Vacations Books

We live in California, and bought this to for information on Hawaii. Seems to have some good info, as the California portion seems to be right on the mark with what we like to see and do in California.

The information is very good, but we already knew a lot of the California stuff already. We are looking forward to trying out the Hawaii information soon!

If you are not from California, and need to plan a trip here, this is a good tool to have in your planning kit!

I purchased this book for a family road trip we took in 2004. I was really impressed with all it had to offer. It had a section on ways to make the time in the car more enjoyable, what to bring, what to plan for, how to cut down costs, etc. And then it had all of California mapped out so you could quickly look up things to do in every area you planned to visit. There are ratings for what things will cost (admission fees to attractions, lists of hotels and their prices and ratings, camping places and costs and ratings, restaurants ratings and prices, etc.) and Family Fun also rated things on a fun scale (from "fine" to "Family Fun Recommended"), which really helped us to weed out the so-so from the don't miss since we had limited time and money.

We just wanted to get the most out of our vacation. We didn't want to drive by something and miss out because we didn't know it was there. We also needed to plan our budget and research places to stay and things to do. This book was invaluable. I still have it earmarked with little sticky notes for everything we wanted to see. Now it is an historical record of our vacation.

I highly recommend this book and all the Family Fun vacation guides. Their ratings are right on, and they know everything there is to do in the parts of the country that you want to see. Grab a book and hit the road, Jack!

A thoughtful, and general overview of the work of this eclectic and influential resort architect. While the text is well written, the total lack of any siteplans, floorplans, and elevations cause this book to provide only a partial understanding of Mizner's work. All photos are black and white, and while this serves to keep the book modestly priced, it also severely limits the reader's enjoyment. Still, for the cost a worthwhile bargain.

I noticed the other review and felt it did not do this resourceful book as much justice as it deserves. My husband and I own a house designed by Addison Mizner, where we live half of the year. We had to renovate an entire back portion of our house to bring it back to the original design. During the 1980's a former owner did an odd renovation to a small portion of the house and a substantial addition to the house without respecting the original design. This book provided much insight into the original interiors & architectural details of Mizner's architecture. Two books by Donald Curl: Mizner's Florida: American Resort Architecture, and his other book, Palm Beach County: An Illustrated History were of extreme help and importance in renovating our house. Also, of great help in understanding Mizner's architecture was the large collection of archives available to the general public at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Since Mizner supplied furniture to many of his clients it was wonderful to see photographs of many of the interiors in their original glory. When researching Addison Mizner's interiors I found the interior photographs in this book to be the most resourceful photographs of all books or archives that I could find. Also to note of much importance is that there are photographs of homes that have sadly been demolished. Thank God for the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach!

In this story, Grandma Nan calls Pip and invites him to spend a weekend at her cabin by the lake. Nan has already invited Grandma Sal and told Pip that he could invite his best friend, Ski.
At the cabin, the Grandmas disagree on everything. Grandma Nan is too strict. But Grandma Sal is too laid back. Pip and Ski are bothered by the feuding grandmothers and try to escape them by going for a walk in the woods. But the grandmas follow! When Grandma Sal declares it "Nap Time," Pip and Sal sneak out of the house and hop in Grandma Nan's row boat. The two paddle out into the middle of the lake.
When the grandmas wake up and find them in the boat, Nan grows upset, but Grandma Sal just questions why they weren't invited! Grandma Nan demands that they return, but they make the both the grandmas promise that they will stop arguing! The grandmas promise!
I thought that this book had a nice storyline. This story, like the other "Grandma Sal and Grandma Nan" stories, is meant for early readers. I found this an entertaining, humorous story and I highly recommend it to all.

In this story, Grandma Nan calls Pip and invites him to spend a weekend at her cabin by the lake. Nan has already invited Grandma Sal and told Pip that he could invite his best friend, Ski.
At the cabin, the Grandmas disagree on everything. Grandma Nan is too strict. But Grandma Sal is too laid back. Pip and Ski are bothered by the feuding grandmothers and try to escape them by going for a walk in the woods. But the grandmas follow! When Grandma Sal declares it "Nap Time," Pip and Sal sneak out of the house and hop in Grandma Nan's row boat. The two paddle out into the middle of the lake.
When the grandmas wake up and find them in the boat, Nan grows upset, but Grandma Sal just questions why they weren't invited! Grandma Nan demands that they return, but they make the both the grandmas promise that they will stop arguing! The grandmas promise!
I thought that this book had a nice storyline. This story, like the other "Grandma Sal and Grandma Nan" stories, is meant for early readers. I found this an entertaining, humorous story and I highly recommend it to all.

