• Travel

    Carnival Horizon 2022 – Arikok National Park

    April 16, 2022 - By 

    Who knew I’d be writing so many posts about Aruba, but I really just think breaking our day down into smaller chunks make for better posts. I hope you agree! So today I’m sharing about the time we spent in Arikok National Park, Aruba. We came through the SouthEast entrance Vader Piet. 12°27’58.122″ N 69°53’33.612″ W (Just a reminder some of the pictures will have GPS coordinates that link to that location on Google Maps in case you want to go to that spot on future travels. If one of the pictures doesn’t have coordinates after it, it means its…

  • Travel

    Carnival Horizon 2022 – Pet Cemetery on Aruba Beach

    April 14, 2022 - By 

    I’m continuing on with details of our day in Aruba. After leaving our lunch spot, we passed Baby Beach. 12°24’55.848″ N 69°52’57.264″ W Not too far from there as we continued along the coast we happened across a huge Pet Cemetery. Around 1924, Lago Oil & Transport Co. was building Lago Colony now known as Seroe Colorado for their employees of the oil refinery in San Nicholas, the people started burying their pets here in this secluded place. Through the years the burying of pets has continued and it now stretches almost a mile long. (source) 12°25’15.642″ N 69°52’19.662″ W…

  • Travel

    Carnival Horizon 2022 – Lunch in Aruba

    April 13, 2022 - By 

    We ended up stopping for lunch at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill. (On Google Maps) This is a modern, clean building located on Baby Beach with beautiful views as well as an infinity pool. View from our table. Rob’s step dad, David, ordered the Monkey Juice (Dark Rum, White Rum, Crème de Banana, ½ Banana, Baileys, Coco Lopez) and then Rob and I decided to share one. It was so yummy! The special of the day was the Mahi Mahi. I got the platter. Rob got the Mahi Mahi sandwich. Really fresh and delish! Click to menu and prices…

  • Travel

    Carnival Horizon 2022 – Morning in Aruba

    April 12, 2022 - By 

    I am so excited to be talking about our first port of call on our cruise. Aruba!! As I wrote this post, I realized there was just too many details and pictures to share so I’m breaking it down into multiple posts. Let’s jump on in. We were scheduled to arrive at the port in Aruba at 9am. However we arrive and were cleared a little early. The four of us soon had eaten breakfast and were ready about the time they announced we could disembark. We had rented a jeep for the day. Rob had done lots of research…

  • Travel

    Carnival Horizon – Time on the Ship

    April 8, 2022 - By 

    Happy Thursday, everyone! Today I’m continuing my posts about our cruise that we took last month. If you missed our misadventures getting to Miami you can read about that here>>>>Getting to Miami. Today I’m sharing about the time while on the ship, including embarkation day, evenings after being at port, and of course, the fun days at sea. Here’s a few details on the cruise: Carnival Horizon 8 Day Itinerary Miami > 2 Days at Sea > Aruba > Bonaire > La Romana > Amber Cove > Day at Sea > Miami Cabin 2220 (Port hole) My in laws (Alice…

  • Travel

    Carnival Horizon 2022 – Getting to Miami

    April 1, 2022 - By 

    Today I’m starting my series on our Cruise that we recently just got back from. It’s been several years since we’ve cruise and we were so excited to go cruising this last Christmas, but then we cancelled. When we got the email about the deals happening, we just couldn’t pass them up. Let’s jump into this adventure…that almost didn’t happen. Friday, we worked and I ended up going home before lunch because I had a few things left to pack and wanted to get some things done around the house before leaving for 10 days. I had become concerned that…

  • Life - Travel

    The Cruise that Never Happened

    December 30, 2021 - By 

    Back in November, Rob and I were bouncing ideas around about what to do with our 2 weeks off at Christmas. A trip to Texas or Baton Rouge to see family? A trip to the beach or the mountains? A cruise? Me: “a cruise? yes please!” After some research we found the one we wanted to book. We bounced the idea around with our family and we read about the fact we’d have to sometimes wear masks inside. Ok, yeah. We can handle that. Our rule of thumb is if we can get a cruise for less than $100/day per…

