Weekend Getaway Options for the Entire Family

When you want to take your family for a brief getaway, you may find the respite you need by taking refuge in the forests of Oklahoma. The scenic landscaping could recharge you and give you the quiet solitude you seek away from the city. Before you depart for your journey, you can find accommodations like Broken Bow cabins and other lodgings that are designed with your family in mind. These accommodations come with everything you need to be comfortable during your stay.

photo credit

In-Room Comforts

The lodgings found in the Oklahoma wilderness can be a sort of home away from home. The typical cabin comes with everything you would need to take care of your family anytime of the day or night. For example, if you want to stay in the cabin rather than go into town to eat a restaurant, you can find a full kitchen available to you. The kitchen comes with a refrigerator, stove, oven, and other modern comforts that you need to cook meals, store food, wash dishes, and take care of other routine tasks.

The cabins also come with fully furnished living rooms that come complete with a sofa, lounge chairs, a TV, and also a fireplace where you can build a fire. You can spend quality family time playing games, watching TV and movies, or simply relaxing during your vacation. The bedrooms likewise come furnished with comfortable beds and linens so that you can rest after a full day of enjoying time with your loved ones or exploring the outdoors.

photo credit

Outdoor Enjoyments

Taking a vacation to the wilderness can be a unique experience, particularly if you have never before been fishing, boating, or camping out in the woods. You can fish for any of the native Oklahoma fish species in the clear lakes and streams near the cabins. You can also take a boat out onto the designated boating areas. 

The rates for staying at the retreat are family-friendy and designed with your convenience in mind. You can book your ideal cabin now by going online. You can also use the contact information on the site to call the establishment directly if you have questions or concerns.

The Oklahoma wilderness can be the ideal location to get away from the busy and noisy city. You can check out the lodgings and other accommodations by visiting the establishment's website today. Broken Bow cabins provide a great budget-friendly getaway.

Have you ever been to Oklahoma?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that I received compensation for.

Budget Valentine's Day in Paris

It's that time again: Valentine's Day is coming! I’m sure some of you are racking your brains still for things to buy your Sweetheart. If you had a plan and are totally prepared, why not start thinking about a romantic getaway later in the year or even as an anniversary, birthday or next Valentine’s Day “Wow” vacation? I’m talking, of course, about the most romantic city in the world: Paris. While others may disagree with this title, I think more people than not still want to travel to France to see what they’ve been missing all this time. From the sidewalk cafes to Notre Dame, Paris is really a magical city. There’s so much to see and do that even if you don’t find it extremely romantic, you will find it extremely tourist friendly, with something to see or do around every corner.

The only drawback to this great city? Price. Paris can be very spendy if you don’t plan out your trip ahead of time. And don’t let the fact that Euros sound cheaper than British Pounds fool you. Currently, the dollars to Euros exchange rate is 1.09 : 1, meaning 1 Euro = $1.09. This is the best rate in years, making Paris super affordable as it is almost the same as the dollar. 9% is much better than the 30-40% it has been when we have visited, so if Paris is on your wish list, I'd suggest visiting sooner rather than later.

Spring, Fall and Winter are good times to travel to France. Anything, but Summer, really. Fall and Winter are going to be the least expensive times and also the least crowded. While shops and museums may be open shorter hours, you will be able to do more than you would in Summer, since tourists are sparse. Another upside: The air will have a chill, meaning you and your sweetie will spend a considerable amount of time snuggled together for warmth.

If you plan to do any real sightseeing in Paris, you should get yourself a Paris Pass. For one reasonable price, you can then skip the lines at many attractions, such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, and go right in. In fact, over 60 attractions are included with your Paris Pass, making it the most valuable thing you can take with you, besides your passport and loved one. Gain entrance to 55 museums and monuments (unfortunately, the Eiffel Tower is not included), amazing attractions, like the Seine River Cruise, unlimited travel on the metro, buses and RER within Central Paris, an awesome guidebook and coupons for dining and shopping.

Just looking to take a few relaxing days out wandering the streets? Well, that’s a great way to save money, especially since there are so many things to walk around and see without having to pay entrance fees. Stroll the Champs de Elysee, take pictures of the Arc and the outside of Notre Dame, cross the bridges over the Seine, buy a baguette or crepe from a street vendor, enjoy the sculptures outside of the Louvre and on and on. 

photo credit

One of my favorite memories, which may seem odd, was our trip to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and other notable historical figures have been buried here. It’s free to enter and they’ll even give you a map to guide you around. There is a donation box, and I suggest tossing in a couple of Euros, just for being able to walk among the mausoleums, tombstones and memorials. It’s simply amazing, the money and craftsmanship that went into the houses of the dead. We spent around three hours walking up and down the pathways and taking pictures of the magnificent structures and reading about those who were buried there and didn’t even see half of the grounds. It’s definitely a cheap day, but also very interesting. I plan to make another trip when I return. (Kudos to my husband for planning that day and including the cemetery, otherwise I would never have seen it.)

It’s pretty easy to get around town on public transportation. While it’s not as easy as it is in London and other big cities, mostly just because there aren’t as many stops, it’s still a great way to get from one place to another and also get your walking and exercise in once you arrive at your destination. Paris is a wonderful walking city. With everything to see, you won’t even realize how many miles you’ve put on your walking shoes…until you finally decide to sit down and get lunch somewhere. If you don’t invest in a Paris Pass, get yourself a daily or weekly Metro pass. It will save you money from buying each pass individually and make it much easier to keep track of.



Find delicious places to eat on a budget! This one is so easy, I wish I had the options last time I was there. Food can really add up, especially if, like me, you didn’t do your homework and assumed there would be amazing food everywhere you turned. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so. Check out these options for finding and booking meals in Paris and saving money while doing it!

