Car & Caboodle

Off the Beaten Path – Quail Botanical Gardens

Cheryl — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:58:13 +0000

We love taking our three kids on outings, and since we’re lucky enough to live in Southern California, we have lots of options. We’ve got passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

Disneyland and SeaWorld are on our to-do list (my husband is not a huge fan of crowds, but now that the kids are on to the idea that there are amusement parks out there, I think he’s fighting a losing battle).
So we were really excited to find out about a place that’s a little more off the beaten path: the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, just 20 minutes north of San Diego.

It’s beautiful, with numerous paths winding through the lush 35-acre landscape. We followed one of them to the new Hamilton Children’s Garden, which just opened in June. They have a fun tree house for kids to climb, a shallow stream to pretend panning for gold, and these cool faux wood beams to build a house.
They also have a music area with huge chimes and a xylophone.
My kids played happily for well over an hour, exploring all the stuff.
On our way back to the parking lot – parking is free if you have at least four passengers – the kids wanted to explore some of the paths. We came upon a lily pad pond, and, as we went over a bridge, we spotted a large waterfall.

There is also another children’s area, closer to the parking lot, an interactive garden called Seeds of Knowledge. They have fun events throughout the year. We recently went to their Insect Festival and were very impressed. There was tons of stuff for our kids to do. My son was handed a cup of dirt containing earthworms at the first station. What’s better than that?

There were arts and crafts, where my daughter made a fine ladybug out of clay, and a show where a woman showed different animals, from a monitor lizard to a fox. A pavilion held all kinds of exhibits: you could try eating bugs (I steered the kids away from that one!), watch honey bees, meet reptiles – my son held two different snakes. You could look at plenty of mounted bugs behind glass and, for a 10 on the Icky scale, my son held a huge Madagascar hissing cockroach. Where’s the hand sanitizer?!?!

Some quick facts and tips:

The garden is officially a non-profit, so your membership is tax-deductible. It’s $12 for adults and $6 for kids 3-12. For a year pass, it’s which includes two adults and children in the household under 18.
It’s open 9-5 every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Wear comfortable shoes. The Children’s Garden is a bit of a hike from the parking lot, and the way back has a decent incline. There is also little shade, so make sure your kids wear sunscreen. It is surprisingly hot, despite its proximity to the beach.

No related posts.

ABC Kids Serves Up a Bumper Crop of New Products

ciaran — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:37:53 +0000

Did you miss us? We were off at the ABCKids show scoping out the latest and greatest gear for you! Going to this massive children’s industry trade show is always a treat . Every year the show surprises and delights me with clever inventions, and modern innovations that promise to make the experience of parenting (and childhood itself) safer, cleaner, funner, better. This year was no different in that regard. But it was different in many ways from past shows. This year saw a shift in thinking. Manufacturers are not only coming up with new solutions to common problems, but they are also rethinking the solutions of the past. Gone are the Diaper Genies and plastic bottles and toys that flashed and screamed for my attention three years ago, and in are the cloth diapers, stainless steel containers and pvc/pthalate free medical grade silicon teethers. Wood, recycled composites, and green products dazzled at this year’s show. Stricter regulations, and more informed consumers are forcing manufacturers to be creative. And this is a very good thing! Several companies have risen to the occasion and have introduced lines that dazzle with their elegance, eco awareness and simplicity.

Two companies that stood our for me were Dano and Sprig.

Sometimes it is the obvious that gets overlooked. Like the ubiquitous rubber duck that may be floating in as many as 9 out of 10 children’s tubs. Most rubber ducks are not safe to be chewed. They contain pthalates and pvc (used to make the plastic “soft”). If that is not enough to gross you out, try holding a squirty ducky up to the light after a month or two of tub duty. See that black gunk on the inside? Yep. That’s mold! Grossed out yet? I was. So much so that I banished all ducks from my kids tubs. But Dano is bringing the duck back to our tub with their incredibly clever silicone version that pops open for cleaning. I could hug these people!

Also making my kids tub time pleasanter, are the new line of bath toys from Sprig. These recyclable toys, made from a bio composite of reclaimed plastics and recycled wood materials, are great looking and luxurious feeling. Solid, smooth and without sharp edges. They are sure to withstand a beating from multiple kids, and stand the test of time. But when it’s time to say goodbye, they won’t have to stick around for a few thousand years longer. Their kid powered electronic toys operate without batteries and the electronics are removable for recycling. The simple and attractive bath toys encourage creative play and yes, they drain completely. Thank you Sprig! Sprig Toys are currently sold at Pottery Barn Kids.

