Spas - Mom's Guide To Travel

Feb 22 2015

Be Invisible With Online Privacy: iPad Giveaway #privacyisnogame

How many times has your phone or computer been tracked today? Are you protecting your online privacy?

If you don’t know the answers to those questions, then take a look at last week’s blog post to learn why you should. I talk in depth about the threats we face each day when we use hotspots and free wifi, especially when we travel.

A quick Re-cap

Our data is constantly being tracked. In some cases, we may be granting criminals carte blanche to our private information. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) offer the protection that many of us don’t know we need.

Financial companies, government agencies, and corporations who want to protect sensitive information, all put their networks behind VPNs. It’s just standard procedure. Once an expensive option for the average consumer, VPNs are now extremely affordable.

And in your case, for 90-days it’s completely free!

F-Secure’s Free Trial

F-Secure is offering a FREE 90-day trial for you to test out their VPN app. Download it on itunes or Google Play and use the following code: qsf257.

As motivation, I’m hosting a giveaway. It’s the Freedome Challenge for a FREE brand new iPad Mini 16GB Wi-Fi with a FREE year of Freedome VPN to protect all your devices! Lots of “free” going on. Basically, it’s a win-win.

Think about it, downloading the VPN http://bit.ly/1uCeoku, you get to protect your data for 90 days. AND if you win, you get a free iPad mini and another year of protection…for FREE. Even if you don’t win, you have 90 days of online privacy protection. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Experience So Far

Since downloading the app 11 days ago, over two thousand tracking attempts have been blocked. 2,196 to be exact! Whenever I try to open a harmful site, the VPN comes up and stops me. Love it! Here’s a picture of my VPN app in action:

Rules and regulations for the giveaway: Contest only open to legal U.S. residents. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Giveaway entry period begins February 22, 2015 and ends March 1, 2015 23:59 EST. One winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries received during the giveaway entry period on or after March 2, 2015. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond in order to claim prize. Failure to respond within 24 hours or if winner does not meet eligibility requirements another winner will be selected at random.

Prize: One (1) Apple iPad mini 16GB WiFi and 1 year VPN coverage from F-Secure Freedome. Prize can not be substituted for cash or altered in any way. One entry per household. Contestants will be disqualified for submitting multiple entries.

Disclosure: F-Secure has chosen me to work with them as a brand ambassador. This may be a sponsored post but I’m a fan of this product and all opinions expressed are my own.

Feb 12 2015

How To Protect Your Online Privacy When Traveling #privacyisnogame

How much do you think about your online privacy at home?

Not at all?
A little?
A lot?

What about when you travel abroad? Do you pick up a SIM card and use 3G or 4G or are you the king/queen of jumping on free hotspots?

It’s important for me to not only share ideas with you about where to go and how to travel more but also about your safety.

Our security tips article focused on your physical safety but smart travel in today’s world is also about technological safety.

The Hot Spot Queen

Every year I travel to London for one of the biggest travel trade shows to learn about new destinations, global trends, and travel tech. It’s always educational, informative, and fun but it’s also technologically challenging.

When I travel abroad I never have reliable phone service because my iPhone is locked. I use a global phone to be able to call home but if I want to get online, I’m constantly searching for a hotspot.

It’s inconvenient but it’s cheaper than paying a month of tuition to Sprint for international data service.

Is Free WiFi Really Free?

Last year, the apartment that I rented didn’t have free WiFi (as they advertised) so my few days there were spent jumping on a BTW Free WiFi network. I used it to check my social media, get on Skype and chat with the family. I loved the idea of jumping on a random hotspot, using the internet and calling home for free.

Sound familiar?

The following video exposes the truth about free WiFi. When we hop onto random hotspots, we’re placing our online privacy in jeopardy.

In the first half of the experiment, IT Security Consultant, Finn Steglich sets up a dummy hotspot in the middle of Canary Wharf’s shopping center. Funny enough, I sat in one of the cafes in that center, drinking coffee, enjoying a couple of hours of connectivity.

After watching the experiment, I question how much “free WiFi” really costs me? When I was in London, did I give a criminal carte blanche to my sensitive and private information?

Steglich mentions how users “callously connect to any free hotspot network that’s available.” (Raising hand). He shows how many people jump on his fake setup, something that data criminals practice.

We hotspot jumpers could be giving away our sensitive secrets and not know anything about it!

Be Aware Of Privacy Risks

It’s briefly crossed my mind that these hotspots and free WiFi networks could be unsafe but I never did anything about it. I used them for the convenience.

When you’re in a foreign country with a locked phone and no 3G, you’re desperate. You feel disconnected. For an online influencer that’s a problem.

However, your phone being hacked is a bigger problem. Not sure about you but my online privacy is a non-negotiable. Now that I’m aware of how I can protect my phone and the potential security risks, I’m changing my ways.

