Sweet southern summer

Greetings ~
I was born and raised in the midwest but I always had an affinity for the south. After college I went to work for Walt Disney World in Orlando Fl and was soooo excited to be in “the south” and yet it wasn’t a world of sweet tea drinkin, front porch sittin that I expected. Then I moved to Tennessee and witnessed 1st hand what a true southern summer is like filled with all the sweet tea and lemonade you could imagine. Our next stop is one of my favorite southern cities ever!! To me it is the quintessential small southern town. Allow me to introduce you to Savannah Ga.

A perfect Southern town in Georgia perfect for couples, girlfriend getaways, and family escapes. You will enjoy beauty, delicious Southern food, and old town charm. Be prepared, almost every hotel and bed and breakfast in Savannah has a haunted story.

This destination is also an IG lover’s dream for photos, perfect for any tweens or teens!

Did you know that Savannah is consistently named one of the “world’s friendliest cities” by Condé Nast Traveler readers? 

Hotel Recommendations

Doubletree by Hilton Savannah Historic District

Hilton Garden Inn Savannah Historic District

Hyatt Regency Savannah

Bed & Breakfasts - Savannah is known for adorable bed and breakfasts throughout the historic district. This is perfect for couples celebrating a special occasion or a honeymoon.  Keep in mind, a lot of the bed & breakfasts do have haunted stories. If you have an excited guest or not-so-excited guest, make sure you double check the property.  You want to make sure they do not have any haunted experiences.

Things to Do in Savannah

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Georgia on my mind

Greetings ~

We spent the last 2 days in FL and we will return to FL with some other locations but let’s take a peek at what Georgia has to offer.

Have you heard of Jekyll Island??

At the very bottom of Georgia, before you hit Florida is a beach town called Jekyll Island. This town became a hot vacation destination in the late 1800’s for families including Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, and Pulitzer. If you love the outdoors and beaches, this is a great vacation spot.

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A history buff vacation

Greetings ~
Yesterday we talked about Clearwater/St. Pete as a possible vacay option - today we are moving up to NE Florida to the country’s oldest city St. Augustine (otherwise known as where the Hammons house resides just up the road)

This trip is for all you history buffs as well as those looking to put your toes in the sand! St. Augustine has many outdoor guided tours, horse carriage rides, dolphin watching cruises and a trip down one of the narrowest streets in America. Also home to the love trees where a palm tree grows in an oak tree.

A love tree in St. Augustine - when a oak and a palm grow together - Florida’s moist climate, some palms can soak up enough moisture within the bark of another tree to grow from it; no soil required!

A love tree in St. Augustine - when a oak and a palm grow together - Florida’s moist climate, some palms can soak up enough moisture within the bark of another tree to grow from it; no soil required!

Hotel Recommendations

Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront

Casa Monica Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection (Better for couples - I have done some pretty amazing weddings here!)

Embassy Suites by Hilton St Augustine Beach (Right on the beach!!)

The Crowned Pineapple Condo

Things to Do in St. Augustine

St. George Street in historic St. Augustine

St. George Street in historic St. Augustine

Historic Bridge of Lions

Historic Bridge of Lions

Flagler College

Flagler College

Driving into summer vacay

Greetings ~

Wowzers!! What a crazy couple of months!! Can you believe the last week of school has come and gone (at least here in NE FL) and we are headed face first into summer. Like so many of you our summer vacations were completely derailed by a virus. We have put those plans into action for next year and still working on some ideas for this. I thought I would share a few options with you this week!

My goal was to find driveable locations with outdoor activities for all ages. (remember our family ranges from kindergarten to high school)

Today we will start with Fl because the need for vitamin sea during the summer is still real!!

St. Pete/Clearwater Beaches

About 1 ½ hours from Orlando is the #1 and #2 Beaches in the US (ranked by Trip Advisor). This is the Clearwater and St. Petersburg beaches. This fun beach town is perfect for families. You can hop in the car and drive down via I-95 or I-75.

