Travel Time

Sharing our favorite spots from our trip to London as a family, plus two spots I visited solo on prior trips but really enjoyed!
Links
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Churchill War Rooms
London Walks
Hampton Court Palace 

When our Blue Lagoon port adventure got cancelled, we shifted gears and visited Ardastra Gardens in Nassau, Bahamas on our own.  While Disney normally offers this as an excursion, it was also cancelled on this Disney Wish stop, so we did it on our own and saved a considerable amount of money doing it that way as well! How we did it and our tips for you in this episode!

If you decide to do this one on YOUR own, you can get advance tickets and find out more about the park here. 

In town for some college visits, we took in the sites on the Freedom Trail and then had some great food in the North End!

Freedom Trail map

Tips and Tricks for DIsney's Castaway Cay Island - Port Adventures, Cookies Too,  Beaches, 5K, and more! 

Nassau Excursions through Disney Cruise Line - Explore Nassau Sightseeing and Beach tour and our own visit to the Ardastra Zoo. 

Our first trip on the Wish, our thoughts about the Wish plus New Years Eve! 

Visiting the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival for some eco-tourism! 
Some of the places mentioned in the episode and a link to the festival! 
Resaca De la Palma State Park - https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/resaca-de-la-palma
Bentsen RGV State Park - https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley
Salineno Wildlife Preserve - https://valleylandfund.com/salineno/
Falcon State Park - https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/falcon
Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival -https://www.rgvbf.org/

Our last port was Naples and we spent the day in Pompeii!

A stop during our Mediterranean and Aegean cruise on the Disney Magic in Athens.  One excursion to the Panathenaic Stadium and one to the Acropolis and Plaka both great excursion options.   

Welcome Pickups
Olympic Games Small-Group Workout and Race in Athens
Best of Athens, Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum with Lunch (PI33)

Next Stop on the Mediterranean and Aegean Cruise was beautiful Santorini Greece!  Cliff Diving, Amoudi Bay, Oia, Fira, Baklava, and tips for getting around in port! 

We started our visit to Mykonos with a trip to the island of Delos, and a visit to the ruins of the ancient Sacred City rumored to be the site of Artemis and Apollo's birth.  We continued on to Old Town, had an amazing lunch before heading back to the ship and savored an amazing sunset on the way out of the port! 

We explore Messina via the "Scenic Messina City Tour" as well as on our own - includes the Cathedral of Messina and a tour of the city on foot.  Plus we sample some Sicilian snacks, Cannoli, beer and Granitas while in port on our our Mediterranean and Aegean Cruise. 

Sharing some tips from our 8 night Mediterranean and Aegean Cruise on the Disney Magic, some of what we did on At Sea days and our thoughts on embarkation, disembarkation, etc.  The port adventures will follow in upcoming episodes so stay tuned! 

And our trip to Europe to visit Italy and Greece by way of a Mediterranean and Aegean Cruise on the Disney Magic kicks off with our trip to Italy and a busy day in Rome!  We went on a tour with The Tour Guy for "Rome in a Day with Vatican and Colissuem" and topped it off with a great dinner at Hostaria al Gladiatore.

Exploring some of the National Wildlife Refuges, State Parks and National Seashores of Central Florida.

Merritt Island NWR
Pelican Island
St. Sebastian River State Park
St. Johns NWR
Captain Duke's Airboat Rides

One of the newest National Park and a longtime State Park.  Great birding and lots of other options for exploring.  Hike Sand Dunes, Wooded marshland, woodland forests, and open marshes.  Visit beaches with a view of Chicago.  A great affordable getaway!  

Touring tips and Info on Holiday World

Our next stop on the Mother/Son road trip was Hershey, Pennsylvania for some fun at Chocolate World and HersheyPark.  Includes sharing info on the shows at Chocolate world, and the make your own candy bar. 

We continue on the Mother/Son Road Trip with a stop in Gettysburg.  We touch on Audio tours vs. Private tours from Gettysburg Battlefield Guides, Eisenhower House, The Visitor Center options, how much time to spend and more!