Category Archives: Travel

Aug16

WE SAW IT!!!!!

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WE SAW IT!!!!!

Hi! After celebrating my bestie girl’s engagement, Johnny and I continued the festivities by celebrating another monumental occasion: The Oscar Mayer Weenie Mobile made a stop in downtown Cuyahoga Falls. As the brewery we were at for the engagement partay was just down the street from our downtown hub called the Riverfront, Johnny and I obviously had to make a cameo. My Johnny is a hot dog loving guy. Lol so much so that he even has one tattooed on his arm! Needless to say, seeing the Weenie Mobile IRL was a must and we scored big time. Johnny got a Weenie Whistle as well as a hilarious sticker with the Weenie Mobile on it that simply says “I SAW IT”. We came, we saw, and it was a hoot!

^^^ Pure ecstasy!!

Downtown Cuyahoga Falls rules and it has been spruced up so nicely over the years as a one stop destination for shopping, dining, and community events. There are countless sweet boutiques and antique shops, a delicious ice creamery, and a candy store that we love taking our nieces to for a shopping spree. Their parents can deal with the sugar rush afterwards! 😀 The Riverfront also hosts lots of concerts, festivals, and movie nights as a lovely way for the community to come together and have some fun. There are splash pads in the summer, a skating rink in the winter, and fireworks on special occasions. We are very lucky to have this spot for folks young and old to enjoy throughout the year.

All of the aforementioned is great but, honestly, the Oscar Mayer Weenie Mobile really took the cake lol. I have been to many a Riverfront event with excellent turnouts but the joint was JUMPING on Weenie Mobile day – as it should! There were food trucks galore, music playing, kiddos running around in the splash pads, games, face painting, and basically every Cuyahoga Falls resident within a ten mile radius. We were there for the Oscar Mayer but stayed for the true joy of being out and about with our friends and neighbors. There is nothing better than an entire community coming together and the Riverfront does exactly that. If the Weenie Mobile comes around more often, then I think we have lots of evenings in downtown CFalls to look forward to!

WE SAW IT and our lives are the better for it. Shout out to my hometown for kicking ass and taking names!!

Do you have an event center in your neck of the woods? Does your city host festivals often? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug14

6 Smart Ways To Lower The Cost Of Travel

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6 Smart Ways To Lower The Cost Of Travel

If you love to travel but hate the price tag that comes with it, then this guide is for you. We are going to look at some of the most brilliant ways people have come up with to lower the cost of flying overseas and experiencing new cultures and adventures. Here are some of the ways you can cut expenses without sacrificing trip quality:

Travel in the shoulder seasons:

If you’re looking to travel at a lower cost then going in the shoulder seasons is the obvious solution. February to May and September to November tend to be far cheaper, which is something you’ll notice if you regularly book flights throughout the year. What’s more, many destinations are still worth visiting during these shoulder seasons. Weather is often pleasant, avoiding extreme heat or cold.

Use flight deal alerts:

We’d also recommend using flight deal alerts to lower the cost of travel. For many trips, the cost of the flight is the biggest item and often larger than staying in accommodation, especially if you’re traveling to a long-distance destination. Signing up for airfare is easy these days. Just find your favorite flight aggregator and get them to send you their weekly newsletter. They can tell you which destinations will be cheaper to book for the following week, giving you more flexibility.

Win back money:

There are numerous competitions available these days that allow you to win back money on your travel expenses. Playing a lot of these on average can help you reduce the cost of your travel significantly and even enable you to get things that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to obtain on a regular budget. The key here is volume. The more games you play, the more likely you are to win. Many games are free to enter.

Hack your accommodations:

Flights are usually the largest travel expense with accommodations coming in second. You can lower your budget significantly by looking into alternatives to conventional rentals or hotel stays. For example, you might sign up for a house-sitting platform or go to reputable hostels with private rooms. You could also look at short-term apartment rentals away from sightseeing hot spots. All of these options can significantly lower the price of staying in a particular city or location.

