Shackleford Banks Sunset Cruise

I felt like the weeks leading up to Kyli's send off was filled with all these "last" moments. Truth is, we took a handful of last hurrah trips to enjoy having the kids all together as kids (not independent people/adults). I was really feeling like life was about to change. I still think that but I'm not quite sure we needed all the "last moment" trips :) I might roll my eyes at my sentimentality sometimes.

This boat trip to Shackleford Banks was our very last trip together before we brought Kyli to college. We probably should have stayed home, packed the car, and went to bed early. Instead, we hopped on a catamaran for a sunset float out to a remote island to try to find wild horses. 

It's sort of our signature style of doing things.

It was a fantastic time walking horse trails over sand dunes, collecting shells on the beach, and searching for the elusive wild horses on the deserted island. The down fall was stepping on cactus with bare feet. By the way, if you ever go out to Shackleford Banks in North Carolina, don't leave your shoes on the boat! It's a terribly walk without shoes ;) 

 We did eventually find wild horses. Which was great luck given the 9 mile stretch of land they have to roam! We were feeling pretty lucky.

It was a good time and we floated back to the mainland glad we made the trip. 

We can't help but think of the next times...to stay longer...to go early in the day...to wear shoes...to bring a netted bag to collect shells. Our time is limited in North Carolina though. So, maybe, that is just good advice for other people :)

DisneyWorld 2018

DisneyWorld in July. Call us crazy! Long lines, humid heat, all the things you want to avoid on vacation. And despite all the negatives, we had the best time! We hit the parks in the morning and night. We took breaks for naps and swims in the heat of the day. And we let the kids have some freedom to roam the park while we (the parents) did our own thing. 

That may have been the best part for mom and dad :)

We wanted to do something special for Kyli's graduation so we let her pick the destination. She picked Disney because that's her thing. Her friend from California joined us and we road tripped to Florida from North Carolina. Super simple 8 hour drive.

We had four days of park hopping thanks to our military tickets. And we got to enjoy the early & late hours, thanks to our military hotel on property. We will miss our military perks in 2019!

Here are a few fun pictures of our DisneyWorld trip.

Magic Kingdom

Epcot

Hollywood Studios

and Animal Kingdom.

Yes, Magic Kingdom is awesome. It's the iconic Disney place. However, we enjoyed Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios way more! Less crowds, shorter lines, and more thrill rides.
When you have teens that is what they want.

They also wanted freedom to go off on their own and ride Dinosaur four times in a row while being completely obnoxious (I'm sure). We, the parents, were also able to do adult things, like ride the "slow" rides and eating Dole Whips!

It was a blast for our last DisneyWorld trip. Disney is always a good time!

I admit I'm ready to graduate to something a little more grown up though :) 

Stay tuned for those adventures!

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Holidays In The City - Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 2017

Back to the city on Thanksgiving Day, parade day! Yesterday I recapped Day 1 and Day 2 in NYC. Today is all about Day 3. Our intentions were to see what the weather was like on T-Day and decide if we would do the parade. I was worried about the crowds and the cold, so I was ok with either choice, watching on TV or standing along the street. My daughter wouldn't hear it, "We are in NYC for Thanksgiving, so we must go to the parade." I mean when you put it that way.

We woke up early on Thursday morning with the best intentions to get to the ferry by 6am. Everything I read said, if you don't have your parade spot by 6:30am, then you might as well go home. Three teenagers later, we finally arrived at the ferry at 7:30am and were on the parade route by 8am. It wasn't nearly as crowded as we imagined. We were close enough to the front that we didn't miss anything. And yes, it was cold. And it was fun. And I wouldn't do it again! I like the parade from my warm home in my pjs! There is no other way:)

My assumption is, if you want front row seats, then you will need to be there by 6:30am. However, we were 3 people deep and we didn't miss anything (remember: we got there at 8am). Bring your blankets and (possibly) thermos. Wear all the layers and then add one more for good measure. We were icicles by the time we left the parade wearing double layers and cold weather gear.

If you research and research, you will find the same advice, don't leave your seats after you get them. I would echo that a hundred times. The closer you get to parade time, the more people fill in the spaces and you won't have a place anymore. Bathrooms are limited in general, so be warned. Starbucks and CVS are your best bets for bathrooms.

The parade was everything you would imagine. The balloons were so fun to watch overhead. The people walking the parade route exuded holiday joy. They waved, smiled, and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. The celebrities on floats were hit or miss along our part of the parade route. Some were on their phones, some talking to their people around the float, some lip sang when they didn't have to, and others worked the crowd. Jimmy Fallon was one of those people working the crowd. I did fan girl when I saw him. He was the best. 

After the parade, we went to the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard, and Airmens' Club for Thanksgiving dinner. We celebrated with other military families visiting the city for the holidays. We exchanged all our best tips for NYC touring. One of my favorite topics is travel talk! After our Thanksgiving lunch, the boys headed to the hotel to warm up and the girls spent the final day in the city.

