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  We're Traveling Mamas sharing our adventures with the world. We offer tips on great (and not so great) places to visit with children and how to have the best family vacations -- but it's not all about the kids, of course! Romantic escapes, girlfriend getaways, and solo trips are also important to us. Plus, we cover industry news and review travel gear, and we love to give things away!

  
  
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Traveling Mamas on Fodors.com

Over the past month, the Mamas have written some short articles related to family vacations over at Fodors.com, a chock-full-of-information travel planning site from the reputable guidebook publishing company. Here are the links:

6 Essential Tips for Taking Your Family to an All-Inclusive Family Resort
Top 3 Choices for Kids’ Luggage
If Kids Ruled the World: Their Family Vacation Wish List Top 10
6 Tips for a Moms’ Getaway without the Guilt

If you scoot on over to Fodors.com, be sure to check out the extremely active forums. No matter what your travel question, you can post it and likely get some thoughtful answers here. Of course, the Mamas also like to answer readers’ questions, so you can always feel free to email us at questions@travelingmamas.com.

Mamas on the Move: Family-friendly Pool at the San Juan Marriot Resort

For my family, a resort’s pool can really make or break a vacation. When my kids were toddlers, if there wasn’t a good wading area for them, it wasn’t quite as much fun for Mom and Dad, since we constantly had to be “on,” next to them or holding them in the water. Now that they’re older, the more bells and whistles a water-play area has — whether it’s slides or waterfalls or faux cliffs to jump from — the better.

What’s nice about the San Juan Marriott Resort’s pool area is that it’s got a little something for everyone in the family. First, the kiddie area is one of the biggest I’ve ever seen. It’s 1.5 feet deep all the way around, except for a wonderful zero-depth entry area, where even the littlest swimmers can wade in safely. The kiddie pool also has some fun water fountains to splash in.

For bigger kids (as well as fun-loving adults), there’s the twisting water slide, where you land into the “adults” pool, which is closer to four feet deep. Also adjacent to the adults pool is a swim-up bar. The pools are not heated, so they seem to get the most use during the hottest part of the day — 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (which is also when the water slide is open).

I love that there’s a posted sign explaining there’s no “reserving of chaise lounges.” This is a brilliant policy, as I’ve been to some Caribbean and Mexican resorts, where people get up at 6 a.m. just to reserve primo locations. The San Juan Marriott says that they’ll reassign empty chairs to waiting guests.

Families can borrow board games and beach balls at the towel desk. Activities staff also run various events throughout the day, including water volleyball, poolside bingo and yoga classes.

Another highlight: the pool is just steps from Condado Beach, so you can position lounge chairs to take in the gorgeous green-blue ocean. It’s also easy to toggle between swimming in the ocean and the pool — as my kids like to do. And speaking of the pool, the other Mamas are enjoying the relaxing scene as I type this. I’ve got to go chill out with them and enjoy the view!

Mamas on the Move: Zen Moment at the San Juan Marriott

Who needs a break from daily life today? Here’s the view from our oceanfront room at the San Juan Marriott & Stellaris Casino in Puerto Rico. CajunMama took in the scene and filmed this (with wine in hand) right after she arrived at the resort yesterday.

Take a moment out to relax today. Turn up the volume and enjoy the sound of the crashing waves while you’re sitting in the office, taking a break from housework, or for my Colorado friends and family, gearing up to shovel out your driveway!

Marriott Gift Card Contest

I’m so excited about seeing all the other Mamas today at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino that I went to check out Marriott’s new forum for rewards members to find what great things there are to do in San Juan, Puerto Rico. One member, CorpTraveler, says, “We were referred to a local Puerto Rican restaurant on Tapia Ave. in San Juan. La Casita Blanca was one of the most enjoyable experiences in nearly three years of travel to the island.  Genuine home cooking, and a gracious host. Located in a seldom visited area of San Juan, it was safe, and parking was available.”

This is just one of the many tips you can pick up on Marriott Rewards Insiders, where members share candid travel advice and informed opinions about the rewards program, along with their intimate knowledge of the Marriott family of hotels and resorts.

To celebrate the launch of the Marriott website and our annual girlfriend getaway to the San Juan Marriott Resort &  Stellaris Casino, we’ve teamed up with Marriott to offer one lucky Traveling Mamas reader a Marriott $100 gift card to put towards your stay at any Marriott property!  To enter, simply leave your favorite travel tip in the comments section below. (We also highly suggest you share your travel knowledge with the folks at the Marriott Rewards Insiders forum, too!)

