#4kidstravel

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Thank you to all of my followers, readers and fellow bloggers for making 2018 a successful and memorable year. To many more family adventures in 2019. Salud 🥂 #adventure #happynewyear2019 #familytravel #explore #4kidstravel #justgo (at Connecticut) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGXVYMlmB9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lo0r2elmekg8

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One step closer to #Cuba #majestyoftheseas #teachingkids #havanacruise #fortlauderdale #4kidstravel #setsail #itsasuitelife (at Port Everglades Ft Lauderdale Cruise Terminal) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrfkqzpFCDD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hy5hrzaeggux

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A highlight of our trip to Washington, DC with our kids a few year’s ago, was visiting the Frederick Douglass Historic Site where 70 % of the artifacts are original. It was so moving to watch our children roll down the hill where his own grand children played and sit on the rocking chair where the likes of Harriott Tubman enjoyed the beatiful views of DC. #history #dc #washingtondc #teachingkids #4kidstravel #makingmemories #blackhistory #homeschoolresources #nps (at Frederick Douglass National Historic Site) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqhbdueFqht/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ojg0nqan0e5k

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We family spent 5 days and 4 nights at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, VT. We stayed in a 3 bedroom unit in the Owls section of the Mountain. Check out our Vlogs of our adventures to be inspired to schedule your own family or extended friends - family trip to Smuggs and create lasting family memories. This is a quick overview of our itinerary. Please check back for a full trip report coming soon. 

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The Brewster Flats on Cape Cop provide a perfect backdrop to family friendly fun. #capecod #ma #newengland #beach #sunset #familytravel #roadtrip #4kidstravel (at Brewster, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnGhWb4nFhI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a7vq2eqpp4ms

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Fall means fair season in New England @thebigefair #ma #ct #newengland #ri #nh #vt #bige #fallinnewengland #sunset #4kidstravel #roadtrip (at The Big E) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUzf_hHWZs/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9dza6ba8sogr

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Happy Birthday to the one who made me a mami and has been our first travel companion! Be bold, be adventurous, be courageous in these teen years. The world is your playground! Turning 13 on the road is just our style. #4kidstravel #intentionalparenting #family

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When pictures are worth 1000 words. #mv #marthasvineyard #itsavineyardthing #lighthouse #beach #nature #4kidstravel (at Aquinnah, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnOkBiTHF9R/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=k6y8rikyt5me

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Another day full of @marthasvineyard memories. #mv #marthasvineyard #ob #oakbluffs #lighthouse #4kidstravel #summervibes #itsavineyardthing #familytravel #roadtrip (at East Chop Light) https://www.instagram.com/p/BmwEuxpnqcT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ki02uuxhmx5p

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Wow, it’s been a great year.

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When Tia Kay and the girls visit and we cook Japanese from scratch. #sushi #maki #teachingkids #feedingkids #food #4kidstravel #makingmemories #familyfun #japan #foodie

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Trip Report: 24 Hours in Hershey, PA with Kids

Part 2 - Hershey Park

We hit the hotel for a goodnight’s sleep, as we had plans to be up early for breakfast prior to getting to Hershey Park at opening. We stayed at Marriott Courtyard which was a mile from Chocolate World and Hershey Park. It was a brand-new hotel and worked perfectly for our brief, one-night stay. We went to The Hotel Hershey for breakfast and highly recommend it. The hotel grounds are beautiful and inviting. Our youngest girls kept saying “ooh la la” in response to the décor. We ate at The Circular which has huge windows with views of the gardens. The children’s menu is available for ages 3-11. The children’s buffet is $10.50 and or you can order off the menu with prices ranging from 3.75 – 7.00. Some of the breakfast options that are unique to Hershey include S’mores French Toast, Belgian “Kiss” Waffles, and high-grade Hershey syrup. The service was second to none and I would love to go back and actually stay at The Hotel Hershey.

Our plan was to have breakfast from 8 am to 9 am, walk around The Hotel Hershey gift shops and grounds and then drive over to Hershey Park to park and walk to the gate for a 10 am opening. This was a wonderful plan, as it allowed us to get parking close enough to avoid the tram and get into the park before the crowds. Hershey Park is massive. Do yourselves a favor and arrive early, if you wish to get through most of the park and actually make it to the water-park side. In total Hershey Park has a zoo (Zoo America), an 11-acre water-park (The Boardwalk) and many rides including 14 roller coasters. By arriving at opening, we were able to split up; my friend took the older two 10-year-old boys and I took the younger 3 – 7 and 5-year old(s) and we divided and conquered age appropriate rides. Make sure to check out the height requirements and have a plan of action prior to your visit. We were done with rides by 12:30 pm and headed over to The Boardwalk for a few hours. We spent a total of 4 hours at the park and were able to get to almost everything that we wanted, thanks to the short wait times early in the morning. If we hadn’t arrived at opening, we probably would not have been able to even visit the water park.

Pro tips:

-          Hershey Park is massive with lots of hills. I was glad that I brought a stroller for my youngest and had the girls hold on to either side of the stroller. This allowed me to better manage keeping track of 3 young children in a busy park.

-          Spend time studying the map prior to your visit and have a plan as to which areas best suits your family’s needs.

-          Divide and conquer. We (Stay at Home Mom Yeah Right) traveled with two 10-year-old boys and 3 young kids. If we had not divided up the kids by age and height, we would’ve had to deal with a lot of whining and complaining.

-          Pack refillable water bottles. All restaurants allow you to refill with them with ice and water at no cost.

-          Pack water shoes or flip flops. The ground surface in the water park is extremely hot.

-          By arriving early, we paid $15.00 for general parking and parked near the front.

-          We’ve been to Disney more times than we can count and the entrance is cheaper at Hershey, the lines are shorter and the ride times are longer.

Check out my Vlog of our entire 24 hour trip to Hershey, PA.  Click here for additional pictures and live Instagram updates from our PA road trip.

Disclosure: Thank you, Hershey Parks for hosting us for the park portion of our PA road trip. 

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Martha’s Vineyard moments that take me to peaceful spaces! #sunset #beach #mv #capecod #4kidstravel #intentionaltravel #ma #lighthouse #nature (at Martha’s Vineyard - Massachussets)

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A day at Crayola Experience in Easton, PA

Much more to see and do than we imagined when we thought of visiting a Crayola themed attractions.

The Crayola Experience exceeded our expectation in terms of activities, educational opportunities and interactive options for kids of all ages. As a homeschooling mom of four kids, I was expecting plenty of opportunity for creative outlets, but I was pleasantly surprised by the various opportunities to engage older children. Each child gets 2 tokens that can be used for activities like customize your own crayon and others (you can pay for more tokens at select locations).

An overview of the 4 floors and layout of activities: I’m highlighting the ones that we were able to enjoy during the 4 hours that we visited.

-          Floor 1: Crayola Store, photo pick up, world’s largest crayon, Café Crayola, Check in and restrooms.

-          Floor 2: Wrap it up (requires a token): Customize a Crayola label and wrap your own crayon. Crayon Factory Theater: live theater show that teaches how crayons are made. Art alive:  bring your art creations to life on a huge projected surface. Be a star: start in your own coloring page. Color Magic: turn your coloring page into animation. Modeling madness: a token can be used to buy modeling clay and tools are provided.

-          Floor 3: Water works: maneuver a boat through an 85-foot water table. Color playground. Wax hands (additional cost): mold your hands into a colorful keepsake.

-          Floor 4: Melt & Mold: watch your favorite Crayola color melt into a rink or car. Drip Art: another level of drip art using crayon wax results in a masterpiece. Meltdown: create a melted wax painting.

 Pro tips:

-          During summer months, you may want to arrive after lunch time in order to avoid the school and camp crowds. Thanks to reading many TripAdvisor reviews prior to our trip, arrived at 1 pm and stayed until a little past 5:30 pm and it was perfect. Fewer crowds and we got to everything that the kids wanted to do with minimal wait times.

-          Bring a cooler for any wax items that you may buy. We were on a 2-night road trip when we visited and I was glad that I had a cooler in my car where I could store the wax hands and crayons that the kids made.

Pin for later:

-          Parking is available in the garage behind the building for $3 per hour.

-          I would avoid visiting on a weekend. The setup is such that it could be really easy to have a child leave your sight lines for a bit if really crowded.

-          The make your own wax hand takes approximately 15 per person, so keep that in mind when you look at the size of the line.

Click here to read additional posts from our road trip to PA.

Check out this Vlog summer of our day at Crayola Experience.

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Ready to take on the @crayolaexperience. Have you been? #hosted #pa #familytravel #4kidstravel #adventure #roadtrip #blackfamilytravel #blackkidsdotravel #sponsored #crayola (at Crayola Experience)

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For the last 7 months, we’ve been traveling for worship on Sundays to Hartford. It’s been 2 years of transition for our family, from the church where we worshipped - served for 12 years, our children were born and dedicated. I’m working on a blog post about the transition and what’s going on in our lives. I suffer from a serious case of the travel bug, but my husband’s job keeps us in CT. So grateful for finding a church where we can see representation and worship wholeheartedly. #4kidstravel #wetravelforchurch #representationmatters #selfcare #community #bthebridge #socialjustice #liveyourbestlife (at City Church Hartford)