Staycation - Travel Essentials

My staycation travel essentials and this shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #Tips4Trips #CollectiveBias

Summertime is filled with all sorts of travel - travel by car, boat, or plane. A and I are planning on taking a staycation this year since we are new to Maryland. We are used to living in one location for a short period of time and don't want to miss out on the adventures that are here.

Staycations are great because you can go out for a day trip and return home to your comfy bed. The only downside to taking a vacation at home is that you might get caught up in household chores. It's important to remember you are on vacation and leave everything for when you return from your staycation - just like if you went away on vacation.

I want to make our staycation as spontaneous as possible. If we want to go to DC for the day then, by gosh, we will do it. If we want to go to the beach, we will do it. I want to make it as easy as possible to be spontaneous by making a staycation travel essential bag. 

I had to sit down and think about what items are essential for day trips, or road trips, and what would hold up to the heat. The oh so HOT heat and humidity. Here are my essentials that I can just keep in our car to enjoy our spontaneous staycation.

1. Bag - big large bag to hold all your essentials
2. Towel or blanket
3. Paper towel or napkins
4. Waters to stay hydrated
5. Snacks - tutorial below for heat safe snacks that you can store in your car
6. First aid kit - include items like bandaids, pain killer, floss, antibacterial ointment
7. Sunscreen - protect your skin
8. Bug spray
9. Gum or mints
10. Wet wipes or hand sanitizer
11. Mobile phone - we all need directions don't we?!
12. Charger - if your car has an outlet like mine the regular charger will do
13. Trash bag or reuse your store's plastic shopping bags

Now for some really tasty individual sized snack packs that are safe to keep in the car all summer long. Or until you eat them all gone. Trust me, they won't last long.

Tip number one: don't use anything that is chocolate or gummy. The chocolate will melt instantly which might not be a terrible thing, but the gummy snacks will make a sticky, gooey mess. 

Tip number two: use small reusable containers. I opted for small glass mason jars but plastic might work better for you. 

Tip number three: customize your individual snacks. They will taste better if they look cute. Okay, this is not a fact.

I filled each mason jar with different layers of gold fish, peanuts, and freeze dried fruit. The snacks are full of protein to keep our energy high to enjoy our travels. Nothing is worse than exploring with someone who is hangry. A knows this all to well - poor guy. 

Now that I have the snacks made and the bag packed, it can put in the back of my car until we need them.

And just as a little extra treat to you all, I want to share my top four must have apps for your summer road trip action. I have used these for as long as I can remember and they have saved me a couple of times. Especially when I've passed a rest stop and realized I might not be able to make it to the next stop!!

Rest Stops - I love this app. It gives you the mile marker or exit number for all rest stops on any given expressway. It has saved my life.

Best Parking - this is great if you are planning on visiting a big city. You can search for parking near destinations or a particular street. 

Songza - because we all need music. I am so over Pandora and Songza let's you find music based on themes or your moods. They have some really great playlists. 

Google Maps - because we would really all be lost without the help of Google. 

Now to use all of the apps, I need a reliable phone with reliable service. I have talked about Walmart Family Mobile several times because they are really affordable. At just $29.88/month (for the first line) Unlimited Talk, Text & Data service plan which includes up to 1G of 4G LTE data. Also, the ZTE Zmax is massive and will make it extremely easy to help us navigate during our staycation. 

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/frw8 or your local Walmart for current pricing.

Are you going on vacation this summer? What about a staycation? 

The RIGHT Way to Shop for Souvenirs

The airport lines start to wrap around the check-in counter, then you wait again to go through security, only to wait in line one last time to board the plane. Most of us have been there before. Whether it be for a romantic vacation, short getaway, or traveling during the holidays. But once you get to the destination it will all be worth it. In most cases.

You may or may not have your itinerary planned out. You know where you want to go, what you want to see, and the cost associated with all of that. However, if you are anything like me, I do all my research before hand and travel with no itinerary. This leaves so much more time for exploration and just living like the locals. I also do not stay in hotels. 

Gosh, I think I need to write a post about traveling without an itinerary and another post about not staying in hotels... Stay tuned!

Anyway. The best part about vacationing is the memories that you bring back with you. I was once told to buy one item from each trip to remind me of it. Not just an ordinary ol' souvenir that says, "I've been to ...". The cost and size should not matter because it will always remind you of that time you were in [place your vacation here]. 

Due to this amazing piece of wisdom, I have a few tips while shopping for souvenirs.

1. Don't go to a souvenir shop. Or do just to get ideas of what you don't want. I have purchased numerous coffee cups, shot glasses, t-shirts, posters, etc that have all made their way into the trash man's truck. Try and avoid the abyss of a souvenir shop. That coffee mug that cost you $20+ will not remind you of your vacation.

