Your Very Own Family Travel Muse. No Resemblance to Sharon Stone.

You know those people who have a second home and visit it every vacation? Well, that isn't me. If we are going to pack up our family of five and go somewhere, I need to figure out where we're going, where we'll sleep eat and what we'll do once we get there. Travel magazines are fine if you're not on a budget, and community websites are useful until you find a hotel that 90% love but 10% warn "do not stay here if you dislike bugs in your bed".

New to the scene is a website called TravelMuse, and I dare say that I have already found some great information for a doozy of a trip we're planning, which involves an airline flight with three kids, a house and hotel, and a visit with this large black-eared mouse that you've probably heard of.

TravelMuse's original content and cool trip planning tools make it an interesting place to spend some time; I may never get to a Family Surf Camp but it sure was fun to read about. The site is still in Beta mode but has a ton of practical and useful stuff on it already. I particularly like the Inspiration Finder which took into account the distance I'm willing to travel, how much I want to spend, and the ages of my kids, then quickly shot back eight suggestions that fit the bill. And, imagine this, none of them mentioned a large mouse with black ears. -Christina

[photo: cindy funk via travelmuse]