FULL TIME WONDER

My wife and I visited Santorini for our honeymoon in September. The weather was perfect, and I had imagined the island exactly as it appeared in all the photographs: white buildings covering the cliffs, blue-domed churches, narrow streets, flowers hanging over white walls, and the Aegean Sea stretching endlessly into the distance.  But when we first arrived, Santorini didn't look anything like the pictures.  And, as I would soon discover, there was a reason. Arriving in Santorini We decided to fly to Santorini rather than take the ferry. I knew the ferry would take considerably longer, and for a honeymoon, I didn't think spending hours getting there was the best use of our time.  We arrived during the daytime in September, with beautiful weather waiting for us. I remember looking around the airport and thinking, Where is the Santorini I've seen in all those photographs? There were no endless rows of white houses with blue roofs. No dramatic cliffside views. Nothing that i...

If you're looking for a family-friendly beach in Los Angeles where kids can swim, play in the sand, search for sea creatures, and even watch airplanes take off overhead, Dockweiler Beach is definitely worth a visit. Last Sunday, my family and I spent nearly five hours at Dockweiler Beach with another family. Between the two families, we had three boys, ages five and seven—and they somehow managed to turn a simple beach day into a full afternoon of swimming, clam hunting, sandcastle building, airplane watching, and even wearing seaweed as hair. We arrived around 11:30 a.m. on a sunny Southern California day, with temperatures hovering around 78°F. It was warm enough for the kids to spend hours in the water, but comfortable enough for the adults to relax under the canopy. By the time we finally started packing up around 4 p.m., the kids still didn't want to leave. What started as a simple family beach trip turned into one of those unexpectedly memorable days—the kind where the k...

Kirkjufell Mountain Iceland had always seemed like a place where nature dominated everything. Waterfalls appeared along mountain slopes, vast open landscapes stretched toward the horizon, and long roads connected small towns separated by miles of wilderness. A trip there promised dramatic scenery and the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights. The reality was somewhat different—and ultimately more memorable. The trip included spectacular landscapes, long drives through nearly empty roads, homemade meals at an Airbnb, unexpectedly good hot dogs from N1 gas stations, and an encounter with Icelandic police that ended with a $500 speeding ticket. The Northern Lights never appeared, but the journey itself became the experience. Arriving in Iceland After a long flight, the first hours in Iceland were less about sightseeing and more about recovering from exhaustion.  The airport was clean and orderly, although there was little time or energy to explore it. Luggage was collected, transp...

LEGOLAND Entrance The secret to LEGOLAND, at least for us, has always been timing. We’ve found that weekdays during the school year are the sweet spot. While everyone else is busy with school and work, LEGOLAND is noticeably quieter than it is on weekends or during summer break. Since we live in the LA area, we try to leave the house before 11:30 a.m. to beat the worst of the traffic. Even then, don’t panic when you hit the inevitable slowdown around Oceanside. There’s always traffic at that curve—it’s almost like a LEGOLAND tradition. Just stay patient and keep going. With the right timing, the drive usually takes us about an hour and a half. By the time we arrive, the crowds have thinned out, the lines are shorter, and LEGOLAND feels surprisingly peaceful. For us, that little bit of planning makes a huge difference—and saves us from spending half the day stuck in traffic before the fun even begins. Our Weekday Strategy Fridays have become our go-to day in particular. On a typical Fri...

There are so many small cities in Italy that most travelers never hear about, tucked between the famous names on everyone's itinerary. We found one of them almost by accident: Orvieto. It's located 75 miles north of Rome and 105 miles south of Florence. Orvieto We already spend some time in Venice, and one of the things we loved most about was a car-free city. Traveling with two kids, ages four and seven, that mattered more than any museum or menu. No cars meant no anxiety about a child darting into traffic, and no need to hold tiny hands in a death grip every time we crossed a street. So we started looking for other small Italian cities where cars simply weren't part of the picture. There were several candidates on our list, but somehow, my wife was the one who landed on Orvieto, and it turned out to be one of the best travel decisions we made all trip. Orvieto location Getting There, and Getting Up We hadn't fully done our homework going in, so we assumed Orvieto woul...