Before we left for New York City I spent a great deal of time researching the best ways to see the sights in New York City with two small children. I was worried we would miss so much dealing with strollers, trains, and diaper bags and I depseratly just wanted to take it all in. I knew there was so much-too much to see so I went into the trip knowing and understanding we weren’t going to see it all. But I was hoping that maybe we could at least see a good chunk of it.

That’s when I came across Gray Line Tours hop on hop off bus tour. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to be able to see the sights and not wear out our children completely.

The terminal itself is a short jaunt from Times Square where we picked up our tickets and our maps. We decided we would try the downtown loop first, which we were told would be two hours all the way around. I was slightly dissappointed because the weather was not cooperating and it was freezing so we had to sit inside the bus as opposed to the top. But the interior seats were warm and stadium style, so when I wasn’t wrestling with ToddlerTravels we were able to enjoy the sights.

I think this is a great/fun option for those traveling with children or elderly but I do need to point out it takes awhile with traffic and on busier touristy days the buses fill up at drop off locations so you may have to wait for a few buses to be able to catch one, but they run very frequently. Still that being said, we had a lot of fun seeing New York while BabyTravels napped on my arm (so convenient).

*Gray Line provided us with complimentary bus tickets to review their tour. This did not sway our opinions for the review.

For those of you who are following our 12 travel challenges in 2012 column for the Deseret News, just wanted to let you know our third challenge is published. Our third challenge was to complete a red-eye flight. We completed it last month on our way to New York City.

I used a random number generator and came up with these numbers:

14, 15, and 24

so congrats to:

Winners look for an email from me- I need your addresses so we can get them shipped off asap.

view of the mountains and coast along the beautiful Seward Highway in Alaska

Summer is coming up which means it’s time for summer vacations! Since we typically try to travel in the off-season summer is usually our stay at home time, or hit the road time. Us along with about half of the country. But much to Reid’s dismay I really don’t enjoy road trips. In fact I really dislike them. I know- road trips are about as American as apple pie and baseball (two others of Reid’s favorites). But after seeing this list that Yahoo put together, I may join the bandwagon and hit the road.

Yahoo released it’s list recently of 10 great all-American road trips. These distinctive routes include both roads less traveled and tried-and-true must-sees throughout the country’s finest landscapes. Reid and I put together have done 8 out of 10 of these drives. Yahoo did a really great job- starting with my ALL TIME favorite road trip that I would do over and over again (I’m serious please promise me you will make this drive once in your life!):

• Alaska: Seward Highway 
  Make way from metropolitan Anchorage into the Alaskan wild via the 127-mile, sea-and-mountain-skirting Seward Highway. This easily navigable cross section of America’s largely untamed Last Frontier makes a fantastic jumping-off point for wilderness adventure. Expect a scenically shifting backdrop of foraging wildlife (Dall sheep, moose, eagles), mountain peaks, thick forests, and hanging glaciers, inviting camping, hiking, fishing, and picnicking just off the highway’s edge. Plus, look to the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet in the summer and fall for Beluga whale-watching (in summer and fall).

• Arizona: Dine’ Tah Scenic Road
  It doesn’t get more all-American than the Navajo Nation’s ancestral lands: Whiz by sacred mountains, canyons, forests, and desert vistas, and stop off to peruse the wares of talented local artisans or to ogle ancient cliff dwellings and prehistoric drawings.

• California: Pacific Coast Highway (aka Route 1) 
  Tracing nearly the entirety of the state’s fabled coastline from Monterey to Morro Bay the route runs through the artsy enclave of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the breathtaking natural beauty of Big Sur via the meandering, cliff-topping 123-mile portion that twists alongside the crashing waves, towering redwoods, and barking sea lions of the rugged, sea-sculpted central California coast.

• Colorado: San Juan Skyway
  Roll through the Rockies via southwest Colorado’s 233-mile San Juan Skyway loop, passing through two alpine national forests; four mountain passes; and a handful of charming Old West mining and railroad towns.  The 50-mile Million Dollar Highway section of the route (from Silverton to Ouray), boasts particularly scenic curves through tunnels and atop waterfalls in the Red Mountains and Uncompahgre Gorge.
• Florida: Florida Keys Overseas Highway
  This 127-mile water-wonderland of a highway spans more than 40 bridges, traversing Florida Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico, as it hops from isle to isle en route to quirky Key West from mainland Florida. Highway highlights include stops at the scenic Seven Mile Bridge; snorkeling, diving, fishing, and wildlife-viewing excursions; and waterfront dining and resorts in the Keys’ charming fishing villages.

• Minnesota: North Shore Drive
  Stretching from Duluth to Grand Portage, the 154-mile North Shore Drive paves a scenic path through rugged Minnesotan wilderness, bordering boreal forests, the jagged Sawtooth Mountains, and a sweeping Lake Superior shoreline.

