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Updated on Uncategorized

Wilmington and Carolina Beach

Our first trip of the summer was to Carolina Beach and Wilmington. We went with a group of friends and met up with family. This place holds a special place in my heart because I went to college there for my undergraduate. The whole place just feels nostalgic but also new at the same time. Because this area has had a boom of new businesses. I am going to tell you some of our favorite places that we went to with our two year old.

  1. This is obvious but the beach. It is the whole reason why you are there. We opted to stay in a beach house in Carolina Beach for its affordability and we were able to get a beautiful airbnb that housed 6 adults and 2 toddlers. Was walking distance to the beach. Had a fully fenced in backyard and a rec room downstairs only accessible from the outside which helps those toddlers not go up and down the stairs. If you know you know. Not to mention the design of this place was beautiful I am ready for them to come do my house. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/912344620313423786
  2. Indochine- Obviously the one in Wilmington proper is one of the most beautiful restaurants we have ever been too. But as a big group staying in Carolina Beach we were happy to find out there was a take out window in Monkey Junction/Carolina Beach area. Which was a huge win for us! We got all the good food without the stress of taking a two toddlers to a restaurant.
  3. Fort Fisher North Carolina Aquarium: It was obviously very crowded because what kid wouldn’t love an aquarium. We enjoyed our time here, they have expanded since I was in college. Which was obviously a long time ago. But they added in an outdoor playground. Which is a huge win if you have a energetic toddler like we do.

Unfortunately I am the worst at taking pictures. This is the only one without my child in it. We try to keep our son off social media accept on our personal accounts.

4. Lewis Strawberry Farm: This was probably my son’s favorite activity while we were there. Picking fruit with kids is so fun. If you are there from April-May you can go strawberry picking and June is for the blueberries. We went during blueberry season which wasnt our sons favorite fruit but he still had a blast. The real excitement was eating fresh homemade strawberry ice cream. This is a must do in my opinion if you are there at the right time of year.

Places I wanted to go to but didn’t have time

  • Biggers Market: I love a cute farmers market that has coffee and foodtrucks. What could be a better afternoon.
  • All the amazing downtown coffee shops

So far it was an amazing trip and we will be going back time and again. What is your favorite place to vacation?

Travel

Lounge Reviews

I know I have been pretty inconsistent on here it is something I will be working on in this new year. Over the past 6 months we have traveled a lot so you will have lots of posts coming at you. But during the past 6 months I have been doing alot of research on travel hacking. I am still a newbie in the travel hacking world but I am always researching and learning more everyday. But something that comes along with travel hacking is access to lounges per credit cards. We have the Capital One Venture card and with that comes a credit for Priority Pass giving us more lounge access then we had before. Because as much as I would love to travel first or buisness to get lounge access that is just not in the cards for us right now with a toddler. Here is a Lounge roundup from the past 6 months of travel.

My first lounge of the year was the Capitol One Lounge DFW. It was a good place to start my lounge journey of 2023. This is one you do not want to miss if you have access to it. I think this is one that I would even pay for access to if I did not have access through my credit card. I will say this lounge has the best drinks of any of the lounges I went to this year. Great bar menu with different house drinks and there coffee section was beautiful. They had La Colombe draft coffee as well as an espresso machine that makes lattes etc. They also have canned drinks if you want to take sparkling water to go. The food was unique not super filling but definitely different then other lounge food. But one of my favorite perks was that there was a Peloton in the workout room. If my layover had been longer I definitely would have taken advantage of that. My ratings are down below.

The next lounge that I went to was the Delta Sky Lounge: Minneapolis. I would definitely say the crowd in this lounge was a completely different demographic than the Capital One lounge. A Lot more adults and alot less kids. I think the food in this lounge was very good. I actually got a full meal, the bar was good and had a good coffee bar. In terms of other amenities there are none. No showers or workout rooms. But is not a bad lounge if you have a ton of Delta Miles or the AMEX credit card. I unfortunately do not fall into either category so I had to pay. But for a long layover it was worth it. My ratings are below….

The last lounge we went to this year was the Club CLT in Charlotte, NC. I will say in terms of aesthetics this lounge is for sure the prettiest and most modern. In terms of service I was not impressed. The food took a long time to come out and there were not a lot of options. The bar was as good as any bar. In terms of additional amenities the only other amenity was a kids area. But that area was closed when we went. That was pretty disappointing because we had our 1 year old with us and we needed to get some energy out before our 9 hour flight. I think this is a good lounge if your going to go get drinks and get some work done. But not the best if your hungry or have kids. My ratings are below.

Cannot wait to see what lounges we go to this year….We are ready for more lounges and more adventures.

Updated on Travel

Long Flights with Kids

The sentence long flying and toddlers should not even go in the same sentence. But if you are a family that values travel and experiences, it is a sentence you will hear yourself saying. It can be tough and is not for the person who only likes to travel. You will have to love to travel to put your family and toddler into a 4 seater airplane. 

Expecting the unexpected is the name of the game for dealing with a toddler in a plane. It can be especially difficult if your child is too young to watch tv or you are trying to not use screen time. If either of those sound like you then you need lots of tiny distractions that will keep your kiddo entertained. When I am packing the activity bag here are the questions I ask myself. 

  1. Is it small enough to bring in a diaper bag? 
  2. Are there more than one way to play with the toy? 
  3. Will it entertain my child for more than 5 minutes?

Then I first look through what we have that meets this criteria. Some of the items and things that help the most while flying. Snacks are your best friend. Find snacks that are not messy and that you know your kiddo is going to like. Also make sure you don’t get only new snacks for the flight. Because there is nothing worse than bringing all the food and snacks then your toddler hates them all.  My kiddo’s favorite for the plane are puffs. His favorite are the serenity kids puffs, they have great ingredients and have hidden veggies. He also really likes popcorn. Obviously each kiddo is different so bring the snacks that work for your kid. Now that you know what snacks to bring, what the heck do you put them in? I honestly have not tried a ton of different snack containers. The one we love is the Whiskware Harry Potter Stackable Cups .

These stackable cups come in so many different characters and are very functional. We even used it to carry formula when he was still on it. 

Now that we got the snacks we need the entertainment. The things that I found that entertained him the most were board books, stickers, and my sunglasses. Any type that will entertain your kid will work. Toddlers love to flip pages and stick stickers on things for a long while. I find the magic number of toys to bring is 8. Not sure why 8 but that just tends to be what works for us. I try to find 8 different types of toys so that each one will entertain him. I also try to get one new and fun item when we are doing a flight over 2 hours. I usually just go to the dollar tree or the target dollar spot. A one dollar toy will entertain him the same as a 20 dollar toy. So girl save your money! 

Now that you got the food and the entertainment, we gotta know where the kid eats, sleeps, and strolls. This is where the amount of things you have can be alot! The key is finding lightweight and foldable options for the three extra things you will need when traveling with a baby and toddler. 

  1. Lightweight car seat: Cosco Mighty Fit Convertible Car Seat
  2. Lightweight Stroller
  3. Foldable pack n play

Now that you got all your stuff and don’t forget the baby you are all set. Now for my advice that has worked with flying with my own child. Try to time flying near your kids’ longest nap time. This will help you and them. Because most of the time your kid will fall asleep which will give you 2 hours of peace and quiet on your flight. You just got to time it right and be willing to get to your destination after that nap time. Bring a stroller. There is a lot of waiting time from ubers to all the checks you have to do on your plane. Having a stroller means you can go for a walk anywhere and it will help you kill time. ALWAYS have your car seat you would not believe the stories we hear from uber drivers about people not bringing it then trying to get an uber. It is not safe and it is not legal. But the most important piece of advice I have is that the day will not go as you plan. There is so much out of your control it’s best to just go with the flow. It will make a much better trip for you and your family. I hope you have found some information that has helped. Till next time, happy flying.

Updated on Lifestyle

Bi-Weekly Recap

So I am normally trying to get one post up a week. But it is back to school time and I am worn out. Not a good excuse but there it is. Some highlights of my week include baking bread, trying beer, eating snacks, and listening to tunes and audiobooks.

This week was one of the most normal mundane 2 weeks in my life. Besides my kid being sick. Before our kid got sick. We started off the week baking lovely bread. It is a hobby that I am trying to start. Well I am trying to have any sort of hobby. Flo always says I don’t have hobbies. To bake my bread I have been using Paul Hollywods 100 Great Breads. I would say it turned out the best this week. I made the halloumi and mint bread. I love it and so does my family. Only alterations that I make is adding more salt and putting a pan of water at the bottom of the oven. In terms of ingredients and materials that I suggest. I have a specific bread flour. I use the King Arthurs Bread Flour and so far it is my favorite. But I am still a novice and so I will be continuing to try new flours and yeast etc.

As the rest of the week went on it was pretty normal for the most part. Minus my son being at home instead of at daycare. I would love to tell you I have a trick for treating toddlers with ear infections but I don’t. It is honestly just survivalist. I was lucky that my parents came to help out with him when he is was in such a bad place.

While they were here to help that gave us an excuse for a date night that we had already had planned. But instead of a babysitter we got grandparents the best thing. We are apart of the Offline Nashville Club https://rb.gy/t6vx5 which I have thoughts on. It is a monthly dinner club where you pay 15 dollars and you get anywhere from 20-50 dollars off your two choices. My thoughts are 50/50 on it. Some months are amazing and you try these really good either new or well known restaurants. But on the flip side some months you end up with only struggling restaurants that either the service isnt great or the food is not worth the price.

