South Padre Island • Trip Highlights

Hi there! I hope this week has been good to you. I'm wrapping my work week up, and getting ready for a fun filled weekend. We are heading to the water park tomorrow, and that should be a great time However, I'm truly longing for the beach, but some fun posts about South Padre Island will have to do for now. :)

We've been to this famous Spring Break destination a couple of times, but the trip I want to share is a special one. For our honeymoon, we made the long 10 hour drive to a condo, which we were gifted a stay at, on South Padre Island. It wasn't the ideal honeymoon in my mind, but it was still beautiful and we were together, which is all that matters. Since we were there in late April, the weather wasn't particularly the best, but we made the most of it. We found things to do indoors when necessary, and took advantage of the sun when it was out. There are so many things to do and see on the island and in the neighboring areas, and it's sugary sand is what dreams are made of.

Though the beaches were pretty messy from the wind dredging up seaweed while we visited, the beach cleaners did a great job if keeping it well kept. The water temp was perfect for a quick dip, and scenery was as dreamy as ever. In addition to sunning and swimming, we enjoyed many other water and beach activities, including horseback riding, dolphin watching, eco-tour boat rides, and fishing. We also played kids again for a few hours on a fun pirate ship! My favorite part of the trip, aside from being together of course, was visiting Sea Turtle, Inc. a sea turtle rescue facility on the island.

I'll be back tomorrow with more in depth details from our trip there. For now, I hope you'll enjoy these photo highlights!

If you are interested in more ideas for things to do on South Padre Island you can contact me here to book your own beach vacation!

{Destination Highlights} New York City

Hi there! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was full of rain! It rained pretty well non stop Friday through Sunday! Noah's Arc status happening over here! But thank goodness Mr. Sun has graced us with his presence today, and boosted our spirits after a dreary weather weekend. In the midst of all of the rain, and now sun, and still can't help but dream about snow! No, we don't see it much in my neck of Texas, but there is tons of it in New York City! :) So to alleviate my ready-for-winter-blues, I thought we'd get going on sharing bits of mine & my mom's trip to NYC a couple of Christmases ago. This was both of ours' first ever plane right, and when the travel bug really bit me hard! I've worked doubly hard ever since to make more of my travel dreams come true. So this trip is near & dear to my heart for really starting it all, along with experiencing it with my mom!

I decided to share NYC highlights now, because it is also a popular cruise port for transatlantic cruises. Yep, you can start out cruising from NYC to some far away land in Europe! #hellobigdreams I imagine cruises from New York to Europe to be very posh & old world-esque. I'm probably overthinking on that, but I'm dreaming of beautiful gowns, fabulous hats, fine foods, and fancy dancing. Ha! But you can catch a Carnival ship out of NYC, which would be more real-life, low-key for me. Anyway, let's hop to New York for a twirl around the greatest city in the world!

9/11 Memorial 

Cathedral of St. John the Divine 

 Views of Lower Manhattan from the Empire State Building

 Grand Central Station

 Radio City Music Hall

 Central Park

Do you recognize this bridge from the movie Elf?

Views of Central Park & Upper Manhattan from Rockefeller Center

As you can see, there was snow galore! We LOVED it! There was only one time we were terribly cold⌐my fault! Ha! But we still had a blast. The snow flurries were absolutely the icing on the cake to our stay in The Big Apple. I can't wait to share more details of our trip there with you next month!

If you are interested in more information about New York City you can contact me here to book your own Big Apple vacation!

{Destination Highlights} Victoria, British Columbia

It's still National Plan a Cruise month, and there are some amazing sales going on right now! Every cruise line in the industry has a sale going on this month so you can plan your next cruise on a budget. {Shoot me an email to get started on your plans!} At the top of my cruise to wish list is Alaska!! The blue waters, glaciers, and hello, dog sledding!?! Yes, please! A popular Alaskan cruise stop is Victoria, British Columbia on the Canadian West Coast. During one of my visits to Seattle earlier this year, we had the pleasure of visiting Victoria.

This was our first visit to our Northern neighbor, and let me just say, Canada stole my heart! Our stay there was very short, but that was all it took to fall in love! As soon as our ferry pulled into the harbor, I was smitten! Who wouldn't be when you are greeted by the extraordinary Empress Hotel (THE Queen's choice hotel in BC), The British Columbia Parliament Building, and a harbor full of boats and colorful floating houses! I'll go into more details about Victoria later. For today, I hope you'll enjoy these highlights.

