Roadside Attractions

We didn't hit nearly as many roadside attractions as we did last time, but we were also on the road a lot more so most of the time we just wanted to get to our destinations. But here are the few that we did stop at.

From Lillington, NC to Hilton Head Island, SC:
1. South of the Border
I-95 – US 301/501, Dillon, SC
This place is absolutely ridiculous. There are so many things to walk around and take pictures with. But what we wanted to do most was take the elevator to the top of the Sombrero and of course, it was closed. I'm not sure why. So we didn't get to do that. And honestly, it looked a little scummy so we didn't really want to go inside anywhere. If we go that way again, we'll definitely pass this up.
From Orlando, FL to Delray Beach, FL:

2. Manatee Lagoon
6000 N Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL
This is an adorable stop that we want to visit again, especially if we can make it between November and March. When we stopped, the manatees were gone, but it was still a cute little stop with an adoroable manatee sculpture and lots of fun facts posted around the water. I think there was also a cute visitor's center (which we want to check out next time) that has tours Tues-Sat at 2pm.
From Delray Beach, FL to Nashville, TN

3. World's Largest Peanut
315 Whittle Circle, Ashburn, GA
This thing is basically just a huge peanut on top of a brick pedestal. We stopped to take pictures with it for a couple minutes. It was a great chance to get out of the car and stretch our legs. If you're not interested in stopping, you can still see the giant peanut from the highway.

4. Large Cow
2005 North St, Ashburn, GA
This big cow is fun to take pictures with and as a bonus, it sits in a Dairy Queen parking lot. I mean, what better way to take a break from the road than to get some ice cream and sit by a giant cow!

Like I said, we didn't visit very many roadside attractions this time. If you want to see our list from last time, check them out

Hilton Head Lighthouse

We ended up only having 1 morning in Hilton Head so we used that morning to visit the lighthouse. One thing that I never read anywhere was that the lighthouse was located in a community called Sea Pines. And in order to get into Sea Pines, you have to pay $6 per vehicle. I mean, this won't break the bank or anything, but it was a surprise and I definitely didn't budget for it.
Then, when we finally arrived at the lighthouse, it was a little before 10am so we sat on some red rockers that are placed around the base of the lighthouse facing the basin and waited. Well, apparently we also weren't told that they play fast and loose with their hours of operation, because they did NOT open at 10. We decided to walk around and saw that there was a pier we could walk down. As we got closer to the pier, there was a small beach that had a TON of shells so Owen took that time to collect some. We took some pictures and then headed over to the information booth to ask when the lighthouse would open. They said it would probably open some time between 10:30 and 11. We decided to walk past and it was open.
We entered around 10:15-10:20. It cost $4.25 per person. We walked up the 114 steps to the top stopping to look at pictures and random facts and to get some pressed pennies. It's pretty tight in there so if it's busy, I'd imagine it's not too easy to navigate past people.
When we got to the top, there was a cute little gift shop. You could go outside to see the views on a deck that wrapped around the entire top. After we did that, we came inside and Owen bought a lighthouse snowglobe.
And that was our trip to the lighthouse! We really enjoyed it, but definitely wish we had known a couple of these things before visiting.

Hilton Head Island, SC Hotel

Holiday Inn Resort Beach House 1 South Forest Beach Drive

For our second destination, we chose Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I looked at a couple of places and decided it would be worth the money to stay on the beach to save time. Since we were only planning to stay for one night, it just made sense so that we could wake up and head straight out to the beach and then come back to wash up with plenty of time before check-out. After looking at pricing, we finally settled on the Holiday Inn Resort Beach House.

We check in around 5:30pm. My husband got a text after checking in to inform him that he could text the front desk with any requests or issues. I think this is a great feature that a lot of resorts are adopting.
The room was nice. It was your typical hotel room; nothing special. Unfortunately, there was a problem with a pipe or something so they had to turn off the water for quite a long time to fix it. It was very inconvenient for us. However, we understood there wasn't much they could do about it.
The bar next to the pool was very active the night we were there. Plus, outdoors there is a firepit (only 1, but it's a big one). You can probably fit a good 6-10 chair around it depending how close you sit.
When we woke up in the morning, it was a very cloudy day so we weren't able to see the sunrise like we had hoped. Luckily, we brought our own breakfast items since it's not included with this hotel. We made our way down to the beach after we packed everything up. It was unseasonably cold that morning so there was no way we were getting in the water. However, we were still able to take some pictures and play in the sand a little before we left.
Unfortunately, our stay at this hotel wasn't what we were expecting, but we could tell it was still a great hotel that we wouldn't hesitate to book again.