We headed back to Rockefeller Center and explored the NBC studio stores, Rockefeller Center area(again), and New York City Library.

I wasn't giving up anymore time in the city than necessary on our last day.

Every trip across the river we went right past the Statue of Liberty. New York is everything I thought it would be minus the rude people and high crime. What I mean is, I expected the people to be rude and to feel uneasy walking around. We had only good experiences! People were nice, the city was clean, everybody minding their own business, and people out and about at all hours. I loved it!

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Holidays In The City

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year. I wish this season of joy and kindness could last another month. Our family may not have made a Christmas bucket list or advent countdown, but we have enjoyed December all the same. There is just something about the holidays that make people re-prioritize the right things. I hope you have seen the lights, drank the hot chocolate, baked the goodies, donated the stuff, and snuggled the ones you love all month. Of course, you can continue to do that after December 25th :)

Today I am sharing our trip to NYC! Going to New York City during the holidays was a dream come true. I don't even know other words to say about it. It surpassed all my expectations and I want to go back as soon as possible. Some times I find myself justifying a weekend trip  to get out of town. Sadly, I don't live in a world where I take weekend trips to New York City :( So I have to suffice with planning an in-the-future trip :) and hoping that means in 2018 future!

 

We made the trip by car A.) because that is how we travel and B.) it made more sense for car travel versus air travel. By the time, we drive to Raleigh (2.5 hours), get there a couple hours early (2+ hours), fly 2.5 hours, do the whole unload/luggage pickup (1hour), AND THEN travel to our hotel (apx.1 hour) plus the expense, car travel looked like the better choice. How can that be? I was happy to drive up north to be able to travel through new states. I'm soaking up all the East Coast things!   

We arrived Monday evening at Navy Lodge Staten Island. For all my military people, this is the way to go! Yes, I would have loved the convenience of staying in Manhattan. However, for the price, Navy Lodge Staten Island is the way to go. If you are staying in prime tourism season (aka holidays), then staying outside the city is going to save you big time. The lodge is nice, well kept, and sizable for families. We were technically on a Coast Guard base which has some amazing lookout points of the river, the bridges, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and all the other places that converge in this area. It was AMAZING. We never went back to the lookout (pictured above) in the daytime but that would definitely be on my list next trip. 

Tuesday morning was our first day in the city. We drove our car to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and parked in a lot nearby. The lot had a shuttle bus which we used when the weather got colder; otherwise, we walked the quarter mile every time. The Staten Island Ferry is free and hundreds of people use it every day. It is heated, there are plenty of seats, lots of security, and food/drinks are allowed on board. There are also bathrooms. I was really hesitant about the Staten Island Ferry because I didn't know much about it. Rest assured, Staten Island Ferry is the way to go. Did I mention it is free? When you arrive on the Manhattan side, there are a few subway stations right out the front doors of Whitehall Ferry terminal. So easy for someone who has never been to New York City.

We had tickets to the 9/11 Memorial museum mid morning. We took our time walking up through the financial district seeing the sights. I liked this area of the city because it wasn't crowded and busy. We missed a lot of big things down here like the New York Stock exchange and Federal Hall. We did see the Charging Bull, Wall Street, and St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church which was pretty cool in real life. We also saw One Freedom Tower and the 9/11 

tribute.

The rest of our first day was spent walking around the city. We went to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and the USO New York. Rumor is USO New York City often receives show tickets to give to military patrons. This probably rings true when it isn't the busiest week of the year :) We were totally ok with that. The options for tickets were a little grown up for us so we passed. I was happy to roam the city instead.  

Day 2 was our busy day! We were up early and back late that night. I'm not sure what a NYC bucket list would look like for you but bagels and pizza were on ours. All the research I found said eat the bagels!! You don't have to tell me twice. We went for the best...literally, Best Bagels & Coffee. Of all the flavors we tried, a plain bagel with fresh made strawberry cream cheese was the best. Doesn't that sounds delicious?

After searching for incredible bagels, we headed towards Central Park. We had plans to see Central Park, Museum of Natural History, and a peek of the parade prep. I could have watched them prepare all day. It's like a science to lay those balloons out, inflate them, and keep them contained.

We took a break to tour the Natural History museum. We didn't spend too much time there. I think the SemperFiFam is starting to get burned out on museums. I guess a lifetime of museums gets old?? Opps, who knew? I wouldn't feel right about skipping it all together. It's the Night At The Museum museum! P.S. I love Ben Stiller. 

After the museum, we went to Central Park. Some of the streets had been closed at this point to prepare for the parade so we struggled a bit. The boys got separated from the girls and we used GPS to find our way back together. You can imagine the challenge with the less than accurate GPS system.

Central Park is gorgeous. We only saw a small area of the south side. Central Park would be on my list when we go back again.