2. Ask the locals. Ask them where they shop. Ask if there is a local handmade store. Ask if there is a specialty (non-produce) food of the area. The locals know all, so ask for their advice. 

3. Look around. Not all souvenirs need to be purchased. I'm not saying to help yourself to a five finger discount but nature could be your best friend here. I do not know all the laws if you are traveling out of the country, but you might not be able to travel back with sand, rocks, shrubs, plants, or whatever you can find from the Earth.

When I traveled to Costa Rica, they were redoing their tile sidewalks. There were hundreds upon hundreds of tile lining the streets waiting to be disposed of. I thought it was a great idea to take 4 of those tiles to use as coasters or trivets at home. It was a perfect idea and every time I put a glass on my coffee table I am reminded of my trip. 

4. Take pictures. Is there a funny sign that you want to remember? Go take a picture of it. Are you standing in front of the most beautiful view? Ask a stranger to take your photo. Are you traveling with family? Take candid shots of them shopping, exploring, or just relaxing. These will all be fantastic memories to remind you of your trip.

5. Buy something useful or something that matches your home decor. Again, if you just purchase random items from a souvenir shop, you will likely through them away within a year. But where you are visiting might have some unique tools, kitchen supplies, or decor that you have never seen before.

When I traveled to Amsterdam, I was blown away by the houses. The row houses are just absolutely beautiful and I could see myself living there. While stopping in the cutest, little furniture shop, there was this tealight candle holder that was a tiny ceramic row house. It matched perfectly with the decor of my home and it was useful. I love lighting a tealight and using the candle holder. It reminds be of the romantic and cold nights walking around the city. 

Now I can't stop thinking about all the fantastic trips I have taken over the years. Do you have any tips for souvenir shopping?

A Trip to Paradise - Costa Rica

This post contains affiliate links which help support the blog.
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It's been three weeks since I returned to the Midwest from PARADISE. A and I hardly made it back into the country but we did and we are thankful. But, being stuck in paradise wouldn't have been that bad either.

Every year, A and I plan one large trip, or at least we have for the past 3 years. First we went to Marina, CA and stayed in a beautiful Santuary, then the next year we went to Europe and traveled to three different countries, then this year we went to Costa Rica. Let me warn you though, October is the WORST month to travel to Costa Rica, the locals say. It is the green season, which means lots of rain. Honestly, it didn't bother us one bit.

We stayed in a beautiful studio villa in Quepos that we found on airbnb.com. I can't say enough good things about airbnb and have used the site for many trips. Possibly I should write another post to talk about how great the site is! 

Okay, back to the villa. It was close to the top of a mountain between Quepos and Manuel Antonio, however, the only road to get to the villa was from the town of Quepos up the mountain that is hardly paved. We arranged for a private shuttle service to drive us the 2.5 hours from the airport to our villa. The shuttle dropped us off at the villa which had spectacular views. Not only did we have great views, but we also had a beautiful pool to relax in. 

Everyday there was some kind of new animal that would show up in the backyard of the villa; squirrel monkeys, lizards, birds (including toucans), house geckos and so much more. That really was the best part about staying in the jungle. 

We took the public bus from Quepos to Manuel Antonio National Park twice. The park was beautiful and we felt the urge to go twice. The bus ride over was only 315 colones ($0.58 USD) and the park was $10 per person - I'd say that's a cheap excursion.

There was so much greenery and wildlife to look at in the park. My favorite were the crabs on the beach. I was amazed to see all the different age groups walking around the park because as a 26 year old that works out, I was struggling on some of the hills to the beach. I'm going to blame it on the humidity - you could cut it with a knife.

Everyday we would walk from our villa to town. It was only a 15 minute walk downhill and nearly impossible to walk up; we always took a taxi back. On the way to town we would pass Marina Pez Vela which had amazing views. We scheduled a sailing trip that included snorkeling, lunch, and booze. There were only had about 15 people on the boat, including the staff, and had a blast. Also, the food was amazing - casados all the way! 

Our last excursion was zip lining. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos because A and I were having too much fun. Remember when I said that traveling to Costa Rica in October was the worst month to go? Well that also meant that we were the only tourists in town, so we had our own personal zip lining tour. At the end of the tour, they served lunch and allowed you to walk their gardens. Can you spot how pineapples grow in the last photo above? 

It was finally time for us to say our goodbyes to Costa Rica. Or so we thought! We got to the airport and they asked us to stay another three days because all of the flights were overbooked. We fought our way out of the country and dealt with 30 hours of traveling - it was a nightmare. 

This trip was a completely new experience and I loved it so much. Now I need to figure out where we will travel to next. Any ideas?