Although the selection of cloth diapers was overwhelming and the bamboo/organic/fair trade signs abundant and uplifting (and deserving of a separate post!), some of the products that caught my eye were of the old fashioned clever thinking variety. Made by moms for moms, clearly. Stuff I loved included:

Girl’s bathing suits with a snap crotch. Hallelujah! Having wrestled with many a wet swimsuit in many a public restroom while my girls were littler, I cannot for the life of me figure out why noone has thought of this sooner!

Burp scarves that tie onto your bag. Yes, you read right. It’s burp cloth meets fashion scarf. As opposed to fashion scarf becomes burp cloth – something that has been around for ages in my house. Not everyone wants to walk around with a cutesy diaper on their shoulder. There’s an alternative now for fashionista moms. A burp cloth that ties onto your bag like a scarf. Looks cute, but is made to handle the inevitable

The Baby Jogger City Select Stroller. I’ve long argued that there is no way that one stroller can do it all, for everyone, but I may have to eat those words. The new City Select promises to come close. With over 16 configurations for one or multiple kids, all possible out of a single frame, it’s an exciting development. The answer to just about every “But wait, does it…?” question I lobbed at the reps, was “Yes! It does!” Can’t wait to review this one!

Other super clever stuff I saw: detachable, comfortable shoulder straps from GoGaga Their signature straps are slinglike, and soft, allowing you to spread the load out over your shoulder and back. It’s a standard thing on their bags, but now that the strap is sold alone you can use this fabulous strap for your other bags, your camera and more.

Ouef’s knit alpaca animal dress up, Boon’s wheat grass inspired bottle drying rack, Baby Hawks “Ruthless and Toothless” carriers, bamboo cars and toys from Hape and new offerings from Zigo that get you out there into nature with your kids. It was a gleeful whirlwind tour of the best new stuff for kids. There were too many fantastic items at ABC to name them all in one post. Check out all of my photos from the trade show floor and stay tuned as I review some of these finds in the coming months!

Car and Caboodle is off to ABC Kids!

ciaran — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:57:15 +0000

We’re going to Vegas this weekend to scout out the latest and greatest in carseats, strollers and family gear. We’ll be reporting live from the tradeshow floor to bring you the best in family travel gear, and clever solutions for families on the go like yours and ours. Keep an eye out in the weeks to come for our ABC finds. We can’t wait to report back to you with all the goods! Watch our site for updates!

Family Fun in PA: Lancaster and Hershey

Jenn — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:47:58 +0000

Last week my family got to experience another wonderful, fun-filled trip around Pennsylvania. This time we spent three days and two nights in Lancaster and Hershey, home to some amazing family-friendly vacation spots, including Dutch Wonderland, Hershey Park, the Strasburg Railroad, Choo Choo Barn, and much more. For those who live in the mid-Atlantic area, this is such a wonderful and close place to vacation. For those further away, it is so worth it to come to this area for a family trip! Read on to learn more about this exciting area…

Our Stay at the Willow Valley Resort
We started off our trip at the Willow Valley Resort, a fabulous family destination central to everything in Lancaster and about 45 minutes from Hershey. This was our hub for our trip and it was very comfortable, relaxing, and a nice place for our family to stay. Our double room in the Atrium building was nice and upgraded with granite, had a refrigerator (great for storing milk, fruit and snacks!) and was a convenient walk to everything on property: 2 restaurants (with great Smorgasbords!), a bakery, an indoor swimming pool and water playground, a beautiful lake with playground, and a family-friendly farm.

My children really enjoyed their time playing on the property throughout our stay. They loved the water playground and one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Willow Valley Farm. My boys learned about all of the animals there, got to feed them and give them water, and pet the animals, too.

We also liked the fact that the hotel was centrally located to Dutch Wonderland, the Strasburg Railroad, and the Lancaster outlet shopping (all about a 15 minute drive), Hershey Park (about 45 minutes) and was around the corner from a nice supermarket (which we went to numerous times!)

Take a look at some more pictures of the hotel and our stay in Lancaster/Hershey.

