U.S.S North Carolina Battleship

Driving into Wilmington this is one of the first things that you will see. This huge towering battleship. The second I saw it I knew I had to see it. I didn't do a lot of research for this trip and seeing the battleship was a nice surprise. The U.S.S North Carolina was commissioned on April 9, 1941 and was the first of 10 battleships to join the American fleet in World War II. She is 728 feet long. HUGE! I felt like an ant standing on the deck of this ship. I love visiting pieces of American history and this was my first time visiting a battleship. As a visitor you have almost complete freedom of the ship to roam through. There are some parts, such as, the watch towers that have restricted access or doors that have been welded shut. Unfortunately, the gift shop closes before the ship does and we didn't know this.

Feeling like an ant

 

The grandfather of the Kitchenaid mixer

Eating and sleeping quarters (for some)

This is a great attraction for anyone (families, solo travelers, history buffs). It would also be a great location for a wedding. We were able to see a wedding in progress while we were there. If you plan on seeing most of the ship allow yourself a couple of hours. I believe we spent over two hours and had to leave, because they were closing.During the summer months they are open from 8:00am-8:00-pm (check for their holiday hours!) During the winter months they are open 8:00am-5:00pm.
      
                      Admission Prices:
Children 5 and under: free
Children 6-11: $ 6.00
Military (including spouses and children): $10.00
Seniors (65 and up): $10.00
ages 12 and up: $12.00

For more information you can visit http://www.battleshipnc.com/

Airlie Gardens

Airlie Gardens are a historic non-profit garden located in Wilmington, North Carolina. They have historic buildings, cemeteries, walking trails, wildlife, formal gardens, a 468 year old Oak Tree and butterfly gardens.

I love nature and being surrounded by it. After leaving historic downtown Wilmington, my grandmother suggested that this should be our next destination. And so we took off, got lost on the way, but made it to the gates of Airlie Gardens. We paid for our admission and headed in. I was surprised by how vast the gardens really were. We walked through most of it and it was absolutely beautiful.

 This is a relaxing destination for anyone in the Wilmington area. I try to incorporate some sort of nature and or hiking into my trips. I love how different destinations are from one another and being in nature helps to relax me. I was amazed at all the perfect photography opportunities there were for me. This would be a perfect place for a photographer interested in landscape photography.

 

           This was my first time seeing purple tulips! Which happen to be my favorite flowers!

We visited the bottle chapel that is onsite. It is a structure that was built with cement and bottles (wine, beer, syrup bottles, ect). This was a very peaceful and soothing part of the gardens. I love how they created designs, such as, the butterfly out of the bottles.

We were lucky enough to see some wildlife while we were touring the gardens. This was my first time seeing swans in their natural habitat. What beautiful creatures! The male swam around the nest the female was on, but never ventured far from her.

I would undoubtedly recommend anyone in the area to stop and tour these gardens. The scenery is absolutely stunning. It is recommended that it will take an hour to an hour and a half to tour the complete area. Adult and children tickets are available online or at the gardens. Airlie Gardens offer discounted tickets to military personnel that can only be purchased at the gardens. They are open Monday- Sunday 9am-5pm (last tickets will be sold at 4:30pm). Airlie Gardens host lots of events throughout the year. Perhaps you will have the added bonus of a concert while in the area!

The following link will take you to their website: http://airliegardens.org/

Do you like to incorporate nature into your trips? If so what type of nature?

Wilmington, North Carolina

America is such a beautiful country with so much to see! The other weekend I took a road trip with my brother and his fiancée. We drove through Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina. Our final destination was Wilmington, North Carolina to visit family. We woke up early Saturday morning and hit Wilmington in order to make the most of our only day in the city. We walked through historic downtown Wilmington and River Street looking at all the shops.

 We randomly decided to stop for brunch/early lunch at Dixie Grill. We chose this place because there were so many people standing outside it. That must mean they have good food . . . right? It was a little bit of a wait, but well worth it. The food was absolutely delicious!! We didn't have to wait long on the food once we were seated and the service was great.

And the syrup bottles were old coke bottles!

We visited the outside of Bellamy Mansion. There was too long of a wait for the tour and we had other things we wanted to see. It was a beautiful historic home.

We spent the rest of the morning driving around Wilmington looking at all the historic homes. Almost every home is in the historic area is a home with some sort of history to the country or to the city of Wilmington. The historic placards on the home provide you with the history of the home. Some of the homes are open for the public to tour and some are not. Wilmington has a trolley that you can take or horse carriages if you would like for someone to tell you the history of the city. They start on River street, along with the ghost tours. In our next post will be Wilmington: Airlie Gardens and USS North Carolina Battleship.

September's Destination . . .

It was the morning of March 4, 2015. My brother came into my work and told me that he and his fiancée had decided against going to Dominican Republic for their next trip. I was vaguely interested in this until his next sentence. We decided on Machu Picchu instead. I may have whipped my head around so fast that it caused whiplash. See, Machu Picchu is on my Ultimate Travel Bucket List and I've always wanted to go there. I mean it's Machu Picchu. How could you not want to go to this beautiful New World Wonder?

Can you really resist this view?