Contest ends Tuesday, March 31, at midnight (EST). We’ll announce the winner on Winning Wednesday. Normal TravelingMamas.com contest rules apply (US Citizen, none of our mothers can enter, etc)

Good luck and feel free to leave tips about San Juan that we can use during our stay this week. We’re still searching for local restaurants to sample and where to find the hottest spots to dance the night away – hey, no kids to worry about on this trip! We’ll be livin’ la vida loca…

Cruise and Caribbean Book Winners

This post is going to be super short and sweet because we Traveling Mamas are making our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico, tomorrow. But first we want to thank all of our readers for entering our Spring/Summer Travel Books Giveaway and announce our two winners are: #21 Shannon Baas and #65 Jammie. Please contact me at desertmama @travelingmamas.com to claim your prize.

Speaking of cruises…a CNBC representative left this message:

The all new CNBC Original, “Cruise Inc: Big Money on the High Seas” premieres on Tuesday, March 24 at 9p ET│10p PT (that’s tonight). With unprecedented access, Peter Greenberg cruises the high seas for several days with an inside look at the effects of this economic downturn on the $30 billion cruise industry. Can the cruise industry stay afloat in this sinking economy? See the side of the industry you’ve never seen before on Tuesday, March 24 at 9p ET | 10p PT on CNBC.

Don’t forget to follow our San Juan tweets on Twitter.com: #SJMamas.

Mama Memories: Honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Mamas are getting SO excited to meet up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this week! The four of us haven’t been all together since our fabulous getaway to Hawaii last spring, so this is going to be one special trip, thanks to the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. We’ll be blogging about our adventures as they happen, but if you really want to know what we’re doing nearly hour by hour, follow us on Twitter at @travelingmamas (or our individual handles; they’re listed here). We’ll be using the hashtag #SJMamas.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll indulge my walk down memory lane. I actually had part of my honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 10 years ago! MountainDad and I spent three nights in the island’s capital city after our Windjammer Barefoot Cruise (pity the Windjammer folded — we absolutely adored our trip). I dug out my old photo album (no digital images from 1999), and scanned these pictures from my honeymoon. Here’s the funny: we’re pictured in various places in and around San Juan that the Mamas and I will be visiting later this week!

Like these “memory lane” photos? Check out MudslideMama’s honeymoon on St. John; we’re going back 15 years for her!

Your Questions Answered – Child-Friendly Travel in Los Angeles

One of the best things about writing a travel blog is the back-and-forth we get to have with our readers. Comments left on posts, interactions in online forums, and even (gasp!) meeting fellow vacation lovers at travel conventions – well, the Traveling Mamas love it all. We get a pretty steady flow of questions in our “ASK” section as well. These tend to be specific, sometimes personal travel questions, and one of us will respond within a couple of days. But occasionally, the questions asked are relevant to general travel: That’s just what happened with this question, regarding child-friendly travel and family activities in and around Los Angeles.

Hi. I live in Mumbai, India. I saw your website and was immediately taken by it. I plan to visit the USA along with my husband and 2 daughters (6 and 2 years) in the last week of April for 3 weeks. Please could you suggest places to visit which would be interesting for kids: I would be heading to LA first and would prefer a relaxed vacation (so in and around the LA area would be great). My younger daughter gets car sickness, so that complicates matters.
Please help.
Ravi (name changed)

Hello, Ravi,

The Traveling Mamas received your question, and since I (Mudslide Mama) live in LA, I thought I’d reply. Hello!

Los Angeles is an amazingly family-friendly city, believe it or not. The only problem for you is, people really need to take either cars or buses to get around. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s propensity for carsickness. There are many child-friendly activities in and around Los Angeles!

The Getty and the Getty Villa, along with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) all are interesting museums that have children’s programs. On Sundays, there is a great children’s program at LACMA that is free.

Universal Citywalk is fun as well, but very touristy. There are a lot of shops there, and many movie theaters. Universal Studios Hollywood itself is a California theme park (but some of the rides are better suited to older children than your own). The La Brea Tar Pits (next to LACMA by the way) and California Science Center are very child-friendly. However, if your daughter gets very ill in moving vehicles, so that driving around is not an option, I’d recommend staying in Santa Monica. This is a separate city from LA, but really, you wouldn’t know it. Santa Monica is surrounded by LA on three sides, and the Pacific Ocean on the fourth. It has a fun walking area, a promenade along the ocean, and of course the beach is right there. Best of all, the Santa Monica Pier has a small, relatively inexpensive amusement park, along with an old-fashioned carousel, and a “Heal the Bay” mini-aquarium under the pier that has touch tanks filled with specimens of local sea life. My kids are growing up in LA, and they still ask to go to the Santa Monica Pier quite a lot.

