An ever curious traveler with a passion for making memories with my family. I give families the tools to experience the joys of travelling, no matter your budget. Through quick, practical solutions. Join me if you'd like to make more memories confidently travelling with your kids, without straining your finances, going into debt, or feeling like you'd have to sell off a kidney to fund your next vacation.
🏕️ It's Time! Reservations are open
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Hello from beautiful Thailand Reader, We just arrived here after an overnight flight from the Philippines. What was I thinking, picking a flight that left at 2am. I’m not in my 20’s anymore. On the plus side though, the Mactan - Cebu International Airport is the of the nicest I've been to, so not the worst place to spend a few early morning hours. More on the Philippines in another email. 🏕️ Today I just wanted to pop in to say Yosemite National Park has opened up campground reservations in some of their popular sites after a delay, due to staff cuts (because of you know who) & a new reservation system. More opening up March 31st. It’s like those swim or gymnastics classes you could never get your kids into when they were younger. You and a million other parents practicing your keyboard warrior skills. Trying to get one of those last 5 time slots that doesn’t suck and isn’t at 3:30 on a school day. Refreshing the screen at 30 seconds to the hour with dates pre-selected, just hoping the class gods will shine down on you this one time. Yosemite can be like that. Book asap, as the popular Yosemite campsites fill up fast. Or consider an off season visit (NOT june to August), or a less popular park closer to home. In fact, if you are planning on hitting any campground at all this summer, it's better to book as soon as reservations open up. It's getting harder and harder to get a spot these days. If you’re looking for itinerary ideas for a future trip, check out our 2 day Yosemite itinerary and our well earned, genius camping with kids hacks. Fun for the whole family, making memories together. Journey On, Donna Here's a poem for you today, where ever you are reading it. By Hafiz: I sometimes forget that I was created for Joy. My mind is too busy. My Heart is too heavy for me to remember that I have been called to dance the Sacred dance of life. I was created to smile To Love To be lifted up And to lift others up. O’ Sacred One Untangle my feet from all that ensnares. Free my soul. That we might Dance and that our dancing might be contagious. ~Hafiz Traveling soon? Use these helpful links:
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Packed for Life | Family Travel
An ever curious traveler with a passion for making memories with my family. I give families the tools to experience the joys of travelling, no matter your budget. Through quick, practical solutions. Join me if you'd like to make more memories confidently travelling with your kids, without straining your finances, going into debt, or feeling like you'd have to sell off a kidney to fund your next vacation.
Hey Reader, Europe is not my speciality, but I know so many of you have European travel on your radar for 2026 and beyond. Which is why this is the email you NEED to read. One of the best ways to make the most of your trip AND stretch your budget, is to learn from others who've been there and done that..... .....So you can skip the mistakes, and go right to making amazing memories. That’s why I’m inviting you to join 30+ trusted travel pros for the DIY Virtual Trip Summit: Europe Beyond the...
Hey Reader, Hello from the rainy west coast of Canada! It has been a minute since I last sent out a newsletter. As a quick personal update, we recently landed back in our hometown after travelling South East Asia for six months. Us adults would have gladly continued on longer, but Miss S, our 12 year old had other ideas. So we are staying with family here for the school year while we figure out our next move and I handle some not so fun aging parent realities. For the new year, we are...
Hello Reader from super sunny Thailand, After our wild Bangkok earthquake experience, we didn't end up doing too much over the next few days. However, Miss S. and I did take a super fun Thai cooking class. I highly recommend this easy & fun class (they even train professional chefs upstairs). Everyone got to choose their own 5 dishes to make, plus they gave us mango sticky rice for dessert. She did amazingly well, as we each had our own cooking station where we did all the cooking ourseslves....