwig's childhood home.

Although we went in June, we ended up freezing cold and soaking wet. This area borders on the Alps, so it tends to be wetter and cooler than the other parts of Germany. As a result, it is also very lush, green and beautiful.

You must book your tickets to see one or both castles in advance, and arrive early in order to make your scheduled tour time. If you drive, park in one of the pay lots and follow the signs to find the main Ticket Center (you can also just head towards the yellow castle, as the ticket center lies near its feet). It's less than a ten minute walk with kids to the ticket office and then less than ten minutes up the hill to Hohenschwangau where our tour started. Tours can start at either castle however. All the walkways are paved, but it is very hilly and can be steep and inside the castles there are a lot of stairs up and down. I would not recommend strollers inside either of these castles.

You will wait outside the castle doors for your tour (luckily for us an awning provided some cover from the steady drizzle while we waited) until the electronic board shows your tour number. Everyone in that group number shows tickets to the agent, pass through a turnstile and go up some stairs to begin your tour in a display room. The tours can be arranged for different languages, and tour guides seem very knowledgeable and able to answer questions. There is NO picture-taking allowed inside either of the castles. Very unfortunate. I would have loved some pictures. . .

Hohenschwangau was just the right size for our enjoyment, but we had no time to eat lunch before having to hurry to make our next tour at Neuschwanstein. If I had this to do over again with kids (ages 3-6) I would have done separate tickets so we could have later tour times, or done them on different days. Neuschwanstein is one mile up a very steep paved road from Hohenschwangau. It was not to be attempted with three small kids in the pouring rain. We paid our money for a round trip ride and waited for the bus. There are also horse-drawn carriage rides available for an extra fee, but on a day with rain like that, even I considered PETA might actually have a point on that topic.

The bus drops passengers off near a small wooden shelter with several paths leading in different directions. It is still a bit of a walk to get to the castle, but it is level or slightly downhill while going this direction, and wide enough for strollers. When you reach the castle, you queue up and wait for your number to appear on the board. You can get some interesting pictures of the outside of the castle from under this archway.

Neuschwanstein is bigger and more "modern" than Hohenschwangau, which was Ludwig's childhood home. I was impressed by the ingenuity he (or his engineers) used to solve such everyday problems as heating and water. Many romantically-styled murals cover the walls, depicting either historical events or ancient tales of ladies in distress, rescuing knights and battles of great heroics. The luxurious rooms at Versailles in France were impressive, but these rooms were even more extraordinary.

The vast and gorgeous views from the windows of peaceful mountains, green meadows and clear lakes just reinforced its magic. The other tour members and the guides were all cheerful and kind to the kids, who had been warned by us beforehand not to go jumping on the beds or climbing on the chairs. We had learned this from our experience at Jane Austen's house, which is a tale about a child, a pen and a chair . . . but we'll save that for another day.

Even the kids were impressed with some of the stunning objects Ludwig had received for his birthdays growing up. I'm sure they were mainly trying to figure out ways to make their birthdays resemble something more like his. They loved the floors, wall pictures and amazing luxury of these rooms, paired with the very tragic story of Ludwig himself. Even the tour guides couldn't quite agree on how to understand this complicated and quirky man, but the architectural magnificence of this legacy guarantees his place in history.

Well, we loved it! It was everything I'd hoped, but we were sore-footed and exhausted by the end of this tour. The tour itself ends at a well-stocked tourist shop, and there is a small cafe across from it where you can grab a small bite to eat. After a food, potty, trinket break, we posed for a picture by the glass wall with the beautiful pillars and arches trellises and lush landscape behind us. I just wished they would let us out on the balconies, but no. We tried to finish off with a movie about Ludwig's life, but after five minutes we left. I wouldn't bother with it as it was very strange and failed to capture anyone's interest.

So we headed off. This time we had to choose whether to just walk down the hill all the way back to our car (STILL pouring rain) or walk up the hill back to the bus stop. As tired as we were, we opted for the closer bus stop. BIG MISTAKE. There is no ticket taker up here; the bus driver is supposed to ensure you have a ticket, but doesn't enforce a line of any kind. This created the perfect storm of human nature, cultural differences and terrible weather.

When we arrived at the bus stop, we got behind the group that had arrived just before us and waited under the slight protection of the wooden shelter. When the bus came, it quickly became apparent that not everyone felt it necessary to wait their turn. We missed the bus. Deciding that if we were ever going to make it on, than we'd have to stand right out front in the rain. This time, we realized that only one bus was running. It took about 10 or 15 minutes for the bus to go one direction. After almost 30 minutes of standing with three very muddy children in the pouring rain, we were very glad to see the bus again. But we were not the only ones. No one wanted to stand in the rain, and there were many vacationing adults who didn't hesitate to throw elbows and trample small children to make sure they got on. Our general misery was acute: wet, freezing and with feet so sore it has reached levels of agony we hadn't felt since we'd hiked London on foot. I don't know if you've ever tried to maneuver three small and sometimes timid kids through a pressing crowd. For us, this meant moving at a literal snail's pace as the scared kids latched onto our legs and doing a hurried minced-step while still trying to aim for the open bus door. The surging crowd pressed forward, nearly pushing us under the bus. Luckily for us, several men joined my husband in leveraging an umbrella in the door's hinge to keep me and the three kids from getting trampled right at the steps of the bus.

