Where am I Wednesday

Short City Report

Solvang, California

Here is a cute little city in a very unexpected place, In Santa Barbara, California.

DO:

Visit the visitors center! You are a visitor. The day we went we got free postcards, coupons for free wine tasting, and $1 ice cream cones. We also picked up a great walking map.

Go to the Missions. We went to Mission La Perisima and Mission Santa Inez. I highly recommend Mission La Perisima, it is the best bang for your buck and beautifully restored.

Ask your hotel for restaurant suggestions and coupons.

Always ask any discounts (senior, AAA, AARP).

Shop around. Many of the stores offered the same items for different prices. Also, many of the "Solvang" souvenirs were just labeled with a Solvang sticker.

Do look at the roof tops for storks, they are good luck.

Do visit Olson's Danish Village Bakery & Coffee Shop for a breakfast treat.

Pick a hotel that includes free breakfast. The Solvang Inn & Cottages included breakfast at Olson's.

DON'T:

Don't expect the stores to always be open. The shops and restaurants seemed to open and close when they wanted and there were very few stores that actually posted their hours.

If you stay in a hotel on

Mission Drive

don't get a room close to the street. Ask for your room to be as far away from

Mission Drive

as possible. There is a lot of street noise at night.

Don't miss the Heidelberg Inn Restaurant & Beergarden for great beer, meatballs, and chicken cordon bleu.

Don't forget to research the Internet before you go. www.solvangusa.com is a good place to start.

Don't forget a sweatshirt. Even in July the evenings seemed to get cold cold when you are sitting out having a beer. If you do forget one, there are plenty of places to buy one.

Hotels:

We stayed at The Solvang Inn & Cottages. There were positives and negatives about this hotel. I would recommend the hotel, but maybe not the same family unit that we had. It was a room with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

+ Good location. Right at the beginning of

Mission Drive

.

+ Included free breakfast and sample of cookies.

+ Friendly people.

+ Good value.

- Ask for a room further away from the noisy street.

- The showers fluctuated from scalding hot to freezing cold every minute and had very low water pressure.

- The beds are old and were like sleeping on a lopsided marshmallow.

- Very small toilet area.

Where am I Wednesday

5 Days in Cancún, Mexico

Depending on where you are flying from this can be a long flight, so be sure to check out the in-flight comfort kit & stretches. Also pack a few snacks because most airlines won’t feed you. The best websites for information on Cancun are: http://www.cancunmx.com/, http://www.cancun.info/, http://www.cancun.com/, and http://www.go2cancun.com/.

Day 1:

We arrived at 3:30 pm and had a 20 minute drive to the hotel zone (Zona Hotelera). I recommend staying at the Hyatt Caribe Hotel. The rates were very reasonable and the hotel had all of the amenities needed. I’ve also stayed at the Le Blanc and do not recommend this all-inclusive hotel, although the spa was great the food and drinks were not. The room we had at the Hyatt Caribe was big with two queen size beds and a great view overlooking the pool and ocean.

For dinner I recommend Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville for a great time. The drinks and entertainment were fantastic. The employees get the visitors involved with the show by dressing people up as cheeseburgers and parading around the room. They also make balloon hats of all sizes for everyone. The food was nothing to write home about the entertainment was a blast. They also take pictures at your table that you can buy and they have a gift shop.

Day 2:

Get up early and head to the Dolphin Discovery in Riviera Maya. Pick up some brochures in the hotel lobby to read during the drive, you might find something interesting to do. It’s about a 45 minute drive, but the facility is great. You can swim with dolphins, manatees and sea lions! You can even buy pictures and videos of your adventure. The videos are well made and they let you preview at the end of your swim. There are also shops and restaurants for you to spend money at. I would plan to spend at least four hours there.

Head back to the hotel zone for an afternoon of shopping at Kukulcan Plaza, it’s the most exclusive and luxurious shopping center in all of Cancun. For dinner there are plenty of selections in the plaza. Try Bubba Gump’s for dinner and Pat O’Brien’s for after dinner drinks and entertainment.

