Cascadia Kids

Family travel in the Pacific Northwest and BC

BC

Where to Go for U.S. Thanksgiving Getaways

Not everyone heads across the country (or county) to visit relatives at Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for a four-day getaway, here are a few ideas:

A four-star hotel Thanksgiving stay in Vancouver, BC:

The obvious benefit of traveling to Canada? Canadians don’t celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving any more than they celebrate the Fourth of July. Which means schools are in session and hotel rooms are plentiful. You can breeze in and out of museums (like Science World) and attractions without fighting the hordes of summer or school’s-out masses.  I love Vancouver’s rainy day attractions and almost always get the perfect, upscale Priceline hotel for a great price (typically around $80/nt).

Don’t miss: Robson Street holiday shopping with kids is a fine idea, on the day after Thanksgiving.

A four-day stay in Victoria, BC:

All the bennies of Canada, but with more traditional small-town charm. Many Victoria shops have their Christmas décor up, and you can even do a little shopping without fighting crowds.  Attractions like Butchart Gardens offer discounted fall entrance fees and hotels are about half the price of a summer stay. Take the Clipper if you want a car-free Victoria vacation or bring the car (we typically do) if you want to stay completely dry. Don’t miss the Fairmont Empress’s Festival of Trees, which features dozens of beautiful and wacky decorated trees.

Don’t miss: Discovering 35 free and cheap things to do with kids in Victoria.

A tree that even a toddler can love, at the Festival of Trees

A pre-season Thanksgiving vacation in Whistler:

In December, the crowds descend upon Whistler. But this year, it’s already snowed several times in the village, and there’s plenty of fluffy stuff on top of the mountains. Village hotel prices are still reasonable, the kids’ ski clubs are open and the village is completely sane (vs. INSANE in peak season). The only downer: cross-country skiing is not open. We typically visit Whistler every year at Thanksgiving and find a decent deal through the Suite Secrets program.

Don’t miss: Taking the awesome Peak 2 Peak.

A discount Thanksgiving stay in Portland:

So, most shops will be closed in Portland on Thanksgiving and the shopping madness begins the day after (as typical in the U.S.). However, you should find a great three-night stay through Priceline, and Powell’s Books will be open for business – so you can take the kids and hang out in the cozy children’s area and the coffeeshop. For Thanksgiving dinner, I like the McMenamins’ buffets, which serves up heaps of goodies for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Don’t Miss: Once Thanksgiving Day is over, there are all those wonderful kid-friendly restaurants and kid-friendly, affordable attractions.

The Washington or Oregon Coast:

If you’re inside the just-right hotel or condo, a coastal Thanksgiving offers spectacular natural beauty mixed with cozy indoor stay. A few recommendations for a coastal getaway include Newport, Ore., (incredible views at the Hallmark Hotel and great kid-friendly attractions, including the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center); Cannon Beach, Ore. (read more on my activities for Cannon Beach); and the Westport area (if you want a beach to yourself — this is your spot, and there are a few rooms left at Vacation By the Sea).

Don’t miss: Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, seen in the photo at the right.

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving weekend getaway in the Northwest or Canada? Where do you like to go?

Military Travel Deals in the Pacific Northwest and BC

Today is Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada; a good opportunity to highlight ways that active duty personnel and veterans can travel our region for a little less:

Active-duty U.S. military personnel save 10% on Amtrak, while VIA Rail Canada offers 25% off fares for Canadian active personnel and veterans.

Disabled veterans can benefit from free camping in Washington State Parks through the Washington State Parks Pass Program.  Both disabled veterans and active military on leave can get a special access pass for camping in the Oregon State Parks.

Great Wolf Lodge, in Grand Mound, Wash., offers discounts to Armed Forces members, with the word HEROES entered into the code box of the reservation page. Proof will be required, and you might check with the hotel in advance to ensure you’re getting a great deal.

Check the “deals” options offered through Northwest Military.

Canadian and US military can benefit from the Victoria Clipper’s special “Military and First Responder Appreciation” rates.

The Military Merits site offers BC, Washington and Oregon hotels with military discounts, along with family attractions, museums, gardens and restaurants. A great site, particularly for travel in the Pacific Northwest.

Veterans Advantage Card, for around $50/year, offers 5% off Continental airlines, 15% off Amtrak and 20% off Choice Hotels, among other deals.

Are there any military discounts or deals you’d like to add to the list?

