Category : Going
When we first bought our current car, we tried out the headphones that came with our purchase. No luck. They were too young and wouldn’t keep them on. We put them away and forgot about them. We don’t play movies the entire trip so it isn’t a big deal to listen to them while they are watching one. On our latest trip, Daddy J decided to give the headphones a try and wow…what a difference the drive was. We listened to our music and they watched a movie and it was glorious!
Thank you to Debbie at Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday.
We travel on a tight budget. I certainly wish that I had buckets of money like that picture over there, but the truth is I had to go to Flickr (Photo courtesy of borman818) to get the picture because I don’t even have 5 bucks in my wallet to take a picture of! There are things that we give up in our daily lives so that we can afford to travel. There are also travels that we have to give up so that we can afford to fix a broken washing machine or some other expense that we weren’t expecting. We have responsibilities in our own city like house and car payments, swim lessons, and the electric bill (which is ridiculous this summer!). My husband has a full time job where he has to show up at an office from 9-5 and is given a couple of weeks of vacation a year. We have to work around that vacation, but believe me…we take every day we possibly can. Sometimes, we don’t get to use all the vacation for that year. Many times, he is tethered to his laptop working on our vacations.
There are a lot of articles out there about travel being expensive and something that you can’t do. We are here to prove that you can travel on a budget and have a great time doing it! I am not sharing our trip expenses from this vacation to sound braggy…I am sharing them because it is one of the first questions we get asked…”Isn’t travel with a family of four too expensive?”
We aren’t the only ones that think travel can be done with a little bit of saving and prioritizing. Spencer at The Traveling Philosopher and Carol at New York City Mama have both written about this issue recently. My hope is that this trip report will show you a real life breakdown of what it costs for a family of four to take a five day road trip. Here is a rundown of our expenses from our most recent trip:
Hotel Expenses
We stayed in a Country Inn and Suites off of Tunnel Road. I pricelined the hotel for the first time in years and years (reviews of both the hotel and our Priceline experience to come!). After several tries, we got the hotel for $65 a night. After taxes, the total came to $307.48.
Gas Expenses
Luckily, gas dropped several cents right before we left for our trip. Also, we were traveling to an area where the gas was cheaper due to lower gas taxes. I had about 1/2 of a tank of gas when we left, we filled the tank 3 times – $49.07; $56.01; $51.54. We got home from Asheville on Sunday the 26th and I got another four days of driving around town before I had to get gas. We drove a total of 1164 miles. Our gas total for the road trip was $156.62
Food Expenses
One of the benefits to staying in a Country Inn and Suites is the free hot breakfast. The breakfast included make your own waffles, cereal, breads and pastries and more. We ate breakfast in the hotel each morning. I ate lunches at my conference and my husband and children ate peanut butter or ham sandwiches, chips and other snacks we brought with us. We ate at local eateries that were reasonably priced for the most part.
Day One – $12.18; $13.18
Day Two – $40.86
Day Three – $26.72
Snacks and Lunch Supplies purchase before we went – $66 (We brought home a lot of food that we will use throughout the next few weeks while we are at home!)
Our food total for the trip was $158.94.
Activity Expenses
The main reason for our trip to Asheville was so that I could attend a blogger’s conference. My conference ticket cost $149 dollars. While I was at the conference, my husband and children explored Asheville. They went hiking, kayaking, and visited a few other attractions. The attractions listed below were for one adult and two children to visit.
Asheville Outdoors Center (kayaking) – $34.00
Western North Carolina Nature Center (admission) – $16.00
Chimney Rock (hiking) – $17.00
Asheville Tourists baseball tickets for 2 adults and 1 child (my 4yo was free) – $32 + $6 (popcorn and drink)
Our activity total for the road trip was $105.
Total Expenses for a five day road trip to Asheville, NC (from Pensacola, FL) with my family of four was $728.04. If you add in my conference ticket $149), the total is $877.04. I know this is no small sum but I love that a 5 day 1100 mile road trip can be done for less than $1000. With some planning and saving, a trip costing less than $1000 is doable. Over the next few weeks, I will be going into detail on some planning and saving techniques that worked for us.
Do you have any tips to save for vacation?
This month, we are going to be on two separate road trips. When I say we, I mean me and the kids. Daddy J’s work schedule is preventing him from joining us. We are still trying to work some things out, but I am going into these trips with the mindset that I will be doing them both on my own (we are meeting up with grandma for one of them though!).
