Family Travel Reminders

Many families will travel out of town for the holidays. Some will take the roads and some will go by air. No matter which way you and your family travel, Forbes Living TV shares some reminders to keep handy.

Who will take care of the house, mail and family pets while you are away? Now is the time to reserve the best caretakers for these valuable assets. Be sure to add some buffer time to the schedule to allow for delayed flights or heavy traffic congestion. Add an extra day to the schedule, if needed. Make a list of what needs to be done daily.

Families who are taking flights out of town should consider downloading movies on tablets or digital devices a week or more before the flight departs. Sometimes the download is slow even on a fast connection.  The same applies for adding apps and especially those related for travel.

If special meals, such as a gluten-free one, are needed for family members, place that request when reserving the flight and seats. If the reservation is already made, call the airline and add the request well in advance of the flight.

familykenkel also suggests checking the baggage restrictions for all connecting flights. Your checked suitcase may be too big and heavy for the regional airline connection to the destination point. Know before you go.

With a little advance planning, a family holiday trip can go smoothly. Why leave some things to chance?

Get Spooked

Americais a big country and in it are some very haunted hotels, hospitals and houses. Familykenkel shares some of the coolest and probably most scary places to visit on or before Halloween. Hang on to someone.

Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum, Weston, VA– Take someone strong with you to hold onto as this former state hospital is still be home to hundreds of patients who lived and died there. Some of them come back to visit.  Brave souls can stay overnight with an experienced ghost hunter.

Villisca Ax Murder House, Villisca, Iowa

Several people were killed in this house including some children. Visitors to the house reported spontaneous instances of hearing children's voices, falling lamps, moving ladders and flying objects. Sound like fun? Have at it.

The Marshall House, Savannah, Ga.

This is a somewhat fun and odd place to stay in the beautiful city. It once served as a Union hospital during the Civil War. Some guests who have stayed there reported waking up with an outstretched arm as if a nurse was taking their pulse. And be sure to check if your travel partner is in bed with you. Water faucets turn on spontaneously.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, Fall River, Mass.

Once the home of Lizzie Borden, this historic old house is now a B&B. Borden was accused of killing her sleeping father and stepmother with an ax. People believe their spirits as well as Ms. Borden’s haunt the house. The B&B owners serve the same breakfast the Borden’s ate in an effort to lure them back. Believe it or not.

Familykenkel invites readers to share any other haunted houses, hospitals, business, theaters or any other location where the souls of those who have passed on come back to check on things.

Reveals Extra Special Pumpkins for Halloween

There are the carved pumpkins that moms and dads create to decorate the outdoors on Halloween. And then there are the extra special ones which fancy celebrities. familykenkel shares some cool ways to make a pumpkin look like Harry Potter, a sports star or a monster, and more.

There are pumpkin carving kits that give anyone the ability to carve a pumpkin so it looks like someone famous. And there are people who grow pumpkins to look like well-known monsters. Whichever way one decides to go, it will please both kids and adults during the special time of the year to find that they’re looking for.

In case one wants a pumpkin that is grown to resemble Frankenstein, there is a farmer in Ventura, California who grows pumpkins to look like Frankenstein. His gourds are called “Pumpkinsteins” and they sell between $75.00 and $125.00 dollars. We’re not sure if he ships them or not. We doubt it since there is no website for the “Pumpkinsteins”. But if you live in the vicinity, why not check it out?

familykenkel also suggests visiting local arts and crafts stores to find stencils to use at home for both drawing and carving.  Below are a few more websites where fans can download stencils to use.

Have a ghoulishly fun time finding what you need to make Halloween a scream. 

Side Road Trip Weirdness

We know school started and the big family vacations have more or less slowed to a halt. But, the holidays are around the corner and so are road trips to visit the relatives. familykenkel encourages readers to take a little side trip to these crazy, quirky roadside attractions.

The Rain Barrel, ArtisanMuseum, Islamorada, FL – Located at Mile Marker 86.7 in the Florida Keys is easily seen by the giant lobster in the front. The site has great gift shops, a vegetarian restaurant and is generally a good place to stop and stretch before heading further south in US 1 or before getting on the 18 mile stretch if heading north.

Carhenge, Allliance, Nebraska – This is the Stonehengeversion but with cars. Thirty-eight vintage (read old) cars were used to make it.

Red Wood Forest, Klamath, CA – The giant Tree of Mystery are pretty cool when one thinks about how they grew that way.

Lucy the Elephant, Margate, New Jersey – The six story elephant is pretty cool to walk through if heading to the any of the Jerseyshores for a family reunion.

The familykenkel wants to know if readers know of any other weird road stops across the country. America is a very large country and we are sure there are other places people know about which are just plain fun, quirky, or odd. Please feel free to share with others.

Red White and Blue Foods

The American July Fourth holiday is this week and patriotism with its red, white and blue colors will be on full display. Of course, this means red, white and blue food also and Familykenkel offers some choices to make for the family or a group picnic.

Pull out all the stops for his great American holiday with some to easy to prepare patriotic goodies.

Dip giant ripe strawberries half way in melted white chocolate. Then dip the tips in blue sprinkles. Refrigerate until it’s time to take them out and enjoy.

Slice red tomatoes and arrange in a circle on a platter leaving a hole in the middle. Fill the hole with potato or macaroni salad. Use blueberries to make little stars.

How about a pizza that looks like the American flag? Purple potatoes, when cooked, turn blue and can be sliced to look like stars. Bacon is the perfect food to form red stripes. The pizza dough itself is great to use as the base.

The Familykenkel encourages everyone to be creative when preparing holiday food this week. There are an abundance of ideas on the Internet, even by looking up an image of “red, white and blue food”.  The dynamic show premieres July 8 at 7 AM on WE tv.

