travel / ALESSANDRA MARIE

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How to Get a Passport for Kids in San Francisco without the Stress

1.26.2020

Getting a passport for kids in San Francisco doesn’t have to be a nightmare, but it does take some planning. Lucky for you, I did my research, and I’m here to share it with you.

We have a trip planned for Cabo in August with the kids. We’re really looking forward to it, especially because the grandparents are coming along–hello childcare!

In preparation (and because of the new regulations), our twin toddlers need passports to visit Mexico. I am a PLANNER and definitely didn’t want to leave this task until the last minute. I’d already seen people posting horror stories about trying to get passports and I was determined to make it as simple as possible.

Read the full post here!

Should I fly the red-eye with my baby?

8.22.2019

“Should I fly the red-eye with my baby?” I see this question come up a lot in the mom groups on Facebook because moms are worried that taking a late-night cross-country flight with a baby or young child will be, well, a nightmare. If you read the comments on these questions, you’ll get a wide variety of perspectives on the topic.

We’ve flown the red-eye with our twins twice, once when they were 4 months old and again when they were 12 months, so this definitely doesn’t make me an expert on flying with all ages, but I’ll share what I learned from flying with two during their first year.

Read the whole post here!

Autocamp Yosemite

7.25.2019

I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t like camping. The good news is that my husband doesn’t like camping either. We feel exactly zero pressure to take our kids camping. While I’m sure camping with kids could be fun for those who are into it, nothing sounds worse to me. Except for maybe 20 hours on a plane with two toddlers.

You know what I am into? Glamping. I’m 100% on board with “fancy camping” where there’s running water, AC, a pool, helpful staff, and just a touch of nature. If this sounds like your kind of camping, read on for all the glamorous details.

Read the full post here.

San Luis Obispo

6.24.2019

We met an amazing couple when we first moved into our building in Pacific Heights and it turned out our babies were due one day apart! Since we knew no one in SF, it was such a treat to make an instant mom friend who lived one floor away.

After our kids were born, we enjoyed long walks around the neighborhood and a few “mom dates” if we were lucky. But then the inevitable time came and that sweet family moved back to their home town in Orange County.

So we planned a reunion halfway in San Luis Obispo! On paper, the trip sounded great—a big house, kid-friendly activities, and our friends! But as the trip neared, I started to feel like maybe it was all too much.

Traveling with the twins, especially with other families, always makes me a little nervous because we can’t exactly go with the flow with the twins. We typically stick pretty closely to our eating/sleeping schedule to avoid meltdowns and maintain parental sanity.

But this trip ended up being so good for us! We relaxed the rules, and you know what? Everyone had a great time. We ate meals on the go, we skipped snacks, we had long naps and short naps, and even a little TV time. The adults got to drink wine and play silly games after bedtime. It was honestly a way better trip than we thought it was going to be.

Read the full post here.

our east coast adventure

12.10.2018

Back in August, we bit the bullet and booked a three week trip on the East Coast. We planned to be in Florida with my mom for Thanksgiving and then we figured we'd do Baltimore as well and then why not just make a stop in Charlottesville.

So here's a recap of our trip!

We were originally planned to fly to Florida on the red eye right before Thanksgiving. But the air quality in SF got so bad the week before that we decided to change our ticket and fly out on Saturday night instead. I raced to prep and pack while Craig was stuck in NYC, trying desperately to get back home to us.

We took an Uber to the airport which worked out great. We planned to go to the airport pretty early and hoped that the twins would just sleep in the stroller while we were waiting for the flight. That kind of worked but not completely. Once we were on board, we were all pretty anxious to take off because I knew the white noise would put the twins to sleep immediately.

So the red eye wasn't that bad. The kids slept most of the time but I think Craig and I were pretty miserable as it's hard to sleep with a 20lb baby resting on your chest.

We landed in FL at 8am and then loaded ALL our stuff into the car for the drive to Stuart.

The first few days in Florida were hard as the twins adjusted. They were super clingy but it was nice to have all the space, extra hands, and the pool!

We had a great time swimming, walking around the neighborhood, and eating lots of yummy food. I'm glad we were able to escape the smoke in SF.

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving we flew to Charlottesville, VA. The flight was no problem and the kiddos even managed to nap. We landed around 4:30pm which is a tough time. We were all hungry and tired. A quick stop at Chick-Fil-A quickly remedied that and after a stop at the store for milk, we were on our way to our Airbnb in Charlottesville. We stayed at the cutest little house within walking distance to Downtown which worked out great. We loved visiting the Virginia Discovery Museum, visited friends, and even stole away for a few nights for dinner out and Craig's work Christmas Party.

Then it was time to drive to Baltimore. I was a little worried about the three hour drive because I assumed we'd have to stop at least once. But shockingly, the kiddos slept almost the whole ride and we made it to Baltimore in record time. It was such a treat for the twins to finally meet Grandma Louise and all of our friends.

We had a 6am flight back to SF which was the leg of the trip that worried us the most. It ended up being fine for the most part. The twins slept a few times and we just kept feeding them endless amounts of Cheerios and other snacks. We landed in SF around 9:30am and luckily had the rest of the day to adjust, unpack and settle in. It felt so good to get home to our own beds after being away for three weeks.

The trickiest part of the whole trip was the 4am wakeups we had on the returning end as the kiddos adjusted back to West Coast time. Luckily it only lasted for a few days and now we've all returned to normal.

This trip definitely made me braver to travel with the twins and I was also really impressed with how well they did. Kids are resilient and I'm glad we've been able to give them opportunities to meet so many of our friends and family.

tips for plane travel with twins

5.07.2018

I recently became a contributor for San Francisco Moms Blog as a fun way to share about living in a city with twins! My first post just went live if you'd like to check it out.

day 5: monterey, CA / day 6: san francisco, CA

8.05.2017

455 miles.

This was our shortest day by far and while we could have made it all the way to San Fran, our Airbnb wasn't available until Friday so we decided to drag out the trip just a little more. We found a cute guesthouse on Airbnb and booked it Thursday morning just before leaving Palm Springs. Bonus: the place came with aquarium tickets which made for a fun activity on Friday morning.

We had a smooth drive through LA and up to Monterey. We managed to stop at In-n-Out for lunch which I have to say, tasted better than I remembered. We arrived in Monterey around 5pm and had a quick chat with the adorable owners / hosts. We then ventured into the downtown area for dinner. We ate at a great craft brewery and then made a stop for some ice cream.

In the morning, we took Haven for a long walk into town for breakfast and then hit up the aquarium before our quick 2 hour drive up to San Fran.

We arrived at our Airbnb around 2pm after a slightly nerve wracking drive into the city. City life will take a little getting used to. Our place for the next 2 weeks is great and worked out nicely because it's in the most ideal neighborhood.

While in the car, I set up a few apartment showings for the afternoon so after getting settled, we went on the hunt!

On the way to our first showing, we passed another place I'd seen on Craigslist but wasn't able to view until next week. The current tenants were outside with some furniture to sell and they kindly gave us a quick tour. Turns out, Craig and the current tenant had a lot in common and knew mutual people from their work worlds. What are the odds that the first people we meet in SF would have a connection.

After 4 apartment viewings, 20,000 steps, and a delicious dinner, we're pooped. It's been great to explore the city a bit and get a feel for the apartment options. We're ready for a full day of showings tomorrow!

day 4: palm springs, CA

8.03.2017

506 miles.

With the shifting time zones and the dog, we have no problem becoming early risers this week and today was no different. We were up at 5:30am which was good because we wanted to get an early start on our adventure to the Grand Canyon. After everyone was walked and fed, we were in car by about 7am with the Grand Canyon in the GPS.

We opted to enter at the East gate which we heard was less crowded and afforded us a more interesting drive. It was really peaceful driving out there and observing the amazing landscape. Once we were through the gates, we made our first stop at the Watchtower which was MUCH less crowded than the rest of the park and made for a pleasant first experience. Since we arrived around 8:30am, it wasn't hot yet so we enjoyed walking around and taking photos.

We then continued along the South Rim to the main Visitor Center which was overrun already and it was only about 9:30am. It was nice to be outside and walk around a bit but it was getting hot FAST. After a few more photo ops, we were back in the car and on our way again.

The rest of the drive through Arizona was nice. The southwest has some amazing landscape and it's sometimes hard to remember we're still in the U.S. We crossed the border into California and started to head slightly south for our detour to Palm Springs.

Driving through the desert was insane. The car temperature gauge read 109 degrees for over an hour. It was so deserted and honestly, slightly creepy. It's a good thing we had a full tank of gas!

Craig got his wish of being on Route 66 for a small stretch as we wound our way toward Palm Springs. We made it to our adorable Airbnb just after 5:30pm.

I'm not sure what I thought Palm Springs would be but it was definitely different than I expected. It's stuck somewhere in the 60s/70s with what might be a cool vibe or just a lame vibe. We ventured into "town" for dinner and ended up at this restaurant/bar that was good but odd.

