Tag: Road trip

Another Summer in the Books

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Summer is my absolute favorite time of the year. I work exponentially hard throughout the school year so I can relax and enjoy my vacations, which is exactly what we did this year.

From Mexico to the Texas coast, we had quite a few adventures with our little man in tow.

Corpus Christi

After Mexico we decided venture somewhere a little more local. Usually we enjoy South Padre Island in the summer but we decided to try our luck in Corpus Christi. I’ve heard good and bad things about CC and honesty, we enjoyed our trip and we will definitely be back. I found a great little beachfront Air B&B that we really loved. The only bummer was all the rain! But, even with the torrential down pours, we were able to enjoy the beach and explore the Corpus Christi Museum off Science.

Rainy Day Fun in Corpus
The Beach in Corpus

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels

We booked a trip to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels early in the spring and honestly, I was only slightly looking forward to it. I did my research and found a ton of toddler activities throughout the parks so I knew there would plenty for our little water baby to enjoy. I on the other hand, am not a fan of water parks. We decided to stay in a little cabin located in the park and the location was great but other than that, I was unimpressed. I think we will save water parks for when baby O gets just a little bit older.

We did however have a pretty good little road trip and stopped at our favorite restaurant in Bastrop, Maxine’s on Main (check it out if you’re every there!)

Galveston

Our final trip of the season was just this past weekend. We decided to join our friends on a little last-minute getaway to Galveston. Of course, it once again rained, but we were still able to soak up the sun, play in the sand, and enjoy our time together.

Unfortunately our sweet little summer is coming to an end but don’t worry, we already have lots of adventures planned for the fall!!!

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!

St. Augustine Beach, FL

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Our first time in the Atlantic Ocean and it did not disappoint.

Here are some key observations from our St. Augustine Beach adventure:

  • The beach was not at all crowded, it huge and we had lots of space to spread out
  • The beach and town were clean and well taken care of
  • The food was delicious (Sunset Grill & Antonio’s)
  • Old Town has great shopping and historical sites
  • Everyone was friendly, great customer service
  • Lots of activities, parks, museums, trolley rides, historical tours, etc (we went to old medieval torture museum)
  • Drive A1A instead of the interstate for better views (we took it down to Daytona Beach)

The Beach

St. Augustine Old Town

Savannah, Georgia

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We fell in love with this southern city the moment we drove down Jones St. (Also known as one of most beautiful streets in the US)

The old oaks dripping in Spanish moss lined the brick laid streets and exemplify the historic homes. This city is rich in history, so much history in fact that we felt compelled to learn all about it on a classic trolley tour.

I found a decently priced day-night trolley package online and decided to indulge a little. We began the Old Town Trolley Tour by hopping on at one of the 15 stops throughout the city. During the 90 minute tour we saw famous monuments, churches, homes, cemeteries, and heard the stories to go with each. The trolley tour allowed you to hop on and off at any stop throughout the day.

We hopped off at City Market for lunch then decided to walk the shady streets of Savannah on our own.

During our own exploration we visited Forsyth Park, the cemetery and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which was absolutely stunning.

Forsyth Park

Cemetery

Cathedral

Later that evening after a delicious Greek dinner on the river (Olympia Cafe) we hopped back on our night Ghost Tour. The ghost stories told by the conductor were the best part, and we were able to explore the haunted Andrew Lowe house (we didn’t see any ghost 😉).

On our final morning we headed to Tybee Island to see what all the hype was about. It’s a classic little beach town, full of charm, old hotels, family run businesses, and a pretty neat little pier.

Overall Savannah was amazing and we’d love to come back (hopefully when the weather is a little cooler).

Tips and Advice:

  • Rent and AirB&B in the historic district
  • Go on a trolley tour
  • Wear good walking shoes
  • Shop and dine on River St.
  • Swing by Tybee Island

Pensacola, Florida

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Pensacola Beach was absolutely stunning. It claims to be the “whitest sands in the world” and I wouldn’t argue with that statement. The white sands and crystal clear water compares to the beaches we’ve fallen in love with in Mexico.

We stayed in a beautiful little AirB&B (Casita Sage) in Pensacola then made the short drive to Pensacola Beach for the afternoon. Beach parking was free, chair rental were free (I think we just got lucky) and the water, views, and beach were indescribably perfect.

After spending a few hours on the beach we ate at a delicious little place called The Shrimp Basket and we were not disappointed.

Our overnight stop in Pensacola exceeded our expectations and we are already planning a summer vacation there for next year!

New Orleans, Louisiana

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NOLA lived up to all the hype, even for a Monday night. We stayed on Bourbon St. and Toulouse and never had a dull moment. Drinks and food, music and street performers, we experienced it all in less than 24 hours.

Of course we did all the touristy things like walk around Jackson Square, grab a couple hand grenadines, and indulge on some delicious beignets.

We enjoyed an array of oysters at several different locations, the food overall was phenomenal and we’d return for that alone! (I’d recommend specific restaurants but we went to so many places to share apps and drinks I lost track! )

Overall, a successful first stop on our 2019 road trip; next up Pensacola.

