The boys were SO excited when their nana told them she had booked a parasailing trip for us during our visit (and their parents were too!). None of us had ever been parasailing before and we were thrilled to give it a try. She booked through OC Parasail. They offer 400, 600 and 800 foot rides, and we did the 400 feet. We waited for the previous group to return (they were running late) and then headed out. There were 9 people in the group – the 5 of us plus two other groups of 2. When we booked we had …

Part of the National Park Service, Assateague Island National Seashore is most famous for its wild horses. While local legend has it that the horses are descendants of shipwreck survivors, the more likely scenario is that farmers brought them to the island to avoid taxes and fencing laws and the once domesticated animals have gone feral over the decades. Whatever their history, they are a unique and amazing sight to behold. While the horses are often the main draw to the island, there is so much more to explore here. My husband grew up in Ocean City and we visit …

We are an active vacation kind of family. We are not a sit-on-the-beach-all-day kind of family. My ideal vacation is going someplace new and seeing or doing something new each day and then ending the day relaxing at a pool or a resort somewhere – all of which sort of runs counter to our annual family beach vacation in Hilton Head. But I absolutely love our annual trip there because of the tradition, because of the time with family, and because it forces me to slow down. Much like everything else in 2020, our Hilton Head trip would not be …

When choosing a destination for our ski weekend, one of the things that appealed to me about Winterplace, WV was the fact that it also offered snow tubing. Our oldest had been skiing before and loved it, but it was our youngest son’s first time and we weren’t sure he would be as enamored with it. I liked having snow tubing as an option for the second day in case he didn’t like or if anyone just wanted to do something different. After some early frustrations, my youngest did really enjoy skiing. But even so, by lunch time on the …

When we tried to take our first family ski trip last winter, our efforts were thwarted by an ill-timed case of the flu. I stayed home with my sick youngest son and my husband and oldest son headed out on a day trip to Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, NC. RB totally loved it and has been dying to go skiing again ever since. We decided to tempt fate again this year and plan a weekend ski trip for the whole family. With two beginners, we wanted a mountain that would be a good place to learn. App was …

The day after Thanksgiving always seems to call for a good walk. We spent the holiday weekend with family in Ocean City, MD, and on Friday we all made the quick trip into Delaware to walk off our Thanksgiving meal at Gordons Pond in Cape Henlopen State Park. Gordons Pond Trail is a hiking and biking path made of packed crushed gravel with a half-mile section of elevated boardwalk. It is wide and easily accommodates both bikers and walkers, although walkers should always be alert to bikers coming up behind them. The trail offers pond, forest, wetland, and dune views …

Like all of our tours, our guide gave us the option of being dropped off in town or taken back to the port. Again, our larger family group split up, with some going back to the ship and some exploring the town. We definitely wanted to see Creek Street so we opted to be dropped off in town. Ketchikan is the southernmost city in Alaska’s Inside Passage. The town has its roots in fishing. First Native Americans used it as a fishing settlement, and later a salmon cannery was built to provide supplies to miners during the 1890s gold rush. …