When we checked out of the condo we were staying at near Orlando last week and headed to Gulfport FL, we also made a big switch in accommodations. We left the gated & manicured 1,100 suite Hilton Tuscany Village for the causal, one-of-a-kind, Blue Hen Bungalow just off Beach Boulevard (above). On AirBNB or VRBO we can usually find a variety of places to mix … Continue reading Unique Spaces In Unique Places …
My wife and I first came to Florida on our honeymoon. It was only the second time either of us had travelled on a plane. I booked the trip through the travel agent at our favorite department store for about $800. That included airfare on Northwest Airlines, a Pontiac Sunfire rental car, and 7 nights stay at the beautiful Westwood Winfield Inn near Orlando. All … Continue reading Vacation Spending Without Limits
We are two weeks into our six week winter getaway to Florida and enjoying the summer-like weather. January had relatively mild winter weather in Minnesota, but now that we have escaped, the temperature there has absolutely plummeted. If you think of your vacation investment in winter as having a ‘return on temperature’, our 2021 outlay is looking like Bitcoin right now. As you can see … Continue reading Winter Summerland
We just arrived in Florida for our ‘No Responsibility February’. I took this picture with my camera drone above Melbourne Beach on a beautiful 75-degree day. We visited with some Minnesota friends that are staying here with a beautiful ocean view. Leaving cold high-tax Minnesota for sunny low-tax Florida inevitably brings up the “should we move to Florida for 6 months and a day?” conversation. … Continue reading Sunny Skies & Lower Taxes
It was unusually warm this past week in Minnesota with sunny weather in the 70s. That never happens in November and we’ve been ‘living outside’ every day. Tomorrow it looks like we get back-to-normal in a hurry with a cold front dropping the temperatures into the 30s with rain quickly turning to snow. In Minnesota, it’s not an exaggeration to say these might be the … Continue reading Minnesota Winter / Florida Sunshine
Last fall, we took a wonderful 3 week trip through Europe with some good friends. I frequently think of the terrific time we had in the Loire, Alps, and Tuscany. The hilltop town of Sienna came to mind recently as Settore Polizia Municipale sent me a lovely ticket in the mail. The tracked me down for ‘Circulating In A Limited Traffic Area’. Old town Sienna … Continue reading Postcard From Sienna
For the most part, we are living our lives during the CV19 ‘Lockdown’ without a lot of issues. We are blessed. Fortunately, most of the activities that we enjoy this time of year are outside and that’s about the best place you can be to stay safe and keep others safe. Everyday, in my Facebook ‘History’ feed, I see pictures pop up from great trips … Continue reading Minnesota Getaway
Like a lot of people, we are sitting on the sidelines right now when it comes to making any travel plans. One of the crazy things about this pandemic is that there is no where to go to hide from it. I read recently that it has spread to over 200 countries. We didn’t have any travel booked when the outbreak began, but we were … Continue reading Thinking About Post-Pandemic Travel?
If you travel internationally a lot, you may have what I have: little ziplock bags with extra bills & coins in foreign currency. I probably have a hundred US dollars worth of Japanese Yen, Israeli Shekels, UK Pounds, Czech Crowns, and EU Euros from trips we’ve taken over that last 10-15 years. It seems that at the end of each trip I have local currency … Continue reading Funny Money
We’re about halfway through our Florida Snowbirding experiment and so far it has been wonderful. It is quite a bit different than any other trip that we have taken for a few reasons, but most all of them have been pleasant surprises …. STAYING PUT – Unlike most trips of a week or more, we aren’t packing up and moving at all. We moved into … Continue reading Snowbirding Surprises
