Carolina whirlwind (pt 2)

Day 3: I haven’t been on a JetSki in probably 20 years so when I saw the option to jet ski in Hilton Head I knew I had to book it! It was Mike’s first time on a JetSki and it was my first time ever driving one. We went through Lowcountry Watersports and had so much fun! (this is the same company we were supposed to do the creek cat tour through)

On the JetSki

We had a blast racing around on the JetSkis

We originally booked one JetSki for the two of us since it was cheaper...But the other people on our tour didn’t show up and the staff was nice enough to let us each have our own -no extra charge!

I kept trying to see how fast I could get it to go and I think I eventually made it to 72 KM per hour… Mike was only at 30 something so I teased him about it. We then realized that his was set to miles and mine was set to kilometers. He about fell off his ride trying to outdo me. Whoops!

The rest of day was spent driving five hours to Asheville. We got to Asheville around 5 PM and due to logistics (and also needing to eat dinner) we didn’t get any sightseeing in. We did play some games though. (Thanks, Mike!)

Day 4: We had tickets for Biltmore at 11 AM and we were told to be there an hour early.That gave us plenty of time to get to where we need to go and also walk around some of the shops beforehand. None of us had been to Biltmore so this was new to all of us. 

Biltmore

Biltmore is a national historic landmark and is known as America's largest home. It is one of North Carolina's most popular tourist destinations, but before it was a tourist site it was the home of the Vanderbilt family. It contains 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms. and 65 fireplaces and was meant to be a place of rest and relaxation for friends and family. 

Inside of Biltmore

Biltmore Gardens

Biltmore Gardens

After our guided audio tour of Biltmore we ate lunch at the stables and then walked around the gardens for a bit. It was a very nice, beautiful space! 

After leaving Biltmore you go through Biltmore village where they had a small animal farm, garden railway, and shops.  I spent all my time at the little farm while my dad went and found the garden railway. ;)

Another thing on my list in Asheville was the Blue Ridge Parkway scenic drive. We had some time after Biltmore so we decided to hop on the parkway for some views. I imagined it would be similar to the Going-to-the-sun drive in Montana where there were places to stop and take pictures, hike, etc.  (I was right!)

The drive is 252 miles along the length of western North Carolina and is supposedly one of the most scenic drives in the states! We, of course, weren't going to drive the whole thing, but we drove a little bit... it was a little rainy and getting foggy so it wasn't really an ideal situation. I bet the views are spectacular on a clear day -especially at sunset and especially in the fall with the leaves changing colors!

One entrance to the parkway

Pretty views

I know there are more things to do in North and South Carolina, but Asheville and Hilton Head were the cities I chose as they were the most interesting to me. Neither state was ever really on my radar as a "MUST DO," but as I'm trying to visit all 50 states, everything now is a MUST DO!

26 states down. 24 to go!

Carolina Whirlwind (pt 1)

In November 2013 I wrote a blog post. The post contained a challenge of visiting all 7 continents by age 30. I successfully completed that in 2020 and have needed a new challenge... The new challenge is visiting all 50 states by age 40.  :)

A few months ago. as I was sitting here in Ohio, I tried to think of some states that I could (more easily) knock out without having to spend a lot of time getting there. The Carolinas came to mind. I think I was one of the only people in Ohio that had never been to the Carolinas. (embarrassing, I know) It seems like friends, family, neighbors are always talking about the Carolinas and many of them make annual trips down there. (I learned later that it is indeed a very Ohio thing to do) 

All that to say...Mike took a couple days off of work and we made the Carolina whirlwind trip come true! My parents came with us as well which was super awesome and then Mike's parents were able to meet up with all of us in Hilton Head! So fun to have all 6 of us together! 

Day 1: 10 HOUR DRIVE TO HILTON HEAD (zzzzzzzzzzz)

Day 2:  We had a whole day to spend in Hilton Head and I had it all planned out...  We were going to start with a Creek Cat boat tour. (Basically a small, motorized, two person boat that can access some "smaller marshes and wildlife-rich areas.")  And of course it rained... actually, it down poured. It was pretty bad so of course they canceled the tour. 







As we waited for the weather to chill out we went to Sea Pines and had lunch at QuarterDeck. (SO GOOD!) After lunch the sun started coming out and we walked around the harbour and toured the Harbour Town Lighthouse. This is an iconic landmark of Hilton Head and is just over 5 decades old! 

Harbour Town Pier

Harbour Town Lighthouse

View from the top of the lighthouse :)

One of the trails

We ended up with decent weather the rest of the day (YAY!) so the dads and kids rented e-bikes and rode around Hilton Head while the moms talked and shopped. :)  

There are so many trails all around Hilton Head and it was nice how bike friendly the island is!  If I was there for an extended period of time I could definitely see myself riding around a lot and exploring different areas. 

Once we got back and met up with the moms it was time for dinner. Any guesses as to where we ate?!