Dutch Wonderland – an amazing theme park for young children
The first day of our trip was spent at Dutch Wonderland, a very clean, manageable, fun theme park for young children. Of course there are great rides for kids, rides for the whole family, Duke’s Lagoon – a great little water park, and family theme shows and entertainment. Prices within the park are very reasonable, children under 3 are free as well as parking, which definitely helps when visiting!

My kids really enjoyed the Thomas and Friends theme show, as well as a number of rides that they got to go on together (there are plenty of little kid rides that they can ride alone, as well as other rides perfect for our whole family). At ages 4 ½ and 2, there was plenty for both of them to do (and we saw many children both younger and older enjoying the park as well… there are roller coasters for the older ones too!) The water park was perfect for cooling off on a hot day, and a great size for the park (not too overwhelming).

A trip to Dutch Wonderland is the perfect family getaway. Especially when you combine it with some of the other places we went…

Hershey Park – a theme park, water park, zoo, and Chocolate World all in one!
We went to Hershey Park on Sunday – on one of the hottest days of the year! Upon arriving, we, like most people there, went straight to The Boardwalk, Hershey’s water park (which is included in the price of your ticket!). My whole family spent a good hour or so cooling off in the newest ride, The Shore, a huge wave pool that has simulated waves from zero to 6 feet. We all enjoyed this attraction, as well as the Sandcastle Cove (pictured below) and it helped us cool off and enjoy the rest of the day at the park on the dry rides.

Hershey Park is a great family theme park with rides for all ages. There were plenty of “little kids” rides for my boys, and lots of thrill-seeking rides for older teens and adults. We were amazed at the numerous roller coasters and how crazy they were! (I would have tried them if I had a daredevil with me!)

We also enjoyed a stroll through ZooAmerica, a zoo right in the middle of Hershey Park. The kids loved seeing the animals and it gave us a chance to cool off in the shade for a bit. Another highlight was the “Great Candy Caper” featuring sea lion detectives, which was cleverly performed and enjoyed by the whole family. It didn’t hurt that we got splashed a bit, too!

Of course a trip is not complete without a visit to Chocolate World, which was one of the highlights for us. We got to experience a 3D movie about chocolate (who wouldn’t like that!) as well as the main attraction at Chocolate World – a ride through the history and the making of Hershey’s chocolate. At the end of it we got to sample some chocolate too, yum! We all loved concluding our visit to Hershey Park in the amazing Chocolate World store, filled with everything you can imagine and then some. Let’s just say I did my fair share of eating that day!

The Strasburg Railroad and Choo-Choo Barn – a train lover’s dream come true!
Anyone who knows my son Jacob knows that he is a BIG train and Thomas fan. So our last day in Lancaster was spent doing everything train related: a visit to the historic Strasburg Railroad, and then a visit to the Choo Choo barn, an amazing model railroad display.

Strasburg Railroad allows you to explore and ride old-fashioned, restored steam engine trains. Seeing the coal-burning, huge steam train was so exciting for my kids (and for us!) and riding was even more exciting. Inside the train it was plush, with beautiful lighting fixtures and every little detail polished and perfect. We all loved riding, listening to the conductor talk about Amish life, agriculture, and learning a lot about the area. After our train ride, we enjoyed riding the little “cranky cars” that the kids could steer, operating a hand-powered pump car, and browsing the numerous gift shops (including an all Thomas shop!).

You can eat in the Dining Car of the train, at the Trackside Café, or you can get off the train at a shaded picnic spot.

Stratsburg Railroad is a host to Day Out With Thomas three times a year, when a huge Thomas festival comes to town. You can ride Thomas the Train, meet Sir Topam Hat, and play with numerous train tables and Thomas Legos. It’s definitely something a Thomas lover shouldn’t miss!

After our great experience at Stratsburg, we headed across the street to the Choo Ch oo Barn. This 1,700 square foot train attraction features over 150 hand-built animated figures and vehicles and 22 operating trains. It is an exciting sight to see for anyone, train lover or not.

We all loved watching it turn from day to night and seeing the train town change… and all of the exciting animated scenes before our eyes. Take a look at what the Choo Choo Barn is like… it’s truly awesome!