Day 3:

Start the day early again for a tour to Chichen Itza. It is a 2 ½ hour ride, so I suggest an 8 am departure to get there before the tour buses that show up around noon. Pack a granola bar or snack for the ride. Plan to stay there for 3 hours. Visit the town, buy a few gifts and have lunch in the town of Chichen-Itza. On the way back to Cancun make a stop at Valladolid. It’s a cool little town with a colonial flavor and locals still wearing the typical dress of the Mayas.

If you make it back in time opt for a sunset parasailing tour. There is nothing like sailing high in the sky over Cancun at sunset. Spend the evening at the hotel pool or playing on the beach. The Hyatt Caribe has a swim up bar and food outside.

Day 4:

A day trip on a Catamaran to Isla Mujeres is a fun trip. The Catamarans leave just at the end of the hotel zone so you can take the bus to the end, they run all of the time and cost less than .70 cents each. The tours are typically all day and can include activities like drinks, snorkeling at the coral reefs, petting sharks, relaxing on the beach, a buffet lunch, free time to walk, shop, or rent a golf cart to explore the island, and spinnaker sailing. They also take photos that you can purchase. Typically you arrive back to the marina around 5:00pm.

Stop by the Plaza Forum by the Sea for some last minute shopping. There are several restaurants, nightclubs and shops on 3 floors. For dinner try the Hard Rock Café. They have a live band Friday & Saturday nights.

Day 5:

Sleep in, what the heck, you are on vacation and it is your last day. Depending on your flight home try something new today like jet skis or parasailing. Or don’t do anything today. Lay on the beach or pool with an umbrella drink or have a spa treatment. Just don’t forget to leave time to pack; you still have a 20-30 minute drive back to the airport.

Where am I Wednesday

Short City Report

Atlanta, Georgia

If you fly Delta Airlines, you have probably been to Atlanta. But, have you ever been out of the airport? Last year I had the chance to extend a layover and spend some time in this city.

DO:

Visit the visitor’s center! You are a visitor. This is a great place to get coupons and discounts along with ideas on what to do and where to go.

Go to the World of Coca-Cola Museum. It was fantastic fun for adults and kids. Plus all of the free soda samples you can handle and a free bottle to take home. Just make sure you drink it before you carry it on the plane (it's more than 3 ounces).

Spend time at the Georgia Aquarium. The displays were extraordinary!

Take a walk through the Centennial Olympic Park just across the street from the aquarium and museum. They were filming a movie the day we were there.

Ask your hotel for restaurant suggestions and coupons.

Always ask any discounts (senior, AAA, AARP).

Stay in a hotel by the airport for cheaper prices and just take a cab. Once you are in the city center you can see most of the sights on foot.

DON'T:

Don't walk around at night by yourself. We took a cab into the city center from the hotel and kept his card. When we were almost done with dinner we gave him a call to pick us up.

Don't forget to research the Internet before you go. A good place to start is www.atlanta.net.

Don't forget a rain jacket. In May it was warm but in the evening there was a sudden down pour that lasted for hours.

We stayed at

Residence Inn Atlanta Airport North/Virginia Avenue

. We got a 2 bedroom suite with 2 bathrooms, a living room and kitchen. It’s really the same price as getting two rooms but this way you have the nice common area also.

+ Complimentary shuttle service to Hartsfield Jackson Airport

+ Free hot breakfast buffet, free Internet access & evening socials (Mon-Wed)

+ Complimentary on-site parking

+ Good value

+ Friendly staff that helped out with getting cabs

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you have a spare room start thinking about your packing early.

First, check the weather for your destination. Then check for any dress codes. Do you need formal wear for a cruise? Something to cover your shoulders in a church?

Plan your days. Do you know what you are doing each day? What you will need to wear?  Start laying your clothes out so you can see everything. When you have everything you think you need put back 25% of it (my key to not over packing). You should be able to fit all of your clothes in a carry on suitcase without it being expanded. You'll want to expand it to fit all of your souvenirs in.

If you are going somewhere cold like Alaska plan on layers. You can always where a pair of jeans or sweatshirt more than once. Bring plenty of t-shirts to wear underneath.

If you are going somewhere warm like the Caribbean plan on taking more than one set clothes per day. You may also want an afternoon shower. The good thing about warm weather clothes is that they don't take up much room.