QuarterDeck again! It was so yummy... and that's coming from a picky eater! 

You might remember from earlier that our creek cat boat tour was canceled.... while we were at the location waiting for the rain to die down, my father in law found a sailboat excursion he wanted to do. I really didn't know anything about it, but he loves all things nautical so we decided to all do the sunset sailboat tour. 

Let me preface this by saying that I love fast action thrill rides. I like jumping waves, wild rides, etc... sailboats are pretty much the opposite. 😛  Going into the evening I was a little iffy... once we got to the boat I was even MORE iffy as there are no seats! I guess people who are used to sailing already know this, but to learn that you have to sit on a 3 inch square pad for 2 hours with no back support... eeek. My back was really hurting during this excursion, but thankfully we were allowed to stand up after a certain amount of time. 

Our sailboat was the Stars and Stripes and we did the sunset cruise through Vagabond cruises. The crew that evening was fantastic - super personable, chatty... it was just like you were hanging out with friends. I think that was kind of the whole point - you're out sailing with what seems like old friends, relaxing on the quiet waters, and enjoying the sunset.  I enjoyed the crew immensely (Captain Peter, Melissa, Luke, and Shelby) and I enjoyed seeing the sunset. We got some great pictures!

For not really caring about sailing in the first place, I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would! I'm really glad we went for the sunset cruise as I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much baking in the hot sun with no back support. :)

All in all, if you like sailing I would definitely recommend it. Otherwise, just know what to expect before going in. 

That's (for the most part) our whirlwind tour of Hilton Head.  I know people will tell me "you can't do Hilton Head in a day." Well guess what? I just did. (lol) I saw and did most of what I wanted to see and do. 

I was at a shop in HHI and was talking to a woman from Ukraine. (Lots of stories about that and the turmoil going on there) .... I noticed a car sticker that said OHIO on it with the Harbour Town lighthouse and asked about it. It seemed a bit out of place, but then she told me most of their visitors come from Ohio. Ever since the 80's and 90's (apparently there was a lot of advertising being done during those decades) the same families come back year after year. 

My family and I aren't real beachy people. I like doing water activities like jet ski, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, etc. I like riding e-bikes and walking around towns... but there are so many other places worth visiting too. 

I get it - HHI is a familiar, comforting vacation spot that's not too far of a drive, but I don't really see the need to go back. If I was sent there on a business trip for a week I'm sure I could find ways to pass the time and enjoy it for sure. 

Basically... If you want to pay my way and send me down there again, I wouldn't protest. I also don't plan on ever going down there again. (I have a 10 year waiting list anyway of upcoming travel destinations.)

Next Carolina Whirlwind blog post coming soon... featuring Asheville, NC.

Bahama -ramama (pt 2)

Our second day was spent in Nassau where we did a dolphin excursion on Balmoral Island. Nassau itself wasn't really of interest to me. We walked through the famous straw market which is full of (sometimes) pushy vendors... the city itself didn't have that much to offer, but we walked around for a bit.

We then traveled to Balmoral Island where you could get up close with the stingrays or dolphins and, of course, we chose dolphins.  I have wanted to touch a dolphin for as long as I can remember, but have always been wary because I've heard some places are inhumane and don't treat their dolphins well. 

I asked over and over about it and it sounded like the dolphins were rescued from a bad situation in Honduras. Since the dolphins were already brought up in captivity they weren't able to be released back into the wild. The trainers said multiple times that of all the places they've worked at, this one has been the best by far. (as far as treatment of animals goes)

I never want to see any animals mistreated, abused, neglected, forced to do things they don't want to do... 
but these dolphins seemed happy and all I can do is trust the people I talked to that they made the best of a bad situation.  

We met two dolphins- Dixon and Pigeon.  Dixon almost peed on me (thankfully his aim was off) and we witnessed Pigeon do a #2.  They know lots of tricks like nodding their heads, splashing, dancing, doing flips, clapping fins, and swimming fast! Both dolphins are 15 years old. The trainer said dolphins can live 35 years out in the wild and 60 years if cared for by humans. 

 

They are sweet, sweet creatures and they felt amazing. So smooth and beautiful! I loved my time with them... Again, just hoping and trusting that their humans are telling the truth and that they're being well cared for. 

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Our third day was spent on Grand Bahama Island. We did an ATV adventure through Grand Bahama Nature tours and it was so fun! I fell in love with ATV riding when Mike and I went at Ace Adventure Park.  This one was far less muddy and far less scary. :)

After our ATV ride we went to the Garden of the Groves  which was absolutely beautiful! We definitely could have spent more time walking around there, but we were hungry and thirsty so we needed a little break. ;)

Overall, I enjoyed the Bahamas. I'm not much of a "lay at the beach" person, but I enjoy doing activities surrounding the beach so this trip worked well!  I love being in the water, I love animals, I love adventure activities... so all the activities we did matched up with my travel taste. :)

Thanks for being my travel buddy, C*le ! 