Clearwater Beach courtesy of Google images

Clearwater Beach courtesy of Google images

Some Resort Options -

Tradewinds Island Grand Resort

Tradewinds Island Grand Beach Resort

These resorts remind me of Beaches Resorts. There are tons of things to do for families. It is not an all inclusive, so you have to pay for the activities, but it is a good one for after the quarantine to just relax at the beach with your family.

Click on the links below for recommendations in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, including an online magazine with recommendations. And I am happy to make any necessary arrangements for you!

So here you have it - the 1st option of the week!! And I would be honored to help you plan your summer get away!

Gaylord Palms Orlando Re-Opening

Greetings ~

It has been announced that one of the largest hotels in central Florida is on track to re-open in June. According to General Manager Johann Krieger “The summer travel season is quickly approaching, and Gaylord Palms is reopening to visitors who are anxious to get out and celebrate summer.”

Gaylord Palms ownership group has been consulting with Vanderbilt University Medical School as it created its reopening plan.

Included in this plan

  • spaced out seating at its pools

  • provide a self-guided scavenger hunt to encourage social distancing

  • sanitize its public areas frequently using what the company calls “hospital-grade disinfectants.”

Gaylord Palms is set to resume accepting guests June 25th 2020

Photo courtesy of google images

Photo courtesy of google images

Universal Resorts - June 2nd Re-Opening

Greetings ~
Today Universal Studios released information regarding the re-opening of their resorts. I wanted to make sure to share it with you!!

Beginning June 2, 2020, select Universal Orlando Resort hotels will reopen to guests. The reopening of the hotels will be carefully managed and phased, and includes a wide range of new and enhanced best-practice health, safety and hygiene procedures.

The phased reopening of the hotels will include Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal’s Aventura Hotel and Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites. Guests staying in these hotels will be able to visit the theme parks on June 3 and 4, prior to the public reopening on June 5.

Plans for Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites will be announced at a later time. Guests who have booked reservations at these two hotels through Universal Orlando or Universal Parks & Resorts Vacations will be contacted to modify their reservation if it has been affected.

Universal Orlando’s resort hotels, co-owned and operated by Loews Hotels & Co, have enhanced their standards and protocols throughout their operations. These enhancements currently include:

  • Guests, team members and vendors are required to wear face coverings in public areas

  • Team members and vendors will be required to have temperature checks upon arrival. Those with temperatures of 100.4 degrees or greater will not be allowed to work.

  • Guests will be asked to self-screen for COVID symptoms and comply with quarantine orders prior to arrival

  • Guest will have temperature checks upon arrival and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will require medical clearance in order to enter the hotel

  • Hand sanitizer stations in public areas and elevator landings

  • Enhanced cleaning of guest rooms, meeting rooms and public areas with an EPA-approved cleaner and disinfectant

  • Frequent cleaning of high-touch areas such as telephones, remote controls, door handles, light switches, elevators, and table tops, among others

  • Food & Beverage outlet capacities limited based on latest recommendations and guidelines

  • Social distancing signs and reminders of social distancing requirements in high-traffic areas

  • Several contactless experiences for guests, including hotel texting-services, express checkout and contactless room deliveries

Universal CityWalk is now open with select venues and with new health, safety and hygiene procedures in place. Universal Orlando’s three theme parks – Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay – will reopen to the public beginning June 5.

Due to the evolving nature of this situation, details are subject to change without notice.

All Universal guests are urged to follow CDC guidelines and self-assess for potential symptoms of COVID, including cough, temperature, and difficulty breathing, prior to their arrival. Guests should also evaluate their own risk before they visit – and it is not recommended that individuals at high-risk with serious underlying medical conditions visit the destination. People who show no symptoms can still spread COVID-19 if they are infected. Any interaction with the general public poses an elevated risk of being exposed to COVID-19 and Universal cannot guarantee guests will not be exposed during their visit.

In addition, guests should be aware of and comply with government guidelines regarding travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines.

Image from google images

Image from google images

Disney Re-Opening Plan

Greetings ~

Disney has just completed their plan for re-opening to the economic recovery task force. Here is what they outlined

  • July 11th as an opening date for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom

  • July 15th as an opening for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

  • The parks will now utilize a pre-arrival theme park reservation system and more info will be coming on this

  • For the moment the Walt Disney Co. will be pausing character meet n greets as well as fireworks and parades.

