In a few instances on this journey (hashtag: #momtomted) I was given discounted or complimentary stays or tickets to attractions, either by invitation or because I asked. This was true of our stay at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh where we stayed for two nights, one of them free, one of them at a discounted rate. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve gotten something for cheap or free and to also share my honest opinions and stories.

A stroll or bike ride around Pittsburgh’s downtown or a ride up one of its mechanized inclines definitely offers a picture of the city’s 19th- and 20th-century industrial past, but of course Pittsburgh was important long before there were any steel mills. And since my older son Tommy is a big history buff (as is his mother) the three of us decided after lunch on our second Pittsburgh day to ride our bikes back over to Point State Park and the see what we could learn at the Fort Pitt Museum.

This museum is a wonderful place to get a primer on Pittsburgh’s 18th-century origins as well as the region’s role in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. In 1754 the British arrived at the point and built the first of a series of forts. They were quickly overthrown by the French, who mere months later constructed Fort Duquesne, which they held until 1758 when they set fire to the fort before abandoning the land to the British (including a young George Washington) who built what was then the most advanced fort in the new world, calling it Fort Pitt.

The coat of arms for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham who was Prime Minister during the French and Indian War. Can you tell where the Steelers get their colors from?

The British used the fort until 1772, when they abandoned it to private ownership. The Continental Army ended up taking control of the fort and using it as their far western outpost during the Revolutionary War.

The original fort is mostly gone, but this map shows its shape.

The first floor of the museum includes a detailed replica of Fort Pitt with audio explanations about all its component parts. A nearby exhibit offers a chance to see what day-to-day life was like in the fort in the fort during the middle of the 18th century.

Do you think he’s ready for frontier life?

There are canons, replicas of the barracks, and a trader’s cabin – in addition to being an important military outpost, the fort was also an economic center where colonists and native people traded everything from furs to firearms. It was here that we all learned why American dollars are called bucks.

I’ll take two childrens’ shirts and 4 bars of lead please….

The exhibits upstairs tell the story of the struggle for the region between the native people, the French and the British using artifacts, video, placards and maps.

We probably spent about two hours inside the museum – Tommy and I read just about every panel, and Teddy had retrieved a scavenger hunt from the front desk that kept him occupied for most of that time as well. One of the more fascinating exhibits told the story of European colonists who were captured by the native peoples, sometimes for ransom. It was full of complicated and compelling narratives of the fraught relationships between the people who lived at what was then the frontier.

Point State Park is a perfect place to cool off on a summer day.

When we were all finished, we retrieved our bikes and blinking in the bright sun, headed back into the 21st century, riding to the end of the point where Teddy promptly removed his shoes and dipped his feet in the large fountain. It’s a great spot to contemplate what Pittsburgh was like before steel bridges crossed its rivers.

It took us about fifteen or twenty minutes to ride back to the Hotel Monaco. By now I felt quite justifiably tired and triumphant – not only had I successfully navigated the boys all over downtown Pitttsburgh on bicycles, I had put the bikes back on the rack on my car, a task usually taken care of by my husband. That I did this on the street in front of the hotel with the valets watching me, amusement in their eyes, only made my success that much sweeter. I was ready to relax a bit.

My well-earned glass of prosecco.

Happily, I had come to the right place. One thing I absolutely adore about Kimpton Hotels is their evening wine hour, while these vary slightly in their particulars from hotel to hotel, one thing is always the same: they offer a chance to sip something tasty while kicking back in style. The Hotel Monaco in Pittsburgh does not disappoint on this front. In addition to beer and wine, their wine hour features flavored syrups to create custom iced teas. The boys quickly became involved in a game of chess while I sipped prosecco and wandered around and looked at the quirky decor.

There are always fun things for kids to do in Kimpton Hotel lobbies.

For dinner we decided to go a bit farther afield than we had during the rest of our visit and took an Uber car over to the far side of the University of Pittsburgh campus to Dinette, situated in the rapidly gentrifying East Liberty neighborhood. The seasonal, fresh pizzas and salads were worth the trip, even if they were out of roast peaches for the burrata salad. It didn’t feel like much of a compromise to instead eat the tenderest butter lettuce and corn. And since the pizzas were sized for one person, I was more than happy to order one with anchovies and jalapeños.

So many yummy, grown-up things on this pizza.

I was just patting myself on the back for another fun day of family travel as a solo parent when we left the restaurant. But what was this? The Uber app wasn’t working. It wouldn’t load. After trying unsuccessfully for 25 minutes to summon a car I realized it was getting quite late and that the streets around us were pretty empty – in fact I didn’t see a single cab. I wasn’t quite sure what to do so we headed back to the restaurant, which had since closed. Happily the Sonja Finn the chef-owner was sitting at the bar and one of the kind kitchen staff (I regret to this day that I didn’t get his name – thank you again kind stranger) called us a car using his Lyft app, refusing to take any money from me for it. While we waited for our ride, Sonja took Tommy upstairs to see her rooftop garden where that divine lettuce I had eaten earlier had grown.

Utterly exhausted and satisfied from our day, we were so happy to sink into our luxurious beds back at the Hotel Monaco – in addition to adorable decor, our room boasted wonderful soundproofing, perfect for a family who had filled themselves up and worn themselves out on plenty of Pittsburgh fun.

Note: I’ve actually completely stopped using Uber since last summer because I have a lot of concerns about their business practices, so if I were to take this trip now I’d probably arrange for a conventional taxi in advance. But I wanted to share this story as a cautionary tale for the many people I know who rely on it. It’s yet another reminder that it’s always good to have backup plans when you’re traveling with kids. And up next: With one more morning in Pittsburgh, we make the most of our time in the strip district before once again hitting the road for our next stop in Sandusky, Ohio. And in case you missed the first four installments of my summer 2016 road trip posts here they are:

• A summer stay at Capon Springs Resort
• Songs, stories and memories at Capon Springs Resort
• Pittsburgh with kids: Inclines, ice creams and a swell hotel
• Pittsburgh with kids: Biking the ‘burgh

In a few instances on this journey (hashtag: #momtomted) I was given discounted or complimentary stays or tickets to attractions, either by invitation or because I asked. This was true of our stay at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh where we stayed for two nights, one of them free, one of them at a discounted rate. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve gotten something for cheap or free and to also share my honest opinions and stories.

Biking across the McCullough Bridge in Pittsburgh

I’m a big believer that one of the best ways to see any city is from the back of a bike. You can cover more territory than on foot, but you move more slowly and with freer access than you would in a car. It’s a particularly great way to tour with children because they love being outside and moving. And as more cities around the world become bike-friendly this type of exploration only gets safer and easier – especially because the creation of bike trails in cities usually inspires someone local to start offering tours.

Pittsburgh is no exception to this rule; as the industrial areas of the city are repurposed, trails and bike lane are being installed and not far behind these developments came the advent of Bike the Burgh tours. I found this truly small (as in one-person) outfit online and used the website to book a tour for myself and the boys on our first morning in Pittsburgh.

Can you tell why Kimpton Hotels call their lobbies “living rooms”?

The day started in the Hotel Monaco’s peaceful lobby here with I enjoyed a complimentary cup of perfectly brewed coffee while the kids slept in a bit. (Ah, the perks of having older kids! Part of the pleasure of my solitude was watching a dad chase his child who looked to be about 13 months old and was still in his pajamas. It had clearly been a very early morning.)

No, he did not eat all of these pancakes.

After rousing my children and covering us all in lots of sunblock, as it was another gorgeous but not-too-hot day, we fueled up with a breakfast at The Commoner restaurant that included some of the biggest pancakes I’d ever seen. The valet was kind enough to bring up my car so I could get the bikes off our rack, and we headed off to the designated meeting place, only a few blocks from our hotel at the corner of First Avenue and Ross Street.

I know the boys both look bored in this picture, but I think it’s just because they were listening carefully.

Our guide was Val, the owner and operator. She is a native of the Italian Alps who studied art and architectural history in Munich and Rome before meeting her husband, a Pittsburgh native. Her enthusiasm for Pittsburgh was that of an outsider who surprised herself by falling in love with her adopted home – she clearly had set out to eagerly learn everything she could about its history and buildings and decided somewhere along the way to make a living sharing that knowledge with people. Her English was flawless and her interest in the city totally infectious.

