(Matt Villano) We Americans have grown accustomed to insuring all of our most valuable stuff—our homes, our cars, even our lives. Oddly, however, very few of us insure our trips; according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, fewer than one-third of Americans who travel purchase travel insurance. If you’re a solo traveler whose plans rarely change, I can understand being hesitant. But for family travelers, especially those who spend multiple thousands of dollars on vacations with multiple children, NOT buying...

(One Step Ahead) Vendors serving the parenting space will stop at nothing to try and convince us moms and dads how much of their stuff we need. Sometimes, they’ve got a point—that little clip-and-tether doohickey that keeps the baby’s pacifier from hitting the ground is genius. In the case of family travel, however, most of the products dubbed “must-haves” represent colossal wastes of cash. Here are three (well, really, four) of the least necessary I’ve come across so far. Baby...

(Rayes/Thinkstock) While it’s important to bring a bathing suit when you and the family hit the road this summer, it’s even more critical to make sure your children are safe. I recently sat down with Alison Rhodes-Jacobson, a.k.a. Safety Mom, to glean some tips for safer family vacations. Here are the highlights of our chat. Q. How can parents ‘train’ their kids to be safer when the family is away from home? A. Have an emergency evacuation plan in case...

(Courtesy of Brookstone) Here, in no particular order, is a rundown of which toys are best to bring along on a trip. Ones you can read Books—both those of the real-life-paper and electronic ilk—are great for road trips (as opposed to plane trips) because you don’t have to worry about bringing too many. Especially if you or your children get car sick, it’s best to bring books with large pictures and big font; this way no-one has to strain his...

(Matt Villano) It’s time to spotlight the good and the bad of what to expect from family travel in the 2013. First, the good. According to Travel & Leisure, a number of the “most important travel trends” for 2013 relate to families. Among them: The increased prevalence (and increased affordability) of cruising, further expansion of the green movement in travel, a growing number of tourists renting villas, the widespread use of electronic travel documents, and a general move to make...

Hollywood is showing a lot of love for Denzel Washington in "Flight", nominating him for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. In the movie, Washington's character, pilot Whip Whitaker, is forced to roll the plane on its back and fly upside-down to avoid disaster. However is it really possible to fly a plane like that? Not for very long, according to experts interviewed by CNN. The film "enjoyed a bit of artistic license," says Larry Goodrich, a pilot with...

(MCT Photo Service) If life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? But if life hands you nettles, and you're on Orcas Island? You make pizza. On a recent rainy Thursday, during the weekly pizza and open-microphone night at Doe Bay Cafe, an overflow crowd of locals steamed up the wood-framed windows overlooking emerald-green Otter Cove. Manny's ale fueled loud, happy conversations. Topping the popular pie this night: nettle pesto, a sprinkling of blue cheese, Parmesan, pecans and sliced roasted...

(MCT Photo Service) Victoria retains its compact, easygoing nature, with major sights clustered around downtown's Inner Harbour. But I decided to explore the edges of the city,or at least as far as I could leisurely go on foot, bike and a shiny-red rented motor scooter. It's an ideal city to visit car-free. From Seattle, visitors can zip to Victoria on the high-speed Clipper passenger-only ferries or the even faster Kenmore Air float planes. Dozens of hotels are within a 10-minute...

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on a runway. (Associated Press) The federal government grounded Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced jetliner Wednesday, declaring that the 787 cannot fly again until the risk of battery fires is addressed. The Federal Aviation Administration's emergency order affects only United Airlines, the lone U.S. carrier to operate 787s. United said it would put passengers on other aircraft and work closely with the FAA and Boeing to review its fleet of six Dreamliners. The FAA...

Sunset on Cape Cod Bay taken Aug. 1, 2012 (Photo credit: iWitnessWeather contributor Trevoo1) Cape Cod, Mass. It may be January, but that doesn't mean the weather doesn't offer up some great things to see this weekend! Let's start with Cape Cod. Normally in January, you may deal with heavy rain or snow, high winds, rough seas, or, at least cold air. This weekend offers almost none of that. (FORECAST: Cape Cod) Highs will rise into the 40s or low...

(Digital Vision/Thinkstock) We've seen it in movies; James Bond or some other tough guy hero hanging onto the outside of plane at 30,000 feet while attempting to stop the villain's nefarious plan, but could a human being actually survive that kind of situation? The answer is no, Jason Kring of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University told popsci.com. The assistant professor of human factors and systems told the site that at 30,000 feet, "The air in their lungs… would expand so quickly they...

People try to sneak guns through security by hiding them in stuffed animals. (TSA.GOV) Caught Red Handed! While most Americans are still busy trying to figure out the TSA's 3-1-1 Rule for liquid carry-ons, some people are trying to sneak things much more dangerous than a large shampoo bottle through airport security. The TSA revealed in a recent blog post that it confiscated 1,543 firearms in carry-on bags last year - 78% of those were loaded! Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson topped the...