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Photos from our East Coast Family Vacay

Huge deck, right on the water

We enjoyed our family vacation to the East Coast of Canada. The people were friendly, the seafood was amazing, and the coast line was beautiful. But my most fave thing of all was enjoying a glass of red on the dock and breathing in the fresh, salty sea air. If you're interested in visiting this area for your next vacation, I've shared our week's itinerary up over at Road Trips for Families. The Cottage at Hubbards Cove The Shore … [Read more...]

Cool Cafes: Jimolly’s Bakery Cafe, Truro, Nova Scotia

Jimolly's Bakery Cafe

After a half-decent roadtripping sleep in a roadtripping hotel, a parent needs -- NEEDS -- a good coffee before hitting the road again. Hubby and I were up and circling the streets of Truro on just such a hunt when we spotted a sign for Jimolly's Bakery Cafe. We had come here to witness a tidal bore (this did not happen) on our road trip from Ottawa to Hubbards, Nova Scotia, and we did not have high expectations -- just a spot of caffeine and a … [Read more...]

Guest Post: Advice for Parents if Your Child is Volunteering Abroad

Hello loverlies! I am back from my vacation out to Eastern Canada and will collect photos and notes to share with you soon. In the meantime, I was contacted a while back about a guest post sponsored by Projects Abroad, an international volunteer organization. Many young people take "gap years" these days -- I know I certainly did! In fact, in my family, three out of four of the kids chose to travel overseas after graduation: I left with a … [Read more...]

Family Road Trip: Ottawa to Hubbards (Part 2 of 2)

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So in Part 1 of this post, I had just left you at when we'd crashed into a deep sleep in Truro. The big attraction for us in coming to this town in central Nova Scotia was to see the tidal bore -- a natural phenomenon that happens twice a day, where the tide sweeps in from the Bay of Fundy and forces the Salmon River to flow in the opposite direction. Apparently Truro is one of the only places in the world to witness this and Hubby was keen to … [Read more...]

Family Road Trip: Ottawa to Hubbards (Part 1 of 2)

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View Larger Map Well, friends, I've been road tripping it big time since I last checked in with you here at Coffee with Julie. 16 hours and 47 minutes of road tripping to be precise, according to Mr. Google. But, naturally, it's actually taken us much longer than that since we've made stops along the way. On Thursday night, we left right after work and put in a few hours to make Friday more enjoyable (or a little less painful, depends how … [Read more...]

School for Bloggers: Snapshots from last week in New York City (#BWENY12)

I was in NYC to attend Blog World and New Media Expo (which has just been renamed to New Media Expo, since it's about far more than blogging. It was a very full schedule with something for everyone!

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School for Bloggers: I am in NYC to Stuff my Brains Silly (#BWENY)

Hi friends! I travelled to New York City today to take in BlogWorld and New Media Expo (#BWENY). I got a lot out of this conference last year, so I've come back again for more. Plus, The Bloggess is going to be here. Icing on my cake. Here's what I will be up to for the next three days. (Sadly, no Broadway Shows are on this agenda!) BlogWorld Show Directory View more documents from Scott Barrett … [Read more...]

Beaches Boscobel, Jamaica: A Tween’s Perspective (Day 4)

At the entrance to Mystic Mountain

Stella, who is almost 10 years old, and I have just returned from Beaches Boscobel in Jamaica, where we were invited to experience the resort. If you’re a parent and you travel to the Carribean during winter, then you’ve likely heard of Beaches Resorts. This chain of resorts is known for providing an above-and-beyond experience to families and their young children. But what about the “tween”? When your child is not a “little kid” nor are they a … [Read more...]

Beaches Boscobel, Jamaica: A Tween’s Perspective (Day 3)

Writing in her journal on our balcony at Beaches Boscobel

Stella, who is almost 10 years old, and I have just returned from Beaches Boscobel in Jamaica, where we were invited to experience the resort. This resort is all about providing a full family experience, so I am sharing Stella's journal -- spelling mistakes and all -- with you so that you can get an older child's perspective, not just an adult's.  On Day 3, we had a really special experience because we left the resort and had a visit to a … [Read more...]

Beaches Boscobel, Jamaica: A Tween’s Perspective (Day 2)

Sandals Golf & Country Club, Jamaica

Stella, who is almost 10 years old, and I have just returned from Beaches Boscobel in Jamaica, where we were invited to experience the resort. If you’re a parent and you travel to the Carribean during winter, then you’ve likely heard of Beaches Resorts. This chain of resorts is known for providing an above-and-beyond experience to families and their young children. But what about the “tween”? When your child is not a “little kid” nor are they a … [Read more...]

