October 02, 2018

Diving the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary

October 02, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

Years ago, I remember Aaron telling me about Flower Gardens and how it was this incredibly unique place in the Gulf of Mexico and that he wanted to dive it (if it’s underwater, he wants to dive it, but that’s beside the point). The problem is that the only charter to go there leaves out of Freeport, TX and is usually sold out when it isn’t blown out. If you live outside of a day’s drive from Freeport, it’s too risky to plan a trip down, pay for flights, only to be told that the seas are too rough and that a storm is blowing in. So, it was put on the back burner and there it stayed. Until this past June.

September 27, 2018

The 6 Earliest Christmas Markets to Open in 2018

September 27, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

A few months ago, Aaron and I got a killer deal on tickets to Germany over Thanksgiving week thanks to emails that we get from Scott’s Cheap Flights. We fly out the day before Thanksgiving and will be in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria for about a week - I’m so excited!!! I’m MOST excited to visit a few Christmas markets while we are there! Sadly, we will be flying back to Texas before most of the markets open. But I have been able to find some that will be open while we are there and they are most definitely on our itinerary! I’ve compiled a list of 6 of the earliest opening markets for the 2018 season in case you, like us, booked a trip that ends before Christmas market season really gets into full swing, but still want to visit a few.

September 20, 2018

Tips For Traveling With Kids - Part 3 - Packing

September 20, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

In our third installment of tips for traveling with kids, we are going to cover my most hated task - packing. But, we've found a few ways to help make this necessary burden a little more bearable and we'd like to share those tips with you.

September 05, 2018

Tips For Traveling With Kids - Part 2 - You've Arrived!

September 05, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

So you've survived the drive, flight, or train - or even all 3! - and finally arrived at your destination. Now what? After a few years of travel, we've picked up a few tips and tricks that make our vacation a little easier with kids in tow.

August 30, 2018

Tips For Traveling With Kids - Part 1 - Getting There

August 30, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

We've done a lot of travel with our kids; I think that's pretty evident from the blog here and shouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone. I belong to a few Facebook groups and the one thing that I see asked over and over again, "We are headed to X with our toddler. Any tips for the long flight?" I also get asked if I have any tips for traveling with kids by many of my friends. Of course I have tips! So many tips! But, I've gotten tired from writing out the same one over and over again, and figured that writing a blog post about it would be easier for everyone. Most of these were learned the hard way, some were shared with us by fellow travelers, and others seemed natural to us, but have gotten the, "That's brilliant!" response from others.

August 07, 2018

A 10 Day Itinerary for Ireland with Optional Northern Ireland Extension

August 07, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

I'm convinced Ireland is a beautiful country to visit any time of year. The wind-swept hills gently rolling through the country side, the steep cliffs plunging into the sea on the west coast, and the hundreds (literally) of castle ruins sprinkled everywhere lend the place a rugged, mystic quality. The tiny island, split between two countries, has so much to see and do, one could easily spend months, if not years or even a lifetime, exploring it. Alas, most of us do not have that luxury and must try to see what we can in the short amount of time we have available to us. Although we went to Ireland almost three and a half years ago, my sister recently visited this stunning country and asked me for some tips. Instead of keeping my advice to myself, I decided to publish it here to share with all of you. Enjoy and if you do make it to any of these places in Ireland, drop us a line in the comments and let us know what you thought!

July 25, 2018

The Berlin Zoo

July 25, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

For two years we lived in Germany. During those two years we saw lots of the country, and Europe in general. We took weekend trips to Cologne and Munich, went Champagne tasting in France, toured a Nazi-era mine, experienced the Arctic cold while mushing our own team of sled dogs, dove in a flooded Alpine Park, and ate pasta while sipping a glass of Chianti in the Eternal City. We definitely lived it up, but, shockingly, one place we never made it to was Berlin. It was one of those trips that was too close for a long weekend (we took advantage of company holidays to travel to farther places), but too far for a spontaneous road trip. When we found ourselves back in Germany for a vacation to see a friend get married last September, we knew we wanted to visit a few places we hadn't made it to while we were expats. Berlin was one of those places.