My Final Post!

This is my final post on my blog and I am honestly a little sad. I have had a lot of fun writing my blogs and sharing my adventures with you all. Today I am going to be talking about where I have gone since I started my journey, how I have grown, and where I am today. 


Where I started:
I started this blog not knowing where it would be now and how much I have come to enjoy this experience. When I started, I was doing it for an English project, and now I am doing for fun. When I started, I used more of other people's photos then my own even though I was sharing MY travel opinions. My grammar was pretty bad most of the time and I didn't put as much effort as I do now into my posts. My photo quality was also pretty bad considering I used Iphone photos for my first few posts.

See you guys real soon! (Photo by Howtogeek)

How I have grown:
 My grammar has really improved since my first blog and I actually found out that I really enjoy blogging! I have learned to use my own high quality photos and state my opinions.. I have also made my blogs a little longer over time and talked more about my personal experience instead of just descriptions of what my family did. Over time I have also grown up a little more.  

Where I am today:
Today, I am a more well traveled person then I was in September, 2015. I have been to 4 additional places in the last nine months and they have been really fun. The school year is coming to an end and I can honestly say that this blog has helped me a lot grammatically, physically, and mentally. Today, I have learned how to post online freely and I have learned how fun it could be to post about my travel journeys online. Nine monthes ago, I was just a confused honors English student trying to figure out how to blog. Now, I am an Honors English student who knows how to blog and has grown up.

Thank you all for reading my blogs. I have had an amazing journey sharing my posts with you and learning how to write my own blog. If you want to still hear a little about my life you can check out my mom's blog and stay in touch. This has been an amazing journey for me and I can not wait to see what will happen in the future for me. Once again, thank you all for reading my blog and I look forward to seeing you all soon! Have safe travels where ever you go.

- Whitney

Castaway Cay

Our last stop on our Disney Cruise was Castaway Cay, a private island owned by Disney. This island is completely run by the Disney staff on the ship. Once the ship leaves the island there are a few care takers who watch over it. Today, I am going to be talking about the things we did on the island.

Me Biking!

First, my mom and I decided to go bike riding. The bike rental place on the island was about a 20 minute walk from the ship. There is also an option to take the tram over too which is only a 5 minute ride.  Once we got to the bike rental place there was a hut where we pay for our bikes. The rentals were by the hour so we just rode for one. The trail is very easy to bike over and there were frequent places to stop. If you do extreme biking or advanced biking this is not the trail for you. On the trail there is also a lookout point. Once we finished the first trail we went on another trail that took us to a secluded beach. The beach was really nice and peaceful, plus you could see the whole side of the island. We made it back to the hut with about 20 minutes to spare. If you consistantly bike through it you could make it back in 30 minutes.

My mom and I on top of the Tower.

Next we went to sit on the beach and wait for lunch. The beach was completely packed all around. It took us about ten minutes to locate chairs. Luckily, two people were leaving the chairs just as we got there. Still, with all of the people around us it wasn't an ideal location but we just wanted to sit down.

Finally we got to eat a barbaque style lunch on the island. There were ribs, corn, chicken, and more. The meal was really delicious. While we were eating there was a crab race going on so that was also fun to watch.

The last thing we did was go to the teen club on the island. It took us about 10 minutes to find in all and when we got there we realized how small the club was. It really had not much to do and it was really old and run down. My brother and I did up playing one fooseball game but left right after.

From the teens club back to the ship was another 20 minutes but all and all we had a fun time on the island. Thank you so much for reading my blog this week. I hope you learned something and maybe decided to go on a Disney cruise. Leave a comment below for what you want my next weeks blog to be about. As always, have safe travels where ever you go!

Disney Cruise Number 6: Gold

For spring break I got the chance to go on our 6th disney cruise with my family. This cruise was a five day one and contained two spots that we would be getting off at. Because it was our sixth cruise we got to be gold. There were very few benifits to being gold and a lot of things that felt the same as being silver. Today, I am going to be talking about having the gold lanyerd.

Gold Lanyard (Photo Courtesy of Antiques Navigatior)

The first thing that I noticed when we got onto the ship was the difference in the way people treated us. It was sort of weird at first because they treated us like we knew everything about the ship. We got less explanations about the ship from our waiters and people in general taught us differently. This is considered a good thing because we didn't have to listen to the same conversations about the ship over and over again.

