Leaving Tomorrow!

Wow the last couple weeks have just flown by! Sorry I haven't been better about updating!

We leave tomorrow morning for our trip to the Atlantis with my parents! They don't particularly like flying, and my mom gets anxious in airports, so they are driving here today (about a 9 hour drive) and then we are all flying out of Charlotte tomorrow together.

One trick I'm trying out for the first time tomorrow is something our travel agent taught me when we went on our trip to Jamaica back in November. When I booked our tickets for this trip, I booked us in the first and third seats in a row that is 3 seats wide, leaving the middle seat emtpy. I also booked us toward the back of the plane. My hope is that no one will take the center seat between us, so we'll have extra room for our bags and ourselves. Here's hoping!

Something we're doing to help save a little money on this trip is to eat our breakfasts in the condo in the morning. We really do not like to cook on vacation, but we aren't big breakfast people, so I packed Nature Valley granola bars for our breakfasts (Mom packed pop tarts), and I'll buy some fruit when we get to the Bahamas. I've also packed some other snacks, like trail mix and microwave popcorn (mom packed some snack crackers and other things).

When we get to the Bahamas, we have booked a taxi that will take us to the grocery store before taking us to the resort. There are very limited grocery options on Paradise Island, so we will be stopping at a store in Nassau. While we're there we plan to pick up coffee, orange juice, bananas, water, soda, and beer. I've heard that even at the grocery store these things tend to be about 3x as expensive as they are in the states, but still cheaper than they would be at the resort. I will try to save my receipt to report back on if those cost estimates are accurate.

I have also packed a small cooler to take with us. It is an insulated beach bag, and I plan to put drinks in it in the mornings and take it with us to the pools so we have some cold beverages handy that won't cost an arm and a leg.

We plan to eat lunch and dinner out each day. Most days we will be eating by the pool for lunch, and the snack stands have value meals that are $7-10 for a hot dog, burger, or chicken, chips or fries and a drink. It's not gourmet, but it'll sustain us until dinner time.

We are splurging for dinners. We have reservations at Mesa Grill (by Bobby Flay), Bimini Road (traditional Bahamian fare), and Carmines, a family-style Italian restaurant. The other nights we'll play it by ear, and will dine at casual places.

So, we're all packed and ready to go. Today will be busy at work making sure everything is ready for my absence, and my parents will get here shortly after work is over, so until I'm back from the tropics, take care!

Where to stay at the Atlantis???

When we priced the Atlantis, I originally priced out 5 nights in one room at the Beach Tower. This would mean that my husband and I would have to share a room with my parents. I realize this isn't ideal, but we have done it before, and it wasn't as bad as most people imagine. In the image here, the beach tower is clear on the bottom left. It is the most economical of the Atlantis hotel options.

For those looking for even more savings, there is a Comfort Suites on paradise Island that offers the least expensive Atlantis accessible option. It is just off Atlantis property, and guests at the Comfort Suites have full access to the Atlantis and it's amenities.

I briefly considered this option, but the reviews on Trip Advisor were very hit or miss, and my father has some difficulty with mobility, so I felt it was best that we stay a little closer to the action.

I also priced the Royal Tower so we would be even closer to Aquaventure and other main attractions at the Atlantis. It was a few hundred dollars extra, and I was considering it.

Then, I stumbled on a site advertising Atlantis timeshare rentals. I had read about Harborside at the Atlantis and had heard some favorable things about it, but when booking through the Atlantis website, it was booked. So I began my search of timeshare owners who were interested in renting out their timeshare this year, and with a little skill and a lot of luck, and probably some blessings from Above, I found a timeshare owner of a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo at Harborside who was willing to rent out his condo for the week we wanted to go!

His asking price was more than I was able to comfortably pay, so I made a lower offer. He came back and met me somewhere in the middle. The price we settled on was equivalent to one water view room at the Royal Towers for 5 nights, but we instead got a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo for an entire week. It was also about the same as 5 nights in a studio harbor view room at the Reef.

Harborside cannot be seen on the map above, but it is directly above the label on the top center of the map that says The Marina at Atlantis.