• New York: Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway
  Just four hours northwest of New York City, the bucolic Finger Lakes region comprises the surprise setting for the largest wine-producing region east of California. Hit the 87-mile Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway, which circles the Cayuga lakeshore, and provides haven for some of the region’s finest wineries (try Sheldrake Point Winery) and historical Women’s Rights movement sites (visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls).

• North Carolina & Virginia: Blue Ridge Parkway
  Connecting two national parks—Shenandoah in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina—the Blue Ridge Parkway traverses 469 miles through blue-misted Appalachian highlands. Take in forest-blanketed mountain vistas, ripe for fauna (look for bear, deer, and beaver) and flora viewing (interesting factoid: the parkway’s namesake “blue” haze is attributed to the hydrocarbon release from the some 130 tree species).

• Oregon: Mt. Hood Scenic Byway
  The 105-mile Mt. Hood Scenic Byway follows a half-loop around one of Oregon’s iconic landmarks: the Cascades Range’s glacier-coated, 11,245-foot-high Mount Hood. Cruise past farmlands, vineyards, and orchards; temperate rain forests and alpine timberline; gushing waterfalls and rivers; and parts of the historic Oregon Trail.

• South Dakota: Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
  The 70-mile Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway winds through South Dakota’s storied Black Hills, weaving together towering granite formations, narrow tunnels, spiral bridges, and hairpin curves, with blockbuster sights like iconic Mount Rushmore and the nearby, yet-to-be-completed Crazy Horse Memorial.

What amazing road trips do you have planned for the summer? Or are gas prices maybe causing you to rethink doing a staycation this year?

Magnolia Bakery cupcake

These are my favorite stories to experience but the hardest to write about. Especially coming back from New York City and thinking about all the amazing food we ate. We didn’t do much- but we did eat. It’s a really good thing I don’t live there- let’s just put it that way. Besides the pizza, my favorite thing we ate (twice!) and we failed to get pictures of because we scarfed it down so fast was the middle eastern Halal food we got from a food truck near our hotel. So good.

Here is a roundup of some our favorites we tasted in New York.

Grimaldi's Pizza

Another drool-worthy photo from Grimaldi's

This was by far the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. Period. I am literally crying inside viewing these pictures because I know it will be a really long time before I get to devour another one of these pies. I do mean devour. I think the company we were with (Hi Holly and Robert!) probably thought we were ravenous wolverines. Grimaldi’s is located in Brooklyn’s beautiful DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area. Perfect place to get a bite to eat after walking the Brooklyn Bridge. But beware there will be a line and order as quick as you can once inside because there will be a wait. Perfection takes time.

Delicious Olde Brooklyn root beer from Grimaldi's

Shake Shack burgers and cheese fries

After hearing my east coast friends rave about the Shake Shack for a couple years now, I knew I had to check it out when we were in New York. The burgers were pretty good and I did enjoy the cheese fries. But of course my favorite was the rocky road concrete. Pretty sure that may have been ToddlerTravels favorite too (although she gobbled more than her fair share of the cheese fries.) It was perfect meal after Museum of Natural History and a jaunt through Central Park West.

Neon sign at Shake Shack

Magnolia Bakery cupcakes

By now I’m sure you are well aware of my ridiculous sweet tooth. It’s a problem really ( re: putting my dentist’s children through college). So when Reid heard that Magnolia Bakery was a can’t miss it wasn’t hard to talk either of us into it. I’m not going to lie- I don’t really get this whole cupcake craze going on. They usually have way too much frosting for my liking and I’d rather have an old fashioned slice. I know a little bit of a shocker. But my world all changed once I had a Magnolia’s red velvet cupcake. Incredibly delicious. Reid who is also not a cupcake person also enjoyed his. And ToddlerTravels? Well she is easy to please. Any sugary treat will do the trick for her.

We went to the Magnolia Bakery near Rockefeller Center. It would have been perfect after our Top of the Rock experience but well we didn’t do anything on this trip but eat.

We also ate at the Stage Deli which was also near Rockefeller Center (it was a little walk). It was pretty good. Typical New York City deli fare. If the kids had behaved a little more we may have been able to get pictures. Just picture big delicious pastrami sandwiches and huge honking cheesecakes. We liked the Stage Deli and would probably recommend it vs. the over hyped Carnegie Deli.

As I am sure you are well aware by now, thanks to our vlog post and photo highlights post, we recently packed up our two young-in’s and took them to the Big Apple. We are still in recovery mode and we’ve almost been back a week. But we had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories. Although we are looking forward to our next visit, we are thinking we may leave the littles home with Grandma- at least till they are older.

We had the pleasure of staying at the Affinia Manhattan. We had a really great experience with our stay. The lobby is very inviting and the staff was friendly and extremely helpful. The bellman helped us with our luggage to our room, and when we regrettably only had a dollar in cash to tip, his response was understanding and kind (this is NOT our style- we tip fairly under good circumstances!). Another huge plus for us is they got us into our room so quickly and well before check-in. We had just gotten off an awful red-eye and were in DESPERATE need of a nap and the thought of waiting until 3 pm almost had me in tears. We checked in at 9 am and they put in a rush for our room and by 10:30 am they had us in our room. Again HUGE thank you- and I’m certain we did not receive special treatment just because we are travel writers- I’m thinking this would have been done for anyone in our circumstance.

