Escape to Woodloch

We are all about weekend getaways during the summer. Playing in the backyard, riding bikes and hanging at the pool is great, but there's nothing like a mini adventure. All four of us love road trips; it's in the kids' blood. Also, they know there is usually a lot of ice-cream involved.

We just got back from Woodloch Pines, a 1200-acre family resort in the Pocono Mountain lake region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It's been around since 1958 although you wouldn't know it to look at it; the place is beautiful, not to mention kid heaven, not to mention parent heaven.

The view from our room.

We took a lot of walks around the lake. The cast on Max's foot didn't slow him down—just the opposite. He's faster than ever in it. Still, he took lots of rides in the vans that constantly circulated the property...

...and in the golf carts, too. Max is hard to say no to, especially when he seats himself in the cart while the unsuspecting staffer is away and then refuses to budge when they return and flashes them his biggest smile.

We both really enjoyed the wagon ride through a patch of woods.

Also exciting: spaghetti! For lunch and dinner! I told one of the dining room managers ahead of time that was his food of choice, and she made sure he had it, even during the outdoor lunch BBQ. The staff was beyond accommodating, both to Max and guests in general. One of the owners of the resort, John, constantly circulated during mealtime to make sure everyone was OK, and he had the best pants ever: SpongeBob ones one night, Toy Story the next. The place was packed—lots of families, and family reunions.

Guests dine in a gigantic dining hall (included in the fees), and the food was scrumptious. Prime rib, salmon, halibut, duck, a different variety of salad and home-baked bread every night (I ate my body weight in iced raisin bread), and kid favorites including pizza and chicken tenders.

Yes, it's true, one night we let Max have four ice-creams.

Characters greet the kids before the meals.

Max tried to get Abby to come have spaghetti with him, but she politely declined.

There were waaaaaay too many activities to pack into two days.

Max spent most of his time in this kiddie car—so much so that he started driving other kids around (although he did not charge them for the service).

Sabrina in the indoor forest playground.

Dave and Sabrina, pro mini golfers.

Saturday afternoon, Sabrina and I went paddle-boating. Three words: "Faaaaaaaster, Mommy! Faaaaaaaaster!" Later, she and Dave hit the indoor pool, did Bumper Boats, and then she made him take her for a paddle boat ride, too. "You were faster than Daddy," she reported afterward. Guests could also enjoy boat tours, rowboats, canoes, sailboats and kayaks, and a fun kid carnival on Saturday, complete with whoopee cushions and other prizes.

Sabrina and I went on the go-carts; Max was too scared, even though there was a purple one.

There was an arts and crafts room open all the time.

I showed Sabrina how to make a popsicle-stick box, the kind I used to make as a kid. She wanted to know what had happened to all the ice-cream that used to be on the sticks.

Sunday, there were pony rides and a petting zoo.

Bunnies! Not captured on film: Sabrina and Dave's bear sightings. One morning, a cub had climbed up a tree near the main lodge after raiding the garbage. A few hours later, Dave and Sabrina were walking by the lake and saw a big black bear scamper up a tree.

Activities we didn't even get to: The scavenger hunt, climbing wall, batting cage, shuffleboard, bocce, horseshoes, biking, Zumba, Zipline, waterskiing, Name That Tune, bumper cars, Dr. Balloonicus (who made all sorts of balloon creatures one night, but the kids conked out), and the theme show (we all conked out).

I hope all of you have some good mini getaways (and big ones!) planned for summer.

10 things to love about Club Med Sandpiper

Back when I was single, I'd visited a couple of Club Meds—Turks & Caicos and Martinique—and had a memorable time (and some of it not so memorable, thank you, piña coladas). So I was glad when Club Med Sandpiper in Port St. Lucie invited me and a bunch of other writers to visit for a few days; I wanted to experience Club Med with kids. What rocked:

1) Sandpiper is the only real all-inclusive in the U.S.—food, beverages (including mixed drinks, wine and beer), sports, Kids Club, the whole shebang.

