• Life - Travel

    Desert Trip – Day 7

    September 10, 2023 - By 

    Here we are for our LAST Desert trip journal. If you missed my previous posts from our Desert trip check those out >>>> Desert Trip Day 7 was a long day that leads into our flight home that was a red eye into Monday morning. I’ll talk more about that near the end of the post. We ate breakfast at our hotel and discovered while scrolling through social media that there was a shooting back near home in Dadeville, AL just about 20 miles from Auburn. So sad. Anyway, we took a minute to pray for anyone affected by that…

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    Desert Trip – Day 6

    September 7, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m continuing to share my trip journals from our Desert trip. If you missed my previous posts from our Desert trip check those out >>>> Desert Trip On this day, we loafed around our hotel room and figured out where we wanted to go after checking out. We drove down towards the North end of the strip passed the Strat (which is far as went by foot). We go to see Circus Circus where my Granddad used to stay and several more wedding chapels. Our first stop was Fremont Street Experience (FSE). This is an area is a pedestrian…

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    Desert Trip – Day 5

    September 1, 2023 - By 

    Here we are for another trip journal. This is another day in Vegas. If you missed my previous posts from our Desert trip check those out >>>> Desert Trip That morning we woke up and decided to try one of the restaurants in our hotel. Food was really good. I had the Chilaquiles for the first time and Rob had the Best Eggs Benedict. After that we explored the Palazzo and Venetian shopping areas. Just amazing that as you’re shopping your surrounded by the man-made canals that wind through these resort areas. Really fun candy/dessert shop. Really cool view from…

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    Desert Trip – Day 4

    August 23, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m sharing about our 1st full day in Vegas. We got up and ended up walking quite a ways to Firefly* on Flamingo for lunch. While we ate lunch, we discussed what show we were going to see that night. Continue reading to find out who we ended up seeing. I got Sangria We had several tapas. This is the Chicken Skewers, which were yummy. We walked back over to the strip and made our way down. Checking out the Flamingo… And the flamingo exhibit. The iconic Caesar’s Palace. Inside the Mirage Outside the Mirage I spy our hotel!…

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    Desert Trip – Day 3

    August 8, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m continuing to share about desert trip. If you missed the first few posts, check those out too (Day 0, Day 1, Day 2) And by the way, I have shared many of the latitude and longitude coordinates with links directly to that location on Google maps for anyone curious where each photo was taken. Highlights of this day include: Grand Canyon – Historic Route 66 – Hoover Dam – Vegas! Day 3 we woke up early and got showers and packed. We headed over to the market and grabbed some breakfast. This was the quickest way to sustenance…

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    Desert Trip – Day 2

    August 1, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m continuing to share about our Desert trip. If you missed my previous posts about this trip, you can go here>>> Day 0   Day 1 So on Tuesday, we got up, packed, and had breakfast at the hotel. We headed to north towards the Grand Canyon. We stopped at Black Canyon Visitor center, which was a great idea. The retired couple that works there were full of great advice. We also got some maps. The views on the way… Not sure if other people do this, but when we’re in a beautiful spot we’ll sometimes pull over (in a safe…

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    Week 25::2023 – Texas Trip

    June 28, 2023 - By 

    On Saturday, the 17th I flew to DFW, rented a car, and drove a little over an hour to my sister’s house in Weatherford, TX. My sister was due to have a baby the week of June 16th. However, Baby Lu came a month early, so I had to adjust my plans for a visit. Luckily nothing was set in stone with my trip so I was able to do it over a holiday (Juneteenth) weekend. I’ve taken solo trips to Texas before but this was the first time to rent a car on my own. I will say I…

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    Desert Trip – Day 1

    June 20, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m continuing to share about our Desert trip… The next day (Monday) even though it felt like we went to bed at 2 or 3 am because we went from central time to pacific time, we got up at a decent hour. We wanted to start exploring before it got really hot. We had breakfast at the hotel and ventured over to South Mountain Park. We saw this interesting place on the way and stopped, because we were obsessed with cacti! Rob grabbed this cute selfie of us at Scorpion Gulch. We had wanted to explore Mormon Trail. However,…

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    Desert Trip – Day 0

    June 17, 2023 - By 

    Now that I’m done recapping our cruise, I’m going to jump into our most recent big trip. On Easter Sunday, we went to church and then had lunch at our house, before jumping in the car and heading to the airport. Travel days I often label Day “0” in case you’re wondering. Phoenix here we come! We were late taking off because of maintenance issues on the original plane, but the sunset I got to witness made up for it! The plane wasn’t very full, which was nice. Rob and I had a seat between us as the rows sandwiching…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 13 & 14:Days at Sea

    June 10, 2023 - By 

    Finally posting about our last 2 days on our back to back cruise on the Carnival Glory. As our ship made its way back over to New Orleans, we just did lot of relaxing. And eating… Enjoying our last days of not having to cook! We wanted to go play mini-golf. However, the ship’s shipment of golf balls didn’t come into the latest port, so they didn’t have any. If only we were able to grab that used golf simulator for sale, then at least we would still be able to play golf while aboard the ship. Rob was always…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 12:Nassau

    June 7, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m posting about our day in Nassau during the 2nd half of our back to back cruise on the Carnival Glory. This was our 4th time in Nassau (June 2003 / October 2003 / 2008) We had purchased an excursion, but it didn’t start till later in the day, so we decided to get off the ship and walk around since we had a few hours. Walking around View of the ships as we walked away from them (our ship is behind the Carnival Dream). We knew we wanted to walk over to the Queen’s Staircase often referred to…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 11:Freeport

    May 5, 2023 - By 

    Today I’m reminiscing about our day in Freeport during the 2nd half of our back to back cruise on the Carnival Glory. Freeport is the main city on Grand Bahamas, which is an island off the coast of Florida. We had never been to Freeport before, so we were excited to rent a car and see as much as we could during our day there. We rented Inland Rental Car. location Freeport is the main city on Grand Bahama, an island in the northwest Bahamas off the Florida coast. It’s best known for the oceanfront Lucaya district with beaches, resorts,…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 9 & 10:Key West

    March 23, 2023 - By 

    Key West, oh how, I adore you! Key West was a place my Dad loved and I think that’s why it has a special place in my heart. We’re going to jump into our day in Key West on our back to back cruises on the Carnival Glory. Before getting off the ship, we had breakfast burritos at the Blue Iquauna and then waited for the all clear. Views from the ship Mallory Square is right near the cruise port. This is Key West’s historic Old Town, where you will find the hub of all things touristy, shops, and more.…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 7 & 8:New Orleans

    March 12, 2023 - By 

    Now that we’re done with the bulk of the wedding posts, I thought we could jump back into another Cruise post, because yeah, I’m still sharing about this epic trip! One day, I’ll get caught up! If you missed the last cruise post, here it is> Day 6 Cozumel. Day 7 was a day at sea and for most people, they were busy packing their things getting ready to disembark for the final time on that cruise. However, for us since we were doing a back to back cruise we were just finishing the 1st ‘leg’ so we didn’t have…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 6:Cozumel

    January 21, 2023 - By 

    Today, we’re continuing to share about our Back 2 Back cruises. Day 6 was the last port of call day for that 1st cruise. We’ve been to Cozumel several times as its a popular port of call. We weren’t scheduled to be able to get off the ship until 10am. This has it’s pros and cons. Nice to sleep in a little bit. Bad because more people are up later and lines for breakfast and getting off ship can be longer. We were able to get some breakfast at the buffet. We always try to have our stuff with us…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 5:Grand Cayman

    January 19, 2023 - By 

    Writing about a 2 week vacation is daunting! Especially when you’re trying to do it 6 months after the fact. Luckily I have a few notes from each day jaunted down during the trip to help me remember some of the details. Let’s jump into Day 4 of our Back to Back Cruise on the Carnival Glory. We arrived at our docking location near George Town, Grand Cayman. The thing about this port is you don’t dock next to the island. You dock a ways out and have to get on a tender boat that brings you to shore. Then,…

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    Travel Summary 2022

    December 30, 2022 - By 

    We did a good amount of traveling this year. I included all the vacations and travels for whatever reason. January Rob and Alex went on the Annual Boy Scout Ski trip in Gatlinburg, TN February Rob, Alex, and I attended the Annual Winter Youth Retreat. I decided that since Alex graduated and will no longer be attending this, I will not be an adult leader anymore. Rob loves it so much and will continue to serve. March Rob and I went on a cruise with his Mom and Step Dad on the Carnival Horizon. April Rob, his brother Nick, Alex,…

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    Carnival Glory:Day 4:Montego Bay

    December 22, 2022 - By 

    Here we are for another cruise post. This is our first day in port. Our first time in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Kind of crazy all the cruises we’ve been on and this was our first time in Jamaica. We ended up booking Off-Road Safari excursion through Carnival. The description says, “Begin in a 4×4 safari truck, negotiating mountainous roads for spectacular views of Montego Bay from sites as high as 1,500 ft. above sea level. Experience the diversity of charming rural communities and towns. Stop at a former historic hospital that was converted to a church in 1846. Enjoy the…

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    Long Weekend in Lakeland, FL

    December 16, 2022 - By 

    Our good friends’ daughter got married this past weekend. Rob and I decided to make a trip out of it so we’d be there to help however they needed us. We left Thursday to drive down to Lakeland, FL and looked at hotels. Thursday We stopped about half way down in Valdosta, GA at the Smokin’ Pig for lunch. Nothing to write home about. We got into Lakeland about 5pm, checked into the motel, and walked over to Black & Brew for dinner. We met up with family that traveled from many different places. We were right across from Munn…

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    Carnival Glory Cruise:Day 2 & 3

    November 15, 2022 - By 

    Today we’re continuing more cruise posts. If you missed my post about day 0 & 1, read that here>>>Carnival Glory Day 0 & 1 Day 2 & 3 of our cruise were days at sea. I probably won’t write about all the sea days. Sometimes trying to figure out how to structure these cruise posts is hard. So much I want to share, but also not wanting to take months writing these posts. We’ll see. Day 2 Monday was our 1st day at sea. We slept in and then decided to go to the main dining room for breakfast. I…