The room absolutely fit our needs and exceeded our expectations. We had a seperate bedroom and living areas (if you know me you understand that is a MUST for us traveling with our kids) and even better a little kitchen. The kitchen was extremely helpful because in the morning we cooked up some oatmeal while we got everyone ready and it saved us some time so we could get on the “road.” Another huge plus was there were two full bathrooms. Sure, they were tiny, but this rarely happens and when you have two kids sleeping in one room it’s nice to be able to shower and not disturb them.

Pull out couch in the living area

The hotel rooms had recently been renovated and we loved the chic modern decor. I felt comfortably at home since it’s similar to our decorating style. I loved the grey and neutral color tones. So relaxing after an over stimulating day in the city.

I really enjoyed our location. Literally across the street from Penn Station, so it made it just that much easier to get anywhere in the city by train. Plus we were within walking distance to Times Square (not super close but we did make the trek once) and other fun shopping and food choices. Across the street next to Penn Station is Madison Square Garden, really convenient for those looking to take in a game or show.

The only negative thing I can think of to mention is that it’s a busy street and area and right next to a fire station so city noise could be a problem. It wasn’t for us because we were on the 20th floor, but I could see it being a bigger issue if you were on lower floors. I actually didn’t mind it all because it was just a reminder of where we were and truly in a city that doesn’t sleep. But I’d probably have felt differently on a lower floor. Just a heads up. Was NOT a deal breaker for us.

*The Affinia Manhattan hosted us at their hotel, but we were not compensated to provide a positive review and it did not affect our opinions and review.

I got the incredible opportunity to review a book this week by New York Times best selling author Patricia Schultz. The title of the book is 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Maybe I’m a nerd, but I spent a good couple of hours pouring into this book and highlighting places to add to my list. Ahh yes my list. Have I told you about this? It’s a bucket list of places I want to go to so this type of book definitely caused some damage to that list. I have been to a few of these places but there are so many that my head started to spin and my bank account started to weep.

I love that this book not only tells you where you should go and why but it also offers recommendations on hotels, restaurants and when the best time to visit these places are. It’s almost a dream come true. Some of the places are more obvious choices like San Francisco and Rome, but it also has a lot of obscure and really detailed suggestions like Virgin Islands National Park and The Black Hills in South Dakota. There seems to be an entry for just about every country and region so if you are going somewhere this a great book to cross reference for must-sees.

The best part of this book review is I get to give away three of these books to my readers! I know you are just as passionate about travel as I am so I’m excited for you! THREE of you!

Two easy steps to enter:

1) If you haven’t already Like my Facebook page! If you have already done this skip step 1 and go directly to step 2

2) Leave a comment and tell me something on your travel bucket list!

Giveaway will end on Thursday May 10 with winners announced Friday. In the meantime check out her website 1,000 Places and dream of all the amazing things this beautiful world has to offer!

Times Square New York City

Reid’s done it again. He has managed to take some beautiful pictures while wrangling  children on a somewhat stressful vacation. That’ll do. Anyways, we had a lot of fun on our trip although during it we felt as though we got to see and do nothing because we had two little critters to take care of and look out for. Double strollers plus subway does not mix, FYI. However, looking through the pictures Reid took, I realized we actually did do and see a lot and had a pretty good time doing it. Here are some of our favorite sites from the trip:

Brooklyn Bridge

Bridge in Central Park

Times Square

Taxi cab in NYC

Manhattan LDS Temple

NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center

Oyster Bar

Which picture is your favorite?

Some nights I lay awake in bed and contemplate in my head what I would do if I had a billion dollars. Obviously I would pay off my debts first and then I would spend the rest of my life in sweet freedom. I would listen to the wind and let it direct me in my journey- similar in the way it directs a sail boat. I would float about the earth and help those in need, visit some of the most luxurious and dreamy places imaginable, and show my children everything. Then I would sit down at the end of it all and write a book. Because in my head, what’s the point of experiencing all of this beauty and wonder the world has to offer if it is never to be shared with anyone?

I often think of some of the other travel bloggers out there, who never stop, never rest always seem to be in search of something… something more. Bloggers such as Nomadic Matt, Gary Arndt from Everything-Everywhere, and even Brendan from Brendan’s Adventures.  My hats are off to them. Often times I am jealous as I read their journeys. I’m always contemplating in my head my next move, our next trip, our next travel- yet these people- nomads as we like to call them, are living and breathing it. So I’ve learned over these past five years of blogging that I am indeed not a traveler. I have a homestead, I have a place of escape. So I like to think of ourselves as vacationers. We aren’t professional travelers instead we are professional vacationers. And I think I’m ok with that. At least for now…