Cleanest Beaches in the U.S.

Summer vacations are in full swing and many people are heading to the beaches on each coast and at lakes for a relaxing break from the daily grind. Familykenkel would like to share information about the cleanest beaches to visit this year.

According to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency, ten percent of samples taken from US coastal and lake beaches failed to meet federal safety standards for bacteria and viruses. The polluted water at some beaches stems from storm run-off and sewage overflows near where people swim and sunbathe. In light of this, there are some stellar beaches where vacationers can enjoy clean water.  The US agency puts these five areas at the top of their list:

• Delaware: Dewey Beach-Swedes in Sussex County
• Florida: Bowman's Beach in Lee County
• Georgia: Tybee Island North in Chatham County
• Massachusetts: Singing Beach in Essex County
• New Jersey: Stone Harbor at 96th St. in Cape May County

These are all popular locations for family vacations every summer. Other places to visit where water quality sample results were favorable are:

• The Delmarva Peninsula area on the East Coast
• Delaware, New Hampshire and New Jersey

The Familykenkel invites readers to explore these clean coastal areas. There is so much to do and enjoy there that everyone will be happy. Take a dip in the water knowing that no bacteria or viruses will cause illness or a rash this summer. Enjoy!

Air Travel Safety

Air travel is a quick way to get from point A to point B. As more Americans board flights for vacation this summer, Familykenkel offers some tips to keep air travel safe.

Does it seem like the space in the airline’s cabin has become smaller? Well, it is. Airlines are making sure they fit as many people onto the plane as possible. More luggage is being brought on board because travelers do not want to spend the money on checking bags. All of this means there is less breathing space. Make your flight more comfortable with a few tips to keep calm when things get a little out of hand.

As a passenger walks the aisle to find their seat, they inadvertently bump the back of your head with their carry-on bag. Instead of scowling at them, duck when you see someone coming with a large bag on their shoulder.

The person beside you accidently spills some of their drink on you. Turbulence happens. Clumsiness happens. Offer to help them clean it up and accept the apology.

Someone refuses to turn off their digital device when asked. Ring the call button and mention it to the flight attendants. There is no sense making a stubborn person mad by confronting them.

The person in front of you reclines their seat so that your tray table jams into your stomach. There is not much to do for this other than possibly closing the tray table. Passengers will usually let you know in no uncertain terms that they have a right to recline. If it’s too difficult to manage, ask if you can change your seat.

The Familykenkel realizes that air travel can be fun and also a people challenge.  Go with the flow, avoid drinking alcohol on the  flight and arrive without incident.

Where the Selfies Are

What cities are photographed the most in a selfie smart phone photos? Familykenkel finds out.

When out and about this Memorial Day weekend, we bet most readers will take at least one selfie. Where you take them matters as we found out when searching for the most photographed cities for those who tend to be more narcissistic than others.

London, England is the number one city in the world for selfie pictures. With all of its fantastic castles, Big Ben, the London Bridge etc. there is no reason why it would rank lower. Who knows? Maybe Prince Harry will photobomb your self-taken picture the next time?

A travel site called suggestme.com collected data from more than 6 million social media pages to compile the list of most photographed city in a selfie. New York and Amsterdamcame in second and third with Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Sydney, Istanbul, and Athensfollowing to make the top 10 selfie cities. And in some cities, zoo animals are taking selfies with cameras mounted on tree branches.

Familykenkel wants to know where do take the most selfies? Home? Vacation? On the back of the boat in the blog below? Snap a shot and share it with us. 

Memorial Day Decorating Ideas

American holiday Memorial Day is early this year on May 26. Many families will be hitting the road or the skies to enjoy a relaxing long weekend with friends and family. Those who are hosting holiday picnics and parties will find some fun Memorial Day decorating ideas below.

Familykenkel presents ten fun ways to decorate a picnic table or any outdoor table:

1. Cover the table the newspaper
2. Stick little American flags in red and blue plastic cups and toss some small stones in to prevent the cups from tipping over. Position cups with flags around the tables.
3. Use denim-colored or dark blue placemats.
4. Using a permanent marker, let each guest write their name on a plastic cup.
5. Put red, white and blue note cards on the table with markers or pens and ask each person to write a note of thanks to troops serving overseas. Collect them in a basket to mail on the day after the holiday.
6. Use a tin tub filled with ice for sodas and other drinks.
7. Make desserts holiday-themed with red and blue berries and pineapple or bananas cut to look like stars.
8. Baseballs, footballs and other American-themed sports items can be tossed in a colorful container and set the main food table as its centerpiece.
9. If using sparklers to decorate, be sure to light them away from the table and small children.
10. Familykenkel suggests sitting beside someone you haven’t seen in a while and catch up

How to Enjoy an Affordable Memorial Day

Three day weekend holidays are great as most working Americans have the holiday off.  But with so many people out of work and struggling to make ends meet, Familykenkel wanted to offer some ideas about how to have an affordable or free weekend.

Pot luck picnics are fun and allow families and friends to get together. It’s not too late to plan one. Send a holiday themed email to people and ask them if they want to attend and what they can bring. It might be a good idea to suggest everyone bring their own drinks, and tableware. Find a local park or someone’s big backyard to have meet, eat and play. The idea is to not have to pay an entry fee.

Go to a local Memorial Day service. They are inspiring and make great educational moments for children. Many cities across the country have one. Parking is usually free although it can get crowded.

Gather the family and brainstorm ideas for a cool family retreat. Scout the local newspapers for free admission to zoos, parks and museums. Some city pools will be open this weekend.

Since the weather may not be too cooperative, Familykenkel suggests having a movie day in. Use your favorite video rental program to choose family favorites. Cook barbeque food and then sit back and enjoy the time with your family.