Archive | August, 2010
Tomatillos was our favorite discovery in San Antonio, Texas while we were there. My husband traveled to San Antonio a few years ago and his coworkers took him to this restaurant that he raved about. Luckily, he remembered the name and we found out that it was just a few minutes away from where we were staying. We loved our meal so much the first night that we went back the next night for dinner! Look at this spread!
The best part of the meal was the kid’s menu. There are lots of choices for the kids but my kids only eat rice and beans at this type of restaurant. For $2, you can get this huge plate of rice and beans and all you can eat tortillas.
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to see what everyone else is eating!
Posted in Tips on August 30, 2010
For Monday Dreaming, I am dreaming of a smooth adventure for the grandparents when they come to watch my kids for a week. Daddy J and I are going out of town and the grandparents will be watching the kids. I know they will be in good, loving hands but we have never traveled away from the kids for more than a weekend and they are never staying in our house when we go away. There are so many things you have to remember to tell them about your daily routine. Things that you automatically think of like what time the bus picks up or when the sports activity begins but there are also things that I didn’t think of right away like directions to the school should they need them or what time the trash gets picked up.
I was very surprised at how little I found during a quick search of the Internet. I was looking for some templates to fill out or a checklist of information and couldn’t find a single thing. I did ask on Twitter and got back some great responses that will help me out. Over the next week or two, I am going to try and devise a few worksheets that I hope to put on the site so you can download them for the next time you go out of town without your kids.
Stay tuned!
On our 3,000 miles of road trip this summer we saw lots of cool stuff. We also saw lots of strange stuff. Like this…
Do you have any idea what this is?
Stop by Delicious Baby photos from around the world.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas was one of the things that surprised us most about our vacation to San Antonio, Texas. We were most surprised because it really is little children friendly as well as perfect for the tweens, teens and adults if you like amusement park. As I have gotten older, I look at the rides a bit more warily than I used to when I would jump in line and wait for that adrenaline rush you can only get from a roller coaster (or maybe flying a jet?!).
We received complimentary tickets to Six Flags Fiesta Texas as part of the S.A.V.E San Antonio Sweepstakes that we won. We were excited to go because spending the hundreds of dollars on an amusement park when your children are only 3 and 5 seems a little ridiculous. This way, we got to go and enjoy the park without spending too much money!
Six Flags Fiesta was suprisingly friendly for younger children but you have to make your way past all the excitement and scary rides located at the front of the park. Of course, the first ride we hit was a small roller coaster that my son could go on but my daughter couldn’t. This was not good for family relations!
We continued towards the back of the park where we found Wiggles World! Brightly colored rides, a small splash area, and lots of little children running around told us that we found the right place! We spent about two hours moving from ride to ride that both my children could go on. There were a couple of rides that an adult had to ride with my 3 year old because of height restrictions. While in Wiggles World we rode in a gigantic strawberry:
We caught a Wiggles show:
We rode the Big Red Car:
And we splashed around:
We also spent a lot of time in the Fiesta Bay Boardwalk section which is kid friendly as well. There is a ferris wheel, the Scooby Doo ride, and the Tony Hawk ride (which I most certainly did not ride!).
There is also a water park attached to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. If looks like the only way to enter the water park is through the main park. Water park admission is included with your Six Flags ticket purchase. When I looked at the website before we went, I didn’t notice that water park admission was included. To be honest, the only reason my kids were in their swimsuits was because I didn’t want to listen to them complain if they got hot or couldn’t splash around. So many amusement parks and zoos have little splash pad areas and I didn’t want to get caught without a swimsuit for them! My husband and I did not have our swimsuits though so there was much that the kids couldn’t do because we couldn’t go either.
Overall, we had a good time and would probably go back if we were in the area. It wasn’t too terribly crowded, the kids had a blast, and went to bed very early that night!
Things to Know Before You Go:
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Don’t forget your swimsuits if you would like to go to the waterpark part too. The waterpark is separate so you could avoid it if you wish.
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Be prepared to walk. Most of the activities for the younger children are located in the back of the park. The water park area for the younger kids is also in the back of the water park.
Be sure to visit Trekaroo for their Spotlight Thursday to see where other travelers are going!
Ingredients:
Shrimp (Lots of people like to devein and deshell them but we prefer to get our hands dirty when we eat this meal!)
Mussels
Red potatoes
Corn on the Cob cut in half
Sausage cut up in big chunks
Water
Old Bay Seasoning or something similar
Crab boil seasoning or something similar
What you need:
Find the biggest pot in your house. Look at it and then go to the store and buy a pot twice as big.