Steveston, BC with Kids

Drive past Richmond’s malls and farmland — and you’ll find yourself in the midst of BC’s quaint, walkable fishing village, Steveston. Perfect on a blustery day or a warm summer afternoon, Steveston provides ample opportunity to stretch your legs by walking through village streets – chockablock with unusual fare (a Romanian bakery and a Japanese restaurant, for example), boutiques and simple shops — plus the town’s National Historic Site. Steveston’s a fantastic way to spend a family morning or afternoon. (Photo at right: Statue outside Gulf of Georgia Cannery)

Steveston streets and shops

What to do with kids in Steveston:

Try to decide among the hundreds of toys packed inside Splash Toy Shop (3580 Moncton St.; 604-241-0234)

Pick up a packet of crisps (chips) or package of biscuits (cookies) or pasties at Mary’s British Home Store (3740 Chatham St.; 604-274-2261)

Join a whale-watching, bird-watching or sea-lion-watching tour, or rent a bike via Steveston Seabreeze Adventures. The surrounding area is nice and flat, an easy ride for families — read the Richmond cycling map before you go.

Drive a boat or train, climb on giant wood structures and play in the water park (summer only) at Steveston Community Centre.

Playground at Steveston Community Centre
Steveston Community Centre playground

Put on a coat and head into the 1894-built Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, built of wood frame and heavy timber. The cannery is as chilly as the day it was in use. The interior is an exercise in grotesque fascination – plenty of bloody fish gut photos, ew, and trivia facts on why, exactly the workers wore broad-brimmed hats (all those seagulls, don’tcha know). On the boat replica, be sure to check the bathroom. You’ll find it in eh…use. On special weekends, craft projects help entertain younger kids.

Gulf of Georgia Fish Cannery
Cans at the Cannery
kid-friendly Steveston cannery
A mock shop inside the cannery

Fly kites at Garry Point Park.

Browse urchins, salmon and the fresh catch of the day among over 600 fishing boats at Steveston Public Fish Sales Float (Fisherman’s Wharf).

Steveston Fishermans' Wharf
Fishing ships at the Steveston Wharf

Don’t want to filet and cook your own? Neither did I. Split the First Mates Platter (Two scallops, two shrimps, two oyster and piece of salmon, cod or halibut) at Dave’s Fish and Chips. and split the massive fresh feast with your partner. Kids’ meals run $5.95 each, with a choice of cod, salmon, clam strips, shrimp or chicken fingers, plus chips, beverage and dessert. Another option: Pajo’s Fish and Chips, open seasonally.

Dave's Fish and Chips Steveston
Dave's Fish and Chips, a kid-friendly Steveston restaurant

Browse adorable kids’ clothing fashions at Buttons & Soles, then walk along Steveston’s wide wooden boardwalk.

Steveston kid-friendly boardwalk
Steveston boardwalk

Do you have a favorite kid-friendly restaurant or kid-friendly activity in Steveston, BC? Leave a note below:

Things to Do with Kids in Semiahmoo and Birch Bay, Washington

For an escape that feels hours away — but is located a mere 15 minutes from Bellingham and 50 minutes from Vancouver, BC — head to Semiahmoo Resort and Birch Bay. Spend a weekend at this laid-back, waterside location and experience total relaxation. Oh, and did I mention that it’s great for kids too? There’s just enough to do to not feel bored, but not so much that you feel like you have to hurry-hurry all weekend.

Semiahmoo with kids
Skipping stones on Semiahmoo Resort's beach

Semiahmoo Resort sits on a long spit, with picturesque views of Semiahmoo Bay and White Rock, BC. It’s great weekend getaway with kids – the resort strives to offer families plenty of fun little extras. Kids can watch movies in the movie-theater-like auditorium, swim in the indoor-outdoor pool (although it may get a little chilly in winter, it’s heated to 80F year-round), relax in the hot tub, or complete the scavenger hunt and pick a little toy from the treasure box after completing the on-site scavenger hunt. Front desk staff can lend buckets and shovels, and you’re just steps from the pebbly beach.

The resort’s Seaview Room looks out onto Semiahmoo Bay. Pick out a board game from the resort’s collection (Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly Junior, Sorry, Connect Four) or bring your own. In the library, a roaring fire burns in winter (or you can ask the staff to start one for you). Pick up a hot chocolate for the kids at the resort’s gift shop/coffee bar, and a hot toddy for the grown-ups at Packers Lounge. This resort is upscale enough to host weddings, but low-key enough for families to feel comfortable.

Often, resort food is known for poor quality and overpriced totals, so I was pleasantly surprised by Packers. Our meals were generously sized, very good and reasonably priced.

Semiahmoo Washington State
Dining outside at Semiahmoo's Packers

A variety of hotel rooms are available, but I recommend the The Deluxe Waterview Rooms, which open up to the outside grassy area via a door. The rooms aren’t super-swank and feel more like homey hotel rooms, with knotty pine built-ins. It’s not an exclusive resort, so there’s no need to pack anything but jeans and a sweatshirt. Rates range all over the place, but rooms are frequently available for under $100 in the off-season, with deals for multiple nights and midweek stays.