• Book a Table: Not only can you make reservations online with Book a Table, but you can see diner reviews, menus, get big discounts and accrue points for each reservation you complete to earn your way to a free dining certificate. Even if you’re already in the city and want to have lunch in an hour, make your reservation just to get the points credited to your account when you check in.
• Groupon: Sign up for this deal-a-day site and get emails each day with the new deal. It can be entertainment, dining, personal services, shopping or more. The point is, there is plenty that Groupon has to offer that might be relevant and useful to your trip. Many of the selections are 50% off, so already that’s a significant saving on one aspect of your travel day.
• Eat on the street. Paris is full of food carts and much of that food is better than any sit-down restaurant and is a fraction of the price. Do yourself a favor and get a tasty baguette sandwich while walking around. And don't miss out on crepes and French cup of coffee. Just remember these words: Un café au lait, s'il vous plaît. 

So, you didn’t already plan a getaway or buy a gift and you can’t put together a trip to Paris in two weeks? What’s that? You’re not made of money? Don’t worry. Most of us aren’t, which is why this blog exists. So, for those of you that need a little help to stretch your dollars further, I'll be posting deals on Facebook and Twitter in the coming weeks, and next week I'll have a post on romantic staycations. 

In the meantime, check out the 10 best budget boutique hotels in Paris from MrandMrsSmith and GlobalGrasshopper's list of 10 best budget hotels in Paris. I totally want to stay in all of these and the rates are super reasonable. Of course on our last trip we opted for a cute Airbnb that was close to the Metro. 

Do you have plans to visit Paris in the future?

Mermaids Are Real in Weeki Wachee

It's been 20 or more years since I've watched a special on the Travel Channel on the mermaids of Weeki Wachee. For those of you who don't know, this is in Florida and it's a kitschy roadside attraction that's been a landmark since the 1960s. I was so interested in these ladies who could stay underwater and do tricks and swim like mermaids that it was put on my life list of things to see. I had no idea where Weeki Wachee was, but since we were doing a fall trip to Florida, I decided to look at it on the map. I was amazed that it was somewhat on the way from Orlando to St. Petersburg, so we planned to use our day driving between the two to make a stop there. 

There's nothing much that sets Weeki Wachee apart from other small Florida towns. It's bigger than I expected and had quite a few big box stores, but right at the edge of town you'll see big signs for the "Live Mermaids" turn-off. Had you not known it was there, you'd probably think it was a little odd. There's no missing this attraction though. 

When we rolled up, there were hardly any cars in the parking lot, but walking up, it was hard to understand why, as the beautiful fountain in the front was very beautiful and welcoming. I was really excited to get inside. Unfortunately, much of the park was under construction, which was not specified on the website, and the activities inside didn't run as often as the schedule available before we arrived. This didn't deter me though, because I was here to see mermaids. 

We had just missed the first mermaid show, so we decided to see what else was available. Usually, there is a beach and small waterpark that you can visit, but they were refurbishing that. For a straight $13 admission price, that seems pretty cool to be included. There was also an animal show, which I was not about to leave without seeing. It ran about 20 minutes and the guy running it brought out several animals native to the Florida area and was highly knowledgeable and funny. It was a great show for kids and even I learned some things. At the end, you have the chance to touch an alligator, which I eagerly waited for with a few of the kids. They're very soft, but you can feel the power in their tails, even a small one like the one you see above. 

One of the big draws of Weeki Wachee is the included river boat tour down the Weeki Wachee River. It runs all day and lasts around 20 minutes. On the boat you will see fish and beautiful scenery. You may also see gators, manatee, kayakers, eagles and other cool stuff. 

We were lucky to catch a glimpse of a pair of bald eagles. How awesome, right?

The water is crystal clear and you can see almost everything in it.

There are a few places to sit and get something to eat. The Galley was the one open when we were there, so in between shows we went inside and ordered a drink and some nachos while we relaxed, looked at a map to see what was in between Weeki Wachee and our final destination and if there were any discounts we could use on the rest of our trip. There's a decent variety of foods, drinks and desserts available at the Galley at reasonable prices. When it's warm out, there's also outdoor seating.

We couldn't pass up a fun photo op, especially when it was becoming a mermaid! How can you not? I'm not saying we make great mermaids, but it was hilarious and we had a good time doing it and goofing off.

And then it was time for the mermaid show!

The mermaid theater was small, but could seat several hundred people. All seats are good and have the ability to see everything going on in the water. While you wait, you can enjoy videos of the older shows that have been performed there, including the original shows in the 60s.

Because we were visiting in the off-season, the show was fairly short (around 20-30 minutes) and only featured two ladies and a man. You can see the mermaids perform in tails and also in other costumes. In between the separate themed performances, you learn (and see) how the "mermaids" are able to rise, sink and stay in one place while underwater. They tell you about the tank, the air hoses and the changing station (kind of like the backstage area where the mermaids change outfits). Then you are treated to some of their visual tricks, like drinking a bottle of soda while underwater.

The skill it takes to be a Weeki Wachee mermaid is pretty involved. I could never do it, but then I'm not great at underwater things and am not fond of things like diving. It's impressive seeing them do their shows while not freaking out and not getting tangled in their breathing hoses. Here's a quick video of the mermaids in action:

Even though I was disappointed with the length of the show, I can't complain since I was the one who visited during the off-season. We were blessed with little to no crowds throughout the park though, which I doubt would happen anytime during the summer. It's something I can cross off the list of awesome things I've wanted to see in life and I would even go back again. For the price of admission, I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you're traveling with little kids who would be amazed by seeing a "real live" mermaid. At the end of the show, they can visit with a mermaid and get their picture taken with her.

Have you been to a cheesy roadside attraction that you loved?