Happy Blogaversary! STC Turns 7

I can't believe the day is here (well, a few days ago)! This blog has been running for seven whole years now. It's been fun, it's been hard, but I've also learned a lot and I hope you have too. 

Each year I try to share something interesting and fun on my birthday/anniversary post. For this, my 7th year, I want to talk about my next 7 (hopeful) vacations. We won't count Vegas, because you all know I am there several times a year. I post a lot of cheap eats and awesome activities, since it's ever-changing. You'll see those posts and, in fact, a few are coming up soon. For now, let's go beyond :

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1. St. Thomas USVI

We just bought our plane tickets for this exciting destination. It's time to kick back and relax, but also go shopping, snorkel, eat conch fritters and drive on the wrong side of the road. The U.S. Virgin Islands are celebrating 100 years and I'm all over that. I didn't plan my trip to coincide with their centennial, but it just happened to work out that way. We'll be visiting during their "rainy" season (surprise, surprise), but I anticipate that will just add to our adventure. I'm looking forward to the sky gondola overlooking the island, encountering marine life in the wild and at Ocean Park and appreciating butterflies at the Butterfly Farm. I may or may not be working on a St. Thomas wish list post as we speak.

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2. Philadelphia

Well, we thought about doing that whole down the East Coast deal where we hit Boston, Salem and other cities, but now we've put that on hold and settled on spending the week in Philadelphia during Harry Potter weekend, getting in on all the history the rest of the week and also a quick visit to Hershey and Hershey World. I'm working on my costumes already, because I'm going to do all the Harry Potter things dressed up and hit the town (probably) in street clothes later on. Accio CityPASS! I'll be posting a Philly wish list at some point.

3. Idaho

I know this doesn't sound exciting, and it may not be, but I'm excited for it anyway. We have tentatively planned a short 4-day road trip to Idaho next May which will include a stop in Wallace, a spin around Coeur d'alene, and a visit to Silverwood Theme Park during their anniversary weekend. Why then? Because kids are still in school and admission is under $20 a person. 

Anyway, Wallace is the Center of the Universe (per their mayor, so please don't tell me I'm making that up. He made it up, but there's a plaque and everything.), has huckleberry yummies and is the seat of silver mining in the Coeur d'alene area. I'm guessing it'll be a lot more fun when things are open. Not like when my mom and I stopped in to let the dog potty at the park and then learned all sorts of mining stuff there, but then couldn't do anything else, because it was late Sunday afternoon.

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4. Edinburgh, Scotland

Eric's cousin is getting married! In 2019. That's cool though, because it gives us the chance to save our pennies and make that celebration into an awesome vacation. We've never been, but I think this is going to be a fantastic way to get in some sightseeing with family that we rarely see. I've already got a Pinterest wish list running for this too. I mean, castles! Also, Guinness...and haggis. I tried it once. I liked it. I wish to try it in the homeland. From there we are going to take the overnight Megabus (to save money on a hotel room) to our next destination:

5. London

OMG, I can't even tell you how excited I am to be going back to London. It calls to me. It's probably only going to be a week, because I have to (sorry, get to) split it with Scotland, but I'm already planning a return trip to the Warner Bros Studios. I also have a lot of cafes I want to try and I want to go to all the markets. Plus, I'm going to go on a different Harry Potter walk and also frolic in Hyde Park and take tea at the Orangerie at Kensington Palace. We might even find ourselves on a day trip to Manchester. Maybe....probably. It's happening, people!

6. Orlando

My BFF's daughter is going to graduate in 2020 and her pick for her graduation present trip was Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. They asked if we would come along. Heck yeah! There's not much that can keep me from Diagon Alley...plus there'll be a new ride (or rides and/or food) and I need a new wand and a reason to run around in a quidditch costume. I mean, really, who doesn't need that with a side of Butterbeer?

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7. Toronto

I'm not sure if this is going to happen, but #7 is pretty much a wild card. I have been dying to go to Toronto. Is that weird? That's okay. I'm okay with being weird. I don't know that much about it, but they have something like a Space Needle and different foods and they have a Harry Potter-ish themed bar called The Lockhart. That's not Mt main draw, because I rarely drink, but I wouldn't be opposed to checking it out. Anyone been to Toronto? I need tips. We also want to go to Iceland, so that may happen first.

So, that's what we have on our plate for the next 3 or 4 years. I'm really excited about it. If you have any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them. Let's end with a few of my achievements since last August:

• I was published in a magazine. It's true. I have been waiting for quite a long time for this to happen and I even have hardcopies of said magazine to prove that my name is in actual print. It's a business to consumer magazine, so you can't actually get it on newsstands, but that's okay with me.
• I made 10Best's list of Budget Travel Blogs. Yes! You all helped me make that #6 spot for 2017 and I'm so grateful! You can see the full list here.
• Feedspot added me to their list of 100 Budget Travel Blogs and I was very honored to be among some really large company blogs, as well as travel blogs I follow myself. You can see the list of the other 99 here.
• I contributed to a Forbes travel article which gained me a lot of eyes on the blog. If you want to read it, you can find it here.

Now I want to hear from you. What future vacations are you most looking forward to, or have you added to your travel wish list?

Actually Get Some Sleep On the Plane

If you're not like me, who can sleep anywhere, including a plane where a baby is screaming for 5 hours straight, you probably need some help catching your Zs when you really need to on the airplane. The following infographic can give you ideas on how to get comfortable and actually be refreshed when you arrive at your destination. If you are a light sleeper, you'll probably want to try a combination of these things. 

