The last time we were in St. Augustine , my husband and I had only been married for a few years and we were sans kids.  Since then, we have been to Jacksonville many times but haven’t made that extra thirty or forty minute drive to St. Augustine.  My husband and I will be celebrating our ten year anniversary this summer and while our big anniversary trip is planned for October, we are heading to St. Augustine in July for a quick weekend to celebrate.  It is perfect for us because we can be there in less than six hours and we can drop the kids off with family in Panama City on the way there!

Because we are not the Bed and Breakfast type couple (but there are some amazing ones right in the middle of the historic district), we would love to stay in an oceanfront room at the Ponte Vedra Beach Resorts. 

After a morning walk on the beach with our coffee in hand, we would get ready to explore the sites.  For my history buff husband, we would first head to the Castillo de San Marcos and the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the USA.  After exploring this area, I would want to find somewhere to eat lunch.  One thing I remember most about my trip is that we had the best bread pudding at this amazing restaurant.  The BEST bread pudding.  Ever.  I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but can vaguely remember a bit about it.  We were seated on the second floor and it was off of a main square.  I hope to locate this restaurant and engorge myself on the bread pudding. 

After lunch, we will head to Flagler College to wander the campus and take pictures.  I have been reading about architecture photography and I would like to put some of my newly acquired skills to use.   Before nightfall, I would want to head to the St. Augustine Lighthouse to take some pictures of the sun setting around it!

(photo by Dave in the Triad)

Have you been to St. Augustine?  Please leave a comment in this post if you have because I would love any recommendations of things that we should do or see!  Plan your own St. Augustine romantic weekend away.

Some of my fondest memories of traveling with my children are from when we came across a park or a large patch of grass where they could run around and just be exactly who they are…kids. No one telling them to keep their hands to themselves. No one telling them to use their inside voices. Some of my favorite memories: running through the grass and gravel walks at Schloss Hellbrun in Salzburg; Big S learning to crawl in the ruins at Trier, Germany; sliding through the snow and ice in the Olympic ski jump area in Garmisch, Germany; skipping around the giant cow at the Braselton Mayfield Dairy.

When we were in Suffolk, Virginia during the month of February, we were trapped in the house for a few days by sleet and snow. Because the area doesn’t get much snow as a general rule, everything pretty much shut down. Once the weather cleared, we went exploring and found a park that my sister often talked about.

Sleepy Hole is a gem! We ran around for hours until our noses were pink and we could barely feel our fingers and toes.  We explored the nature trails, played on the park and ran around until we were laughing so hard we couldn’t stand any longer.   Afterwards, we went home and made hot chocolate.  We collapsed in exhaustion and giggled about how much fun we had.

How can you not smile when you see joy like this?

For an added Friday photo, I had to share this picture.  Little S had the worst static electricity the entire time we were in Virginia.  Her hair was always standing on end!  It was hilarious!

Stop by DeliciousBaby to check out the other Photo Friday submissions.

In February, I stayed in Suffolk, Virginia for two weeks with my daughter, niece and nephew.  We had a blast exploring the area.  One of our little side stops was the Yankee Candle Flagship store in Williamsburg, Virginia.  After exploring Colonial Williamsburg, we got back in the car and decided to make a quick stop at the Yankee Candle Flagship store.  It is set up like a small mall inside.  There is a huge Yankee Candle store where they have every scent you can think of.  If you are with the kids, bypass the browsing to the back of this area for the Candle Dipping Station.  You can choose a candle to dip in different colors. 

You can also create wax hands!  Each of the kids chose a candle and had so much fun dipping it into the hot colored wax. 

 Afterwards, we wandered through the Christmas area (which doesn’t hold as much allure in February as it probably does in November!), used the restroom (which was one of the cleanest we saw on the entire trip), and bought some of the best caramel corn I have ever had (they give free samples too!). 

Visiting the store is free.  The smallest candle to color yourself is $2.99 so a trip to the Yankee Candle store won’t be too expensive.  The store is near Colonial Williamsburg so it would be a good quick stop before or after your visit there.

Eden State Gardens is a beautiful state park located about 30-40 minutes from Panama City Beach.  Eden State Gardens has a rich history in lumber.  It was the home to the Wesley Family.  The beautiful home, painted a brilliant white, has a gorgeous wrap around porch that will make you want to invest in one of those Cracker Barrel rocking chairs!  Can you believe this beautiful home and 10.5 acres was purchased in 1960 for only 12,500 dollars?! 

She then put in another million dollars to convert the home to an antebellum home.  She wanted the home for her extensive collection of Louis XVI antiques.  After 5 years and failing health, she gave her home and antique collection to the state of Florida. 

While visiting, we wandered around the grounds for awhile.  It was a nice walk to Tucker Bayou.  The kids loved to walk the pier.

All I wanted to do was sit on this bench.  All. Day. Long!

The gardens are absolutely beautiful and although many plants and flowers have not bloomed, the Camellias are out in full force.  According to the state park site, the Camellia peak bloom is in March so we timed our trip beautifully!

There is a nature trail…

and it is a beautiful setting for a wedding.  My daughter spent fifteen minutes watching the “princess”!