 Butchart Gardens {above & below}

 Craigdarroch Castle {above & below}

 The Fairmont Empress Hotel

 Thunderbird Park

 Floating Houses at Fisherman's Wharf

 British Columbia, Canada Parliament Building

Orca Whale Watching out of Victoria, BC in the San Juan Islands

Does Victoria look dreamy or what!? Catch the first ship to Alaska next year, and stop to see for yourself! You definitely won't regret it. I'm so excited to know this is a popular Alaskan cruise stop, perhaps I'll make it back someday! Don't forget about all of the great sales going on. Shoot me an email and we can chat about finding you a cruise on a budget! Check back soon for more cruising tips and details.


If you are interested in more information for your own adventure tours, cruise, or vacation contact me here for more information, pricing, and payment options!

{Destination Highlights} Carnival Cruise + National Plan a Cruise Month

What better day to start sharing with you one of my favorite ways to travel, than the beginnings of National Plan a Cruise Month! I've been on two Western Caribbean Carnival Cruises now, and had a total blast, even with weather woes!

Cruises can take you to exotic locales all over the world, and the best part is you never have to step foot on a plane—unless you're dying to take the European cruise like me! If you aren't sold yet, come sail with me! Let's go on a cruise to one of the Western Caribbean's top spots—Cozumel on the Yucatan Peninsula!

 Carnival Ecstasy

Cozumel, Mexico

 Cozumel, Mexico

 Magical Sunset at Sea somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico

Cruise Ship Towel Art, a nightly treat!

Now would you believe you could do & see all of that for less than $200 a person??! Yep that's right! Cruises are one of my favorite ways to travel because it's truly so cheap! Do I have you sold yet? If so, shoot me an email, and we can get you headed out on the cruise of a lifetime for a great deal! Hope you enjoyed today's destination—bon voyage!

If you are interested in more information for your own adventure tours, cruise, or vacation contact me here for more information, pricing, and payment options!

{Destination Highlights} Las Vegas

Las Vegas was my husband and mine's first major trip together. I'd gone to New York the December prior, and begged for him to take me somewhere first. I'd never flown, my mom hadn't either, we were deer in headlights. Luckily, we made it through everything easy peasy, and did just fine sans airport experience. So when we finally got the chance to take a big trip together, I was ecstatic!

Vegas is another place I didn't expect to like to much. I'm not really a gambler, I work to hard for my money, and I'm honestly not much of a drinker, other than the occasional social drink. But wow! Las Vegas, Nevada is about so much more than that! There's the glitz and the glam, the shows, the history, the stunning nature surrounding the city, and even right smack in it, the family friendly air (yes! family friendly! If we had children, we'd load 'em up to go to Vegas), the architecture, even culture--so much more beyond booze and casinos! While we were there I said on several occasions that I'd felt like I'd traveled all over the world in one day! The casinos are each truly a work of art, and submerse you into new worlds. Soon I'll share more in detail of our experiences "abroad" in Vegas. For now, I hope you'll enjoy a few highlights.

 Fountain & Flowers at the Bellagio

 View of the Bellagio from Paris' Eiffel Tower

 The Hoover Dam

 American Muscle Car Drive through Lake Mead National Park

 Bellagio Fountains and Paris

 The Grand Canyon via Helicopter

Gondola Ride at The Venetian

We packed so much into this 1st Anniversary trip, and we're hoping to make it back there soon. Would you believe I can still smell it? Yes, Vegas is covered in Jasmine, and it is so incredibly fragrant and lovely! We visited in mid to late April, and the weather was perfect, just warm enough! What are your must see spots in Vegas? I'd love to hear your suggestions for our next visit there.

{Destination Highlights} Seattle

Seattle, Washington wasn't exactly on my wish list of places to go. It sort of fell into my lap when my husband was sent there for a 45 day long training course. As luck (or hard work) would have it, our finances were right and savings plenty so I was able to visit not once but twice. And boy was it a treat! Spring in Seattle was beautiful!

 

I did not expect to like Seattle so much let alone love it! They were having an unusually warm Spring with little to no rain, so the timing could not have been better! It is a place I highly recommend, as there is something for everyone! We learned so much about history, technology, and sea life. Here are my top highlights from my stays in Seattle.

 Seattle Aquarium

 View of the Space Needle from Chihuly Glass Gardens

 Future of Flight Museum

 The Great Wheel

 The Gum Wall

 Mt. Rainier from Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Flowers at Pike Place Market

View of Seattle and Mt. Rainier from the Space Needle

I'm really so excited to share more in depth about Seattle with you. It was such a happy surprise to have like it so well! There is really an abundance of activities for anyone, young or old, children or no children. With it being a major port for cruise ships, all the deets are bound to help some of you out there! Hello, Alaska? Someday I'll be back to Seattle to sail away on an Alaskan adventure! Until then, see you back soon for more highlight reels.