Just south of Santa Monica is Venice, which has some canals like its famous namesake in Italy. This is alsowhere “Muscle Beach” is, and a thriving artist community called Bergamot Station. Abbot-Kinney, also in Venice, has a hopping art scene, and little boutiques for unique, non-chain store shopping. Just to the north of Santa Monica is Pacific Palisades, which is home to the gorgeous Getty Villa. There are also some great, child-friendly and accessible hiking trails in this green, leafy part of Los Angeles.

I hope your family has fun in the States. I’m glad you’re planning to spend some time in and around Los Angeles. What with the ocean, the mountains, and (needless to say) Hollywood, there’s truly a little something for everyone here.

TODAY’S MOMS: Mary Ann Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo

February was Authors Month at the lovely Tucson Miraval Resort and Spa. Since Miraval is only a few miles from my home, I once again had the opportunity to cruise over for the last session featuring Mary Ann Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo, both Emmy award-winning producers for NBC’s TODAY show – yes, that one. We had a lot of good laughs and it was fun hearing Mary Ann and Alicia tell about their days on the set of TODAY, life as a mom, and how their new book: TODAY’S MOMS: Essentials For Surviving Baby’s First Year came to be (keep reading and you’ll find out, too).

Mary Ann and Alicia kindly agreed to chat with TravelingMamas.com and reveal a little more about themselves, their family, some travel tips, and of course tell us more about their latest endeavor: TODAY’S MOMS.

Welcome, Alicia and Mary Ann!

1. Tell us a little about yourselves and your children.

Mary Ann: I work full-time as a producer at TODAY and have been at NBC for over 12 years.   I live in NYC with my husband, Alexander, and we have two children, Zurielle, 4, and Arabella, 2.  They are two head strong girlie girls, I grew up with six brothers so that is new to me!

Alicia: I work full-time as a producer at TODAY and have been at NBC for more than a decade.  I live in NYC with my husband, Mark, and we have two children, Jack and Lucy.  They will turn 4 and 6 in April, so I’m starting to feel the pressure of planning parties… It’s that time of year for me, haha.

2. TODAY’S MOMS: Essentials For Surviving Baby’s First Year looks fantastic (I did get to sneak a peek), what will our readers find helpful about the book?

Alicia: Thank you!  We are so excited about the book.  It’s been four years in the making… I was pregnant with my daughter, Lucy, when Mary Ann called – from the airport – to say she had this sparkplug idea of a book, and look at us now.  We think this book helps to make the connection between the moms who watch the show and the moms who put the show together… from producers, stage managers and seniors to Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Tiki Barber and Amy Robach… they each share their tips and tales of having kids. We also have a huge team of contributors who’ve added their expertise, like Peter Greenberg/travel, Jean Chatzky/money, Joy Bauer/nutrition, Lloyd Boston/fashion, Eve Pearl/make-up and more… I wish I had this book when I was a new mom.

Mary Ann: TODAY’S MOMS is really about every modern mom.  It is kind of Girlfriend’s Guide/Meets What to Expect when your expecting.  Fun, easy to read, but full of advice and anecdotes.

3. Does your book offer travel advice?

Mary Ann: The book was conceived while I was traveling!  I think every mother should travel as much as possible with their babies when they are young – under 2.  I traveled all over the place with my daughter, Zurielle, starting when she was 3 weeks old. Just have a Sit n’ Stroll.

Alicia: Whether you’re traveling by road, plane or train, it’s all in there… and TODAY’S Travel Editor, Peter Greenberg, shares several tips, including how to baby proof a hotel yourself, with a homemade childproofing kit…

4. Where have you traveled with your children?

Mary Ann: Oklahoma, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Florida, California (for work and pleasure), Texas to see family. I loved Casa de Campo in the DR.  Great place for kids. My daughter still talks about the big pool and the little pool (whirlpool.) In Costa Rica my husband went down for two weeks and went to Language School. The women in the school watched my daughter while I was in class.

