Nori still hasn’t caught on to one of my greatest deceptions: I find places and activities that I really want to experience and then I pitch them as ‘something the kids will really enjoy’. Of course, it helps that my kids are all boys and that I have childlike desires. What Scott likes, the boys will like, she thinks – and in general, that’s accurate. Still, I was surprised that she wasn’t more heavily revising my plans to visit a half-dozen wadis during our Oman/UAE trip.

Read more

We never expected to return to the Maldives. Not that we didn’t want to. It’s just one of those unique places – like Bhutan, the Galápagos or Antarctica – that you dream of visiting once in your lifetime. Beautiful, remote, romantic and take-your-breath-away expensive, the Maldives is for honeymoon splurges, silver anniversaries or “closing the deal” on that special relationship. It’s not a repeat destination, and it’s not appropriate or affordable for families like ours.

Read more