Search Results for: Florida

Playing “I Spy” at the Lightner Museum in St Augustine, Florida
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Playing “I Spy” at the Lightner Museum in St Augustine, Florida

Byjennrecord

One of the surprise hits of our recent trip to St Augustine, Florida was our visit to the Lightner Museum. We had heard it was beautiful, but we were unsure if it would be family friendly. Secret’s out: it is! (Just keep the toddler crew contained in a stroller when exploring the glass rooms).

The Lightner Museum is housed in the former Alcazar Hotel, which was commissioned by Henry Flagler, a prominent oil and railroad tycoon who is credited with designing and building much of St Augustine. The hotel was completed in 1888 by the same firm who designed the New York Public Library and was open until the early 1930s. The hotel included a three story ballroom, sulfur baths, and the largest indoor pool in the world (at the time). Many of the remains of these parts of the hotel can still be seen in the museum today.

10 Ways to Explore the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida
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10 Ways to Explore the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida

Byjennrecord

One of the most well known attractions, and the oldest attraction in Florida (the guest book has signatures dating back to 1868) in St Augustine Florida is the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. The 15 acre park  is the original site of the oldest European settlement in the United States. In April 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon and his three ship fleet arrived at the area just above St Augustine  (beating out the Plymouth Pilgrims and Jamestown settlers!). Within the next 50 years, the Menendez Settlement and the first Christian Church were both founded. Today, the park has preserved some of the structures and added engaging, hands on exhibits, programs, and opportunities to learn about the first settlement and our country’s origins.

10 Tips for Visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida
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10 Tips for Visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida

Byjennrecord

We recently visited Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida for the first time. We visited during the holiday break in December, which is the busiest week of the whole year. We knew that ahead of time but, boy, was it packed! The staff did a good job of keeping people moving and safe. It also rained on and off all day. So, not ideal conditions for visiting a major (and expensive!) amusement park, but we still had fun. We also learned a lot.

Five Years of Blogging & Ten Years of Road Trips!

Five Years of Blogging & Ten Years of Road Trips!

Byjennrecord

This week marks 5 years since we started this family travel blog. We started road tripping in summer 2012, so it’s a double celebration of 10 years of road tripping and 5 years of sharing our adventures on our little corner of the ‘web.

We’re proud to share that we’ve gained a LOT of followers and readers over the past two years (since we last did a Google analytics deep drive) and we thought this week would be a perfect time to share a blog recap.

10 Marriott Hotels We Love
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10 Marriott Hotels We Love

Byjennrecord

Our family has been fans of Marriott hotel properties for over 20 years. At first, we started staying at Marriott hotels because of their location; virtually every trip we planned, there was a Marriott hotel nearby (and that still holds true today). Over time, we started to notice the numerous amenities, cleanliness of the rooms, and the friendliness of the staff no matter the property we visited. We joined the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program (in its first iteration) years ago and have accrued many bonuses, perks, and free hotel stays over the years. 

While we have stayed at literally dozens of Marriott properties from Las Vegas, Nevada to Toronto, Ontario, we typically choose the Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, Renaissance, and traditional Marriott brand of hotels. Residence Inns are ideal for families as they offer more space, a full kitchen with a full size refrigerator, full morning breakfast and evening snacks during the week, and pool and laundry facilities on site. Renaissance and traditional Marriott brand hotels usually have full service restaurants, concierge lounges, and other amenities desirable for the business class.

This week, we’re sharing 10 Marriott properties throughout America we especially enjoyed and some of our favorite nearby attractions. And check back in the future, we’re hoping to add additional locations.

Year in Review: Highlights of 2021

Year in Review: Highlights of 2021

Byjennrecord

Even though 2021 was the second year impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic, we feel blessed to still have had many amazing adventures. We spent most of the winter in Connecticut exploring many local spots; the summer road tripping across Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (did we mention the number 4300 miles?!?!); and the spring and fall revisiting some of our tried and true favorite spots for new activities. This post is always one of our favorites each year, as it’s fun to go back down “memory lane” and reflect on the best parts of each adventure. So here is a recap of our (documented, publicly shared) 2021 adventures: