Great Smoky Mountains in Winter

A few months ago, we packed up the kids and headed up the mountain for a weekend ski trip with our great friends. The main purpose of that trip was to go skiing in Gatlinburg. However, we got a taste of what the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has to offer.

We left from our house a bit later than we expected so we ended up driving up the mountains during night time. It was one of the scariest drive in my whole life and I wasn't even a driver. If anyone has an experience of driving on the scenic route in the Smoky Mountains, they will know what I'm talking about. The road is curvy up the moutain with sharp turn and sometimes even 180 degree turn. Add that to the darkness and the leftover ice not yet fully melt in the end of winter.. I was so tense that once we got down the moutain I felt like I had been in a marathon race.

On the way back most of our friends opted to take different route to avoid the major mountain road. But for us, it was a perfect chance to really enjoy this beautiful drive that we can fully appreciate it in daylight. The drive didn't disappoint us. The kids were amazed by the ice patch on the cliff along the side of the road.

We stopped at a couple overlook to enjoy the view. I just used my imagination to see how beautiful it will be even more so during Fall season with all different color of the leaves blaster the mountain top. Then we stopped at Newfound Gap where we enjoyed the views of both the Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the high ridge. This stop is very well maintained. It also a site for the Rockefeller Memorial. The kids got to get out and stretch and even tried a bit of rock climbing. :) Unfortunately, the road to Clingmans Dome which is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was closed during winter.

It was a great trip home and one that we will plan to visit later in Fall.

Check out TravelingMamas for other post in Travel Tuesday roundup.

DC on a Budget

I know you guys probably have had enough for DC trips for a while. But I can't help to post about how we did this trip on a budget. It's probably one of my best trip that I have planned everything and think about budget and try to stick to it. Most of our other trips were just wing-it type.. We planned and then we went and then we came back to pay the price later. So here are some of the things we did to give us a fabulous vacation without breaking the bank.

1. Accommodation - Using Priceline for hotel : This was my 2nd time I have used priceline. Everytime, I feel very nervous. It's hard to be calm when I don't know what hotel I will get. But overall, I was very happy with our bid. I got a 3.5 star hotel (Sheraton Crystal City) for $80/night during the busiest week in DC - the Cherry Blossom week. Typically, we love to stay in an apartment or hotel suite with kitchen. But this trip, after I did the price comparison between a condo in downtown DC versus a hotel across the river, I found that we would save over $500 (even after adding the cost of eating out for staying in a hotel) over a week stay.

2. Transportation - Using public transportation aka the Metro : The Metro ride was actually one of the highlighted during this trip for Mr. Z. So needless to say, it's priceless and very budget friendly for us. We stayed in the hotel that only a few stops from the Mall. I checked out the fare in advance and compared to the 7-day pass. I found out that it was cheaper to actually buy individual tickets rather than the pass. Because normally, we planned one museum per day so we just took the metro to our destination and we walked around.

3. Transportation - Drive to DC : That's another reason why we chose DC for our Spring Break vacation. Flying for a family of 4 could easily cost over $1000. In order to save on traveling fee, we opt to find a vacation spot that within a driving distance. DC is about 10 hours from Atlanta. It wasn't bad thanks to portable DVD.

4. Food - Check out cheap eat : I am a big fan of TripAdvisor forum. There are great posts about where to eat on different budget. I also checked out Washingtonian for their cheap eat list. It was a great source to find out where the locals are eating without breaking a bank. We did spurlge one night for a fabulous dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill.. All I have to say is.. Yummo!!

5. Food - Restaurant gift certificate : I admitted that I just recently discovered restaurant.com. It has been such a great site to give us permission to eat out without breaking our budget. Then I realized that I can do the same during my vacation. All I had to do was a little bit of planning. I first checked out what restaurants were available in the area that we will be in or visit during our trip. Then I checked out the review from travelling forum like Tripadvisor. In the end, I opted for the more familiar restaurants that we knew well. I got gift certificate for Ted Montana Grill and Z Pizz. Also to add more to the saving, wait when restaurant.com runs their 80% off promotion to buy your gift certificate. I got $10 gift certificate for $0.60. During our trip, we had great dinner for less than $40 for a family of 4.

6. Shopping - Set price for souvenir : This might not be an issue for everyone but for us it was always the one area that nudge us way pass our budget. So this trip, we had set the limit on the souvenir per kid and it was much easier to shop. There wasn't whining about wanting that $50 toy because they could read the price and saw that it's over the budget.

7. Activities - Find free or cheap activities around town : Granted DC was easy to do cheap activities because most of the museums are free. But this can also be applied to other cities as well. We actually went to Baltimore for a day to visit the Children museum. I know that doing museum everyday will probably bore Miss J and Mr. Z to death. So a little break from that was a big welcome on this trip. We were able to save money on the Baltimore trip because we had a national wide family pass that the Port Discovery is a member. So we didn't have to pay for the entrance fee. Be creative and find a way to have fun without breaking a bank!