We (think) we found the Elf bridge where the snowball fight takes place. So we had to take a picture. We love the Elf movie!

The boys went to find the ice skating rink in CP and we hung out on the rocks. Wednesday night we made a quick tour of Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue. We toured the windows and watched the light show outside Saks Fifth Avenue. We also took a quick visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

  

In Rockefeller Center, the tree wasn't quite ready. We watched the ice skaters and warmed up in the Lego Store.

Every store in NYC seems to be on board with decorating for the holidays. The Lego Store is always a must visit with the kids no matter their age. We ended our day with some pho and other Vietnamese cuisine which was so good!

I'm going to stop here and come back with a Part 2 of our Holiday in the City :)

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Meeting Halfway- A Family Trip

On my way to sharing everything--that is worth sharing-- today is all about our fun in Louisville, Kentucky meeting up with some of my family. We recently met up with my mom, stepmom, sister/brother-in-law, and nieces. They drove from Iowa and we came from North Carolina for a long weekend. We let my mom pick the location in honor of her birthday.

For anyone living apart from family, visiting together is the biggest challenge. The military has kept us away from family for my husband's whole career. We have been on the West Coast, the East Coast, and Japan which doesn't make visiting Midwest family easy. When the kids were young, we always made a point to travel to Iowa for holidays or during summer vacation. The positive was we saw family. The negative is we don't get to vacation in new places. 

Meeting up with family for a quick weekend to some place we've never been was win-win! I can't say Kentucky has been on my bucket list but I'm always up for some place new. My dad lived in northern Kentucky for many years so we spent summers there. However, exploring the city as an adult is much different :) and more touristy.

Louisville has some of the nicest people. The people we encountered in stores, restaurants, on the tours with us, and our house hostess were just top of the line, so happy and friendly! I could definitely see myself living there, if it weren't so cold :) and landlocked.

We visited Churchill Downs, the race track where the Kentucky Derby takes place. There is an interactive museum that was great for non-horse lovers too. I am speaking from experience. I am not a horse person. Fun fact: I am actually scared of horses. Complete irrational fear that is a little strange as an adult.I really though the museum was done well.

The next day we spent some time exploring the Louisville Slugger museum and factory. There was a lot of fun interactive stuff to do there too. This was the day of the crazy snowfall in the southern states. There was a 30% chance of snow for one hour in Louisville and instead it snowed all day long. We loved it! 

Later in the afternoon, the adults took a tour of Evan Williams, a bourbon distillery downtown. Let me just say, not one of us in the group is a whiskey drinker. We just felt whiskey tasting was a given when visiting Kentucky! We ended up giving the worst (strongest) one to the guy next to us. I think he had a great time :) Are any of you whiskey fans? I do not understand how people stomach it. I wish I could be sophisticated and tough enough to sip whiskey without making feeling an urge to be sick.

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Lake Day at Cliffs of the Neuse

Growing up, when we went to the beach, we were referring to the lake. Times have definitely changed and when our family goes to the beach, then we go to the beach :) But there is something very nostalgic and relaxing about floating in an inner tube on the glassy surface of a spring fed lake. My worries just melted away and we had the best time. I would definitely put Cliffs of the Neuse State Park high on our Best of North Carolina list.

Of course, there was also hiking. Our favorite outdoor activity has been very limited on the coast. We miss our Southern California mountains. It was so easy to hop in the car and hit up a multitude of trails on the weekend on the West Coast. Not only did it keep us in shape but it was a great way to clear our minds. There is nothing better than to stand on the highest point to put everything in perspective! Western North Carolina is more hiking terrain than the sandy flat coast. Thankfully Cliffs of the Neuse delivered on the hiking trails for us. Honestly we miss it so much!

The kids not so much. Two out of three love to complain majority of the trail. I hope one day they realize all the benefits getting out in nature provides, especially living a completely connected life. 

Surprise! There are bears here in North Carolina. Isn't that strange? I don't associate North Carolina with bears but rumor has it ;) I have yet to see one outside of the zoo or dead on the road (which broke my heart). We live in a forest, so you would think we would probably have a pretty good chance but we have never. The visitor center at Cliffs of the Neuse reassured us the rumor is true.

 Not Real! *insert eye rolling emoji*

This is what I call the Disney Kid syndrome which plagues many California kids.

Extroverted dramatic types *insert another eye roll*

They make life fun(ny) though.

If anyone comes to this blog post looking for more info on Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, here is a picture of the concession stand. They have a picnic area as well if you bring your own food. I would recommend it because the concession stand sells mostly frozen convenience food they will pop in the microwave for you.

And this is where they get the Cliffs part. One lonely bluff overlooking the Neuse River. 

We had to see the "Cliffs" for ourselves. I think the lake and hiking trails were a much bigger attraction for us. But, now we know what the cliffs look like when people mention it or we see the tourist signs on the roadside.

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