Search Results for: blog traveling to tennessee

Where To Go To Visit a Flying Saucer House Before It Takes Off

You can’t miss it. The eye-catching home, located on a twisting road leading to Chattanooga’s Signal Mountain, has been attracting gawkers from around the world since it first “landed” there in 1970. The mountainside house is built to resemble a flying saucer and was inspired by the original “Star Trek” series. The circular structure, which was considered ultramodern when it was built nearly four decades ago, is ringed with small square windows and directional lights and perched on six “landing gear” legs. It has multiple levels, three bedrooms, two baths and an entrance staircase that retracts with the push of … Continue reading →

Do You Follow Your Own Rules?

How often do you violate our own rules and then wonder why our kids have a hard time following the rules you set? As parents, we sometimes have the attitude that we don’t have to follow our own rules. However, when we do, we send the wrong message to our kids. If we take a lackadaisical attitude toward rules, then our kids won’t feel the need to follow these same rules. Sometimes we violate the rules without even thinking about it or we figure our kids aren’t really paying attention but, let’s face it, our kids watch our every move. … Continue reading →

Heat Affects Schools

The heat and dryness in the southern United States has caused quite a concern during these past summer months. Crops, flowers, and gardens have been dying out early and blistering in the sun. Wells have been going dry and people are encouraged to conserve city water. Tennessee, among other states, has seen records highest for heat and record lows for rain. Temperatures have reached as high as 110 degrees with the heat index being higher. The summer vacation seemed mainly mild. The heat wave occurred just as schools were getting back in session. While in most cases the children are … Continue reading →

Why Is My Plane Delayed—Again?!

If you have flown at all in 2007 then you don’t need me to tell you that airline passengers are facing the worst delays in at least 13 years. According to the Department of Transportation, so far this year, nearly one-fourth of flights on the 20 largest carriers were late. I told you about being delayed for hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport with my 3-year-old a few months ago—the airline blamed Mother Nature for us having to sit on the tarmac for more than two hours. But that’s not the only excuse airlines are using. Contributing to the delays, according … Continue reading →

Nashville Pit Stop

Right now tens of thousands of travelers are preparing to leave on their annual pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee. The Elvis die-hards will spend the next week celebrating the life and times of their favorite entertainer at his Graceland home. Memphis is a fabulous place to visit, but Tennessee is also home to another wonderfully family-friendly city—Nashville. If you are traveling to the area with family members of varying ages consider making pit stops at the following attractions. They all offer activities to keep even the youngest member in your group happy. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere The Nashville Zoo is considered … Continue reading →

Travel Updates: Dollywood’s Newest Adventure and Baggage Help In Rome

DOLLYWOOD’S NEWEST ADVENTURE If you didn’t make it out to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park this summer you may want to start planning your trip for next year. By then construction on a new $5 million raft ride equipped with water guns to soak targets, other riders and bystanders will be complete. If you like thrill rides and are working your way up the skilled marksman ladder then the River Battle ride is one you won’t want to miss. It sends eight passengers on rafts down a 500-foot channel lined with more than 100 targets. You can take aim at … Continue reading →

Relief For Airline Passengers With Prosthetics

Anyone who has flown since 9/11 has experienced the lengthy security lines at airports throughout the country. I’m guilty of having done my share of complaining about having to stand in line with a toddler and having to strip down to a single layer of clothes in order to pass through the X-ray machine without setting off the alarms. I often have to remind myself that my inconvenience is nothing compared to what passengers with casts, braces or prosthetic limbs are made to endure just so they can make it to their flights on time. I can’t imagine how relieved … Continue reading →

Dad’s Losing It: How have you been?

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The little hiatus is over here at Families.com and I would love to tell you that during the break my eating and exercise routine has been on-point, but I do not fancy myself a liar, so I will say no such thing. To be honest, I have been having a rough stretch recently with sweets, cookies, donuts and soda entering my body at a way-too frequent clip. I have also been seen eating potato chips (which I do not really even enjoy) and ice cream (Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint – which I enjoy very much. I am helpless to … Continue reading →

“Click It or Ticket”

Regardless of what state you live in, you are likely familiar with law enforcement programs designed to encourage seatbelt use. In my state (Wisconsin) it’s called “Click It or Ticket.” Other states have slight variations on the name including “Click It…It’s the Law” and “Click It, Why Risk It?” The campaigns were instituted to warn motorists that officers would be stepping up patrols and cracking down on drivers who weren’t wearing their seat belts. Now, on the eve of the busy summer travel season, the program gets a new focus. Officers will be turning their attention to motorists traveling on … Continue reading →