Beaches Boscobel, Jamaica: A Tween’s Perspective (Day 1)

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Stella, who is almost 10 years old, and I have just returned from Beaches Boscobel in Jamaica, where we were invited to experience the resort. If you're a parent and you travel to the Carribean during winter, then you've likely heard of Beaches Resorts. This chain of resorts is known for providing an above-and-beyond experience to families and their young children. But what about the "tween"? When your child is not a "little kid" nor are they a … [Read more...]

Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy

Hello my lovely bloggy friends, Stella and I are now in Jamaica (my Jamaica 101 post)! We were invited to come and visit the Beaches Boscobel resort in Jamaica and it's actually our first "girls' trip" together. Beaches Resorts cater specifically to families, so we are here to experience the resort and its activities to the fullest. I will be telling you all about it ... but first, I want to tell you about the trip to get here. To fully … [Read more...]

Jamaica 101

Stella, my 9-year-old daughter, and I are going to Jamaica next week. I know ... awesome, right?! We are really excited, despite the realization that we actually know very little about this country. So, won't you join us as we teach ourselves a touch of geography, history, and social studies? Where in the world? First of all, the WHERE! Below is map showing the island of Jamaica in red. From our home town of Ottawa, if you were to catch … [Read more...]

Sightseeing in Seattle

Seattle folks *really* love their city!

It's Sunday evening and I am sitting in an airport waiting. Although actually seeing new places keeps me alive, the travel to get there is so tedious. And I seem to dislike it more with each passing year. I'm returning from Seattle. I flew in on Wednesday afternoon for work, and despite a busy schedule and it raining cats and dogs the whole time I was there, I managed to get to see a lot of the city's sights. It's a cool city. Sort of feels a … [Read more...]

Reader Review of Great Wolf Lodge (Part 2 of 2)

Photo credit: Sarah McCormack

This is post is a continuation of this one here if you'd like to catch up. Coffee with Julie reader Sarah McCormack of Photos with Sarah is sharing her recent experience at Great Wolf Lodge with us! ************************* The water park itself was incredible, lots of slides for all age groups. I would recommend it for children ages 3-13.   Although there are some big, thrilling slides, they may not be as thrilling for … [Read more...]

Reader Review of Great Wolf Lodge (Part 1 of 2)

Photo credit: Sarah McCormack

This week, I am so happy to introduce you to one of Coffee with Julie's regular readers and commentors (bloggers love their comments!). I first met Sarah when long-time friends were proudly sharing their professionally taken family photos. I immediately asked for the photographer's contact info, because the photos were just that good! (Warning, one look at Sarah's newborn portfolio makes me clucky and might do the same to you!) I booked Sarah for … [Read more...]

Cool Cafes: The Sunrise Cafe, Jeffersonville, Vermont

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Just outside of Smuggler's Notch, a bright yellow building beckons you in for a coffee. Naturally, we accepted! We walked in the door and entered into a hallway. To our right, we could peer into a window and see a yoga class taking place in a lovely looking studio. To our left, we could see a homey cafe to grab some brunch. As we opened the door, three children's faces glanced up at us. All three faces then returned back to the laptop they … [Read more...]

Beautiful Book Stores: McNally Jackson Books, NYC

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I've been meaning to tell you about this book store for ages. Ever since I returned from my October trip (Month of Me!) trip to New York City, that is. I already told you about Spoonbill and Sugartown Booksellers, but Kerry and I also visited another independent book store by the name of McNally Jackson Books. Photo credit: Yvonne Brooks. Photo source: McNally Jackson Books. McNally Jackson Books is in the NoLita district of Manhatten, … [Read more...]

On Children, Travel, and Inclusion

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In our North American society, children are often considered to be annoyances in air travel, restaurants, grocery stores, and even when they are quietly feeding. I think that as a parent, now used to life with young children, I have far more tolerance than I might have had when I was child-less. In fact, it barely even registers with me that a child is making loud crying noises unless it is the specific crying that I recognize as one of my … [Read more...]

Day 2 at Smuggler’s Notch Resort, Vermont

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This is a post is a continuation of a short series on Smuggler's Notch. To catch up, you can find the first post in this series here, and the second one is here. Our family's accommodation and activities were provided by Smugg's, while extras like food and whatnot were paid for ourselves. (Image below, credit: Smuggler's Notch, Vermont.) Gooooood morning Smuggler's Notch! In contrast to the first morning, when the kids had been up early and … [Read more...]

Day 1 at Smuggler’s Notch Resort, Vermont

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This past weekend, we were hosted at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont. The whole family had been eagerly looking forward to this trip -- some family time is always welcome, and Hubby and I were very keen to share some great outdoor winter experiences with the kids. Since Smugg's is known for its award-winning children's programs, we thought this would prove to be the perfect place to be able to do so. Below, I've tried to note down as many … [Read more...]