We are headed to New Orleans for a few days where I hope to enjoy some of our favorite activities as well as visit some family friendly spots we have missed on our past visits. Don’t worry…we will be eating copious amounts of beignets while we are there! Barring a flat tire or any other number of things that could go wrong, I am expecting this road trip to be smooth. We try to travel to New Orleans at least twice a year for the past eleven years. I am familiar with the city and I know my way around town.
The second road trip kind of scares me a little. We are going to two cities that I am not really familiar with (one of which I have never visited) but I am still excited! We are heading to Cashiers, North Carolina and then we are heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
To help these road trips go smoothly, I am doing a little bit of prep work. The Easter Bunny has gotten the word that they would like a few travel items in their basket. They will be finding these adorable magnet play sets, WikkiStix, some new books and some snacks. I will review each of the gifts once we have been able to try them out on the road!
What are you dreaming about today? Visit Mother of All Trips to see what other people are dreaming about today!
We road trip a lot…short trips only an hour or two away to 15 hour days. I love the picnics on the road, the forced family fun in the car, and the children’s excitement when they spot something they have never seen before. We don’t love car problems though. Unfortunately, they are inevitable. We have changed tires on the side of the road and in various parking lots. We have been at the mercy of small town mechanics who have thankfully always been helpful and honest. We have had to leave the car in the capable hands of tow truck drivers when we were only 20 minutes away from home after a five hour drive. When I look back at events that seemed so traumatic, we have actually been very lucky.
Now, let me give you a little background on my car. When it was just over three years old (less than a year ago), we had to rebuild the entire transmission. My car and I are not always friends. As I pulled into my driveway after the seven hour drive from Orlando, the check engine light came on. I wanted to scream. To make matters worse, my husband’s check engine light came on this week too. We decided to get his car fixed first (ouch!) since we knew there was a real problem.
I mentioned to a friend that the check engine light was on but that the car seemed to be running fine. I didn’t want to take it in and shell out the money it will cost. She told me that Auto Zone stores will check your engine for free and will give you a print out of what might be wrong with the car. You may already know this, but I didn’t so I wanted to share! Yesterday afternoon, I headed to our local Auto Zone and had the car checked. They were very informative and let me know that I didn’t need to race right over to the mechanic for this particular problem. It still needs to be fixed but it can at least wait until we get my husband’s car out of the shop!
If you are ever on a road trip and your check engine light turns on, try to locate an Auto Zone nearby. There are Auto Zones throughout most of the South and East Coast as well as the West Coast. They will check the light, you will know if you can continue on, and it is all free!
Photo Courtesy of Robert Couse-Baker.
As I mentioned on Monday, I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge this past weekend. On my way home, back to Pensacola, I usually take I-4 to the Florida Turnpike until I hit I-75 to head north from Orlando. We stayed the last night at the Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa and I guess it was just close enough to US 27 for the GPS to want to route me there instead of I-4. Once I was driving down US27 though, I realized that it was not so bad of a detour and there were lots of things to see and do. Unfortunately, I was traveling early in the morning so I didn’t get to visit anything. I do have a list started and I wrote about it on Traveling Mom today. I would love to visit Florida’s largest winery, the orange groves and so much more.
Have you traveled down US 27 north of Orlando? Do you have any pit stops I should add to the list?
The sun is trying to peak out from behind the clouds but that pesky wind and rain has been persistent. Mr. Sun is not having much luck. The temperatures have warmed up a little bit but are showing no signs of creeping any higher. I know I have no room to complain about temperatures that range from the 20s to the 40s but we live on the Gulf Coast. We just are not accustomed to temperatures like that for more than a few weeks at a time. Our houses aren’t insulated for that freezing weather, our coats are not heavy enough, and we can’t find the darn mittens and scarves in the closet. Don’t even get me started on my shoes. My poor flip flops are aquiring a very tall layer of dust as I constantly rotate the only two pairs of closed toed shoes I own.
This is why I am dreaming of my spring break trip already even though it is still two months away (and may still very well be cold where we are going!). We will be packing up the car and making the eleven hour drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Not only will I be able to check off #3 (putting our toes back in the Atlantic Ocean) on my 33 Things to Do the Year I Turn 33 list, but I am excited to explore a part of the South that I have not been able to explore yet.
Courtesy of alan2onion at Flickr.com
South Carolina makes me think of sprawling porches, rocking chairs and all the sweet tea you can drink. It makes me think of BBQ sandwiches, boardwalks with carnival rides and ice cream shops, and collecting seashells on the beach as the sun rises.
We will be visiting Holiday Inn Vacation Club’s South Beach Resort courtesy of the Holiday Inn Vacation Club. I am looking forward to taking advantage of what the resort as to offer including their pools and that beautiful boardwalk out to the beach. I can’t wait to see my children’s reaction when they walk out on the that sand and see how different it is from our powdery white beach. I am excited for the car ride because much of the ride will be a route we have never taken before.
But most importantly? I am looking forward to the three days of family time…you know…that Forced Family Fun?!
Have you been to Myrtle Beach? Do you have any suggestions for us? We want to hear about your favorite restaurants and activities!
Stop by Mother of all Trips to see what everyone else is dreaming about today!
Spring Training is just a few weeks away. Every year we say we are going to hop in the car for the 6-8 hour drive where we will find the 15 Grapefruit League spring training spots dotted all over central and south Florida but every year something comes up and we decide to wait.
I like the idea of spring training. I imagine that it is a way to see your favorite players in a more laid back (and less expensive) atmosphere and still including hot dogs, peanuts, team colors, and competition.
Where should we go? Should we head to Orlando where we can see the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros and Mickey Mouse? Or should we drive down the coast and stop in the Tampa area where we can see the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Toronto Blue Jays? There are so many other teams in so many beautiful cities that have a lot to offer. How do we decide?
Maybe this will be the year we make it to a spring training game!
Stop by Mara’s at Mother of all Trips to see what everyone else is dreaming about!
The holidays are almost here and I am always looking for new gift ideas. We always try to surprise them with something that will double as a great travel item. Here are some ideas that were big hits around the house this year:
My Busy Kit and Travel Kiddy activity kits – We had the opportunity to try both of these. I received the My Busy Kit as a thank you and we won a Travel Kiddy. The kids loved them both for different reasons. They were filled with age appropriate activities that come in a fun bag perfect for any kind of travel.
Doodle 123 – This book helps your little artist come up with ideas. Each page has a picture and a few directions. They may be asked to fill in the numbers, finish drawing the house, or draw the slices of bread! It will keep them entertained and you won’t hear them say that they don’t know what to draw!
Magnetic Travel Tic Tac Toe - Tic Tac Toe is a huge hit in my house. We play it at restaurants, sitting in the living room and in the car. The only problem with that game is you can quickly run through paper and you will have lots of trash to recycle. The magnetic part of the game insures that you won’t lose the pieces easily. We would love to have this Lego Tic Tac Toe but I could never justify the cost!
Other magnetic travel games – We love games. Magnetic travel games are compact, only a few bucks, and can entertain for hours. Some of our other favorites are Hangman and Checkers.
Doodle Pro- This travel sized Fisher Price version of the Magnadoodle will offer unlimited drawing time! When you are finished with your picture, just erase it and start again!
Tangrams – Tangrams are Chinese puzzles consisting of a square divided into pieces and you arrange them to match a design. You can find tangram puzzles that are magnetic like this one, Rex Game Tangoes Jr. There are also some that come in boxes for storage like this one by Melissa and Doug.
I Spy Books - We love playing I Spy but in tight quarters on a plane or when little sister is sleeping, it might be handy to have one of these I Spy books! It is the same concept as the game. It is just in the handy form of a book!
What are you getting your little traveler for the holidays this year?
Please give a big welcome to Mandy, my friend and fellow blogger. Mandy blogs about all sorts of stuff (family, being a mom, cooking, and much more) over at Mandy’s Life After 30. I love hanging out with Mandy because she has a great outlook on life, a sense of adventure, and she is absolutely hilarious! I have to apologize to Mandy for not getting this post up in a timely manner. I am sorry! Today Mandy is talking about her love of the Welcome Center!
Do you need tips on places of interest and attractions to see when you visit a new city? Are you looking for more things to do within your own hometown? The best place to start your adventure is the local convention and visitors information center.
Even the smallest cities typically have a welcome center with stacks of brochures highlighting nearby marvels, restaurants and more. I love to frequent these places while on the road or even in my hometown.
What’s not to love about these hubs? Welcome centers generally offer free maps to visitors. Most even have a list of annual events and festivals. The volunteers or part-time personnel who work there are typically some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. I always ask these people for “local” restaurants to try and for family-friendly activities that mine would enjoy. You may find the most obscure, interesting sights to visit just from picking up a flier or brochure sitting inside a welcome center.
Pensacola, Florida’s information center has walls and walls of literature arranged by category – from dining to diving, from historic tours to nature trail guides and much more. The building is quite impressive compared to other centers I’ve visited. It boasts larger than life statues highlighting the city’s mascot and several attractions. This center has a puzzle for visitors to piece together in addition to snacks for patrons to enjoy.
During my last visit to this particular facility, I obtained details regarding an upcoming art and wine festival, picked up a copy of free newsletter and took a free map of birding trails. I also received a two-page sheet of every festival and known event taking place in Pensacola, signed up for a travel guide and became entered into a contest where a friend of mine could win a free trip to the area. So, you never know what good things may come just from visiting the local information shop!
Changing cities receive new businesses and excursions frequently so be sure to check out your local visitor center for fresh ideas. Or if you know of an event or business that should be listed in an area, inform the local city officials so they can include it their collection.
The best place to play tour guide is right in your own hometown. Start there for fun things to do then branch out as you travel. Happy trails to you! May you feel welcomed and inspired in each center you visit!
Stop by Spotlight Thursdays over at Trekaroo!
We just returned to Pensacola from the beautiful island of Oahu. I have so many blog posts running through my head and tons of pictures that I want to share with you. I am going to give you a sneak peek of some of the things we did throughout the week with our Around the Island of Oahu self-guided tour itinerary. I will be writing more detailed posts about the places we visited over the next few weeks.
When we were planning our trip to Oahu, several people told us that we should spend a day driving around the island. It only takes about 4-6 hours, give or take, with your stops included. We completed this tour on the second day of our trip and we thought that it was a good way to see things that we probably would have skipped. It was also a good way to find out what we wanted to revisit. It was a geat way to tick off some of the tourist hot spots we wanted to see as well.
You have several options for a guided tour if that is what you enjoy but my husband and I preferred to take a self-guided tour in our rental car. While we were driving around, we saw lots of tour buses stopping at different stops. We found that the advantage to doing the tour ourselves allowed us to take as much time as we wanted at each stop, skip things that we decided we didn’t want to see on this drive, and eat anytime and anywhere!
We started our tour with a stop at the Halona Blowhole. Be sure to watch for the lookout signs because it will come up quickly around a corner. If it isn’t very active, wait a few minutes and it just might put on a show for you.
After the blowhole, continue to drive north to the Makapu’u Lighthouse lookouts. The first lookout you will see has a beautiful view but we didn’t spot the lighthouse! We did see it behind us further down the road!
At this point we were ready for breakfast. We veered a little off course to eat at a recommended restaurant called the Kalapawai Cafe. It was worth the little detour!
After breakfast, we headed to the Valley of the Temples to see the Byodo-In Temple. The Byodo-In Temple is a replica of the 950 year old temple in Uji, Japan. It is a beautiful temple in bright red and yellow at the foot of the Kualoa Mountains.
We made a quick stop at the Kualoa Ranch to get information about their tours. If you are planning a trip to Kualoa Ranch, be sure to research the tours and options available. The tour we wanted to take was booked and we didn’t want to wait around until the next one so we headed north again!
At this point, we were hungry again so we stopped at Ted’s Bakery for lunch. Then we decided that we were ready for some beach time. We stopped at both Sunset Beach and the Bonzai Pipeline. The surf wasn’t really up so the beaches were not as crowded as they were later on in the week when we returned.
The next stop was one of my favorites! Laniakea Beach, also known as Turtle Beach, is the perfect place to stop if you are looking to see…you guessed it…turtles! We lucked out and as we were sitting on the beach one turtle decided to come up for a little sunbathing. Of course, that meant the tourists came up on the beach too!
After watching the turtle sunbathe, we were ready to get out of the sun ourselves and headed to Matsumoto Shave Ice. There was only one more stop that I wanted to make. Since we had driven so far up the island, I had to see YMCA Camp Erdman which is home to the little yellow cabins that the Others lived in on the television show Lost.
At this point, you are almost at the end of the road. The road ends and turns into a dirt service road that you are not allowed to use. When I was planning our Around the Island trip I didn’t realize this. We were exhausted anyway so we decided to call it a day. We plugged in our hotel to our GPS and headed back to Waikiki. Even though we spent almost an entire day driving up and around the island, it only took us about an hour to get to the hotel by cutting through the middle of the island on I H1!
My husband and I did this trip without our children. By the time the trip was over, we were tired of being in the car and were ready for a long walk on the beach. I do think that my kids, ages 4 and 6, could have handled the trip. I might have changed the itinerary a little bit to add some extra time at one of the beaches. I would also skip the stop at Kuoloa Ranch. It isn’t that far from Waikiki and if you are going to visit the ranch, you will want to spend at least an hour or two. Unless you are a diehard Lost fan, you could skip YMCA Camp Erdman and call it a day after Matsumoto Shave Ice.
Stop by Trekaroo’s Spotlight Thursday!