I'm glad we stopped here for a little "getaway" but I'm not sure I need to come back. Maybe it would have been different if we'd stayed at one of the resorts. On the plus side, swimming around in the pool feels SO good after time in the car.

It's only 7.5 hours from here to San Fran but we can't check into our Airbnb until Friday so we're thinking of splitting today into 2 shorter days. More to come!

day 3: flagstaff, AZ

8.02.2017

655 miles.

With our sights set on setting the Grand Canyon the next day, we thought Flagstaff would be a good stopping point.

We finished driving through CO and then into New Mexico. We reached Sante Fe, NM around lunch time and made a detour for a real meal (meaning not a drive thru). We stumbled upon this gem and thoroughly enjoyed some New Mexican fare. Haven loved that we were able to find a spot with a great patio for her to enjoy.

We then finished our trek through New Mexico and into Arizona. This was an uneventful day overall but the scenery was definitely beautiful.

After a couple long days, I was feeling good. There's been enough to see and do along the way and no one has been complaining about our frequent stops.

We checked into our fancy-schmancy LaQuinta around 7pm and hit the hay. Grand Canyon in the morning!

day 2: pueblo, CO

8.01.2017

629 miles.

As you can tell from the title, yesterday's route changed a little bit. We had originally planned to head up to Fort Collins / Steamboat Springs but made a game-time decision to re-route towards the southwest to make a stop at the Grand Canyon.

The drive started off rainy and we were slightly concerned about the stuff in the roof rack but luckily everything stayed dry. We spent most of the day getting through Kansas and then into Colorado. This was definitely a less interesting day from the view perspective and not many other milestones along the way.

We made our usual stops at almost every rest area just to take advantage of the green space to stretch our legs. We also got gas pretty much every time we stopped.

I'm horrified by the food that we consumed yesterday - McDonald's and Dominos. But in our defense, we looked for better options but there were none.

Overall, the day was pretty uneventful. We listened to a couple episodes of How I Built This (Kickstarter and Aden & Anais!) and also a few episodes of Revisionist History.

So today, we tentatively have our sights set on Flagstaff with the plan to go to Grand Canyon tomorrow. We'll see what happens! The adventure continues.

day 1: kansas city

7.31.2017

708 miles.

Our first full day of driving was...interesting! We had our sights set on St. Louis. The day started out fine, uneventful. We started listening to our audiobook, Bringing Up Bebe. Before you start giving Craig a hard time for being willing to listen to this book, hear me out. It's actually super interesting and informative. It's told in a story format vs. "self-help" format which makes it interesting. I had already started reading it but stopped when I realized it would make a fun car book.

Shortly into our morning journey, we spotted a BABY BEAR on the side of the road attempting to cross from under the guard rail. He was pretty cute. I hope he made it across to be reunited with his momma.

There have been some great rest stops along our route where we can get out and run around with the dog in the grass. Haven has been doing really well and enjoys checking out all the new smells at each stop.

Around 11am when we were about 2 hours outside St. Louis, we decided that we could definitely but in more hours and changed our plans to end up in Kansas City which only added 3.5 hours to our day. (All in, we ended up driving for about 10.5 hours and it really wasn't that bad!)

Shortly after adjusting our route, we decided to make a stop for lunch and planned to get out of the car to sit outside for some fresh air. Literally 2 minutes from the exit, Craig proclaims that we have just...RAN OUT OF GAS! Let me just say, it's a miracle I wasn't driving because I would have NEVER heard the end of it. Somehow, our miles-to-empty estimation went from 40 miles to 0 miles in a minute and then just puttered out.

We managed to pull over under an underpass to wait out a fuel drop off. Luckily we were parked in the shade because it was pretty hot by this point in the day. It was definitely a little nerve wracking with all the trucks speeding by but within about 25 minutes, Rick from Rick's Towing, was able to fill us up and get us on our way. We have never run out of gas because so this was definitely interesting. I tried not to be too hard on Craig about it and we ended up having a pretty good laugh a few hours later.

We finally made it to Panera for some sub-par lunch and then got back on the road. New rule, get gas every chance we get!

We arrived in Kansas City around 8pm. Our room at the Sheraton came with access to the Club Lounge so we were able to get some appetizers before winding down for the night with the latest episode of Game of Thrones.