Hotel Balcony Views

Bourbon Street

The Cat’s Meow

Jackson Square

Road Trip: Morro Bay

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Morro Bay, California was one of our favorite destinations on this trip. It is a quiet, picturesque bay town with so much to do and see. We spent our days there walking along the pier and taking in all of the sites and sounds we don’t experience back home.

First of all the weather was amazing, actually, it was slightly cold. When we arrived it was a beautiful 72 degrees and as soon as that sun went down it was in the 50s. I had to buy a hoodie in one of the gift shops along the Embarcadero (which is basically a boardwalk). Also along the Embarcadero you will discover all kinds of shops, restaurants, bars, and rental places for boats, kayaks, paddle boards etc. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to the sea lions and watching the otters as we strolled through the bay on our way to the beach.

Our beach day was quite an adventure in itself. It turned out to be very cloudy and about 58 degrees. We knew the Pacific was cold but it was too cold to get in that day!Although it was too cold, the water was crystal clear; you could see all the way down to the bottom along the piers.

This small bay town was very well taken care of, pristinely clean, not over crowded, family friendly, and very affordable. We loved it so much that we have plans to return in the future.

View from our Air B&B

Beautiful Clear Water

Sunset Over Morro Rock

Beautiful Sunset the First Night

Fog Covered the Bay Day 2

Morro Rock is Way Bigger Up Close

Foggy Beach Day

Enjoying the Beach Despite the Chilly Weather

Foggy Beach Day

Last Night, We had so much fun!

Tip: Although there are several places to eat we really enjoyed Libertine Pub, especially their clam chowder!

Road Trip: California

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California Part One: San Diego

So folks, we’ve been in California for the past five days and we’re pretty much in love. The ocean, the beautiful weather, the endless exploration …what’s not to love? (Okay well maybe the traffic sucks but that’s an entirely different blog)

We started our trip off in San Diego. I found the perfect little Air B&B guest house in the South Park neighborhood and we settled down there for 3 days.

While in San Diego we checked out the zoo, the beaches, and Old Town. I’m not a huge zoo fan but the San Diego Zoo lives up to its reputation, it was beautiful. There was so much too see and it was prestigiously clean and well taken care of. We cover the majority of the park in about 4 hours.

After our zoo adventure we drove down to the beaches to decide where we wanted to spend the next day. We started with Imperial Beach which was gorgeous. I really enjoyed the small beach town as well but it was packed. The whole town was preparing for the annual Surf and Sun Festival the following day. We were able to see the beginning of the sand castle competition and walk along the pier.

Although Imperial Beach and Pier was awesome, we decided it would be too packed the following day. Our beach day was spent at Silver Strand Beach and it was perfect. We arrived pretty early, way before the crowds and spent about 3 hours enjoying the sun, sand, and ocean breeze.

Old Town was our last stop in San Diego. After doing a little research we learned all about the history of Old Town. It was the very first settlement in SD. You can walk around the historic park, enjoy the old buildings with their individual stories to tell, and learn about the history of Old Town with the many costumed employees.

Fun fact: Old Town is also the home of The Whaley House, which is known as one of the most haunted places in the US.

We had a spectacular time in San Diego and would definitely return. Three days went nearly enough time to visit everything the city had to offer!

*After leaving SD we drove up the coast and stopped at several beaches along the way. Beaches photo blog coming up next!

Road Trip: New Mexico-Arizona-California

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Well ladies and gentlemen, we’ve covered quite some ground in the last 24 hours. We’ve seen the white sands in New Mexico, the organ pipe cacti in Arizona and we will arrive on the pacific coast of California this evening. We have been pleasantly overwhelmed by the beauty of nature on this trip and we’ve used every opportunity to stop and explore. An hour detour here, 30 minutes there, every extra minutes and mile was well worth it.

White Sands National Monument

We knew a little ahead of time we wanted to see the white sands in New Mexico and we couldn’t have picked a better day. When we arrived it was about 68 degrees and the views were stunning. While we explore all these places we always take the time to learn a little about the history. The white sands aren’t technically sand, they are white gypsum and they’ve been around for over 8,000 years. There are over 275 square miles of white gypsum dunes and a large portion of them are enjoyed by visitors from all over. I visited here as a child but I really didn’t remember much of it. As an adult, it’s completely mesmerizing and I’m still impressed by the park overall.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Our next stop was Tucson Arizona. We didn’t really do much in Tucson, except eat some bomb-ass pizza at a little place called Dry River Pizza and Beer. After that we spent the evening researching things to do in AZ. The Bearded One found Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and was determined to see these cacti. It was slightly out of the way but well worth it. The desert terrain is nothing like we’d imagined it would be. It’s full of unique vegetation, most of which we’ve never really seen before.

We’ve already seen quite a lot and can’t wait to explore California next. We will be in San Diego for the next few days and then up the coast from there!