Showing posts with label Traveling. Show all posts

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Alaska Cruising


In 2005 my Grandmother organized a family cruise up to the Arctics. We all flew into Vancouver, Canada and then left for seven days on a Royal Caribbean cruise up to Alaska. Since this trip was over ten years ago, I couldn't find many photos on file but I was able to dig up some from Facebook.



Before we left for the cruise my entire family spent the day exploring Vancouver. We went to check out the Totem Poles in Stanley Park which are carved out of red cedar wood. There are nine poles in total and each one tells it's own story. We also checked out Lion's Gate Bridge and several other attractions/monuments.


The next day we left on the cruise and stopped at three Alaskan ports - Ketichikan, Skagway and Juneau. Although my ideal vacation typically includes sun, sea and sand, it was an amazing seven days spent with my cousins and family at sea. We saw whales through the window while eating dinner, enjoyed the icy scenery and got lots of quality time with each other. More importantly, it made my Granny extremely happy to have all of her family together since we all live in different countries/cities.




The time-stamp on some of the photos below are incorrect. This trip was in 2005 despite my cousin's camera saying 2004.





Alaska was beautiful but that will probably be my first and last vacation there. It was good to experience it but Europe, several US cities, and lots of tropical islands are on my radar for the upcoming years.


Link-up Rules:
1. Follow Kerri, Kate and myself on Bloglovin
2. Link up your favorite travel recaps or travel related posts
3. Grab our Wanderlust Wednesdays button and link back to our blogs
4. Be sure to visit other blogs and build your travel bucket list!

NYE Weekend in Ft Lauderdale


Happy new year everyone! I hope 2016 is off to a great start for you.

I had a very eventful weekend in Ft Lauderdale ringing in NYE with friends. On Thursday I had the day off of work so we took the 3 hour drive to south Florida to check in to our hotel by Ft Lauderdale beach. While driving there the hotel called to say they overbooked and wanted to give us an upgraded room at their sister hotel only a block away and also gave us a small discount for the inconvenience. Fine by me! It was a cute boutique hotel called Tranquilo which was a short walk to the beach.



After getting settled we went out for dinner at Casablanca Cafe along the beach with a girl friend and enjoyed some escargot, baked brie, beef carpaccio and a strawberry mojito. Everything was amazing and the outdoor patio overlooking the beach was a nice vibe.


After dinner we went out for some adult beverages and then watched the annual ball drop along Ft Lauderdale beach at midnight. It was a fun night out with friends exploring a new town.


On Friday we went to visit one of my best friend's from childhood and spend some quality time with her three kids at their house on the water. We brought Lola along so the kids could play with her.



After a few hours of bestie and kiddie time and whining children, we were starving so we went with K's friend from high school to G&B Oyster Bar for some amazing oysters and stone crab.



On Saturday morning we slept in and then checked out of hotel to make the trek back to Orlando. Before hitting the highway, we stopped at La Granja Peruvian restaurant for an amazing seafood ceviche for lunch.


The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and doing errands. Overall it was an amazing weekend with good friends, amazing food and a nice change of scenery for a couple days in sunny south Florida.

How did you ring in the new year?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

2015 Year Recap: Part 2

It's incredible 2015 has come to an end. Overall it was an amazing year and I kept very busy with traveling and celebrating weddings, birthdays, new babies and everything in between. I posted Part 1 of 2015 last week so here goes the second half of the year.

July:
We traveled to Las Vegas to celebrate a girl friend's 30th birthday and our fifth wedding anniversary. We saw Tiesto in concert and had dinner at the top of the Stratosphere for our anniversary.


 


August:
Celebrated Kate's birthday at Sunday brunch downtown Orlando.



September:
September was a fairly busy month. K and I flew to New Orleans to celebrate his birthday and explore the city. One of my favorite restaurants we ate at for lunch was Pierre Maspero's.



We went to explore Wekiva Island with Kate and her hubs.



Celebrated some friend's at their joint bachelor/bachelorette party.


Also went to Animal Kingdom with K and enjoyed a safari ride and a few other rides.



October:
My parents came in town to visit for a couple weeks and we went to Epcot's Food & Wine Festival.



K and I went back to Disney the following weekend to explore Hollywood Studios and went on several rides.



November:
We flew to Barbados for a girl friend's wedding which I was a bridesmaid in.



 

While we were in Barbados, K and I took an amazing catamaran boat cruise around the island and then toured the island with friends.



Met Kristen at Epcot while I was there with Pamela and Kerri for the Food & Wine Festival.


K and I also visited Magic Kingdom one last time before our Disney annual passes expired.



We attended our first holiday party a friend's house and got to catch up with all the girls.


December:
December is always a busy month with holiday parties and my birthday so lots of fun was had.

We went to Kate's annual holiday party which included a photo booth so everyone had a blast with that plus the white elephant gift exchange had some hilarious gifts.


My work holiday party at Universal Studios was also an amazing night and Kate came as my date since K was traveling for work.


I got to reconnect with some  college buddies over a sushi dinner and ring in my 32nd birthday downtown Orlando at a bar for a quick drink at midnight.


The girls came out on Sunday the 13th to celebrate my birthday at the best brunch spot in Orlando and I got spoiled with their love and gifts.


K finally returned from his work trip and we had another (late) birthday celebration the next weekend at the Orlando Eye.


Christmas was spent with my in-laws and extended family in Sarasota. It was a nice relaxing weekend with lots of good food and quality time with family.


I have to say 2015 was a pretty epic year and I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store for us.

I hope you all enjoy NYE night and wishing you the very best for 2016!