Yesterday, I got a special preview of the Target to Go shopping experience in San Francisco, and was able to do about half my remaining Christmas shopping in about 20 minutes. Target pioneered the "Pop-up" store concept a few years ago, but living in the [...]
Frank took a business trip to Hokkaido, Japan last week, and agreed to let me share his ramen-powered Sapporo adventure.
Hi, Sweetie:
Here I am in Hokkaido, safe and sound. The flights from the US were uneventful, the usual trans-pacific 12 hour drag, [...]
February 11, 2004
We left Easter Island on February 10 and started back to California via Santiago Chile. We arrived late in the afternoon, and Alex decided to have the worst temper tantrum of his life in the luggage claim area of the Santiago airport. He [...]
If you're interested in visiting Easter Island aka Isla de Pascua aka Rapa Nui aka "The Navel of the World," be forewarned that it is far, far away from any main airport hub and it will take a while to get there.Â
We have great group of travel bloggers providing their expert tips and advice on traveling in this week's Carnival of Cities! Join our intrepid travelers as they scour the globe for interesting, fun, and just plain cool places to go and things to see. I'll be [...]
On Wednesday, November 4, I'm honored to be hosting the Carnival of Cities Blog Carnival. If you have a recent blog post about a place you love, tips on traveling there, or just want to extol the virtues of your hometown, just submit your entry using' [...]
A little bit of magic Broadway found its way to San Jose this week, with the opening of the Broadway hit Spring Awakening at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. Armed with a charming and dynamic young cast, a pop-rock score, and lively dance [...]
I received a free pass to try out Animoto, a website that turns your short videos and photos into cool music videos in a few minutes. I've agonized over iMovie attempting to do things like this, but lack the patience or skills to complete anything. With Animoto, you just' [...]
February 2004
When traveling with kids to any destination, it's always good to know what kid-friendly activities there are for the time when you're not touring interesting landmarks or watching locals run around recreating ancient rituals. I think our son would be happy anyplace [...]
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February 7, 2004
After trekking up to the cliffside ruins of Orongo, China took us on a tour of caves that had been used by the ancient Rapa Nui for ceremonial purposes. One was down a steep, slippery path by the sea, and [...]
February 7, 2004
On our third day in Easter Island, Chile, our fabulous tour guide, China picked us up at our hotel for a day exploring another aspect of Rapa Nui Culture: the Birdman competition. After seeing the modern-day version involving skimpily-clad [...]
This post is part of a retrospective on our trip to Easter Island for the Tapati Rapa Nui festival in February, 2004.
After our day seeing moai in various states of completion and decay, we spent a few [...]
This post is part of a retrospective series on our trip to Easter Island in 2004 for the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival. Note: some of the photos in this post are rated PG for partial nudity.
February 5, 2004
In the afternoon of our [...]
This is my favorite photo of Alexander from our trip to Easter Island. The perspective makes him appear nearly as big as the moai, which are actually at huge in comparison. Our family has a tradition of standing in front of statues and posing like [...]
February 5, 2004
After spending some time at the fallen moai site, our fabulous tour guide China drove us to Ahu Tongariki. This featured 15 stone moai of varying sizes and in various condition, all facing out to sea. This is one of [...]
February 5, 2004
On our first day in Easter Island, we met up with China, our tour guide from Kia Koe Tours. Before she arrived, we complained to the Taha Tai Hotel staff about the broken air conditioner in our room, and they very nicely [...]
February 4, 2004
On February 4, 2004, we left the swanky Marriott Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires for for another all-day travel excursion to our next destination: Easter Island. This was the place we had originally planned to visit, and Iguazu Falls and Buenos [...]
February 3, 2004
One of the things Argentina is famous for (besides Eva Peron) is the incredible beef. We had read about the steakhouses in Buenos Aires, and being big time carnivores, we couldn't let a day in Buenos Aires go by without trying a steak. We' [...]
These are two of my favorite photos of Alex from our trip to Buenos Aires. In the top one, we stopped at a fountain, and he decided to examine the water. He looks so studious and contemplative in this picture, like a scientist [...]
