Character meals are an important part of a Disney vacation for many travelers. Character dining gives you a chance to take photos and get autographs from multiple characters in a short period of time while taking a break from lines and the heat (or rain or cold, depending on the season). Even though these experiences …
Planning to fly to Mickey’s home in Southern California for a vacation? Even though my family lives in Northern California, we fly to Anaheim much more often than we drive. Flying to Disneyland is a totally different ballgame than flying to Walt Disney World in Orlando. Air travel to the Los Angeles area may seem …
Fall might just be my favorite time of year to visit Disneyland. Crowds are reasonable, the weather is usually mild and pleasant, and the Halloween decorations and treats are out in full force. Halloween Time, as the season is known at Disneyland Resort, has lots for everyone in the family. There are special ride overlays …
Whether you are a local or a tourist, the city of San Francisco has dozens of family-friendly activities and events to keep you busy. But sometimes it’s great to get out of the city and explore more of the greater Bay Area and Northern California. If you have young kids like I do, day trips …
One of the best parts of traveling with kids as a parent is taking them to destinations that had meaning in your own childhood. For my family, Northstar California Resort in North Lake Tahoe is one such meaningful place. The resort is where my husband grew up skiing with his brothers (in their 1980s and early …
The scene is familiar every Friday afternoon in winter in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. Thousands of cars take to the roads with skis and snowboards up top, bound for the many mountain ski resorts of Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is my family’s favorite ski destination, so we’ve made the drive along …
We are a family that flies much more than we drive in our travels. My kids can do a cross-country flight like champs, but they aren’t used to long road trips. When my husband and I started planning a summer road trip from our home in the San Francisco Bay Area through Northern California and …
A little over an hour away from San Francisco and about 20 miles south of San Jose is the town of Gilroy, California. It is probably best known for its agriculture – in particular, its garlic. Gilroy plays host to an annual summer garlic festival that draws serious crowds. But Gilroy has another attraction that is …
If you’ve been following the news lately, you may know that this summer is one of the worst wildfire seasons in the Western United States in years. Just a few days ago, wildfires forced the closure of Yosemite National Park for the first time in nearly three decades. A major wildfire just started near the …
This post was written in partnership with the National Park Trust and sponsor Northside USA for Kids to Parks Day. My home state of California has an important designation when it comes to national parks – California has more national parks than any other state. Five of California’s nine national parks are within a few …
Welcome! I’m Leslie, a mom of two (ages 11 and 7) who loves to travel. Trips With Tykes is a family travel blog devoted to simplifying the logistics of traveling with young kids. With a little knowledge of airline rules & good planning, family travel can be really fun, even if it still involves the occasional in-flight tantrum or battle with TSA over your toddler’s juice box.
