City ❀ Country ❀ Beach
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Our family travels a lot. We love it when we have the opportunity to just get away and have fun. For some traveling can mean a whole lot more than just getting away. It can mean the hassle of packing, crowded airports, and jet lag. …
If you want to go to this very sought after event, you need to prepare. From seeking tickets, booking flights, and reserving a hotel room, here is our family prep list of what you need to do.
Tickets for this very sought after event are extremely hard to get your hands on, but it is doable. In fact, we finally got tickets to the convention which takes place usually in the summer with a preview night beforehand. To say the least, our two teenage boys are on cloud 9 and can’t wait until this very sought after event comes around. At this time, tickets were already randomly drawn. In order to get future tickets, you will need to register each person interested in attending and receive member ID’s for each. Then you just wait in front of your computer, literally, when the company is ready to randomly draw names. This year, it was only 3 tickets per person that is randomly chosen. Honestly, I wish it was 4 or even 2 to keep it even. There are 4 days to the convention. In our family of 4 only 2 of us were chosen, but we were unable to get Saturday. Even when you’re chosen, you’re not guaranteed to get every day of the convention.
We booked our flights with United Airlines because my husband flies quite a bit for his work and we have their credit card. If you have their credit card, you can get free miles for future flights every time you make a purchase. Otherwise, you can search for flight deals by making sure you check each airlines website or go to specialty search engines to do the work for you like Cheapflights. Knowing when to book is important as well. Typically the middle of the work week is the best time because most people wait until the weekend when they’re off work and students are out of school. Since Comic-Con starts usually on a Thursday with a preview night of Wednesday, we decided to book our flight out one day prior on that Tuesday before the convention. We were able to secure flight coach tickets for all 4 of us under $950.00. That price includes arriving in San Diego on a Tuesday and leaving Las Vegas 2 weeks later.
If you need a rental car, the best thing to do is to do your homework and look at all the different deals the companies offer. However, if you stay in downtown San Diego you won’t need one. The best thing to do is call Uber or Lyft to get to the convention. We rented a car because we’re planning on traveling to Las Vegas after the convention. We got a good deal to pick up in San Diego and drop off in Las Vegas with Hertz for $98. As for insurance, first check with your credit card company. A lot of times, your credit card company will have enough insurance to cover you for your duration of the trip.
I suggest you don’t book your flight or a hotel room until you make sure you are able to secure Comic-Con tickets. If you plan on being in San Diego regardless, then go ahead and book everything. Our main reason for going to San Diego is for Comic-Con, so we went ahead and booked everything we could. Now, we booked everything, including the Las Vegas hotel with Diamond Resorts, but we have not booked a place to stay in San Diego. Booking a hotel in San Diego is either going to be virtually impossible, especially if staying in the downtown area, or you’re going to pay a pretty penny. Comic-Con has a block of hotels/rates set aside for ticket holders, but those will not be available until April. Therefore, we are waiting until April and in the meantime we are saving up for that hotel stay because, like I mentioned, it will be expensive.
I hope this helps you in making your decision and prepping for your Comic-Con San Diego trip.
(Travel Tip Tuesday was a special feature for subscribers only) Travel Tip #1 – You CAN be your own travel agent. Don’t get me wrong. There are many highly respected travel agencies out there. And, of course, if you don’t feel confident enough, you don’t …
Sea World Orlando makes for a great day getaway. With many things to see and do, you are sure to have a cool day! Being from Florida, we have many theme park choices to go to. On this day, my oldest son and I decided to visit …
I humbly accept the Liebster Award 2017! I want to thank Ashley Baines of Live Whilst You’re Alive for nominating me! Please check out her beautiful blog for all things travel and London life. This 5 month journey into blogging has been a lot of work, but so much fun. I absolutely love to travel and inform people of great places to see, stay and eat.
The Liebster Award is an internet award given to bloggers by bloggers in recognition for their potential to grow successfully into the blogging community. It originated in Germany in 2011 and literally translates into sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.
1. I am active at our church and am not ashamed to say Jesus is #1 to me above ALL else.
2. I love anything that has to do with Hawaii and Disney.
3. I was held by John Wayne when I was a baby in the Los Angeles, CA airport.
4. I speak fluent Spanish as well as English. My family is from Costa Rica.
5. I have personally met many stars. Some of those include The Walking Dead cast, Gotham TV series cast, “Cisco” Carlos Valdez from The Flash TV series, “Daniel LaRusso” Ralph Macchio from the original Karate Kid, and the legendary Stan Lee.
