I am sure you can tell by this picture, why we love our traveling companion so much!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Our Road Trip Companion
When we take road trips, we bring along our favorite companion. I think Zoe loves traveling almost as much as we do. We hate the thought of putting her in a kennel, so when we have the opportunity, we bring her right along.
I am sure you can tell by this picture, why we love our traveling companion so much!
I am sure you can tell by this picture, why we love our traveling companion so much!
Disney's Armed Forces Salute
Back in 2003, Disney had their first "Salute the Troops" event. We got 40% off our hotel room, a free ticket for my husband since he was the active military member, and almost free tickets for my son and myself. Add to that the flight deals we got through Southwest for less than $100 per ticket, round trip, and we spent less than $1000 on a week at Disney for the three of us. While it was one of the more affordable of our vacations, it was also one of the most magical! We went back last year and enjoyed ourselves, but spent a fortune because there was no military special. Somehow, it's not quite as enjoyable when the experience leaves you with empty pocketbooks.
We are true Disney fanatics. We have traveled all over the world: hiked into the jungles of Thailand and Burma, enjoyed cold beer at Oktoberfest in Munich, swam beneath waterfalls in Maui, taken cruises off the coast of Vietnam, celebrated Carnivale in Venice, and explored the temples of Cambodia. Yet, Disney World, the king of commercial destinations, still captures our fancy more than just about any place on the planet.
And Disney's getting ready to do it again! This year, they are again offering 40% off hotel rooms, free tickets to military members, and 5-day, $99 Parkhopper passes for family members. That's a great deal! You can find out more information here. We've already booked our rooms and bought our tickets. Now, we're just searching for a great flight deal from DC to Orlando and we'll be set to go.
I should mention that while you can still stay at the military hotel, Shades of Green on Disney property (and it would probably be more affordable than some of the other Disney resorts, the 40% discount offer is only applicable to Disney moderate resorts (the 2003 offer extended to the lower-end resorts, as well, but not this time). We decided to stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort this time around. With the discount, our room ends up at $117/night, which is still not a bad deal for Disney!
Get ready, Mickey, here we come!
And just for fun, here's a picture of my son from the last time we were at Disney World. As the saying goes, he was "plumb tuckered out."
We are true Disney fanatics. We have traveled all over the world: hiked into the jungles of Thailand and Burma, enjoyed cold beer at Oktoberfest in Munich, swam beneath waterfalls in Maui, taken cruises off the coast of Vietnam, celebrated Carnivale in Venice, and explored the temples of Cambodia. Yet, Disney World, the king of commercial destinations, still captures our fancy more than just about any place on the planet.
And Disney's getting ready to do it again! This year, they are again offering 40% off hotel rooms, free tickets to military members, and 5-day, $99 Parkhopper passes for family members. That's a great deal! You can find out more information here. We've already booked our rooms and bought our tickets. Now, we're just searching for a great flight deal from DC to Orlando and we'll be set to go.
I should mention that while you can still stay at the military hotel, Shades of Green on Disney property (and it would probably be more affordable than some of the other Disney resorts, the 40% discount offer is only applicable to Disney moderate resorts (the 2003 offer extended to the lower-end resorts, as well, but not this time). We decided to stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort this time around. With the discount, our room ends up at $117/night, which is still not a bad deal for Disney!
Get ready, Mickey, here we come!
And just for fun, here's a picture of my son from the last time we were at Disney World. As the saying goes, he was "plumb tuckered out."
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Travel Tip of the Day
When deciding where to stay on vacation, don't forget to check military installations near your vacation destination. Often, we think of military lodging as a place to stay only when in a PCS status. But don't forget, military lodging can make for affordable and comfortable lodging that could be far superior to local hotels. On top of that, many military lodging facilities have kitchenettes and separate bedrooms, much like mini-apartments.
The only catch is that for many installations, you can only make reservations a few days in advance. But you may be surprised to find that many of the lodging facilities will have availability as your dates draw closer. To get an idea of whether the facility fills up quickly or often has vacancy, you can call several weeks in advance. While they may not be able to yet hold a room for you, they can give you an idea of whether or not they usually have availability at the time of year at which you plan to travel.
Also, don't forget that even if you are from another branch of service, you can stay in the lodging facilities of any military facility. Over the years, we've enjoyed Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and, of course, Air Force lodging. In that length of time, I would not be surprised if it's saved us thousands of dollars!
