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Polynesian Construction Update!

Recent shot of construction at the Polynesian

The Polynesian Village Resort is one of our favorite places to stay at Walt Disney World. It holds some great memories for our family as it was where we stayed on our very first Disney vacation together.

In fact, the Poly – as it is often known at Disney – was instrumental in converting me from a Disney skeptic to a raving fan. You can read more in our oddly named post, Dr. Strangedad…or how I learned to stop worrying and love Disney.

The Poly has been in the midst of a major renovation this year and on a trip to Walt Disney World earlier this month we were able to take a good look at the construction and gain a feel for how the current Poly experience might be for guests. [Read more…]

Remembering Through Travel…Manassas, Northern Virginia, and Remembrance Day

By Mark

The Manassas National Battlefield Park near Manassas, Virginia

For travelers like us, Northern Virginia can be unsettling to the nerves.

It’s at once steeped in history, almost ancient by U.S. standards, but also disgustingly modern, the home of legendary urban sprawl, traffic, and all the negative consequences of close proximity to Washington, D.C., capital of the most powerful government known in the annals of human history.

Despite those negative consequences, we’ve been fortunate over the last year to have taken quite a few road trips through Northern Virginia and the areas surrounding that Capital, including western Maryland and the environs of Gettysburg, PA – only a few hours’ drive from Manassas. [Read more…]

Pineapples and Puerto Rico…Epcot Style!

By Mark

We’ve got less than two weeks to go in the 2014 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival!

It’s one of our favorite times of the year at Walt Disney World, and one of Epcot’s most popular events.

The Festival includes an array of special events, including some that come with significant additional costs. But, the most notable feature of the Food & Wine Festival is also the most accessible (and the most reasonably priced) – the World Showcases International Marketplaces that allow you to taste your way around the world!

The Festival runs from the end of September to the beginning of November each year, and features an array of food related events including the International Marketplaces.

The Marketplaces are essentially mini-restaurants focusing on several small dishes and a number for drinks from various areas around the world or utilizing particular themes. [Read more…]

Making Lemonade on Jekyll Island

By Mark

Swinging on Jekyll Island

With all the beauty of Jekyll Island, Georgia, it’s natural landscape, beautiful beach, amazing sunsets – this photo will always remain my favorite from Georgia’s Golden Isles.

Why?

It’s pretty common to hear that we should all remember to stay flexible when traveling and as those moms out there are prone to say…keep our patience hats on tight.

If it can go wrong, it will. [Read more…]

An Afternoon at Hunting Island State Park

By Mark

Hunting Island Lighthouse

While we are a North Carolina family, partial to our own home state and particularly to our own North Carolina Coast, we recently spent some time farther south around Beaufort, South Carolina. There’s just a twinge of irony in this because we love sending clients and friends to Beaufort, North Carolina (check out Bringing Home Beaufort) and had never visited the South Carolina namesake (learn about the pronunciation differences between the two towns).

We had a ball and want to tell you about one of the highlights of the trip: the afternoon we spent at Hunting Island State Park.

Hunting Island is a small island with 4 miles of Atlantic coastline about 40 miles or so south of Charleston, and about 15 miles southeast of Beaufort.

The island is home to one of South Carolina’s most popular State Parks, the Hunting Island State Park. [Read more…]

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