I always bring a neck pillow when I travel long distance. I have several and have tried a lot of them. Some are better than others, obviously, and I would invest in a good one instead of grabbing one last minute from the airport. My suggestions are the hoodie pillow, which combines a soft hood (that you can wear over pulled down over your eyes), the FaceCradle (especially if you're tall and need to lean forward to get comfortable) or another pillow that will support your head and neck, like this one that will also work in the car, train, or anywhere else you want to nap. 

I bring an eye mask and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, because sometimes you just need to block everything out. Usually, I only use my eye mask when I'm in my hotel. I'm not a morning person and being woken up by sunlight directly in my eye is not the way to start a day. It also keeps my allergies under control, which sounds weird, but it works, especially when we have to sleep with the air conditioner on.

Keeping hydrated is important and I pack a water bottle that keeps my drinks hot and cold. Once I'm through security, I get a big bottle of cold water and fill it up. If you don't want to spend $4-6 on a bottle of water, you can just head to a water fountain. This is the brand I have. I also have a strap for it so Eric can carry it when we're out and about. This is not the one I have, but it's pretty cool.

I don't particularly suggest sleeping less to be tired when you fly. What I do suggest is getting onto your new schedule as soon as possible to avoid jet lag. That means if you're flying during sleeping hours wherever you're going, try to sleep, or vice versa. Then when you get there, go to bed at bedtime and it's more likely you'll not slow down in the middle of a day. 

How do you stay comfortable on the plane so you can actually sleep in public?

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Harry Potter

So, it's time again for my mini celebration of Harry Potter. It's a bit late this year, because I've been planning my annual party, working on some costumes for Yule Ball and Rose City Comic Con and volunteering at a Harry Potter event for the Harry Potter Alliance. 

Now that I'm a bit more caught up with life, let's talk about my Potter-related activities this past year. 

Another (several) visits to my favorite Potter-themed coffee shop was on the docket. I've gone to Vegas three times this year, two with a car, so of course I headed straight to Bad Owl Coffee in Henderson. Not only is the decor perfect, the coffee (themed and otherwise) and food are so delicious, I'd go there again and again even if it was just a regular coffee shop. 

I made my mom go with me on our short trip, drug my friends along while they were in Vegas with us, and Eric and I went again on our own before hitting up the Salt Room (which I highly recommend). My mom and I split the Tonks Italian Turkey. Last July Eric and I split the Siriusly Prosciutto (a toasted sandwich with prosciutto, arugula, fig and goat cheese). I got it again when I visited the next time (that's how good it is), and then we had to try the banana and strawberry waffles and the breakfast sandwich. 

For coffee, you have to at least try the ButterBrew Latte once. It's Siriusly delicious (see what I did there?). You can get all your favorites as well and I'm a little sad I forgot that I wanted to try the Earl Grey Latte, so I'll definitely be getting it next time. Instead, I tried their Chai Tea Latte and their Spanish Latte. Both were awesome over ice. While the prices may not be the cheapest, it's still fresher and tastier than a lot of Vegas options, so it's worth the drive.

We just finished a whirlwind Harry Potter weekend, where we threw our annual party - this year's theme was Quidditch World Cup - and volunteered at a fundraiser event for the Harry Potter Alliance. Our party was a hit and everyone had a blast dressing up as wizards trying to dress muggle, eating a bunch of foods that are featured in the books, and trying to one up each other in (my super hard) trivia to win the House Cup. 

I ran a raffle for some sweet Harry Potter goodies this year (in the past we've done a book drive) and it was very successful. My guests got a chance to win some cool swag and we raised money for the HPA that we donated the following day.

Sadly, we don't have that many pics of the awesome HPA fundraiser, because we were busy handing out programs and signing people up for the costume contest and pointing them toward the donation boxes, but that's great, right? Once I was done with my duties, I hit up the bar for an adult Butterbeer (I missed out on the topping, but I was cool with that, so sorry it just looks like whiskey in a glass) and some popcorn and was ready to play some trivia and watch Sorcerer's Stone with all the other Potterheads. 

In December, we went to SoCal and visited the new Hogsmeade area of Universal Studios. You all know that my visit to Universal Orlando was AH-mazing...like to the point that I broke up my Wizarding World visit into three posts. I was really hoping to get that feeling there, but was disappointed that the shops were super small and the world was just all around tiny. I mean, it didn't stop me from getting excited from entering the WWoHP, getting my pics taken on the train and meeting the conductor of the Hogwarts Express. 

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A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Dec 21, 2016 at 12:00pm PST

We had a blast despite the crummy weather and the packed park. We walked the halls of Hogwarts, we rode Flight of the Hippogriff and admired Hagrid's hut, we had Butterbeer in all its forms and ate at the Three Broomsticks. We also enjoyed the frog choir which put on a special show, and we shopped a bit in the cramped shops. 

Our trip included a visit to the Warner Bros Studios, which you may have read about here on the blog. I highly recommend it. They were having a Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts exhibit, which was small, but really awesome. I was surprised by how much they packed into the space, and sad I only had 15 minutes to look at it all before continuing on the tour. 

I made the most of it though, running upstairs, taking pics and interacting with the employees there. I even got sorted...you know, into Ravenclaw! The Sorting Hat talked to me though, which was really fun. 

In December we'll be attending the HPA's Yule Ball event. I'm making my outfit for maximum awesomeness. You can get a sense of what I'm going for with this DIY video. Next month is Rose City Comic Con and I'm hoping to go two of the three days, which means I'll get a chance to wear two different cosplays. One of them will probably be Harry Potter themed. So, here's to another great year full of Harry Potter, travel and celebrations.

If you're interested in other HP travel we've done, check out this post.

Did you celebrate the Boy Who Lived in some way this year?