Next, at the shops we got a ten percent discount on all merchandice and food. There are a few exceptions where you can not get a discount like Previews by the Walt Disney theatre. I found a way how to get discounts on the popcorn while I was on the cruise. If you are gold and by popcorn from the Micky's Mates shop they will give you a ten percent discount on it instead of paying full price plus tip at Previews.

Now I am going to be talking about some things that felt the exact same whether I was gold or silver. When you enter your cabin if you have gone on just one cruise you get a bag that welcomes you on the disney cruise. Basically, everyone gets the same bag no matter if you are gold, silver or even platnum! It makes it pretty confusing around the ship if everyone is carrying around the same bag.

Lastly, we had to wait in the same lines as people in silver. It doesn't really sound like a problem but, if you are waiting in the same line as all of the people who have been on 2-5 cruises, it is a long wait and definetly not fun one.

On this trip I have learned that weather you are silver, gold, or platnum, you basically get the same perks. It is still always fun to be promoted to the next lanyerd level and gain a new color.

I hope this blog gave you an idea about the gold lanyered and how it can be exciting to wear the gold lanyered around your neck, but not so exciting when it comes to basically everything else. Next week I will be about the two stops that we made while we were on the disney cruise so tune in next week. Thanks for reading my blog and look forward to seeing you in my next blog!

Cosumel, Mexico

On our Disney cruise we got the chance to go to two stops. The one I am going to be talking about today is Cosumel, Mexico. This town is basically centered around turists and cruise ships. Everyone who lives there makes money off of us. So please sit back and enjoy my blog!

On the cruise ship we were originally going to Kayak but it was too windy so that got canceled. Luckily, there was another option we could do which was horse back riding. We met up with a group of 5 other people. Once we were all together we got off the ship we were greated by a man who sent us to a bus that took us to the Cozumel Concierge.  The bus ride was an hour and a half long and it was sort of senic. Most of the time it was just rainforrest which was a bummer.

Once we got off the bus we met with our horseback riding guide. He told us that we could walk around the ranch for a little bit then go horseback riding. They gave us free drink coupons for the fountain drinks offered. The ranch was a tourist attraction with a lot of animals. It had 2 shops and a beverage station. The animals were actually very interesting. One animal that really caught my attention were the bald dogs. I had never seen a bald dog until that day so that was a super cool experience.

A Bald Dog.

After a long time of waiting we got to ride the horses. We got paired up with the hoses based on what our experience level was even though we wouldn't be doing anything extreme. I got paired with a advanced level horse who wasn't very hard to handle. Our guide told us that the person who founded. The first few ruins we saw while on the ride were real and as we got to the end of the trail the ruins were fake. The most interesting part of the tour was when we got to see the Myan hideouts and go inside of them. These hideouts were underground for hiding and were also used for gatherings.

Me on a Horse!

When we got back we got to use our free drink coupons and sat for another 30 minutes. Finally, the bus driver came to get us and drove us all back to the ship. In all I would say this trip was fun but not very memorable. I would recommend doing it if you are a first time horse back rider or would like to see a few Myan ruins.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks blog on Cosumel, Mexico.  Look out tomorrow for my next blog on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island! Thanks for reading and have safe travels where ever you go!

The Key Lime Pie Challenge

On the second day we were in The Florida Keys I decided to do the key lime pie challenge. This is a challenge I made up where you have to try a key lime pie in a different way at every restaurant we go to. This was really fun and I got to try so many different key lime pies like, key lime pie to go, key lime pie on a stick, and even fried key lime pie! I hope you enjoy this blog and I hope this sparks an intrest for you to try something new!

The first key lime pie we had on the first day was in Islamorada Key at a restaurant called, Islamorada Fish Company. We had a literal key lime pie which was so good. It was freshly made and right out of the oven. The pie also had whipped cream on the top of it and a fresh key lime. It had to be one of my favorites that we had while in the keys.

The second pie we had was in Marathon Key at Burdines Waterfront. This pie was a fried key lime pie. Someone at the restaurant actually told us that they herd someone drove 60 miles to eat the fried key lime pie. It was a cinnamon tortilla wrapped around a key lime pie and fried. They drizzled some sort of sauce over it as well. The end result was really good. Although I do not like cinnamon and didn't get to try the crust, my mom said it was amazing.