If you're fortunate enough to visit Iguazu Falls with your kids like we were, there are some things that are not-to-be missed. Here's my list of five things to do with kids at Iguazu Falls:
1. Hike the trails in Iguazu National Park, Argentina: Most of [...]
After our day in Brazil viewing Iguazu Falls from the other side, we had a relaxing day at the hotel. It was our last full day at the falls, and unfortunately, I didn't feel that well. It may have been a combination of the' [...]
Alexander, age 3, gets checked out by a toucan in Brazil. The Parque das Aves, near Iguassu Falls, is a great place to visit with kids.
For more colorful and fun travel photos, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.
This post is part of a retrospective series on our trip to South America in 2004. In this episode, we drive back from viewing Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side to our hotel in Argentina.
February 1, 2004
After exiting the Bird Park (through the Gift Shop, of [...]
February 1, 2004
After visiting the spectacular Brazil side of the falls, our tour guide Edson from Iguassu Falls Tours drove us to the Parque das Aves (Bird Park). The entrance is a small, white stucco building with a colorful sign outside that doesn't' [...]
February 1, 2004
After making it through the fingerprinting and mug shots at the Brazilian Customs Office, we hopped in the car with our tour guide from Iguassu Falls Tours, Edson, at the wheel. We drove through the beautiful countryside with farms and thick rainforest on [...]
February 1, 2004
After a glorious day at the Argentina side of Iguazu Falls, we decided to check out the Brazilian side. Since we don't speak Spanish or Portuguese, Frank arranged for a private car and tour guide from Iguassu Falls Tours to pick us' [...]
One of the many unique and wonderful pieces we saw at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco last weekend was this Buddha from China. I don't remember how old it was (old) or when it was made, just the serene facial expression that withstood the' [...]
The Napa Valley Wine Country isn't really known for kid-friendly venues, since the emphasis there is primarily on adult beverages. Nonetheless, for Labor Day weekend, we decided to do a day-trip to Napa Valley, which is about a two hour drive from our house.  Even though' [...]
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to test drive the new 2010 Lincoln MKT, thanks to the people at Ford. The car arrived Thursday morning, a stylish black ride with three rows of seats (the third row folds down [...]
This Labor Day Weekend, we decided to explore the San Francisco Bay Area a bit, starting with the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, specifically to see the Lords of the Samurai exhibit on display there through September 20.
Long weekends are always a [...]
Frank and I celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary last week. Instead of the flower parade or spa treatments of years past, I asked if we could go to Fleur de Lys, Top Chef Master Hubert Keller's restaurant in San Francisco. I booked' [...]
I am getting a Lincoln MKT to test drive this weekend. We're going to Napa Valley and taking a few day trips around the Bay Area to see how this baby handles. Alex has already asked if we can keep it.
Alex (age 2 1/2) and Frank (considerably older) in Churchill, Manitoba. They look like a couple of Arctic explorers setting ready to brave the elements for adventure.
For more fun travel photos, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.
' [...]If you're interested in seeing the famous polar bears of Churchill yourself, there are a number of ways to get there. You can do what we did, and arrive by train, which takes about two days from Winnipeg, or fly into the tiny Churchill airport. The' [...]
This is the final installation of our Great Northern Adventure to see polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba in 2002, in which we board a train and barrel through the night into the Canadian darkness, only to discover that there really is "no place like home."
November 12-14, [...]
This is part of a series on our trip to Churchill, Manitoba in Canada to see the polar bear migration in 2002.
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
On our last day in Churchill, we had to get up really early for the culmination of the trip: the famous tundra [...]
This is part of a retrospective on our trip to see polar bears in Canada in 2002. In this episode, we ride a dogsled and never want to leave.
Monday, November 11, 2002
On our third day in Churchill, we woke up and decided to try something new [...]
This post is part of a series of posts on our trip to Churchill, Manitoba to see the annual polar bear migration. In this post, we finally get to see some actual bears, and Alexander declares war on his snowsuit.
November 10, 2002
I grew up in Ohio, [...]
This post is part of a series on a trip we took to Canada in 2002 to see the annual polar bear migration through Churchill.
November 9, 2002
At 9 am on November 9, we arrived at our final destination: Churchill. Churchill is a normally a quiet [...]
This is part of a retrospective series on our trip to see migrating polar bears in Canada in 2002.Â
November 7-9, 2002
At the Winnipeg Train Station, we hopped on the Via Rail Canada train with our group from John Steel Rail Tours with our [...]
This is part 4 of a series on our vacation to Canada and Minnesota in 2002, before I had a blog. Eventually, we see polar bears. Honest.
November 6-7, 2002
This is Part 3 of a series on our Great Northern Adventure 2002, in which we take a circuitous route to visit some polar bears in Canada.
November 5-6, 2002
After our exciting jaunt into North Dakota, we drove northeast to Steinbach, Manitoba. Frank’s ancestors were Mennonites, so Frank has [...]
Our Great Northern Adventure 2002: Part 2
We drove out of Angle Inlet, after a routine stop at the Customs Phone Booth at Jim’s Corner to tell them we were leaving the U.S. and going back to Canada. We drove for a while, [...]
Back in November, 2002, before I had a blog or even knew what a blog was, Frank, Alex and I ventured north to Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada. This is the beginning of a series of stories from that trip, a little walk through the [...]
On Friday, I went to an event sponsored by Ford, hosted by my friends at Clever Girls Collective, introducing the 2010 Ford Taurus. Riding around in the luxurious, tricked out new Taurus brought back fond memories for me.
My family has a long history with Ford [...]
Before our Solar Eclipse Trip, I was offered a cool new travel gadget called a Callpod FuelTank to try out. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive before the trip, so I used it last weekend on my trip to Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation. I have' [...]
Last weekend, I traveled to Pittsburgh for a conference, and noticed that the Pittsburgh Airport (PGH) had several family-friendly features that would make travel a bit easier for families traveling with small children.Â
First, at the security entrance, there is a separate line marked "family" [...]
Last week, I spent four days with 1500 other progressive bloggers at the Netroots Nation Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At first, I was a little perplexed by why they chose Pittsburgh of all places to hold the convention, but after a day there, I realized [...]
This weekend, I'm traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to join hundreds of progressive bloggers from all over the country at the annual Netroots Nation Conference. I will be moderating a panel called "The Revolution Begins at Home: Engaging Parents in Politics Through Social Media."Â
On' [...]
We've been back two weeks from our Solar Eclipse Trip '09, and I still find myself thinking about the things that happened along the way. If I had to summarize our trip, I'd say we had a wonderful time, with a few hiccups here and there,' [...]
For the past six months or so, I've contemplated shutting down my blog. I've done a great deal of soul-searching about my motivation for doing it and whether or not it's worth it to me to continue. I might be fine to just turn what I normally put on my [...]
This past week was World Breastfeeding Week, but I've been so caught up in work, planning a birthday party, and recovering from my last round of illness that I almost let it go by without mention. I received a couple of interesting press releases and information on this topic' [...]
About two weeks before we left for the Solar Eclipse Cruise '09, a coworker of mine asked me if I was finished packing yet. "Finished?" I replied, "I don't start until the day before. I'm a professional packer."
It's true, I don't start packing until a day [...]
Diamond Head, The Video from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.
Last week, Alex attended DayJams Music Day Camp in Menlo Park. He signed up for drums, and although he had never played drums before in his life, he performed on Friday. The camp focuses on Rock & Roll, [...]
Okonomiyaki in Osaka from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.
On our last full day in Japan, Frank insisted that we go to an okonomiyaki restaurant. If kaiseki is Japanese haute cuising, okonomiyaki is the equivalent of a Denny's Grand Slam. It's crude, filling, and fairly inexpensive. It [...]Whale Shark Sighting in Osaka from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.
I don't think my description or half-photo of the Whale Shark did it justice. Here's a little snippet of video of one of them, with other species looking on.
Taken at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
' [...]Our final full day of our vacation, we met up again with our friends, the Watanabe family, for a day touring Osaka. It was raining in the morning, so we opted for indoor activities, which led us to the Pokemon Center and the the fantastic [...]
