Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Show and Tell Tuesday - Travelogue Edition

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I had something different planned for today... and then exam week happened and I ran out of time - so I'm going to share my "favorite vacation" post from last year with a few "worst vacation moments" at the end :)



Two years ago we took a family road trip to Vail and we loved it so much we're going back this summer!

We drove through Amarillo and made the most of the crazy long drive by making lots of stops for ice cream and tourist attractions like Cadillac Ranch...



We made it to Colorado and were READY to breathe in the mountain air.  Summer in Texas can feel suffocating and we were so excited to get to experience some cooler temperatures!


We stayed in Vail which was beautiful. Just walking around Vail Village and letting the kids play on the playgrounds (Starbucks venti in hand, duh!) was vacation enough.


We stuck our feet in our share of icy river water...


... and indulged in some sweet treats.


We swam in one of the most picturesque settings EVER...


... and Luke had the best day ever when we got to go into a REAL MINE and then pan for gold!


Griffin was most excited about the candy :)


We rode up gondolas...


... and slid down slides...


... played mini golf...


... tried out a ropes course...


... and explored Lionshead Village.


My FAVORITE part of the whole trip was hanging out down by the river right outside of our condo.  The boys loved throwing rocks and getting out into the river a bit to feel how cold the water was.  It reminded me so much of all the evenings I spent throwing rocks at my grandparents cottage.  Pure summer perfection.



We hiked and explored....


... climbed and took in the amazing views.


We enjoyed lots of dinners out on the balcony...


... attempted family selfies down by the river...


... marveled at the wildflowers (while pretend fighting)...


... and then road tripped back home.


The trip was fun-filled, but relaxing and the perfect mix of activities and exploring.

You can check out all the details on these posts...
... including what we did, where we ate, where we stayed and what we loved.

This year we're going back but staying in a house along the creek.  Since the kids are a couple of years older we're hoping to go on a few more "adventures" and again, just escape the heat! 



I loved this vacation so much because it included all of our favorite people, but our best pre-kids vacation was a trip we took through the Canadian Rockies that you can read about HERE.  Can you tell that we're cool weather vacation people? ;) Sweatshirt weather is perfect weather and we tend to seek that out when we can.


And since we're talking about cool weather vacations, our trip to The Homestead is worth mentioning as well.  I was pregnant with Mason when we went and I still occasionally dream about the naps and bubble baths I enjoyed on that trip.


So.... worst vacation moments :)  Because you know we all have them!!!

- Drive from Hell -
Our drive from the Roanoke, VA airport to The Homestead in Hot Springs was the drive from HELL!  Seriously.  We followed the route provided by my iPhone maps app and ended up on this tiny little one-land road that went up and over a mountain. I was freaking out and Dave was being the calm one, but he told me later than when we were going around all the "hairpin" turns he felt like the car was going to flip over. Nice. When we got the resort I was on TripAdvisor looking for a local restaurant recommendation and came across a review where a Homestead guest advised people NOT to take the route that we had because it was a "bear infested death trap".



- Burnt to a Crisp -
Dave and I visited the Dominican Republic several years ago and everybody warned us about how strong the sun was.  While we listened to their advice and lathered up our face and shoulders neither one of us put any sunscreen on our legs (in all honesty I never really needed to before then).  Well.. I think it was Day 3 we woke up and realized that we were FRIED!!!  Like... Dave had blisters on his legs fried!  It was AWFUL!!!  We had to forget all of our plans for the day and just laid in bed - because everything else hurt too bad!  Lesson learned, D.R.  Lesson learned.

- Throw the Map -
When Dave and I traveled to Canada we flew in to Calgary.  We found our hotel quickly that night, but the next day when we left the hotel to head to our first destination we found ourselves COMPLETELY turned around.  This was pre-iMaps and navigation systems in rental cars so we were paper-mapping it and what we failed to realize is that Calgary is essentially divided into quadrants so there's addresses like 78 38th St NE and 78 38th St SE.  That would have been a helpful piece of information to have but instead we found ourselves on someone's private property (a farm), with the map out on the hood of our rental car totally losing our cool with each other.  One of us "may" have thrown the map. ;)  Eventually we figured it out, but there was a significant amount of "why don't we stop and ask for directions" followed by "but I know exactly where I'm going". '

- NASA Food Poisoning - 
I wouldn't call chaperoning an 8th grade trip to NASA a vacation BUT it's a funny travel story so I'm going to tell it ;)  Two years ago I was chaperoning the 8th grade trip and we ate dinner at NASA and I started feeling not so great afterward.  I held it together during activities and the ride back to the hotel.  We had all the kids gathered for a meeting/devotion in the hotel meeting area when it really hit me.  I took off to the room I was sharing with a group of girls and puked my guts out for a solid 30 minutes.  It was HORRENDOUS!!!  Let's talk about how awkward it is when you're throwing up and then a group of sweet girls is knocking on the door for you to let them in because they don't have room keys.  After an extra visit from housekeeping I felt AWFUL and was laying in my bed (the pull out couch) and the girls were all sitting on the couch and on the end of the bed painting nails the rest of the night. hahaha  The girls were so sweet and understanding though and it's funny now - but it was the worst!

- Worst Vacation Ever -
When we lived in North Carolina we used to vacation in Hilton Head with family friends. We went out one morning during low tide to dig around in the sand with our feet looking for sand dollars.  Well... I didn't find a sand dollar but managed to stick my foot right onto a group of jellyfish.  I had stings all the way up my leg and they hurt SO BAD!!!  Once I got back up on the beach and we figured out what had happened my dad, my brother, my dad's friend and his boys all took turns peeing (or trying to pee) on my leg.  Talk about MORTIFYING for a 7th grader!  That same trip I also got pink eye, swimmer's ear and some sort of infection.  My dad had me at the clinic almost nightly while everyone else was out enjoying fresh seafood.

Now it's your turn!  Link up below and share your  best and worst vacation memories!!   I can't wait to see all of your favorite spots!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

   
   

32 comments :

  1. I had no idea you use to live in NC!! Small world! :)

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    1. I did!!! I lived in Raleigh for 6 years - LOVE NC!

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    2. We're right outside of Charlotte! My brother graduated from NC State!

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  2. I remember reading about your trip last year and how awesome it looked! Makes me want to go to CO bad!! And OMG about that NASA trip!!

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    1. Right?!?! "Mrs. McAnally... do you mind if we sit here and do each others nails???" ;) hahaha They were so sweet - but it was seriously the worst!

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  3. Ahhhh, we went to the Homestead two years ago (we live outside Washington, DC) and I think we took that same route. It was AWFUL! All the twists and turns made me carsick, and we were running low on gas (and there were no signs of civilization for MILES), and we had no cell service. It was not fun. Luckily, the Homestead more than made up for the drive!

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    1. So funny!!! But so NOT funny at the time! It was terrifying and we just had to keep going because there was no way to turn around! We kept going, "what happens if someone else comes down this road?!?!" And YES to the Homestead being worth it!

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  4. After reading about your trip to Vail two years ago, I want a trip to Vail!;) Can't wait to follow along vicariously through you this summer. As for those "worst" trips, at least now you can laugh:);

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    1. I feel like I'm far enough removed where we can laugh about it now :)

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  5. Your Vail vacation looks AMAZING! Makes me want to go! Love the "bad vacation" stories (whenever anything like that happens I always say, "At least you'll have a good story to tell later!". :)

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    1. You should definitely try out Vail - it's beautiful!!!

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  6. I hate laughing at your horrible trip stories, but they are so bad! Thank goodness they are over! I love a good beach like the next person, but a trip to any mountains is heavenly for me and my crew. Colorado looked gorgeous!

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  7. After the jellyfish situation, no wonder y'all choose mountain vacations! I typically love a beach vacation as its more laid back instead of in the mountains, I feel like we have to go go go. But your co pics make me want to go to mtns so bad! We're trying to hold off until the kids are older but idk if I can wait that long! We want to go to Yellowstone!

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    1. And I always feel like the beach is a ton of work! So funny!

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  8. One of my dream trips is to drive Route 66 so I loved seeing those pictures of Cadillac Ranch.

    I lived in Edmonton (about two hours north of Calgary) for five years, and yes, Calgary is SUPER confusing. I've heard it takes about a year of living there to figure is out.

    Thanks for hosting this link up!

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    1. How fun would that be?!?! Cadillac Ranch is definitely something to see :) I actually lived in Edmonton!!!

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  9. Those really all some wonderful and horrible vacation moments! I really want to go to Colorado on vacation sometime soon, too! Thanks for hosting!

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  10. This cracks me up because I live in Roanoke VA and I totally understand how some of the roads around here are terrible!!!

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  11. Great pictures! Your kids are adorable!!

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  12. Bahahaha. I'm cracking up over the jellyfish story! I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be stung that many times and then have to get peed on! Lol. I don't know which would be worse! Thanks for hosting. I had a great time putting my post together for it. Meeeemoriiiieeees!

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    1. Apparently that's "what you do" when you get stung! I just remember burying my face in a towel and telling them to do it so it would take some of the sting away! hahahaha (have you seen the friends episode when this happens?!?! Cracks me up!)

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    2. Love that episode :) and your funny stories!

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  13. Oh my gosh the jellyfish! I cringe every time I see a man-o-war here..ugh! I am so happy I found this link-up today :)

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    1. OH NO!!! There are way too many things that bite/sting in the ocean for my liking! :) hahaha

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  14. I lived in the Roanoke, VA area until a year ago. Know those roads well. Now I live in WV with just as many twisting roads that are a little more than one lane wide, graveled. Homestead is gorgeous. Enjoyed your stories.

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  15. We went to Dominican Republic for our honeymoon. My husband's legs got crazily burned the second day (blisters showed up later). We ended up at Urgent care when we got back...several days later. Lesson learned.

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