Out With the Old and In With the New

Wow! The last Friday of 2011. I feel like this year flew by. Someone once told me that after I graduated high school, each year would go by faster and faster. Even though I'm totally #readyfor2012, I couldn't let my previous post be the last post of 2011. I wanted to take some time to pay homage to the year we are all moving on from.

Although in some ways it was a stressful year comprised of all the "usual" suspects (i.e. personal, health, and other random worries), I've seen and done a lot of things. More than I ever imagined. At the end of each year I like to think of what I was doing last year at this time. At the end of 2010, I had just started blogging, and quickly fell in love with writing and sharing my thoughts with others.

In 2011 I have been blessed with being able to see such beautiful cities as San Francisco/Bay Area and London. London is my new favorite city BTW. I experienced the Irish Countryside in a way I never dreamed of. I witnessed Stone Hedge, Buckingham Palace, and took Bud to Disneyland for the first time. I met Rob Kardashian and ate the most amazing donuts in Los Angeles.  Might I remind you that I don't even like donuts.

As each year goes by I try to document more and more. Finally, a new digital camera for me in 2011! One lifetime is clearly not enough. I want to share my memories with friends and family forever. If this blog gives me a creative outlet to do that, then so be it!  

Lastly, I'd like to thank you all for reading and taking interest in what I have to say this year. I hope that 2012 brings as much Expedition Evans "awesomeness" as 2011 did. 

xoxo mevans

B&B Breakdown

Is anyone else #readyfor2012? Sorry, I love hashtags! Anyway - I rounded out the end of 2011 with a nice quick PA getaway. You know, one of those "I-need-to-get-out-of-here-for-a-little-bit-before-I-go-insane" kind of trips. A few months ago Groupon Getaways had an offer for a B&B in Lancaster County, PA - near Hersey Park but near-er to Amish Country. I later renamed it "Schrute Farms". A bunch of our friends were going and they kindly extended the invite, and you know I'm always up for a trip. 

This was me and Bud's first time staying at a B&B. I'm not sure what I really expected - when I think of B&B I generally think of old Victorian houses, with a porch swing, and, I don't know - lots of quilts - and for some reason teddy bears? Something kinda like this: 

Pic Courtesy of Victorianbazaar.com 

Upon arriving we met the Inn Keeper (you know, Master of the House? Keeper of the Inn? Am I the only one that finds that amusing?), who was just as bizarre as the rest of the experience. 

The accommodations were quaint, but there were random clown figurines and paintings everywhere, and it was creepy. There were even clown figurines in the bathroom and I felt like they were staring at me. I can just picture a black and white Rod Serling standing in the lobby with his hands folded saying something like "they checked in but they never checked out".

The rooms were decently clean, albeit a bit dusty and cluttered, but the accommodations allowed me to sleep a restful night's sleep at least. Our bathroom towels looked like 1500 different people had used them. On one of them I found long grey hairs stuck to it that were not mine or Bud's (after I had dried my face with it) <insert gag reflex here>. I'm gagging just thinking of it. 



Then at 5:00 am we get a knock from one of our friends - there's a gas leak and we all need to get out of our rooms.We grab our valuables and head down to the lobby. Our friends smelled the leak, and I'm sure if they wrote this portion of the post it would be much more entertaining, but sorry, you just got my side of the story folks! As we were gathered in the lobby, the local firemen, which consisted of 3 overweight middle aged men and a 12 year old, arrived and cleared the building. Now, where was the Inn Keeper during all this? Your guess is as good as mine, because after calling and practically banging down her door, she was nowhere to be found. We were able to go back up to bed around 6:00 am. 



She greeted us the next morning with "Did you all sleep well?" - to which we all muttered something under our breaths and told her the night's adventures. She immediately gave us some attitude and shrugged it off. I think I can say that all of us were thoroughly annoyed from that point on. 

Don't get me wrong - we had a great time. We loved every minute with our friends. Their company made the experience much better. We shared lots of laughs and played fun games (Monopoly and the Paper Game)! We enjoyed an Amish Buggy ride (or as we like to call it, "Teach Me How to Buggy") and I got to buy some strawberry jam. 

So, to sum up, it wasn't the worst place to stay, but not the best place to stay either. I guess it's true, if you are in good company, not much else matters. Shout to my friends that made the weekend wonderful! 


Here's some pics of our fun weekend!

