Hereford Lighthouse Lifeguard Boat in Wildwood

Our photo of the week for this week is one I took of a boat that sits on the grounds of the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse in North Wildwood, New Jersey. (click on photo to enlarge it). If you have never taken a tour of the Hereford Lighthouse...you really should as it is beautiful and the grounds surrounding it are equally beautiful. You can find photos of the lighthouse here on my blog by looking under my New Jersey category.

If you want to enter the lighthouse and take a tour of it...you'll have to pay an affordable admission fee. If you just want to walk around their beautiful gardens to admire the beautiful flowers and butterfly gardens, that is totally free. In addition, you'll find some FREE parking spaces in their parking lot, but at busier times, you may need to park at a parking meter and walk to the lighthouse.

Right behind the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse (up on the North Wildwood Seawall) you'll find some benches that you an sit on and look at the gorgeous water in the Hereford Inlet, the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and the nearby North Wildwood beaches. If you ask me for my opinion, I'll tell you that this specific area is the prettiest on the entire Wildwoods island.

If you're interested in visiting them, check out their website for their schedule of operations. Throughout the year they hold various events which we try to attend at least two of them every year. If you're heading to Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon and/or Cape May in New Jersey, this is a must-see lighthouse while you're there! It's one of our favorites to visit!

BECOMING A TRAVEL AGENT

Guest post written by my buddy Bernardo Graham

I used our Beaverton 4g internet connection to book our entire ski trip this year! My husband was really impressed because I saved us a ton of money by not using a travel agent and ended up getting some really great deals. I bought all of our lift tickets for the week off of Google Offers of Groupon. The best deal that I got was half of a day ticket and the worst price that I got was twenty five percent off, not too shabby! I found us a really great house to rent. I found it on a website called VRBO. Basically, the owners of the homes list the properties and you can communicate with them. They are often interested in negotiating prices. I was able to book our flights on the best days to get the best deals. We ended up saving so much money and having such a great time, that my husband jokes around and says that I should start a new career of being a travel agent. I could work from my laptop and charge a five percent fee!

Aspen Bed and Breakfast Inns

Aspen Bed and Breakfast Options - By Fred Tittle

If you are going to Aspen for a romantic getaway or just want to be treated like one of the family, then you seriously need to consider staying at one of the many charming Aspen bed and breakfast inns. There are several to choose from ranging from historic Victorians to modern architectural gems.

Here is a brief rundown on some you might consider.

* Independence Square B & B - Located in the heart of downtown Aspen, this 1889 lodge is filled with authentic old west charm and ambiance. It is within walking distance of downtown shops and restaurants and within a block from Aspen Mountain and the Silver Queen Gondola. The Independence features a rooftop deck and hot tub. Rooms are air conditioned for warmer days and you will enjoy a continental breakfast each morning before setting out from this centrally located bed and breakfast. Phone: +1-970-920-2313

* The Snow Queen Bed and Breakfast Lodge - Near downtown Aspen, this historic Victorian bed and breakfast offers genuine old west hospitality and charm. Within an easy walk to the Silver Queen Gondola and free shuttle service, The Snow Queen is an ideal romantic retreat for an ideal romantic vacation. Phone: +1-970-925-8455

* Hotel Lenado - With 19 guest rooms and award winning architecture, the Hotel Lenado stands apart from more conventional bed and breakfast inns. Each rooms features a four-poster hickory or carved apple wood bed, some with wood burning stoves, wet bars, and whirlpool baths. You are pampered with down comforters and a complimentary breakfast served daily including Belgain Waffles, Eggs Benedict or Cinnamon French Toast. You can lounge on the roof top deck and enjoy the hot tub while taking in the view of Aspen Mountain. Hotel Lenado is conveniently close to the best of Aspen shopping, walking and restaurant. Phone: +1-970-925-6246

* Hotel Durant - Located just three blocks from downtown Aspen, this bed and breakfast features 19 Bavarian style guest rooms. After a day on the slopes or exploring Aspen and the surrounding area, enjoy complimentary wine and cheese or a soothing dip in the Jacuzzi. If you prefer curl up with a book or visit with other guests in front of the fireplace in the lobby. Phone: +1-970-925-8500

* The Annabelle Inn - The Annabelle Inn features 35 individually decorated rooms. On site are two hot tubs. All rooms are provided internet access and you can start each day with a complimentary breakfast. Many guests will appreciate the laundry facilities and ski storage area provided by this bed and breakfast. Some rooms come with balconies and/or fireplaces. You'll find the Roaring Fork river (and Rio Grande walk/bike path), The Aspen Music School's Benedict music tent, Aspen Institute, Givens Institute, free skier and Maroon Lake busses, and Aspen's famous shopping and dining all within a short walk from the Annabelle Inn. Phone: +1-970-925-3822

If you are one of the lucky people who will get to visit Aspen this year, make your trip even more memorable with a stay at a romantic and charming Aspen bed and breakfast.

