Archive for the "Travel" Category
Nov23

Family Travel – Places We Go Again and Again

Posted at 8:25 PM • View Comments

I’m a fan of family travel — especially road trips.

Probably because I love the idea of just waking up and heading to a destination — stopping as you go along when you are curious about a sight on your way.

The trip could be planned well in advance or like our very first trip years ago to Mystic, Connecticut, it could be planned an hour before we put our packed bags in our car.

Year after year, we head back to Mystic, Connecticut (and the neighboring towns) for the weekend and have fun quickly adapting to the relaxed, nothing like busy Manhattan way of life.

We eat lobster rolls from the same places.

Look at fish and feed birds.

Leave the kids in the supervised play space/arcade and have an adult meal at one of the celebrity chef named restaurants in the casino nearby.

TravelingMom.com asked me to write about a destination we love visiting year after year and because of its proximity to New York and the number of attractions for us to check out — Mystic, Connecticut (and the neighboring towns) is on the top of our list.

If you will be in the Northeast with your family, check out Mystic.

And if you are traveling this holiday season, check out the upcoming Traveling Mom Twitter Party for travel tips!

Join Traveling Mom @KimOrlando, @CindyRichards, @MaryHeston, @savvymommy on November 28th 9-10 pm ET (8-9 pm CT; 7-8 pm MT; 6-7 pm PT) on twitter.

What’s the topic? Happy Family Vacations you would love to repeat someday

RSVP here for your chance to win an iPad2 and other prizes.  They’ll also be announcing a huge giveaway!!!

*Disclosure* Traveling Mom has sponsored this post but I was happy to share one of my favorite vacation spots to revisit.

Jul31

Road Trip – Ohio University – Athens, Ohio

Posted at 4:10 PM • View Comments

Back in May we packed up a Buick Enclave and took a family road trip to Ohio for Fox’s first visit to his dad’s hometown — Wellston, Ohio.

But before we got to Wellston, we stopped off in Athens, Ohio first so I could see Sean’s college — Ohio University — the oldest university in Ohio.

Sean may have also forgotten to tell me an important detail — Athens was voted one of the top fifteen most haunted cities in America on the Fox Family Channel special “Scariest Places On Earth”.

And we pulled up to his alma mater on Friday, May 13th.

I had no idea what to expect from visiting Athens, Ohio on such a superstitious day.

But since I never leave home without my native New Yorker moxie, I pretty much said Bring It!

What I got was one of the most heartfelt tours I’ve ever been on in my life.

His college is on 1,800 acres and over two months after his tour, I still remember every place he pointed out and the anecdote attached to each.

I loved Athens and have a feeling in the years to come Fox and my other kidlets will have summer fun there.

Mar24

From Inside a Fitting Room

Posted at 5:20 PM • View Comments

You might have heard me shrieking earlier.    

And not because my friend and I were seated in what seemed like a lover’s corner table at lunch today.

(Hello, oddness to the fourth power. I’m not canoodling with her even if she got insulted when I told her I wouldn’t. *smirk*)

We ate the biggest lunch ever followed by some ridiculous dessert (and I even ate some of the dessert off her plate. I totally need to have some shame.).

 

That’s my amazing panna cotta which was not good enough for said friend even after I told her they smuggled the vanilla bean in from Madagascar. She’s a snob and wouldn’t even try it. The nerve.

That’s my amazing panna cotta which was not good enough for said friend even after I told her they smuggled the vanilla bean in from Madagascar. She’s a snob and wouldn’t even try it. The nerve.

Afterwards, I’m not sure what possessed us to head over to a few Madison Avenue stores to shop for evening wear and then to a department store to bikini shop.


I mean, I have LA coming up at the end of the week and she’s got Florida a few days after so yes we were in need of a swimsuit of some kind but oh heavens.

What’s worse than living in the land of delusion?

Not having the mirrors that are supposed to be deceiving and make you size skinny when you aren’t.

The mirrors in these fitting rooms made you size hefty when you really aren’t.

I can’t even say how unflattering the bikinis looked on me. I just can’t even share. I stood there horrified with my clothes off.


After being horrified at how I looked in what I thought were some cute bikinis (yes, I stayed far away from the sexy bikinis and the itsy bitsy bikinis because they are just not me.) I got dressed and stayed in my dressing room waiting for my friend to finish trying on a dozen or so of the styles she chose to bring into the fitting room.

See I look better in the fitting room with my clothes on.

I can promise you one thing, before I go inside a fitting room and take my clothes off again, I am going to look for a list of stores with misleading mirrors.

Feb1

He’s Just Not That Into You

Posted at 10:17 AM • View Comments

Yesterday as I waited at the hotel elevator feeling sad it was time to cram pretty sundresses back into my carryon (it was a work trip, people!), Mary* shared with me and everyone waiting at the elevator bank “I was up until 3AM having phone sex with Jim*”.

“Have you no shame, woman?!” The words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them.

The look on my face was pretty easy to read. I even told her I couldn’t hear anymore. But of course she continued in front of everyone standing there trying to enjoy their South Beach getaway. I was embarrassed for her. My reaction may seem harsh but this is the same Mary who told me she went to see Jim a few days ago and it was “awkward” so she left pretty quickly.

Awkward but when he calls and says he’s stressed, she should be the one to “help him relax”? (Her words, not mine.)

Along with her best friend, I’ve given her advice. It was to “Delete, Delete, Delete” – his number from her cell, his email address out her ‘Berry, his name off her Facebook friends list (so she can stop checking to see if he’s online and then wondering why he hasn’t said Hello yet.) I don’t think she’ll ever realize he’s just not that into her. She has to wake up on her own.

She could waste $12 to see He’s Just Not That Into You and the message would skip right over her as she texts Jim during the movie. Right now, she’s not listening to anyone who is telling her to move on. All of her attention is focused on Jim. So of course she’s disappointed because he’s not doing the same.

Today begins February – the month where half the country is hopeful Cupid will hit them in the ass but they will instead spend their Valentine’s Day alone eating Thai as they watch Lifetime. Or if they are lucky, they celebrate being single with some friends. Before they go home alone. To watch Lifetime. I really want Mary to have a different Valentine’s Day but I’m not getting through to her. She’s going to be crushed in a two weeks. L

Tuesday night, I’m going to a screening of the movie He’s Just Not That Into You, maybe something silly will be said and I can pass it along to her.

I have to ask, how do you get someone to finally see the light?

*Jim is really not Jim. His name has been changed. He’s an ass no matter what name you give him though.                 * Mary is not really Mary. One day she’ll realize Jim is not just that into her. Although it probably won’t happen before he announces his engagement to someone else.

—-

Car Song – Lovefool – The Cardigans “Love me, love me, say that you love me… I can’t care about anything but you.”

Next stop – back to the office after being in Miami for a few days. Tonight, I’m actually looking forward to watching Chuck in 3D.  I’m not afraid to admit I watch Chuck.

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