My Alternative to Portland Rose Festival

This year has been weird, but we're finding cool things where we can, and that means we'll be doing a lot of local tourism that's also responsible. The Portland Rose Festival would be happening right about now and The Grand Floral Parade is one of the biggest draws to Downtown Portland. We've been spending some weekends driving around to the Parading In Place homes, but the other part of this festival is the floats made of flowers. 

These floats are amazing and covered in flowers, and even though I'm not usually into flowers, I'm always awed by the amount of work these participants put in. I used to have a job that shared a parking lot with the warehouses where these floats were created, so every once in a while we were allowed to come check it out or we saw floats coming and going. I have noticed some great gardens in my own neighborhood, so I took a walk the other day to capture some of my favorite blooms. 

 

Because I suffer from allergies, it's hard for me to get too excited by most flowers, but I can't deny how beautiful Spring is and how talented my neighbors are. Since I also won't be able to enjoy the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival or the Dahlia Festival, I found this to be the next best thing. Here are just a few of the awesome gardens near me:

I want to thank those in my neighborhood that help beautify it. I also want to show you that just because so much stuff is cancelled or postponed, doesn't mean we only get to sit in our homes and binge Netflix and eat chips. Our cities in Oregon are "opening" in June, but we'll still be trying to be careful about our activities. Much of our summer will be enjoying outdoor spaces, including patio dining, food trucks, Portland parks, and street art.  You can do the same wherever you live. While I'll be writing about some of it, make sure to follow me on Instagram to see more pics. 

You can also see more of my favorite gardens from my travels:

• Longwood Gardens
• Bellagio Conservatory
• Ethel M Cactus Garden
• San Diego Botanic Garden
• Kew Gardens
• United States Botanic Garden

What will you be doing in your city this summer?

4 More Ways to Stretch Your Hotel Budget

This week we're looking ahead to when we can travel again. Right now, you can still plan a trip for later. If you missed the first four tips, go check that out first. Accommodations don't have to break the bank. If you know what to look for or how to book and on what days, you can save big bucks. Imagine what else you can do on your trip with the money you save.

You can always get a better deal on your accommodations if you know what you want from one or even ask for things you wish were included. In fact, now is a great time to haggle with a hotel for amenities, because the industry is struggling and some things that they normally charge for they may be perfectly happy to include in your booking for free.

Stay in Brand New Hotels

Hotels that have been newly built or totally remodeled often have an introductory period right when they open that offers rock-bottom rates. HotelChatter is a website that not only shows reviews of hotels, but they also list the opening dates of new hotels and update them if they change. The list shows hotels worldwide, so you can search before you book your room.

Go All-Inclusive

I know you’re paying to stay at these places to be entertained and well-fed; most of them also offer free activities in the form of non-motorized watersports and even have nightly entertainment. That’s a freebie in my opinion, though you may feel differently. I suggest pricing out what you would expect to spend on your trip if you didn’t go all-inclusive and see if the savings are significant enough to go one way or the other.

Stay in a Vacation Rental

If you have a large family, this may be your perfect solution. Rentals are booked per night, not by guest counts, so whether you have three people or eight people in your travel party you pay the same price. The other pluses to a rental are: having more space to stretch out, having a kitchen to cook your own meals in (or at least store some snacks and leftovers), there aren’t 20 potential neighbors waking you up at all hours and many rentals have a washing machine. I wrote a whole post on my love of vacation rentals.

Look for Freebies

Free is always a great price, but if you don’t know how to get it, then it’s not really all that helpful. I love travel freebies and try to maximize them on every trip I take, because that’s less money I have to pay out of my own pocket. The more money I save, the better trip I can take or the more I can put towards a future vacation. There’s also the fact that if you save more, you spend less and suddenly a trip that was a little out of your reach is now within your budget!