The only catch is that for many installations, you can only make reservations a few days in advance. But you may be surprised to find that many of the lodging facilities will have availability as your dates draw closer. To get an idea of whether the facility fills up quickly or often has vacancy, you can call several weeks in advance. While they may not be able to yet hold a room for you, they can give you an idea of whether or not they usually have availability at the time of year at which you plan to travel.
Also, don't forget that even if you are from another branch of service, you can stay in the lodging facilities of any military facility. Over the years, we've enjoyed Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and, of course, Air Force lodging. In that length of time, I would not be surprised if it's saved us thousands of dollars!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Loving, living, learning
I have always believed in the power of volunteer work. Whether on U.S. soil or abroad, I think we can all take a little time to use our vast financial, emotional, and physical resources to help other people in any place where a helping hand could be of use. And while sometimes I may seem crass and ungrateful for the blessings in my life, I find that a day, week, or even year (or more) of helping other people can bring me right back to being as close as humanly possible to the person that my God intended me to be.
When my husband told me he was deploying for a year (ah, such an ever-familiar state of living for the military spouse!), I had three choices, as I saw it:
[I should mention here that my husband was not deploying to a dangerous place, so while he would temporarily deploy on occasion to Baghdad and Afghanistan during his long-term deployment, not many of my worries centered around the safety of my husband, as it does for so many military spouses... if that were the case, I think my options would have been different.]
Option 1: Remain where I was. Good choice, in my mind. After all, at the time, we were living in Honolulu, HI. Hawaii was an incredible place to live, after all. (I'm hearing refrains of "Summertime, and the living is easy!") If I so chose, daily life could have consisted of dropping my son off at school, trips to the gym, good books on the beach, lunches with girlfriends, afternoons of writing, picking up my son from school, and mom/son nights on the sofa.
Option 2: Go home to mom. I love my mom. I miss my mom all the time. I even enjoy hanging out with my mom. Bonus points: mom makes great food!
Option 3: Throw away option one and two; drag my son to go live in a tiny apartment in Bangkok; teach English all day; and take trips to small villages in Thailand offering my limited building and humanitarian skills to multiple projects.
I took option 3. Now, I am not going to lie and say that this was an altogether unselfish decision. A travel bug bit me when I was around 19 and it's still hanging on with its sharp little teeth. But aside from that, I just wanted to do something to serve and I wanted to teach my son that there was life beyond the confines of central air conditioning and video games.
Along the way, I think I learned more about myself and my son than I ever thought possible. Keep an eye on my cute kiddo in the videos below. I am really proud of him for his sweat and tears, his unselfishness, and most of all, for the moments that were never even caught on these videos.
The first video is of a three day trip we took to the border of Burma. We went there to help build a school for refugees from Burma. These refugees were primarily people who had lived in Burma as Christians for many generations. Many of them had been persecuted for their religious beliefs in Burma and had traveled across the border to Thailand to escape the violence. Many of the families and children have been victims of, or witnesses to, horrendous violence, the likes of which we will probably never experience as Americans. The only thing they have asked for is the right to live in peace.
The second video is of a village of Karen refugees. These people were amazing and the kids there sent my heart right to cloud-nine...especially the boy in the front of the "Sawas-dee" song!
*And yes, I am aware that I nag my son to "Come here" a lot. lol! Bad "mom habit" I have never been able to break!
When my husband told me he was deploying for a year (ah, such an ever-familiar state of living for the military spouse!), I had three choices, as I saw it:
[I should mention here that my husband was not deploying to a dangerous place, so while he would temporarily deploy on occasion to Baghdad and Afghanistan during his long-term deployment, not many of my worries centered around the safety of my husband, as it does for so many military spouses... if that were the case, I think my options would have been different.]
Option 1: Remain where I was. Good choice, in my mind. After all, at the time, we were living in Honolulu, HI. Hawaii was an incredible place to live, after all. (I'm hearing refrains of "Summertime, and the living is easy!") If I so chose, daily life could have consisted of dropping my son off at school, trips to the gym, good books on the beach, lunches with girlfriends, afternoons of writing, picking up my son from school, and mom/son nights on the sofa.
Option 2: Go home to mom. I love my mom. I miss my mom all the time. I even enjoy hanging out with my mom. Bonus points: mom makes great food!
Option 3: Throw away option one and two; drag my son to go live in a tiny apartment in Bangkok; teach English all day; and take trips to small villages in Thailand offering my limited building and humanitarian skills to multiple projects.
I took option 3. Now, I am not going to lie and say that this was an altogether unselfish decision. A travel bug bit me when I was around 19 and it's still hanging on with its sharp little teeth. But aside from that, I just wanted to do something to serve and I wanted to teach my son that there was life beyond the confines of central air conditioning and video games.
Along the way, I think I learned more about myself and my son than I ever thought possible. Keep an eye on my cute kiddo in the videos below. I am really proud of him for his sweat and tears, his unselfishness, and most of all, for the moments that were never even caught on these videos.
The first video is of a three day trip we took to the border of Burma. We went there to help build a school for refugees from Burma. These refugees were primarily people who had lived in Burma as Christians for many generations. Many of them had been persecuted for their religious beliefs in Burma and had traveled across the border to Thailand to escape the violence. Many of the families and children have been victims of, or witnesses to, horrendous violence, the likes of which we will probably never experience as Americans. The only thing they have asked for is the right to live in peace.
The second video is of a village of Karen refugees. These people were amazing and the kids there sent my heart right to cloud-nine...especially the boy in the front of the "Sawas-dee" song!
*And yes, I am aware that I nag my son to "Come here" a lot. lol! Bad "mom habit" I have never been able to break!
Travel Tip of the Day
Two words: aluminum foil
When my son was younger, keeping him entertained on a long trips was difficult. I remember one particularly daunting trip to Thailand where I thought I was going to lose my mind with his constant whining.
I love my son dearly, but the sounds he was capable of making while crying, "I'm bored," could send me right over the edge of sanity and into the realm of needing a padded cell and a Valium.
So, somewhere along the way, I learned that wrapping my son's snacks in pieces of aluminum foil could keep him busy for hours. As D happily unwrapped gummy bears and gold fish from multiple layers of foil, I would drift into the blissful (oh, so blissful!) sleep of an over-worked mom. Upon waking two hours later, my son would grin happily up at me, proudly showing off a tin foil spaceship, dinosaur, or robot.
It's amazing how a little piece of aluminum foil can save a parent from wanting to open the cockpit door and jump to her death!
When my son was younger, keeping him entertained on a long trips was difficult. I remember one particularly daunting trip to Thailand where I thought I was going to lose my mind with his constant whining.
I love my son dearly, but the sounds he was capable of making while crying, "I'm bored," could send me right over the edge of sanity and into the realm of needing a padded cell and a Valium.
So, somewhere along the way, I learned that wrapping my son's snacks in pieces of aluminum foil could keep him busy for hours. As D happily unwrapped gummy bears and gold fish from multiple layers of foil, I would drift into the blissful (oh, so blissful!) sleep of an over-worked mom. Upon waking two hours later, my son would grin happily up at me, proudly showing off a tin foil spaceship, dinosaur, or robot.
It's amazing how a little piece of aluminum foil can save a parent from wanting to open the cockpit door and jump to her death!
Photo courtesy of freedryk at Creative Commons
All I Want for Christmas is You
"Do you want to come visit me for Christmas?"
When my husband asked that question right before Christmas 2007, my stomach turned a little bit. Why, you ask? Well, at the time, my husband was deployed to the Middle East. The stories he emailed and called home about were about his trips into Baghdad, on military aircraft careening through evasive flight maneuvers; how his first laptop had been nearly ruined by the sand; and about the 115-degree weather.
It had never, in a million years, crossed my mind to go to the Middle East for Christmas. But then, he told me about the beaches and vast expanses of sand dunes, the friendly people, the affordable shopping, and the great restaurants. So I double-checked my passport status and booked a flight to Doha, Qatar.
It was an awesome experience and I look forward to my next trip!
And yes, those are hookahs below. In my defense, mine was chocolate. Dave's was strawberry, but he'd never admit it.
When my husband asked that question right before Christmas 2007, my stomach turned a little bit. Why, you ask? Well, at the time, my husband was deployed to the Middle East. The stories he emailed and called home about were about his trips into Baghdad, on military aircraft careening through evasive flight maneuvers; how his first laptop had been nearly ruined by the sand; and about the 115-degree weather.
It had never, in a million years, crossed my mind to go to the Middle East for Christmas. But then, he told me about the beaches and vast expanses of sand dunes, the friendly people, the affordable shopping, and the great restaurants. So I double-checked my passport status and booked a flight to Doha, Qatar.
It was an awesome experience and I look forward to my next trip!
And yes, those are hookahs below. In my defense, mine was chocolate. Dave's was strawberry, but he'd never admit it.
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