The morning newspaper
A big picnic table
Friends and Family
What to do:
Cook potatoes and sausage in water with some seasonings. Add the rest (except the shrimp and mussels) to pot and let cook until finished. When everything is almost finished add the shrimp and mussels.
Spread newspapers all over a picnic table. Dump contents of entire pot (or what will fit) onto the table.
Dig in!
There some recipes that you can follow with real amounts and actual times if you have never cooked a low country boil before:
Lowcountry Boil – Coastal Living
Low Country Boil - Myrecipes
Stop by Wanderfood Wednesday to indulge in some amazing food photos, descriptions, and recipes!
I was a military brat for many years. I was lucky enough to complete the last three years of high school in the same school located in the suburban town of Irvine, California. When I walked across that stage, I was a California girl ready to embark on an adventure. A few weeks later, I packed up my little 1980s Toyota Corolla and drove across country to Pensacola, Florida where four years later I walked across a different stage at the University of West Florida as a California girl turned Southern transplant.
When I first arrived in Pensacola, this California girl was shocked by the polite (and very good looking!) Southern gentlemen who opened doors, offered to carry your bags, wore their baseball hats properly turned to the front and said yes ma’am to your mother. I fell in love with the South immediately. That was in 1996.
I didn’t just fall in love with the Gulf Coast, I fell in love with one of those Southern gentlemen. When my friends were caught up with quick romances, this man slowly courted me at various functions and school activities, before we went out together officially. We married shortly after college in 2000 and have been here in Pensacola ever since. We contemplate leaving and, someday, jobs or other circumstances might take us away from the Gulf Coast, but for now we are satisfied with where we are and appreciate what we have.
We travel all over the place and when we return to the Gulf Coast, as we get closer, we can feel ourselves slowing down a bit more, looking for the first sign of tea that is already sweet, and the humidity that quickly heals dried skin and chapped lips. Pensacola is rich with culture. We claim to be the oldest city (though not continuously inhabited). We are the home of the Blue Angels. We celebrate things like mullet (the fish, not the hair do) by throwing them back and forth over the Alabama/Florida state line, crawfish with a low country boil complete with corn and potatoes spread over this morning’s newspaper, and we throw beads and moon pies to celebrate Mardi Gras. We are also one of those cities that has been through a hurricane.
Every summer we make sure that our hurricane kit is stocked with items that are not near expiration, plenty of water bottles, canned goods and batteries. Then we sit back and watch and wait hoping that it is not us this time but praying that it isn’t our Gulf Coast neighbors either.
We had been through minor storms before. Since we have lived in Pensacola, we had storms that escalated to tropical storms and then to hurricanes. They always veered off or were categorized as 1’s in the Saffir Simpson scale. Minor storms that were cause for a party because the next day it was beautiful, school was cancelled, and we got to spend the day on the beach. In 2004, we watched the news and listened to the radio as Hurricane Ivan barreled right towards us knowing that this time it would be different. My 4 week old son, oblivious to what was going on, spent the night in the hall closet where I curled around him hoping that our roof would hold and that we would get power quickly afterwards. Finally we all fell asleep so exhausted we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.
The next day, I met my neighbors. We lived in this house for two years and were friendly with our neighbors but we were wrapped up in our own lives so there was never more than a wave hello and a how are ya. The morning after Hurricane Ivan hit, we were outside helping several other people move trees out of the street, checking to make sure no one needed help, saying hello to people coming to help us, patching roofs and fences, and passing out food that we couldn’t possibly eat before it spoiled. Once it was done, we turned and reintroduced ourselves.
In 2005, we watched our New Orleans neighbors devastated by Hurricane Katrina. At the time I was teaching at a high school where we welcomed student upon student. Students who lost everything in Katrina and were coming to live with a relative or family friend so they could attend school. I was so impressed by our students welcoming them with open arms. They had been there last year, after all.
After Hurricane Ivan, a few of our friends and acquaintances gave up and moved out. But we stay. Right now, I can’t think of any better place to be. A place where I live less than 20 minutes from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world (and believe me I have been to lots of different beaches!). When most of you are still trying to dig out of your snow covered driveways, my family is sitting at the beach watching the little waves roll in. In October when you are looking for long sleeves and pants sewn into a Halloween costume, I am looking for tank tops. A place where I get to start working on my flip flop tan in March. I can set my watch by the 2:00 rainstorms that bring lightning and thunder like no other place I have seen. The Southern Magnolias are only around for a short time but these dinner plate size flowers make me giddy with excitement when I see the giant bulbs ready to bloom. The fried chicken in the school cafeterias is some of the best you will ever try because it is made with love. Restaurants will give you take out cups for your soda and the sweet tea is divine and made perfectly no matter where you are dining.