Our Fun Sunday Night, I'm not sure who won though: 

An abandoned train line, AKA our view: 

The B&B

xoxo mevans

Planning Pains

So I'm trying to plan a trip to Italy. I usually devise the plans for our vacays with much ease (I'm nerdy like that anyway) - but I'm having a really hard time planning this trip. We've figured out when we want to go - but necessarily where exactly - Italy is a big country, and it's not really that cheap to get there and get around in it. I'm trying to figure out logistically how to make all this work on the budget and time frame that we have.

There are a few package deals out there, but most are for Rome, Venice, and Florence city tours. These deals aren't bad deals, just not deals that match my budget and my liking. The Trip Advisor reviews on some of these tours leave a lot to be desired. I believe the words "flea infested hotel" was found in one of the reviews. A-no-thank-you.

So if there's anyone out there that can provide me with some suggestions of at least where to start, I greatly appreciate it!

xoxo mevans

What's the deal-io: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - for deals that is

So I've been super excited the past few days. Why, you might ask? Four words my friends: Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Now I generally do not partake in the craziness that surrounds these two days. However this year, I could not resist. I picked up a pretty stylish Coach bag on Friday (and saved 25% to boot!). Yesterday I also enjoyed 50% of my entire order from New York and Company online store, and ordered a photo book highlighting our summer trip to Cali (free shipping!).

But what I absolutely love is that this year (more than every other year it seems), that travel websites have been also offering deals on Cyber Monday. Check out Travelocity and Travelzoo. They have discounted vacation packages. I also came across these deals from Jet Blue. The deals flying out of JFK are phenomenal! Most offers are expiring by tomorrow, so if you are looking to book, jump on it! 

Happy planning! 

xoxo mevans 



 

Some Advice

I really cannot believe how quickly 2012 is upon us! Fall seems to have apparently missed the Northeast and brought winter upon us immediately. That's OK though, winter means fun things like gingerbread lattes from Starbucks, really awesome shopping deals, and of course, new trips and travel deals for 2012! Does it sound like I'm wishing 2011 away to much?

Anyways, I wanted to take today's post and give a shout out to all those traveling out there this week. Kinda random, I know, but I'm a little off this week - 2.5 day work week and all. Sorry, rambling again. 

I can only imagine what the airports are like the day before a major holiday. I've only traveled out of the country once during the Thanksgiving break. The only advice I can give, and I'm sure there are many other travel sites out there that recommend this - if you are going to travel, travel on Thanksgiving day itself. 

My JFK airport experience was most pleasant. There was like 3 people total working, and we made it through security in about 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes - and we were flying internationally. Enough said my friends, enough said. So if there's anyone out there that's reading this - save some time and bucks and look into traveling on Thursday instead of Wednesday! 


I heard on the news yesterday that the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is becoming the new Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so travel smart my dears! Oh, and my ultimate advice, avoid Disney this time of year at all costs. I'm not even brave enough to go during this time of year! 

Oh, and shout out to Travelocity - they give frequent updates on flights and delays at all major airports. I'm a fan y'all!

Happy travels to all! 

xoxo mevans

What's the deal-io of the week: Western Bound

It's been awhile since one of these, right?!? I know how much you all of missed them. 

I came across this little gem of a resort just last week. For any of you last minute travelers out there, these accommodations look like the perfect way to escape the Northern chill of November. You know how much I like to head out West every now and then.

The Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix boasts all types of activities from golfing to spa treatments. From the looks of the website, the grounds are beautiful - I would even go as far to say pristine. The resort is currently offering a Thanksgiving special of $99 per night!   

I checked in with my travel buddy, Trip Advisor, and the guest reviews of the Arizona Grand are all extremely positive. What I also like about this hotel is that the general manager responds and thanks each guest that posted a review. Now that's the kind of service that Expedition Evans likes to see. Phoenix anyone?

Happy Monday!

xoxo mevans

The Most Delicious Donut You Will Ever Eat

Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. In wandering around California aimlessly (since wandering aimlessly is what we do best of course), we stumbled upon the mecca of all donut shops - Randy's Donuts. Randy's has been featured in a bunch of movies (most notably the Iron Man franchise), and is located right outside of LAX. It doesn't look like much, but believe me, the donuts are amazing - and I don't even like donuts. If you ever get a chance to go, try the chocolate raised - it's the JAM. 

Happy Friday everyone! 

Have a great weekend!

xoxo mevans