Coming to this area?
I just want to reiterate again how fabulous I think the Lancaster/Hershey area is for a family trip. Children of all ages will have so much fun, learn a lot, and the whole family will enjoy quality time together in this wholesome yet exciting town. For more information on Lancaster and Hershey, please visit the Tourism websites, which offer a lot of great information including itinerary advice. It’s an easy drive for many of us, and for those who fly in, Philadelphia’s airport or Harrisburg are both within 45 min – 1.5 hours. Finally, take a look at some more pictures of our stay in Lancaster/Hershey.

Family Fun in PA — Incredible Skytop Lodge

Jenn — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:20:29 +0000

Our last trip of our fun-filled summer was to an amazing place called Skytop Lodge, in Skytop, Pennsylvania (in the Pocono mountains). Despite the colder and rainy weather that greeted us when we arrived, we had an incredible experience and couldn’t believe the beauty all around us at Skytop.

This all-inclusive resort is a wonderful family destination, especially for active families. As you approach Skytop, you can’t help but be amazed at the incredible property (take a tour here) – the main building, which opened in 1928, is majestic and beautiful. The gardens and flowers all around the property are probably the most beautiful that I have seen. And the numerous waterfalls throughout the property are simply amazing. Activities on property include over 30 miles of trails to hike, bike, relax and play by the lake, enjoy sports like archery, tennis, basketball, golf, paintball, rock climbing, kayaking, geo-caching, wilderness skills, and much more. Winter sports include downhill and cross country skiing, ice skating and sledding, and fishing and shooting in their indoor center.

One of my favorite features that sets Skytop apart from other destinations that we traveled to this summer is that they offer a kids camp in the summer, called Camp in the Clouds. For potty-trained kids over 3, they can participate in highly active, outdoor-geared activities for either half or full-day sessions. My older son Jacob, who is 4 ½, had the greatest time at camp. He played at the pool, did arts and crafts, and enjoyed playing indoor mini-golf. (It was raining the day he went to camp.) He met some friends and enjoyed playing with them throughout our stay at Skytop. And we loved that we got a little break (while our little one napped) which made the trip even more of a vacation for us! Skytop also offers a kids Ambassadors Club, which gives kids 4 and up a passport and special lapel pin. Each time they do an activity, they get a special stamp in their passport, which they can turn in for a prize at the end of their stay. Finally, it’s important to note that babysitters are available at Skytop, which allows parents some time off at night to enjoy the great entertainment activities and fabulous dining options (more on that later, too!)

Other great features for kids: family fun and entertainment every Saturday night with live music and dancing, as well as special children’s banquets and activities. (My kids loved the 4pm cookies every day!) My kids also loved the indoor and outdoor mini-golf courses, biking (all types of bikes are available, including bike seats and pull carts for little ones), ping-pong, arcade, and more. When you check in, you receive “Skylites,” a listing of all of the activities happening throughout the week. Things like tie-dying, jewelry making, guided bike rides and hikes, afternoon tea, yoga classes, and more occur throughout the day.

Of course, I can’t write about Skytop without mentioning the incredible, delicious food that is included with your stay (three meals per person a day!) There were two restaurants to choose from, the Main dining room (which offers traditional fare and a Kids buffet) and the Lakeview Dining Room, which offers an Italian menu. Both restaurants had gourmet, delicious food, and everyone in my family was impressed and satisfied. You can also eat at “the In Between Deli,” a quick place to get lighter fare like sandwiches and soups (included in your stay), or can dine at the Tap Room or Tea Room (not included).

Though I didn’t get a chance to try out the spa, it looked like a great place to get away and relax while enjoying a refreshing treatment. My husband, though, did get a chance to try out the 18-hole golf course and really enjoyed it. There is also a golf pro on staff and a golf shop as well as a driving range. Skytop offers Golf School as well as golf lessons and programs for kids, too.

Though summer is now coming to a close, the fall and winter is a wonderful time to visit Skytop. They have some incredible Fall Theme Weekends coming up this fall, including a “Spoo-tacular” on Halloween weekend, “Secrets of the Harvest” which is a weekend of cooking demonstrations and eating, “Holiday Dining and Decorating”, and “Gingerbread Weekend”, both in December.

This is definitely one place that you will want to bring your family. My family certainly had an incredible time. (Take a look at our slideshow of pictures of the amazing property!) Enjoy your stay if you decide to go!

