crazy wireless internet charges at the westin and visiting SFMOMA

BigB posing with Katharina Fritsch’s Baby With Poodles

I have a rant and a rave to report from my recent trip to San Francisco. My rave: using Expedia’s package options, we stayed at the Westin San Francisco Market Street. The published rate for our room, a standard room with 2 Queen beds is $329/night. We paid about $110/night. Not to bad, eh?

This four-star hotel is beside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with SFMOMA just a block away – much better than staying in the busy neighborhood around Fisherman’s Wharf. Inspired by Debbie’s stories of her visits to the Georgia O Keefe Museum in Santa Fe and the Chicago Art Institute with her preschoolers, I felt compelled to try out visiting SFMOMA with my (older, much more boisterous) boys. It was a huge success.

BigB pondering on Jackson Pollock’s Guardians of the Secret

My rant: wireless internet access in the hotel was $14.95 per day. This is an absolute rip-off. Refusing to pay such ridiculous rates, I missed out on Photo Friday last week, but I’m glad to be back this week. Check out more fun and interesting travel photos and travel tales at DeliciousBaby.

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Tags:sfmoma, travel, family travel

The Holidays are here and we have gifts to share! Check out the Passports With Purpose prizes page for awesome raffle prizes – everything from a 3-night stay at the Wyland Waikiki (yes, seriously!) to a Flip Video Camera to top-notch travel gear for children and lots of travel books.

It’s been a busy few weeks, working with Beth Whitman, Debbie Dubrow, and Pam Mandel pulling together sponsors, donors and general technical infrastructure to launch what we hope will be a first annual Passports With Purpose holiday event. This travel-blogger driven fundraiser is in support of Heifer International.

It did take us a while to decide on a charity to support, not least because there are so many, many needy causes. Heifer came up as a candidate because of the work they do around the world and their simple, direct message of attacking poverty worldwide by funding sustainable development and self-reliance within communities. Heifer seeks to go further than addressing immediate needs for food. Their living loans of animals come with education in animal husbandry and a commitment from the recipient to share the offspring of gift animals with others in need, making the recipient equal partners with Heifer in the fight to end world hunger.

My Raffle Prize: A selection of books from the DK Publishing’s Eyewitness Guides ($120 value)

I’m a huge fan of DK Publishing. Their children’s books have been favorites for both my children starting with board books on everything from using the potty to learning about letters, numbers and even other languages. The DK Readers series helped them get started on the road to independent reading in a fun and engaging way. Recently, we’ve discovered that the format of the Eyewitness Travel Guides are so familiar to children who’ve grown up reading these other DK Publishing books, that they’re excellent guidebooks for elementary and middle school-ers – to learn about people and places regardless of whether you’re planning a trip or not.

Check out the full list of incredible prizes on the Passports With Purpose prizes page. Once you’ve selected your prize – or prizes – go to First Giving and buy a raffle ticket. Remember to enter your email address and the prize you want to win in the comments field, or we can’t notify you if you win!

Share this fundraiser with friends and family. You can even become a fan on Facebook!

The deadline to purchase raffle tickets is 11:59pm PST on Dec 29. The founders will pull winners and notify them via email on December 30th.

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Tags:charitable giving, travel, fundraising, passports with purpose