Fried Key Lime Pie at Burdines!

In Key West we got to try key lime pie to go. They sold it at an ice cream parlor right next to our hotel. It was actually really good. The pie looked like a freshly made key lime pie, but from a ice cream parlor.

The last key lime pie we had was a key lime pie on a stick. It was a really cool experience to try. The key lime pie on a stick felt like a popsicle. I sort of just liked it until the chocolate melted and I got to the acual pie part. This was a really good key lime pie. It was so good and there was actually crust on it.

Key lime pie on a stick! (Photo Courtesy of dipped in chocolate)

Thank you so much for reading my blog! I hope you do a challenge like this one in the future or even the same one.  Comment below if you want to or have tried a pie similar to one that I have tried! Have a safe flight where ever you go and try something new!

Key West, A City on an Island

Key West is such an amazing place, it is a city on an island. Today I am going to be talking about Key West, Florida. Key West is an amazing place. It has all of the things a giant city has to offer like, car dealer ships, shopping streets, fancy restaurants, and many homes. I went there for three nights and two days. My mom and I had a lot of fun at Key West. Now, let me tell you what we did there.

On the first day our hotel provided us with this amazing bafee of different breakfast foods. They basically had everything you could imagine. The food was so delicious and I basically had the same thing every night, a egg, cranberry juice, and a muffin.

Our Hotel Bafee!

The first thing we did when we got to Key West was go on a kayak tour. Our guides name was Tortuga Jack and he has lived there for 20 years. We kayaked into these mangrove tunnels and saw so many star fish in them. We also saw so many types of sponges and jelly fish. It was truly a great experience.

On the same day we went to The Southern Most Beach Cafe. It was very crowded and had a little bit of a wait. The restaurant is right on the beach with indoor outdoor seating. The food was really good though. I ordered a barbecue burger and my mom ordered a wrap.  We also ordered piña coladas which were fabulous.

Next, we went to the number one most recommended place to go, The Butterfly Emporium. Once we got inside there were actually birds, butterflies, and even a turtle. One of the coolest things there were actually the flamingos. They were named after characters from Gone With the Wind.  There were so many different types of butterflies there and it was so cool to see them flying around. One even landed on my mom's head.

To end day one we went to the most amazing lobster house. We made a reservation and when we got there the waitress said that all of the outdoor seats were reserved which was a bummer. I ordered a lobster tail with garlic mashed potatos and asparagus and my mom also had a lobster tail with asparagus and a baked potato.

A and B lobster house!

On the second day we went jet skiing. This was one of the scariest things that we did on our vacation because my mom had never driven a jet ski at 35+ miles per hour. At first we wanted to bail but we got used to the tossing and turning and in the end, we were glad we did it. Our tour guides stuck with us the whole time. The only complaint about  it was that it was supposed to be informational and we didn't really learn anything along the way.

Thank you so much for reading my blog on Key West. If you havent already you should look at my last blog on Key Largo. See you in the next bloag and have a safe flight!

Key Largo, Florida, The Place To Be

Over February break I had the chance to go to Key Largo and Key West Florida with my mom. Both places are so beautiful.  Today, I am going to be talking about Key Largo and in my next blog I will talk about Key West so sit back and enjoy the ride!

Key Largo! (Photo Courtesy of Florida Keys Experiance ) 

Key Largo is my absolute favorite key that we went to. It was so beautiful and all around amazing. On the east side of Key Largo there is the Gulf of Mexico and on the west side is the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel we stayed at was on the west side. 

Our hotel was called The Sea Farrer and I highly recommend it. This hotel was super fun to stay at and the staff were so nice. In the morning they make egg sulfas and homemade muffins. They also have a wide variety of fruits. Our room was right on the beach. We had to pay a little extra but it was worth it. At the hotel they have a private beach for guests only and many lounge chairs to choose from. They also rent kayaks and paddle boards. My mom and I took the kayaks out one evening and saw a manatee who loved belly rubs. 

While we were there we got to go on a catamaran tour of  To be honest it was not the best tour that we took. The boat said no smoking when you could clearly see the captain smoking. Also, the assistant guy didn’t really do anything the whole entire time. When we left, almost everyone was sea sick and the attendant was practically  begging us for money. 

