Tag: kid friendly

American Girl Cafe Chicago | Afternoon Tea Review and Tour

The American Girl Dolls are hugely popular with little girls, especially for 2 special girls in my life, ages 4 & 7.  While in Chicago, we visited the American Girl Doll store in the Water Tower Place, a close neighbor to the John Hancock Center.

american-girl-doll

AG_BooksThere is a bookstore, hair salon (for the dolls), photo studio, Hospital (for emergency doll repair), snack shop, and cafe. AG_Hospital

This store is 52,000 square feet split between 2 levels and has everything you never knew you needed for Doll and Doll accessories.

I reserved our table for afternoon tea 3 weeks in advance via the web site.  We arrived early to allow for horrible Chicago traffic, plus nightmare parking, which left us a bit of time to shop before check-in for tea (15 minutes before tea time). Afternoon tea is seated promptly at 4 PM.   Continue reading “American Girl Cafe Chicago | Afternoon Tea Review and Tour”

White Tanks Mountain Hiking Destination in Arizona

The White Tank Mountain range is located on the far West side of metro Phoenix, within the edge of Maricopa County. Not as popular with hikers in the summer due to the brutal heat, this becomes a popular mountain trail in the cooler months.

The views are spectacular with a variety of hiking trails of several levels of difficulty to accommodate everyone.  The Waterfall trail is even wheelchair & stroller friendly. Best of all, the park is dog friendly, so bring your pup along for a great day outside enjoying the spectacular desert beauty.

  • White Tanks Hiking trail Dog resting
  • White Tanks Mountains Hiking Trail with Dog

Don’t let the name fool you, the waterfall trail is often a small trickle in dry season. After a big rain storm, like the summer monsoon season, the waterfall is flowing and cool. A few special days, the waterfall is big enough to form a small pool for a quick, refreshing dip.

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Seattle and Tacoma Glass Tour | Exploring the Pacific Northwest Glass Art Scene

More than just the home of Starbucks, Seattle and nearby Tacoma in Washington state are a Mecca for  glass art.  In every hotel, street corner, Seattle center, and all around the Seatac area are beautiful displays of glass.  On many earlier trips I noticed the glass, but never knew the story.

On this visit to Seattle I found myself in Tacoma for 4 days and 3 nights in the middle of my Seattle visit.  I remember driving through and around Tacoma, but this was the first time that I spent more than a few hours there.  Over the course of these few days, I discovered a few things. Continue reading “Seattle and Tacoma Glass Tour | Exploring the Pacific Northwest Glass Art Scene”

USS Midway Museum Historic Naval Aircraft Carrier, Floating Treasure in San Diego, California

The USS Midway Aircraft Carrier has an impressive history as a working Aircraft Carrier from 1945 until 1992.  It is now a museum ship open to the public for tours.  

The star of the show is certainly the aircraft carrier, with supporting roles of the wide variety of helicopters, small planes, jets and other engineering marvels.

Helicopters

This floating treasure is full of history, fun for families, and a delight for engineering fans. Plus the view from the aircraft carrier deck is not to be missed!

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Phoenix Skytrain | Finally Transportation that Makes Sense for Sky Harbor International Airport

The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Skytrain is open!  The train currently runs between the East Economy lots to Terminal 4.  The East Economy lot station is located between Garages A and B.  There are passenger trams to take passengers and luggage directly to and from cars to the station.  There are still buses running between the Terminals.  For the employees and passengers at Terminal 4, this is a great service!  The skytrain is faster than the old buses, running more frequently, and the drop off is on the ticketing/gate level in the middle of the Terminal.

PHX Skytrain
PHX Skytrain

There is no additional charge to passengers.  The train is funded by airport revenues and passenger fees, so I plan to enjoy this service that I have already paid for.

The train is quiet (it is electric), fast, efficient, and (so far) clean!