We've been traveling and playing a lot along the Pacific Coast over the last year with many trips to the beach and Southern California. Currently, I'm in the middle of planning a trip to New York for my daughter and myself. This will be the first time either of us has been to New York and the first time Madison has ever been to the East Coast.

I look forward to adding more tips and information over the next few months. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you all! Let me know where you like to travel with your family and what types of trips you usually take.

We took a trip to the Oregon Country Fair. I've heard that it has grown a tremendous amount over the past few years. It is definitely an amazing experience now. The fair happens over a three-day weekend once a year and is set in a forest near Eugene, Oregon. It's cleaner than your average fair and is more like visiting fantasy land than a regular fair.

People come in costume, entertainers walk through the crowds, and the booths are beautifully decorated so everywhere you go there are fairies, magicians, musicians, stilt-walkers, jugglers, acrobats and more things to see than can be experienced in just one day. And it isn't just the wandering entertainers - there are multiple stages set up booked with performers throughout the day. Be sure to bring a blanket or a seat though - many of the stages don't provide benches or other seating.

We were lucky in that we went Friday, which was the only night the troupe of fire-dancers performed. There was a stage set up outside of the fair itself (and well cordoned off for safety). The performance started after dark and was absolutely fantastic!! Fire dancers appeared in groups, on stilts, with flaming swords and there were even fire-eaters.

If you missed it last year, it's coming up in July and is an experience you won't forget!!

We took a weekend trip to Portland to visit some friends and had a fabulous time. There is so much to see and do there, but we only had one day and were pretty limited for time, so we played around at the pool in the hotel (the Hampton - by far one of the best hotels we've stayed in) and went to OMSI.

OMSI is an amazing place - if you've never been there, you really should go. They have many of the standard science-center stations and interesting things to look at and play with, as well as some not-so-standard things: There is a submarine tour and you can watch movies on the humongous OmniMax screen.

We watched Hurricane in the Bayou on the OmniMax - my three-year-old declared it to be a little scary, but good.

If you're able to take a trip to Portland and visit OMSI, expect to pay about $9 for adults and $7 for kids just for the regular entrance rate. You can also go with the Museum Combo, which is $19 for adults and $15 for kids and gives you one OMNIMAX movie and your choice of either a planetarium show or a submarine tour. You can also select your options a la cart and vary your entrance price accordingly.

We spent most of the day and because there was so much to see, we still missed a lot. If you go, plan on making a day of it and bring a picnic lunch with you (they have places where you can eat your picnic lunch) or you can purchase food from their little deli.

Check out their website before you go to see what shows will be playing and what displays they will have while you're there. You can copy and paste this address - http://www.omsi.edu/ - into your browser or just click on the OMSI link in our "Links" section below.

SIDE NOTE: The Hampton was one of the best hotels we've stayed in - the pool was clean (and warm!), the hot tub was very nice, the staff were very friendly and helpful, and the breakfast was wonderful with lots of options (sausage and eggs, three different juices, cold and hot cereals, breads, pastries, fresh fruit and fruit salad). I even sat down a few times and used their very accessible guest computer to check on things at work.

Everybody needs a vacation once in a while, even if it's only a whirlwind trip. Our family took a quick trip this summer when we zoomed from Southern Oregon, down through Area 51 to Las Vegas, across the Hoover Dam, skirted a shallow bit of the Grand Canyon (we missed the truly impressive part - maybe next time) and then trotted through the blazing heat of Death Valley (with a side trip to Scotty's Castle and the mosaic canyon), back up into the cold, snowy mountains through a semi-blizzard and Mt. Shasta and then back to Southern Oregon - all in 4 days' time. And we had a blast!

While a trip like that may not be the most relaxing, it's a great way to spend some time with the family. If you have younger kids, I highly recommend the Carschooling book to help pass the time with all that driving. We love it!

Here's a few of our family's favorites from our trip :

* The Hoover Dam - a very awesome site, but the kids thought the car search was more interesting.

* The rattlesnake we saw at the Grand Canyon caught their attention - fortunately it stayed sleeping and we tiptoed away quietly and left it well alone.

* Hiking through the Mosaic Canyon - very beautiful and lots of nooks and crannies for the boys to explore.

* Scotty's castle - The kids liked the tall tales told about old Scotty much more than the actual castle itself. The grownups loved the castle. The empty, unfinished pool in the front was very intriguing - it looked almost as if it was meant to hold fish that could be viewed from inside the castle basement through the thick, glass windows.

* The Las Vegas Pirate Ship show - watching a big pirate ship go down in flames is always an awesome experience.

* Area 51 - While we didn't stop and smell the roses, we did take time to sit beneath a flying saucer, held aloft courtesy of the Little AleInn towing company.

Now it's your turn! Get out there and explore! See how far you can go in a day or two and discover all those little places that you wouldn't normally give much thought to.

Don't have any ideas? TimeLess Concierge can help you plan a quick trip - or even a long one! Visit www.TimeLessConcierge.org and drop us a line (Erin Gilpin at Erin@TimeLessConcierge.org or Liza VanDriel at Liza@TimeLessConcierge.org). We can even make sure you know what to pack!