While we were in Key Largo we went to two restaurants there. The first one was a place called Skipper's Dockside. It is a place right on the water with indoor and outdoor seating that just opened up in 2015. It was very crowded when we got there and the waiter told us it was going to be a thirty minute wait when it really was about a fifteen minute wait. When we were there the staff was not the best, and it was a smoking zone. The food was okay, but a little over priced.  I ordered a burger and my mom ordered slider's. The only real bad part about Skipper's was the fact we were surrounded by people smoking.

Me at Skippers.

Another restaurant we went to was Snapper's Waterfront. It was on the water like Skipper's and had indoor and outdoor seating. When we entered the building there was no wait. This place was a little better than Skipper's in my opinion. The service was much better and there were no smokers. Our food came out right away and was delicious. I ordered salmon and my mom ordered fish and chips.

Thank you so much for viewing my blog. I hope you learned something about Key Largo and I hope you check it out. Look out for my next post on Key West, Florida. Have a safe flight!

To Nomadic Matt

Dear, Nomadic Matt. I am just a small travel blog inspired by the internet to start my blog. I may not be a large blogger but I do have some tricks up my sleeve that can help other travelers through their issues. I am going to be blogging posting about how my blog relates to yours and why if you chose to should follow my blog.

My name is Whitney, I live in a small town, but have the urge to travel far and wide. I have two dogs, and a loving family who help me achieve my goals of flying all around the world. On my blog I love to talk about where I have gone in the world. Some places I have gone, you have too! I like reading about different places around the world and hope to go to them. I have been to 4 continents so far and 18 different countries. I also love to talk about travel tips for flying all around the world. I have a post on packing for long trips on my blog too.

Nomadic Matt (Photo Courtesy of Nomadic Samuel)

I admire you so much because you inspire so many people! You help people reach their travel goals and I would love to do the same. You have thousands of people that look at your blog every month. Also traveling is your job, who wouldn't love that! I also admire you for keeping up with a blogging schedule of basically once a week. I wish I had the time and effort to do that.

I have a hope that you will come and read my blog just to maybe see a blog from another travel bloggers perspective. It would be a dream come true if you did. I could possibly teach you some new tips with packing, traveling, and flights. Maybe I could even recommend some places for you to visit on your next trip there. I hope you could come back every week or two to catch up on a new location and I could tell you some great eating spots, tourist attractions, and even some architectures. If you decided to keep up and maybe even follow my blog I would be so excited to share some of my travel knowledge with you and you could share some knowledge with me.

Thank you so much Nomadic Matt if you read this. I am a huge fan of yours and would love it if you could look at my blog every once and so often. You are a huge inspiration to the traveling community and never stop what you do because it is perfect. Thank you to all of the rest of my viewers for reading this blog and travel healthy, safe, and smart. See you in the next blog!

The New Park City Mountain Resort. (11.21.15)

 A few weeks ago the largest resort in the United States, Park City Mountain Resort, owned by Vail, opened up for a new season. I decided to go on opening day. The runs were packed, the snow was not that great, and the lines were horrendous. Over all it actually was not as bad as I anticipated. Once they open up more runs I am hoping for a powder and smile filled year.

Park City Mountain has had major improvements over the past few years. For example, this is the first year they are connecting The Canyons, another resort opened by Vail for the holidays, and Park City Mountain to create the largest resort in the United States. I can not wait to explore both resorts this season and other seasons too. In addition to combining the two resorts they have also done some expanding. One of the lodges, Snow Hut renamed miners camp, has gone through some major expansion and remodeling. They tore down the old restaurant and rebuilt a brand new restaurant in place of it.

 The new Miners Camp! (Photo Courtesy of Park City Mountain Resort)

Another new improvement to the resort is the food. Before Vail bought Park City Mountain the food was pretty horrible. I did not like the food at all and it tasted like it was microwaved in my opinion. However, once Vail bought Park City Mountain there was an instant change in the food.Now the food is much better and really tastes fresh. I recommend going to any of the restaurants to try some of their food first hand. The photo below shows a meal at Summit House with the improved food. The taste and presentation is much better than it used to be!

