Tag: Fredericksburg

Elephants!

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I know I’m not alone when I say this school year was beyond exhausting for teachers across the globe. We have undoubtedly earned this years summer vacation. But, instead of spending our first weekend at home recuperating and decompressing, we packed up and headed to Fredericksburg to visit the elephants at The Preserve.

When I first heard that there was an elephant preserve in Texas I knew I had to go. Elephants are hands down my favorite animals and I’ve always been fascinated with them. After doing my research I booked our Air B&B and tickets to see the elephants. I figured this would be the perfect way to celebrate the end of a rough school year.

As always our Air B&B did not disappoint. If you’ve never rented an Air B&B I highly recommend you do so.

We checked in the night before so we had time to relax before the big elephant adventure. It was a good thing we prepared ahead of time because the Bearded One was a little under the weather. Lucky for us me and baby O had plenty of room to run around the AirB&B while the Bearded One rested up.

The day of our elephant encounter started off rainy but cleared up by the time we arrived. I was a little nervous that baby O would be scared of the elephants and I didn’t know what to exactly what to expect.

Each encounter only allows about 30 people so it wasn’t crowded and we all were able to interact with the 3 beautiful Asian Elephants (Rosie, Kitty and Becky).

They staff did an amazing job explaining everything about these fascinating animals. They were knowledgeable and made the experience not just educational but interactive and fun.

We were able to give Rosie a bath, take pictures with Becky, watch Kitty get a pedicure, and so much more. Everyone was allowed to interact with “the girls” and baby O wasn’t even scared!

Elephant Encounter at The Preserve
Giving Rosie A Bath
Elephant Feet!

Overall I give this experience 10/10 and I would definitely do it again! (We might wait until Baby O is a little older and more attentive).

If you’d like more information please follow this link:https://www.visitthepreserve.com/ . The staff said they would soon be adding more animals and exhibits so stay tuned!

Up Next…

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Having a baby has been the biggest adventure of our lives and I have loved every single minute of parenthood. But, traveling isn’t quite what it use to be. The Bearded One and I use to spontaneously book an Air B&B, pack an overnight bag, and hop in the car, which is an absolutely impossible task these days.

Don’t get me wrong, we still love to travel, and we plan to take Baby O on endless adventures, but it can get a little tricky these days.

First of all we have to plan our adventures a little better, and account for any little bump in the road. Will he be fussy? When will we need to stop to change a diaper? Can we stop by a restaurant or should we eat in the car? So many questions with a plethora of possible scenarios!

All of those little details can be worked out, we are quite flexible when it comes to travel and preparation. The biggest question is, where can we take a toddler?!

Not all of our old favorite stomping grounds are necessarily toddler friendly. While I’d love to take him to a local brewery, or outdoor concert, it just isn’t possible to expect him to sit still for a lengthy amount of time. Baby O is a wild one and he definitely needs to be entertained at all times. He needs to run and climb and explore his surrounds…which begs the question, where do we take him?!

We do have a few vacations already in the works but we would LOVE some realistic suggestions! (too tiny for theme parks, Disney is out of the question!)

We are for sure going to Mexico on our big Anniversary trip with family and friends, and we are excited and nervous about that one (first plane ride for Baby O)!

We’re also taking him to The Preserve, an elephant sanctuary only a few hours from home. I am super excited about this one and I hope he loves it! (Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out https://g.co/kgs/DhrhAp ).

If you have any suggestions, ideas, personal experiences or advice on fun toddler trips for this summer, please share! We want to make the most out of every moment with our littlest adventurer.

Road Trip: 1st Stop

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Fredericksburg

Our first overnight stop was yesterday in Fredericksburg and we had a pretty great time. If you’ve never been, Fredericksburg is a smaller hill country town known for its wineries, distilleries and German heritage. There are lots of historical sites and museums spread throughout the town, especially on Main Street.

We’ve only been to Fredericksburg one other time so we thought this would be be perfect little overnighter to kick off our trip. Once again I used Air B&B and actually found the perfect little inn (Fredericksburg Inn & Suites). The inn is located just a few blocks from Main Street and had ample amenities. We really enjoyed the pool and of course my Texas shaped waffle this morning.

Main Street is where all the ‘action’ takes place in Fredericksburg. It’s filled with little shops, wine tasting rooms, restaurants and historical sites. We kicked off our trip with a couple tastings from Texas wineries such as Becker Vineyards, Fiesta Winery, and Fat Ass Ranch and Winery. The Bearded One was not impressed with our fruity selections (coconut lime wine, watermelon, peaches) but it was an in good fun. One downside To Fredericksburg is that every thing pretty much closes early, like 5:00-5:30. We didn’t get to explore too many shops due the early closures but we were able to enjoy a couple of drinks, appetizers and live music at Silver Creek Beer Garden and Grill.

The Texas hill country is also known for Enchanted Rock (we’ve hiked it) and other outdoor activities that are just too hot to explore during July. We will have to come back during cooler weather to take full advantage of this beautiful area

Overall, we had a pretty successful first day on our road trip. Today we are headed out to…El Paso? Las Cruces? …..we will see!

Road Trip Ready

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So anyone who knows me knows that I am a P-L-A-N-N-E-R. I love planning vacations, I am a natural organizer and my vacations are usually planned way in advance. Well folks, I am out of my comfort zone on this upcoming trip. Honestly I’m a little nervous but mostly I’m excited. Me and the Bearded One are headed out tomorrow on our 3,000+ mile (round trip) journey to California and back. We have a couple places planned and booked on the route but for the most part, we are winging it! Wish us luck! We will keep you posted. First stop, a quick little over night in Fredericksburg.

A few possible stops along the way