While in San Antonio, Texas, we did a boat tour of the Riverwalk. My husband and I have both been on the tour but the kids were excited about the boat ride so we bought tickets and took the tour again. One of the things I loved seeing were all of the different bridges. I thought it was interesting that almost every bridge was different and it was one thing that the tour operator never talked about (I don’t think!). I wasn’t able to get pictures of every bridge because we didn’t have the best seats.
The Riverwalk tours are $8.25 an adult and $2 for children. The tour is about 35 minutes long which was about 12 minutes too long for my kids.
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As I drove up to The Guenther House, I had the unsettling feeling you get when you are putting yourself into a new situation or meeting new people. I was a little bit nervous and it just got worse as I tried to locate the actual parking lot to the building. I was at the Guenther House with my two children to meet up with what my husband affectionately calls my imaginary friends.
Sarah, from Wandering Off, couldn’t have picked a better place to meet up. I had read about the Guenther House on her blog when we were planning our San Antonio trip and was excited to give it a try. It is the home of the Pioneer Flour Mills’ founding family and the grounds are just beautiful.
You have the option of dining inside or out, but unfortunately even though we were eating brunch on a weekday the wait was almost 2 hours. Luckily, motherhood and lots of traveling with kids has taught us to be flexible if nothing else!!! We decided to just grab a pastry inside at the little counter and head to a shady area under a tree. The kids got along well and ran around in the grass while Sarah and I got to have a proper chat. I ordered a cinnamon roll and a slice of coffee cake. Take a look at this cinnamon roll (my two kids and I couldn’t even finish it!):
And those nervous feelings? They disappeared the minute we said hello. There is nothing like a little bit of food, a gorgeous setting, and children to help break the ice! It was like talking to an old friend. If you haven’t seen Sarah’s blog, Wandering Off, you definitely need to head over there. Right now!
This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesday. Stop by and see all the other delicious foods travelers are talking about today.
I love to find television and film locations when we travel. Any film. Any television show.
There I said it.
Not only do I love to find television and film locations when we travel, but I photograph them.
And I film them.
I have stood on the hill in San Francisco where the Full House family has a picnic in the opening credits. I did a little jig and sang a little I am 16 going on 17 in front of the Von Trap Gazebo in Austria (although it was not in its original location…this did sadden me!). I have peered into Hell’s Half Acre where part of Starship Troopers was filmed. I visited the cemetary in New Orleans where Double Jeopardy was filmed and you know I totally looked for the original Real World New Orleans house! And speaking of MTV, in my younger years I even visited the Panama City Beach spring break location…during spring break (though I am a little ashamed to admit that one).
We happily took our children through each scene of Night at the Museum Smithsonian while in DC. We saw the stage on the Riverwalk in San Antonio where Miss Congeniality was filmed. After reading Banner in the Sky and watching its movie counterpart, Third Man on the Mountain, Zermatt, Switzerland went to the top of my must see list. We loved visiting the city and the Matterhorn.
My husband and I stood quietly in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock where the actual and filmed event occured in Valkyrie.
When I first found out that TBEX11 is going to be in Vancouver, my first thoughts were about how I could make it a family trip and then how to get my husband to tour all Twilight locations (hey…I am an English teacher…I am allowed to like the books with no shame!). When we head to Hawaii in October, I fully intend to locate various film locations from the Lost and Magnum PI series.
Today though, I am dreaming of heading to the sleepy town of Seaside where parts of the Truman Show with Jim Carey was filmed. We have lived an hour and a half away from Seaside for years and the most we have done is drive through it. In the next few weeks, I would love to take a little trip to Seaside and spend the day wandering in and out of the airstream food vendors, spot the Truman Show house, and sit in the snow white sand. We tried to go yesterday but the rain thwarted our plans. Hopefully we will make it before school starts back up.
Don’t worry. I will take pictures of Truman’s home for you!
Stop by Mother of All Trips to see what other travelers are dreaming of today!
Last week for Photo Friday, I posted a few picture I had taken on a recent trip to the Great Smoky Mountains and mentioned that the blue misty “smoke” always seemed to be there no matter when we visited. Your comments and questions prompted me to do a little bit more research on where the misty smoke comes from. The National Park Service website does discuss how the views of the Smokies have been degraded by pollution.
A Wikipedia entry states “The name “Smoky” comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog, which is most common in the morning and after rainfall, is the result of warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico cooling rapidly in the higher elevations of Southern Appalachia.”
I always told my high school students never to use Wikipedia as a source, but I couldn’t find much else during a quick search on the Internet. This particular entry references a book by Rose Houk called Great Smoky Mountains National Park: A Natural History Guide (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993), page 198, so I decided to share it.
I also dug back into the picture archives to find a few more pictures from our trips to the Smoky Mountains!
For Travel Blogger Tuesday this week I am going to tell you about a great traveling with children resource!
I was so excited when I was asked if I was interested in reviewing the new Wanderlust and Lipstck book, Traveling with Kids. I had heard the buzz about the book and knew it was written by Leslie Forsberg and Michelle Duffy. I love reading Michelle Duffy’s blog, Wandermom, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the review copy.
This book covers just about anything and everything having to do with traveling with kids. It covers things like why you should travel with children, where you might go, health and safety, and so much more. The book covers practical things that everyone traveling with kids should know and think about. Whether you are wary about traveling with your children or your kids have had passports since the day after they were born, I am sure that there is something in this book for you!
