• Travel Tips

    What to Pack for an Outdoor Festival (with Kids)

    It’s festival season here in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. We’ve got festivals of every stripe — berry festivals, Shakespeare festivals, folk festivals, medieval festivals, rose and rodeo festivals. Our family recently went to the Folklife Festival with our kids, and here’s a packing list I created. These items fit into one small backpack ( thankfully, we didn’t need any rain gear), which we slung over the stroller, along with the small cooler. Festival essentials: Cell phone ID Keys Cash (more than you think you’ll need) and Credit/Debit card and pin Tickets if necessary Map or iPhone or Android event schedule/map Camera w/extra battery or memory card Festival packing…

  • Packing for family trips
    Travel Tips

    Packing Checklist for NW and BC Vacations

    Our weather is unpredictable but our climate is mild. We dress in layers, and prep for rain and sun. The Cascadia uniform: T-shirt, hoodie, rain-proof jacket, jeans, water-repellent shoes. The Pacific Northwest dress code is casual and natural. We wear a lot of dark and vibrant colors. White, not so much. In the cities, women don’t typically wear much make up. We wear jeans to fine restaurants and yoga pants pretty much everywhere else (I’ve shown up to pick up my kids from school in my pajamas, and no one even noticed — or maybe they were just too Seattle-nice to say anything to my face). If you look in…