Virtual Private Networks

So what do you do?

Add a virtual private network (VPN) to your WiFi so that your phone is protected. Sounds complicated but it’s not. We used them all the time when I worked in the financial industry. They were expensive and complicated back then but not anymore.

F-Secure Freedome has a VPN app that you can put on your phone. It’s been available on iOS and Android for a year, providing the ideal protection for travelers and mobile workers. It has 4.5/5 stars on Google Play and the App Store. This is what it does:

Encripts your data
Strips out tracking
Provides connection to your home base
Blocks out harmful websites
Keeps you and your secrets safe

What I like about F-Secure Freedome is that it’s more than just a VPN. It makes my phone secure and private no matter how I connect to the web plus it lets me choose virtual locations that give me access to geo-restricted content anywhere in the world.

Free Trial Offer

If you’d like to download the app and take the VPN for a run, here’s a FREE code for a 90-day trial period: qsf257. Use it when you download in either Google Play or the App Store.

There’s also a FREE 14-day trial for Windows. OS X protection is still in the pipeline. I can’t wait until the OS X version is out. I log on to free networks from my Mac both overseas and at home as well.

Criminals are becoming more and more technologically savvy. You need to be smarter than them. Next time I travel abroad, I can worry less about my secret information being leaked.

Take it for a test run yourself . As of Sunday February 8th, 1,452 tracking attempts have been blocked on my phone.

I’m grateful to F-Secure Freedome for selecting me as an ambassador to write about this data security issue. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Feb 03 2015

Galileo Summer Camp: A Recipe For Learning Success

Yes, it’s only February and I’m already thinking about vacation planning and summer camp. It’s cold and my family is craving warm weather and fun activities.

What about you? Are you thinking about your summer plans yet? What’s your annual mix? Ours is part family travel, part camp for the kids.

Although it seems like we just took down the Christmas tree, the school year is halfway completed and now’s the perfect time to start planning. Prices are low and we’re recuperating from the consumerism of the holidays.

The first thing that I ask myself is: how do I keep the kids engaged and learning over the summer break?

The Annual Summer Camp Challenge

Every year, I deal with the same issue: what type of camp am I going to enroll my 11-year old? I want to keep things fun and exciting for him. I know how he learns and what he enjoys learning but it’s not always easy to find a camp environment that will keep him engaged, learning, and growing.

Other parents face this same challenge. And unfortunately, not everyone can afford (both in time and resources) to travel all summer long with their kids while managing summer learning.

This is why summer camps like Galileo learning camps are so valuable. They have deep and lasting educational impact that parents appreciate.

Galileo Camp Offerings

Galileo summer camps offer several themes/curriculum options which include:

Music and Art
Destination San Francisco
DIY Art and Real-world Inventions
Mount Everest Expedition
Arts Academy (painting, filmmaking, photography, fashion design)
Technology (mod, website and video game design, 3D modeling / printing, music production)
Culinary Arts (International cooking, dessert making)
Building/Inventing

In-Home Camp

My boys are like many other kids – they excel in hands-on, interactive learning experiences. When my oldest was first learning about fractions and measurements in school, he had trouble grasping the concept. So, I did what any mom would do who needs to explain measurements to her child: I made him bake!

Ok, well maybe not all moms do that but I thought it would be a fun, educational, hands-on experience for him. In one of our in-the-kitchen math lessons, he helped me measure oil, water and batter for brownies.

This exercise taught him fractions and the metric system.

Another time he helped me make sugar croissants. The exercise required measuring ingredients like brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. We used smaller measurements like teaspoons and tablespoons.

Here are some pictures from the activity we did, complete with steps on how you can make your own cinnamon bites:

Aside from being fun (and yummy), these activities were lessons for him that not only help to develop life skills but also teach him a thing or two. After a few hands-on experiences in the kitchen, the concept of fractions was clearer to him.

What Summer Camp Is About

This is what summer camp should emulate for kids: creative learning opportunities that will have educational impact. Camps like Galileo camps do just this. These hands-on camps teach pre-K-8th graders to be innovators who explore, create and fail without fear.

Being able to create without fear of failure is important to a child’s growth, esteem, and enjoyment. This is why kids love Galileo summer camps.

We all know that camp can be expensive. Try Galileo camps out for yourself and save $30 off per family for 1 session. Click the link to check out their offerings and use code: 2015INNOVATE to save. When a child is interested in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, that is when they’re most successful and when they excel.

Thanks to Galileo Learning for sponsoring today’s discussion.

Feb 02 2015

What To Know About A Lake Placid Winter Getaway #PerfectDayADK

Last week I wrote about ways that you can enjoy a winter getaway in Lake Placid, New York. With over a dozen different winter activities, you have your pick of how you can play in the snow.

