Park City Activities That Are (and are not) For Kids

August 10, 2010 By

When I lived in Utah, I always liked Park City but it wasn’t until I moved away that I truly fell in love with it.

The kiddos and I had a whirlwind 24 hours in this outdoor Shangri-La with our St. George-dwelling friends Dave and Rebecca and their two children.

Dave and I have been friends from way back when and our backpacking adventures included an epic journey up Yosemite’s Half Dome and being snowed on and then almost struck by lightning on Zion’s West Rim Trail.

Stuff like that bonds you for life.

We have been trying to plan an adventure for the last five years but kids, illness and life have always gotten in the way. But in a flash of serendipity, we were in Park City the same weekend so our families planned an adventure together.

(Hadley rocking the climbing wall. No pun intended.)

Why the Park City Art Festival Is NOT For Kids

We started at the Park City Art Festival which, if you’re ever tempted to take your kids? Don’t. Unless you want to spend the entire time steering your kids away from breaking psychedelic artwork that would take your entire lifetime to pay off.

My Mama always said nothing in this world is free and that applied to the $10 admission and then the kids area that required you to dish out even more money.


But Haddie and Sienna claim the green kitty cat face painting was worth it.

Of course, they didn’t have to fork over the money to pay for it.

Why Park City Mountain Resort IS for Kids

Park City Mountain Resort’s base area was the true highlight of the trip. I’ve been to a number of resorts in the summer but none compared to PCMR’s compendium of activities that included the Alpine Coaster AND Alpine Slide, Ziprider, bungee trampoline, miniature golf, climbing wall and Little Miner’s Park with a carousel and rides for small children.


Dave and Rebecca were both skeptical of the lightning-fast alpine coaster but I assured them it was our favorite activity. After some initial reluctance (and a first run wherein three different coasters caught up with slowpoke Dave), they were hooked. In fact, Dave loved it the most and was the very last rider at the end of the evening.


I convinced Rebecca to ride the zipline with me. A bit of history: When I was a teenager at girl’s camp, I was asked to dress up as a clown and ride the zipline upside down while screaming and poking fun at all the freaked-out girls. I totally could have gone pro.

Well, if such a thing existed.

Rebecca, on the other hand, had never ridden a zipline. There was a wee bit of apprehension.


And some more.


To calm her nerves, I shared my own tales of barrelling across the zipline at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Though I assured her Park City Mountain Resort’s drop was far worse.

I am totally the person you want to have around in a crisis situation.

Rebecca careened down that mountain like a champ, even passing me at the very end. We had planned to hit Park City’s Main Street for dinner but we were so obsessed with cramming in every last slope-side activity that we kept playing…and playing even after the resort’s fast-food restaurant closed down.

At 9 p.m. after the final run down the Alpine Coaster, the kids’ stomachs growled in protest. I took one glance at exhausted Bode and knew he would not last so we grabbed some ice cream bars and Chex mix from the Mountainside Marriott’s snack bar.

Truly, it was the breakfast dinner of Park City Mountain Resort’s champions.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Family travel, Humor, travel

The Dos (and mostly don’ts) of letterboxing

August 9, 2010 By

I have always been intrigued by treasure hunts. The prospect of discovering something valuable and cosseted is exciting to me. From the moment I first watched The Amazing Race, I was hooked. Following clues and traveling the world would be a dream come true.

Getting lost in umpteen countries is not.

My kids and I recently watched a movie that got me excited about doing my own treasure hunt. One option was geocaching but it does not hold much allure for me.

This can be attributed to the fact that I cannot operate a GPS.

I had heard about letterboxing so figured it would be the next best thing. Not familiar with the concept?

Letterboxing is an activity that combines the elements of puzzle solving and orienteering. Letterboxers hide notebooks and a stamp in waterproof boxes in publicly accessible places and post clues to finding the boxes on Web sites such as letterboxing.org or atlasquest.com.