The family suites have a large room with a king bed and a separate room with bunk beds for the kids. The suites do not include a way to make sure your kids do not crash in your bed anyway.

Max (who introduced himself to everyone as Purple Spaghetti Max) appreciated the purple decor in the lobby and the fact that a roof in The Marketplace, the main dining area, was entirely painted purple.

2) This place caters to kids. I wasn't sure how the Mini Club Med would handle Max; I always call in advance and discuss his needs. I was told that they probably wouldn't be able to provide one-on-one attention except for feeding and swimming and yet, anytime I peeked in on him, a GO (Gracious Organizer, as staffers at Club Meds are called) was hanging with him. There was another boy Max's age who also had special needs and I noticed a GO constantly by his side, too. The GOs were generally a very friendly, helpful group who were in such glowingly great shape I felt about 77.

Max got attached to this bike, which they gladly let him pedal around the resort (with either me, Dave or a GO trotting after him). There are plenty of kid activities—sports, dance, Circus School (including aerial gymnastics, trampoline and juggling), crafts in the art studio, splashing around, learning how to mix Mommy and Daddy piña coladas (OK, not that). There's also a teen program and lounge.

3) The bread bar. OMG, THE BREAD BAR.

Trust me, nobody will stare if you eat a lunch consisting of one slice of raisin bread with butter (appetizer); two slices of cheddar bread (main course); and too many slice of chocolate bread to count (dessert).

Come to think of it, there were plenty of other food offerings: pasta, seafood, stir fry, salad bar, pizza, Asian, Indian, French, dessert bar, pretty much anything you wanted. But my heart (and love handles) belonged to the bread bar. There was heated debate among guests—debate, I tell you—about the white chocolate bread vs. the dark chocolate bread. I'm a dark chocolate chick.

If you or the kids have allergies, the chefs will personally prepare your dishes. A server there noticed me using a serving spoon for one pasta dish in another and nicely warned me not to do that, because of allergic reactions. Can't take me anywhere.

4) The four pools.

The water park, in the Kidz Village, was Max's fave place to hang. On our first day there, he grabbed a bucket of water, ambled over to a pregnant lady sitting on the side of the pool, plopped down next to her and flashed her one of his big grins. "Hello!" she said, charmed. Max dumped the bucket of water all over her belly, and cracked up. Oops. Thankfully, she laughed right along with him.

The pool in the center of the resort isn't heated, so it was a leeetle chilly but still fun. Revelation: I need more gigantic lounge chairs in my life. Also, the time to lie on them.

The adults-only infinity pool. Wish we were there.

5) Sports, sports, sports. There are 21 tennis courts, an 18-hold golf course, a practice facility with a putting green, and excellent pros. There's also sailing, beach volleyball, soccer, and daily exercise classes including yoga, power walking, and Zumba. There were no signs specifying how much you have to exercise to work off a piece of dark chocolate bread, which is probably a good thing.

One day, Dave, Sabrina and me took a boat ride (Max = not into boat rides) and saw a bunch of dolphins. Dave and Sabrina were far easier to capture on film.

And if lounging happens to be your sport? You will have a most excellent time (see "Mini Club Med" and "adults-only pool" and "piña coladas"). You will not, however, be easily able to access the Internet, as service can be slow (and costs extra). But then, you're better off tearing yourself away from real life. And eating some chocolate bread.

6) The sommelier. Dave and I went to to a wine-tasting one evening (the club typically offers them around 5:00 each day), and learned a whole lot from Michel Bargeton.

A few tidbits: Hold a wine glass at the stem, instead of cupping it in your hand (which warms the wine); once you've opened a bottle of champagne, drop in the stem of a spoon to keep it bubbly; when you're pouring wine for guests and don't want to klutz out, spread melted butter around the rim of the wine bottle to catch drips.

7) Did I mention the dark chocolate bread?

8) Trapeze!

Yes, this could be YOU swinging around up there once you're shown how! But not me, because of my bad knee. Come on, wouldn't you rather see this guy? Go on, gaze, your husband isn't watching.

