It's a creekmore world » United States

Day 1 Mexico: Failure to achieve escape velocity.

David — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:56:46 +0000

In the 90′s, Trish and I had a period of traveling during which we could not seem to get to our destination. Our problems included drunken pilots (really), being sent to the wrong Caribbean island (really), failed attempts to land planes in the smoke of a nearby forest fire, lots of winter ice delays and many ‘oversold conditions’. In those days, airlines gave high-value travel vouchers every time there was a mishap and Trisha and I made a living off their mistakes. I don’t think we actually paid for tickets (or arrived on time) for about three years in the late 90′s. It was a glorious time for the budget traveler.

Then the dot-coms blew up and fuel costs rose. Airlines got stingy with vouchers. Airlines stopped overselling seats as much. No one gives anything anymore if it’s weather or air traffic controls’ fault. We haven’t seen a voucher for 10 years – until today.

Baltimore-Washington isn’t the best airport, but it’s a easy one to navigate and the prices are good. Our flights to Cancun are on AirTran, the current name of ValueJet airlines, infamous for the plane crash in 1996 that killed 105 people. AirTran’s prices are cheap, cheap, cheap – these tickets are $330 roundtrip direct. And they have blow-up palm trees!

We arrive a little later than recommended. At the check-in counter we are conspicuously told that seats could not be assigned: a very bad sign. Through security to the gate, I find out the flight is indeed oversold and we are not likely to get on the plane. But they are offering TWO free tickets per person to volunteer off the flight and go tomorrow. It wasn’t a hard decision, especially since we were very unlikely to get seats anyway. We now own EIGHT free round-trip tickets anywhere Air Tran flies – which is admittedly not a lot of places. But still! EIGHT! Trish and I are already planning the next trips. Surfing in San Diego? Scuba diving in Bonaire?

Back to reality. Trish gets on the phone to rearrange our hotel and car in Mexico. Expedia customer service does a great job changing our reservations. We could go back to our house, but we hate doing that because it’s a downer once you think you’ve started vacation. So I find a hotel near the Airport and we decide to take a trip into Baltimore to visit Port Discovery, the kids museum.

Hyatt has a new chain called Hyatt Place, which is a weird combo of boutique, business and budget motel. They bought the Ameri-suites chain and improved them with high-tech rooms, limited 24-hour food service, free internet and in our case, a pool. We’re paying $90, so it’s not ultra-cheap but still a very good deal and we get Hyatt points.

The last time we were at Port Discovery Lily was a baby and Emma, three. Kids museums always disappoint us. The exhibits are often broken (by kids, of course) and they tend to be madhouses. PD is definitely a good one, but it’s more fun-oriented than educational. (Our favorite educational one is in Bristol, England.)

We enjoyed it. The center section has a three story climbing apparatus with rope bridges, ladders and crawl spaces barely big enough to fit an adult. The Egyptian section was a hoot even though it was completely inauthentic.

The only bad part of the day was lousy food. McDonald’s for lunch and Ruby Tuesdays for dinner is a poor way to start vacation. But as you’ve read elsewhere, we don’t travel with kids for the cuisine. The dinner highlight was Emma’s surprised exclamation as she did the kids’ menu word-search puzzle: “I found an inappropriate word! ‘ASS!’”

The Baltimore – Washington area’s gravity kept us in orbit one more day. But we got some loot and had fun. Tomorrow we try again to blast off to Mexico.

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Family Travel Moment: Northstar at Tahoe, Calif.

Trisha — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:11:45 +0000

We had our first snow in Maryland this weekend! It was wet and not sleddable, but it got me in the mood for snow fun: sledding, skiing, snowboarding, tubing…

Sledding Near Our House in Northstar at Tahoe, Calif.

In the late 80s, my father bought a one-fifth share in a five-bedroom ski house in the burgeoning vacation community of Northstar at Tahoe. At the time, Northstar was considered the runty step-cousin to North Lake Tahoe’s world-famous ski resorts like Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The mountain was underdeveloped, but not in a good way like Kirkwood. It was just kind of lame: very few black diamond runs and a series of blues that all drained into one nasty, overcrowded alley.

Over the last couple of decades, the resort has developed into a luxury family destination resort and the house has become one of the best investments in family I didn’t have to make (thanks Dad!). Now that my sisters and I have our own kids, the Northstar house has become a yearly gathering place where we can reliably bring all the far-flung families together at least once a year.