Travel light:

Another popular option is to travel light to avoid baggage fees. More people are mastering the art of packing everything they need into a single personal item-sized backpack. Most airlines won’t charge for this as long as it’s under around 7 kg. When you travel light, you avoid the hassle of stowing your regular baggage or having to pick it up from baggage collection. Usually, you can save around 10 to 15% of the price of a flight by traveling this way.

Eat like a local:

Finally, to seriously cut the cost of travel, you could skip the restaurants located directly next to major tourist monuments and go to the ones that the locals use instead. The best way to find these is to look for eateries outside the city center with hundreds of thousands of reviews on Google Maps.

^^^ Unsplash Image

Travel smarter and cheaper with the tips above! Bon voyage!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Jul23

Akron Zoo Adventure

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Akron Zoo Adventure

Hi! I recently visited the Akron Zoo and, honestly, it forever blows my mind that we have the most lovely zoo a few minutes beyond the central hub of downtown Akron. In the midst of all of that hustle and bustle there are lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! And it’s so easy to forget where you are after spending a few hours walking around the zoo. It’s always a shock to the senses to leave and be right smack dab in the middle of hospitals, universities, restaurants, and event venues! This particular trip to the zoo was very noteworthy as a few new animals were introduced, one being intentional and the other not so much. Check it out:

Lol! Cheese!!!

Baby Leuco getting the hang of swinging!

My dinosaur robot friend!

What is a cat doing…?

Especially in the bald eagle enclosure!!!

As we made our rounds throughout the zoo, it was a delight to see so many new additions including mountain lions, porcupines, chinchillas, tamarins, conures, and white-faced sakis. The Akron Zoo has been expanding so nicely over the past several years and it will even be the home to giraffes in 2028. I can’t wait! After saying hello to all of the new animals the zoo has introduced this past year, we came upon a creature from the land of old with a modern update – a dinosaur robot! The Akron Zoo hosts the Dino Trek every year featuring huge animatronic dinosaurs and the baby robots are brand new this year. The zookeepers put on demonstrations to “train” the dinosaurs and attendants young and old so enjoyed the show. It was so cute to see this little buddy toddling all around and I wish I could get one as a pet lol.

After exploring the bottom portion of the zoo, it was time to climb the hill into Grizzly Bear Ridge to see grizzlies, otters, wolves, coyotes, and bald eagles. We definitely got more than we bargained for in the bald eagle exhibit as there was a stray cat inside!! I have no idea how this kitty cat got into the habitat to begin with but it was there and sipping on water in the pond. Blessedly, a zookeeper was already aware of the cat intruder and was able to get it out safely. Thank goodness because as much as I would have loved to see an unlikely animal friendship form, this was not the time or place for the cat!!

The last exciting occurrence happened at the final stop of our adventure, the East Asia exhibit which is home to a family of white-cheeked gibbons. At the end of June of last year, baby Leuco was born and it has been so cool to see him grow. This one year old is on the move now and after many visits of seeing him tucked in his mom’s arms, he has started swinging! Leuco was jumping and swinging all over his huge enclosure while his proud parents watched on from the side. I think they were both feeling happy to have a break while he played and entertained everyone passing by. I could have watched him for forever!!

This was an Akron Zoo Adventure, for sure, and I am so looking forward to even more improvements to this absolute gem in our city!

Has your zoo welcomed new animals recently? Which zoo do you like to go to? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul6

Nature Walk

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Nature Walk

Hi! My brother, Andrew, and I are avid hikers and it is our absolute favorite form of exercise. There is nothing better than hitting the beautiful trails in our neck of the woods and chatting away while immersed in nature and it’s safe to say that I live for our biweekly walks. We have recently decided to travel thirty minutes or so to explore even more trails and it has been so exciting to check out new to us Metro Parks. This past week we took a little road trip to the Barberton Trailhead and it was easily the best hike and bike trail we have been to yet. We saw more wildlife on this trail than all of our hikes of the past year combined!

The Barberton Trailhead is a flat, paved path directly across from a lake like body of water and right off the bat we were seeing animals left and right. Seconds after we began walking, we saw something we have never seen before – a river otter!!! River otters returned to Ohio a few years back and it has been my mission to catch a glimpse of one during our hikes that never came to fruition until now. It was SO cool to see its sleek body weaving in the water and the little face popping up for air. In a similar breath, we also saw a beaver for the first time too. We enjoy hiking at a trail called Beaver Marsh and ironically have never seen any there in the water so this was such a great added bonus. 😀

And then, there were the turtles. We saw fifty-five of them to be exact during our three mile trek! Posted up on logs, swimming, or camouflaging in the algae, we surpassed our original personal turtle sighting best of seventeen by far. Spotting them was literally like playing I Spy in nature and it was a thrill every time we added another one to our tally. As if all of this weren’t enough, we also saw five Blue Herons, two of which that flew directly in front of us. Seeing Blue Herons is like seeing a dinosaur in real life and they were so majestic! As you can see in the last picture, I think that Heron was ready to catch itself some lunch!

Finally in our wildlife jamboree, we saw more baby ducks than we could possibly count. We stopped at thirty something because it was just too much and also too much cuteness! There were baby ducks swimming, resting on the grass, and playing peek a boo behind the logs in the water. The cuteness overload went simply over the top when we were in the right place at the right time. We walked past a family of baby ducks tentatively stepping into the water and then taking off at a rapid pace. I’ll post a video on my TikTok soon so stay tuned because holy adorable. ❤

After our excursion, we treated ourselves to Skoops for a well earned frozen treat. All the while recounting the amazing wildlife we were so lucky to see. We can’t wait to go back!

Do you have a favorite hiking spot? What kind of wildlife do you see on your hikes? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul1

Glow Sticks Mini Golf

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Glow Sticks Mini Golf

Hi! Johnny and I freaking LOVE to play mini golf and we visited an ultra cool new indoor course in Chagrin Falls called Glow Sticks this past weekend with my brother, Andrew. Several months ago I saw on Facebook that Glow Sticks would be opening and it was themed around music from the 1950s to the 1990s. I made a mental note of it because it combines our two great passions, music and mini golf, and I just knew it would be a blast. It sure was!! Glow Sticks was absolutely amazing from start to finish and we cannot wait to go back! Take a look at these many MANY pictures and let’s discuss:

So I might have gone a little picture crazy but, in my defense, how could I not?! There was so much awesome artwork, golf puns, and excitement that I wanted to capture it all! The Glow Sticks course consisted of different rooms set up for different decades where we started in the 50s and took a musical tour into the 1990s. Each room played the music of the times and the walls were adorned with the icons of that era. The murals were totally and completely fabulous and we really appreciated all of the golf humor! We are very partial to Stevie Nicks encouraging us to putt your own way and and KISS letting us know that they want to putt and golf all night. Lolol, we were in stitches!

As if all of the music and art weren’t enough, we were delighted by the unique and challenging play through of the Glow Sticks course. As you can see, one of the holes was a literal loopdiloop which we have never seen before! We learned that you had to whack the ball really hard for it to go all the way around. When it was my turn, I told Andrew and Johnny to stay far away so they don’t get a concussion lol. Other noteworthy parts of the course include hitting the ball through a giant Rolling Stones tongue statue, playing on Freddie Mercury’s stage, a skateboard half pipe, and even a 1970s style camper decked out in peace and love decals.

We were simply blown away by the creativity of the Glow Sticks course and everywhere we looked featured something fresh and exciting. Johnny’s favorite part was the mural of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on the putting green. I was a huge fan of the of the Roy Orbison “pretty putter putting on the green” portrait and Andrew enjoyed the statues of The Beatles. Glow Sticks was the perfect tip of the cap to the music that we all know and love and we were singing along to the rocking tunes the whole way through. What a fun afternoon!