What other ways do you do to help saving on your trip? Please share! :)

Photo Friday: Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC is one of the most memorable place for me. During our DC by Foot tour, we learned about the story behind the design by Maya Lin.

There was such a controversial during the selection of the winning design by her due to her ethnicity during that time. The memorial is simple but yet has evoked such emotion when you visit. I don't know anyone personally who has died during the Vietnam war. But as you walked down the path and scanned through the name of men and women on the carved black granite stone, and you saw the reflection of yourself and other visitors, you can't help but shed your tears.

I love her quote that she wrote upon entering her design to the VVMF .

The Memorial is composed not as an unchanging monument, but as a moving composition to be understood as we move into and out of it. The passage itself is gradual; the descent to the origin slow, but it is at the origin that the Memorial is to be fully understood. At the intersection of these walls, on the right side, is carved the date of the first death. It is followed by the names of those who died in the war, in chronological order. These names continue on this wall appearing to recede into the earth at the wall's end. The names resume on the left wall as the wall emerges from the earth, continuing back to the origin where the date of the last death is carved.

Travel Planning

Half of the fun of traveling is the planning part. The time spent surfing the internet to read all you can about your destination, where to stay, what to eat, what to do..

Matt from Frugal Traveler has a great post on his blog today. I have learned so many new tools that I can use on my future planning. Check it out here.

DC with Kids Day 6: The Air and Space Museum

As we approached our last full day in DC for our week long vacation, we had already dreamed about the next time we will visit this fun-filled-family-friendly city. We hardly scratched the surface of what DC has to offer us. But today, we couldn't go home without visiting the most visited museum in this country - The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

We had planned only one stop today knowing how big the museum is. We started our day early and headed to the metro. After a quick breakfast on the bench along the Mall, we headed to the museum entrance. The line was long but it moved rather quickly. After we got in, we found out that we just missed the 11am tour. A quick stop at the information desk was very helpful. A volunteer pointed us to the 'How Things Fly' room. This room is amazing and perfect for kids of all ages. Kids get to learn about what makes thing fly with an interactive hand-on exhibits. Each one teaches them the concept of air and space. We spent almost an hour in this room alone.

The next stop was to check out the Skylab space station on the second floor. Along the way, we also checked out the Apollo 11 and the Man on the Moon displayed. Do you know that all exhibits in the museum are the original items not replica. It made the experience even more surreal to see all these amazing items that had been out in the space. A line to the Skylab was long but don't get discourage. It moved rather quicky. The kids got to walk through the space station and check out what living and working in the space was like.

By the time, we walked through the space station, it was lunch time. We went outside to grap a quick lunch from the McD stand next to the museum. We had a nice time eating there with the structure outdoor that was a great playground for the kids. Then we headed back to wait for the 1pm tour.

The tour started at the Wright Brothers & the Invention of the Aerial Age exhibition. A gentleman who leaded the guide was very knowledgeable and nice. We got to learn about what it took for the Wright brothers to get that first plane up in the air. It was a long tour so it might not be suitable for younger kids. We stayed for half the tour and figured that it was enough for Miss J and Mr. Z so we headed down to the Museum store. The Museum store was a fun place for them in itself. Don't forget to go down the basement to check out the original model of the U.S.S Enterprise Model, used in the filming of the first Star Trek series. I think it was the highlighted of the trip for Mr. Rojo..

By this time, we were done as in.. physically tired and couldn't check out any more exhibits. This museum would require more than one day to fully explore. And we would have to save them for next trip. :) We walked outside to take a quick snack break on the lawn in front of the museum. The weather was perfect. It was such a nice day and everyone enjoyed sitting there and peopel watching for a while...

Photo Friday: Lincoln Memorial at Night

One of my favorite spot during our spring break trip to DC was the Lincoln Memorial at night. We went there during our walking tour with DC by Foot tour guide.

It was one of the highlighted of our trip. It's a must-do in my opinion. The tour was fun, educational and very affordable. We walked from the corner of 15th and Contitution Ave to the Washington Monument. From there, we got to learn about the history of the monument and the Capitol Hill in which we could see from the distance. Then we walked to the World War II Memorial. Along the way, we heard the story about the White House and the Jefferson Memorial. My most memorable part of the tour has to be the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall. Do you know that it's not the War memorial because Vietnam war is not official war?

Once we got to Lincoln Memorial, the Sun had already set. The memorial was well-lit and had a lot of visitors even during night time. I love to just sit on the steps and look out to the reflecting pool.

Check out other travelers' Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.