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June 29, 2013

Taking the Easy Way Out with a Picnic on the Lake

It’s hot here in Seattle. We’re all wondering what happened to our “Juneuary”. True, not as hot as some other locales, but for a place where nearly none of us have air conditioning, it can get down right uncomfortable, especially if you stay pent-up in the house or anywhere inside really. In addition to the heat, as of late, Bergen (22 months) has also been a less than stellar dining companion. He wants his food now (or 5 minutes ago), and isn’t interested in waiting around.

So we decided to avoid it all, and fled to Madison Park for some beach time on Lake Washington.

We certainly weren’t alone in our decision hit to lake, but that didn’t make it any less of an enjoyable experience. I actually loved seeing what everybody else was up to aside from digging in the sand and swimming. We saw boaters, stand-up paddle boarders, daring individuals jumping off the high dive, and those bearing wetsuits out for more than just a leisurely dip.

To make a night of it, Slaed ventured down the street to grab pizza, and we relaxed knowing the pressure was off. No worries of entertaining Bergen before food arrived, no worries of Bergen throwing food and drink items on the floor, and he could be as noisy as he liked. We could get used to these summertime picnics.

Starting any new summer traditions with your friends and family? We’d love to hear about them!

Come join the conversation! We’d love to have you join us on all of our adventures by “liking” our facebook page and following us on twitter! You can also keep up to date with each and every post by subscribing to the blog via email.

June 28, 2013

Family Getaway in Kauai: Moanakai Beach Cottage in Kapa’a

We agonized over where we would stay for our week-long Kauai getaway back in November 2012. The north end of the island was calling our name with it’s lushness and proximity to amazing beaches, hikes, and other natural wonders. At the same time, we knew the south end was perfect for families with several beaches suitable for swimming, and kid-friendly restaurants.

We ultimately decided to meet in the middle, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. On the east side of Kauai is the town of Kapa’a. It’s the islands largest town by population, and even though it’s busier than the other areas, we knew it would provide us with the best base for our adventures. From here we could easily enjoy the sites of the east side, and could then do day trips to the north and south sides without too much driving. The west side of the island is only accessible by hiking, helicopter, or boat.

When we travel, we seek out the experience of finding a “home away from home”. We love getting to know new towns, and calling them our own for the duration of our stay even if it’s only for a day or a weekend. When looking for lodging, we want to be close to the action. I love getting up in the morning and walking to the coffee shop or breakfast spot. I also love being able to walk off the dinner, and take the time to enjoy the ins and outs and uniqueness of the locale in which we are staying. When we decided that Kapa’a would become our “home away from home”, deciding where to rest our tired selves after long days of exploring was easy once we discovered the Moankai Beach Cottage.

The Home

We found the cottage easily accessible from the main area of town, but situated on a quiet street on the back side of the property. The owner and all-around great guy, Larry, lives on the property in the front house. He was there when we needed him, always up for a chat if he was around, but he never bothered us unnecessarily, and he was full of great suggestions and insights on the island.

The house is small, but perfect for our family of three. The master bedroom in the back of the cottage has a queen-size bed, ample closet space, and a dresser with plenty of drawers for storing our clothes to make us feel at home. Inside this bedroom there is an air-conditioning unit mounted on the wall. This kept us cool and comfortable throughout the night, and also did a great job of drowning out the crows of the roosters who haven’t yet learned the concept of sleeping in.

The second bedroom located just down the hall in the front of the house is also outfitted with a queen-size bed, another closet, and dresser to organize all of Bergen’s (our son, 15-months at the time) beach attire. There was enough space in front of the bed to set up the travel crib. Bergen was a champion sleeper in this room. In fact, on more than one morning, we were waiting for him to get up so that we could get going on an adventure! The two windows facing the east and south allowed for good airflow throughout the space, and with the help of a sound machine, he too was able to sleep through our noisy rooster friends.

Between the two bedrooms is a small bathroom with a nice-sized shower. It was also stocked with extras like beach towels, ear plugs, and other toiletries, even sunscreen.

The kitchen and living area are situated together creating one large space. While we didn’t cook meals at home other than macaroni and cheese, and warming up our leftovers in the microwave, we found the kitchen to be supplied with everything you might need to do so. We also found lots of kid/baby friendly items like spoons, plates, and cups suitable for children, even a portable high chair for Bergen that we could attach to any chair. The living room was a comfortable place for Slaed and I to hang out while Bergen was asleep for the night, and had plenty of room for Bergen to play on the off-chance we might be lingering around the house. Books (including great guidebooks on the area), DVDs, and CDs were provided.

