ByGD
When I took my kids to Iceland, it was over spring break. We returned the day before Easter, so I knew I wouldn’t have time to put together Easter Baskets for them. Instead, I bought treats in Iceland and smuggled it home in my carry on. Instead of tons of candy pieces, Icelanders get one giant, decorated chocolate egg in their baskets. And one year, so did my kids.
ByGD
Although it looks like an abandoned shed and a natural pool from this angle, Secret Lagoon is actually a well maintained bath house with showers and amenities just off the Golden Circle route. Although it was still relatively secret when I visited years ago, these days you need a reservation or you probably won’t get in.
And can I tell you a secret? The day my family visited, I was so busy packing everything my kids might need for the Golden Circle that I forgot my own bathing suit at the hotel and had to pass my own underwear off as a bikini. (Don’t worry, I still showered properly.) These days, it’s possible to rent a bathing suit, so I must not have been the only person to make that mistake.
ByGD
As there are in small towns across the island, in Borgarnes, on Iceland’s Snaefellsnes peninsula, there is a local folk history museum. They are all much the same, with a reproduced turf house, a bunch of taxidermied native animals and obsolete accoutrements of farmlife. My two kids and I passed through this one in about half an hour, even with the guided tour. Then, on the way out, the kids spotted a wooden box pushed against a wall. It was filled with bones, horns, and seashells. The guide explained that children in the old days didn’t get toys from a store, they played with what they could find. My kids played with the items in the box for nearly an hour before I finally dragged them out of the museum as it was closing.
ByGD
If I remember correctly, I took a picture of this plaque at the bottom (or was it the top) of Helgafell, a small mountain in Iceland near Stykkishólmur. According to legend, if you climb it without speaking or looking back once and make a wish at the top it will be granted. I climbed with my family. My oldest child raced ahead and barely made three steps onto the path before turning around to shout something at us. The rest of us did better, but it was slippery and in April there was still snow in places. I slipped up at the very top, accidentally asking out loud, “Does this count as the top or is it over there?” It must have been over there because my wish didn’t come true.
ByGD
In July of 2016 I went on a pilgrimage to Powell’s Books in Portland with my mom and my two kids. We spent two full days in Portland and we did a lot of touristy stuff. But we spent several hours at Powell’s each day, and we bought a lot of books. To this day, it remains one of my favorite trips. And I’m still reading books I bought then.