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Urban Adventure Questing in San Antonio
Every city has its big attractions and in the rush to see everything you might miss out on some of the hidden gems. We recently discovered a great number of interesting details as we explored San Antonio via Urban Adventure Quest. An Urban Adventure Quest is a bit like a small-scale version of “The Amazing Race” – without the dangerous bits and the questionable foods. It is a smart-phone based scavenger hunt through one of more than 30 popular cities. It is timed, but that’s ok – the only price to win is bragging rights and a wonderful day out exploring (and brainstorming) with family, so you can complete it at any…
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Visiting San Antonio: The Alamo and More!
We spent our Spring Break exploring San Antonio. In my last post, I talked about the many attractions in the area around the Alamo. Our second day in San Antonio was all about the Alamo and other historical sites! My kids are really interested in history and I think presenting it interactively is always more fun than just reading it in a book (and I am a bookworm, so that is saying a lot!) One of the fourth grade teachers at the kidlings’ elementary school recommended that we watch the IMAX film “Alamo – The Price of Freedom” before we walked the actual site, particularly since the city now surrounds what…
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Visiting San Antonio: The Rainy Day Tourist Edition
When we woke up on our first morning of our spring break visit to San Antonio, it was to a steady rain – not the best for sightseeing, to be honest. Looking over the checklist of things everyone wanted to see and do, we quickly decided that it would be a good day for silliness and exploration, indoors. After a workout in the hotel gym by the menfolk, and a lazy breakfast we headed out to the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and the Texas Ranger museum. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, and if you told me “tons of taxidermy” I might have rolled my eyes, but it turned out to…
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Planning our Next Vacation Adventure
Happy snow day to all my Dallas* friends and sending warm wishes to the rest of the country as this cold blast heads east! (*Now that’s something I never thought I’df say, but I think our reputation from bringing awful weather everywhere persists.) My “What I’m Reading Wednesday” post did NOT make it up yesterday, mostly because I was too busy alternately trip planning and compulsively checking social media/the news/my weather app to determine if the kids would have school today. (They didn’t. Brrr.) However, the day wasn’t completely lost (as ill organized as it was). I did discover some great websites for vacation planning! I’m headed to San Antonio,…
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I’m Sailing….Sailing Away
Today is the day. The day that has got me through this dreadful winter. Through 70+ inches of snow and who knows how days of many sub-zero weather. (Ok, Tom Skilling from WGN probably knows, but whatever.) Through the down coat, the pale, dry winter skin and hair electrified by static. I’m in Florida. Port Canaveral to be exact. And I’m boarding the Disney Fantasy. For seven days, I won’t be cooking, washing dishes, scrubbing toilets or folding clothes. I won’t be making beds. I will be kicking back, reading my book, splashing in the pool, trying not to eat too much fattening stuff, and generally turning off my brain.…
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The Summer To Do List
Wednesday was officially the first day of summer (peers out the window), at least according to my calendar. While I’ve sorted out most of our summer holiday plans, which officially starts July 18, I hadn’t actually compiled the to-do list I’ve been working on with the kidlings. This summer may be the start of our last year here in the UK – the beauty of the open-ended assignment – so I don’t want to take a single minute for granted…. Play at Cusop playing field Play at the “wooden” playing field Have a picnic Go for a hike Fly a kite Go for a boat ride on Brecon canal Have…
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Wordless Wednesday – Tenerife
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The joy of living abroad
Walking through the marina in Swansea this weekend, the Hubs commented that on our next trip there, we’d need to get on the water – take one of the boat excursions offered in the area. Boo looked at him and said “MY first boat ride was in Paris”. Yeah. How cool is that?
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OBX 2010
In my post-college years, I went on cruises with my friends every year. I’ve been to some beautiful beaches and islands, but when push comes to shove, one of my favorite places in the world are the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. My husband took me there a few years before we got married; he grew up going there with his family every summer, and when I went with him the first time, his big brother had recently begun taking his own kids there – continuing a family tradition, if you will. This year marked our seventh year doing to the OBX as a family – Boo’s first visit…