The best thing about this book is that it's written by someone who has lived in Hilo most of his life, eaten at the restaurants, shopped in the shops, hiked the trails, swum off the beaches - not once but dozens of times. I was enchanted to encounter little tidbits like grocery prices, recipes for island dishes, lists of bicycle rental outlets, etc. The fact that this book isn't from some huge mainstream publisher is a plus as the element of surprise is there. It's the sort of guide you take with you on a long sojourn and dip into all the time. For us off islanders, the detailed accommodations listings are a boon and the exact prices an occasional lifesaver. I'd recommend getting Penisten's book even if you already have a more weighty tome like Moon's Big Island of Hawaii Handbook. For the nuts and bolts of travel I give this guide ten out of ten.

I found this book to be full of good, well organized information. I have a collection of Hawaiian tour guides & do not make this statement lightly.

The hotel descriptions were particularly useful in assisting me to decide which hotel to stay in. I am sure I will find the restaurant & "what to see" section to be just as helpful.

My own minor complaint is that the largest spaces between the different parts of the book were doubled spaced. There were no chapters, and I found it a little hard to read.

Mr. Penisten will soon come out with his 6th edition & I am sure it will be eagerly received by those planning a trip to the largest of the Hawaiian islands.

For a primary grade child, being sent to camp is like being sent to Siberia. In this tongue-in-cheek story, the MOM gets sent to camp and the dad and the daughter stay home, then visit mid-week and then consider the remote possibility of the child perhaps, just maybe, maybe someday, going to camp. Very understated, about 2nd grade reading level, this may be helpful for a reluctant camper-to-be.

Children are naturally close to their parents, but there are children who will practically never budge from their homes. These are the youngsters who will need sleep-away camp the most when they are older, but are the most likely to resist. This is particularly the case if they are the only, older or oldest child in the family. Ms. Bunting has done a virtuoso job in this book of helping ease that transition by introducing the idea of sleep-away camp in a positive light for the 4-6 year old set.

"Mom waved a letter. 'I'm going to camp,' she said happily."

"'Only kids go to camp,' Lin said."

"This is a mother's camp, for mothers only."

"Loppy Lamb and I don't want to go to kid's camp."

Naturally, though, Lin wanted to help her mom get ready to go away. They went shopping, and Lin was surprised that you get to buy lots of great fun things for sleep-away camp.

Then, it was time for mom to go away on the camp bus. She asked dad and Lin to promise to visit her on Vistors Day. Lin and dad were looking forward to having fun together while mom was away.

Just before Visitors Day, they made fudge and cookies to take to mom. Lin didn't know that people got goodies on Visitors Day at camp.

They have a great reunion, and Lin gets to see what mom has been doing. She finds out that mom has been playing her new harmonica, paddling in canoe races, playing volleyball, having midnight treats, developing best friends, using passwords and secret codes with her cabin mates, riding horses, swimming, having campfire sessions, and making friendship bracelets. Lin thinks that sounds kind of neat.

When dad and Lin leave, Lin hears Loppy Lamb say something. She asks dad to be quiet so she can hear better.

"'Dad?' Lin said, 'Loppy Lamb wants to tell me something.'"

"Dad? Loppy says he might want to go to camp in two years when he's big."

"He's such a baby sometimes, I might have to go to camp with him."

"It's not that I want to go."

The illustrations done by Ms. Cocca-Leffler deserve praise. They use lots of bright pastel tones, done in strong water-based colors. The shadings and detail are marvelously subtle, and help create a relaxed mood so important to this story. You get a feeling much like in the Raggedy Ann and Andy books, except the palette is much more in earth tones and away from reds and whites.

The story deserves praise from several perspectives. First, it doesn't overtly "sell" camp. It just provides information about what a mom's experience is. Second, it never says that children should or should not go to sleep-away camp. Third, it paints the issue in the future since Lin (and your child) are too young to go to sleep-away camp now. Fourth, no one ever asks Lin if she wants to go. She simply expresses her opinion voluntarily in the end. Fifth, the book also helps your child realize that she or he can take a favorite friend along (whether a stuffed toy or a human friend). Sixth, the story also gives your child a way to talk about the subject, by suggesting that the issue can be discussed in terms of what Loppy Lamb wants. That can take some of the anxiety out of the issue.

Beyond buying and reading this book, there are other things you can do that help. You can arrange to go see siblings, cousins or neighbor children at their camps on visiting day if you know that the child is having a great time. You can also go to a family camp where there will be children the same age as your child, and activities for the children. A short day camp experience in your own town is a good transition. I also suggest encouraging your child to invite friends for overnights. I know they are hard on your sleep, but they encourage the kind of socialization that is helpful for sleep-away camp and later on for college and independent living.

Many of my friends still have their children living at home (at well past 30), often with their own children, and sometimes with spouses. These children never made it to sleep-away camp. Unless you want to live in an extended household for the rest of your life (and more power to you if you do), this book can help create the subtle encouragement to try sleep-away camp that is beneficial for slowly untying the emotional umbilical cord.