Dayton, OH Hotel

TownePlace Suites Dayton North 3642 Maxton Rd

We didn't stay here very long. It was basically just a stop on our way to our next location. We checked-in around 8:30pm. The room itself was great with it's kitchenette when you first walk in and the large open living space by the couch! I wish we could have taken this room around with us to every hotel we stayed at. There is tons of storage in the desk area and in the closet that connects the entry and the bathroom.
The breakfast selection was okay, but there was no meat or any hot items other than the gravy to go with the biscuits (which were cold). In fact, we took the biscuits back to our room to microwave them first before adding the gravy. There was also 1 waffle station which caused quite the backup. There was a long line for that one. Plus, all the tables were taken because there was a large group of college kids talking (not eating).
We checked out and left around 8:30am. Our 12 hours in this hotel were decent. If we ever stay in Dayton, OH again, we'll definitely stay here.

Packing the Car for a 40+ Hour Roadtrip

I've been a little MIA for a couple weeks because I've been preparing for our long roadtrip! And now that we're back, I'm ready to give you all of our tips! We've taken a couple different roadtrips lately. They're becoming one of our go-to vacations! You get to visit multiple different locations and spend lots of quality time with your family. They're definitely not for everyone, but they're for us!

There are so many things to plan when getting ready for a roadtrip like packing lists, locations, roadside attractions, budgets, etc. But something I've put a lot of thought into, researched, and even changed my mind about mid-trip before, is how to pack the car. The first thing I do is divide everything into catergories. And there are quite a few. Here are mine:
1. Travel Gifts
2. Non-refridgerated food
3. Cooler food
4. Entertainment for the car
5. Toiletries that we need every day
6. Outfits and accessories for each day
7. Accessories and supplies to be used at specific locations
You can organize all of these things in many different ways, but this is how we did it on our most recent trip:

We packed up one of those plastic drawer carts (like this one) with non-refridgerated snacks in the bottom drawer, entertainment for the car in the middle drawer, and travel gifts in the top drawer. We packed our large cooler with all of the food that needed to stay cold. These were the things that needed to stay within reach while we were driving.

The items in the trunk were put in larger, easier to stack, containers. We had a bin to keep our clothes that we had labeled for each day so that every time we unpacked for a hotel, we just grabbed whatever clothes we would be wearing while we were there and throw them in our overnight bags. Then, the dirty clothes would go in one of those collapsible clothes hampers. In our overnight bags, we kept all the toiletries that we would need every day (like hair brushes, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc.). The only things we had left to pack were those few things we would need at specific locations like our beach umbrella, sand toys, sunscreen, bags for Universal, etc. These things were put into bags or bins of their own with a label indicating which day(s) they were to be used.

I also suggest getting one of those backseat organizers. My son loved it! He could put drinks, a tablet, pens, pencils, and notebooks in all kinds of little compartments.

Ninja Party: What I bought from Oriental Trading

Last night, we had a little family get-together for my son's 8th birthday. It was nothing fancy. It was basically just dinner, dessert, and presents. But I wanted to buy a couple things to make it a little more fun for my son and nephews that would be there. Here are the awesome things I found:

Ninja Warriors Plastic Tablecloth for $3.49

Ninja Warrior Paper Dinner Plates for $3.49/8 plates

Ninja Warrior Beverage Napkins for $1.99/16 napkins

Ninja Plastic Chopsticks for $5.99/dozen

Ninja Cups with Straws for $15.99/dozen

Ninja Gummy Candy for $6.99/38 pieces

Ninja Character Lollipops for $5.99/dozen

Ninja Stickers for $2.99/100 stickers

Ninja Stress Toys for $14.99/dozen

I really think these awesome things added a lot to our little party. Plus, Oriental Trading has pretty decent prices with coupons for free shipping if you spend over a certain amount and in the end, I spent only $60.

Crochet: Ragdolls (plus 8 free patterns!)

I have absolutely loved all these ragdoll patterns popping up everywhere. They're so cute! Heck, I even have a sloth one hanging on the wall in my living room. So I've compiled my 8 favorites to help get you started on your own ragdoll collection. Plus, they're all free. It doesn't get much better than that.

First up, the one I have in my living room!
Ragdoll Sloth by Spin a Yarn Crochet

Harry Potter Ragdoll also by Spin a Yarn Crochet

Santa Claus! by Sewrella

And for another holiday themed one,Christmas Tree by Repeat Crafter Me

Adorable Whales by Spin a Yarn Crochet

Moose by Amilovesgurumi

Beautiful Mermaid by Spin a Yarn Crochet

And finally, one more pattern by Spin a Yarn Crochet. I may be a little obsessed, in case you couldn't tell already.
Ragdoll Fox by Spin a Yarn Crochet

So if you haven't become completely obsessed with crocheted ragdolls by now, then I'm at a loss. I can't wait to make all of these! So far, I've made 1. Yikes! I have a lot of work to do.