Rating: All-Star

Stubbs is just a short walk from the hotel, and it definitely feels more upscale than Cooper’s. Instead of laying everything out on butcher paper, it’s menu ordering here — but still with that Texas BBQ soul.

Rating: Role Player

The Residence Inn Downtown Austin proved to be a solid home base for the trip. The rooms were clean and well-kept, with a king bed and sofa bed setup that made it easy to crash with the boys — felt a little like the college days all over again.

Rating: Role Player

After landing in Austin, I was craving BBQ — and Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in downtown fit the bill without having to trek outside the city.

Rating: All-Star

Airports usually tempt you with high-fat, high-carb, high-sugar, salty meals that can derail your health before you even take off. But at Napa Farms in SFO’s Terminal 2, I found proof that travel doesn’t have to mean compromising your body’s fine tuning.

Rating: All-Star

Before I even landed in Austin, I had a small crisis to solve at SFO. On my way out, I realized I had forgotten to get something for a dear friend. He’s Turkish, and like so many in that culture, he’s incredibly generous with kids — always bringing gifts for mine, never letting me pay when I visit. I needed to find something thoughtful for his children, but time was short.

Rating: All-Star

If you’re looking for a night out with the family that won’t drain your wallet, a USF women’s volleyball game might just be the hidden gem you’ve been missing.

Rating: Role Player

I took my son one afternoon and we ended up going “reverse mode” — snuck in to see the otters first to dodge the crowds.

Rating: Role Player

Our family had a good time at Camp Montecito Sequoia Lodge. It’s a unique blend of “luxury camping” and traditional family camp fun. We stayed in a room with a large bed and a bunk bed, perfect for our family of four, and even had our own private bath and shower—a big step up from roughing it.

Rating: All-Star

Sometimes the best thing you can do is scoop up your toddler, step away from the noise, and head out for a one-on-one adventure. That’s exactly what we did with a trip to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park—a day full of dinosaurs, snacks, and lessons in rolling with whatever family outings throw your way.

Rating: All-Star

Flying to Honolulu with kids can feel like a test of endurance. Long lines, cranky passengers, and the constant worry that your toddler might melt down at 30,000 feet. But our recent trip from Oakland (OAK) to Honolulu (HNL) with Southwest Airlines turned out to be the opposite—it was one of the smoothest, most family-friendly flights we’ve ever taken.

Rating: Role Player

I remember when our toddler was barely steady on his feet, wobbling from couch to coffee table like a pint-sized tightrope walker. Now, he’s scaling playground equipment and charging across open fields like he’s training for his own action movie.

Rating: All-Star

I remember holding my baby girl in one hand in the classic “football hold” designed to keep a newborn secure in your arm. She’s in elementary school now, playing sports afterschool, and growing faster than the Millennium Falcon in the Kessel Run.