I enjoyed reading the personal accounts and tips from people who had been there done that. They shared little anecdotes about their successes and failures while traveling with children.
The bottom line: This book is extremely useful and is a resource that I would likely go back to when planning a trip.
Disclaimer: I received this review copy complimentary with no expectation. As a matter of fact, they probably thought I had forgotten about it since I received the book awhile ago! My reviews are based solely on my opinion with no outside influence.
Everytime we drive through the Smokies, I am amazed by the misty “smoke” that inspired the mountain’s name. It is always there, whether we are driving through the mountains in the morning, afternoon, or evening.
This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. Stop by to see other beautiful travel pictures!
Last week, I shared my video of our experience at Wilderness at the Smokies! Today I am going to go into a little bit more detail on our visit. We got to visit Wilderness at the Smokies for two nights as part of the Trekaroo Superoo program. If you have followed this site for awhile, you will know how much we love Trekaroo. Trekaroo is kind of like a Trip Advisor for families! You can do a search for a city or area and get reviews by families just like you and me for hundreds of hotels and activities! If you haven’t already, definitely stop by and check it out!
The Wilderness at the Smokies visit was so great for us as a family! We spent an evening and a day splashing in the water at the three different water parks. We have visited waterparks all over the country. This waterpark resort is definitely not the biggest, but it isn’t the smallest either! Our favorite of the three water parks, Salamander Springs, is what I am going to share with you today! To see my full review of Wilderness at the Smokies on Trekaroo, head to my Trekaroo Passport.
When we first arrived at the hotel, we were so bummed when we realized that we were staying across the street from the large indoor water park. Once we checked in, we had a chance to look out one of the windows where we spied Salamander Springs! Salamander Springs is full of water slides, pools, hot tubs, and play structures great for kids of all ages but in particular, the younger kids. My three year old was able to go down all the slides on her own. They splashed around the pools and loved exploring the huge play structure. The structure had slides, tunnels to crawl through, steps to climb, and a bucket that dropped gallons and gallons of water on unsuspecting children every few minutes!
Even the itty bitty toddlers can have a great time splashing around. There is a small section set aside just for your youngest children with a little pool, slide and swings. It is manned by its own lifeguard.
The best part about staying next to Salamander Springs was that when our kids got tired of being in the sun and water, we took them upstairs to our room for a snack, rest and some tv time. When we were all rested, we were ready to head back downstairs.
I loved the fact that there were plenty of lifeguards watching and interacting with all of the children. I also loved being able to sit in a chair while my kids romped around into the water. I did not feel the need to have to follow them around as they played like I did at some of the bigger parks.
Disclosure: We were guests of Wilderness at the Smokies for two nights. Water park admission is included with every hotel stay because you must be guests of the hotel to visit the water park. While on this trip, we paid for everything else including our meals and the gas to get there. My reviews are based solely on my experiences and opinion with no outside influence.
Next up – Part Two – Wild Water Dome Indoor Water Park.
For as long as I can remember, Misty of Chincoteague has been one of my favorite books. I was so excited, even as a grown adult, when we planned a trip to Chincoteague Island to see the wild ponies.
And the not so wild ponies of Chincoteague Island:
You have got to love a restaurant that has brown paper on the table and a full sized trash can next to it!
We chose Steamers on Chincoteague Island because it was within walking distance of our hotel, looked family friendly and boasted lots and lots of delicious seafood. The restaurant was noisy and perfect for our group of nine. If you can think of the seafood, they probably have it grilled or fried! The kids were amazed by the All-You-Can-Eat trays that were coming out of the kitchen. If you order all you can eat crabs, shrimp, etc, it all comes out on a cafeteria tray! If you don’t like seafood, don’t worry because they also serve chicken, steak and seafood. The sweet potato biscuits that come out as soon as you sit down are so tasty and sweet. I am on a search to replicate the recipe.
The clam chowder was good but the shrimp was absolutely delicious. And yes…that is a bowl of butter sitting on top of it.
We loved the fried scallops and oysters! And the hush puppies…YUM!
The prices are on the high side but are still reasonable. We loved the restaurant so much that after a failed attempt to eat at another restaurant in town the next day, we headed straight back to Steamers!
This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesday. Stop by and see all the other delicious foods travelers are talking about today
I got this handy little Flip Mino HD as a prize for completing a ton of reviews on Trekaroo. It was during a promotion that they were doing last year. Since then, I have used it a handful of times but haven’t really done anything with the video. As a matter of fact, when I went to download video from this last trip and there were 38 clips on it! I have been inspired by the videos I have seen around the web so I thought that I would give it a try.
It is definitely not greatness but I did learn a lot! Most importantly, I need to pay attention to the screen (and not the subject!) when I record video. This video is just a little sneak peek of what my posts next week will be about! Enjoy!
Disclosure: We were guests of Wilderness at the Smokies for two nights. Water park admission is included with every hotel stay because you must be guests of the hotel to visit the water park. While on this trip, we paid for everything else including our meals and the gas to get there. My reviews are based solely on my experiences and opinion with no outside influence.
Stop by Photo Friday at Delicious Baby to see where other travelers are today!
We decided to just grab a pastry inside at the little counter and head to a shady area under a tree. The kids got along well and ran around in the grass while Sarah and I got to have a proper chat. I ordered a cinnamon roll and a slice of coffee cake. Take a look at this cinnamon roll (my two kids and I couldn’t even finish it!):
