All in Vacations
When mom and I took Melody to Disney World back in October, we stayed at a new (to Melody and me) hotel. Melody and I would be spending a few days at the hotel alone during the day, so we picked this hotel because of the amenities. Mom had stayed there before, so she knew there would be plenty for us to do.
On our way to Disney back in August, we stopped at Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers in Orlando. It was about a 5-10 minute drive from Disney itself, and it is next to one of the outlet malls. We had time to kill until my mom could meet up with us, and this sounded really good based on reviews online.
Back in August we went to Disney very last minute, and we had to throw together a stroller tag. While it isn’t necessary, it is truly easier to find your stroller with something that makes it stand out.
While at the beach this summer in Destin, we stayed next door to a restaurant called RedFish Tacos. We never really had the opportunity to go inside and eat there (Brad’s parents did), but one afternoon Brad did go get us lunch there and bring it back to the condo.
While at the beach this summer, we stayed directly across the street from an ice cream shop. It was constantly packed and had a huge line. So one night we HAD to try it. We managed to go when it wasn’t too busy., and be sure and bring cash! There is an ATM machine if needed though. The flavors change daily. I ordered strawberry cheesecake and it was delicious. I recommend going, but bring cash and come early!
My mom had to take a work trip to Orlando back in October, and Melody and I tagged along. We flew Frontier for the first time, and we stayed at Buena Vista Palace at Disney Springs. Both of our annual passes had expired, so we just bought two day park hoppers for the weekend when my mom wasn’t working. However, we found plenty to do seeing that we were across from Disney Springs.
While at Disney back in August, we visited Backlot Express for the first time in a long while. I am not a huge burger person, so I have typically avoided eating here. We don’t usually spend a lot of time at Hollywood Studios, and when we do, there are a lot of other places I would rather eat at (I am really selling this place to you, huh?).
When we went to Disney back in August, I threw together a happy for her to take and keep her entertained during our car ride. Luckily with it being such a last minute trip I had a lot of these things stored away for a special occasion. I do that often.
One of the last places we ate while at the beach this summer was Local Catch. Brad and I actually tried to eat there earlier in our trip, but they had live music and it was really, really loud. So we opted to return later. It was fairly close to our hotel too which was really nice because we were able to ride the golf cart there.
On a trip to Montgomery this summer with my mom, we tried Urban Cookhouse. It was literally next door and we were able to walk there after my mom got off of work. We actually have an Urban Cookhouse here in Huntsville too. We arrived around 6:30 pm or so. While not posted on the door, this location apparently recently starting closing at 7 pm. They were even turning people away not long after we ordered which was a total surprise. As a business, you don’t turn people away. Especially before you have officially closed.
On a trip to Montgomery this summer, we stopped by Wharf Casual Seafood for dinner. The menu looked great online, and the location was ideal to where our hotel was located. It was also next door to where my mom would be working that evening.
The first restaurant we visited while at the beach this summer was a new one, Shunk Gulley. Brad’s parents suggested it because they had eaten there before. It was easy to get to (it’s also on 30A), it provides a lot to do before and after (although we didn’t really explore on this trip), and it’s really kid friendly. We ate here our very first night, so we were all tired and just unpacked. There were also 9 of us, but surprisingly we were seated almost immediately which is amazing for a Saturday night!
On our trip to Disney in August, we tried something different. We opted to stay off property, but at a Disney Springs hotel. The main reason for this was cost. We used Hilton points to pay for our room which dramatically reduced the cost of our trip.
While at the beach back in July, we visited two ice cream places on 30A. One we walked to, and the other we rode the golf cart. We ended up at Buddy’s Ice Cream because the line was SO long at the one across from our hotel, and Melody really wanted to ride the golf cart. We just had dinner at Goat Feathers, and it was right across the street from there. So we headed that way and gave it at try!
While at Disney back in AUGUST, they already had the Halloween snacks out. I took a few pictures throughout our trip of the snacks, but the only thing I had was the apple. And it was amazing as always. I LOVE white chocolate! There are WAY MORE snacks than the ones below. Lots of restaurants have specialty ones along with ones offered at the Halloween parties. But below are a few you can find this year!
So back in August, we made a 100% completely spur of the moment trip. Like we started discussing it a week before leaving. And we didn’t even decide we were officially going until the day before. Brad was getting the Disney itch, my annual pass was still good, and we had points to that would cover the costs of the hotel. We would literally only pay for food, gas, and Brad and Melody’s tickets. It was also Brad’s birthday. And what better way to spend your birthday than at Disney?? So we pulled the trigger and went!
While at the beach back in July, we tried Goat Feathers on 30A. We had actually planned on eating at a different restaurant on that evening, but they had live music inside and it was really loud. So we passed and found this restaurant. It was just the three of us, and it was fairly early. I had read some decent reviews prior, so we thought we would give it a try.
So this isn’t like most of my Disney posts. Usually I post about my trip itself, then post about all the other big details. Well this couldn’t wait! Back in August, we made a spur of the moment decision to go to Disney for Brad’s birthday. We had no intention of going to Hollywood Studios, much-less Galaxy’s Edge. We were going to be in the parks August 29 and 30. I really didn’t want to even consider dealing with the crowds. Well late Thursday night, I read people were getting in the land without boarding passes. We decided to check after we did a few things in Epcot Friday morning. And sure enough, no boarding pass was required. So we headed over and literally walked right in without any issues. It really made Brad’s birthday getting to experience it on his actual birthday. I would definitely recommend devoting more than the 3 or so hours we spent there. I am sure we could spend a whole day just here! Well here are some pictures from our few hours and the few things we got to do!
As you may have read by now, I love to do small “happys” whenever we take trips or for other special occasions. Well we recently went to the beach and I did a happy for all of the girls. Check them out below.
So we “just” returned from the beach back in late July, ha. I would have written this post sooner, but we literally came back to turn around and move! We went to the Destin area, Blue Mountain Beach to be exact. Two years ago we stayed around this area, but this year we stayed at a new hotel, Redfish Village condos. We went with Brad’s immediately family, and some of his extended family also were there which made it a mini-family reunion.
