August 18, 2015

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 18 DAYS

Travelin' Tuesday - so many places, so little time!

Howdy! 

How's everyone doing? 

I'm doing well, but I sure as heck must've been quite sleepy...I didn't fully wake up until 8:30am!!!

And that's with dozing off at the movies last night! 

Yup after the kids had their Summer Singers performance in the park, I thought it would be fun to go see 
Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation. 

I was looking quite forward to seeing the movie and it was definitely entertaining and action filled...
But that meant nothing for my heavy eyelids.
 
I dozed off one too many times and really didn't get to understand what on earth was going on. UGH!
Hate that, but had no power over the eyelids!

To tell you the truth, I'm so much better these days than I use to be about staying awake at the movies. 

BACK IN THE DAY - If I were to go see a movie at night it was a sure recipe that I'd be taking a nap - something even missing opening credits!

Well at least I stayed awake for the important show of the evening! 
Which was watching the kids perform in song and dance with their peace choir.

My little Italian Princess in the back row.

My Dominic representing the USA!

And then we have today TRAVELIN' TUESDAY - which is so much fun, because both Elisa and I get to share our up coming travel plans with you!

Now as you know I already travel quite a bit each year - this year will be somewhere around 20 weeks!

But yet there are just so many, very many places that I want to go visit... 

So my bucket list grows and I continue to plan.

YES I AM OBSESSED - I KNOW THIS!! 

And then ya see there are all of these wonderful places that I know I already enjoy going back to over and over again! 

So that on top on not actually traveling 12 months out of the year and keeping some sort of normality and schedule here at home, and that along with the fact that Dave only gets 3 weeks annual vacation, makes it a bit difficult when I take a looksie at the calendar. 


Not to mention that I've gotta become both more creative with planning trips that he is coming on as well as become a bit more rigid with my schedule on planning trips that he is coming on. But it is worth it to have him come along with us! 

Somehow I make it work! 


But then there are times when I become a bit overwhelmed. 


There are just sooooo many places that I want to go. My calendar on Travelin' Cousins goes out this year and the following, but my own personal calendar goes way further than that - I've got plans that go into 2019!

And before I overwhelm you, let me just share with you one of the upcoming trips (which doesn't even happen to be on my calendar!):

I've got a little semi stay-cation happening this coming weekend!

It'll be a Ballooning, Biking, and Baseball Weekend in San Diego! 

It's gonna be a fun filled weekend with plenty of activities to keep us busy...

We'll be kicking off the weekend by taking a sunrise Hot Air Balloon ride over the breathtaking views of acres of vineyards, wineries, olive & citrus groves, and the mountain ranges in the beautiful Temecula Wine Country.

Next up will be a fabulous day spent in San Diego. We'll be spending time in La Jolla, Mission Bay, and the happening Gas Lamp District in Downtown.

La Jolla

Mission Bay

Seaport Village

Dinner is planned at Civico 1845. A newly opened Italian restaurant in Little Italy, and one that I've been looking quite forward to trying out and reviewing. Actually from the time that this restaurant has opened its doors I've been in touch with the owner Dario Gallo about coming over and doing a FOODIE FRIDAY review! 

We'll be doing our "carb load" that night for the Sunday morning ride that we are all registered to do...

While this will be Dave's 3rd time dong this scenic Bike the Bay ride, it'll be my 2nd time pedaling away at it!

Then after the ride is competed and we have pedaled our way through the finish line, we will be heading over to one of the nicest ball parks around - Petco Park, home to the San Diego Padres!

Petco Park

It's sure to be a fun filled weekend and without really having to go too far away!

At only 1hr and 36min away we have one of the most beautiful cities in all of the United States.

San Diego attracts visitors from worldwide, a city on the Pacific coast of California known for its beaches, parks and warm climate. 