• Free Breakfast – Free continental or buffet breakfast is a fantastic saver! On the low end, say you usually only have coffee and a bagel in the morning, you can save $5 per person, but on the higher end, if you like to eat out and have someone wait on you in the morning, you could be looking at $12+ per person.
• Kids Eat Free – If your hotel has a restaurant and they offer free dining for kids, this is another big savings. Usually, you can get free meals for up to two kids this way if you purchase an adult entrée. Assuming a kid’s meal is an average of $6, that’s up to $18 per day, per child.
• Free Wi-Fi – I always like to stay in touch while I’m on vacation, so I tend to bring my iPad and netbook everywhere I travel. This way my husband and I can both check up on what’s been happening while we’ve been gone and also communicate with friends and family. Hotels and resorts sometimes charge for internet service, or you can wait in the lobby and use one of their computers free of charge for a few minutes. Your best bet on this is to find one of the many places that give you free Wi-Fi, because it can save you weekly or daily rates, or those per-minute rates charged by Internet cafés. You also can’t do much business if you’re on a time limit.
• Laundry On-Site – While usually not free, it’s still a minimal charge to use the machines there compared to the local Laundromat or worse, the laundry services they offer where you leave your bag of clothing and then come back to fresh clothes and a bill. Generally, the machines off-site can range anywhere from $1.75 - $3.00 per load for both the washer and the dryer. If you do laundry out of the country, it can cost almost $8 just to wash your clothes. Anytime I’ve used the on-site facilities, they range from $.50-1.00 for each machine and most times they were free. It’s easy to throw clothes in while you’re resting from your day out walking.
• Free Coffee and Snacks – Many hotels offer free coffee/tea and snacks (like fruit and cookies) in the lobby. There’s no reason to not take advantage of such things that are included in your room rate. Think about all the times you want to snack during the day while you’re sightseeing. If you had a banana or some other snacky thing that you snagged on your way out, you wouldn’t have to shell out any money again until lunch or dinner. The free coffee and/or tea provided, while not fancy, can save you a trip to Starbucks in the morning.
• Free Alcoholic Beverages – If drinking is one of your favorite vacation pastimes, there are a few ways to get free drinks on your travels. The most obvious way is to stay at an all-inclusive resort where this is included. I consider it free, because you’re paying for your accommodations, entertainment and food all in one lump sum. Anything beyond that is a plus in my book. Another thing you can do is find a hotel that offers a free cocktail hour. They are kinda few and far between, but if you’re lucky you can find them.

I hope this helps you plan a fantastic trip and find the best hotel room for your needs. 

What are your favorite hotels to stay at and what makes it so awesome?

Always Eat After 7PM and Have More Energy

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

As a frequent traveler, I often go on a trip and walk several miles per day. When you have to walk up a couple steep staircases, but stop to take many breaks, you know something has to change. I’ve wanted to up my stamina/energy and get into better shape for years. I’d also love to look better in a bathing suit for when I hit up the Las Vegas pool each summer. When I was offered the chance to receive an advance copy of Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion, I was absolutely ready to try it.

Like most other people, we were taught to avoid carbs, have an early dinner, and never eat before bed. But the fact is, the latest scientific research shows us this earlier model is not the most ideal. I have been living with the idea that eating after 7 PM was not a good thing and usually use that as a cut-off point for eating, unless it’s Friday or Saturday night, where we stay up later and often go to happy hour later in the evening.

I’m not generally a snacker either, but I love many high-carb foods. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this isn’t a problem at all. Joel says “Specific higher-carbohydrate foods (including berries and cherries) support your fat-burning metabolism while you sleep, providing your body with a steady stream of fuel throughout the night. The trick is knowing how to combine them with other evening and pre-bedtime fat-burning foods to fuel your metabolism as you sleep.”

I can eat something tasty at night and not worry about it negatively affecting my body? This was news to me, so I dove right in. I love food and I want to eat delicious food. Not traditional “diet” food. Nobody wants to eat a restricted diet or eat tasteless foods, and only get eat certain times of the day. When you "can't" eat, that's when you want it the most. I eat when I’m hungry, though I’ve trained myself to just go to bed if it’s too late to eat anything, but apparently, I didn’t have to do that. “What if it was okay to eat late at night? What if it was okay to skip breakfast? What if it was okay to snack on carbs at night?” Joel asked those questions and found the answers. I don't like to eat breakfast most days and I do eat most of my calories in the evening, and even though I’m healthy, I’d like to be healthier and also eliminate a few extra pounds.

The most challenging times to curb hunger are just before bed and in the morning. By following the Always Eat After 7PM program, you have the most willpower to stay on the diet because you are eating during the hours when you are most hungry. This also puts you into both intermittent fasting increasing testosterone and your metabolism, while putting you into ketosis.  

I’d love to be able to be more active and not have to take a break climbing the many steps to get into awesome destination landmarks and buildings like the Philadelphia Museum of Art (where the famous Rocky steps are) or the Arc de Triomphe (the view from the top is phenomenal). In September, we visited Edinburgh where everything was up a huge flight of steps or a very steep incline. It was beautiful, but also difficult some days.

With Joel’s 14-day jumpstart plan, I can learn to eat better, but also in a normal way that doesn’t feel like I’m missing out. If you’re interested in getting healthier or losing some lbs, check out this video on the science behind the diet:

Are you ready to start, too? Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed above are my own.