I think he was purposely building up the suspense to see my reaction. It's no secret how much I've wanted to go there. They invited me along to go with them!! The trip was booked by 4pm that afternoon. Woot Woot! This will be my first trip to South America, a whole new continent! I'm so excited. We booked this trip on Groupon through Gate 1. I had researched Gate 1 several months ago when I was putting my feelers out for planning a trip to Machu Picchu. I'm a pretty independent traveler, so I prefer not to travel with a travel groups. I feel like I can see and do more on my own, I can spend as much time as I want at a destination, and I have the flexibility to change my itinerary. Those options aren't necessarily available to you through a tour group, but I'm willing to give it a try.

It's a five day trip with airfare, hotels and most meals are included. This trip cost me right around $1000 with the additional tours we chose to add on. We will spend a full day at Machu Picchu. We chose to visit several of the markets and we chose to do a Peruvian cooking class with the foods we purchase at the markets. We also chose to eat dinner in a Peruvian home, visit some ancient sites.

Peru looks like a beautiful and diverse country. I really can't wait, and there is so much more to this country than just Machu Picchu. Unfortantely, we won't have time to visit more of the country. However, I plan to keep Peru on my list and one day visit the rest of the country.

Hard Rock Hotel- Orlando, Fl

I can't tell you how many times I have stayed at this hotel. It is one of the 4 onsite hotels offered for those visiting Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

We have annual passes to the theme parks and make several trips to Orlando a year. Our preferred onsite hotel is the Hard Rock Hotel, and there are several reasons for this:

- It is the closest onsite hotel in proximity to the theme parks
- They have really comfortable beds
-The rooms are designed for rock stars
-Friendly staff
-Great food options
-Huge Pool
- events are always going on

There are a transporation options for anyone staying at the onsite hotels:

- walking (hard rock path is the shortest and you end up right in front of Universal)
- the boat (we don't do this, because there is always a wait and always a line)
-rickshaw (you can pay for a rickshaw to take you to and from your hotel)
- Shuttle buses (we never take these)

What are the benefits of staying at a onsite hotel?

- Fl residents and annual pass holders get a discount on the rooms
- Early admission to Islands of Adventure!! (this allows hotel guest to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at 8am, before it opens to the public. We always take advantage of this as it reduces the wait time for the ride from 45-75 minutes to 15-30 minutes. We leave from Harry Potter and ride the other rides before their lines get long)
-One of the best advantages is your unlimited fast passes that are included for being a hotel guest. This is a huge money saver for families. I have seen the passes at $99 (unlimited rides) per person before and you get them for free! This pass allows everyone staying at the hotel to take advantage of the fast pass line and skip everyone waiting in the regular line. We have seen rides with a wait time of 45-75 minutes and we have waited for maybe 15 minutes in the fast pass line. Well worth it!
-Any purchases made in the theme parks can be delivered directly to your hotel room. You don't have to carry it around the parks with you!
- Hotel guest also get priority seating at selected restaurants throughout the resorts

Booking Tip: Don't forget to ask about annual pass/ Fl resident discounts! For non-florida residents don't forget to ask about AAA discounts!

Blarney Vale Bed and Breakfast

I have fallen in love with bed and breakfasts since my Europe trip. They are my now preferred choice of accommodation. Blarney Castle was on our list of attractions (and bucket lists) while we were in Ireland. We decided to stay a couple nights in Blarney and use it as a home base. We chose Blarney Vale as our b&b for that leg of the trip. It is an adorable b&b set atop a hill on the edge of town.

This was one of my favorite bed and breakfasts. Anne was so incredibly nice and welcoming. She is a wealth of information and can give you pointers in any direction. We left our luggage and went straight to Blarney Castle. Blarney Vale is about a 5 minute walk into the center of Blarney Village and Blarney Castle. You are offered coffee and tea on arrival! She recommended dinner options in town for us. The next morning she was kind enough to ask us of plans for the day. She then sat down and gave us directions, advise on where to go and what to do!

I was extremely surprised with the size of our room. It was by far the largest of our stay. We had a full and twin bed, and a ensuite bathroom. For those that are concerned there was a lock on our bedroom door, giving you some piece of mind.

Blarneyvale.com

This b&b offers free wifi, and it works! There a dining room for the guests and a guest lounge. Blarney has a private car park to park your car. This was a huge bonus for us! You do need to notify the hosts of this ahead of time.

All in all we highly recommend staying at this bed and breakfast if you are in the area. It was centrally located with friendly and fantastic hosts!

Move over life, its planning time

It's seems like such a long time since I have been on a trip, when in reality I went to LA last month. There are so many places we can travel to, does anyone else find it hard to pick a destination? Alas, despite the difficulties we have our travel plans for the year (so far). Here is our travel destinations for 2015:

February: Orlando
March: Wilmington, NC
May: Bahamas
June: Des Moines, IA
July:Chicago        
September: Peru-Machu Picchu       
October: Des Moines, IA                                          
November: Belize & Mexico

My may trip will be a family trip that I'm really looking forward to. I was the only traveler in my family and my brother and parents have followed suit. My parents are even branching out and traveling to St. Croix by themselves in April. Yay for family travels!

 I'm especially looking forward to my trip to Chicago. It's a city I have always wanted to explore and now I'm going to. Making it even better is the fact that my best friend from high school will be meeting me there!!

I love mountains! I could live in the mountains. Ashville is such a great destination, with a lot to offer. I love outdoor activities and Ashville has it all. From the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiking, horseback riding, ziplining, white water rafting, national parks, and a great night life.

I look forward to bringing all the advice and tips back that I can for all my readers. Where are you looking at visiting in 2015?