For other suggestions on things to do near or around Panama City, visit me at Traveling Mom or explore my other posts here on Two Kids and a Map.

Stop by Delicious Baby to see where others are traveling this week!

As I posted last week, we love photo cutouts.  My family will drop everything and demand to have their picture taken if they see a photo cutout.  By your comments (which I appreciate so much!), I have found that we are not the only family!  I would love for you to share your photo cutouts with me!  If you are willing to share, email me (jennifer at twokidsandamap dot com) the picture, where it was taken, and permission to put the photo on my site, www.twokidsandamap.com.  I am thinking there might need to be some sort of contest involved!!  I will let you know if I come up with some details!  If you would like to sponsor the contest with a fabulous prize, please let me know! 

So today, I am dreaming of those playful moments when my kids find a silly cutout…whether it be an astronaut at the Air and Space Museum, Mozart in Salzburg, the Mannequin Pis in Brussels, or the mermaid at the Nauticus.  Those silly moments and pictures to remember them remind me why I travel with my kids. 

Stop by Mara’s at Mother of All Trips to see what everyone else is dreaming about today.

Here are quick links to the wonderful recommendations from Trekaroo families and those of local Floridian bloggers and Orlando aficionados. They’ve been there, done that, and now they’re giving you their inside scoop by jumping on board the Trekaroo KidsMobile Blog Carnival when it stopped in Orlando.

• Top Activities for Kids in Orlando, Florida – voted by Trekaroo parents
• Top Kid-friendly Hotels in Orlando, Florida – voted by Trekaroo parents
• 5 Tot-friendly Restaurants Favorites at Disney by Two Kids and A Map.
• Disney Hotels for Tweens and Teens by Travel with Teens
• Top 5 “Must Do” Walt Disney World Attractions with Teens by Disney Everyday.
• Free and Low-Cost Activities in Orlando for Preschoolers by modernmami
•  Water Parks in Florida – Cheerio Family
• More Disney, Less Waiting – A review of RideMax – Li Er Hanson

Other Resources for Walt Disney World and Orlando, Florida

• All 71 Activities for Kids in and around Orlando, Florida
• Kid-friendly hotels in and around Orlando, Florida

Next stop, Memphis, Tennessee – Jump on board the KidsMobile!

The Trekaroo KidsMobile is a blog carnival with a twist. It’s designed to provide a unique opportunity for mom and dad bloggers to be featured on Trekaroo while 1) expressing their unique point of view 2) getting a web of link exchanges. Join us for one of our next stopovers.

It has kept me indoors, searching out tissues and trying to breathe this dry winter air.  Ok…I am being dramatic.  But seriously, I am COLD!  After three days of being in the house with three kids under the age of 9, I finally decided it was time to go.  Of course, the weather was supposed to get yucky again so we tried to find a place indoors and close to home since I (and the rest of Suffolk County apparently) am not used to driving in the snow.  Hurricane-esque rainstorms, yes.  Snow?  No.  After doing some searching I found that although the Children’s Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth is closed for another year due to renovations, Andalo’s Clubhouse is open near the Courthouse Galleries. 

The visit costs $5.00 a person.  Adults have to pay $5.00 as well.  I have no problem paying full price for a full blown children’s museum, but paying here was equivelant to having to pay to play at an indoor bounce house where adults don’t play anyway.  I don’t really agree with it but I paid my money nonetheless to sit on a bench while my kids ran around and played!  We only stayed about an hour.  Despite the fact that I was annoyed that I had to pay $20 for the visit, the kids really did have a blast.  The eight year old loved reading and trying the few science exhibits.

 The little ones enjoyed building castles in the block section. 

Much to my surprise, they totally skipped over the pretend grocery store setup.  There is a separate room for children three and under but we also skipped this section.

Stay tuned because the next few posts are going to be about our other Virginia adventures including Williamsburg, the Yankee Candle flagship store, and several of the area museums.

It took me a second to realize what it was in that form!  Can you tell what it is?

Does this help?

Here is a hint!  Everytime I drive past one of these fields I think of two things:  1) Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind and 2) marshmallows!

Doesn’t that kind of resemble a big fluffy marshmallow?!?! 

Yup…that is cotton!  To learn more about the cotton process, take a look at this downloadable .pdf file Cotton: From Field to Fabric.

Stop by DeliciousBaby to see where everyone is traveling to this week!

When we were in Panama City recently, we had family pictures taken by Adria Peaden Photography at Oaks by the Bay.  Daddy J’s mom wanted pictures of the whole family since all of her kids would be in town.  I usually get my pictures back and hate them.  I hate the way I looked…the way my hair was blowing…the way…well, you understand!  These pictures are absolutely amazing and I was so thrilled with the results!  If you are going to be in the Panama City, Florida vicinity for a family vacation and are looking to get family pictures made at the beach or a fun park, take a look at Adria’s website.  I think that you will like what you see and want to book her immediately!  She has some amazing beach wedding pictures up, adorable baby pictures, and stunning pregnancy photos, too!  Here are a few of my favorites from our photo shoot in Panama City.  Thanks so much, Adria!

Stop by DeliciousBaby to see where other travelers are this week!

This photo shoot was paid for by a family member.  The recommendation is based solely on my experiences and opinion with no outside influence.