Candyce H. Stapen is an award-winning travel journalist and author. As travel editor/producer at USA TODAY, Stapen launched the company’s digital travel sites. Her work appears in many outlets, including the Washington Post and Frommers.com. Candyce has written thousands of articles and 29 books about family travel, including two for National Geographic. She founded non-profit Henny’s Kids to bring solar-powered laptops and computer training to rural elementary schools in Africa.
Candyce raised her family in Washington, D.C., and currently resides there with her husband and Lily, a Newfoundland.
You might know Delaware as the corporate capital of the U.S., but the country’s second-smallest state offers much to explore. Delaware’s beaches, wildlife refuges and state parks rejuvenate work-weary urbanites. The Winterthur estate dazzles with exquisite American furniture, decorative arts and lush gardens, while Hagley Museum and Library tells the story of how the family… Read More
In spring, Washington, D.C., dazzles. That’s when more than 2,500 cherry trees pop into bloom at the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. The flowers frame the Jefferson Memorial, fringing the artificial reservoir with a lush ribbon of pink and white that’s subtly reflected in the water. The famous site is bucket-list beautiful. Plus, the… Read More
How did we learn to love winter? By dogsledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and exploring snow-blanketed national parks. Such off-the-slopes activities enabled my family and me to enjoy the snow and the cold without downhill skiing. Although my kids can gleefully maneuver black-diamond mountain trails, I fall even on bunny hills. But all of us have… Read More
A bounty of good food awaits at the Delaware shore, a popular year-round escape for Washingtonians and other Mid-Atlantic residents, and the off-season proved to be one of the best times for a seaside culinary journey to the Rehoboth Beach region. The lack of crowds made getting table reservations easy, and the reduced price of… Read More
Shenandoah Caverns’ aptly named Diamond Cascade entranced 7-year-old James and 5-year-old Charlotte. They gazed wide-eyed at the tall configuration of white calcite crystals that fell in folds, sparkling like a jewel-encrusted frozen waterfall. Exploring the caverns, along with hiking and horseback-riding, rounded out our family getaway. We wanted two leisurely days in the country with… Read More
Sharing favorite pursuits with the family’s youngsters is one of the many pleasures of a multigenerational vacation. Snorkeling with them above blue tang and purple and pink dappled parrotfish at Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix proved a highlight, even if everything didn’t go as planned. We chose St. Croix for its balance… Read More
Sometimes, we like our lake vacations mild—boats, books, and hiking boots. Other times, we crave a lively lake getaway with good restaurants, music, street festivals, and bars. Either way, Elkhart Lake in eastern Wisconsin, about two and a half hours from Chicago, delivers a next-level lake vacation full of surprises. The village, with a population… Read More
Sometime between the world’s tallest looping coaster and The Haygoods’ laser, fire and musical extravaganza, we realized that Branson, Missouri, wasn’t just for retirees. It’s a top place for fun and affordable family entertainment. And who isn’t looking for affordability these days? Most shows and museums cost less than comparable East or West Coast experiences…. Read More
What’s the key to a Miami Beach area family vacation? Pair shore time with off-the-beach fun. Try a zip line adventure, explore museums, learn about the city’s iconic architecture and allow plenty of time to romp through parks and along the sands. It’s easy to engage toddlers, teens and multigenerational families. A bonus: Most outdoor… Read More
On our family Alaska cruise, we stood on the deck staring in amazement at the sheer size of Hubbard Glacier — a cool icy blue in the sunlight — which stretched for miles and was backed by gloriously snowcapped mountain peaks. After dreaming of this moment for months, cruising past this dazzling sight on our… Read More
Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, a 50-block world of intriguing, fantastical, humorous and puzzling pieces by established artists and newbies to spray paint, shouldn’t be missed. More than 330 murals emblazon storefronts, fences, doors and walls, transforming the neighborhood into one of the largest open-air art museums in the United States. We strolled by a nipple-headed… Read More
Sometimes it’s nice to make an entrance. Charlotte, wearing a floor-length dress, sashayed into Peacock Alley, positioning herself under the row of Beaux-Arts chandeliers, stepping past the potted palms and gilded pilasters. She found her place on the gold settee flanked by glittering sconces and felt like royalty. The harpist, having noticed her blue Mirabel… Read More
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept settingsHide notification onlySettingsWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
Privacy Policy