6. My family & I are huge movie buffs.
7. I love to digitally scrapbook.
8. I absolutely love dark Hershey Kisses with almonds.
9. I am terrible at Jeopardy. A casting call for the game was came to my hometown and I did so bad that they gave me a hat that said “Get a clue” with their logo. Let’s just say that I don’t have that hat anymore. My game is Wheel of Fortune or Family Feud.
10. I love the TV show This is Us.
1. What is one place you haven’t been that is on the top of your bucket list?
The one place that keeps coming back to me in my head is visiting Bora Bora the island in French Polynesia. I am a tropical weather girl and this place looks absolutely gorgeous. I would also like to visit one country in South America as I would like to check off a continent.
2. What is the most daring experience you’ve ever had? (For example: sky diving)
Snorkeling. I know for some this is not daring, but it was for me. I was on our honeymoon 21+ years ago at the Bahamas and I was too chicken. There is something about not being able touch the floor that freaks me out, especially if I can’t see it. My husband and I were at the Big Island of Hawaii and I finally tried it…twice! It was terrifying at first, but I enjoyed it after all.
3. What is your biggest accomplishment?
I’m not quite done yet, but my biggest accomplishment is raising our 2 boys alongside my wonderful husband. Being a parent is hard work. You have your good days and your bad days. However, it’s all worth it to see them growing up to be fine young men.
4. What’s your biggest fear?
I have two big ones. 1. Not seeing your family following God’s will. 2. Losing a loved one.
5. What’s a hidden talent you have?
I am a good singer (so I’ve been told). I’ve been singing since High School in musicals and, what they used to call when I was in High School, the Thespian Club. I have sung at our church choir, where I work, auditioned for Christian TV once, and I made it to my city’s version of American Idol top 10.
6. What’s an activity, craft or sport that you want to learn how to do?
I wouldn’t mind relearning how to play the flute. Playing the flute was fun during my middle school years and I remember loving it. I also would love for someone to teach me one-on-one how to play the ukulele. We have one from Hawaii, but it just a display.
Kimberly: http://www.partyoffiveblog.com/
Alisa: http://eecctravels.com/
Sage: https://everydaywanderer.com/
Elise: https://adkinsdomain.com/
Jennifer: http://enlightenedzebra.com/
+I am a Blogger Recognition Award recipient as well from my fellow blogger: Traveling With Kidz
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The Cove on Ormond Beach is a Hilton Grand Vacations property directly located on the gorgeous Ormond Beach on the east coast of Florida. It makes for a great vacation spot with all the amenities a family would want. On this trip, my husband had to …
Ormond Beach has fabulous beaches making it perfect for family vacations! It is the beauty sandwiched between the more well-known Daytona Beach and Flagler Beach.
If you’ve never been to Ormond Beach, you’re missing out on a great part of what makes Florida a premier destination. For a great resort on Ormond Beach check out where we stayed at The Cove On Ormond Beach .
But aside from the obvious beach, what else is there to do at Ormond Beach? Let me tell you the best 7 things to do that we have personally found to do as a family! You can click on the numbered headers to get more information.
Even if you’re not into chocolate, you will love this tour! We, however, absolutely love chocolate so this was a must-see. Tours at Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory are free and informative. Your tour will include views of how they make the chocolate, fascinating things they usually make, and best of all…free samples! You get a choice of your free samples which is great because I’m not a fan of white chocolate, so you know they’ll be other choices. It’s also located in a shopping plaza, so there is free parking, too.
I tasted the chocolate covered potato chips and they were the best combination of sweet & savory. They were so good that I had to buy a bag! 
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is a Spanish fort located in the city of St. Augustine. St. Augustine is about one hour north of Ormond Beach, but it is well worth the drive. Make sure to take good walking shoes because this won’t be your only stop in St. Augustine. This city has many things to do and see.
The fort is situated on the west shore of Matanzas Bay. Matanzas is Spanish for “killings.” Just with this name, you can guess why they called it this. You would be correct in guessing that a lot of deaths happened here back in its time. It has withstood the test of time from enemy attacks and fires. This fort is over 400 years old!