We started our tour with a few stops downtown – including one in Mellon Square, adjacent to our hotel. Val asked us to imagine how dirty downtown Pittsburgh used to be during its more industrial days and told us that in general residents avoided downtown unless they had to for work. Tommy and I were able to chime in and share information about the old Alcoa headquarters building that overlooked our hotel since we had done our research the previous evening.

These magnolia trees never lose their blooms.

Using bike lanes, we moved north to the Pittsburgh Cultural District where an artist named Tony Tasset has created magnolia blooms that can be enjoyed year-round. Here Val talked about John Heinz, the late politician and native son who worked with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to revive the area’s façades and building and to sponsor performances and public works of art.

We headed through the Convention Center, which swoops out over the Allegheny River and has a walkway designed for pedestrians – and cyclists – that runs under the building. I wish I had snapped a photo as we rode through as the path descends seventeen feet from Tenth Street to a plaza overlooking the river. The path is sinuous and surrounded by both pools and walls that flow with water. The boys loved it and I loved watching them so much that I forgot to pull out my camera. Even if you don’t take a bike tour of the city, I highly recommend wandering down here as it’s the kind of public space that children really enjoy.

We rode for a while along the river, through a former industrial area that is slowly being reclaimed by nature and gentrification. Our next stop was on the edge of an area called The Strip, which in the early 19th century was home to the mills and foundries that drove Pittsburgh’s economy, including Andrew Carnegie’s first mills. The neighborhood changed in the late 19th and early 20th century and became the hub of wholesale produce distribution in the city. Many of the old buildings associated with these industries have been repurposed as apartments or studios and the neighborhood is now a mix of restaurants and shops selling food, spices and goods from all around the world. We someone how squeezed our bike caravan down the busy, brilliant streets past a rainbow of sundresses billowing in the breeze, past a small church with a gray steeple that for many years was used not for mass but as a concert venue and bar but was now being reconsecrated and used for worship again, past murals and Steelers t-shirts and a fish market. It would have been easy to spend the better part of a day here.

Val teaching Teddy all about the Heinz Factory.

We crossed the Allegheny at the David McCullough Bridge, named for the famous historian and native son and rode around the perimeter of  the original Heinz Factory, once the site of the manufacture of my younger son’s favorite condiment and now converted into expensive lofts where players for the city’s professional sports franchises and employees of Uber and Google live. We even saw Uber’s self-driving car, which the company is testing in Pittsburgh.

I prefer the original Alcoa Headquarters.

We rode along the Allegheny River taking in views of the Three Sisters, as the trio of graceful yellow bridges that cross it are called, and the kayakers paddling underneath them. This portion of the ride included views of the baseball and football stadiums as well as the new Alcoa Headquarters, perhaps not quite as interesting as the old but equally gleaming and geometric.

Teddy looked ready to try kayaks next.

After crossing the river back to the downtown area, we took a quick tour to the tip of the city where Fort Pitt once stood and which is now home to the Point State Park Fountain. Val then led us to the nearby Market Square, which was laid out in the late 18th century and still feels older than many other parts of the downtown (Val said she likes it because it feels European). The square was full of a farmer’s market when we arrived and made our way over to the adjacent PPG Place, with its domineering Philip Johnson-designed castle of glass.

The PPG building has to be one of the most photographed in the city.

It was full of children playing in the water jets – I could see the boys wishing they were wearing their swim trunks.

If you’re looking for a place to cool off in Pittsburgh, this is it.

By now it was time to say good-bye to Val and the group, who headed back to the starting point, because both my boys were ravenous. Happily Val recommended that we lunch at Primanti Brothers right there in Market Square. This local favorite, which actually started as a food cart in the Strip District, serves French fries and coleslaw inside its sandwiches.

They put everything inside the sandwich in Pittsburgh – and I mean everything.

Thanks to Val, I definitely felt like we had started to get to know Pittsburgh. It was the perfect introduction.

We all loved Val – she was friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

Travel-with-kids tips

• Val offers a number of different tours year-round in all kinds of weather (although not in “rain, snow, or ice” as her site says). Tours during the colder months are offered by reservation only – check her website for details.
• During nicer weather it’s a good idea to book in advance, especially on the weekends when the tours tend to fill up.
• Our Beauty of the Burgh tour was pretty much completely flat and only about 7 miles. We stopped often so that Val could tell us things, so there was plenty of time to rest.
• We had our own bikes and helmets, but there are several options for visitors who don’t have bicycles with them – Val has a deal for a discounted rate with a bike rental shop (they close in the winter, so this only an option in warmer weather). She also starts her tours near a bike share stand where bikes can be rented by the hour using a mobile app and returned at a different location. The bike share bikes are one-size-fits all and will only work for older kids who are tall enough to ride them. And if you stay, as we did, at the Hotel Monaco, the hotel has bikes you can use. Although rental shops usually offer helmets, if you’re planning to rent bikes on a trip and have a way to bring your own helmets I always recommend doing so – that way you know you’ll have the best fit for you and your kids.
• Val also offers tours in German.
• If you’re interested in biking Pittsburgh on your own, BikePGH offers downloadable bike maps as well as link to other cycling resources.

Up next: Our day wasn’t yet done! Join me as we learn a lot about Pittsburgh history, relax during the Hotel Monaco wine hour and eat more great food. And in case you missed the first three installments of my summer 2016 road trip posts here they are:

• A summer stay at Capon Springs Resort
• Songs, stories and memories at Capon Springs Resort
• Pittsburgh with kids: Inclines, ice creams and a swell hotel
• Pittsburgh with kids: Fort Pitt history with a side of pizza

Like this post? See some of my other stories of biking with kids:

• Why I love biking with kids
• Paris with kids: See the city by bike
• Beautiful biking on the Stowe Recreation Path
• Madison on bikes
• A bike ride in London

In a few instances on this journey (hashtag: #momtomted) I was given discounted or complimentary stays or tickets to attractions, either by invitation or because I asked. This was true of our stay at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh where we stayed for two nights, one of them free, one of them at a discounted rate. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve gotten something for cheap or free and to also share my honest opinions and stories.

Our departure from Capon Springs Resort was lovely – it was a golden, perfect morning. The first part of our drive as glorious and green and twisting as one could hope for, with purple and orange wildflowers edging the roadside. The spell cast by our three intensely rural West Virginia days lasted until we pulled onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I’ve driven the length of this road many times in the past three decades. But it had been a while since I was on the western leg and I had forgotten about the narrow lanes, sharp curves, tunnels and above all, the numerous semi trucks flying along with little regard for the smaller vehicles in their way (the speed limit for much of this stretch of road is 70 miles an hour). It felt like something of a jarring return to the 21st century, and not for the first or last time on this trip I wished that I didn’t have to do all of the driving, especially since I had three bikes bouncing around on a tenuously attached bike rack at the back of my low-riding Saab station wagon.

But at last we emerged from one last tunnel with our destination in view: Pittsburgh.

Right at home at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh

Like all Kimpton Hotels (I’m an unabashed fan girl of this chain, but more on that in a later post) the Hotel Monaco in Pittsburgh is a mix of quirky decor, chic luxury and genuine comfort. Our corner room was spacious and full of fun colors and patterns with numerous bird-and-postage-themed details.

They loved this room – can you tell why?

Although the boys were immediately inclined to sprawl, I knew that they needed to eat a late lunch, so we dropped our bags and headed straight downstairs for The Commoner. The interior of this restaurant manages to be both cozy and post-industrial with lots of dark wood, subway tile and riveted columns.

The lunch portions at The Commoner were huge.

The food is a similar mix of comfort and high concept – Tommy’s mac and cheese had a fried egg on top and Teddy’s burger came topped with smoked cheddar cheese. I enjoyed a butter lettuce salad with cashews, grapes and apples and a flatbread topped with prosciutto, greens and a balsamic drizzle. Portions were generous and the service quick and before we knew it all those trucks I had been dodging for the past few hours just faded into the background. We were ready to explore.

Pittsburgh then and now

Pittsburgh – and me – in 1996. (Nice shoes!)

The last time I visited Pittsburgh was sometime in the mid 1990s when my then-boyfriend, now-husband Matt and I were in graduate school at Penn State a few hours away. I remembered it as a place that was a little gritty and a little hip, a place trying to honor the heritage of the coal and steel industry while also putting the 1970s resolutely behind it. But my memories were more glimpses than anything else.

We were desperately broke, of course, but couldn’t resist occasional splurge trips to the city for hotel stays and meals out. There was a Mexican restaurant we liked near the University of Pittsburgh campus with bottles of an addictive spicy green sauce on all the tables and an Italian place downtown that made table-side fettuccine Alfredo – but I didn’t know the names of either place or whether they were still in business. I remembered practicing pronouncing the name Monongahela (mah-nahn-gah-heela), the river which meets both the Ohio and the Allegheny at the city’s founding place. I know that on one visit to the city for a writing conference I saw August Wilson read from Seven Guitars, which he hadn’t yet finished at the time. But I don’t remember what I learned about Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods from his reading, just that there were many neighborhoods separated by hills and, in the early 20th century, by the ethnicities of their inhabitants.

But I did remember riding a cable car up a shockingly steep incline beside one of the rivers and strolling and taking pictures from the top. And so it was I decided that on our first afternoon the boys and I would get the lay of the land in this same way through a bird’s-eye view of the city and its bridges and skylines.

The cool skyscraper to the left is the Alcoa Building.

We set out on foot from the hotel’s front door, stumbling across a mix of old and new, of beautification efforts like a sidewalk being painted before our eyes followed by some vape shops a few blocks away. My best friend vapes so I decided to pop into one of the shops to pick her up some Vape Juice as a souvenir. I was so impressed by all the different flavors. My friend is currently trying to give up cigarettes so she has switched to vaping as it is believed to be a healthier alternative. I hope she likes the best vape mod I have chosen for her! I was speaking to the store assistant for a while and it was nice to learn more about vaping. She loves sweet flavors so I got her some candyfloss and bubblegum liquid too. I didn’t get her a brand new vape because I’m pretty sure she’s content with the one she’s already got; it’s something similar to this high-quality keyy vape pen. However, I knew that a new e-liquid would be something she’d appreciate and perhaps would become one of her favorites!

I know that she has tried quite a few different types of e-liquid already, but I think I might have found one that she has not used yet! When she first started vaping, I was surprised to learn that you can now get e-liquids for vaping devices that are infused with THC. My friend lives in Canada, where cannabis has been legalized. This means that people who use cannabis for health reasons can get their marijuana fix via their vape devices. I thought this was so interesting. If you would like further information, you can learn more about THC vape liquids here: https://buymyweedonline.com/product/ease-thc-1000mg-vape-liquid/.

This street was being painted as we walked it.

The Smithfield Street Bridge, one of over 400 bridges in the city and one of the oldest steel bridges in the United States, invited us across the Monongahela when we reached it.

I love the decorative detail on the Smithfield Street Bridge.

This was one of the things I immediately loved about Pittsburgh, the way its history is underfoot all the time. They made things here once and the city quietly reminds its visitors of that fact at every opportunity. History here is about utility and common sense.The cable cars at the Monongahela Incline have crept up and down the mountain without interruption for almost 150 years, and why would there be any need to change that fact?

Teddy thought this would be like an amusement park ride. Not so much.

Teddy tried to get alarmed when he saw how steep the ride would be, but that’s only because he didn’t realize quite how slowly the cars move. I teased him all the way up, up, slowly up.

The hill that the cable car ascends and the neighborhood at the top are called Mount Washington, named for the fact that young George Washington used this spot as a place to survey and map the lands around the Ohio River for the British. All along the edge of the aptly named Grandview Avenue there are overlooks filled with visitors and locals alike. Brides and grooms pose here and there are yoga classes. It’s one of those great democratic spaces that gives anyone who comes along the keys to the city via its views.

Ice cream helped them pose for some photos from the overlook on Mount Washington. Well, sort of.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the boys, upon seeing a sign for DiFiore’s Ice Cream Delite as soon as we came out of the incline station, requested the purchase of said ice cream, a request which I honored despite the size of our lunch because I hoped it would enable a more peaceful stroll. This was successful until both boys said that they needed to use a restroom when their cones had vanished. Happily, the local branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh came to our rescue.

Pittsburgh – and me – in 2017.

Beer? Check. Sausages? Check. Lovely sunset? You bet. The Biergarten has it all.

Originally I had intended to take the boys out for dinner, but when we got back to the Hotel Monaco all Teddy wanted to do was hang out in our room and watch cartoons. Since the hotel had been kind enough to provide a snack and since we had enjoyed such a big, late lunch (to say nothing of the ice cream) I decided to let him really relax and enjoy himself. Tommy and I both felt like we needed a bit more to eat however, so we headed for the elevator up to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, the Biergarten.

The Biergarten is the Hotel Monaco’s rooftop restaurant in Pittsburgh.

There, in the full pink glow of the setting sun, we enjoyed beer braised bratwurst, fried pickles and German potato salad laden with salty bacon.

We were supposed to share this bratwurst. We ended up ordering a second one.

Admiring the skyline, since of course we had made it our own that afternoon, we decided that we must figure out what the cool building we could see from our room was. Directly facing the hotel, its facade had shimmering triangles and windows with rounded corners. It looked like a place where George Jetson would work if he had a job in Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Wikipedia, we learned that it was the former headquarters for the Aluminum Company of American (ALCOA), was built in 1953 and contained a radiant heating and cooling system that kept it from needing any radiators or air conditioners along the exterior walls – so it was space age. It was the first skyscraper with a completely aluminum facade, which is only 1/8 of an inch thick and is super lightweight. It used to be called the Alcoa Building, and that’s how I refer to it still, since the new name is the decidedly unromantic and ahistoric Regional Enterprise Tower.

Thus nourished with plenty of pork and information, we headed back to the room for a night in those delicious beds. I couldn’t wait to see what additional wonders Pittsburgh would show us in the morning.

Up next: We take a bicycle tour of Pittsburgh, learn a lot about history and eat a lot more great food. And in case you missed the first two installments of my summer 2016 road trip posts here they are:

• A summer stay at Capon Springs Resort
• Songs, stories and memories at Capon Springs Resort

We paused, briefly, for a photo at the top of the mountain, and then we were all off, feeling the snow beneath our skis, enjoying the fresh air on our faces, and loving every minute of being together. At the end of each all-too-brief run our lift rides were a chance to compare notes and talk about our technique or about Pokemon Go! or the upcoming winter track season. My husband and sons couldn’t stop grinning and neither could I.

We were in Vermont for my extended family’s traditional Thanksgiving, a vacation that we love every single year for all its simple pleasures of seeing family and dear friends, making snowmen and playing touch football in the yard. In 2016 there were trivia games, a jigzaw puzzle and a family viewing of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We ate turkey and laughed and talked and then talked some more over pie.

But without question the highlight of the weekend was our day on the mountain enjoying snow, scenery, speed and the pleasure of sharing an activity we all love. As I watched the snow-covered pine trees sliding past me I realized that it was totally worth all my effort of getting our ski stuff organized, putting the box on the car and packing it all up for the long drive from Delaware. Family ski vacations are like that: they may take a bit of planning, but I always find that they pay off in terms of genuine moments of family joy.

Skiing + Family = Connection

Our Thanksgiving trip happened to be in Vermont, but it could easily have been anywhere that there are mountains, say Colorado or California. In fact, over the years my family has had numerous vacations at ski resorts around the country and every time we do find a similar sense of connection; I’ve written before about why I love our family ski trips. And I’ve been lucky enough to visit several different Vail Resorts with my family over the years. Among the many different journeys we’ve taken (I don’t call myself a traveling mom for nothing – and we’ve been going this for over a decade now) our trips to Keystone in Colorado and Northstar in California stand out.

At Keystone, we rode a horse-drawn wagon to a ranch cabin where a singing cowgirl serenaded us. We snow tubed under a bluebird sky and climbed all over a giant snow fort. Gondola rides gave us a chance not just to admire the mountains but to plan our runs, the boys (both of whom were pretty young when we were there and who were still relatively new to skiing) pushing to try some of the longer and more challenging terrain.

And at Northstar I swooped down pine-scented trails, my older son and I whooping with the sheer pleasure of spring skiing. When the snow got thick and heavy under the warm afternoon sun (they don’t call it “Sierra Cement” for nothing) there were no worries – we simply headed for the rink in the middle of the village, put on some roller skates, and boogied to some groovy tunes. We dipped our toes in Lake Tahoe and saw a bear. And my younger son spent so much time on the bungee trampoline that I wondered if he would remember the trip primarily as being upside down.