And here are the TOP 15 FACTS FOR SAN DIEGO:

TOP 15 FACTS FOR SAN DIEGO


1.   As if San Diego wasn’t a vacation enough, over 200 cruise ships berth in the San Diego harbor every year.


2.   The City's 1.38 million residents make it the eighth largest city in the country and the second largest in California.


3.   The city of San Diego lies in the southwest corner of California, 120 miles (193 km) south of the city of Los Angeles and 20 miles (32 km) north of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,591 feet.


4.   San Diego was earlier named San Miguel by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo; the first Portuguese explorer to land here. But it was renamed San Diego by Sebastian Vizcaino.


5.   San Diego produces more avocados than any other place in the country.


6.   San Diego has over 7,000 farms, the most in one city in the United States.


7.   The first driver across the Coronado Bridge when it first opened was Ronald Reagan in 1969.


8.   San Diego is home to the USA’s largest wooden structure; the Hotel Del Coronado is in San Diego on Coronado island.


9.   Water is a hot commodity in San Diego. The city imports an estimated 80 to 90 percent of its water, totaling 168 million gallons a day.


10.    Charles Lindbergh made history when he flew from San Diego to New York and then non-stop to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927.


11.     San Diego International Airport is the busiest one-runway airport in the country and the second busiest in the world, falling just behind London Gatwick.


12.    The Old Globe and the La Jolla Playhouse have successfully sent more shows to the bright lights of Broadway in New York City than any other city in the country.


13.    The world’s oldest, still working ship, the “Star of India” built in 1863 has her home port in San Diego. She has completed 21 circumnavigations.


14.     Old Town, just west of the presidio, was the city's first civilian settlement and still contains restored early Spanish, Mexican, and American period homes. Part of Old Town is now a state park.


15.   Point Loma was the site of LaPlaya, the beach where, during the early 19th century, traders cured cattle hides for export to New England. Toward the southern end of this peninsula are Fort Rosecrans and a military cemetery, and at the southern tip, on a bluff, is Cabrillo National Monument, with an 1855 lighthouse.

That's about all she (I) wrote for today folks!

Lots more to come, and plenty more trips/travel/and updates next week on TRAVELIN' TUESDAY!

Catch ya back here tomorrow,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: SEPTEMBER

Travelin' Tuesday - Elisa's Day of Toys & Treats in NYC

Hi there! Can you believe how quickly August is going by?  The girls start school BEFORE Labor Day this year, which is such a BUMMER!!!

This week, I decided to embark on a  few fun, local visits with my girls for a mini Staycation.  

Yesterday, we took the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan for an afternoon of "Toys & Treats."

After the trauma of both FAO Schwarz and Toys R Us in Times Square closing within the same year sunk in, I decided to make a day of it at the New York Flagship Toys R Us location before it closes its doors for good in January 2016.

Yesterday, just happened to be one of the hottest days going!  Humid, muggy and a total scorcher, we persevered - walking from Penn Station, east to Broadway and up to 44th Street in Times Square.

My kids were complaining and carrying on at the onset of our journey. So, I made them a deal that we would stop every two blocks to duck into an air conditioned store to cool down. It seemed to be a good strategy because they shut up.

Once at 44th Street, we decided to get a bite to eat prior to hitting the toy giant's four floors of excitement.

I hadn't pre-planned where to eat, and so we just headed east on 44th Street and after passing a deli and a barbecue joint, we stumbled upon a small, but quaint little Italian restaurant, Osteria al Doge.

The decor had a tuscan feel and the food was yummy!!  I'll tell you more on Friday when I will be featuring Osteria al Doge in the Foodie Friday spotlight!

At Osteria al Doge on West 44th Street

YUMMY Tiramisu

Back into the heat, we walked back towards Broadway to Toys R Us!  By the time we got back outside, it was overcast and let me tell you what a relief it was NOT having those hot sun rays hitting us while we walked.

Me and girls plotted our Toys R Us strategy quickly - head to the lower level to ride the ferris wheel, then take the elevator all the way up to the 4th Floor and make our way back down to the 1st Floor, in order to hit every toy and candy department along the way!!!

