Search Results for: Washington DC

City Guide: 25 Places in Manhattan Kids Will Love

Byjennrecord February 14, 2023February 14, 2023

We are fortunate to live an hour outside of New York City and we take advantage of our close proximity as much as possible. There are so many family friendly places in the 22 square miles of New York City that our list could potentially go into the hundreds! For this week, however, we’ll stick with 25 places we have explored over the past decade, including a few spots that spill over into the Bronx.

We’ll acknowledge some gaps in this list- the Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Museum of Natural History are missing from this list- but we have not been to some very popular spots in over a decade (all the more reason to rerun ASAP!) For organizational purposes, we’ve listed sites by location, starting with the Financial District and working on our way up island through the Upper East and West Sides all the way to the Bronx (we had to include a couple of our favorite spots, which happen to in the Bronx- see #23-25)

family travel | Florida | lighthouse | Palm Beach

Five Ways to Explore the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum in Jupiter, Florida

Byjennrecord October 19, 2022March 29, 2023

We’ve explored Palm Beach County, Florida many times when visiting family in Delray Beach. This past trip, we finally had time to stop at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum that we’ve passed several times and enjoyed exploring the ever expanding complex.

Operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, the first lighthouse museum opened in 1973 and now welcomes over 800,000 visitors to the complex each year. The nonprofit manages the 1860 Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Oil House, 1892 George Washington Tindall House, 1929 Lighthouse Keeper’s Workshop, and 1940 Naval Housing Building (currently closed due to nearby bridge construction). The lighthouse and museums are located on a complex, owned by the town of Jupiter, which also include large sports fields, nature trails, and a large playground.

family travel | Florida | Mansion museums | Palm Beach

Playing “I Spy” at the Flagler Museum on Palm Beach Island, Florida

Byjennrecord July 19, 2022March 29, 2023

We recently spent time exploring St. Augustine Florida, a city that Henry Flagler basically built after the start of his 1912 Florida East Coast Railway and subsequent hotels, hospitals, schools, churches, and farms. (Read more about our adventures in St. Augustine in these posts. So, it was fitting when we also traveled to the West Palm Beach area of Florida in the same trip, we spent the morning at Flagler’s “winter cottage”

Henry Flagler was successful in the grain and salt mining industries before he helped to found the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews in 1867. When he married his third wife, Mary Lily Flager, in August 1901, he promised her a “waterfront winter cottage” and had “Whitehall”, as it was named, built in a record 18 months. The Flaglers spent approximately two months there each year until Flagler’s death in 1913.

family travel | science center | Sioux Falls

15 Ways to Explore the Kirby Science Center in Sioux Falls, SD

Byjennrecord February 8, 2022September 13, 2023

This summer, we spent an unexpected few days in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We were supposed to stay overnight as a layover on our way to Wisconsin, but when we saw all of the family friendly activities, we decided to extend our visit. We had a wonderful 3+ days exploring the area. One of our favorite spots was the Kirby Science Discovery Center, located in the Washington Pavilion.

family travel

Year in Review: Highlights of 2021

Byjennrecord December 28, 2021April 23, 2022

Even though 2021 was the second year impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic, we feel blessed to still have had many amazing adventures. We spent most of the winter in Connecticut exploring many local spots; the summer road tripping across Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (did we mention the number 4300 miles?!?!); and the spring and fall revisiting some of our tried and true favorite spots for new activities. This post is always one of our favorites each year, as it’s fun to go back down “memory lane” and reflect on the best parts of each adventure. So here is a recap of our (documented, publicly shared) 2021 adventures:

30 Places We Love in Connecticut

Byjennrecord November 3, 2020July 15, 2023

Connecticut may be the third smallest state (5,543 square miles), but what it lacks in size, it makes up with so many fun places to explore and so many family friendly activities. I have lived in Fairfield County in Connecticut for 20 years. And over the past 20 years my family has explored most of the Nutmeg State, from Greenwich to Mystic and Fairfield to Torrington. Since our daughter was born over a decade ago, we’ve found just about every spot to be kid friendly. While we plan on adding to this list each month, and will share annual updates, this is our first round of places we love in Connecticut.