Alicia: I grew up in Northern California, so at least twice a year the entire family travels cross country.  We’re on planes a lot and, because of this, my son LOVES to fly.  Best piece of advice is to let them pack their own carry-on bag.  So cute to see them dragging their rolling bag around the airport. Even cuter when they’re responsible for their own crayons, stickers, paper, snuggly, books, water bottle, etc…

5. Is there any travel advice you would like to pass along to Traveling Mamas readers?

Alicia: Skip the cute outfits when you’re traveling.  I dress the kids in pajamas underneath a sweat suit. That way they’re comfortable traveling to airport and boarding plane, and if there are accidents (of any kind) it’s easy to change. Then, once on the plane we usually take off the sweat suit and they’re instantly ready for naptime/bedtime. Once we get to our destination I change them out of those items into clean clothes.

Mary Ann: Sit n’ Stroll and always take on the plane way more clothes/diapers/food/treats then you think you will need!

6. Can you give us more scoop about the book – when will it hit the shelves?

The book, TODAY’S MOMS: Essentials for Surviving Baby’s First Year will be released on April 7.  You can also check us out on todaysmoms.tv (and follow them on twitter @todaysmoms

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat, Alicia and Mary Ann. We can’t wait until the book comes out!

Louisiana Road Trip: Off the Beaten Path

I’m taking off this morning on a 13-parish road trip of north and central Louisiana with my friend from Twitter, @LouisianaTravel. She’s a mom also, and we plan on exploring parts of the state that people don’t normally think to visit.

The theme of our road trip is “Off the Beaten Path” and we’ll visit 13 parishes including the cities of Monroe/West Monroe, Colliston, Pioneer, Delhi, Ruston, Gibsland, Minden, Shreveport/Bossier City, Haughton, Clarence, Campti, Saline, Natchitoches, Alexandria/Pineville, Cheneyville, Lecompte, and Forest Hill.

We plan on checking out Louisiana State Park cabins and various bed and breakfasts along the way. No chain hotels for us on this one. We want to meet the people and the places that make up this upper portion of Louisiana.

We’ll be using Facebook, Twitter, Twitpic, and Britekite along the way so that anyone who wants to see behind the scenes of how a travel story is developed, can follow along. The hashtag we use on Twitter is #LaMamas. So follow us and send your comments along during our journey.

CajunMama’s Facebook Page

CajunMama’s Twitter Page

A Beach Vacation in La Jolla, California

La Jolla is a gorgeous, high-end beach community just a hop, skip and a jump north of San Diego.  It’s got a reputation as being a relaxing (if somewhat deluxe) vacation destination.  The Mudslide family has never been there; we take road trips to San Diego pretty often, but La Jolla is so close to San Diego that Laguna Beach makes for a better pit stop on the way home. As a California-based travel writer and beach town fan, I clearly needed to check out this place with my video camera fully loaded.

I’m so glad I did! La Jolla is indeed lovely, with cliffs that overhand the Pacific in ways reminiscent of the more rugged views in Northern California. The La Jolla Playhouse is a wonderful local theater, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography is a focal point for training the next generation in marine biology and other earth sciences. The Birch Aquarium at Scripps melds fun and education about marine life and resources so well, I just can’t wait to take my children there. But remember…there are those miles of wonderful, surfer-friendly beaches too.

One beach has been in the news off and on; The Children’s Pool was actually man-made to create a relatively wave-free bay for kids to play in, but this serene alcove was also perfect for seals to birth their pups. (This is somewhat controversial; the philanthropist Ellen B. Scripps had it built for children, but not exclusively so.) Because there are so many other child-friendly beaches along La Jolla’s coastline – and because marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act – the seals unknowingly won a legal battle to stay in The Children’s Pool during baby season. I love seals! I had to find them…and hopefully get a quick video of the seals in action.

Starting at the south end of La Jolla was a mistake; I found a bunch of beautiful little beaches (and a ton of fancy shops) but no seals. I had my Flip Digital Video Camera on the ready, though: Check out this video. Oh, before you do, keep in mind that I’m no professional. Holding the Flip at arm’s length and hoping for the best resulted in me chopping off my chin. Wish me better aim next time!

Ha, ha! It’s no wonder that The Children’s Pool has also been named “Seal Rock.” They look cute and happy, don’t they? But even from our respectful distance, the other tourists, gawkers, and I were just about equally impressed by the smell emanating from the beach as we were the sight of all those baby seals flopped out next to their mamas. Phoo! I wonder how long it takes to clear the air after the Harbor Seals leave.

In any case, the Harbor Seals (and yes, I know, I accidentally call them sea lions once in the video above, mea culpa) are a huge attraction when they’re tending to their pups. Since there are a plethora of other beaches around La Jolla, I believe that setting aside Seal Rock/Children’s Pool for the seals and their babies is a good thing. The crowd of tourists, happy to pose for photos with a seal-filled background, surely agree.

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