Momma To Go Travel

A Weekend in Baltimore, Maryland

This fall, I’ve had such awesome adventures. Short getaways to Las Vegas (with the hubby), Atlantic City (for the half marathon) and Minneapolis (with #thegirlfriends). A few weeks ago I found myself on the road again, and strangely without kids, as I headed down to Baltimore for another friends trip (different group of girlfriends)!

The purpose of this trip, besides meeting up with friends from Washington, DC was to see Amy Schumer’s live show. However… about 30 hours before show time, we received an email that the show was… postponed ! I think the official statement said Amy was “under the weather”, but we had our post-election speculations. Honestly, my thought was she had to rewrite her whole show which was probably based on an HRC win. Who knows, but we still had a great (slightly less than) 48 hours in Baltimore, and will return when Amy actually takes the stage!

48 Hours in..., Travel

48 Hours in Minneapolis

I love traveling with my kids, it is so fun to experience new places and old stomping grounds through their eyes. I love those rare trips with just my husband, but the other type of travel I love – girlfriend trips. I will admit, sometimes I feel guilty that I hold this group in such high regard- but I’ve been with them, and traveling with them, longer than with the other travel companions.

I went to college in Washington, DC. Which, for better or worse, attracts students from all over the country, and world. It was a great experience as an 18-year old sheltered Long Island girl, to roll up on campus and make friends with people who were very different from myself. But the downside of attending college far from home, and in such a transient city like DC, is that after college most graduates eventually move away.

My true group of friends stemmed from my time playing collegiate rugby. These are the group of girls I started playing with some 20+ years ago. As we moved on through our college years, new students joined the team, and hence our group of friends. Immediately after graduating, we started taking trips to get together, usually in one girl’s hometown. On New Year’s 2002, we started an annual trip, with the first host city being Las Vegas. Subsequent NYE trips included Tampa, New York City, Hawaii, San Diego and Chicago.

During our twenties, there was at least one wedding a year, prompting large get-togethers with our expanding clan. We came to add in significant others, spouses and eventually kids, so we now have quite a contingent. In fact we have 15 kids between us!

Our alma mater women’s rugby team hosts alumnae events each year. As a group we traveled back to campus for the 10 year anniversary of the team’s founding, and in 2016, its 20^th. Basically we find any excuse, or none to get together! And the fun usually involves some mix of activity, sightseeing, eating, drinking and dancing.

With weddings behind us, we have now entered the next phase of get-togethers- 40^th birthdays. We celebrated our first one last September, in the birthday girl’s hometown of Minneapolis.

48 Hours in Minneapolis

Stuff I Love

Stuff I Love: October 2016

I feel like I keep saying this but the fall is flying by! I feel like I was just on the beach, and now we are done with Halloween! Between half-marathon training, trips to Minnesota and Las Vegas, and working a few odd jobs, I have not had time to be bored! I still have so much great content I want to share, and the actual writing is my favorite part of blogging. Despite not working full-time, I still have to deliberately carve out time to write. It’s a week into November already, and I am just (finally) sitting down to write my Stuff I love: October post! This post is the second in this series, where I share a few random things that I am loving lately.

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Hawaii, Travel

Driving The Road to Hana with Kids

Our family vacations tend toward the more laid back. We are a sit-on-the-beach and relax kind of family rather than a sightseeing clan. Our trip to Hawaii was no exception. Pre-trip we did outline some cool things to see and do, but our intention was to Live Like A Local for three weeks in the paradise that is Hawaii. The only big activity that we planned made us both excited and nervous. We had plans to Drive the Road To Hana with kids.

Driving the Road to Hana is definitely worth it, although it takes some thought and planning. I am so excited to share my Road to Hana tips with you!

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Driving The Road To Hana with Kids

Fitness

AmeriHealth NJ Atlantic City Half Marathon

I am so excited to write my first fitness related post! I have so many ideas for fitness articles, and inspired by the Half-Crazy Mama (who has an awesome blog reviewing all of her races), I first want to share my review of the AmeriHealth NJ Atlantic City Half Marathon.

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Photo credit: akunamatata via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND

AmeriHealth Atlantic City Half Marathon

48 Hours in..., Travel

Awesome Things to do in Las Vegas For Couples

I love to travel with my children. They really are the best vacation companions. And even more so now that they are a little older. They are great adventurers and are always up for new things. I’m pretty sure that’s my doing. But every now and then, on average two times a year to be specific, my husband and I try to get away, for just a few nights, together, without the kiddies.

Trips like these are so special and something we make a priority with our time and budget. It’s not easy to get away. It takes a lot of planning to leave the kids with great aunts and grandparents. The kids get off their normal routine, they eat too much sugar and probably watch too much TV in our absence. But to us, so worth it to reconnect, enjoy some grown-up conversation, and partake in adult-friendly activities.

We try to do a local night away in the winter –NYC, Atlantic City, Borgata or the North Fork of Long Island have been favorite overnight destinations. In the warmer months we try to do a longer (3-4 night) trip — and always to Las Vegas.

We love Vegas and honestly, what could be a more appropriate destination for a kid-free weekend? Vegas would be great with the kids, but there is also so many fun things to do in Las Vegas for couples. Keep reading for my best choices!

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Travel

Fun Fall Activities for Families

Contrary to popular opinion, fall is definitely NOT my favorite season. I love the heat, the beach, the pool, shorts, flip-flops, and tanning – all things summer related! I can deal with spring, especially late spring, when it’s almost summer. I legit hate the winter. I hate the cold, dealing with coats, the snow, ice, and when it gets dark early – I really am one of those people that runs on Vitamin D and the winter just bums me out.

So I think it a bit crazy how people go gaga over fall (which doesn’t officially start until September 21 despite what Starbucks says). And if I have my way, shorts and flip flop weather will linger into October as well.

But even I will admit there are a few things about fall I look forward to doing each year with my family. Activities that are tucked between sweaty beach weather, and the bundled up/indoor fun of the winter. Some of the specific places I am about to mention are in my area (Long Island, New York), but the ideas can translate to any town! So here is my list of four fun fall activities for families, that even I, a summer girl, can love.

Travel

Tips for booking a Beach House Vacation

I am so excited to write my first travel related post here on Momma To Go. I anticipate that is what I will mainly focus on (with fitness and parenting being a close second), but over the last week I have been trying to get out seasonal content (Halloween costumes #1 and #2) and had both kids sick, so I am only just writing this now! I have so many important travel stories and great tips and tricks I want to share with you all. But I need to start with an article that will help you not only get the most out of your trip, but save you a ton of money as well. If you were ever interested in booking a home for a vacation accommodation, keep reading, I will help you navigate vacation rentals websites!

Tips for booking a Beach House Vacation (and other Vacation Home Rentals)

Holidays

Railroad Crossing Halloween Costume

Is every pre-school aged kid obsessed with trains? Okay my son is seven and he still loves a Long Island Rail Road train ride. This is also still his favorite book; he reads it at least once a week! But back in his pre-school days trains were literally the only thing he played with, talked about and had any interest in. His favorite outdoor activity was walking to the pedestrian bridge on 67^th street in Queens, where the LIRR trains race underneath. He could stand there for hours watching the trains go by. So it was no surprise that for Halloween that year, he asked to be a “ding-ding crossing.” Which is a railroad crossing to you and me. A railroad crossing Halloween costume?

Seriously where does he think up this stuff?

RAILROAD CROSSING HALLOWEEN COSTUME

Stuff I Love

Stuff I Love: September 2016

Welcome to the first edition of “Stuff I Love” a monthly series where I share with you all the things I am loving this month! This series is inspired by Dusty from All Things G & D and her All Things Loved posts. I love reading other bloggers’ lists of favorites, so here is Momma To Go’s September Stuff I Love.