We're finishing up our breakfast now and plan to drive to Fort Collins, CO today (about 9 hours). Onward!

day 0

7.30.2017

Moving is such a complicated thing. We would know, we've moved every 2 years for the last 6 years. We've done it all sorts of ways. For this adventure, we opted to go for your typical huge moving company and enjoy their packing services as well. Because we don't have an apartment lined up in San Fran yet, our belongings have to be stored until we have a place to live. All in, the total number was not pretty and at the end of the day, we have no idea if our stuff will even make it!

So Day 0, Saturday, started out with an early morning wake up call and no power. We took the dog for a walk to Starbucks (why doesn't Bodo's open until 8am?!) and hurried back to meet the movers. They gave us an arrival window of 8-9am and by 8:45am we were getting pretty anxious. They showed up at 8:59am - naturally.

Lucky we had a great crew and they got right to work packing. They were very friendly and loved Haven which was a bonus. (PS. Haven got some puppy Xanex to help ease the transition.) It was annoying to not have power but not the end of the world.

Once things were well underway, I headed out with Haven to a local coffee shop to do a little bit of work and give her a break from the chaos. Naturally, as soon as I left, the power came back but we had already disconnected the internet so it was a moot point.

Amazingly, the movers wrapped up around 3pm and we took some time to clean up and toss/donate all the items they couldn't move. We dropped off some goodies for our dear neighbors, Julia and Hamid, and then made the decision to get in a few hours of driving since it was only 5pm.

We decided on Huntington, WV as our first destination purely because it was about 4.5 hours away and that seemed like a doable drive in the evening. Packing the car was actually a breeze thanks to our new rooftop carrier. The pup has her big bed back there and all the non-essentials went in the roof. In case you missed a beat, we traded in the Toyota 4Runner for a Subarbu Outback a few weeks ago because the 4Runner is a bit unruly especially in a city and also hard to get carseats in an out of.

And that was that! We arrived at our hotel (a lovely Holiday Inn hosting both a wedding party AND a 1972 high school class reunion) around 11pm and promptly hit the sheets.

Haven did great and enjoyed sleeping on the bed (a king!) something she's never really allowed to do at home.

Our plan for today is to head to St. Louis which is about 7 hours straight. With our frequent stopping, we should make it there by early evening.

sonoma

2.17.2017

Craig needed to be in San Fran for work and we decided it would be nice to plan a little getaway to Sonoma while he was out there. I flew out on Friday to meet him and we spent an amazing long weekend in Sonoma wine country. We had done the Napa side before so it was nice to explore a new area.

STAY

Gaige House
We stayed at this lovely B&B at the recommendation of some friends. Upon arrival, we were upgraded to the best room on the property just because I had mentioned that we were celebrating my birthday (albeit a little early). We had a huge room with an amazing creek view. The room was both cozy and airy due to the floor to ceiling window and fireplace. I love bed and breakfasts because they feel so homey and you can usually count on a great breakfast. I would highly recommend this place and we agreed the location was great.

africa

9.21.2016

Back in January, we bit the bullet and booked a trip to Africa. It's been on our bucket list for some time and we realized that it was only going to get more difficult to take this kind of trip. We worked with a close friend's mom from Adventure to Africa to put this once in a lifetime trip together.

Our adventure began with a quick three hour drive up to Baltimore on Friday morning to drop the pup off with her doting grandparents. Around 9pm that evening, we started the long 36 hour journey to Africa.

By Sunday afternoon, we finally arrived in the South African bush and made our way out to our lodge which was on the Timbavati Nature Reserve (connected without a fence to Kruger National Park). We decided to stay at Shindzela Tented Safari Camp for a few reasons. The "glamping" atmosphere seemed a little more doable to us (vs. straight camping) but we also didn't want to go for the "full glam" experience of a 5-star resort in the middle of the bush. This was a happy medium and we loved it. It's incredibly affordable which is another bonus. Some highlights include private cabins/tents that are cozy, clean, and warm. Additionally, the lodge is not fenced in and the animals can (and do!) roam right through the camp. We regularly spotted lion tracks just outside our door in the morning.

Each morning around 6am we would head out for the morning game drive which was so cozy and exciting. We'd make a quick stop in the bush for coffee or cocoa and then be on our way spotting animals again. In the evening, we'd head out around 3:30pm and do the same. The whole experience was literally WILD. It's hard to put into words how magnificent it is to see these kinds of animals just basically LIVING in their natural habitat. We saw all of the Big Five with hours of being in Africa. A seriously unforgettable experience. A zillion more animal photos here. A a neat video from our trip here!

