family travel Archives - Page 8 of 25 - Have Sippy Will Travel

Family Friendly Myrtle Beach

April 8, 2015 by Samantha 8 Comments

Check out the full post on Vacatia!

Myrtle beach is a great family vacation destination, but it has more then just miles of beautiful beaches. For those who want to visit, but aren’t sure what to do beyond the beach and boardwalk (which are beautiful, and of course need to have ample time spent on them) let’s talk about the diverse and vivacious

There is an old side to this historic city that mixes smoothly with the beach side fun to create a one-of-a-kind destination you and your family will want to return to again and again.

The Myrtle Beach State Park Piers are said to be the best fishing spots in Myrtle Beach. Popular with locals too, you don’t need to get a license ahead of time and fishing supplies are available on site for your convenience. Bring your own poles, or there are some available for purchase or rental as well. I think it’s vital for every kid to have at least one photo of themselves with “the catch of the day”, don’t you? Something they caught themselves- with help from mom and dad, maybe.

The views from the piers are some of the best from the city, so even if you’re not fishing you’ll be glad you stopped by. Myrtle Beach State Park Pier is a quiet and green ( both literally and from an environmental standpoint) beach spot, that is actually an oceanfront maritime forest. This spot is complete with campgrounds, nature trail, fishing, and more, you and your family will love this place. If you are campers, you will want to make reservations- there is both traditional camping as well as cabins available on the property as well. On site is a wonderful and well maintained educational center that is both hands on and fun for not only the children, but the adults in the group as well. One of the best centers of it’s kind I have seen in a park this size (and many bigger and better funded as well), this is a point of pride and passion of the local staff and ranger, and a real must-do when in the area.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: family travel, Myrtle Beach, SC, travel

Desaki – Dining out in the Poconos

March 30, 2015 by Samantha 13 Comments

Read the full post on This Girl Travels!

While on a recent trip to the beautiful Poconos in the Pennsylvania mountains, we stopped at a restuaunt somewhat unique to the area. While most of the restaurants we saw in the area were more “American” or had a deli or diner feel, Desaki was not only great cuisine, but also a fun family dining experience.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, and definitely stands out from others. When you enter, you are able to check your coats and see what fun you can have while waiting for your table. (Yes, you can call ahead for seating.) Since we were there on a “family fun night”, there was a balloon artist as well as a face painter on site for the kids. My son was thrilled with his “Darth Vader” balloon, complete with light saber.

Many of the kids also got their faces painted. My son chose not to, because he was going to eat and was convinced he would somehow get paint in his food and in his mouth. He’s just not big into face painting, what can I say. The other kids loved it, and there was quite a queue waiting for a turn.

There are also XBoxes and TVs for the kids while they wait- or if they finish first and get antsy. I am pro everyone eating together, but I know some people don’t feel the same way, and let the kids bring their tablets to the tables and whatnot anyway. It’s a good option instead of tablets or phones at the table. I would let my son use it while we waited, for sure.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: dining, family travel, food, PA, travel

Family Fun in Chattanooga

March 26, 2015 by Samantha 9 Comments

With Spring Break looming, and spring weather finally reaching the frozen tundra that is the Northern United States, many people are looking forward to a change of pace and scenery. While it has been warmer recently, it’s not quite “spring” north of most of the Mason-Dixon. This year, why not head to the “Scenic City” of Chattanooga? This fun and funky metropolis located in Southeastern Tennessee is known as such for it’s bevvy of outdoor activities and natural beauty.

It’s easy to get to, and to get around in. Long considered “The Gateway to the South”, this little city is also a short distance to Georgia (you may find yourself driving into and out of GA repeatedly as you travel Chattanooga), Alabama, and North Carolina boarders. Slightly further away are Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia. All of these are a few hours drive or less.

Each year, Chattanooga has it’s Spring Break Safari for families to enjoy fun and adventurous learning experiences. Head to any participating venue to receive a “passport” booklet full of the year’s Spring Break Safari activities. Kids can participate in scavenger hunt questions and receive a prize at each location for completing their quest. There are also free interactive apps at some of the locations, such as the Tennessee Aquarium. Visit http://www.chattanoogafun.com/spring for a full list of participating locations.

If you’d like to see an amazing view while experiencing some beautiful surroundings, head to Rock City Gardens. This 13 acre outdoor garden first opened in 1932, when Frieda and Garnet Carter developed the property into one large “rock garden”. The motto of Rock City is “Created by God and enhanced by man”. The site is “natural” in that it is set in nature and is quite scenic, with amazing geological formations, waterfalls, and lovely gardens, but has been cultivated to be what it is today. You and your family can walk the paths around the ancient rock formations, view the botanical delights of the gardens with more then 400 species of plants, visit the gnomes and fairies that inhabit Rock city, read the legend of the tragic Native American “Lover’s Leap”, gaze at a waterfall you won’t even know is there until you turn the right corner, and stare into the aforementioned 7 states at once from panoramic mountaintop scenery.