After our jaunt to Kobe, we had just enough time to rest and clean up before traveling to Kyoto for a kaiseki dinner with our friends, the Watanabe family. Frank has known the dad, Hisashi-san, for many years, and each time we visit Japan, we try [...]
Our last stop on Eclipse Cruise '09 was Kobe, Japan. The ship was in port for 2 days, then heading back to Tianjin. We decided that we needed to get back to work, so we disembarked in Kobe, and headed to Osaka for the weekend. We' [...]
We spent a few days out at sea, both before and after the eclipse. On those days, I would wake up before dawn because of the jetlag. Part of me was still on California time, and part on Japanese time, but mostly, I was confused. We [...]
If you have been reading along the past week, you may be wondering whether we actually got to see the total eclipse or not. As my dad used to say, "Get with it, girl!"
Why yes. Yes we did see the total eclipse. And it was grand.
The [...]
On the second day of our Eclipse 09 Cruise, the weather cleared up, just in time for our excursion to Cheju (or Jeju) Island, Korea. The ship docked at 8:00 am, and we were met by Korean drummers in colorful costumes, welcoming us to the island. [...]
Cruise Ship in the Rain from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.
After a pleasant, but rainy and smoggy, stay in Tianjin, China, we were finally able to board the Costa Classica cruise ship to see the total solar eclipse in the Pacific. The ship was nice and well-appointed, but [...]
In our quest for Solar Eclipse '09, our first stop was Tianjin, China, a large port city about two hours from Beijing. We landed to incredibly smoggy, gray skies, where the 97 degree heat and 95% humidity had our clothes sticking to us in about 3' [...]
We arrive in Beijing at 2:00 in the afternoon, the first leg of our solar eclipse ’09 journey. We made our way by car to the port city of Tianjin. The Beijing airport has changed a great deal since we were there in 2004, and everything [...]
We’ve taken off on another whirlwind trip, this time a cruise from Tianjin, China, to Cheju Island, Korea, and back out to sea to view a total solar eclipse. At six minutes long, this is set to be the longest eclipse of the century, according to [...]
The MOMocrats are helping spread the word about the Mothers Day Every Day Project, part of the White Ribbon Alliance's efforts to raise awareness of maternal death worldwide. Over 500,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year, due to lack of necessities like' [...]
I received a box of the new Haagen-Dazs five ice cream to try out, thanks to Mom Central. The "Haagen-Dazs Five" may sound like a band of Swedish political prisoners or a Norwegian boy band, but in fact, it's an old fashioned take on [...]
Last week, little Madeline Spohr passed away. I had never met Madeline, or her mom Heather, but I knew their story from Heather's blog, and from following her on Twitter. Maddie was a premature baby who fought for life from the very beginning. At age' [...]
Ten day ago, I was taking a shower when I noticed that there was no hot water. I didn't think much of it, other than I should probably check out the waterheater. I walked into the closet, and noticed that the carpet was soaking wet. I' [...]
I spent last weekend in Houston with a group of about 300 mombloggers and marketing professionals at the Mom 2.0 Summit. It was a great mix of socializing, practical advice, and networking. I got to catch up with some bloggers I love, meet some [...]
I confess: I love American Idol. I believe I've watched every episode of every show since Kelly Clarkson first warbled her way into America's living rooms, through raw talent and an "aw shucks, I'm-justa-lil-gal-from-Texas" charm that melted the cold, cold heart of Simon Cowell and illicit music [...]
In honor of the lovely Tanis' new little boy, the ladies of Better than a Playdate are throwing her a little shower, and asking the momosphere (and dadosphere) to write up how you know if you're a redneck mommy. Tanis, whose heart is bigger than a double-wide trailer, [...]
The new animated movie "Coraline" from director Henry Selick, takes you into a magical world that takes hold in the opening sequence and doesn't release you until the very last credit. Based on the book by fantasy writer and internet rock star Neil Gaiman,' [...]
Did you know that Eli's Cheesecake in Chicago was the official cheesecake for the Obama Inauguration? I was one of the lucky bloggers who got to try out Eli's on inauguration day, and they were kind enough to ship not one, but two delicious cheesecakes to my door.