9) The shows at night. The staff does them, and they vary—there's a circus show, a ballroom dancing show, and my favorite, the kiddie variety show performed by the Mini Club Med kids. They were beyond adorable to watch. Sabrina, for the first time ever, actually participated and did a super-cute routine to Firework.

10) It's the vacation equivalent of pushing the "easy" button. Really.

Still thinking about that bread? Here's the recipe for the Club Med chocolate bread. If you HAPPEN to make some with dark chocolate and you HAPPEN to have extra, come on over!

Special needs parenting: When your kid bugs people

A scene from our flight to Florida (picture a completely filled plane):

Max is in the window seat, Dave is next to him, then Sabrina; I am in the row across from them. Suddenly, I notice that Max is repeatedly and rhythmically kicking the seat in front of him. Hard. Kick, kick, kick, kick. Kick, kick, kick, kick.

Max likes to do this sort of thing when given the right kicking opportunity. He has this little table in his room and one of his favorite activities is to sit there, lift his knees and bang it up and down. I think he just likes the the feel of it. "It's totally normal," said our über-sane pediatric neurologist, when I asked. "Haven't you ever seen a boy sitting on a bench and jiggling his foot?" I suspect that Max also gets a kick out of being naughty; as I've noted, he is no angel, like any other kid his age.

Only now we're on a plane. The three people in the row in front have all turned around to see what is going on; they don't notice me observing them. The elderly guy in the end seat is glaring at him.

Dave is sitting there, earplugs in, staring at the TV screen. Oblivious.

Kick, kick, kick, kick.

"Dave," I say.

No response.

"Sabrina, can you poke Daddy for me?" I ask.

She does and when Dave looks up from his TV coma I whisper, "Dave, Max is kicking the seat and it's annoying the people in front of him. Can you get him to stop?!"

Dave shrugs his shoulders. Meaning, what's so wrong (see: Mushball Dave), I'm not sure how to help, and I don't particularly care if it's bugging them.

But I care. Because I'm one of those people who minds having her seat kicked—on planes, in movie theaters, when I'm attending the Academy Awards (OK, not that)—and I know how irksome it feels. I also don't think Max should get away with it. I wouldn't let Sabrina disturb people like that; why should I let Max? I want him to understand what it means to behave yourself in public.

"Talk with him," I tell Dave.

Kick, kick, kick, kick.

"Try holding his legs down," I say.

Max wails.

The elderly guy summons the flight attendant. He gestures at Max and says something to her; she nods and walks way. I'm not sure what her plan is; maybe she falls into the "What's the big deal?" camp.

Kick, kick, kick, kick.

"DAVE!" I hiss-whisper. "Do something! Distract him!"

Dave gives Max his iPhone.

Nope.

Kick, kick, kick, kick.

I am tempted to take Max for a walk only I've learned that can be a dangerous thing, as Max then refuses to sit down again and also has a tendency of barreling into first class where, alas, they do not treat me to a glass to champagne as I scurry after him.

The woman in front of Max turns around. "Here," she says, kindly, and hands back a pad of paper and a pencil.

That helps.

[Repeat scene during return flight home, except nobody reports him and he finally falls asleep.]

Obviously, Dave and I need to do a better job of packing stuff that will better occupy Max (and making sure the iPad is charged, as it ran out of juice). We also need to do a better job of agreeing about Max's public behavior.

Have you been in recent situations in which your child has annoyed others? How have you dealt with it? How has your significant other dealt with it?!


Photo/istock

Our trip to Disney World 2010, part 1

So, when we got off the Disney Cruise we hopped on a shuttle to Disney World. We were supposed to stay at the Coronado Springs Resort, part of the package we'd booked through Priceline, only the bus driver seemed to have inhaled too much pixie dust or something like that because he drove right past it. The next stop was the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it looked great. I decided we'd all get out there and see if they had a room available. They did!