After four nights in South Africa, we moved on to a nice, relaxing beach town in Mozambique. We stayed at Bahia Mar Club which we truly enjoyed (so cheap for Americans!). The scenery was stunning but the poverty is a shocking. There is definitely a "them vs. us" feel staying at a resort like this in a community that depends on tourism as it's #1 industry. We were very conscious of that.

Overall it was an unforgettable trip and I'm so glad we were able to make it happen. If you can handle 2 days of travel on either end of your trip then put Africa at the top of your list!

Santa Fe

3.06.2016

We took a quick little trip over President's Day weekend to get together with friends in Santa Fe, NM. I've never really spent much time in the southwest and I was excited to spend some quality time with our couple friends from business school. We stayed at a family house and made some breakfasts and dinners at the house but I'll share all the other foodie things and activities below.

Fork & Fig (Albequere) - Best lunch ever
Kakawa Chocolate House - for the most amazing "chocolate elixirs"
Coyote Cafe - the altitude got the best of my and I wasn't able to join, hear it was delish
Four Seasons Santa Fe - opt for the cheapest service and still take advantage of all the same amenities!
Tesuque Village Market - cult following breakfast spot

turks and caicos

3.17.2015

For C's grad school spring break this year, we decided a quiet beach vacation was in order. We found a cheap, non-stop flight from JFK that would take us all of 3 hours to land in paradise otherwise known as Turks and Caicos. The entire trip was perfection. Your choice of glorious pools, a world-class spa, and a remote island with only about 100 guests. Talk about heaven!

Bonus points for C being offered a job while we were here!

california road trip

1.15.2015

As the Christmas break drew closer, C and I started throwing around the idea of jetting off to CA to visit some friends & family while getting a little R&R. After we finally booked the flights, I got right to planning. I actually really enjoy doing the research and making a plan. We have lots of friends who've lived in CA or recently visited, so I was able to gather lots of tips. We covered so much ground on this trip (over 800 miles!) and had a blast the whole time. All that due diligence paid off and we had one of our best vacations yet. Photo heavy post to follow!

Del Mar

My aunt, uncle and cousins live just north of San Diego in Del Mar which an adorable beach town (their backyard is sand!). C and I had been out there three years earlier for my cousin's wedding and we had a blast. It was great kicking off our vacation at Chez Huebner. It consisted of lots of low key family time, a stroll through Solano Beach, and a sunset walk on the beach. CA was having a cold spell so it was sort of hilarious to hear everyone complaining about the "cold".

Montecito/Santa Barbara

We decided early on that we'd take our time heading up the coast and eventually ending in Napa. I looked at the map and picked Santa Barbara as an overnight stop. LA traffic meant we arrived after dark to our adorable AirBnB and wandered around in search of food. We settled on Tre Lune for some pizza and wine which was pretty good.

Pacific Coast Highway

This was such a fun drive. It add a considerable amount of time (about 2 hours) to the drive from SB to the Carmel area but it was so worth it. We had a great time taking in the sights and stopping wherever we pleased to soak up the view. The elephant seals were so cool and also so strange. We stopped at Nepenthe for lunch and it was so worth the wait (and being a little chilly). The view was stunning and we even saw part of a whale! The food was pretty good as well. This stop also made for the perfect excuse to have a Bailey's and coffee...mmmm.

Pebble Beach

Staying here was such a special treat arranged through a friend (thanks Jordan!). Our room was unbelievable with a great view and a stunning fireplace. We had a low key dinner (apps and dessert) at The Bench which has fire pit tables outside. It was so cozy and in the morning, we were able to see that the restaurant looks out over the 18th green! 17 Mile drive was really neat as well, I mean the views are just outrageous.

Napa

Saved the best for last! We had such an amazing time and will definitely go back someday. We stayed at the Inn on Randolph on a recommendation from a friend. It was absolute perfection. I almost don't want to tell you about it because I feel like it should be kept a secret. There is no where else I'd ever stay. The cottages were adorable and Karen (innkeeper) thought of everything. We had a delicious complimentary breakfast each morning and fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. Devine. We ate at The Pear and Angele. We LOVED Angele, probably one of the best meals we've had. The Pear was good but not anything special. We purchased 6 bottles of wine throughout our visit typically our favorite wines from each place. When they arrived a week later, it was really special to open the box and remember the experience. We'll save most of the wine for a few years and I'm excited to open a bottle for a special occasion. Definitely such a treat. Elizabeth Spencer was by far our favorite.

Wineries:

Elizabeth Spencer

All photos were taken either on my iPhone or with my dSLR camera (I have a Nikon D3000). Photos were edits with the Beautiful Mess actions for Lightroom.

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