A place that has become as much a part of me as it would have been had I been born and raised here. That is why this Southern Transplant remains.
This post was submitted to the Hope Remains carnival at Storybleed. Be sure to visit and read the beautiful stories written by others who love the Gulf Coast.
Last week’s Travel Blogger Tuesday post where I highlighted some of my favorite posts from that week was such a hit that I am going to continue it for the next few weeks to see how it goes.
Dave and Deb, at Canada’s Adventure Couple, share their experience of dining in the dark! There is no way I could do this! Anyone who has eaten with me knows that one of my little quirks is the fact that I have to face the door…no matter what!
If you read this blog, you know that we had a blast on our San Antonio weekend getaway! Sarah of Wandering Off blogs about day trips from San Antonio over at Trekaroo today. I wish that we had had more time to explore some of these areas.
Anil at FoxNomad gives tips to help you save money while traveling abroad.
Amy over at The Q Family Adventures shares her experience at Six Flags Over Georgia with a great tip on how to avoid the crowds…arrive later in the day!
I always imagined a trip to Vegas without the kids, but Debi over at Go Explore Nature shared her visit to the Bellagio. What fun for the kids-fountains, beautiful gardens! Mine would love the visit!
I love reading. I love reading with my kids. I love reading books that inspire me and my children to explore and seek adventure which is why I absolutely love this series that Debbie at DeliciousBaby is doing where she highlights her favorite kid’s travel books. This week’s book is one that I haven’t heard of: Follow the Line Around the World.
This morning I put my Big S on the bus for his first day of first grade! Little S has been wandering around the house since he left. She sat on his bed and played with his cars for a bit. Then she watched some TV (happily holding the remote which she nevers gets!). I was able to break up her gloom with her dance class. She misses her little play buddy already. On Friday, I said goodbye to summer so today I am dreaming of the weekend where we can explore more of our own little city and, once we have gotten back into a routine, plan a few daytrips and overnighters.
Don’t forget to drop by Mother of All Trips to see what others are dreaming about today!
If you are stopping by from the Southern Living Mama Blogger of the Week post, I appreciate your visit! Stop by my welcome message to see some of my favorite Southern posts!
I wanted to take a moment to say hello to readers stopping by from Southern Living. I am so honored to have been chosen as the Southern Living Mama Blogger of the Week. Southern Living has been on the coffee table in my house since I was a little girl. I am totally starstruck and in awe.
I blog here about our travel all over the place, but we especially love exploring our southern home too! I am also the creator of Pensacola with Kids, a website about exploring my hometown of Pensacola with your family. I blog at Traveling Mom as what else? Southern Traveling Mom, of course! You can find me at Threaded Together too, a family craft blog where we share our love for crafts, cooking and creating!
While you are here, I hope you will grab a sweet tea, some pralines and the front porch rocking chair and sit for a spell! Here are a few of my favorite Southern posts!
Blueberry Time
Downtown Pensacola in Pictures – Part One and Part Two
Why I Love Living in Florida
A Day Trip: Five Things to do in Mobile, AL with your kids
Dreaming of Beignets at the Cafe Du Monde – New Orleans, Louisiana
In summer, the song sings itself.
~William Carlos Williams
Today marks the last day of summer. Big S is back in school bright and early Monday morning (we aren’t counting the weekend because, well, weekends don’t count!). He is so very excited. We met his teacher and saw his new classroom this morning and he can’t wait for school to start. Sending him to first grade is much easier than sending him to Kindergarten last year. He is such a big guy and seems ready to navigate his little world. It is time to get back into a daily routine, plan weekend adventures and start deciding where we will go for Fall break!
So today we say goodbye to summer. Summer–you have been very good to us and we can’t wait to see you again next year!
The following pictures were taken on our road trip to Chincoteague Island, Virginia. The kids were so excited to put their toes in the Atlantic and weren’t the least bit discouraged when they discovered the Atlantic Ocean is many degrees colder than our cozy, warm, bathwater-esque Gulf Coast. I just love these pictures of them playing at the beach on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
Of all the pictures taken of my husband and I this summer, this my favorite:
Visit DeliciousBaby to see other Photo Friday posts. Travel around the world without leaving your computer desk!