Leave home behind to add to your adventures, but keep your sense of home-based confidence when you do!

I have all of the picture puzzle books from Life and I think they're the best out there. I even gave a bunch of them to my family and friends this Christmas. I spend a lot of time relaxing with them and I've gotten really good at solving the puzzles.
I have to disagree with the first review here. The newest Vacations picture puzzle book from Life is just as much fun as all the others. The puzzles towards the end of the book are hard - but they're supposed to be hard! I like starting with the easy ones, knowing that I can find all the changes and working my way through each section, until my brain starts to spin. I feel energized afterwards and I'm always disappointed when I've finally finished all the puzzles in a book. I just wish I could get a steady supply of new ones.
If I have any complaint with this book, it's that the book doesn't seem as well printed as the others. I can see through some pages and the colors don't look as bright. Maybe that's why the other reviewer complained. In some of the puzzles it's hard to see the changes because of the printing.
Still, I'm giving it five stars because I can't get enough of these puzzles. They're the best!

I must say I did not enjoy this edition as much as I have the previous Picture Puzzle books. In many of the puzzles, the differences were so small or so subtle that they could not be seen with the naked eye. I like a challenging puzzle but I don't feel you should have to work it with a magnifying glass. Even after consulting the answers I felt some of the differences would have been impossible to decipher.

This book does have a lot of very useful information, but it is written for people who live in the U.K. and want to work and live in France. So, most of the contact and resource information listed is located in the U.K. I think challenges for someone from outside the European Union who wants to live and work in France are different. Just be cognizant of this fact if you fall into that category.

Ms. Pybus doesn't delve much into homey yarns about walking along the sidewalks of Paris with the smells of freshly baked gread wafting overhead. This book is about information. Lots of it. From cars, to banking, to mortgages, to pets she covers just about anything you can imagine about living in France. She documents most chapters with addresses and telephone numbers and includes cultural guides for help. There are books about France that are a whole lot more warm and fuzzy but no where will you find this much good and useful inforamtion.

This is a very good book for someone who wants to have an overview of what it will be like to live and work in Spain and Portugal. Once you have opted for a country then you may want something more focused and comprehensive on the country of your choice, in my case Holtom's Working and living: Portugal. But this book is excellent for a first read and more. Though covering both countries, it still manages to address many important issues, like schools and education; health; and others. Very good for a short stay, still useful for settling in. Glad I bought it.

When I started looking for a place in the sun I found this book very helpful. It provides a bird's eye view of life and work in the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the kind of book to start with before you make a decision and then start focusing on the country of your choice. It is concise and to the point.

I think Mackinac Island: Hisotric Frontier, Vacation Resort, Timeless Wonderland is the best all around book about Mackinac Island that is on the market today. It has detailed information about the Islands history and geological evolution that is still very readable. This book covers the many vacation and resorty aspects of the Island also. If you are looking for a readable text book with all the general information about Mackinac Island you could every want, this is the book for you!

I read an older edition of this book from the library (1988, I believe). It's very informative and entertaining to read, and even covers some landmarks on the island which are no longer existent--something I have not come across in other Mackinac Island guides just yet. The authors even made use of "flashbacks" to try to transport the reader into past eras--a soldier in Fort Mackinac, Victorian visitors to the island, a yacht race, etc. (Though these did get a little silly at times.)

However, the entire text was filled with numerous horrible typos, spelling errors, and grammatical errors which should have been learned about in grade school and eradicated in a simple line edit. As informative as the text was, I quickly lost a lot of respect for the authors seeing as they didn't comprehend simple English. It was a library book and I itched to use a red pen throughout the entire thing. Does nobody use copy editors anymore?

I sincerely hope that in subsequent editions of the book, including this one, the authors checked out a grammar manual and fixed their errors so that the book would read more professionally, as any published document should. This would have been a great book, deserving of four stars, if not for such simple yet repetitive and irritating problems.

I have been on a few cruises, but not on a wide variety of ships. I was looking for ideas and advice. This book provided it, up to a point. A key idea is that the attitude you bring on board with you will have more of an impact on how happy you are with the cruise than will anything else.

I would have liked to have seen more in the way of comparisons of experiences in different staterooms both on a particular class of ships and across ships. I would like to have seen more about excursions, particularly about making smart choices (e.g., safety) when not on the ship.

The book should be updated periodically. I have used the author's website, but have not found it particularly helpful for the cruise lines in which I am currently interested.

I don't know if there are comparable books available. If not, then I would recommend the book for a person who does not have a lot of cruise experience.

I should have read this before my last cruise, it's very resourceful. If you're looking for a dream vacation also check out, "World Ventures, Marc Accetta".