Travel & Adventure Show in Chicago

My family and I went to the show today and we had such a great time! There were so many different vendors represented, so I was pleasantly surprised to see such a great variety. Everything from local (MidWest area) hotels and resorts, to Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, Alaska, hotels, resorts, tour companies... wow, so many wonderful things to do and places to see.

I also got to meet alot of wonderful representatives, which, for me, is always the most enjoyable part of going to these shows. It can get really exhausting walking around, carrying heavy bags of brochures, weaving your way through crowds, etc... but meeting the reps and learning about some new places, is always very fun and worthwhile to me. We were able to ride on a camel, my daughter got her face painted and a balloon twisted into an animal (she chose a snake, which to me seemed like an awfully easy choice for a balloon animal....anyway...), we petted strange and exotic creatures at the 'wild encounters' table, we watched some cultural shows, and really had a great time!

One great side benefit (if you like to walk, of course) is it is amazing how much exercise you can get! I told my daughter, of course on the way out, that we should have worn a pedometer to see how much we walked. Just from the parking garage to the show hall alone felt like AT LEAST 5 miles. I'm sure it was probably only about 1 mile, but still, it's quite a trek! My goodness, just walking through that loooooooooong, heavily heated people tube TO the convention center, is a workout in and of itself. So between walking to/ from the parking, and all around the show, you get in a decent amount of exercise. Oh! and just a word of advice, try to park on the nearside of where the walkway is (Level 2 preferably), and leave your coats in the car. You will be hot immediately once you step foot in that walkway, and then you'll just be lugging your coat around. There is a coat check for a fee, so that is an option, but I'm glad we just left our coats in the car.

The show will still be going on Sunday, Jan 30th so if you have nothing to do today, you should go and check it out! Hours Sunday are 11-4 at Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

Bears or Packers... who's your pick?

So I'm not the biggest of Football fans, but who doesn't love a good playoff game, right? This Sunday Chicago will host long time rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in a fight to the finish play off game to see who will go to the Super Bowl against either the Pittsburgh Steelers or.... um, the Jets right? =) Even though I'm not an 'official' born and raised Chicagoan, I have lived here the longest of anywhere in my life (my 16th year in this great city!) so I consider myself an adopted Chicagoan and hence able to root wholeheartedly for the Bears. You can definitely feel the tension and the rivalry spirit in the local community, though! Even though the game will be played at home in Soldier Field, many are predicting that the Packers will shine and win this Epic game. I certainly hope not because I'd love to see the Bears in the SuperBowl! My family and I will most likely be watching from home and the comfort of our warm comfy couch, but I know there are some big parties and events planned for this BIG game! Everyone be safe out there this weekend, and GO BEARS!

Happy 2011!

Although we are now into week 3 of 2011, I wanted to wish everyone a happy and prosperous year! Better late than never, right?! I have lots of ideas and changes coming soon to my business and also my blog, so stay tuned. I won't bore everyone with my list of goals and aspirations for the year, but I am happy that this is the first year that I've actually put this down on paper. In years past I've made mental lists, but I've found that that may not always be the best way to go about goal setting. Although I did in fact achieve some goals that I mentally set for myself for 2010, I want to quantify this a bit more, so at least I've started the year off right with my written list. I am also working on my travel 'bucket list'.... again, something I've done mentally in the past, but writing it down will be so much easier to keep track of goals that I've reached or not reached. I think I will try just a general bucket list, and then at the end of each year, I can see how much I completed and crossed off the list! Sounds good, yes? =) Are there any travel destinations on your bucket list this year that you'd like to share?

Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for more updates and changes.

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Another Beach Thursday!

On our recent cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, we had a port stop in St Thomas, USVI.  Wow, St Thomas is so beautiful!  We were lucky that we missed the tropical storm that had come just days before, so the weather we had was absolutely beautiful - sunny and hot just like I like it!  We did a tour around the island and stopped at beautiful Coki Beach, voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  And we were not disappointed!  (Well, until it was time to leave!)  The water was crystal clear, the sand in the water was so soft your toes just squished right in, and the water so warm.  Even though there were a few other tour vehicles there, it didn't feel overcrowded or too commercial.  There was a small snack shop for some light refreshments or a cold drink (We had a Carib beer!), rentals for beach chairs and snorkeling equipment, and a couple small souvenir stands.  There is also a very large community of iguanas that were literally everywhere!  I have never such big lizards up so close, just right out in the trees or walking on the road!  And they can move pretty quick too!  We really loved Coki Beach... I wish we could have stayed longer, both at the beach as well as in St Thomas, but hopefully someday we will be back!

Beach Thursday!

Aug 26th and I'm so, so bummed that it is approaching the end of summer! :(  It has started to turn a bit cooler this week in Chicago and my flowers aren't flowering as much anymore.  But since my daughter is still on summer break, I thought we'd go down to beautiful Lake Michigan to enjoy the day.  Although I used to spend every weekend at the beach or on the Lake through my work at the Yacht Club, I haven't been down there in ages so I thought Beach Thursday would be a great day to go and bring my cute, awesome, fun little girl!  I'll have to actually post a pic while we're at the beach, because I can't find any that I took previously and don't want to use someone else's image from the web (copyright infringement!)  But feel free to post your own favorite beach pics or let me know a great beach that you have enjoyed going to!

Have a wonderful day! =)

Beach Thursday!

Thanks to finally learning Twitter (well, a teensy bit more than I did a few months ago!) I have been reading more travel blogs and making more connections online.  Wow, social networking is pretty cool! It's amazing how things have changed in such a short period of time. Now my daughter even wants a FB account! She's 9. I'm in trouble already. But I digress... I have some other comments on the whole social networking scene, but more on that in a future post I think.

But I was reading a travel blog (Isabelle's Travel Guide - @isabellestravel), and came across the idea of 'Beach Thursday'. So I credit this fabulous idea to her and you can read more here Isabelle's Travel Guide - Thanks Isabelle! So since I am also a beach lover, I thought I would start my own 'Beach Thursday' entry on my own blog. So here goes...

This picture hardly does it justice, but this is the beach at Norwegian Cruise Line's private island, Great Stirrup Cay, in the Bahamas.  We stopped here during our 4 day cruise on the Norwegian Sky (you can see the ship in the background of this pic).  As this was the first cruise EVER for my husband and I, we had such a fantastic time!  The private island was on our last full cruise day, and after a ship tour in the morning, we spent the afternoon at this little piece of private paradise.  We had a fantastic BBQ lunch, listened to fun island-y music, lounged on the lounge chairs, and snorkeled in the crystal blue water.  Wow, so fun!

While snorkeling, we saw eel, puffer fish, starfish, clown fish, coral, and lots of other stuff that I have no idea what it was!  After snorkeling, we had some time to relax on the beach and soak up some sun.  The sand was so soft to walk on, and the setting was just beautiful.  Too bad I'm too protective of my camera and getting sand or salt water in/ on it, I didn't take too many pics, but the memories of course will last a lifetime!  Would love to stop here again and spend more time... perhaps another cruise?!

NCL is actually expanding the features and amenities at Great Stirrup Cay and you can read more here:
NCL plans makeover to private island  I will be on the NCL Epic this October, but unfortunately she doesn't make the stop at Great Stirrup Cay :( but I look forward to exploring more beautiful beaches at stops on the Epic Eastern Caribbean cruise.... St Thomas, St Maarten..... Ahhhhhhhh  =)