Next Up: Turks & Caicos

I am so done with winter this year.  Completely, utterly done.  I’m so over winter that I made a rash decision to book three plane tickets to Turks and Caicos for early February.  That’s right, only three plane tickets.  Since Russ started a new job recently, he hasn’t accrued any vacation time and while I love him dearly, I can’t wait until July for our first vacation of the year.  What made me go from waffling about this decision to hitting the purchase tickets button on the Delta website this morning was the upcoming forecast.  There are two nights next week with projected lows in the single digits.  You would think that growing up near Syracuse, NY would have made me hardy and impervious to the cold.  However, you would be wrong.  I feel like I’ve already dealt with a full lifetime worth of snow and cold and I wouldn’t be sad if I lived somewhere without winter.

So, I’m taking the boys and we’re heading to one of the most kid friendly beaches in the world – Grace Bay Beach (ranked the #3 beach in the world on this list from CNN) ).  It’s calm, shallow, and so clear that I should be able to convince Finnegan that it’s not possible for any sharks to sneak up on him.

We haven’t booked our accommodation yet, but I might splurge for the easy option of staying at Beaches – an all-inclusive resort that caters to kids.  Once we step foot on the resort, I know we won’t leave, which is my only hesitation in booking.  I hate going to a new place and not really exploring it.  But I made the mistake of showing Finnegan and Declan the website for Beaches, and they are completely sold.

The hotel has a waterpark with a Pirate Ship and Lazy River.

There are options to dine, sail, have tea, learn about science, go on a bird watching tour, and participate in a parade with Sesame Street characters, and the kids can even bake cookies with Cookie Monster.

There are six pools and two kiddie pools, including one with a kid’s only swim up bar!

And they have Finnegan and Declan’s two favorite types of restaurants – sushi and hibachi.

I’m a little nervous about watching both of them in the ocean, but the beach looks too beautiful to pass up.

The boys are too excited to back out now and I think a hotel that’s designed to entertain kids might mean more time to relax (or at least breathe) for me.

What do you think?  Does it sound like a good plan to forego a more authentic island experience in exchange for a hotel that offers endless options to keep the kids entertained?

Next Up: Sanibel Island, Florida

We are heading to Sanibel Island at the beginning of September for a long weekend and we’re so excited to relax on the beach for a few days, collect seashells, and rent bikes to explore Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

I found this list of Sanibel and Captiva suggestions from scarymommy.com (which is the best website name ever) and the Cayo Costa beach cruise sounds perfect for our family so we might have to try and squeeze that in as well.

Is it just me or would everyone like to buy a new wardrobe when they go on vacation?  If we were not spending all of our money on the actual vacation, here is what I would want to pack in my suitcase for our trip to Sanibel.

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Next Up: Washington, D.C.

We just booked a hotel room in D.C. for next weekend.  We’re hoping to see some cherry blossoms since we will be there just a few days before peak bloom is predicted.

Our hotel is close to the National Zoo so visiting these guys will also be high on the agenda:

Image Credit: Connor Mallon, Smithsonian’s National zoo

And my little dinosaur loving boys would love to see these guys as well:

If we can make it past the lobby of the Museum of Natural History.

We’re also debating whether to bring this girl with us since our hotel is pet-friendly;

We just need to figure out how much time she will actually get to walk around with us compared how much time she will be stuck in the hotel by herself.

Russ is a very good sport for agreeing to take part in this last minute plan of mine since he will most likely be delivering an open argument the day after we get back.  I’m sure Finnegan and Declan will thank him with their huge smiles as we tour the National Zoo and Natural History Museum.  We will let you know how it all works out in about a week and half!

Next Up: Bluefields Bay, Jamaica

For someone who typically does an obsessive amount of research for each vacation, the decision to go to Jamaica was impulsive.  After stumbling upon the Bluefields Bay Villas website while on the Family Getaway portion of Luxury Link, I was sold. 

The villas are gorgeous, each one has a private pool, and you can snorkel from the beach.  Plus, each villa comes with its OWN staff, including nannies! 

“Each house has a “headman” (Jamaican concierge) who serves meals, clarifies preferences on food and drink, and helps your experience unfold like the tropical foliage. Housekeepers not only keep rooms sparkling, but also send guests home with suitcases of clean clothes at no extra charge. And, if people bring children, devoted and caring nannies are provided. Each staff is rounded-out with a waterfront attendant, gardener, night porter for after-hours service, and driver when needed to make your stay as comfortable as possible at our Jamaican luxury resort.”

To be sure this wasn’t a too good to be true marketing ploy, we did check out the reviews on TripAdvisor (I’m an engineer by background so I can never really commit to a decision without doing some research).  The reviews were glowing – all of them.  Here’s a short sample:

Reader – if you don’t have the time to read my review, then the short version is – You haven’t experienced a real holiday until you have been to Bluefields!

Okay, so it was time for a reality check.  This place is expensive.  But they were offering a substantial discount on the Family Getaway site, plus their own website said to contact them for specials.  So I did.  Even with a discount, this place is pretty expensive.  It’s all-inclusive, they have a ton of staff, and I’m sure it is an expensive property to maintain, but I work in sourcing and negotiating a good deal is a passion.  Debbie, one of the owners, couldn’t be nicer and eventually found a date and price point that worked for us.  One of the ways that we were able to save money was by finding an opening in which the villa wasn’t available for a full week.  So, we only have a six night rental even though the minimum stay is typically seven nights.    

We are staying in the Milestone Cottage (shown above).  If I wasn’t such a beggar, I think the Cottonwood Cottage would have been my first choice, but all of the villas look wonderful.  If you’re traveling with a larger group, they even have houses.  Impressive, right?

 We leave on Sunday and can’t wait to escape the cold weather in the Northeast.  Fingers crossed that Nemo doesn’t mess up our travel plans.