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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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How to Pack/Dress For a Cold Destination

December 27, 2016      Trip Planning Tips

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

With winter looming I wanted to give some advice on how to dress your little one’s if you are traveling to a desination with chilling temperatures. Since we only lived in NY for 1.5 winters with Jordyn I am not really an expert on this. I never knew how to make sure she wasn’t too cold or too hot so we we never did any outdoor activities during this time. Today’s Travel Tip Tuesday post comes from  Sabrina Carlson of Mama Wild and Free, and fellow mom of The Adventure Mama’s initiative. She is much more of an expert on this topic. Enjoy!

girl laying down in the snow

In the outdoor adventure community we have a saying, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.” All you need to know that it’s true is one outing spent in soaked cotton socks with insufficient layers, or one night spent in a crappy sleeping bag. You will never want to repeat that mistake again.

Children too, need to be comfortable in any kind of weather if you want them to have fun and if you want them to ever want to do it again. Nothing makes a kid lose interest in travel, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, or any other activity faster than being cold and uncomfortable.

For ultimate warmth and ease of packing, nothing beats layers. One big puffy outer layer alone will have less R-value than three thinner layers, and be harder to pack. This is because insulation works by trapping thin pockets of air between each layer, especially the one next to your skin, which is warmed by your body heat. The more layers there are to trap those air pockets, the warmer you and your kiddos will be.

Start with the base layers top and bottom. We have another saying in the outdoor community, “Cotton Kills”. When wet, the fibers of cotton lose their insulating properties completely. It then sits against the skin drawing heat away from the body at a rapid rate causing discomfort and eventually hypothermia. So stay away from the cotton “waffle” thermals or using cotton PJ’s as base layers. Opt instead for a synthetic like capilene or polypropylene, silk, or merino wool. You can find fairly basic versions and stores like Dicks Sporting Goods or Sportsmans Warehouse. Various online retailers will have options too. To find merino wool or silk you will want to look at higher end retailers like Columbia and Patagonia. It is tempting to skip this part figuring it won’t matter buried under so many other layers of clothing. Don’t. This is the foundation for warmth and comfort for the rest of the layers. One inexpensive option you may already have is microfleece pajamas. Thin micro fleece works well as a cozy base layer. Just know that two piece jammies will make diaper changes or potty visits a lot easier than the zip up footie jammies.

Next comes the mid layer. Thankfully you can usually find a mid weight fleece that works well at places like Target or Walmart. Check the kids active wear section. Merino wool sweaters are also a good choice, though it will often be more expensive than fleece and kids grow out if them really fast. Patagonia and Columbia also make wonderful kids fleece options. If you will be putting snow pants over your kids’ bottom half, you might not need a mid layer on the bottom. Or, if you are not expecting soaking snow, just cold air, a water resistant non-cotton pair of hiking pants over the base layer might also work. If it is extremely cold and you want an extra bottom layer, a thicker pair of fleece jammie bottoms will work perfectly.

Next comes the outer layer. If snow play is what you are after, get a waterproof snow pant and coat from a reputable company. Unfortunately the discount store versions will leave your child wet and you sad. Discount snow gear will only keep the wet out for about 15 minutes before it starts to soak through. Here again, Patagonia and Columbia are industry leaders in the kids outdoor wear department. Obermeyer also makes a great ski suit that will last two seasons. They call it the iGrow system. Since kids typically grow mostly in length from one year to the next, the iGrow has an additional thread in the arms and legs that can be removed the second season to add extra length.

If snow play is not involved, you could add an outer coat to your base and midlayer and call it good. One strategy I have used to save packing space and add versatility is to have a rain coat one size larger than my child needs right now. I put that over his base, and mid layers, possibly with a thicker fleece over the mid layer. This way we have the option to layer down or layer up in response to the temperature and/or rain and snow forecast.

Last but not least, you must attend to the extremities. After carefully planning base, mid, and outer layers, don’t drop the ball on good socks and gloves. Just like the rest of the body, feet won’t do well wearing cotton in the cold either. The #1 best choice for feet is Smartwool. These socks are soft, comfy, warm, and last forever. If your child is particularly sensitive to wool, there are synthetic ski and hike socks available but the options are fewer.

Mittens and gloves are a source of constant frustration. Gloves bunch up and are impossible to wriggle tiny fingers into. Mittens are really the only options for young children but many of them are not worth the fabric they were cut from. The Marmot Split Mitt will save your sanity. It opens all the way up to make putting them on a breeze, they are completely waterproof, and the longer cuff means that less snow will be able to sneak between the coat and the mitten. When your kids are old enough to switch to fingered gloves, do yourself a favor and don’t buy the kind with the waterproof layer and insulation layer all in one piece. A glove that has a separate liner and waterproof shell won’t bunch up the very first time you wash them rendering them effectively useless.

Last but not least, BOOTS! This is one area where I have never had a problem with the discount store version. The basic snow boots I find at Target for my son seem to work well for keeping feet warm and dry for snow play. You might look into nicer boots like the kids Keen snowboots if you have older children who plan to do lengthy periods of snow shoeing or hiking in them as the cheaper boots will begin to lose comfort for walking a lot of distance.  

If you get overwhelmed just remember the basics: No cotton. Several thin layers will be warmer, and will pack easier than one thick layer. Good waterproofing is key.

The cost of outfitting a growing kiddo for cold weather can feel a little intimidating, but remember that it will pay you back in happy kids who want to adventure again the next day.    

Sabrina Carlson is a mama on a mission to tell postpartum depression where to shove it while living a life of adventure, travel, joy, and meaning as a parent, and hoping to inspire other moms that they can too. She blogs at Mama Wild and Free,  can be found posting pictures of her wild and wonderful life on Instagram , occasionally inspires on Facebook, and is currently learning that Pinterest is a great tool for adventure planning and vision boarding, and isn’t just for overly complicated craft projects.

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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  1. Cyd says

    December 28, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    Really good info, thanks!! Quality is definitely top priority.

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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