  • Travel

    North Georgia Mountain Trip 2021

    July 20, 2021 - By 

    The Wednesday before the 4th of July Rob and I got off work, loaded up the car, and we along with Alex made our way up to the North Georgia Mountains for a few days. Traffic was frustrating for the 1st hour or so. They skies were gorgeous though. We stayed in a cabin in Ellijay, GA. (rental info) We loved all the outdoor seating with outdoor speakers as well as all the outside activities; bumper pool table, darts, hook and ring, etc. My favorite were the hammock chairs and now I totally want some at home, just not sure…

  • Life

    Red Rocks Amphitheatre & Golden, CO

    December 22, 2020 - By 

    Hey yall! Here is the final post of our Colorado/Wyoming trip from a few years ago. On our last day in Denver we visited the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheatre located about 16 miles from Denver in the little town of Morrison, CO as well as the nearby little town of Golden, CO. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a world-famous, open-air theatre used since 1941 that hosts many concerts and other events. The amphitheater was designed by Burnam Hoyt within the area between two massive slabs of Red stone (Ship Rock and Creation Rock). The elevation of the amphitheatre’s top row is…

  • Travel

    Exploring North Colorado & South Wyoming

    December 15, 2020 - By 

    I’m continuing with my COVID – no travel – catch up on my previous travel posts – post! Ha! If that makes any sense. So in my last travel post, Rob and I drove from Pikes Peak to Avon, Colorado. 39°38’5.53″ N 106°31’28.03″ W – (Map #1) For this post you will find the GPS coordinates that are linked so that you can see the exact location that most pictures are taken. You can also click on the numbers on the interactive map below: On this last full day of this trip we traveled from Avon through Vail, Colorado passing…

  • Travel

    Scenic Drive from Pikes Peak to Avon, CO

    November 24, 2020 - By 

    Happy Travel Tuesday, ya’ll! I’m continuing to share from when Rob and I were in Colorado for a work conference. This was an epic day. Rob finished up with his conference that morning, we booked it over to Pikes Peak, which you can read about >>> Pros and Cons of Driving up Pikes Peak. Up until November 2017, you had the choice to drive or ride the Cog Railway up. However that have since been renovating the Cog Railway and it looks like it will open back up in 2021! More Sight Seeing in Colorado Springs, CO My camera (Canon…

  • Travel

    More Sight Seeing in Colorado Springs, CO

    November 3, 2020 - By 

    Today I’m continuing on with my posts about our Colorado Trip. All the posts from this trip will be here>>>>Colorado Trip Another day to explore on my own, while Rob was in his conference. This is the gorgeous view of Cheyenne Mountain as I left the hotel. As I was driving to my 1st destination I was stopped at a light on Nevada Avenue. I was able to snap this pic of The Great Pumpkin, which is a 1500 lb. statue. After some research, I found that it’s made out of 90% recycled materials. Regardless of the time of year,…

  • Travel

    Hiking and Driving – Colorado Springs, CO

    October 27, 2020 - By 

    Again, here we are. Still in COVID times. Not traveling. Blah blah blah. I’m taking advantage of this time to continue to catch up on travel posts! Today I’m continuing our trip to Colorado Springs. Rob was there for a conference. I was there for fun and relaxation. After getting up, eating breakfast with Rob at the conference, I headed out for a little adventure. I decided to hike part of the Columbine Trail. I parked at the Middle Columbine Trail and started hiking up. I could hear a stream across the road and saw an airplane overhead. I didn’t…

  • Travel

    St. Simons Island Trip – Part 2

    July 28, 2020 - By 

    Last week I shared the 1st part of our St. Trip with you. Click to read that>>>>St. Simons Island Trip-Part 1 Today’s post covers the 2nd half of the trip from Wednesday through Saturday when we head home. Wednesday So after a pretty tiring day in Savannah, on Wednesday we decided to stick around St. Simons. Rob and I ventured out while the boys stayed back at the condo. We stopped by Gascoigne Bluff Park. As you can see this is another gorgeous spot with Live Oaks and Spanish Moss. What you don’t see in the pic is the 9…

  • Thinking of a trip to St. Simons Island Trip soon? Check out this post to see what to do not only in St. Simons but what day trips you can take from there!
    Travel

    St. Simons Island Trip – Part 1

    July 21, 2020 - By 

    Saturday Earlier this summer we were itching for a change of scenery and decided to take a week off and go on a vacation. With Drew starting classes right before the 4th of July, we determined that the week before that would be good. This ended up being Drew’s graduation trip. No, it’s not NYC, but it was better than nothing! We got up early Saturday morning and headed over to St. Simons Island, Georgia. We stopped in Dawson, GA at Mark’s Melon Patch (8580 Albany Highway Dawson, Georgia 39842) for some peaches. I enjoyed their Sunflowers and Zinnias so…

  • Travel

    Mountain West Trip: Denver, CO

    June 23, 2020 - By 

    Thank you for following along on our Mountain West Trip. This is the last post for this trip. Today I am talking about what we did the last day in half, all of which was spent in and around Denver, CO. We had a few things on our list for Denver. First two things were Denver Mint and Coors Brewing Company. The Denver Mint wasn’t doing tours that day for some reason, so we headed over to Coors Brewing Company for a tour. It’s $10 for non-Colorado residents ($5 if you live in CO) and it includes a full tour,…

  • Travel

    Mountain West Trip: Roadtrip from Vernal, UT to Denver, CO

    June 16, 2020 - By 

    Today we’re continuing on our Mountain West Trip that I’ve been sharing. Click >>> Mountain West Trip 2019 Posts to see more from this trip. As we drove through Vernal, I snapped a few more pics as we headed to Jenson, UT. Our first stop was Dinosaur National Monument. Since the boys are older, they weren’t super thrilled about it. I enjoyed it, because the teacher in me still geeks out over this kind of fun stuff. Exhibits at the Quarry Visitor Center introduce the variety of resources and places to explore within the monument. The Quarry Visitor Center is…

  • Travel

    Mountain West Trip: Roadtrip from Jackson, WY to Vernal, UT

    June 9, 2020 - By 

    Today we’re continuing on our Mountain West Trip that I’ve been sharing. Click >>> Mountain West Trip 2019 Posts to see more about this trip. We got up, loaded the car, grabbed some hotel breakfast, and headed out for more open road! Not long after that we passed this sign that said Auburn, WY. Since we’re from Auburn, AL, we’re always interested when we see other states with towns called Auburn. It was hardly a town with a population of less that 400 people in the 2010 census. The first settlement in Auburn, WY was made in 1879. The bottom…

  • Travel

    Mountain West Trip:Grand Tetons & Jackson Hole

    June 2, 2020 - By 

    Today I’m continuing on with another post about our Mountain West Trip. If you remember we left off on our Part 2 from Yellowstone. That night we stayed at the Head Waters Lodge at Flagstaff. This was a cabin like room with all the amenities you need except TV and internet. We did have a little bit of a walk from our car to our cabin, but there are sidewalks and luggage carts to help you lug all your stuff to your cabin. After a very hard sleep, we woke up and loaded the car back up and walked over…

  • Travel

    Mountain West Trip:Day in Yellowstone-Part 2

    May 3, 2020 - By 

    If you missed my 1st post about Yellowstone click>>>>Mountain West Trip:Day in Yellowstone-Part 1 Part 1 is highlighted in Yellow. Part 2 is in Blue. Click map to see larger view. You can click again to zoom in even more. (Original Map Courtesy of https://yellowstone.net/) The next area we hit was Fountain Paint Pots Trail (map). This boardwalk is about a half mile (.8 km) walking loop. Some of the highlights of this area include: Silex Spring Silex is Latin for silica, which is a major component of rhyolite (extrusive igneous rock), Yellowstone’s most common volcanic rock. The clear blue…