Bahama-ramama (pt 1)

Earlier this year Mike and I were supposed to go to Europe, but due to his heart surgery we had to cancel that trip. I have been DESPERATE to get out of the country and thankfully one of my best friends agreed to travel with me! We decided on.... the Bahamas! I had never been to the Caribbean before so I was quite excited. 

We did a Norwegian Cruise which is only my second cruise ever. (My family and I did a Celebrity Cruise in Alaska back when I was in high school.)
I've been on two other "cruises," but don't really count them. I have been a Yangtze River cruise in China and an icebreaker ship we took to Antarctica.  Those are not your typical cruises/cruise lines! 

Overall, Norwegian was fine. I'm not sure what to compare it to since my parents planned, booked, and paid for the celebrity cruise way back when... The Norwegian Sky was nice though. We liked our room, we liked the ship, the food, etc. I felt like they weren't totally upfront about all the costs, but I have a feeling other cruise lines might do that too. (False advertising is everywhere, isn't it?) I would book a Norwegian Cruise again, but I would perhaps be more cautious in booking and try to find better deals. 

Here are a couple of pictures- one is of our room and one is us getting ready to depart from Miami.

Our first stop was Great Stirrup Cay where we had a swimming with the pigs excursion. I have seen plenty of posts from other travel bloggers about these famous swimming pigs and I was so excited to finally meet them and take a swim with them. We got some great pictures and I enjoyed my time there. 

As I'm writing this blog post I was researching more about these cuties when I came across this blog. Definitely worth a read. This is a different island, but I imagine it could be a similar situation which would be very sad. 

Great Stirrup Cay was a nice private island with plenty of water activities- swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, jet skiing, and my new personal favorite- stand up paddle boarding. Yes, I tried SUP for the first time and I actually really enjoyed it! The water there was so clear - I could see straight down beneath me and saw some underwater sculptures, real live turtles, fish, and even a stingray ! 

More later...

P.S.

Did you know that the Bahamas just gained their independence in 1973?! They're only 49 years old! 
There are also around 700 islands, but only 30 are inhabited.  

Breaking Bad in ABQ!

One of my friends posted a few months ago about her summer being wide open for travel. Since Mike and I weren't able to go to Europe this year like we had originally planned, I jumped at the chance to plan a trip to Albuquerque with her!  I've been wanting to go to ABQ for a number of reasons... one of the main reasons was because Breaking Bad was filmed there.  (And checking off another state is always a bonus!) The more I looked up things to do in New Mexico the more excited I became. Soon there were 3 of us headed out west to the land of enchantment. 

Thursday: We arrived a little after lunch and started things out with Electric Playhouse. This was something I found as I was googling things to do. A friend also recommended this to me.  It's essentially a projection-based digital gameplay arena. It's interactive so there's a lot of running around. It was fun, BUT... none of the games had instructions. I think it would be nice for them to have a little plaque that said how to play the games. Also, I guess some of the walls were just digital art and not actually a game... I kind of felt like it wasn't worth the money paid, but oh well. Still a unique experience.

After running around at the playhouse we went to Historic Old Town. It is SO stinkin' cute!  I love the buildings, the architecture, and overall vibe of the town. We also stopped and ate at Old Town Pizza Parlor. IT WAS SO YUMMY! The pizza was fantastic and we loved the dessert as well. (Warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream!) 

Friday: We started our day at Petroglyph National monument. This wasn't originally on our itinerary, but thankfully we found out about it and added it in! Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America. It features designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native American and Spanish settlers 400-700 years ago.

We then went up to Santa Fe for the afternoon and walked around the plaza, stopped and ate chocolates at Kakawa chocolate (YUM!), and visited Meow Wolf. 

I really have no idea what to say about Meow Wolf... I still don't even know what it is. 😂 Online it's described as a "company that creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations."  It was like a cross between the City Museum in St. Louis, an escape room, and an art exhibit. I don't really know.

After all that fun and excitement we drove part of Route 66 and stopped at a diner for dinner. 

Route 66 itself was a little underwhelming... we kept envisioning scenes from Cars and it wasn't quite like we thought. ;) Still, very iconic! And the diner was so cute!

Saturday: The day we had all been waiting for... Breaking Bad RV tour ! We loved seeing filming locations from the show and checking out the Breaking Bad Store where there were props from the show and lots of photo ops! 

If you're a fan of Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul, I definitely recommend a tour, checking out the shop, and visiting the Candy Lady. Not only did she produce the crystal blue for the show, she also makes yummy chocolates! :)

After we broke bad we went to Elena Gallegos Open Space.  Really lovely place to walk around and take photos!  It was getting late and there was a storm coming in so we didn't get the best photos, but still worth it! 

 Sunday: Our final day in New Mexico! We took the Sandia Tram and enjoyed some beautiful views before heading back home.