The [...]
My son is an expert on "As Seen on TV" commercials. Right before my birthday, he asked me, "Mom, don't you wish you had a Snuggie?"
"A what?" I asked.
"You know, one of those nice soft blankets with arms," he replied.
I told him that I could not' [...]
Through some amazing stroke of luck, we were invited to a press event at Disneyland in December. The Disney folks invited Frank, Alex, and myself to enjoy a weekend at the park with a hundred or so other mombloggers and their families. Frank was skeptical [...]
Since I made such a fuss over the Super Bowl ads on Sunday, I decided to follow through and actually try to figure out how to transfer my domain registration out of GoDaddy to another site. Even though I hate doing anything technical, I thought I'd better' [...]
I haven't actually watched the Super Bowl for a number of years, until yesterday. For most of it, I was twittering along with the 500 or so people I follow there. By the end, there was quite a bit of chatter on twitter about certain' [...]
It's been a while since I posted here, and I could come up with a list of excuses for not posting. Something like:
I've been busy. I've been sick. I've been traveling. I've been Twittering. I've been Facebooking. I've been swamped at work. I've been dealing with family issues.All of' [...]
Thanks to Mom Central, we received a free copy of the new Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa game for the Wii to try out. We all enjoyed the movie, and looked forward to trying out the game as a family.
When the game arrived, Alex couldn't wait to [...]
I saw this nifty gadget over at LawyerMama's and had to try it out. So, I typed in my URL and lo and behold, my blog is supposedly reading at a post-graduate college level. Even though I've ignored it for weeks on [...]
Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, we received a free copy of Boogie Superstar with Microphone
for the Wii to try out and review. It came with a cool Logitech microphone that plugs into the back of the Wii.
Since last Christmas, our [...]
I've never been particularly good at sleeping. When Alex was born eight years ago, I didn't mind being up four or five times in a night. I've been a restless sleeper and insomniac most of my life, so I am pretty well acquainted with late-night [...]
Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, I had the opportunity to be on a conference call last week with Mike Freeman of the Healthcare Leadership Council on Medicare Part D. Medicare Part D is the federally-funded prescription drug program for senior citizens, and [...]
I've never been particularly good at sleeping. When my son was born eight years ago, it was not a big deal to me to be up four or five times in a night. I've been a restless sleeper and insomniac most of my life, so [...]
My brother Troy produced this video for a Texas musician named Hayes Carll.
[...]The future First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, did a guest post on MOMocrats today. Go read it by clicking here.
I haven't been posting here lately because I've been sick since our trip, trying to get back to work, and working hard on election-related things. I promise [...]
After our stop at Badlands National Park, we drove through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Wounded Knee. The Reservation sits in a vast plain, with few houses dotting the landscape. We took a wrong turn down an unpaved road as we were looking for the [...]
We checked out of the Rushmore Express Inn on Wednesday, August 23, and had breakfast at the Executive Order Grill. Keystone reminded me of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a little mountain town full of tourist shops and restaurants, all centered around the main attraction: Mount Rushmore. Alex [...]
After our jaunt to Devil's Tower and Prairie Dog town, we made our way to South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore is one of the sites I've wanted to see since I was a kid, from looking at encyclopedias and from the Alfred Hitchcock film "North by [...]
After our jaunt to Little Big Horn, we motored onward back to Wyoming and spent the night in Gillette, Wyoming. Frank and Alex took advantage of the motel's pool and went swimming to burn off some Alex's pent up energy from long days in the car.
From [...]
On Monday, August 18, we had to leave our cushy suite at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, to travel on to our next stop: Little Big Horn in Montana. We went out for one last view of Old Faithful and to find a kind soul [...]
Our first morning at Yellowstone, I woke up hearing someone loudly coughing and hacking and groaning. It took me a minute to figure out that someone was me. I woke up with some kind of bronchitis/cold/crud that wasn't helped at all by the high altitude.
Frank [...]
On Friday, the fifth day of our Great American Family Roadtrip, we checked out of our hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, saying goodbye to their biker clientele and excellent wifi connection. We had breakfast for a second time at The Bunnery (it was that good), and [...]