Food! (Courtesy of Tampa Bay Ski Club)

The final improvement I would like to address are the improved chairlifts and new gondala. The Kingcon chairlift has expanded to fit six people instead of four people. The Motherload chairlift has expanded to fit four people instead of three. The chairlifts are now high speed and have detachable seating. The Quicksliver has been made to connect Park City Mountain and Canyons. It holds eight people and will unload at the base of Silverload lift. When conditions allow there should be another drop off point at the top of Pinecone ridge to ski down to Thanes chairlift. At Canyons the drop off point will be at Flatiron to ski to Dreamcatcher and Tombstone.

Thank you so much for reading this blog and looking at the new improvements at Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons. I hope you learned something about the mountain and/or planning a trip to visit Park City too! Have safe travel too!

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is one place you need to stop by in Europe. It is one of the most amazing places I have been in my life. We stayed there for four days and had an amazing time. There are many famous buildings made by Ghaudi in Barcelona including The Sagrada Familia. I am going to talk about today what we did in Barcelona, what we ate, and what we saw so sit back and enjoy the ride!

On the first day we were in Barcelona we went on a tour bus system. It took us all around the city of Barcelona, Spain. The bus was called the Hop on Hop Off Bus. The bus had many different stops that you could get off at or stay on the bus. If you found a place you wanted to check out you just get off at that stop and wait for the next one to come and pick you up at. We did this a numerous amount of times. The bus route takes you to the famous parts of Barcelona, Spain like, Ghoudi's house, The Segrada Familia, and The Copper Fish.

On and off bus (isango)

On the second day we went to a shopping street right behind our hotel, The Four Points.  We walked down it and ate at a few places. One place was a bakery. It had one of the best muffins I have ever tasted! Another place had amazing pasta and soup. My mom even got a giant jug of sangria for the price of one glass in the U.S. Another restaurant that we went to was a tapa restaurant. We ate so many dishes there, but the only issue we had was that the service of drinks were really slow.

While we were in Barcelona we got to see some structures. One of the more famous structures we saw was the Segrada Familia. It has been in construction for 131 years. On one side of the building it depicts Jesus as being born while the other shows him dying. The side of Jesus's birth is the side that Ghoudi originally started to build. The side of Jesus's death is the side that is being built today. It is one of the largest structures you will see in Barcelona. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Spain today. The Sagrada Familia actually holds church sessions every several months.

Sagrada Familia (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

I hope you learned something about Barcelona, Spain. If you have any questions about Barcelona comment below and I can get back to you when I can! Thanks so much for reading and have safe travels where ever you go!

Rome, Italy

One of the most magnificent city's in the world, Rome, Italy. We were able to go there on a cruise ship for a day. While we were there we booked a tour guide and got to see all of the famous buildings, and places in Rome. Today I am going to be talking about what we did and saw in Rome. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

 One of the first things we saw in Rome was the Roman  Coliseum. It is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen today. While it is hard to get in, and very crowded,  I highly recommend putting it on your list of things to see. When we were inside there were people trying to restore the Colosseum to its former glory. On the side of the Colosseum there is a gift shop that you can go to and get a trinket or two. I got a miniature Colosseum when I was there, and my mom got a mug. On the inside of the Colosseum it has the many levels that were once used. It is truly amazing what you will see in the Colosseum.

Roman Colosseum at Dusk (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Another place that we went to is actually a little bit outside of the city, Vatican, City.  The Sistine Chapel is the main thing that you have to see while you are there. A few things to take notice about is that they don't allow shorts and hats in the Sistine Chapel if you end up going inside. If you do go inside I would get a tour guide. The Sistine Chapel is so large and hard to get in, it is just way easier if you have a tour guide with you. Inside there are so many rooms that you can explore, one of my brother's favorites was the map room. The map room is composed of maps from long ago displayed for the public.  Finally, there is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was painted by Michelangelo in 1508 and was finished in 1512. The ceiling was painted in the Renaissance period. One of the main panels on the ceiling is the creation of Adam.  It depicts God touching Adams hand. 

Creation of Adam (Courtesy of History.com)

Finally, I am going to be talking about the Pantheon.  It is a church build in 118-128 AD.  It starts out as a rectangle in the front the circles in the back. The church is still running today and is also a tourist attraction.

Thanks so much for reading my blog today! I hope I could help you decide if you want to go to Rome someday. See you in my next blog!