If you are in the greater Northeastern Ohio area or are visiting, a stop in at Glow Sticks is a must. You will have a ball!

What is your favorite era of music? Do you prefer outdoor or indoor mini golf courses? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun5

Great Lakes Science Center Titanic Exhibit

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Great Lakes Science Center Titanic Exhibit

Hi! I recently visited the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland with a friend to see their newly installed Titanic exhibit. I don’t know much about the Titanic and I have never seen the movie but my friend is most fascinated by it and I was more than happy to tag along. We spent a solid hour and a half making our way through the exhibit and I really enjoyed myself and learned a lot. It was set up beautifully with replicas of different rooms, artifacts recovered from the sea floor, and an actual iceberg which really blew my mind! Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss further:

After paying for tickets for the exhibit, we were given a boarding pass of one of the passengers of the Titanic to hang onto until the end. Then, we could see if our passenger survived or not and gained insight into their outcome. With boarding passes in hand, we explored the exhibit with a fine toothed comb and it was wonderful. My favorite part was definitely seeing the restored artifacts that were recovered as the displays featured a picture of when they were found on the sea floor. The before and after was nuts! A particularly interesting display had au gratin dishes that were found in perfect rows. They were stored away in a box that disintegrated and they were still lined up as they were left. I also was drawn to the different clothing and accessories that were found but it was so sad to think of the people who were meant to wear them.

As well as artifacts, there were also room replicas including the boiler room, first class cabins, and the bunking rooms. A fun fact I learned was that a first class ticket on the Titanic would have been equivalent to over one hundred thousand dollars today! As we went about the space, there were direct quotes from passengers and employees and their portraits along the walls. The quotes recorded from when the ship was sinking was harrowing and reminded me a lot of the last messages that people sent during 9/11. I could tell how lovingly those displays were made and it was inspiring to read about their bravery.

The piece de resistance of the Titanic exhibit was twofold. There was the iceberg, of course, which I’m not quite sure how that worked out and neither did the employee that I asked. It had something to do with a cooling plate and gathering moisture in the air? From what the employee said, the iceberg has actually grown since the exhibit opened in late May. There was also a display of part of the ship that was recovered that we were allowed to touch and that was way, way cool. It’s not every day that you get to touch a literal piece of history!

If you are in the Cleveland area or traveling nearby, I can’t recommend this exhibit enough. Even if you haven’t seen the movie like me, you are still going to be in for a treat!

Do you know a lot about the Titanic? What is a classic movie that you haven’t seen? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May12

Alien Vacation Mini Golf

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Alien Vacation Mini Golf

Hello! This past weekend my brother, his friend, Johnny, and I went to the awesome Alien Vacation indoor mini golf course in Medina. We are all extremely partial to mini golf and this has got to be one of the best courses in our general vicinity. It was the perfect outing for a rainy spring day! We had a blast exploring all of the cool surprises under the blacklights of the Alien Vacation adventure. From huge animatronics and goofy alien antics to an under the sea and ancient Egypt room, this place had it all! The eighteen holes were just challenging enough and I even got a hole in one! Great success! Check it out:

The Alien Vacation mini golf course was an absolute delight and we all plan on going back there together again. It was incredibly reasonably priced at just twelve dollars to play through and also had a bar and snack shack to wet your whistle in the middle of the course. This was so unlike the typical outdoor courses that we have visited before and was a thousand percent worth the forty minute drive to get there. As soon as we stepped foot into Alien Vacation we were SO in. Then, we put on the 3D glasses and were SO out lol. They gave all of us a headache and we were back in once they were off lol.