Pitching a Tent

Perhaps, not having a tent to pitch.

Well maybe there was a 'tent' that could be pitched, but besides that!

Where am I going with all this crazy, shenanigan talk?

Hubby and I went camping near Yosemite National Park.

Oh yes we did! And we had a blast. 

But I must admit it was far, far, far from 'camping'.

Or pitching a tent.

We ended up renting a cabin 30 minutes outside of Yosemite. 

We do not own a tent and do not plan on owning a tent just yet.

I grew up in a family that enjoyed camping. But camping to us was renting a trailer at a campground 

that had two bedrooms, a bath and half, full service kitchen, dining room, 

living room with cable tv for the rainy days, and air conditioning.

It looks as though I cannot escape from that mindset and we rented this lovely cabin.

Now the pictures from the website do not do this thing justice. I was expecting to 

walk into a stinky cabin with nasty hotel carpet, spiderwebs in the corners, a few 

creepy crawlies in the bathroom tub, and maybe an old tube tv. 

We were definitely surprised.

Laminate flooring, new mattress, flat screen tv, counter size refrigerator,  brand new tub, air 

conditioning, and vaulted ceilings greeted us when we unlocked the door. 

All of this for less than $150 a night?!

Not only was the cabin amazing aesthetically, but we had 

fresh towels and a coffee maker with coffees and the necessary to make coffee.

This place was like a hotel. 

However, we did not rent the cabin just to stay in it all weekend. 

Our goal was to go hiking in Yosemite and not have the long drive back home.

And hiking we did. We drove up to Glacier Point in Yosemite because we think it is an absolutely beautiful place to see if you find yourself in Yosemite. It is only open seasonally due to the 

weather and scary roads. But it is worth the drive up there.

Here are some of the views you can see from there.

I mean, it is pretty surreal looking. Isn't it?

Half Dome at its finest.

Now take a look at this little guy.

Do you see him? Right there on the ledge? He is roughly 7,200 ft above the Valley Floor. 

It is a long drop if he gets too close to the edge. Ballsy little fellow!

Not only did we visit Yosemite and go hiking plus rent a cabin, we had to visit the local bar.

Because that's what you do when you go camping, right?

Iron Door Saloon was amazing and the bartenders were pretty funny too.

But what happens when a guy walks into a bar?

He walks out with a free tractor turbo.

Yup, hubby left the bar with his brand new used turbo just because.

Don't ask how it happened because we really don't understand it!

I guess all this fun happens when you rent a cabin and visit Yosemite.

Have you ever been gifted something at a bar?

Rascal Flatts Concert - Anniversary Vacation Pt. 4

They say that your one year wedding anniversary gift should be paper. And I think we both stuck to that pretty well. 

I got hubby a book and and empty egg to crack open like this.

Hubby got me tickets to...

The Rascal Flatts Concert!!!!

To those of you who don't like country music you can just stop following me now kidding, of course.

Rascal Flatts was the first concert hubby and I went to as a couple 6 years ago oh ehm gee, so long ago.  

So it really meant a lot to me for him to buy me these tickets.

Also, our first dance as a married couple was to "I Won't Let Go". 

Even more reason to be excited for the concert.

I wanted to grace you with a few photos because the concert was amazing.

But the pictures are far from amazing.

There were four bands total which made it even better.

The first opener was Edens Edge.

Then came Eli Young Band.

Followed by Little Big Town.

There was a little bit of motor boatin' action.

Then finally, Rascal Flatts.

It was an AMAZING concert.

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Now we are heading off to Yosemite for the weekend. 

I hope everyone has a safe and fantastic weekend.

Fishes - Anniversary Vacation Pt. 3

Today I bring to you all part 3 of our anniversary vacation that we recently took.

Be sure to go see part 1 and part 2 if you missed them.

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We were told by so many people to go check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium and that we 

would not be disappointed. I had heard so many rave reviews that we planned on staying the whole day there. 

Side note - we have been to many other aquariums together and separate, so we had a lot to compare it to. 

The aquarium opened at 10am and we were going to preorder our tickets online in hopes of not having to wait in a line but we failed to do just that. We arrived just after 10am and there 

were roughly 15 families in front of us so the wait was not crazy. 

The first exhibit that you get to is the old sardine cannery I mean the aquarium is in Cannery Row. 

Hubby really liked that because food factories are his thing and he enjoyed 

looking at the machines this may have been the most exciting part for him.

The sardines are crazy creatures. 

We spent a long time at the penguin exhibit because I think they are just adorable. 

We were even able to watch the feeding and some of the penguins 

were looking for nesting material which was cute to see. 

The brighter fish were beautiful.

And there were a lot of jelly fish, considering they had a whole exhibit for them.