The cool thing about the Lodge, besides the magnificent lobby, is that you can view animals on the savannas right out of the hallway windows and from certain rooms (not the one we had). One morning, while Dave and the kids were swimming, I met up with a staffer from South Africa who spent 15 minutes talking with me about the animals there, which include zebras, giraffes, ostriches and vultures. For some reason, I am always mesmerized by vultures when I see them.


Our first stop was The Magic Kingdom. We picked up this Guest Assistance Card for Max at Guest Services. Crowded lines were going to be too much for him to handle, and he also tires out when he's been standing for too long. With the card, we were able to use the Fast Pass entrance or go in through an accessible one. It enabled us to wheel Max's stroller close to the entrance, so be sure to ask for that if you need it.

Double strollers, by the way, rent for $31 a day, singles for $15 (it goes down to $27 and $13 if you rent for multiple days). That can add up if you're planning on spending a fair amount of time at Disney, so it might be worth it to haul along your stroller from home. We did that the last trip, but got lazy this time around.


I had high hopes that Max would be able to handle rides, because on our last trip even It's A Small World had made him sob. We eased him in by heading straight for The Speedway Racetrack in Tomorrowland. Max actually remembered it from two years ago and at some point gleefully lead the way there. We had to go on it several times in a row.

After that, though, he was really unhappy about the Transit Authority ride, a slow-moving cart that gives you an overview of all the rides in the area.


We figured Max would adapt over the next few days, and stuck with the characters after that.


He really enjoyed visiting Minnie and Mickey's homes (they live separately—this is Disney, after all). The microwave in Minnie's kitchen, with popcorn flying around everywhere, fascinated him.


We'd booked a Winnie the Pooh and friends character dinner at The Crystal Palace. It's a big, bustling place with a gigantic buffet. Max got a kick out of Tigger, but he decided he wasn't having any of it and tried to make a break for the door. We'd already taken some food from the buffet and brought it to the table, yet there was nothing to do except bail. The manager was totally understanding. "Take some food with you," he said.


Dave and Max headed back to the hotel (except they ended up riding the monorail for 45 minutes, Max's idea of a good time), and Sabrina and I had dinner, explored and went on rides. Then Max got room service, and he was content.


Sabrina made me take a picture of the castle, which turns various colors at night, when it was purple. "I want Max to see!" she said.

It wasn't quite the day I'd expected, but it was a very good day. More tomorrow, including our memorable lion sighting at the Animal Kingdom Park. I told warned you I took a lot of photos!

Traveling with kids with special needs

"Don't be shy in coming forward at the Check in or Security when it comes to telling people you have a child with special needs. We get there early, but approach a member of Airport staff and tell them that the kids 'don’t do queuing' and they generally help us through."

That's just one of the great tips on traveling with kids with special needs from a post by Hammie, a cool Irish chick who's a newcomer to this blog; she has two kids with autism. I've done exactly what she has at security—Max gets wigged out by the crowd—and they always let us go to the front of the line. And we call the hotel ahead of time, if there's a kids' club, to make sure they can accommodate Max. That's what we did for our Disney Cruise, and they were beyond fantastic.

Like Hammie, we've found portable DVDs to be lifesavers. They basically mesmerize the kids for most of the plane flight, which is ever so much better than drugging them, don't you think? And I pack little gift bags filled with cute stuff I find at the dollar store, and then Dave and I have so much fun rummaging through them. Hee, hee, they're for the kids.

Max is especially fond of eating on airplanes. Every so often, he'll do his motion for eating (hand to mouth) and then he points to the sky and says "air-plane!" And I'll ask, "Max, you want to eat on an airplane?" And he'll nod vigorously and say "YES!" I pack lunches in those disposable Ziploc plastic containers and the second we get on the plane, he wants to eat his.

I've also found it handy to pack the children IN the wheeled carry-ons, the best way to transport them around the terminal.

Is it becoming increasingly clear to everyone that I am getting very loopy and am sorely in need of a vacation? We're actually going to Hersheypark in a few weeks, right before Max gets stem cell therapy on August 25. Can someone please explain to me how it is August already? I just don't understand.

Now, by all means, share your own travel tips!


Photo by Edward Dullard