  • There was NOT any discussion on the re-opening of the resorts

  • There will be increased cleaning protocols

  • Face coverings will be required for guests and cast members

  • Plexiglass at points of sale in retail and F&B locations where distancing cannot be maintained

  • Reduced capacity of theme parks, restaurant, retail, attractions, buses, monorails and other transportation that enables appropriate physical distancing

  • Temperature checks at Main Entrances to theme parks

  • 3rd Party screening via contactless, handheld device

  • Contactless payments with Magic Bands, Apple Pay, Google Pay

  • Further enable mobile ordering

  • Launch of the Social Distancing Squad!! A team designed to encourage social distancing protocols

  • Education of new protocols and expectations pre-arrival

  • At this time, they didn't address resorts, or if they will be opening on July 11 as well, and they didn't specify if resort guests would get priority into the parks, or how those reservations will be decided.

So there you have it!! This is where we are at as of this moment! We now await the signature of the mayor and then onto the governor for his approval

Here’s some additional info from the Disney Parks Blog - Because theme park capacity will be significantly limited as we welcome guests back to the magic, we will manage attendance through a new theme park reservation system that will require all guests to obtain a reservation for park entry in advance. At this time, we are temporarily pausing new ticket sales and Disney Resort hotel reservations so we can focus on guests with existing tickets and reservations (Disney Vacation Club members can still make new reservations). Existing ticket holders and Annual Passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before new tickets are sold; we’ll be reaching out to these guests soon to provide additional details. We will resume new ticket sales and hotel reservations after that period of time. Theme park reservations will be limited due to attendance limitations and will be subject to availability. More details about this new reservation system will be available soon.

Additionally, Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World will reopen to members and guests and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen on June 22. Disney Vacation Club resorts in Vero Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, will also open to members and guests starting on June 15. Plans to support required physical distancing as well as enhanced cleaning measures, along with a number of other safety and cleanliness protocols, will be implemented as part of this planned phased reopening. 

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"Out of this world" activities

Greetings friends ~

So sorry to have missed you all last week. You would think with a little thing as a quarantine I would be able to keep a blog going BUT alas kids, distance learning and webinars kept me from the blog. So let’s get back on track shall we!!

Today our activities come from the Kennedy Space Center. Click HERE for the space nutrition book.

Here you will find the activity for beginners

Here you will find the activity for intermediate

Here you will find the activity for advanced

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What park re-opening COULD look like

Greetings ~

As some of you know the governor of Florida has put together a task force of the hospitality industry to work on the re-opening after the COVID-19 quarantine. Below I want to list out for you some of the recommendations that this task force is looking to incorporate. Please NOTE: these are current recommendations from the task force and are NOT set in stone. Since this is such a fluid situation I am sure that changes and adjustments are going to be made along the way. The purpose of this post is to simply keep you my friends up to date on what we are hearing from officials in Florida.

So let’s begin!

  • Tape marking of 6 feet apart in ride/attraction queues - this seems to be what Shanghai is currently working to set up as they prepare to open

  • Staff to regularly wipe surfaces down at random

  • Phase 1 and 2: Staff 65 years of age and older are encouraged to stay home

  • All employees are required to wear face masks

  • Touchless hand sanitizer at each ticketing entry and turnstile

  • Touchless hand sanitizer at each and every ride/attraction entry and exit

  • Temperature checks for staff prior to shift (temperature above 100.4 may not enter premises)

  • All employees with flu-like symptoms advised to stay home

  • Wipe down of all railings and surfaces after every use

  • Phase 1: 50% capacity

  • Phase 2: 75% capacity

It seems as though resorts, restaurants and bars will have their own mandates as well with recommendations such as minimal housekeeping in phase 1 to limit in person contact. Disposable plates and menus and encouraging take out instead of on premise dining.

All that is being discussed can be found in this video. The mandates I spoke of above can be found around minute mark 15:00