I certainly don't give you that account to discourage you from visiting, but I do hope to prevent anyone from getting hurt. So, if you happen to find yourself in a similarly rainy and crowded situation, just know to AVOID THE BUS! It would have saved us a lot of time and misery to have just sucked it up and walked down.

Driving out of town, I was once again struck by the beauty of it all. The bright green fields spotted with blue lakes and dark green forests, set next to majestic mountains rising up out of floating mists - and a beautiful castle, perched, overseeing it all. I had high hopes for this place, and usually that means I'll be disappointed. I wasn't. The landscape and castles really are magical in their beauty and magnificence. Even in the pouring, freezing rain this place is totally worth it.

TIPS: for vacation rentals in Germany, try: http://www.live-like-a-german.com/ ,

for info on the Romantic Road, go to: http://gogermany.about.com/od/sightsandattractions/a/romanticroad.htm ,

and information on hotels, castle tour tickets, the history of Ludwig and other helpful bits can be found at: http://www.hohenschwangau.de .

On My Knees Cleaning Sick Off the Floor

There's nothing like having sick kids to really make a mom tired. I consciously remind myself that I did indeed sign up for this. But as I'm kneeling on the floor, scrubbing the carpet for the umpteenth time, while making yet another dirty laundry pile and trying to sooth the poor, suffering child I remember back in the day (BK) . . . and I remember someone telling me being a mom could be really hard. Insightful.

But that just shows the limitation of the English language. The word "hard" doesn't really accurately describe the consistent sleepless nights of being a new mom or the accompanying depth of exhaustion, the wearying work of potty training and never ending laundry duty, that stressful start of school and the worry about your child making friends and learning good things. Or even just that constant nagging thought of what are we going to eat tonight? And that's if everyone is healthy and happy.

Really, my understanding of "hard" has grown as I've faced serious challenges. Being a mom is one challenge I got to choose, although I certainly didn't have vomiting in mind when I did, but it's all part of the package and I have to say there is nothing better than making my baby (no matter how old) feel better just by giving them love and comfort.

Now . . . back to the floor.

Traveling with Kids

I don't consider myself a blogger. It feels a bit like leaving a voicemail on a wrong number, but here I go. Out of my comfort zone . . . again.

I've been out of my comfort zone a lot in the past year. When my husband first suggested moving to Europe for six months, I thought it was a crazy and funny idea, but especially crazy. In usual life we live in Southern California. My oldest goes to school, we attend church and playgroups and sports events. We go to the fair and the beach in the summer, see family at holidays and visit the local attractions during the school year. But what if we did leave it all behind to try something extraordinary? The thought took hold. We'd traveled extensively in North America and Australia B.K. (before kids), and I love travel. But to travel Europe with three kids, ages five (almost six) and under? Could I keep it together? Would I lose my temper and my mind? I've never been one to allow fear to make my decisions, so setting all self-doubts aside, I set to researching.

I already knew that a vacation with kids is not a vacation in the adult sense of the word. Someone says 'vacation' and I conjure up the vision of lying in the shade on the beach, reading the latest Sophie Kinsella or Shannon Hale from start to finish, and only moving to take a cooling dip and grab some melon. To date this has only happened once since I entered the foray of motherhood six years ago. This would not be a 'vacation'. It would be better described as an adventure.

As long as I remembered to look at it like that, I was never disapointed.

So, in the end, although I didn't find nearly enough information to adequately plan our trip, I did find enough to know it could be done. So we did it.

To give a sense of the breadth and scope of the thing we did, below is a list of the cities where we stayed or did noteworthy things:

Dublin Ireland
London England
Dover England
Calais France
Paris France (and Versailles )
Brussels Belgium
Amsterdam The Netherlands
Hamburg Germany
Copenhagen Denmark
Stockholm Sweden
Tallinn Estonia
Tartu Estonia
Parnu Estonia
Helsinki Finland
Rostock Germany
Berlin Germany
Prague Czech Republic
Munich Germany (and Bavaria Neuschwanstein )
Bled Slovenia
Ljubljana Slovenia
Plitvice Lakes Croatia (a national park)
Mjlet Island Croatia (a national park)
Dubrovnik Croatia
Split Croatia
Rome Italy
Madrid Spain
Lisbon Portugal
Albufeira Portugal

This trip took us nearly a year, and it wasn't all free time as my husband did actually have to work and I was homeschooling. But to live in a place with children, and yet to live as a tourist is a very special and unique opportunity to really see a place and get to know something about the people who live there.

My goal in sharing these stories and insights is to help others who are ready to venture into the brave new world of traveling with kids, to be able to do it with accurate information and a support system.

That said, I won't be able to help anyone find the best wine in town, the best babysitting services or nightlife of any kind. This wasn't that kind of trip. What I can tell you about are some of the best kid-friendly activities, cities and highlights of our trip. I can give tips, advice and insights into traveling Europe with kids.