Family Fun in PA: The Lehigh Valley

Jenn — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:16:05 +0000

Continuing in our tradition of touring the state of Pennsylvania this summer, my kids, my mom and I got to spend 3 days, 2 nights in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, which is North of Philadelphia and a short drive from New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. The Lehigh Valley encompasses three main areas, including Bethlehem, Easton, and Allentown. I will touch on each of these places and tell you about the great family friendly places that you can visit while in this part of the state, including Dorney Park, The Lehigh Valley Zoo, the Da Vinci Science Center, and The Crayola Factory and Canal Museum.

Day 1 – Dorney Park!
Dorney Park is a great theme park and water park in one. What I love most about this park is that there are rides for every age, including some ridiculous roller coasters, and a wonderful kids “Peanuts” themed park called Camp Snoopy. Though the park is a good size, it felt very manageable for us, and in particular, Camp Snoopy, there was lots of shade, lots of kid-sized rides, some nice water sprinklers to cool us off without having to change, and no long lines! It was perfect and my kids really enjoyed it! It’s also great to cool off in Wildwater Kingdom, an area of the park (included with your admission price) that has lots of slides, a wave pool, and much more.

Holiday Inn
We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Allentown throughout our stay in the Lehigh Valley. It was an extremely accessible hotel to all of our destinations. The staff in the hotel were excellent: always offering to help and so nice and friendly. And the rooms and hotel in general exceeded my expectations for a Holiday Inn! Our room was recently re-done and are decorated very nicely, all with nice, new TVs and refrigerators. We really loved the 3rd floor concierge suite, which provided a free continental breakfast (with everything you could imagine), drinks all throughout the day, and dinner snacks and food in the evening. For an additional $20 per night per room, it is well worth the cost!

At night, we got to try out a great kid-friendly restaurant and game center called Rascals Food and Fun. Sort of a combo Chuck-E-Cheese, amusement park and better restaurant, my kids really enjoyed their time playing here (and my mom and I LOVED our fabulous dinners!).

Day 2 – Lehigh Valley Zoo and the DaVinci Science Center
We really enjoyed our visit to the Lehigh Valley Zoo in the morning… it was a nice, medium-sized zoo with a great variety of animals. We all loved the beautiful ride into the zoo, (complete with a trip over a covered bridge) lots of shade, children’s play area, and especially our close-up encounter with the kangaroos. (It’s called the Walkabout – we got to stand right next to them. It was amazing! See the picture to the right of my son standing about 2 feet away from a kangaroo!) The zoo is a low-key place yet has a ton to do. We really enjoyed this part of our trip!

In the afternoon, we took my older son Jacob (who is almost 5) to the Da Vinci Science Center, a fabulous place for children K through 8th grade to learn, experience, and explore science. My son loved getting his hands into all different kids of science, from touching live sea animals to experiencing his own shadows, to solving complex puzzles, to building his own airplane and then launching it. All children will love to challenge themselves and appease their curiosity in this unique center!

Day 3 – The Crayola Factory and Canal Museum
On our way home, we hit the Crayola Factory, a hands-on place for kids to express themselves through art. Though it sounds like you are actually visiting the factory where crayons are made, this is not the case. (Though you can see a 20 minute show that touches on this.) Most of the exhibits and attractions at the Crayola Factory involve your kids doing art… from coloring with crayons, to painting, to using color wonder markers and Crayola model magic, sidewalk chalk, finger painting, and more. There are stations set up all around the Factory with helpful staff to show your children exactly what to do. Upon entering you get a plastic bag to store all of your children’s art as well as some special coins for them to “buy” crayons, markers, and model magic.

After our fun time at the Crayola Factory, we headed upstairs to the Canal Museum, which is a really neat place where your children can learn how dams and canals work hands-on. My sons LOVED the part where they could sail their cargo ship, pick up cargo, and go through the dams. Afterwards there is a neat museum to explore, as well.

Other Fun Facts
Some fun things that I learned about the area when I met with Kim, from the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, is that the Lehigh Valley is home to 11 colleges and universities, as well as the Peep Factory and the factory that makes Mike & Ike’s, Good & Plenty, and Hot Tamales (yum!) Additionally, Bethlehem, which is also known as “Christmas City,” is recognized by Travel and Leisure Magazine as one of the top holiday markets in the world, with special events, music & arts, shopping, and much more.

Overall our trip to the Lehigh Valley was awesome. There is so much to do in this part of Pennsylvania, I highly recommend a 2-3 day trip for those who live in the Northeast part of the country (or anyone really! The Lehigh Valley has their own International Airport!)