We won't be as close to the action as we would have at the Royal Tower or Reef, (but there is a shuttle that runs every 10 minutes that will take us from Harborside to the other hotels at the Atlantis) and we can also walk through marina village to get to the main resort. We feel that by staying another couple hundred yards from the main attractions we are gaining 3 times the space, and 2 extra days at the resort, so it is worth it to us. Also our condo has a full kitchen, so we'll be able to keep beverages there and have breakfast in the room in the mornings, which will save $30 per person per day! (Can you believe an adult breakfast buffet is $28 plus 15% gratuity???) We plan to eat our lunches at the snack bars near the pools ($7-10 for a lunch combo) and then we have various dinner options. We will splurge on dinners. So far we have a reservation at Mesa Grill (by Bobby Flay) and Bimini Road which has traditional Bahamian food. The other nights we plan to play it by ear. We do NOT plan to cook though :)

I will write about our experiences at Harborside when we get back from our trip. I'll weigh the pros and cons to staying a little farther away for the extra days at the resort, and space. Also if there is a rainy day while we are there, I will go to the various hotels on site and ask to see their rooms, so I can provide an informed opinion on the lodging options.

Breaking the News

So the time had arrived to tell my parents about the surprise trip. It wasn't a completely out of the blue surprise to my father, because when I was in for my grandmother's funeral he had talked about mom's birthday and asked if we would be able to come in for it, because if we couldn't he was going to try to take some time off and take her on a weekend trip to the beach or Niagara Falls.

At this point, my husband and I obviously hadn't had time to talk about if we should try to do the trip or not, my grandmother had just passed away. I told my dad to see how much time he could get off and to call me in a week though.

When he called, I still didn't want to totally blow the surprise for him, so I talked like I was going to book us a trip to Myrtle Beach. That bought me a little bit more time, and he at least knew we were taking a trip, and knew most of the dates so he could put in for the vacation time.

In just a few days, we were ready to tell my parents about the trip. On a Friday evening, after work we prepared to call them. I called them on speaker phone and we wanted to talk to both of them at once, and my dad wasn't home!!! What an awkward situation. There my husband and I are on the phone with my mom, and we have nothing to say haha. I told her that we would give them a call back in a little bit when dad was home, and my husband blurted out... "and don't get excited, we're not pregnant!"

My mom, trying to lighten the awkwardness said "Oh don't worry, that never crossed my mind. I thought you were going to tell me you were taking me on an Alaskan Cruise!"

*crickets chirping*

I laughed and told her to keep dreaming. She said she'd let us know when my dad was home.

So then, for the next 2 hours, I sat there and obsessing over whether my mom had figured out what we were doing and was just trying to be funny and throw a monkey wrench into our plans, or if it was just a totally random comment, or if she really did want to go on an Alaskan cruise. I started pricing Alaskan cruises.

A bit later my parents called. First I cleared the air about the Alaska comment. I asked her if she WANTED to do that, and she laughed and said no, that she had just been watching tv when we called and they were talking about Alaskan cruises and so it was the first non baby thing that came to mind.

With that out of the way, we announced that for her 60th birthday (and also for dad's), we wanted to take them on vacation, and then I told her to check her e-mail and I sent her this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MudYil5Ryvw

My mom started crying so hard she couldn't talk. She couldn't believe it. Apparently she had been looking at the Atlantis for years, but because my dad is retiring in 3 years and they have aggressive savings goals right now, she felt she couldn't justify it.

She had the most adorable excited quiver in her voice... after all she's done for me, making my mother this happy is priceless.

We also told them about the other trip options, but from the first moment, she and my dad both wanted to do the Atlantis trip. So that's what we're doing!

The night we told them about the trip, it was supposed to be a 5 night trip. In my next post I'll talk about how it went from a 5 to 7 night trip, and how we wound up with 3 times the space in our accommodations for nearly the same price!

Atlantis Planning

My current vacation planning task is well underway. For over a year my husband and I have been talking about taking my parents on a vacation to celebrate their 60th birthdays. Then, my maternal grandmother's health started declining, and we put the idea on the back burner as I knew my mother would not leave my grandmother for a vacation in her condition.

Sadly, my grandmother passed away on Easter Sunday. It was not unexpected, but still very difficult for my family, and especially for my mother. She and my grandma were truly best friends. For the last 7 years my mom has cared for my grandmother daily. She has shown her such love and patience and kindness and loyalty. Their relationship is truly touching.

After Grandma's passing, my husband and I started talking about and praying about taking my parents on a vacation again. I kept dreaming about it, and in each dream my grandma was encouraging me to take my mom on this trip soon. I really have such a peace about the decision to go ahead with a trip. My grandmother was always ready to go anywhere on a moments notice. She loved to travel and do new things and my mom is just like her. I know my grandma would love that we are planning a trip as a family now. My mom needs something to which she can look forward. My grandmother would be thrilled that we are doing this.