Moanakai Beach Cottage: Kapa'a, Kauai | WildTalesof.com

View of the kitchen from the living room as Slaed signs the guest book.

The Beach

One of the greatest amenities of the Moanakai Beach Cottage is it’s proximity to one of our favorite beaches on the island. Just a few hundred feet away (really just down the driveway) and across the quiet road is Kapa’a’s “Baby Beach”. A natural rock wall keeps the surf at bay providing a safe, quiet, and peaceful swimming space for babies, toddlers, kids, nervous adult swimmers, and their families. Even though we explored the entire island, we always found time during each of our days to spend here whether it was just a sunrise or sunset, a quick dip of the toes, or a full-on beach day set-up complete with umbrellas, chairs, and toys galore (all provided at the house by the way).

Slaed and I even got to spend time here without Bergen. Our baby monitor was in range of the beach so while Bergen was napping or asleep for the night, we enjoyed some alone time. We came here in the morning before he woke up to watch the sunrise (tough life being morning people when clearly our kid is not), had takeout from Bubba’s Burgers at the picnic table, and celebrated our own happy hour all while the little guy was snoozing away. And with our trusty monitor in hand, we were always just a few steps away from getting to Bergen if he needed us.

Sunrise Moanakai Beach Cottage: Kapa'a, Kauai | WildTalesof.com

Sunrise at Kapa’a’s Baby Beach

Baby Beach at Moanakai Beach Cottage: Kapa'a, Kauai | WildTalesof.com

Endless Beach Fun

More to Love:

As a runner training for an upcoming half marathon, I loved that the house was also just steps away from the start of the phase 2 Ke Ala Hele Makalae, an amazing shared-use path that runs along the coastline. I was able to keep up with my training and didn’t have to venture far or on a busy highway to do it.
Since the house is situated near town, we weren’t far from restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, and other local shopping spots. On a couple of occasions, Slaed was able to go off on foot to find lunch to bring back while I manned the monitor or enjoyed some beach play with Bergen. Some of our favorite spots:
- Bubba’s Burgers
- Kountry Kitchen
- Mermaids
- Small Town Coffee

Info to Know:

Moanakai Beach Cottage on Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO.com): http://www.vrbo.com/66571
Located in the town of Kapa’a, Kauai on the east side of the island
2 bedrooms, 1 bath, outside shower great for cleaning up after fun at the beach
Washer/dryer on the property
Equipped with air conditioning units and ceiling fans
Wireless Internet access
Linens and beach towels provided
Plenty of beach supplies provided including beach toys, umbrellas, and chairs
Owner lives on property in a separate home
No pets

Looking for more information on our Kauai Adventure? Check out our Hawaii page. It’s full of posts about the fun we got into exploring the island.

June 26, 2013

Baby B’Air Flight Vest for Toddlers

Bergen (22 months) has reached a milestone in his traveling life. Unless we get a wild hair and need to fly before our August trip to Wisconsin, the little guy has seen the last of his “lap baby” days. The next time he flies, he’ll have his very own ticket, followed by his own mileage plan, and all of the other “privileges” that go along with a legitimate seat on the plane.

Toward the end of his journey as a lap baby, we gave the Baby B’Aire Flight Vest a try to see if it might help to keep him wrangled a bit better, and therefore safer while in flight.

About the Vest

The overall and most important purpose of the vest is to provide better security in the event of turbulence. In addition to this increased safety, the vest also provides a more comfortable flying situation for parents and their lap baby. With the child secured to your seatbelt, your hands are then more free to entertain instead of worry about the little one getting away from you.

The rules clearly state that while the vest can be worn during take-off, landing, and taxi, it can only be attached to the adult’s seatbelt during flight. We utilized the flight vest for two trips (4 flights total) with Bergen, and never had any flight attendants question us about the vest.