Roadtripping with Nissan and the Whiteface Lodge: Part Two

Jodi — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:20:33 +0000

Read the first part of my Roadtripping with Nissan and the Whiteface Lodge article.

The Whiteface Lodge is absolutely gorgeous, but the beauty isn’t the thing we enjoyed! There’s a huge variety of activities that are included with your stay, including:

Kamp Kanu – a two-hour camp for children aged 3-6 and 7-10. At the camp, my kids took nature hikes, fed the fish in the pond, made crafts, and colored.
A private beach less than a mile down the road called the Canoe Club (a quick shuttle ride away) where you can swim, canoe, kayak, and play outdoor sports such as volleyball and badminton
S’more making by the nightly campfire
An on-site movie theater, showing three movies a day
A family game room, including a two-lane bowling alley
A fitness room, with treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, and Nautilus equipment

We are the type of family that’s typically always on the go, but for this vacation, we relaxed quite a bit, staying on property almost the entire time – enjoying the amenities, swimming, and eating some fabulous food!

For more info on the Whiteface Lodge, visit their website.

Roadtripping with Nissan and the Whiteface Lodge: Part One

Jodi — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:18:33 +0000

My family always travels to Walt Disney World every year, but we like to take a shorter, more local trip in the summer. This year, we were invited by the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, NY, to check out the kids’ activities they’ve expanded this year to help make the resort even more family friendly.

The drive from the western suburbs of Boston (where I live) to Lake Placid is about 5 1/2 hours. Our friends at Nissan offered my family a Nissan Maxima to test-drive on our road trip. While I was concerned that there may not be ample trunk space – the Maxima is billed as a sports car – the trunk space is actually pretty large. There was more than enough room for the two suitcases and numerous tote bags we brought with us.

The drive was pretty easy – overall it took about five hours. The Nissan Maxima was the perfect car for the trip – the included navigational system guided us along the way, and the XM/Sirius radio provided us with hours of entertainment (especially the 80s on 8 station – where I heard “Parents Just Don’t Understand” for the first time in probably 10 years). We were also impressed with the gas mileage – we made it to Lake Placid on less than one tank of gas, and we even used the air conditioner for part of the trip. The ride is also super-smooth, something I miss with my older 2004 Toyota Matrix. Have I mentioned how much I want a Nissan for my next car? I think the Maxima would work for me, since I prefer smaller cars (now if they’d only make a hybrid Maxima).

I’d seen pictures of the Whiteface Lodge, but I still wasn’t prepared for how gorgeous it is. The resort doesn’t deviate one bit from its Adirondack style, and I half-expected to see Patrick Swayze teaching dance in the clubhouse. The Whiteface Lodge offered us a free one-night stay and a discounted media rate for the rest of the stay, and I expected that my family would be given a one-bedroom suite. But I was wrong! Our suite was a 3 bedroom/3 bathroom suite with over 1500 square feet of living space! All of the suites include a full kitchen, so you can prefer meals in your room if you’d like. We preferred to order room service, and eat at the large dining room table, than eat in the restaurant.

To be continued with part 2 tomorrow, in the meantime, check out my photos on Whrrl.

Pictures from the Whiteface Lodge

Jodi — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:52:31 +0000

I’ll be posting more about my trip soon, but in the meantime, check out my pictures on Whrrl…

An Umbrella Stroller Sturdier Than an Umbrella!

marie — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:21:22 +0000

My family of 5 has been through a lot of strollers. With three children, our strollers have each seen their day. As my youngest is out of a baby carrier now, I’ve been looking for a stroller that’s not super bulky, but also can withstand the push and pull. And I think I’ve found it in the Britax Blink.

This is just what my family needs. It sturdy enough to fit my 1 year old, yet lightweight enough to fit my 4 year old as well. I love the storage that it includes, a fun pocket for keys or cell phone in the back, and enough for a diaper bag on the bottom. And it’s got a great sun shade for my child, equip with a see through sun roof! It opens, closes, and stores pretty easy, taking just a few tries to master. It even comes with a storage bag, great for travel.

And aside from manageability, it’s got style. Don’t you just love the lime?! Yes, this is strolling in style! So if you’re looking for an umbrella stroller that’s sturdier than an umbrella, then the Britax Blink is your new toy!