Once the box is found, letterboxers stamp the notebook with their personal stamp and also record it in their own log.

Anyone can hide a box, post clues or just do their own sleuthing. I thought it was a great way for families to discover their own backyard because pretty much anyone can interpret the clues.

Unless that someone is me.

I did my research. I chose my trail name (letterboxing identity), bought a personalized rubber to imprint the log book and also my own sketch book so I could keep track of the many imprints I was going to collect during my lifelong letterboxing career.

Then we attempted to find our first clue.

And yes, I did say “attempted.”

I had talked up the process enough that my kids were psyched and my husband Jamie was cautiously optimistic.

He is, after all, married to me and is well-versed in catastrophic situations.

I searched online and found a fun clue about a kitty’s journey through my city to land at one of our favorite parks. We followed his trail and tracked down the exact tree where the letterbox was allegedly hidden.

It was nowhere to be found.

After an exhaustive 10-minute search, we finally gave up. Disheartened, we slunked away. It was our first – and final attempt – at letterboxing

It was quite possibly my most short-lived career yet.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Humor

A Day in the Life

August 7, 2010 By

Candy-cane-colored water tower walking, rainbow marveling and cloud watching.


Ice cream eating, craft making and water fighting.

Just an average magical day at Grandma’s in Utah.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley

Pi*mp My Ride

August 6, 2010 By

The good news:

The kids and I are road tripping to Utah in this glorious Lincoln MKT.

The bad news:

I have to give it back next week.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Uncategorized

How Puerto Rico’s Final Moments of Magic Literally Took Flight

August 5, 2010 By

Old San Juan was one of the many highlights of our Puerto Rican vacation.

And that is saying a lot for a non-shopper like me.

Following an over-indulgent Puerto Rican lunch at Raices restaurant, Hadley and I explored the quaint shops located on narrow cobblestone streets as we eavesdropped on a medley of foreign tongues. The area’s flat-roofed brick and stone buildings date back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession.

Old forts still stand sentry over the city but none is more impressive than Fort San Felipe del Morro. Perched on a bluff overlooking the ocean, “El Morro” is touted as the oldest Spanish fort in the new world and was built in 1539 to control entry to the harbor and protect San Juan from attacks. The charge is $3 per adult over 16.

Even though six-year-old Hadley was not interested in the details of this National Historic Site, she was enraptured by the 360-degree views on the top floor that encapsulated San Juan. A wide swath of ocean-blue spanned so far that you’d swear you could see the curvature of the earth.

Those were my words.

Hers: “Wow!”

A popular family activity is kite flying on El Morro’s vast lawn. A kaleidoscope of kites danced to the wind as children laughed, tugged and raced against a backdrop so surreal you’d swear you had been dropped in a postcard.

Despite our best efforts (that even included recruiting a few locals), our kite would not take flight for more than 10 seconds.


This is not surprising to anyone who has read my past exposés on kite-flying.

Undaunted, all the moms and children cooled down with Piraguas (ices).


As we reluctantly packed up our belongings later that evening, Hadley stood on our wind-whipped balcony. At that raw hour, it was tough to distinguish ocean from sky. The reflection from the Marriott’s white lights pierced the ocean’s black. Our perch almost seemed to shake but then I realized it was just the air vibrating.

An idea took flight.

I grabbed our grounded kite and hurled it into the void. It dropped out of sight and then, almost as if it was mustering up courage, it swooped higher and higher.

Hadley squealed with delight as I marveled at the kite that had finally taken flight to sketch our good-byes in the sky.

Better [very] late than never.

