It happened on a hot autumn afternoon as we too off on our first RV vacation. We were cruising south Highway 101 in California."THUMP!" Uh-oh.

How to survive an RV vacation with your family

It happened on a hot autumn afternoon as we cruised south toward Santa Rosa, Calif., on Highway 101 in a 24-foot Coachmen Leprechaun recreational vehicle.

“THUMP!” the camper went. Not like the kind of thump you make when you go over a speed bump. It was the thump of hitting something.

Tips for island-hopping with your family

Tips for island-hopping with your family

The fog over Anacapa Island hung low and thick. “Is that where we’re going?” my daughter asked, waving at the white cliffs that floated in a flat calm Pacific. It was just another day island-hopping with my family — and the answer was “yes.”