Exploring Glacier National Park in Montana
Glacier National Park boat tours are one of the more unique National Park activities in the USA. The setting is picturesque, and the actual mode of transportation opens up views and access in the park for people who might not normally get to experience as much of it. In Glacier NP, it’s a vintage experience that opens up a trip into more than hiking.
We still haven’t visited Switzerland. It’s been on our list for some time and somehow we haven’t gone. We have been to the Rockies in the USA though, and I think that’s sated us. True, the Rocky Mountains don’t have historic quaint villages, but they do have the beautifully jagged mountains, the pristine lakes, the Swiss-style buildings and folks in costume playing alpenhorns. And there are small, quiet little boats. Exploring Glacier National Park by boat tour is a surprisingly wonderful way to experience the Park.
On previous trips we’d seen the boats on Swiftcurrent Lake, and down on St Mary and Lake McDonald, but I’d never given them a second thought. “There are so many hikes to do. Why would we go on a boat?” Enter children and being trapped in a location.
There’s no denying that Rehoboth Beach has a certain reputation. The city has become known for two things: fine dining and being LGBT-friendly. But Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP (Creating a More Positive) Rehoboth, remembers a time when that was not the case. “Things here really started to change in the 90s,” he said, recalling the large influx of LGBT-inclined vacationers. “There was this bumper sticker that read, ‘Keep Rehoboth a family town’ and we all knew what it meant.
“But the fact of the matter is that families come in all shapes and sizes. Rehoboth is more gay-friendly than ever, and it’s still a family town.” Rehoboth Beach recently earned online recognition for the city it has become. A survey named the city as one of the world’s top travel destinations for gay visitors, just behind Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Tel Aviv, Israel.
SCRUFF, a gay dating app with more than 10 million members, collaborated with The New York Times to survey members about their off-the-beaten-path travel destinations, as well as their impressions about safety in places with a history of anti-LGBT discrimination.
Traveling with kids can be a wonderful, memory-building experience. Let’s be honest, it can also be one of those nightmares you can’t wake yourself up from. My wife used to be a travel agent so spends weeks planning our vacations. If our son had his way, the only sights we would see would be toy stores and amusement parks. I, on the other hand, have about a 30-minute tolerance for “family fun” activities before I start punching myself in the face and must be brought wine immediately. Balancing everyone’s vacation needs isn’t easy but if you’re visiting Vancouver, you’re in luck. Here are three uniquely Vancouver spots offering family fun without family breakdowns:
Granville Island
Your littles of any age will love Kids Market with a four-level play area, toy shops, old-fashioned arcade, outdoor water park and, every kid’s favorite, their very own kid-sized entrance door. Now that our son is a tween he’s too tall (and cool) for the door but it’s still the perfect height for me! “Ugh, mom, you’re so embarrassing.”
Granville Island is also home to artist studios, clothing boutiques, gift shops, restaurants and the world famous Public Market. You could spend all day wandering outdoors, taking in busker performances, watching for seals in the surrounding waters, or enjoying an adult beverage on a patio. From Granville Island you can take a wee ferry to several fun places like Science World, the Maritime Museum and English Bay. Not just a daytime destination, Granville Island has the highest concentration of live theatres in Vancouver, a brewery, and a hotel so you could happily spend a weekend there.