==================

Just tuning in? Be sure to read 1) Almost Reaching Perfection at the San Juan Marriott Resort, 2) Puerto Rico: Food, Moms and Fun (Did I Mention Food?) and 3) Pool, Beach and Food: Three Essentials to Any Tropical Vacation. I participated in a trip sponsored by the San Juan Marriott. The views expressed are entirely my own.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Family travel, Hadley, Humor, travel Tagged With:

Pool, Beach and Food: The Three Essentials to Any Tropical Vacation

August 4, 2010 By

We interrupt The Great Pumpkin updates and my foray into national television to return to our regularly-scheduled posts on my mother-daughter trip to Puerto Rico with Hadley. Tuning in late to the party? Read Almost Reaching Perfection at the San Juan Marriott followed by Puerto Rico: Food, Moms & Fun (did I mention the food?)

The beach, pool and local fare are the focal points of any tropical vacation and the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino does not disappoint. We checked into the hotel at night in a downpour. When my daughter Hadley woke up the next morning, she was ecstatic to discover our hotel room overlooked Condado Beach.

“I thought it was just a big, open field last night!” She squealed.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, my dear! “I proudly retorted.

Never mind that we never actually were.

The Pool

Our itinerary allotted two blocks of time to explore the beach and pool. On the first day, San Juan was wrapped in a seamless blanket of moisture. On the second day, it was hot and humid.

This woosy Canuck will take the rain any day.

I was admittedly a bit worried to go to the pool first. A few years ago, my family went to Mexico and my kids never wanted to venture out to the beach because of the pool. Sure enough, Hadley immediately fell in love with the Marriott’s waterslide in the Main Pool and the fountains in the Kids Pool (with water depths ranging from 1 1/4-3′).

I fell in love with the Pina Colada Smoothies at the swim-up bar.

We all have our priorities.

I struck up a conversation with a mom who grew up in Puerto Rico and now lives in Florida. She brings her kids back every summer but always stays at the Marriott even before going to see their grandparents because the kids love the pool and activities.

You know it’s good when Grandma plays second-fiddle.

The activities to which she referred are housed in the towel hut by the pool. Guests can check out fun games that include a Giant Connect Four, Frisbee, Giant Tick Tack Toe, Giant Dominoes, Bowling for Kids, Beach Volleyball and numerous board games.

There is also a different activity schedule posted poolside each day for adults and kids that include Arts and Crafts on Saturday & Sundays, Cookie decorating, Bingo, Yoga lessons, Zumba, Beach volleyball, Limbo for the Kids, face painting and more.

Beach

Much to my delight, Hadley loved Codondo Beach as well. Protected by a natural rock barrier, the beach is modest and undercrowded.
(Photo courtesy of Have Baby Will Travel because, if you will recall, my camera got unceremoniously dumped in the ocean)

Haddie and I built lumps of sand we passed off as sand castles, drank a gallon of salt water as we catapulted over the swells and munched on crunchy coconut ice cream intermixed with sand, sunshine and happiness.

Food

I fell in love with Puerto Rican food. These tropical masterpieces’ roots are infused in cooking traditions from Spain, Africa, Amerindian Taínos and heaven.

Trust me on that latter locale.

Raices

I have been obsessed with plantains since I discovered them on my honeymoon and Raices restaurant offered satiation at its best. The lively atmosphere is a bit touristy but they do a great job incorporating local customs with the colorful decor and staff uniforms.

Our appetizer plate, Boricula Festival, gave a great sampling of indulges that include cassava and cheese fritters, fried corn stick, fried cassava stick and plantains.

Mofongo is Puerto Rico’s signature dish and is a must-try for first-time visitors. Served on a bed of mashed plantains you have a choice of succulent beef, chicken or seafood. Raices’ version was the best I ever had.

OK, it was the only one I’ve ever had.

But I just can’t imagine how it could get much better.

Jam

Another must-visit restaurant is Jam. When my daughter and I walked into this ultra-cool and modern eatery, I immediately identified everything she could destroy in the room. It’s tough to say who was more delighted to discover the kid room tucked away at the back of the restaurant with toys and movies.

The extensive children’s menu included a number of drink selections (“Kid Tails”) dedicated to the younger set. Haddie sipped a Chocotini (chocolate and white milk with spiraled syrup in a martini glass) and dined on grilled churrasco strips with crispy tostones (fried plantains).