The Baby B’Aire Flight Vest comes in two sizes:

Small (newborn/infant)
- Fits most children up to 6 months
- 16″ neck opening
- up to 40 pounds
Large (older baby/toddler)
- Fits most children from 6 months to 2 years
- 19″ neck opening
- up to 40 pounds

How the Vest Works

The vest goes over the child’s head with two adjustable straps with buckles on either side of the waist.
A strap also slides through the legs and is then attached with a buckle.
A loop strap on the bottom-back side of the vest allows the adult to then secure the vest to their seatbelt by feeding the seatbelt through the loop.

What’s to Love?

Because the act of strapping Bergen into the vest was similar to buckling him into his carseat, it almost gave him the illusion that he was in a seat, and therefore needed to stay put. At the same time, wearing the vest didn’t bother him one bit. He never tried to take it off, and certainly didn’t pay attention enough to realize there were buckles and straps to mess around with.
My husband and I felt more secure with him on our lap, especially sharing a row with another non-related passenger. The flight vest helped to keep him on our lap without a lot of fuss, and gave us peace of mind that he wouldn’t end up crawling over to an unsuspecting neighbor’s lap.
The vest provides the perfect place for showing off Bergen’s Alaska Airlines “wings” that he worked so hard to earn.
We could breathe easier knowing that in the event of extreme turbulence, Bergen had an added safety net of sorts to protect him.

What’s to be desired?

We really can’t complain about the product except to say that at times it felt unnecessary. It provided us with exactly when it claims: comfort, peace of mind, and protection against the almost inevitable turbulence that comes with flying. The best place for small children flying on an airplane is strapped into their carseat, but for frequent travelers who want to utilize the “children under 2 fly free” policy, the flight vest is the next best thing to providing a safer flying situation.

Please note: The folks at Baby B’Air provided us with a free Flight Vest for review on the blog. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 25, 2013

Running Down a Dream: Rattlesnake Ridge Half Marathon Trail Run

If you’re stuck in a running rut, where you’re bored, unmotivated, or just plain not running for no-good-reason, try trail running.
If you want to put a challenge into your running, but don’t really want to increase the miles, try trail running.
If you need a great excuse to get outside with your family and explore the parks of your region, try trail running.
If you like setting a goal for yourself by signing up for a running event, but hate the huge price tag that comes with larger events, try trail running.
If you’re sick of running the same old routes for your long runs on the weekend (or even your short runs), try trail running.

If you’ve ever thought about tackling or trying an official trail run,

DO IT.

The above series of “if’s” describe my situation a few months ago. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t run, not even a couple of miles, since my half marathon in late November. It took being laid up due to a tooth extraction to motivate me to sign up for a future race. I suppose even just a day or so of being “immobilized” was all the push I needed.

As a newbie to trail running, I did my best to prepare for the half marathon run, running the easier arboretum trails near our house during the week, and choosing tougher, hillier trails for my long run on the weekends.

When I lined up at the start on Sunday, I was nervous. At the same time though, I was confident. Confident because I knew what to expect. The previous weekend, I scoped out the course, so the challenging, never-ending hills with 2700 feet of elevation were no surprise to me.

With plenty of time to think as I traveled through the great trees and bright greens, I came to a few realizations:

Mile 1 & 2: Trail Runners walk. I read about this previously, but I had to see it for myself to fully believe. At times, it’s just more efficient and faster to hike up a tough hill rather than run.

Mile 3 & 4: It’s important to train for the race/run conditions. Knowing the course would be uphill for nearly half of the run, I focused on hills a lot during my training. I also feel like pushing the jogging stroller during training was a huge boost for my strength. Without the extra weight of the stroller to push, I feel so much more open and free making the hills feel less daunting.

Mile 5 & 6: Dress for the part: 20 degrees warmer than air temperature. Just a few days before the big half marathon, my husband Slaed picked up this piece of advice from a radio commercial of all places. With temperatures in the low 60’s, I chose running shorts and a tank top. Sure it was chilly waiting around for the run to start, but I was almost immediately comfortable while others ended up having to tie jackets around their waist.

Mile 7 & 8: Run with water. Before this half marathon training, I had never really run with water. If I run with the stroller, sometimes I stash some since it’s easy to carry, but otherwise, I would just plan a route with water fountains. On road race days, I knew aid stations would be there for me regularly, so I never had to worry. Trail running is a different story. There are no water fountains on the trails. With only 2 aid stations throughout the course, I prepared by toting water via a handheld carrier.