Deluxe Waterview room, photo courtesy Semiahmoo Resort
Deluxe Waterview room, photo courtesy Semiahmoo Resort

In summer (June 18-September 6), ride the cute-as-a-clover Plover Ferry between Semiahmoo and Blaine’s dock. This ferry ride was a hit with the kids, as it putters through the harbor past fishing boats and barking seals. Blaine, the last stop in Washington before the U.S.-Canadian border, doesn’t have a whole lot to offer – but the town’s main street holds a decent Mexican restaurant and a few little shops.

So I recommend heading south for 15 minutes to Birch Bay, a quaint saltwater community where families have vacationed for generations. Birch Bay itself is rumored to be the warmest spot on the Pacific, north of California, and it’s easy to see why — the land shelters the estuary in a gentle c-shape. You’ll see families crabbing in the calm waters and combing the tidepools for treasures, including hermit crabs, seastars and sea urchins. The 194-acre Birch Bay State Park is open year-round for camping and tidepooling.

Tidepooling at Birch Bay
Tidepooling at Birch Bay

Not loving the crab? In summer, Birch Bay Waterslides offer six low-key slides for families to slip down. During weekends (weather permitting), families drive go-karts and play mini-golf  at Miniature World. And they always bring bikes, it seems. I frequently see dozens rolling along calm Birch Bay Drive.

Riding bikes at Birch Bay
Riding bikes at Birch Bay

Year-round, pick up chocolate, candy and other perfect sweets in the vintage-styled The C Shop. The Bay Café slings sandwiches, chips and other straightforward fare.

Birch Bay C shop
The C shop

Other local attractions include the windmillish town of Lynden (modeled on a Dutch village) and the shopping and movies and kid-friendly fun in Bellingham. But once you arrive in Birch Bay or Semiahmoo, I doubt you’ll want to leave. It just has that sort of effect on a family.

School-year vacation: Why and how to pull it off

Just because school’s in session doesn’t mean you have to swear off all family getaways. In fact, non-summer travel offers some of the best bargains on hotel and transportation options.

Here are lessons in school-year travel:

1. Shoulder season travel is a steal. Spring and fall are called “shoulder seasons” in the travel biz. Book during the shoulder season, and you’ll typically save about 25% off of summer prices.

2. Winter offers dark days and deep discounts for hardy travelers. Up to 40% in some tourism-dependent regions like Victoria, BC and the Oregon Coast. If you select a city location with plenty of indoor options (Seattle, Portland, Vancouver or Victoria), you may be happier and drier.

3. Research weekend getaways that only require a two- or three-hour drive. From Portland, a Friday night departure can offer two full days for coastal stormwatching. Remember though that winter nights start early in the Pacific Northwest – around 4:30 p.m. – so for a daylight drive, see whether you can leave work a few hours early or pick your child up at noon.

4. Return home on early Monday mornings to ensure a full weekend getaway. We typically leave Vancouver, BC at 5:30 a.m. The kids sleep en route, and we arrive in time for work and school.

5. Plan a trip around a long three-day weekend falling on a holiday like Veteran’s Day or Remembrance Day. Then take the kids out on Thursday for a five-day fall or spring vacation. Or look for teacher in-service days (which seem to fall in random fashion), which can also give you three-day weekends.

6. Select a destination with plenty of hands-on learning possibilities. Particularly if you’re going to pull the kids out of school for a few days, Seek out museum-rich cities, tidepool-dotted coasts and historical sites. You may even find an educational   option on your trip, such as a glass-blowing class at the Museum of Glass (ages 8+), create a historical lantern at the Burnaby Village Museum or a engage in a hands-on science lab at OMSI where kids can build robots or dissect a squid eye (ew).

7. Chat with your child’s teacher beforehand. Many teachers are OK with a short trip or smarts-building journey. Offer to create a parent-child journal or online blog while on vacation and spend a half-hour reading and writing about the smart stuff you’ve learned while traveling. But ensure that you’re not leaving during the class pizza party or an important test.

8. Integrate learning into your travel day. Money management teaches math, reading a ferry schedule is real-world time-telling, a museum weaves real stories into history and beachcombing reveals natural science. But remember, you’ll need to take the lead on integrating fun, interesting facts and learning opportunities into the day. Do your parental homework when choosing a destination (#6) and researching the trip.

9. Bring a little homework help. Worried about your child falling behind? It’s unlikely that five days off will ruin your kid’s future at Harvard. (But you’re taking advice from someone who never did any homework until sixth grade. Long story.). If you’re so compelled, ask the teacher what will be covered. Some parents worry more in middle school, but by this age, your child should be able to juggle assignments. If not, then a three-day holiday break may be best.

10. Listen to your child. If they resist a school-year trip because they’re afraid of missing out, that should be respected as well. Seek a series of days that work well for everyone’s schedule.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for taking kids out of school to travel? What’s worked for you?