As the kids are getting older, our on-the-fly sled hills are getting longer and steeper. This particular sled run from 2008 scared the crap out of me. Not only did it get faster as the snow got packed more tightly, but the deep powder made it close to impossible for the little kids to climb back out. Looking back, it was clearly a blast for the kids no matter what the adults were thinking. Another Creekmore adventure pulling serious WIN from the jaws of fail.

– Trisha

Family Travel Moment: Fern Canyon, Humboldt County, Calif.

Trisha — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:26:20 +0000

The Creekmore clan spent a month in Arcata, Calif. (where most of David’s staff lives and works) during the summer of 2006. We’d work early in the morning to catch East Coast meetings and calls, then spend afternoons hiking and exploring the forests, beaches and rivers around Humboldt County.

Fern Canyon and Home Creek, Redwood National Park, Humboldt County, Calif.

Fern Canyon is one of those otherworldly places in which you expect to discover fairies living under a log or a velociraptor nest high up one of the fern-encrusted canyon walls. Which is why the area has been used as a location for both “Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World” and “Walking with Dinosaurs.”

The two-mile hike along the creek bordered by the canyon’s 50 to 80-foot vertical walls was a breeze for Emma and Lily at ages three and six. We went back two years later and the girls loved the approximately three-mile loop through the canyon, up the wall and around to the beach.

– Trisha

Party in the USA!

David — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:54:12 +0000

We’re in between trips and life feels a little slow. It’s too cold to go camping and work keeps us tethered to the house.

How does a restless family blow off some steam? At a rock show of course! We splurged on tickets for glam-rock gods KISS and tween favorite Miley Cyrus, both at the downtown Washington DC Verizon center.

Gene Simmons gives the Creekmores a big screen scare.

America, love it or hate it, manufactures rock arena events like no other country on earth. The shows have fireworks, stunts, flying band members and elaborate sets – all just a metro ride away. The Obama girls were there too! Here is us doing Hoedown Throwdown for fellow metro riders and at the concert.

Sure, neither KISS nor Miley have soul. Don’t go looking for tortured artists here. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work hard. Miley performs while sick, but manages to keep the energy high. The crowd appreciates it.

Both shows feature prominent advertising. Miley even showed a trailer for her new movie in the middle of her set. lol. But this isn’t art, it’s spectacle. And we love it.

The girls at Miley Cyrus screamed like girls. The adults at KISS screamed like girls. Our youngest Lily said breathlessly before the show “This is the night I’ve been waiting for my whole life.” Exactly, Lily. Exactly.

Trapeze: You Can Fly

Trisha — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:22:40 +0000

I’ve developed a passion over the past few years that takes many people by surprise: flying trapeze. I never planned to join a circus or even perform. My habit, while expensive, is keeping me in better shape than I was in my 20s. I blame Club Med for my addiction.

We discovered Club Med when the kids were babies. What makes Club Med resorts so attractive to parents is the Mini Club and Baby Club. Many resorts offer activities for children, but Club Med takes babies as young as six months. They take the babies ALL DAY. For a week straight. Oh. My. God.

Anyway, along with beaches, windsurfing, sailing, volleyball and water aerobics, every Club Med resort also offers circus school and flying trapeze lessons. Those crazy French! Apparently, they believe ANYONE can fly. Who knew they were right?

Emma at Club Med Punta Cana

When I first spied the rig, I knew I had to try it, if only to climb the ladder and take a swing. I can barely remember my first time on the board, just the total terror in my chest and my own screams as I took my first swing. I missed the trick, but nailed the backflip. Yeehaw! Again.

The whole family except six-month-old Lily started flying on that trip. Turns out the U.S. is slowly coming around to the trapeze-as-sport phenomenon. Jonathon Conant, who also learned to fly at Club Med, opened Trapeze School New York in 2002. Lucky for me, Brian McVicker opened TSNY Baltimore (now D.C.) in 2004. TSNY also has outposts in Boston and Los Angeles.

My 'seven' position.

My habit doesn’t just tone my body, it feeds my soul. Successfully learning new tricks on the flying trapeze takes a combination of coordination, determination, trust, patience and a Zen-like focus, not necessarily in that order. You must concentrate, yet let go; remember each detail, yet not overthink it; trust yourself, yet listen closely. You must let go of fear — fear of heights, fear of failing, fear of not being good enough. Because you can do it. I’ve seen it. And I’ve seen the transformation in people’s eyes after they realize they can fly.

[By Trisha Creekmore]

My friend Molly learns her first knee hang and backflip.