The moms sampled a number of different dishes, my favorite being a veritable cup of heaven: white bean soup with truffle oil. Pineapple Buanelos rolled in sweet coconut with Puerto Rican rum sauce topped off the gastronome evening.

Ristorante Tuscany

Ristorante Tuscany is the San Juan Marriott’s formal dining enclave and boasts a specially designed menu of Northern Italian cuisine fused with Latino culture. It was a perfect send-off for our farewell dinner.

Photo credit: Travel Mamas. Pictured: Corinne from Have Baby Will Travel, Colleen from Travel Mamas, Kara of Diamond PR, Debbie of Delicious Baby, me and Julian, the raw-meat-eating man child (see sordid details below).

The Marriott does not offer on-site kids clubs except during the holidays so attentive, nurturing and fun Nanny on Call PR was brought in to throw the kids a Pizza Party in an adjacent room.

While the kids played games, watched movies and had their hair French braided, the moms dined on dishes such as Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Fiocchi Pasta, Fettucine Michelangelo and Grilled Filet Mignon with Barolo sauce.

Julian, the San Juan Marriott’s Director of Marketing, delighted us with tales of the Marriott dynasty and his Australian upbringing. He divulged that as a young child, his mother often served him raw strips of beef for snacks.

Good thing Puerto Rico is much more civilized.

Be sure to check-out my favorite moment of the entire trip!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Family, Family travel, Hadley Tagged With:

Snooked Again: How a Reality TV Star Stole My Moment in the National Spotlight

August 1, 2010 By

I was in New York City last weekend presenting these family travel products on the Fox Network’s morning show, Fox and Friends.

I know. I’m still shocked they would even allow The Amber Show to be broadcast nationally.

Grant, a publicist in Arizona, arranged the gig after I appeared for his clients on the Tom Martino Show. He claimed my fun interaction with the hosts and thorough presentation of the products far surpassed anyone he has ever seen. He promised that when he booked a national segment, I would be his top choice.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my smooth performance on the Martino Show was the exception, not the rule.

This is me we’re talking about.

Grant was true to his word and he flew me to New York City on Friday. I had just one day to prep and did not even see most of the products until I arrived at the hotel the night before I was supposed to be on-air.

I was just a wee bit stressed out.

I stayed up late that night assembling everything in a cram session that would have impressed any college student. After just a few hours of sleep, I groggily arose at 5:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. Denver time) and hauled my lot to the FOX studios by 6:30 a.m. Laura, the segment producer, and her intern helped me setup.

From there, it was onto hair and make-up where the artist professed I just needed a touch-up on the latter but the former looked absolutely perfect.

I must admit I was having an embarrassingly good hair day.

I waited in the green room until it was my call time, uncharacteristically calm. The production staff put me at ease and Clayton (one of the co-hosts) had just had a baby so the ambiance was celebratory. What could go wrong?

An inebriated New Jersey woman, that’s what.

Throughout the show, they heavily teased a story about a floozy from MTV’s Jersey Shores named Snooki who had been arrested for disorderly conduct. Evidently, Snooki’s drunken escapades were big news.

By the time co-hosts Dave and Clayton got around to my segment, time was short. I had humorous anecdotes and compelling entrepreneurial stories that would have moved anyone (even Snooki) to tears. But it didn’t happen because my 5-minute segment was slashed in half. This happens regularly in TV but I was frustrated that the producers had not told me. Otherwise, I would have ensured that all the products were quickly highlighted instead of getting abruptly cutoff after only presenting three.

When it was over, I stood there in disbelief. My feelings were reminiscent of when I scored the most prominent spot in the TODAY show crowd at the 2010 Vancouver Games. I was ready for my moment in the national spotlight…until Matt Lauer stood smack in front of me.

Though trust me: it’s much worse to get hijacked by someone named Snooki.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Family travel, Humor
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