You will see signs on barns, birdhouses, and more as you get closer to the gardens- the souvenir “See Rock City” birdhouses are some of the most popular sellers in the destination’s shop.

If you haven’t had your fill of rocky scenery, head to Ruby Falls. While you may have been on cave tours before, this one is fairly unique in that it holds an underground waterfall. Your tour begins with an elevator ride into the caverns of Lookout Mountian that Leo Lambert discovered in 1928. As you are guided through the cave, you are given not only the story of the cave and of those who discovered it, but shown various formations as you head toward the waterfall. Sadly, and strangely, pieces of the cave were broken off as “souvenirs” for some time, and you are able to see that as well. One interesting formation is hollow, and when you thump on it (yes, you are told where it is, and are allowed to do so) it sounds like a drum. This is extremely unusual, and very unique. Of course, you also see the “cave chips” and “bacon” and get “cave kisses” as you walk along.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: family travel, Tennessee, travel

Our Norwegian Cruise Send Off

February 23, 2015 by Samantha 3 Comments

Read the whole story on This Girl Travels!

We recently took an amazing cruise with Norwegian Cruise lines, sailing on the Breakaway out of NYC. The entire trip was fantastic, one of the best cruises we have ever taken, but the last day was something to remember (and left us excitedly thinking of our next Norwegian cruise),

We begun our last day on the Norwegian Breakaway by sleeping in pretty late (even the 7 year old).. It was warmer then I expected when we got up- we were at the very bottom of Virginia, headed back to New York, and the weather was still OK for shorts and t-shirts, which was a nice surprise.

We opened the balcony to get some warm, fresh air while we got ready for the day.

After a quiet breakfast while looking at the ocean, a view we are sure to miss this time tomorrow, we dropped the boy of at kids club for about an hour while the husband and I enjoyed a few last moments in the “adults only” hot tub. The deck was subdued, as most people were spending the day inside. However, it was still warm, and it was quite the opposite back home- we were going to get every drop of warmth that we could squeeze out! Afterward, we picked up my son and headed out to lunch before going to watch the International Crew Talent Show, which let the crew show off their stuff. Everything from singing to traditional dances were performed, it was fun, and pretty neat to see what a talented group is on board here.

We went to the final character meet and greet- today was SpongeBob and Patrick in their “traditonal” gear. Just about every other day there were different Nickelodeon characters available for photo ops, and to do shows or dance parties with the kids. You are able to take your own photos as well as the staff photographer. I love that we can take our own photos, and have the option to buy theirs as well. Some cruise lines won’t let you, which is one of those “things” that makes me want to cruise with Norwegian again. They don’t nickel and dime you to death.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: cruise, family travel, travel

Why plan a family holiday to the Caribbean?

February 20, 2015 by Samantha 6 Comments

What better than jetting off to paradise for an escape from school, work and routine with a laid-back holiday in the Caribbean? For the kids, there are miles of sand to run around on, warm, clear waters to snorkel in and plenty of sunshine. For parents, there’s poolside lounging, fiery jerk chicken, forest hikes and rum. Here are some other reasons your family will fall in love with the Caribbean.

There’s something for everyone

A trip to the Caribbean islands for families, means a revolving menu of fun options, depending on where you choose to visit. In the Bahamas, there are miles of uncrowded white sand shoreline, the perfect place for a little relaxation. In picturesque St Lucia, lush botanic gardens and rainforest sky trails beckon the adventurous. In Trinidad and Tobago, there are over 250 bird species to spot: the perfect activity for budding ornithologists!

A plenitude of resorts

When you have kids of a certain age, they’ll probably want to have a certain degree of autonomy, make new friends, and do some kids-only activities. Enter the Caribbean resort. From tiny little Turks and Caicos to Barbados, there are plenty to choose from. As standard, most come with lifeguard-attended pools, a program of activities for children, and babysitting services when you need the night off.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: family travel, travel

Winter Fun at Camelback

February 13, 2015 by Samantha 5 Comments

This past weekend, we headed to Pennsylvania for some snowy, winter-weather fun in the Pocono Mountains. My husband and son absolutely love winter, the snow, and all that goes along with it, so they were very excited for this adventure.