We had a blast and took a ton of pictures!!  The ferris wheel ride had us in the Nickelodeon gondola with "Jimmy Neutron" at the front.  I figured since it could be our last time in the store, I would go for broke and get the professional photo of us, which at $21 is a total rip off for 3 sizes, but what the hell.

The girls were most excited about the candy options throughout the store and managed to walk out with a number of fun treats.

Kelsey fell in love with the Calico Critters and promised to pay me back if I "lent" her money to buy one of the little sets.

A ten block walk south to Penn Station, and we were headed back to Long Island after a Big Apple day.

Well, it also happens to be Travelin' Tuesday and I was looking forward to telling you about another one of my weekend trips that i have planned for the Fall with the girls!

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MY WEEKEND ROAD TRIP TO CONNECTICUT

This trip will be in late September, when we head north to Connecticut.

I will be completing an itinerary page for this trip with a day by day activity guide and expense details for anyone interested in duplicating the Travelin' Cousins' trips.

This trip page should be up and published within a day.  
For now, let me tell you the highlights of my road trip to the the Constitution State.

Leaving Long Island on a Thursday afternoon, we will head north over the Throgs Neck Bridge and continue for 1-1/2 hours to Orange, Connecticut for our first stop at the 
PEZ CANDY FACTORY. CLICK HERE for more information.

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PEZ CANDY FACTORY

This is a real candy manufacturing facility with self guided tours!!  While they do not permit visitors to actually tour the manufacturing area, viewing windows are provided into the production floor as well as video monitors that allow guests to see the entire process of how a dispenser is created and the PEZ candy is made!

From here, we will continue driving approximately 30 minutes to our next stop in Cheshire, Connecticut- BARKER COMIC, CHARACTER AND CARTOON MUSEUM. CLICK HERE for more information.

CLICK IMAGE OR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BARKER CHARACTER, COMIC AND CARTOON MUSEUM

The Museum houses the personal collection of Gloria and Herbert Barker, an assembling of almost 80,000 items that took over forty years to create. 

The collection, which spans the years from 1873 to present day, includes childhood items such as ordinary toys, lunchboxes, games and tools of common usage.

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONNECTICUT STATE CAPITOL (credit: tripadvisor.com)

Next Stop - 40 minutes away is the CONNECTICUT STATE CAPITOL in Hartford. The Connecticut State Capitol is located north of Capitol Avenue and south of Bushnell Park in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut.  

The current building, built in 1872 is the third capitol building for the State of Connecticut since the American Revolution.  

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FLAMIG FARM (credit: designmegillah)

Another quick 25 minutes and we will arrive in our final destination for the next few days - SIMSBURY, CONNECTICUT.

From here, we will visit FLAMIG FARM and SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND over the next two days before heading back home to New York.

Flamig Farm offers the most immersive, interactive and memorable Agri-tainment experience in New England. Family-friendly multi-generational Farm Family have created an oasis of charming and authentic FUN for all comers.

Activities include: Hand-feeding of goats, pigs, hens, chicks, emus, calves, horses, ponies, rabbits, roosters, piglets, alpacas, sheep,  donkeys, ducks & geese. Educational  bee-hives, enviro-compost, manure, mulch, scenic  hayrides/adventures, pumpkins, holiday fun, pony-rides... and the list goes on. 

I think the girls are sure to enjoy this place!! For more information CLICK HERE.

What can I say about Six Flags New England?!! It's an amusement park with rides and that's more than enough fun for us three girls to enjoy!!

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND (credit: six flags.com)

Located 40 minutes northeast of Simsbury, we will more than likely spend our last full day in Connecticut at Six Flags romping through this amusement park, eating junk and hitting the rides!!

CLICK HERE for more information. 

Well folks, hope you enjoyed hearing about my fun day yesterday with the kids and my September Road Trip to Connecticut!!

See ya back here Tomorrow for more on what to do  on W2GW!!

-E
xoxo