But this months were great we did an Offline Nashville event for Hi-Wire Brewing you paid 10 dollars and got two beers. Which in most places is not a bargain, but in Nashville getting anything for 5 dollars is a steal. We had a blast and loved it. The reason I was so pumped for this brewery is because it started in my hometown of Asheville, NC. The beer is the same as the original which is what I love about it because I am a beer snob. Asheville has some of the best beer in the country and Nashville has not lived up to that standard in terms of beer. I will say the vibe of this place is very modern and very Nashville which makes sense. The vibe in the original is total opposite. Both are good just different from each other. There is tons of seating and ping pong. There is a small outdoor section as well if you want to bring your furry friend. I would rate this place 10/10 for us mainly because it is great beer, vibe and includes parking which in the gulch is unheard of.

The next place we went to with Offline Nashville is East Park Doughnuts which I already knew I loved. They are located in East Nashville which is one of my favorite parts of Nashville. Plus do not hate me but it is my favorite doughnut place in Nashville. Yes I like it over Five Daughters do not come for me. I love the vibe which is primarily locals with their families just drinking coffee and eating either doughnuts or breakfast. I can say that there coffee is a 9/10 for me and doughnuts are a 10/10. Our favorite thing is to get coffee and doughnuts and take them to Shelby Park for a picnic and a walk. It is a great thing to do if your visiting Nashville with kids.

You may be thinking hold on Jessica isn’t this a travel blog. Yes it is a travel blog but we are trying to save some money right now by staying where we live and enjoying the city we live in. But no worries we will be gearing up for another adventure in the tiny plane at the end of the month. Plus my plan is to do some single engine packing guides etc. throughout the month. I hope to see you next week with a new post.

Family with Wings

Links: (All thoughts are my own only links that I make any money off of is the amazon affiliate links)

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Offline Nashville: https://rb.gy/t6vx5

Updated on Lifestyle

Weekly Recap 8/7-8/14

I personally love reading weekly recaps. In my brain I thought how hard can it be. Apparently remembering your ordinary daily life is more challenging than I thought. But nonetheless I am going to give it my best shot. 

Honestly the beginning of this week was pretty ordinary. Some of my highlights were baking our favorite Spanakopita pie from one of my favorites Half Baked Harvest. I swear everything I cook for her is delicious. Her’s always come out looking picture ready. Mine not so much but super tasty. 

A lot of my week was spent trying to resist the urge to buy coffee out everyday. If you know you know. But I did make an exception one day because I was on the struggle train at work. But the smores mocha from stompin grounds brought me back to life. I highly recommend checking out Stompin Grounds in Gallatin TN if you’re local. They have the cutest interior and every drink is amazing. 

Another great local gem that we went to this week in Gallatin was Grant’s Kitchen. If you love meat and 3 this is a great option. Mainly because of its cute interior and it has a drive through window. Need I say more, drive through windows and grocery pickup saves all the busy moms out there. 

Then by Friday it was time to go on a little get away just the two of us. Our kid went to stay with his grandparents and mom and dad got a night to ourselves. We spent it by going to Richmond, Virginia. We were there to see my husband’s favorite band at Jam Packed Beer Festival. We stayed in the Best Western Plus by the Airport. This was my first time staying at a Best Western and I was surprised. I had low expectations but there were some good upgrades that they had. The hotel was old with renovations and probably still needed some more. But I will say the breakfast is one of the better included breakfast buffets that I have had. Trust me I have had a lot of them. Also they had a shuttle to the airport. That was a game changer not to have to worry about another Uber. For the price of 109 per night it was worth it. Also we booked using our Capital One Venture Card. Highly recommend this card if you travel a ton like we do with and without our Tiny Plane. 

Now on to my review about Jam Packed Beer Festival. I have some feelings on this one. It was more of a music festival than a beer festival. Tickets were reasonably priced at 40 per ticket. But you had to buy your cans of beer for 8 dollars a can. To me that was way too high for what you’re getting. They only had IPA’s and Lagers not to mention the people working the booths are volunteers and don’t know anything about beer. I think you really can’t call it a beer festival when you have very few types of beer. The music was great and that is why we went. It is out on Browns Island in Richmond. Love this cute venue with the best bridges and a river to sit beside. My advice is if you are going to go and you only want to see the headliner, wait to go till 8pm. Otherwise you will be melting for hours in the sun drinking expensive beer. 

Honestly this week was light on the mom content, but heavy on the eating, drinking, and traveling. I hope you enjoyed your week as well. 

-Family With Wings