In the mood for a romantic Florida bed and breakfast? Check out Casa De Solana in St Augustine FL.

The Fabulous Goodyear Blimp

A few months ago we spotted the magnificant Goodyear Blimp flying above our house here in south central Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful day outside (not a cloud in the sky) so I was able to snap a few photo's of the blimp as it was flying above our home.

Hubby and I stood outside for about 20 minutes watching it fly around and were pleasantly surprised at how low it was flying. We could see a lot of the details on the blimp and had a great time watching it from below.I am not sure why it was in our area here but it was a great site to see. Hubby told me he would love to someday hitch a ride on the Goodyear Blimp. However, I think I will just keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. Enjoy the photos!

Dragon's Lair Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf in Wildwood

In October of 2011 we spent a few days and nights down in Wildwood, New Jersey and decided to try out the Dragon's Lair Miniature Golf Course which is a Glow-In-The-Dark mini golf course that is a lot of fun to play! You'll find this place directly on the Wildwood Boardwalk.

We felt it was reasonably priced and we didn't have to wait in any long lines since we played at 10:30 pm at night. Our only complaint was that we wished there had been more holes to play and that they would of been a little more challenging for us. In addition, the admission clerk was inpatient & a little rude with us when we had asked him a few questions about the course. Sigh.

The Dragon's Lair Miniature Golf is located right on the boardwalk in Wildwood and is open during the in-season months. Since it is really dark inside we don't recommend that you take really small children in there as we did see a child about 5 years old who was scared and had to be taken out. When I say scared, he was wailing. About 10 minutes later, we saw an even younger child in there who wasn't thrilled to be there either. If you have small toddlers who are afraid of the dark, this probably isn't the mini golf course for you.There were 4 people in our party and it took us about 35 minutes to play but like I said, there were no long lines and no one immediately in-front of us. We've played here before and at times, they get really crowded and it can take you longer to get through the course.

We are looking forward to playing it again in the summertime when we head back down to Wildwood to see if there were any improvements or changes from the last time. We do recommend that you check it out if you love playing mini golf, especially if you're looking for a place to play right on the boardwalk.

Easter Holiday Travel Destinations

We are already midway through the month of February so the next major holiday coming up for us will be the Easter Holiday. Hubby and I also celebrate our wedding anniversary a week later than Easter so we are thinking about taking a trip to the United Kingdom this year to celebrate.

We have been doing some research online and we are thinking about staying in one of those self-catered holiday rental types of places. Have any of you ever done that? I think with the money we save on renting one of those types of places we could bring the entire family along with us! Right now we are justing looking for some Easter holiday ideas and we would love to hear what all of you think?

We found this really cool web site called HomeAway which is the home of holiday rentals for those traveling to the UK. On their web site you can find beach villas, country cottages, city apartments, mountain rentals and they even have a special offers section for those who are looking for fabulous travel deals. The Go! Travel Blog has some in-depth blog posts on various places you can visit too!

For us...we are considering a beach villa rental since I am a beach lover. I also read that there are numerous museums, shopping, restaurants, attractions, etc. all nearby and most are within walking distance to the villa we have been checking out.

We haven't booked our travel just yet as we are still looking around their web site but wouldn't it be super fun to get the family together and take an overseas trip to the United Kingdom for the Easter holiday? We think so!

Hot Air Balloon at the Philadelphia Zoo

I decided to start a new feature here on the Pennsylvania and Beyond Travel Blog and calling this new feature as the "Photo of the Week". I will be posting a new photo on a weekly basis (or try to) of various places we have visited or things we have seen while out traveling.

This week's photo is one I took while down at the Philadelphia Zoo and it is of a hot air balloon that was flying above the zoo. Isn't it pretty? I love those tiger stripes on it! We were able to see it while driving on the Philly expressway. Some people were pulling over and trying to take photos and I don't recommend that at all because the expressway is usually bumper to bumper with accidents pretty often. Please don't do that!!!

The Philly Zoo is open year round and if you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend that you do. It is one of the best zoos here in Pennsylvania and you can see all kinds of animals from all over the world. It makes for a great family friendly activity to do when visiting the city of "brotherly love" here in Pennsylvania.

Well...there you have it....our travel photo for this week. Enjoy!

Kauai in Hawaii - A Beautiful Travel Destination

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Great Vacation Retreats. All opinions are 100% mine.

Back when I was in my early 20's I had the pleasure to visit the island of Kauai in Hawaii and now that I am married I would like to visit again since my husband has never had the pleasure of visiting any of the beautiful islands of Hawaii.

Now that we are talking about taking a 2 week trip to Hawaii we have been looking into the beautiful Puu Poa Condos which sit up on a cliff overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. If you are going to travel, you my as well do it in style and stay in an affordable luxurious condo!

One of the things that attracts me to the island of Kauai is the beautiful scenery but that is not all that attracts me to it. This island has very friendly locals and tons of land, water and air activities for you and your family to enjoy. One of these days I would love to take a helicopter tour around Kauai as I think that would be totally enjoyable and I know my husband would love that too!

Since my husband loves to play golf you can find numerous golf courses on Kauai that are challenging and the scenery surrounding these golf courses is just amazing! After a few rounds of golf you can wine and dine in the country club and do a little relaxing.

There are Great Vacation Retreats on the beautiful island of Kauai so I hope the next time you are planning a trip to Hawaii that you will consider visiting Kauai as I think you will absolutely love it there.

Early February Snow in Harrisburg Pennsylvania

Well, I guess groundhog Phil's predictions last week for Groundhog Day 2012 were correct! Last week he predicted 6 more weeks of winter here in Pennsylvania and yesterday (February 8th, 2012) we got about 2" of snow here in the Harrisburg area.

I am not much of a winter fan and not crazy about snow but at least it was only 2" this time around. What was really cool about this particular light snow fall was the fact that for about an hour we had "very large" snowflakes dropping from the sky. I am not sure if I have ever seen larger snowflakes in my life...these bad boys were pretty big! This was a light & fluffy type of snow.

As usual, there were some accident around the state because folks always drive too fast in bad winter weather. I just don't understand that because I would rather arrive late and alive to my destination then dead in a snow bank somewhere because of driving too fast. People, you need to slow down and take your time...even in 2" of snow!!!

I will admit that I like to look at snow after it has just fallen and for the first few hours it is on the ground it is very pretty. However, after a few hours humans, animals and cars can make snow look pretty ugly once it has been trampled through, driven through and pee'd on by pets! LOL

Enjoy my two photos from my backyard!

Montego Bay Resort in Wildwood New Jersey

Back in October we went down to Wildwood, New Jersey and stayed at the Montego Bay Resort. We stayed in the beautiful Jacuzzi Presidential Suite which has 3 large bedrooms (one with a jacuzzi), 2 full bathrooms, large living room, kitchen, dining room and a private balcony. This room/suite is pure luxury and perfect for large families!

Montego Bay Resort is one of the largest resorts in Wildwood, New Jersey and it has it's own restaurant, tiki bar, indoor pool, outdoor pool, sundeck, game room, laundry rooms and even a nice indoor waterpark! That's right folks...an indoor waterpark!The waterpark has 2 large water slides that twist and turn and finally...you drop into the large warm indoor pool. The tiki bar sits in the area of the waterpark so you can play for while and then get out and enjoy a drink or two. When we were there...there were 2 life guards on duty so I assume that there will always be two of them on duty during the in-season. There is a nice "kids" play area near the low ends of the pool and children just love to hang out there...at least our little grand daughter did!

During our stay at Montego Bay Resort we indulged in a couples massage. You have to make an appointment at the front desk for your massage and they usually can accommodate your specified date and time. This does cost extra but we believe it was still very affordable and definitely very enjoyable!

If you are looking for luxurious accommodations in Wildwood New Jersey...we think you should check out Montego Bay Resort! We enjoyed our 3 day and 2-night stay there. Looking for a deal? Give them a call and ask for special deals on multiple day packages. Instead of reserving through their web site, we called and got an even cheaper rate than what was advertised.

Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and we wouldn't hesitate in staying there again. Just be forewarned, you do need to call ahead for reservations, especially during the summer tourist season when they fill up fast.

Sprint is Having a BIG 4-Day Sale

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My husband and I do a lot of traveling so when we are out on the road heading to our newest destination it is important to us that we have a reliable and trustworthy cellular carrier along with a high-quality and durable cell phone. You just never know when you will have an emergency and we like to keep in touch with our family, friends and business associates while we are traveling.

Today I am going to tell you about a HUGE 4-day sale that Sprint has going on! It starts on February 5th and runs through February 8th, 2012 and is for their ONLINE customers only. This means that the following deals are only available online through the Sprint.com web site.

You can get the Nexus S™ 4G cell phone for FREE! Yes, you heard that right, for FREE when you sign up for a new account or add it onto an existing one. ($50.00 MIR converts to instant + $99.99 web only savings).

(or)

You can get the fantastic HTC EVO™ 3D cell phone for only $49.99 when you sign up for a new account or add it onto an existing account. ($50.00 MIR converts to instant + $50.00 web only savings). This is one cool phone!

In addition, you can get your activation fees WAIVED for new lines of service and FREE shipping when you shop on Sprint.com. Wow, those are some fabulous deals! Remember, this is a 4-day ONLY sale so you need to head on over to Sprint.com today and grab the deals before they are gone!

Spend four nights at the Cayman Islands’ only luxury boutique cottage hotel

CAYMAN ISLANDS’ COTTON TREE PARTNERS WITH CAYMAN LUXURY CHARTERS GIVING GUESTS A FUN-FILLED BOATING EXPERIENCE WHILE STAYING AT THE UPSCALE BOUTIQUE PROPERTY.

Spend four nights at the Cayman Islands’ only luxury boutique cottage hotel and enjoy a day of boating on the Caribbean Sea.

Grand Cayman – What better way to spend your vacation than exploring the ocean on a luxury yacht? Guests of the Cayman Islands’ Cotton Tree, an upscale, seaside cottage hotel, can now enjoy a unique charter experience on board a luxurious 42-foot Sea Ray Sport Motor Yacht with Cayman Luxury Charters. The charter includes:

• Captain and crew.
• Space for up to 14 passengers.
• Professional photographer (additional cost for photo package).
• Ideal pick-up and drop-off location at Calypso Grill (with transportation to Calypso Grill provided by Cotton Tree).
• Fresh fruit and light snacks.
• Water and soft drinks.
• Ice.
• Bait and tackle for reef fishing.
• Snorkeling gear including fins, mask and snorkel.
• Snorkel vests.
• All safety equipment for your personal safety.
• Waverunner
• Wakeboarding, skiing and tubing

Rates at Cotton Tree inclusive of Government tax start at $2,392 for a couple and at $3,640 for a two-bedroom cottage. Rates for the Cayman Luxury Charter tours are $375 per hour with a minimum of three hours and $25 fee for each picnic lunch should you wish to order them.Cotton Tree’s upscale accommodations, which are both romantic for couples and spacious enough for families and girlfriend getaways, include pastel-colored, plantation-style two-bedroom beach cottages, each featuring 1,600 square feet of comfortable, beautifully-decorated living spaces. Cottage amenities include:

• Spa bathrooms.
• Fully equipped kitchens.
• Plasma TVs.
• Complimentary Wi-Fi, local calls, and housekeeping services every day excluding Sunday.
• A pre-stocked selection of regular and decaffeinated coffee, bottled water, tea, milk, sugar, orange juice and assorted cereals).
• Concierge services are also available to guests seeking to customize a personalized vacation, as are sommelier services and a personal chef who is also available to make gourmet meals in the privacy of a cottage. All meals can be accompanied by wines selected by Cotton Tree’s sommelier.

About Cotton Tree: The Cayman Islands’ new luxury hideaway, Cotton Tree offers four pastel-hued, plantation-style beachfront cottages in a lush garden setting of tropical flowers and avocado, guava, mango and cotton trees for which the hotel was named. Owner Heather Lockington, a global traveler who was born in the Cayman Islands, built her dream property in West Bay, the northernmost point on Grand Cayman. Four 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom cottages resemble fully equipped houses featuring “Caribbean chic” décor, classic contemporary furnishings, French doors overlooking the sea, plasma TVs, state-of-the-art Kitchen Aid appliances, and more. Additional amenities include a freshwater swimming pool, fitness center and yoga and spa pavilions nestled among seagrape trees, perfect for a sunset massage. A personal chef can whip up gourmet meals accompanied by wines chosen by a sommelier, or Cotton Tree is a quick drive to Grand Cayman’s best restaurants. Hotel services such as a reception/concierge, bellhop, housekeeping and turndown on request are also featured. Cotton Tree is recommended by Conde Nast Johansens and was recently accepted into Small Luxury Hotels of the World, an exclusive group of more than 500 of the finest small independent hotels in more than 70 countries.