Camelback has a lot to offer guests in the winter. You can go skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing- even ride a mountain coaster. Camelback offers both skiing and snowboarding lessons, for children and adults (separate classes), as well as private lessons. We did avail ourselves to lessons- no need to spend the whole day tumbling down everything, now is there?

You can bring your own skiing or snowboarding equipment, or you can rent some there. They have ski or snowboard boots, skis, poles, snowboards, and helmets in sizes from small children through adult. Not having our own equipment, we used rentals. They size you up, you give them your height and weight (yes, you have to tell the truth), and they find a set that will work for you. Even my little snow-bunny had the perfect sized skis.

None of us are skiers, so this was going to be a learning experience for the lot of us. The very first thing that we did after getting into our borrowed ski-gear was head to our respective lessons. My son was with the children, so I dropped him off and signed him in. He was given a nametag, and I was given a magnetic card on a lanyard so that they would know I was his mother, and would be authorized to pick him up. Without that lanyard, no one can pick up the children for security.

He did a great job, falling a few times, but getting the hang of it in general. He totally freaked out the first time he fell- he wasn’t hurt, but it scared him, and the feeling of not being able to get up easily in his strange boots and skis (they really are hard to maneuver in for us newbies) was not comforting. However, the staff was fantastic with him and very patient, and he was soon back at it and heading back down the training hill.
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Filed Under: travel Tagged With: family travel, PA, skiing, travel, winter, winter travel

The Key To Happy Road Trips #AlamoDriveHappy

February 2, 2015 by Samantha 178 Comments

Disclosure- This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and honest.

Most people know that we love to travel, and do so as often as we can over here at Have Sippy headquarters. We have certainly had a lot of fun on those trips, as well as made a lot of memories- and we look forward to more of both in the future. Lately, we have been thinking about our travels and how we use them as a jumping off point for our travel resolutions for this year.

My son and I take a lot of trips, both road trips and otherwise together. Sometimes daddy comes, sometimes another family member(s), sometimes we go by ourselves- but we always have a lot of fun. One of his favorite road trips was to the Bob Evan’s homestead and Fall Festival- he still talks about it, and although he really liked Bob Evan’s restaurants before, he is hooked now.

My grandmother went with us on that trip, and the three of us had a great time. It was a very long drive- about 12 hours- and we of course stopped half way to get a hotel room for the night. Neither my son nor grandmother had the constitution for a drive longer then that in one day! It’s important to keep everyone’s ages, stages, and abilities in mind when planning a trip- road or any other kind. Don’t overdo it, and DO stop for breaks (bathroom, food, and in general when your passengers need a break. Everyone isn’t you, so to do something like “ban” pit stops will do no one any favors).
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Filed Under: giveaway, review Tagged With: family travel, travel

Day 7- Last Day On Board the Breakaway

January 30, 2015 by Samantha 1 Comment

We began our last day on the Norwegian Breakaway by sleeping in pretty late. It was warmer then I expected when we got up- we were at the very bottom of Virginia, and the weather was still OK for shorts and t-shirts, which was a nice surprise.

We opened the balcony to get some warm, fresh air while we got ready for the day.

We headed up to breakfast, first grabbing some cereal and a bowl for my son on the way up. He was thrilled to see that they got more of his favorite cereal in- they had previously run out. We had a nice, quiet breakfast while looking at the ocean, a view we are sure to miss this time tomorrow.

We dropped the boy of at kids club, although it was only open for 45 minutes by that time. One thing I would like is if they would have more/better hours at the kids club- it seems they are closed as much as they are open.

My husband and I headed over to the pool area, and climbed into a hot tub. It was a little cool, but we had been wanting to use one since we got here, and it just hadn’t happened- this was for sure our last chance. We were not in the hot tub 5 minutes when a coast guard helicopter started circling- they were rendezvousing with our ship to transfer a sick person to a local hospital. While there is medical staff on board, the person was more seriously ill and needed a hospital. It was pretty cool watching the rescue operation, and pretty much everyone on the sip came out to see it. (No one was glad that someone was ill, but seeing the procedure was neat. Yes, we are bad people, every one of us.)

It was time to go grab the bugger from kids club, and then we went back to the room to change into dry clothes.

We headed out to lunch, and then wanted to try bringing the kiddo back to kids club (since they had been closed for two hours and were supposed to be open again), but they wouldn’t let him in, since they were only taking kids who wanted to be in the talent show. Even when they are open, they are closed. He was really bummed, he wanted to play with the kids before we left. He didn’t want to preform, he just wanted to play, poor bubbie.

Instead, he came with us to watch the International Crew Talent Show, which let the crew show off their stuff. Everything from singing to traditional dances were performed, it was fun, and pretty neat to see what a talented group is on board here.
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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cruise, family travel, travel