There is a lot of history here. If these walls could talk, I would have a seat and listen. Signs throughout the premises will tell you what happened in these rooms. You will be on your own here as there no guided tour.
This fort was amazing! If you have kids, like we do, then this is a piece of history they will always remember. We highly recommend it. 
The Colonial Quarter is located just across the street from Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. The best way to get there, if you don’t want to pay for a trolley, is to leave your car parked across the street at the fort. That way you can park and visit the fort and Colonial Quarter and pay only once. It is not expensive to park.
You will want to spend some time at the Colonial Quarter because there are souvenir shops, dining options, snack shops and other interesting things to do that won’t break your budget. It has an old-world feel and is very quaint.
I bet that if you’re a Disney fan, you would have never guessed that you could find it here, right? Well, they do! And of course, being a Disney fan myself, I had to get one while we were here. As usual, it was delicious! I wish I would have taken a photo of mine, but it was a hot day and it was melting so I ate it quickly.
Something else you can do while you’re visiting the Colonial Quarters is the oldest wooden schoolhouse. This, especially, would be a great thing to show your younger children. There is a small entrance fee of only $5 for adults, $4 for students, and under 5 years old are free. Its grounds are so cute & pretty. They’ve taken good care of this schoolhouse.
There is a small gift shop inside as you head to the exit (just like many attractions). Here are some of my favorite items. Being a teacher myself, I can totally understand. This would also be a great place to buy your children’s teachers gifts! Just saying.
The Spanish Military Hospital Museum is only an 8-minute walk from the Colonial Quarter, so leave your car parked at the fort while you visit here.
I found this tour creepy and downright gruesome. This hospital was used to treat the wounded and because medicine was not like it is today, they used any means and tools that they could. WARNING: THIS TOUR IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! If you get squeamish at even the thought of teeth pulling and amputations, this may not be for you.
However, will all that being said, I believe this tour was also one of the most fun and informative tours. It will give you much appreciation for today’s technology, hospitals, and medicine.
We are a Second Spanish Period Military Hospital. We offer a 30-40 minute guided presentation on St.Augustine’s Historical Spanish Medical Practices.
The Fountain of Youth is one of the oldest settlements in the U.S. and is also classified as an archeological park. If you come during the summer, make sure to bring a water bottle as it may get hot. The entire park is outdoors.
Ponce de Leon is supposedly said to see Florida here for the first time. He thought it was an island!
The Indian villages that are still here help us learn how these civilizations used to live.
The common weaponry in its time is demonstrated by some of the staff.
You’ll also see weaponry that is no longer in use, but still there.
In 1587, Franciscan friars constructed the first mission in the continental United States right here on the grounds of the Fountain of Youth.
With signed guest books stretching back to 1868, the Fountain of Youth is the oldest attraction in Florida, and the Spring House is the centerpiece of the historical Juan Ponce de Leon experience at the Park.
There are small paper cups provided for you to drink from this fountain!
Watch out for the animals here. They are very friendly.
The Daytona Boardwalk is located directly on the beach which that in itself makes for a wonderful day trip! However, there is much more you can do while you’re here. You can hang out at the beach all day and then walk to the boardwalk to grab some lunch and/or dinner. You can try out the carnival rides*, play arcade games, grab a snack, or go souvenir shopping.
*The rides will be reopening December 15, 2018, due to a ride malfunction that happened on June 14, 2018.
If you are an avid fisherman, this is also an ideal place to do that just off the bridge.
Remember the reason why you’re on vacation. It’s really nice to visit new places and sightsee, but if you get home and you’re exhausted then I say that you didn’t do things right. People sometimes forget to actually have some downtime and not schedule anything at least 1 day for a 1-week vacation and 2-3 days on a 2-week vacation. Spend time with the ones you love and chill! If you’re traveling alone, relax at the hotel hot tub or get a massage.
By the way, you can always make an excuse to come back for another vacation if you didn’t see everything you wanted!
A Washington D.C. vacation with teenagers is a like a taking a toddler to Disney World for the first time. Seeing their eyes while history came to life was inspiring to us. If you have teenagers, now is the time to take them to Washington …