The highlights of this course has got to be the ancient Egypt room, under the sea, and the jungle. What took the cake for everyone was, easily, the Legends Of The Hidden Temple vibes room as seen in the last picture. This one was WAY cool! You hit the ball up a ramp and it fell into a different slat depending on how hard you hit it. From there, the ball would travel through the breaks in the artwork to deposit the ball either close to the goal or far from it. It also featured pop up surprises and motion once the golf ball fell into the slats. We were seriously wowed by it and honestly could have kept playing that part again and again!

From start to finish, Alien Vacation was just pure fun and we were so appreciative and impressed by the amount of work that had to be put in to create it. This wasn’t a mini golf course to breeze through but one to take your time with and experience as we didn’t want to miss a thing! What made this outing even better is that we went on Star Wars Day weekend. That is a franchise I can take or leave but Johnny was ecstatic as they were playing the soundtrack throughout the course. It was SO epic to play mini golf to such triumphant themes and I could tell that my main squeeze was channeling his inner Han Solo the entire time! ❤

If you are in my neck of the woods or visiting, 12/10 would highly recommend an afternoon at the Alien Vacation mini golf course. I can’t wait to go back!

Do you have any cool mini golf courses near you? How do you usually fare in mini golf (I came in dead last lol)? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr4

Bath & Body Works March Freebie

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Bath & Body Works March Freebie

Hello! I have a stockpile of skin and bath and body care that runneth over – especially in the smell goods department as I love stocking up during the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sales. There is also no shortage of travel size B&BW products since they send a freebie coupon for one at least every other month. Or so I thought there was no shortage! As I packed my toiletries for New Orleans, I couldn’t believe that there was not a single travel size shower gel in my hoard! I ended up having to use a combination of the hotel soap and shampoos during my travels and it was so hard to feel clean without the sudsy, fragrant B&BW shower gels. I was so happy to have been able to rectify this with a March freebie coupon as my need for travel size shower gels isn’t over yet. My family will be going to Italy later this year and I already have one thing out of the way to pack:

Every time I visit B&BW for a free product, I feel like their travel size options have dwindled down exponentially. What used to be a sprawling tower of mini shower gels and lotions was pretty much bare so I just had to take what I could get this time around. I landed on A Thousand Wishes, which is an incredibly popular B&BW scent that I have never bothered trying lol. A Thousand Wishes offers notes of “pink prosecco, crystal peonies, and amaretto creme” and it is actually really nice! It reminds me a lot of their Sweet Pea scent. It’s floral, yes, but not in an overpowering way because there’s more to it than just the peonies. Perhaps it’s the amaretto creme? 😀

Also, can we just talk briefly about showering in hotels because I’m still not over it lol. Showering in a hotel is like being on an episode of Naked and Afraid. You are in unfamiliar territory, you might not have your favorite products (In my case!), and why is the water either scalding hot or freezing cold?! I know it doesn’t seem like much, but just having this shower gel for Italy is a little peace of mind. I am not a traveler in the slightest and it is comforting to have familiar and favorite things when away from home. At the bare minimum, at least I know that I will not have to combine bar soap with shampoo during vacation and that is a blessing in itself!

In conclusion, if you like Sweet Pea then you are going to be a fan of A Thousand Wishes. And remember to always check your travel size stash before a trip! Smh!

What toiletries do you pack when traveling? Are you going on a vacation this year? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar31

Uber Safety

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Uber Safety

Hello! My sister, Kristen, and I experienced some travel turmoil when we were in New Orleans because our flight home got cancelled. However, that wasn’t the only incident of the day as we had an incredibly not okay Uber ride when we wanted to go to the Garden District. When we first arrived in NOLA, we opted for the “women driver only” option on Uber and that made us feel a lot more secure in a brand new city. However, I didn’t remind my sister to select that option again when we went to the Garden District as I thought it was an automatic setting. We ended up having a driver that made some highly inappropriate comments and drove like an absolute mad man. We’re talking swerving, we’re talking speeding, we’re talking running over curbs/sidewalks, and almost getting into several accidents. It was VERY scary.