Like our Thanksgiving trip, these ski resort visit were full of simple pleasures – hanging out in our condos, playing games, spending time outside and just being together. This is time we don’t take at home, where school activities, work and the busyness of every day life get in the way. Where we don’t have mountains outside our door. Where I don’t always have long lift rides to talk to my kids about what is on their minds.

The entire winter stretches before me now and I would happily return to either of these resorts or visit a new one – maybe in a new state like Utah where my family has never been. That’s because I really believe that family ski vacations offer a chance to connect in a way that few other family travel experiences do.

This conversation was written by me on behalf of Vail Resorts, who compensated me. The opinions and stories are all mine.

I know.

But even though I know you’ve thought about so many angles, considered so many things as we prepare to elect not only our next president but so many other people to elected office, from mayors to governors, from insurance commissioners to senators, I’m going to guess that you may not have thought about Haiti in the context of this election.

That’s right: Haiti

Until you’ve been to Haiti, as I was in the spring of 2014, it’s hard to really imagine that there could be such privation and misery so close to the United States (Port-au-Prince is only 700 miles from Miami).

Many of the homes are tin shacks that are swept away when it rains hard. Many communities have no indoor plumbing and only precarious access to clean water. Hunger and indolence are everywhere – there are so many adults who simply have nothing to do, no jobs, no way to provide for their families.

And everywhere in Haiti there are children. Carefully dressed children who have neatly styled hair and broad smiles.

Children who dance with joy and abandon.

Children who carry drinking water for their families on their heads.

Children who go to school inside a tent if they are lucky and have a school to attend.

The communities I saw in Haiti were struggling to provide for themselves, to build clean sanitation systems and wells. They engaged in this struggle fiercely despite the fact that the vagaries of weather could easily destroy every effort they made. They wanted all the same things that we do.

So what does Haiti have to do with the U.S. election?

The people I met in Haiti are utterly vulnerable to storms made all the more horrendous by the forces of global warming. Warmer ocean waters mean storms that intensify more quickly and last longer than those we’ve seen in the past. Hurricane Matthew, which hit Haiti on October 4, 2016 is one of those storms.

And so even in the midst of this election season and all its distractions, I can’t stop thinking about those people now, the people who already had so much to overcome.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Hurricane Matthew has affected 2.1 million people in Haiti, over 800,000 of them children (my source is this Situation Report, dated November 2, 2016).

Although there was also an unacceptable cost in lives and property in the United States, it is the people of Haiti who paid disproportionately and who will continue to pay in the future for the consequences of global warming.

There are of course many ways to help in Haiti (for an excellent list of suggestions, please see Cool Mom Picks). But if you are a U.S. citizen there’s one thing you can do that you might not have thought of:

You can vote on November 8.

And more specifically, you can vote for candidates who support clean air, water and earth so that we make an effort to at least slow if not stop the forces that hurt vulnerable people like those in Haiti.

Hillary Clinton recognizes what is at stake. She is a candidate with an environmental plan that I know I can get behind (you can read about it here).

Our actions – and our votes – have consequences that stretch beyond our borders. This election isn’t just about our own towns or states or even just our own country. It’s about what we do to save this fragile planet and make it a safe and healthy place for us all to continue inhabiting.

When I vote on November 8, it won’t just be for me. It won’t just be for my children. It will be for children in Haiti, and in China, India and Bangladesh. For children who are suffering and for those who are not yet born.

I know I’m not alone. I was invited to share my thoughts in this post by Clean Air Moms Action, who are asking all eligible voters to pledge that they will show up at the polls on November 8.

I hope you’ll join me and the other Clean Air Moms like Alicia who know our votes can make a difference not only for ourselves, but for children in the United States and around the globe.

This post was produced with support from Clean Air Moms Action. But it reflects my story, my opinions, and my plan to vote for Hillary Clinton.

You can read in much more detail about my trip to Haiti, starting here.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I explained in an earlier post that although my family does not generally choose to go on theme park vacations, (yep, I’m an official Theme Park Doubter) my husband Matt and I gave our son Teddy the gift that many children want for their 11th birthday – a trip to Hogwarts. And the buzz about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was so positive that even his 14-year-old brother Tommy was excited to come along. But I don’t think any of us anticipated quite how much fun it would be.

(Universal Orlando Resort also gave Teddy a birthday gift in the form of tickets to both the theme parks and a stay at the on-site Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. We were very grateful to be hosted by them, although of course they cast no spell on me to affect my opinions about our experience there.)

Let’s start where my family did on our fall 2016 visit to Universal Orlando Resort: in Diagon Alley.

The early wizard catches the wand in Diagon Alley

If you stay on-site at Univeral Orlando, you can get into the theme parks an hour before the general public does. I highly recommend taking advantage of this, or if you stay elsewhere, arriving at the parks right when they open. Not only is it cooler earlier in the day, you won’t find the crowds that build up as the day goes on.

A prime spot to begin your first morning, as we did, is at Ollivanders Wand Shop in Diagon Alley, which is in the Universal Studios Florida theme park. Boxes of wands stretch heavenward.

You can choose which character’s wand you want or if you’d prefer, select a custom one of your own. Either way, spending a little bit more money for an interactive wand is definitely worth it. These wands come with their own map and instructions to show you how they can be used around Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade to cast spells in various windows.

I don’t want to ruin the surprise of all the spells, secret and otherwise, that there are to cast using an interactive wand. But I will share that like the first-year wizards at Hogwarts, owners of interactive wands can practice the wingarium leviosa spell on a feather.

Just watching Teddy’s delight as he cast his spells throughout the park (using Dumbledore’s wand no less!) was worth the trip to Florida.

Getting in trouble with the Gringotts goblins

The goblin bank Gringotts dominates Diagon Alley, wearing, as it does, a huge dragon on the roof (if you’re not familiar with the books or movies, this particular part of the story comes in the last one of both).

The only ride in Diagon Alley is contained inside Gringotts and if you’re like us you’ll want to go on it more than once. For one thing, just waiting in line is fun. That’s because you walk through the entrance hall, with its impressive chandeliers and collection of grumpy goblins busily tabulating in large account books.

Further along you’ll find a display of Daily Prophets to bring you up to speed on all the news. These are right next to the goblin Griphook’s office (he didn’t seem to be around the day we visited).

The ride itself is high-speed, immersive fun trip down into the vaults with visits from Bill Weasley, a certain very evil wizard, and a dragon. It’s a little intense, but even my timid younger boy loved it, although the drop into the dark at the beginning, just like in the “real” Gringotts, made him yelp. I was glad I had taken some Dramamine before I rode it, both because of the motion and the nature of the pretty spectacular special effects might have made me queasy otherwise.

Just up the alley from the bank proper you’ll find the Gringotts Money Exchange. Pop in there and change some of your cash into official Gringotts Bank Notes that you can use around the park. While you’re in there, be sure to ask the goblin behind the desk if he is a house elf.

Word to the wise: You never quite know when the dragon on the Gringotts roof is going to breathe fire. The building rumbles throughout the day, but that doesn’t always precede a fiery show even if the street will suddenly be full of people with their cameras and phones trained on the dragon’s mouth.

After some unsuccessful attempts where I just missed the flames, Matt was lucky enough to catch him in action.

Loads of magical details and treats

There are small details everywhere you look in Diagon Alley, so if you’re like us you’ll want to come back a few times to wander around and look in all the windows. Among my favorites was the Museum of Muggle Curiosities, which displayed items like a fan and a rotary telephone.

In the appropriately dark and creepy Knockturn Alley you’ll find a window full of singing shrunken heads.

As Borgin and Burke’s the shelves are full of items designed for dark magic. It’s also home to the famous Vanishing Cabinet. We didn’t try stepping inside to see if we ended up at Hogwarts.

There is also tons of retail in Diagon Alley, from Quidditch scarves to Christmas sweaters like Mrs. Weasley made for Ron and Harry to Extendable Ears to Chocolate Frogs. It’s fun to go into the different shops and see what’s on offer and what surprises lie in wait. In Madame Malkin’s the mirror talks back to you; in Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes every time someone buys a Pygmy Puff the store erupts in celebration and a clanging of bells.

In the window of the Magical Menagerie a large snake will speak to you in Parseltongue (hopefully that glass stays in the window all the time).

After spending time in the shop admiring the owls and toads, we ended up walking out with a Hungarian Horntail.

At least it wasn’t life-sized.

Butterbeer comes in a variety of forms at the Wizarding World and they are all utterly delicious and satisfying. At the Fountain of Fair Fortune we sampled the straight-up cold version, which comes topped with a creamy head of foam that is weirdly addictive. You will for certain get some on your nose as you try to dig out every last dreg at the bottom of your cup.

In addition to the beverage, we tried the soft-serve ice cream variety at nearby Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.

You can also dine on British specialties like bangers and mash at the Leaky Cauldron, located as it should be near the entrance to the alley.

Say ‘ello to Stan

The Knight Bus is parked outside the entrance to Diagon Alley, its beds just waiting for a weary traveler or two. Tommy and I agreed that it didn’t really look all that comfortable.

Stan Shunpike is standing at the door ready to say hello and pose for pictures, although he doesn’t like it if you ask about “He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named”. His sidekick the shrunken head finds that question quite hilarious though.

We also made sure we paid a visit to nearby Grimmauld Place, also just outside the entrance to Diagon Alley. I didn’t quite get a photo of it, but when Teddy knocked on the door of Number 12 we’re pretty sure that Kreacher pulled the curtain aside and glared at us.

We never did reach the Ministry of Magic from the phone booth on the sidewalk here. That may partly be because neither of my children actually knew how to dial an “old-fashioned” telephone. Or maybe it was because we were in a hurry to catch the train at King’s Cross Station. We still had a lot to see of course, between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle.

Stay tuned for more posts about our Orlando trip and our visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, including our efforts to tame a Hippogriff in Hogsmeade, our verdict on pumpkin juice, which truth be told has always sounded kind of yucky to me, and our visit to Honeyduke’s. I’ll also give you my scoop on theme park dining (spoiler alert: it was better than I thought it would be), tips for making a visit to Universal Orlando easier and more fun and my thoughts about this type of family vacation.

If you’re looking for stories and tips about visiting Univeral Orlando, be sure to check out my Universal Orlando Pinterest board, where I’ve shared lots of posts from other bloggers. And if you’d like to learn more about where we stayed, be sure to check out my review of the Sapphire Falls Resort on the Ciao Bambino website.

Many thanks to Universal Orlando Resort for giving us four two-day, two-park passes and four nights of lodging. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve received something and also to share my honest opinions.

That isn’t to say that we never go to theme parks. I may have even written about a theme park (or two or three) on this site. But we’ve never planned an entire trip around a theme park visit until now. That’s because the first park that ever appealed to us enough to get us on a plane is Universal Orlando Resort, home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Our first visit to Orlando

I’ve actually been to Orlando many times – in fact, way back in that faraway time before I had children and worked full time I had a direct report who worked out of Orlando. I was located in Delaware, so that meant monthly early morning flights from Philadelphia to Florida where often it felt like I was the only adult on a plane that could have been fueled by kid excitement instead of jet fuel.

Once I had children of my own, it might seem like Orlando was a logical place for us to visit. But I’ve always been about following our interests and passions when it came to our travel and since my kids aren’t huge fans of rides and neither am I, it never made the list. We also don’t especially like heat or humidity and our winter vacations are mostly taken up with skiing. So it was just never a priority.

But we are all huge fans of the Harry Potter books and movies. More and more of my friends were talking about us all going out on a trip to Harry Potter because let’s face it, who doesn’t love it!? We even looked at booking something like Coach Bus Amusement Parks for a big group of us. But then I just thought, you know what I want to make this a family vacation.

And gradually, all of us started to get wind of this place you could go and:

a. See a fire-breathing dragon,

b. Wear Gryffindor robes without thinking twice, and

c. Visit Diagon Alley and Hogwarts.

My younger son Teddy was especially excited about all of this, although even though his (much cooler) 14-year-old brother Tommy wouldn’t necessarily say so, he would periodically make a casual mention of a friend who had gone to Universal Orlando Resort during a school holiday. It was obviously something they both wanted to do and when I was honest with myself I realized that I did too. So Matt and I decided that for Teddy’s 11th birthday last March we would give him this trip as his gift. And before you could say wingarium leviosa we had plane tickets and were making a plan. We would theme park. I mean, we would be theme parkers. #Teamthemepark. Am I getting it right?

And when, in preparation for this fall weekend, we started revisiting the books on CD during our long road trip 0ver the summer, I realized that like Teddy, Harry was 11 when he first went to Hogwarts. This made the whole trip seem even more serendipitous.

Tips for visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and everything else at Universal Orlando)

We’re fortunate enough to be hosted by Universal Orlando Resort. We will be staying as their guests at their newest onsite hotel, the Loews Sapphire Falls. They’ve also given us two-day passes for both of the theme parks at the resort. So that eliminated some of my planning and decisions about where to stay or what type of tickets to purchase.

But nevertheless, since I’m a total newbie to this type of family vacation, I’ve done a fair bit of research about how to execute it successfully. Happily, many of my fellow family travel bloggers have all kinds of suggestions. Here are some things I’ve learned from the many posts I’ve looked at:

• The early wizard catches the goblin. Since we’re staying at one of the onsite hotels, we will have early admission to the parks (they open at 9; we can get in at 8, although sometimes the park staff will let guests in as early as 7:30). Everything I’ve read said that getting to the resort early is a very good idea, especially if you’re there for the Harry Potter experience, where the lines can be fierce later in the day. I’ve already alerted my late-sleeping teen and tween that this will not be a lazy-morning vacation. I’m planning to have us there at 7:30 both days. We’ll probably start in Diagon Alley one day and Hogsmeade the next.
• We need to save room for butterbeer. There are no fewer than four different versions of this magical treat including soft-serve ice cream. You can bet I’m planning to sample them all.

  

• I’m a little nervous about the rides. I’m not someone who likes scary fast rides and I also get motion sick. Yet I’m pretty determined to go on both the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts rides because everything I’ve seen about them says they are awesome if nausea inducing. Based on what I read I’m going to be packing some Dramamine for myself. We’ll see if Teddy can screw up his courage to ride with me.
• We will be springing for an interactive wand. I’m already prepared for the $50 price tag to get a wand that will “cast spells” throughout the park. Each one comes with a map telling your wizard where he or she can make magic happen.
• They may not have *real* magic, but there is an app. I’ve already downloaded the Universal Orlando Resort App. Not only does it have interactive maps that indicate where all the bathrooms are and lists of dining options, it will tell me what rides have lines and let me set an alert to tell me when the crowds have diminished.
• When we feel like skipping school, there’s lots to do besides Hogwarts. Although our main reason for this trip is to spend as much time as possible soaking up the magical Harry Potter atmosphere, we’re all also excited about other things at both of Universal theme parks including a a 3-D Minions ride (other than the Harry Potter series, Depsicable Me is Teddy’s favorite movie) and rides that will appeal to Tommy too, like The Simpsons Ride and a Men in Black Alien Attack – I can’t wait to zap some aliens.

I’ll admit also that this trip is a bit of a challenge for me because although I pretty much always make a plan when we travel, I like to keep many aspects loose, especially in a new place. So while I’m thinking a lot about our days in the park I’ve made the decision that I’m not going to make dinner or show reservations, possibly at all, but definitely not until we’re there. I don’t want to be locked into eating at specific times since I don’t know how long we’ll be at the park each day or when we’ll have lunch. I’m counting on the fact that we’re traveling off-season and also that my kids are old enough have a snack at the bar and then to eat late if there’s a wait. I’ll definitely let you know how this strategy works.

For lots and lots of great tips about visiting Universal Orlando Resort, be sure to check out my Pinterest board. And keep your eye on my Facebook page and Instagram and Twitter feeds to follow along while we are on on the trip. And once we’re back I’ll be writing about it here and also over at the gorgeous Ciao Bambino website.

Although Universal Orlando Resort is covering some of the costs of our vacation, you can count on me, as always, to offer only my full and honest opinions about our experiences.

And now, I’m off to practice a bit of wand waving and potion making – I want to be sure and make a good impression.

All photos courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.

In a few instances on this journey (hashtag: #momtomted) I was given discounted stays or complimentary tickets to attractions, either by invitation or because I asked. This was true of our first stop, Capon Springs Resort in West Virginia where we stayed for three nights. You can always count on me to tell you when I’ve gotten something for cheap or free and to also share my honest opinions and stories.

This is the second installment in my tale of our visit to Capon Springs. Read about our first day there.

Our second full day at Capon Springs Resort dawned goldenly and a bit cooler. The morning began with the usual serenade via the speakers in the trees, a soundtrack that included an instrumental version of the song “Beautiful Dreamer”. We were more punctual this morning and arrived early at the flagpole in front of the Main House where every day a different child can sign up to raise the flag to the recorded strains of the national anthem. I was a bit bemused by the solemn ceremony of it all, but the little girl who raised it that morning beamed as her parents snapped photos and the rest of us stood at attention, our hands over our hearts. It is no surprise that residential flagpoles are dotted around people’s houses so they too can fly the American flag. There is a lot of pride.

Sadly for Teddy, he never did catch anything.

After another hearty breakfast, Teddy, whose sole thought since awakening was to play tour guide to our downstairs neighbors and some other new friends he had made, rounded up his troops importantly at the front desk of the Main House. We gathered some bamboo fishing rods and stale bread to use as bait and marched down to the fish pond. The children were all determined to catch a fish big enough to save (The Capon kitchen staff will cook it and serve it to you if you do) but it seemed that many of these fish had long ago learned to eat the bread without getting caught. No matter – the children were all delighted to be for-real fishing. Indeed, they fished for much longer than I would have expected, perhaps because the greedy fish were so visible in the water, perhaps because a snapping turtle also came along to see what the party was all about, or perhaps because eventually even the wily fish couldn’t get away and they actually caught a few – although none big enough to keep.

Happily, Teddy was an expert at finding fossils.

Capon Springs is a place of easy companionship, and while the younger children fished Tommy played disc golf with the father of the family that was staying downstairs from us. Since he has only daughters, all of whom were fishing, and since Tommy was at that moment without the company his father, the two of them were quite happy with some masculine company. And my arm, which was still sore from the previous day’s perpetual rounds of ping-pong, badminton, and shuffleboard, was grateful for the break. When Teddy led his group of young adventurers to the shale pit where we had spent so much time the previous day, I slipped away and wandered around the peaceful grounds snapping pictures.

Our porch had a seat for everyone – and a convenient clothes line.

Lunch was chicken a la king – a smart use of leftovers from the previous evening’s barbecue. While we were eating, I noticed that a large group of young people, clearly not Americans – they were speaking Arabic, French, and accented English to each other – had improbably materialized at long table on one side of the dining room. Some of the women wore hijabs and none looked to be older than 25.

It may sound strange, but I knew instantly who this mysterious group was, and confirmed it later when I asked a few of them where were from. The State Department runs a program called the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), which works to promote social, economic, and political reform in the Middle East and North Africa. Every summer, about 120 undergraduate students from the region spend six weeks in the United States, where they are spread out over six universities who host them. The University of Delaware, where my husband Matt works, is one of the host schools and often we have invited some of the students for an evening in our home. In fact, I’ve written on this site about having MEPI students as guests at our house.

The program includes classes but also some sightseeing so that the students can learn about the United States. This group was studying at Georgetown University. I couldn’t quite believe that they were here, in this old-fashioned and remote place, eating homemade gingerbread and listening to “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. The world suddenly felt very small.

******

Capon Springs offers a number of lovely hikes on trails that surround the cottages and after lunch that day the boys and I drove the twisting dirt road that ascends the mountain at the far end of the resort. As soon as we got past the last few buildings on the resort property we were in the middle of thick woods. We passed no other cars on the two-mile drive and saw no other people on the easy hike along the ridgeline to Eagle Rock, where we were rewarded with views of the Shenandoah Valley.

Eagle Rock is a prime viewing spot at Capon Springs.

It was very hard to believe that we were just under 100 miles from the urban sprawl of Washington, DC.

******

There are any number of traditions and activities at Capon Springs, one of them being a mile-long race that’s held each Tuesday afternoon just before the pool is drained and refilled. I had signed all three of us up to participate, and after our hike we arrived suited up and ready to go at the starting line by the Main House.

The lovely green is at the heart of Capon Springs Resort.

As we circled the resort’s large central green, other guests stood on their porches cheering us on. And of course there was musical accompaniment as well via the speakers. It included (inevitably) the themes from both The Chariots of Fire and Rocky. We looped around under the tall trees, back past the Main House, and up the hill to the Honeymoon Cottage, which is thoughtfully set apart from the other quarters, back down the hill and once again around past our fellow guests, who rocked comfortably in their chairs and offered us still more cheers and applause.

Tommy finished first and was rewarded with a jar of homemade blackberry jelly. He cared more about getting over to the pool before it drained, and I couldn’t blame him. What a blessing that cool silky water was.

******

After dinner Tommy and I played some ping-pong and then the boys disappeared to their own happy pursuits. I sat for a spell on the porch in the soft evening light before the sounds of song drew me down the green to find out what was going on. As I strolled down the path I could hear a lovely harmony of male voices singing John Denver’s “Country Road”. Two little girls played together on the large swing across from the Main House, their heads hanging back so that their hair touched the sand underneath, their faces the picture of joy and contentment that I myself felt at that moment.

Ping-pong on a summer evening at Capon.

I arrived to find a crowd assembled to watch a performance on the porch by a local men’s singing group, all dressed in white polo shirts with large American flags on the front. They stood next to a flag on a stand that they had brought with them and singing sweetly. I saw that Tommy was talking to some of the MEPI students off to the side. Much as I wanted to join them, I instead made my way to a seat where I could listen to “Tura Lura Lura”. This was followed by a medley of Elvis tunes – “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Teddy Bear” among them – and a bit of Louis Armstrong, including some trumpet playing. It was a concert that would have pleased my in-laws enormously, and as I looked at the other family groups around me, I had a sudden stab of longing to have both Matt and them there. Capon Springs is place that can make you homesick for people you love.

The second half of the program was a set of patriotic songs starting with a long spoken poem about the flag, which made me understand why they had brought one along for emphasis. This wasn’t really my cup of tea, so as they burst into a vigorous rendition of “The Halls of Montezuma”, I slipped away quietly to find Tommy, wondering what he could all have been talking about for so long. I found him on the green where he had just left the group of MEPI students; he was buoyed and bright with conversation. He had introduced himself to students from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and the West Bank and they were eager to quiz him and find out if he knew the capitals of their countries (he did) and why the student from the West Bank said that he was from Palestine (Tommy knew this as well). After it was established that not every American teenager was completely ignorant of geography and world politics, the conversation turned to the much more important matters of what TV shows they all liked to watch and what music they all listened to. Much to Tommy’s delight, one of the young women sang the theme song from her favorite television program, which was Japanese anime that had been dubbed into Arabic. His verdict? “They were all nice Mom. I hope they like it here.”

As Tommy wandered off in search of his brother, whom he hoped to cajole into playing still more ping-pong, I watched the lightening bugs emerge in the long June twilight and wondered what this bright group of young people thought about the other Americans they encountered at Capon Springs. Did the patriotic songs at the concert bewilder or entertain them? Did they feel like this was a side of America that was new and unfamiliar? Did they like it? Did I?

******

Capon Springs is very invested in remaining true to itself, which is something I mostly love. There are too few places in the world where one can return and know that year after year, season after season, one will find the same rhythms, the same quiet spaces, the same chance to connect with friends and family. This place is precious for that reason alone, and it is also remote and beautiful in a way that completely surprised me because it isn’t that far from the heavily populated Philadelphia to Washington, DC corridor.

Two of many thoughtful touches at Capon Springs – umbrellas and a water fountain.

With that said however, are there a few things I might tweak at Capon? Yes. Some of the food is a bit heavy, plain, and salty, especially on hot days (for example, dinner one evening was hot pea soup followed by roast beef and duck – it didn’t feel much like summer fare). The coffee is weak and doesn’t have great flavor. And the music that is broadcast before meals could be a bit more up to date – I didn’t hear a single song from my parent’s era, let alone my own or the boys’. By the second day Tommy said he was “officially sick of the music” and I’m pretty sure his would be a typical teen opinion.

I think it is also true that some people might find the emphasis on American patriotism at Capon Springs to be troubling, particularly at a moment when in the rest of the country we are engaged in some pretty tricky conversations about what it means to be an American and what it means to salute the flag or sing the national anthem. I’ve thought about this a great deal since I was there and can honestly say that I think that the people who own and run Capon Springs mean to show only the best of American hospitality. The fact that they graciously welcomed and accommodated the MEPI students seems to me part of this truth. If the American flag means different and complicated things to the different and complicated population that makes up our country, I think we can all agree that what we would like it to represent is the best of our democracy, which is an openness and acceptance of every person. I saw this at Capon Springs in the warmth and hospitality of the entire staff. It’s a place that wants to care for people and bring them together and I admire that.

******

Our last morning at Capon Springs was full of good-byes to all our new friends. Tommy brought his Caponchase game down to the front desk in search of answers (see my post about our first day at Capon for details about this fun game) and spent a good twenty minutes with Tom Austin, its creator, sorting out what he had and had not completed. We filled our water bottles with one more big dose of that delicious water and said a regretful good-bye to the shuffleboard court.

Relaxing on the Main House porch at Capon.

And then we drove away from Capon Springs with our minds and hearts full, the email addresses of friends we had made stuffed into my notebook, looking for our next adventure.

Interested in a stay at Capon Springs? Find information about making reservations on the Capon Springs Resort website.

And stay tuned for the more tales from our #momtomted road trip. Next stop? Pittsburgh.

In a few instances on this journey (hashtag: #momtomted) I was given discounted stays or complimentary tickets to attractions, either by invitation or because I asked. This was true of our first stop, Capon Springs Resort in West Virginia where we stayed for three nights. You can always count on me to tell you when I’e gotten something for cheap or free and to also share my honest opinions and stories.

So without further ado, let’s start the road trip, shall we?

Arriving at Capon Springs Resort is a little bit like stepping into the middle of a vintage hand-painted postcard. It is built on the side of a deeply verdant West Virginia mountain, its white buildings graceful on the outside with latticed porches and window boxes making them look like wedding cakes. These buildings surround a long lawn dotted with stately trees, a fountain, and a music pavilion, its roof painted emerald to match those of the buildings. I half expected the other guests to be wearing leg o’ mutton sleeves and straw boaters.

Although it took only about three hours to drive to Capon Springs from my home in northern Delaware, it feels very remote from the East Coast sprawl that stretches from Washington, DC to Boston. After a twisting drive on quiet roads we drove up to Capon late on a golden June Sunday afternoon. Check in was quickly accomplished at the Main House, a large building fronted with an inviting porch. Within minutes we were directed to our cottage, Hampshire, one of about a dozen buildings on the property where guests lodge during their stay.

Hampshire Cottage: Our home at Capon Springs Resort

A desultory ceiling fan turned inside our immaculate if slightly stuffy second-floor room. The floor was linoleum, the white towels in our basic bathroom just slightly rough. Our room had no decor to speak of, just sensible well-worn furniture. I thought they could have spruced up their interior decor with some vintage painted furniture to lighten the room and give it a slightly more homely feel. But no matter; the sound of water tumbling by outside the window pulled us outside as it did everyone else, onto porches where wicker furniture invited relaxing over a game of cards or just conversation.

We settled in and unpacked our bags emerging to the leafy lawn where slightly tinny music – that day Chopin and Beethoven – played from loudspeakers in trees throughout the resort. This happens every day for a half hour before breakfast and an hour before lunch and dinner. We wandered back to the Main House to find carrot sticks and small glasses of tomato juice set up at a table on the porch. This building is both the living and dining room of the whole; rows of glider chairs line the porch and most of the meals are served in a many windowed room holding tables covered in cloths checked white and pale green.

The reasonable cost of a room at Capon includes a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Daily menus are the same from week to week, year to year. We were happy to discover that dinner on Sunday evenings is cold cuts, served buffet style. There were homemade sweet-and-sour pickles, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, salad, slabs of cold roasted turkey, ham, cooked spinach, and warm homemade rolls. Although guests are allowed to drink alcohol in their rooms and on the porches of their lodgings, none is sold or served in the public areas at Capon Springs, so our beverage choices included juice, milk, unsweetened tea, coffee, or pure, sweet water, which is served in labeled carafe bottles.

Sunday Dinner Capon Springs Resort – this was just the first helping

Since everyone eats at the same time, the dining room hummed with activity, the waitresses wheeling food around on carts as if bringing out surgical instruments. Tommy, Teddy, and I ate and played cards and watched other families – many of them in large groupings of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. It was one couple’s anniversary and while the staff wheeled out a cake, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” played over the sound system. It was bright and pleasant and immediately felt comfortable.

Later, after a bracing swim in the pool, after shuffleboard and volleyball and some attempts to capture the first lightning bugs of summer, we discovered that nights at Capon are profoundly dark and quiet save for the persistent musical sound of the stream.

*****

A quick stroll around the grounds that first evening made it immediately apparent that there is nothing serious and everything fun to do at Capon: croquet, badminton, volleyball, tennis, pickle ball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and no fewer than three forms of golf – the regular variety, disc, and something called “fling golf” that’s played on the par 3 course and looks like what happens when lacrosse and golf have a baby. Equipment and rules are thoughtfully provided near almost all of the games, often in neat green wooden boxes.

One of several shuffleboard courts at Capon Springs Resort

Guests can fish in a well stocked pond or visit Hog Heaven, home to numerous baby pigs. They can hike any one of six trails. There is a large swing that would easily hold two friends and a playground with a jungle gym. Hammocks dot the lawn.

And for the less active among us, an entire room in the Main House is devoted to jigsaw puzzles, games, and cards; yet another is full of books. There are also two ping-pong houses if you’re up to the challenge.

Here’s what there isn’t: reliable cell phone or internet service. And that’s just fine.

*****

On our first full day at Capon, we missed the flag-raising ceremony before breakfast because I didn’t know it was happening and was instead watching the boys play volleyball in the thick morning air. We didn’t miss the Star Spangled Banner because an old-fashioned choral version full of brio and vibrato played over the loudspeaker in the tree next to the net.

The boys were at their bickering teen and tween best that morning and since I was the only adult present and in charge I decided that divide and conquer was the strategy for exploring the resort. In a fortuitous stop by the activity board that’s posted near the front desk, Tommy, my 14-year-old history buff, discovered the Caponchase. This cross between a scavenger hunt and an acrostic puzzle involved using the resort’s history book and lots of detective work around the grounds to find a solution; it easily kept him occupied all morning.

Working on Caponchase at the Music Pavilion

Eleven-year-old Teddy was happy to wander down to the fish pond with me and then up a nearby road to the shale pit, which might as well be a gold mine to his eyes so full was it of fossils, which he was easily able to find without benefit of any tools or assistance. I sat and listened as he busily hunted for ammonites, exclaiming “ooh” and “oh my gosh!” each time he found a particularly good one.

We found lots of fossils at Capon Springs – it was hard to persuade my son to leave any behind

After a very dusty and productive hour of playing paleontologist, I persuaded him that we couldn’t take the entire pile he had amassed with us and we made our way a bit further up the dirt road to visit the resort’s hogs, who live in a deeply satisfying sty, a place of stink and squealing, nursing piglets.

Strolling to Hog Heaven

These piglets were squealing like you wouldn’t believe

We returned to the main lawn and found Tommy busily working on the puzzle. He was full of facts about the resort: How it was founded in 1932 after a fire destroyed the original grand hotel built in the same spot. How the spring water used to be for sale in Philadelphia. How the fourth generation of the same family still runs things. He told us all of this over a lunch of meatloaf and stewed tomatoes (was I at my grandmother’s house?) which ended with homemade gingerbread topped with thick whipped cream.

That afternoon Teddy made fast friends over puzzles in the Main House (maybe we could consider getting some custom jigsaw puzzles for him at home as well, considering how fast he took to the game). However, it was tournament play for me and Tommy. We played myriad games involving Frisbees, balls, nets, paddles, and racquets.

A nicely landed disc golf putt

Teddy was happy to work on puzzles all afternoon

I’m not saying that I am competitive, but I may have fallen down on the badminton court and scraped my arm as I desperately lunged for to return a particularly tricky shot. We played and sweated as the oppressive humidity built throughout the day until the sky could withstand it no more and gave way around 5:00 when a violent rain storm drowned out the evening’s musical interlude and whisked away the still uncomfortable air leaving everything fresh and fragrant.

*****

I haven’t mentioned every swim we took that first day, but that’s where we were when we got too hot: in the spring-fed pool where year round, the water always hovers somewhere around 60 degrees (Tommy, our fountain of Capon information, explained that this is considered a cool as opposed to a hot spring, although in the colder seasons of the year when the water is warmer than the air steam rises off its surface). The main pool is on the small side and is rather shallow. It is also drained and refilled every week because the water isn’t chlorinated; while this happens guests are invited to “walk on the bottom” until the last of the water leaks out. And if you think walking in an empty swimming pool isn’t totally fun and cool for kids you would be quite wrong.

One nice feature of the pool is lots of inner tubes and water toys

The water at Capon was once reputed to have health benefits. And it certainly has the air of a magic elixir, cool and smooth, with no aftertaste. A stay at the resort still means absolute immersion in the water’s purity – in addition to the pool, it also flows from the taps, leaving skin and hair soft.

I drank of it deeply during our stay, filling the bottles I had brought as if it might make me younger. And I did sleep deep and long to the sound of it flowing past our windows, failing every morning to get up early and do some yoga on the porch before breakfast as I had intended.

*****

On Mondays at Capon Springs dinner is a chicken barbecue that’s served under a pavilion up the hill from the main resort on the edge of the golf course (lunch on Tuesdays is, perhaps predictably, chicken fricassee). Teddy, a sworn carnivore, had asked in the morning if he could have an entire half of a chicken to eat and when we got into the line for food it was there waiting for him, just off the grill. He piled it onto his cafeteria tray and ate it down to the bones.

He was serious about eating all that chicken

There was a creamy, slightly sweet dish called squash pudding to accompany the salty charred meat and homemade apple pie for dessert and when we were finished eating the children burst forth into the wet grass and chased each other and whooped against the rainbow sky. Later they whooped again as a giant tractor pulled a wagon full of hay under the dripping trees and out to the hog barn.

An evening hay ride with lots of new friends is a great way to end the day

While Teddy rode in the wagon with some of his new friends, Tommy and I visited on the porch of our cottage with our downstairs neighbors who had three little girls between the ages of about 2 and 7. In the easy way of vacation friendships we talked about school and music and when Teddy returned it was with grand plans to take his entire posse of new friends fishing and fossil hunting in the morning. “Because I know where everything here is Mom,” he explained sagely.

And so it was agreed and we turned in for another night of deep, delicious, dreamless sleep. I really think that water had something magic in it.

Interested in a stay at Capon Springs? Find information about making reservations on the Capon Springs Resort website.

See the rest of our story: Songs, stories, & memories at Capon Springs Resort.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) recently asked me an interesting question (that they did so in the form of jewelry is an added bonus – they sent me a bracelet). What does it mean for me to Live Unlimited?

If you had asked me this I was twenty I probably would have said something like having money to do anything I wanted and someone I loved to spend it with. To Live Unlimited would mean living without boundaries or constraints – and to look fabulous while I was doing it.

As it does for most of us, my perspective has changed dramatically since I was a young adult. Losing both my father and my mother to cancer by the time I was 40 showed me that life does have very real limits – absolute ones. Having children only reinforced this notion of course. It’s pretty easy to feel limited when you are responsible for the care and feeding, not to mention the emotional and intellectual well-being, of other human beings. So it might seem like my view of an unlimited life is that it is unattainable.

But as I thought I about this I realized something. In spite of the fact that life’s very real and persistent limits have become more clear to me as I’ve gotten older, I actually feel less bound by them.

So what does it mean to me to Live Unlimited now that I am 46 – only a decade younger than my mother was when she died – and the mother of a teen and a tween?

To live in an unlimited way means showing up for my life every day and realizing the boundless love and beauty to be found in my relationships – with God, with my husband, with my children, with the Earth, and with my friends.

I could of course write for days about each one of these relationships – how lucky am I to have so many? – and how for me travel is a way to enhance pretty much every single one of them. But I’m going to focus on the last one.

The inspiration of my friends to Live Unlimited

I’m especially lucky to be inspired by all the fellow writers and travelers that I’ve met through this site and the opportunities I have had to travel. Because I’ve been fortunate enough to overcome the limits of geography time and again I’ve gotten to meet many people who were once only avatars on Facebook and Twitter, and they have become true and lasting friends. Among the very dearest to me is Jen Leo. Sites like Twesocial says that following back anyone who follows you on social media is a great way to grow your audience, but in this case it was to grow a strong circle of friendship.

There are actually a lot of mundane limits to my friendship with Jen. She lives on the West Coast of the U.S., and I’m on the East Coast. She has a young daughter named Cora, plays a very active role on the PTA at Cora’s school, and has several of her own business and creative concerns, with new ones always simmering on the back burner. I work part time at a communications job, am working on a book, maintain this site, and have kids entering the extremely busy middle- and high-school years. And of course, both of us love to travel.

But despite the distance that separates us and despite the constraints on both our time Jen’s warmth, curiosity, and enthusiasm for life are a constant inspiration to me. She is truly someone who sees the world in terms of what is possible. Her favorite question has to be “why not?”

Jen and I never know when we’ll see each other next in person. But thanks to her persistence, we routinely talk on the phone or text. We help each other develop new projects and hold each others hands (virtually) when we feel discouraged or need to change course. I tend to be cautious with new projects – but when Jen gets an idea she is all in, and her enthusiasm is infectious. Jen has given me the courage to submit my writing to new publications and to speak my dreams out loud. And she always makes me laugh.

And the best part about Jen is how she is raising Cora to view the world in this same way. MDA was kind of enough to send Jen a bracelet because I said she was my inspiration for an unlimited life. When Cora and Jen looked at it and discussed what the word unlimited meant, Cora said “It’s like having gelato for breakfast in Italy,” which is just about as perfect a definition as I’ve ever heard. Like me, Jen is committed to spending as much time with her child as she can and to live an unlimited life together exploring the world.

Jen and Cora give me faith in humanity. They make me happy to be alive, which is the ultimate way to Live Unlimited.

Help the Muscular Dystrophy Association #LiveUnlimited

People who have muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other muscle-debilitating diseases must live within the cruel and arbitrary limits that their bodies impose. That so many of them – and their families – face these limits bravely every day is an important example to us all. I’m honored that they asked me to share my story. I am also hopeful that the options out there to relieve pain and discomfort associated with chronic illnesses such as this, will become accessible to anyone suffering, for instance CBD relievers such as private label nutra products. As you know they are not legal in many areas, but the effect they have on pained patients is incredible, it is almost as if they can live pain free. Some places even go all the way into allowing the drug for recreational use as well, through a joint or perhaps some inline perc bongs. The positives of it is such an incredible difference on so many social and medical issues. It is a crying shame that many people do not have access to medications like this to take away their suffering when they need it so much, as a sufferer myself, I know the desperation. However I hope that the idea of Live Unlimited drives people to push on and keep going despite all odds.

And I love that I now have a Live Unlimited bracelet to remind me of the things I treasure most: my family, my friends, and this beautiful planet that I have the privilege of exploring whether that’s by setting out on a 2400-mile road trip or simply doing yoga in my backyard under an oak tree that’s seem more than a century of human endeavor. When I feel the constraints of my aging body or hectic schedule I will look at it, smile, and remember that the only true limit I face is my own acceptance of my life in each given moment. And I will honor those who face the much more serious limits of chronic illness with grace and strength.

Interested in helping out? There are a couple of things you can do.

Purchase an Endorphin Warrior #LiveUnlimited bracelet and $6 will go to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

Visit mda.org/LiveUnlimited and create a custom graphic to show how you #LiveUnlimited to share on social media. For every share up to 30,000 before July 31, 2016, a generous sponsor will give $5 to MDA.

You can follow the MDA and this project on Twitter @MDAnews and @EndorphnWarrior, on Instagram @MDA_USA and @EndorphinWarrior and on the MDA Facebook page.

How do you #LiveUnlimited? I’d love to read about it in the comments.

P.S. Want to get to know Jen? Follow her on Twitter @JenLeo and be sure to check out all the family travel tips she offers during her #KidsNTrips Twitter chats.