So the time came to really start planning. My husband an I sat down and worked out a budget for a trip, and then I spent a few days looking at various vacation options that fit the budget. Among the choices were 5 nights in Aruba, a week in Orlando, a week in the Dominican Republic, a week in Texas, and 5 nights at the Atlantis.

Though we had NEVER talked about it, I knew deep down that the Atlantis would absolutely be my mom's first choice. She LOVES lazy rivers, she and my dad love beaches, tropical destinations, sunshine, touristy places, and lots of activities.

The problem was that the Atlantis is a very expensive destination. Not only are the rooms incredibly expensive for average accommodations, but the food is astronomically expensive also. In order to make this trip possible, we would need to share a room with my parents.

I know most young adults want to curl up and die at the thought of this, but we've done it before for long weekends with my parents, and we've all survived. We don't spend much time in our rooms, so we figured it was worth the trade-off of getting to take them somewhere we thought they would love.

So the decision was made. We would call my parents and tell them the news the following night... That we were taking them on vacation! We decided to present them with several options that were in our budget, and let them pick.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about how the big phone call went, and about some bumps and surprises along the way!

Presidential Asheville Weekend - Part 2

After a good night's sleep Friday night, we were up bright and early on Saturday to go to the Biltmore Estate. This was my second trip to the Biltmore this year, and I was worried that it may be boring the second time around, but it wasn't at all.

The Festival of Flowers is April 3-May 16th and this was our first time there during the festival. The home is massive; in fact it's the largest privately owned home in the United States and boasts 43 bathrooms!

After touring the house and walking through the gardens and green house, where they had live music playing, we had lunch at The Bistro. The meal was delicious and affordable. The pizzas are heavenly, and are big enough to share between two people.

Then we proceeded to the winery. In the past, the Bitlmore has offered a free seminar on wine for guests. You needed to only call a few days before and reserve a spot. Unfortunately, when we called to reserve a spot this time, we found out that it is now no longer a complimentary seminar. The chocolate and red wine tasting seminar is $15. That's certainly not bad, and we didn't rule it out because of the price, but we did the exact same seminar for free 2 months ago, so we saw no need to pay to do it again. Also, they offer a behind the scenes winery tour for $8.

I picked up a couple bottles of my favorite sparkling wine, Biltmore's Pas de Deux, and also a couple champagne glasses from the gift shop, along with a deck of cards... those were my only purchases on this trip.

We also visited the newly opened Antler Hill Village. I was expecting more in the way of shops and variety. It was nice to walk around for a few minutes, but I think they missed the mark on this one. I do suggest stopping in at the Biltmore Legacy exhibit at Antler Hill. In the back right corner there is an entrance into a room where a panoramic video of the home and family history plays on a continuous circuit. It was actually quite enjoyable, and we were impressed with the 3 screens surrounding you.

After a quick nap back at the hotel, we decided to go exploring more downtown, unfortunately half way to downtown the skies opened up and it started pouring down the rain, so we turned the car around and went to the mall instead. Not nearly the charm of the downtown shops, but at least we were dry.

The rest of the evening was a wash. I had planned to take everyone to dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe, but the in-laws asked for Olive Garden instead. (Deep breath.) I was wet, tired, and I shamefully admit, a bowl of their zuppa toscana did sound pretty good, so I tucked my adventurer tail between my legs and enjoyed a meal at Olive Garden.

I think it was the bad juju from the Olive Garden decision that caught up with me about 30 minutes after the meal. I was as sick as a dog all evening. I spent much of the night on the bathroom floor.

The next morning I washed the vomit from my hair, pulled myself together, and went on a last-minute shopping trip with the in-laws. They had forgotten to get my brother in law a t-shirt, so we went back to the gift shop at the main gate of the Biltmore. The sun was finally out, so we went downtown to explore. It was Sunday morning and most of the shops were closed, but at least it gave us a chance to explore the area little bit without getting drenched. Then we said our goodbyes and headed home, where I laid around on the sofa all day, still recovering from the Olive Garden Illness of Doom.

Thanks for the great trip Asheville! We didn't see the President, but by all the security we saw all over town, we sure knew he was there. Asheville, we'll be back for our next quarterly visit in July!