Because sardines were and are so big in this area, there were many areas of the 

aquarium dedicated to them. Just like behind us in this picture.

Then, we started getting bored and hungry. 

So we were trying to look for places where you could see our reflection.

We may have been bored and hungry but we still had to check out the seahorses. 

Overall, we had fun but we have definitely been to better aquariums elsewhere. 

There seemed to be a lot of empty space so maybe they are putting in new exhibits.

If you travel to the Monterey area, then give it a try if you are feeling up to it.

*Tomorrow is the final part of our anniversary vacation so look for that.

Unleashed - Anniversary Vacation Pt. 2

Today I bring you another post filled with loads of photos. 

Here is part 2 of my 4 part vacation recap. Yesterday I shared 

with you all our hotel room, so go check it out if you missed it.

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The Hubby and I were so lucky to have such great beaches to visit with our puppy while we were at Monterey Bay. It was crazy how one particular beach would not allow dogs but if you walked 10 steps to a 

certain direction, dogs were allowed. It didn't make any sense to us.

Once we became a bit more familiar with the area, we knew where we could take Roxi and what beaches we could let her off her leash. But we didn't just visit the 

beaches with her, some days we went on our own to enjoy some quiet, alone time.

 Carmel Beach was amazing because Roxi could run free. She has never really been outside in public with her leash off and, of course, she did not know what to do. Her freedom lead to this...

 It was chilly the whole time we were on vacation but I could not complain because 

I have been dying to wear sweaters and you all know I love scarves.

 You could see the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course from Carmel Beach, 

where we planted out butts and the dog.

Of course, not all beaches were okay with dogs off their leash which is completely understandable because some people cannot control their dogs, us being one of them?. But our puppy didn't care. She liked to stalk the birds and then charge them.

 Like I said earlier, we occasionally went the the beach on our own not often though.

 The best part of our whole vacation was being able to walk a few feet from our room to be 

right on the ocean. After touring Monterey or Carmel, it was nice to return to 

our room and walk right out to the ocean to see the dolphins play.

Part 3 and 4 will be posted next week.

Wedding Anniversary Vacation Pt 1

I want to formally thank each and every one of you who read my posts while I was on vacation.

I really enjoyed putting together a week filled with the Hubby and 

I about our relationship, engagement, wedding day first look, ceremony, and reception.

Now that I am back from vacation, I want to share with you all how much fun we had.

I do not want to go crazy all in one post so I am going to break it down into four posts. 

I will post two this week and two next week so be on the lookout.

First post - Our hotel room and what we did at the resort.

Second post - The beaches that we visited.

Third post - Monterey Bay Aquarium because I took a ton of photos.

Fourth post - My anniversary present from the Hubby. 

If you follow me on twitter then you know what we did Thurs. Sept. 13th. But if you

 do not follow me there then you will have to wait til next week to find out.

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We left for vacation Sunday the 9th and headed to the Monterey Bay area which is roughly 2.5 hours from our house and of course we brought out little puppy too because she is our child.

We stayed at The Sanctuary Beach Resort in Marina, Ca. It is a beautiful, secluded 

hotel that is right on the ocean and only 20 minutes from Monterey Bay, Cannery Row, and Carmel.

After we checked into the hotel, we were escorted to our room in a golf cart. Our room was attached to one other room in its own separate building that looked like this.

Outside our building was our own private golf cart to drive around on the premises. 

That's right, we had our own golf cart. And, it was my first time driving a golf cart.

Watch out!!

 Boy, oh boy, did I have fun driving this around.

 Hubby barely got a chance to drive because I always grabbed the keys first or when he

opened the 'door' for me I would slide all the way across to the drivers side.

The room, itself, was breathtaking. Cozy and warm from the 

fireplace I think the warmest it got was 70 degrees with an amazing view of the ocean.

 The bathrobes were really nice to have because the tiled floors were really cold in the morning.

And the view, you cannot beat it.

 Our door was always open.

On some of the days you could see dolphins or seals playing in the water 

or even pelicans diving for fish. Pretty amazing.

Roxi enjoyed the fresh air and playing in the sand.

The resort left us a nice little note congratulating us on our anniversary.

And on our anniversary, Monday the 10th, we enjoyed a bottle of 

wine and chocolate covered strawberries.

 And maybe some beers were enjoyed as well. You decide when you see the photo.

Hubby did not like taking pictures in this mirror. But I guess that is his usual happy face.

The resort had a restaurant on the premises that we had to try it out once because of their killer happy hour deals. But we enjoyed it so much we went back for a total of four times. The restaurant had Hawaiian American cuisine as well as sushi. Each day we had some appetizers and a sushi roll because the sushi was amazingly good.