It was funny to read all the comments from people who don’t like the snow. I feel you on that.

I grew up around snow so it doesn’t bother me. Now, do I want to be driving to work in it or trapped in my house because of it? No. However, I don’t mind watching it come down while tucked under a warm blanket with a cup of hot chocolate, marshmallows and whip cream.

I also don’t mind traveling TO snow for a three-day winter getaway. I love to play in the snow. We do it every year. The key is, I get away from it in 72 hours and leave it behind.

That’s how I appreciate snow the best.

This week I interview a local expert to find out what you need to know about vacation planning for Lake Placid. Check out the interview above for more details about the area and its offerings. I added some visuals, courtesy of the Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The contest for the Lake Placid winter getaway is anew with a second prize. You can enter the giveaway directly for your chance at a trip for two and a stay at the Lake House, the newest lodging property in town.

If you won the winter getaway to Lake Placid, how would you play in the snow? Who would you take with you?

Now that that’s settled, enter the giveaway –> http://bit.ly/15Ik819

Disclosure: As a brand ambassador with Lake Placid, Adirondacks USA, this content was written in conjunction with the “Play in the Snow” winter vacation campaign. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jan 25 2015

Plan A Perfect Stay in The Snow: Win A Trip to Lake Placid #PerfectDayADK

Growing up in Brooklyn, I didn’t enjoy many nature-driven outings unless we took the occasional family trip to the park or a drive to Upstate New York. I’d heard about Lake Placid and the Adirondack Mountains but it was one of the many regions of New York that seemed so far away.

Lake Placid is in fact, 300 miles from Brooklyn, a cool five-hour drive. If you drive further East along the 95 corridor, you actually pass through four states before you are parallel to Lake Placid, Adirondacks.

No Outdoors in New York

My family wasn’t the outdoorsy type so my parents never did any vacation planning to wilderness-centric destinations. There was so much I didn’t know about New York.

It wasn’t until I went to boarding school in Connecticut that I was able to participate in outdoor activities which didn’t offer a hard greeting of concrete. Once I got to college in California, I had acquired an appreciation for the outdoors. Traveling to friends’ homes in Oregon and Washington for school vacations, I always thought we New Yorkers were missing so much.

Lake Placid, Adirondacks — Avalanche Pass – what a name!

I soon learned it wasn’t “New Yorkers” that were missing so much, just the small percentage of us that chose not to venture into the wide open area of our great state that offers more beauty than cold high rises and skyscrapers.

More Than The Olympics

An estimated 7-10 million visitors travel to the Adirondacks region annually.

The Adirondacks is a 6-million acre area rich with Olympic tradition. More significantly, and based on research from the region’s CVB, people visit the Adirondacks for its outdoor recreational opportunities. It’s the premier natural setting for hiking, boating, ice-skating, snow-shoeing, fishing, cycling, hunting, skiing, mountaineering enthusiasts on the East Coast.

Did you know that the Adirondack Park is larger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Parks combined?

Remember what I said about thinking we New Yorkers were missing so much when I drove through Oregon and Washington? Talk about not appreciating what’s in your own backyard!

In that same vain, if you live on the East Coast and you want to plan a vacation for that perfect winter getaway, you don’t have to schlep all the way to Colorado, Utah, or Nevada. You can “Stay & Play in the Snow” in Lake Placid. The village as well as the rest of the Adirondacks offers a nice selection of winter travel opportunities.

Things To Do In Lake Placid, Adirondacks

So to help you in your winter vacation planning in Lake Placid, here are some activities to consider:

bobsledding
cross country skiing
telemark skiing
downhill skiing
snowboarding
ice climbing
ice skating
snowmobiling
hockey
sledding
tubing
tobogganing
skiing
snowshoeing
dogsledding

Snowboarding is my favorite winter activity but I also like iceskating, cross country skiing and dogsledding. I would love to try bobsledding as its not an activity that’s available in many places. There are only two tracks in the U.S. like the one in New York’s Adirondack Pack, and only four in North America.

True to a mountain village, Lake Placid offers several types of accommodations as well:

Bed & Breakfast
Cabins & Cottages
Hotels & Resorts
condos, town homes, rental homes
green lodging
hostels

With my recovering knee, I’d be participating in a little après ski. The best part of a “play in the snow” getaway (hurt or not) is either cozying up to a fireplace with a warm cup of hot cocoa or relaxing in the stillness of a spa. What’s your favorite winter activity on the list?

Enter to Win A Trip To Lake Placid

Are you ready to head to Lake Placid Adirondacks, USA? I know I am! Let me know if you need help planning your trip or enter for you chance to play in the snow in Lake Placid: http://bit.ly/15Ik819. It’s a wonderful winter getaway for two that I’m sure you’ll love. No purchase necessary (although I would love for you to send me pictures)!