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A. My jobs often end up being our family vacations and so far it has been great. One of the nice things is that "Covert Affairs" shoots in Toronto during the summer, so the kids are out of school and my wife and kids can join me. My wife has family in Chicago so sometimes we'll drive from Toronto and then go to Ann Arbor and Chicago for a while.

Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?

A. Ashland, Ore., is really nice. I've spent some time in Seattle, too, but not as much as I would've liked.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. I always take my computer. I recently got an iPad and was thinking I could replace my laptop on trips, but that hasn't worked out. I still need my computer, which is annoying, but I do. I always take a book because on the plane you have to turn electronics off. I always put movies on my phone. I've started taking a lot less clothes than I used to. I try to get down to the bare minimum.

Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A. I was in Paris briefly on that bus tour I was telling you about, but I need to take Anel to Paris. That's something that we need to do when our youngest gets a little older. I'd also love to go to Greece. I think the kids would really enjoy a trip like that. South Africa is on my list of places to see.

Q. What foreign country is a great place for families?

A. Italy. We were there for Peter Weller's wedding. Our boys were 5 and 2 at the time and we took them to every restaurant and never had a problem. Italians love women and children, so men will feel completely unimportant and ignored, but your wife and kids will love being fawned over.

Q. What is your worst airport memory?

A. We were supposed to fly home to California from a sneak screening at Ann Arbor, but I had gotten sick the day before we were supposed to head back home and we had to change our flights. It ended up that Delta had no record of our return flight and so we had to get booked with whatever was left. Having to turn to your wife and tell her we have to hang out for seven hours with our three kids -- one of whom is under 2 -- was not a pleasant conversation. It should've been hell on earth, but somehow our kids all rolled with it and it was all OK. We got home and Delta was really great about it and gave us travel credits that we later used to fly to Sundance. It all worked out fine, really.

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Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. She welcomes your questions and comments.

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