Mile 9 & 10: Downhill running is taxing. Light, shorter steps are best. Sure, uphill climbs can be downright torturous, but after awhile the downhill wears me down. Breathing is easier, but I feel like my mind has to be engaged much more to keep aware of roots, rocks, and other obstacles on the trail and keep my speed in check. In my training, I found that if I went down hills too fast, the pounding with each step traveled all the way up to my head, neck and shoulders leaving me with a headache for the rest of my run. During the half marathon run, I tried my best to stay light on my feet with shorter, quicker steps. Tougher to do as people start passing me by, but better for the body in the end.

Mile 11, 12 & 13.1: Trail Running takes a lot longer than road running, but what a thrill to finish! I knew trail running would be harder than road running, but I didn’t realize how much more time (conditions pending) it takes to run a mile on the trail compared to a mile on the road. I’m not entirely sure of my finish time, but I think I came in at about 2 hours and 45 minutes, compared to just over 2 hours for my road race last November. The scenery of the trail run, time spend outdoors surrounded by nature away from the cars and busyness, and the feeling of accomplishment made that extra 45 minutes truly worth the effort.

Are you a trail runner? What do you love about it? Thinking of giving trail running a try? What’s motivating you?

My amazing support team!

June 21, 2013

Celebrating Summer Solstice with a Morning at the Beach

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Summer Solstice than to spend a little time exploring the beach at low tide.

Thanks to a friend who suggested we meet her for a stroll along Alki Beach in West Seattle, we saw an osprey diving for a fish, an eagle scoping out the water, a woman hula-hooping with multiple hoops, and many more (but not too many) beachcombers and explorers just like us.

How will you celebrate the season? Where are you headed this weekend… or this summer?

June 20, 2013

Travel Lessons: Father Son Swing Time on the Yellowstone River

Just across the river from the lodge we rented with friends for our Montana trip, is a farm with hundreds of cows happily munching on grass and hay. They even venture down to the water for a drink or to sit and rest on the banks. Everyone in our group found it quite peaceful to simply sit and watch. There’s a lot more going on over there than you might think.

The experience doesn’t end with just seeing the cows though. During all hours of the day and night even if we weren’t looking across the river, we knew the cows the cows were over there. Their constant “mooing” let us know.

While there wasn’t a bad spot on the property to take in the view, the best spot to experience the river, cows, and the big skies of Montana in all it’s glory was on the swing.

Here Bergen (22 months) was spending quality time with his Dad. He was also experiencing something he wouldn’t get if we just stayed home all the time.

Father-Son Swing Time on the Yellowstone River | WildTalesof.com

TIP from Dad: To get your little one to stay on the swing with you, give him a handful of rocks to throw. When the rocks run out, grab another handful.

No, he probably won’t remember this trip or be able to talk about it in the years to come, but that doesn’t make it any less important or significant. It may seem small, but it was here in Paradise Valley, Montana (not from a T.V. show, annoying toddler toy, or even a song) where Bergen learned how to “moo” like a cow. And his “moo” is not just your ordinary Old MacDonald Had a Farm “moo”, it’s a full-on from the throat authentic “moo” because he learned it straight from the source.

Now as he grows-up, besides the hundreds of photographs from our adventure, he’ll have something tangible to connect to his travels as a little boy, and something he can brag about on the playground.

What little lessons have your kids picked up on your travel journeys?

This post is part of Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox

Taking the Easy Way Out with a Picnic on the Lake

Family Getaway in Kauai: Moanakai Beach Cottage in Kapa’a

The Home

The Beach

More to Love:

Info to Know:

Baby B’Air Flight Vest for Toddlers

About the Vest

How the Vest Works

What’s to Love?

What’s to be desired?

Running Down a Dream: Rattlesnake Ridge Half Marathon Trail Run

If you’ve ever thought about tackling or trying an official trail run,

DO IT.

Celebrating Summer Solstice with a Morning at the Beach

How will you celebrate the season? Where are you headed this weekend… or this summer?

Travel Lessons: Father Son Swing Time on the Yellowstone River

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The Home

The Beach

More to Love:

Info to Know:

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About the Vest

How the Vest Works

What’s to Love?

What’s to be desired?

Related Posts

If you’ve ever thought about tackling or trying an official trail run,

DO IT.

Related Posts

How will you celebrate the season? Where are you headed this weekend… or this summer?

Related Posts

Related Posts

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