After this experience, we were left with literal heart palpitations as we made our way through the Garden District and then the punches kept coming shortly after with the cancellation of our flight. We were blessedly able to catch a plane home the following day after many, many delays! That morning we, of course, selected the women driver only option and had the coolest lady ever get us to the airport. We talked to her about our ride from the previous day and she shared some very good advice that I wanted to pass on to all of you. This is information that you never want to need but it’s so important to have a safety plan no matter the situation:

When we told her about our ride, we mentioned that we honestly didn’t know what to say to get ourselves out of the car and were too scared to say pull over. And, in the moment, our minds were blank to come up with anything at all. So, she gave us an alternative. Our driver said if we find ourselves in a situation like that, start bringing up food, drink, and bathrooms. IE: Oh is that a Wendy’s? Can you actually drop us off here? I’m feeling a little nauseous. Or: A gas station! I could use some Gatorade, I feel queasy after all the walking we did. These are perfectly valid, common statements and no one wants someone getting sick in their car. AND you will be in a public area where people will have eyes on you. As soon as the coast is clear – report, report, report the driver.

Our driver then went on to say that she has a safety plan in place for herself too. If she ever feels uncomfortable when providing rides, she pulls over to the most public area she sees first. She then gets out of the car and begins to walk towards a crowd of people. Eventually, the person she is driving figures it out and exits the vehicle. And, should they have anything to say, she is surrounded by people. Once again, as soon as the coast is clear – report, report, report the rider.

I am SO appreciative to our driver for sharing this advice because it was so smart and simple enough to stay with you. If you use Uber often, have a safety plan and a backup one too because you really just never know.

What are some of your rideshare or travel safety tips? Have you had an experience similar to ours before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar26

New Orleans Scenery

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New Orleans Scenery

Hi! I so loved my sister trip to New Orleans and we still managed to do a lot around the city before attending my cousin’s wedding. We explored the French Quarter in its entirety and also walked through the Garden District to fantasize about the mansions we would move into. It was actually SO disappointing because we arrived in the Garden District around one fifteen and an open house finished at one o’clock. It would have been way cool to take a looksee in one of the beautiful properties! As we made our way through the city, I had to take ALL of the pictures and wanted to share the sights with you too. Take a look:

During our weekend getaway, we were averaging at least fifteen thousand steps per day. There was just so much to do and see and we wanted to drink it all in. Trust and believe when I tell you that are dogs were barking when each day came to a close! In the French Quarter, we enjoyed going to all of the different shops, markets, restaurants, and bars. Before the wedding on Saturday, we shopped till we dropped to find the perfect souvenirs for our family and ourselves too. I am beyond happy with the mask I purchased for myself and love seeing it displayed in my apartment!

After all of our shopping, we decided to take a break and had a lovely sit down right by the Mississippi River. It was so relaxing to hear the water, feel the breeze, and watch as the boats passed by. I think it was even better to sit down, though! Once we got some rest, we made the trek back to our hotel with plenty of time to spare to prep for the wedding. We also took the opportunity to lay down and watch a hilarious Hallmark movie and play along to Family Feud. It was very hard to pull ourselves from the comfort of the hotel room but as soon as we were back in the warm sun, we rallied for our cousin’s nuptials. The pre-wedding drink we got at one of the bars also helped a little. 😀

On Sunday afternoon, everything went to crap. See the story about our travel turmoil here! But, before the panic of our flight being cancelled, we went to the Garden District to pick out our new mansion home lol. Every single house was stunning but our favorite was easily the one with the flowers all over it in the picture above. How cute is that?! The houses were all so amazing from the outside that we could only imagine what the interiors looked like. I wish we could have gotten a taste of it at the open house we just missed! Smh.

Although we were on limited time for the weekend, we made the most of it with our sight seeing adventures. We had a blast but were SO ready and happy to go home!

Have you been to New Orleans? What was your favorite thing there? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah