On a hot summer day in Chicago, five friends set out for a picture perfect lunch on Lake Michigan. Honestly, it felt like that kind of day…storybook or movie perfect. Sonia and I have been long time Chicago girls, but we have met many people who come and go that never made their way onto the iconic Odyssey on Navy Pier. It is not uncommon to take things down the street for granted and think that you will eventually do them. In the spirit of having a #MomsOffDuty moment, we checked out a beautiful lunch cruise aboard the Odyssey on Lake Michigan and boy did we luck out!
The Odyssey has been sailing on Lake Michigan for more than 20 years from Navy Pier which means that the party does NOT stop when you get off the boat. See a full list of things to do at Navy Pier here!
We enjoyed all the ship had to offer including, three chic climate-controlled decks with LED lighting and a lit dance floor, a premium bar menu, vegetarian friendly menu items, and a relaxing rooftop lounge with modern deck furniture. The staff was attentive and courteous (S/O to our server Nick for finding us no matter where we were on the boat).
The Looks:
Rina’s Floral Wrap Skirt is On Sale for $43 here | Sonia’s Floral Dress is $25 (She is wearing a Medium and it is TTS)! and linked here | Rina’s Tie Front Tank is here (size down) | Rina’s Favorite Summer Shoes are True To Size (TTS) and linked here
Sonia’s Black Fox Crossbody is $46 and linked here | Rina’s White Rina Bag comes in all colors and is $42 and is linked here
All in all, we were so grateful to take in the skyline on a day like this and enjoyed the time that we got to spend with some of our closest friends (being #MomsOffDuty of course). We ended our cruise experience on the dance floor where we really let loose!
What is something in your town that you have been meaning to check out?
I am a Chicago native, and for most Chicago folks we look forward to Spring and, of course, summertime CHI! However, stepping away from the hustle and bustle of the city is a great way to decompress and reconnect with nature!
I recently took a weekend trip with some girlfriends and drove up to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. It was a quick 2 hour drive from the city! Lucky for us, one of my girlfriends has a house right on the water. Having a place that felt like home made our trip just a little bit better. We started our mornings with a healthy breakfast and ended our days with girl talk on the couch filled with lots of laughter!
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva has a quaint downtown with boats, restaurants, and even a small beach! We set out to see Lake Geneva and try some of their yummy eats. While I didn’t love our dining experiences there, the feel of this small city is just what the doctor ordered.
The Grand Geneva Spa
One thing we knew for sure was that we were going to top off our weekend with some time at the spa. In doing some research, we realized that the spa at the grand Geneva hotel is rated the best in Lake Geneva. Of course we couldn’t leave without checking it out! Each one of us received different services ranging from seasonal farmhouse massages, to deep tissue services. We were greeted with a friendly face, and shown the amenities of the spa. The spa offers a whirl pool, sauna, steam room, and place to get your nails done! Since there were seven of us, we were given the Tranquil Lounge to sip on champagne and nosh on small bites while we waited. I did the deep tissue with Diana, I have to say she has fingers of magic! I would highly recommend requesting her if deep tissue is what you are into. The Grand Geneva certainly did not disappoint, we spent a little bit of time before and after our services just enjoying the amenities.
Decisions Decisions
Tranquility Lounge
Thank you Lake Geneva for creating a lifetime of memories for my friends and I. Also, thank you Grand Geneva for giving us the rest and relaxation we needed to end our weekend filled with laughter and love!
When you take a trip with your sister for Spring Break it is a Chick Trip and Family Trip all mixed into one! This year, we set our sights on some southern charm and headed to Charleston, South Carolina. We loaded up our mini’s (all four of them) and pulled off a fun and memorable trip complete with loads of laughs!
What to do:
Carriage ride:
A great way to get your bearings for this quaint city is to take a carriage tour. We hopped over to Palmetto Carriage Works for a ride through Charleston‘s historical district. We absolutely loved our guide, Jim. He was knowledgeable, relevant, and funny! We would highly recommend starting your trip to Charleston with this tour to understand fun spots to visit. As women and as bloggers, we found the story about the Grimke sisters who were early advocates for abolition and women’s rights to be pertinent and interesting. It was a refreshing reminder of women in history and a great teachable moment for our young children! The streets of Charleston are lined with historical homes that make the city truly a place to visit! We got lucky with a morning ride so it wasn’t too hot or too cold.
When we arrived at our hotel, our rooms weren’t ready. In an attempt to kill some time we drove over to Patriots Point and BOY are we glad we did (literally a 12 minute drive from the historic downtown area)! We walked over to the USS Yorktown and toured the ship. Tickets were $22 for adults and $14 for kids. Definitely worth it! The boat was easy to navigate with tours that are clearly marked (audio tours are also available)! We were traveling with 4 young kids who all found the ship’s many rooms fascinating. Aboard the ship you see where crew ate, slept and lived life while on board. The top of the ship was lined with fighter jets from both the navy and marines!
This is an awesome stop for both kids and adults! We went on a simulator that showed what it would be like as a pilot of a fighter jet, this helped jump start the kids imagination when we made our way to see the jets in real life (tickets were $6 per person). I would allow about 3-4 hours to check out the ship. Next door is Fort Sumter, of you plan to do both you would be looking at a full day outing depending on the ages in your group.
Sullivan Island : Lighthouse and Beach
We had planned to stop at Sullivan Island during our planning for the trip. I should warn that we went in the month of April for Spring break and the weather didn’t quite hold up for the beach. We made a stop over at the lighthouse which we could only see as we walked past it. Not the most picturesque lighthouse, but something to see nonetheless. Just past the lighthouse was a boardwalk to the beach. The kids loved collecting shells while we basked in the spring sun. It wasn’t quite warm enough to get in the water, so keep that in mind when planning a visit in the Spring months. A quick mention, if you have young kids and your hopes of spending a day at the beach get ruined, there is a park with playgrounds just up the road that was a savior for us!
What to eat:
Basil
Situated right off King Street in Charleston Basil is a Thai restaurant that has absolutely delicious food! With a blend of vegetarians and non-vegetarians in our group this was a sure bet for dinner. Most dishes can be substituted for tofu. In general we are regulars to Thai food, but I must say the food here stood out! Their Pad Ke Mow is a must try! My kids love Panang curry…unfortunately Basil didn’t offer this but had Massuman curry which was a perfect substitution! If you like Thai, you’ll love Basil.
Basic Kitchen
While shopping with the kids, we were looking for a lunch spot. Upon a recommendation we ended up at Basic Kitchen. This place was gorgeous! It had a light and airy feel and was clean and well staffed. They offered a good selection for the kids menu which made the kids…and us happy! We tried the bbq tempeh, cauliflower wings and avocado toast…all three were so good! This is a must stop for good clean and vegetarian eats!
What a fun Mexican restaurant! You can’t miss it off the main road once you get onto Sullivan Island. This place offered both indoor and outdoor seating, we sat indoor since it was a tad on the chilly side the day we went. They offer an extensive menu of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. It wasn’t like most Mexican restaurants with the standard quesadillas and burritos. They had an array of salads and bowl options as well! Come on, as people who love spicy food, they even had a hot sauce bar…my favorite was the blue agave sriracha..made in Austin, of course! Over lunch we noshed on guacamole and chips, and even sipped on some Paloma’s….we even spotted a celebrity from the show Southern Charm…Austen! I would definitely recommend this place. Of course, you know the chicks at ChicksAndSalsa can’t pass up a food spot for some “chips” and salsa!
Where to stay (or not):
Hyatt Place
We waited until the last minute to book our trip so we had very few options for hotels. We ended up at the Hyatt Place which we didn’t love. When we pulled up they were not very helpful. There was no one to help with our bags or even greet us. We helped ourselves to unloading our luggage onto the cart and then again upstairs…. this made for a terrible first impression! The room easily fit 6 of us, we had two double beds and a pull out sofa bed. The pool was indoor and decently kept, the kids liked that the water was heated so they enjoyed their time! Our room stay included breakfast…we thought this would be a good perk, but the food was just OK and the dining area was very crowded.
We were grateful to have something to start to the day, but truthfully we preferred to have breakfast out of the hotel. Overall, we are grateful to have had a place to stay, but would not recommend the Hyatt place, especially if you are big on service!
All in all, the city is so unique and distinct from the Chicago and Atlanta landscape that we are used to! We loved driving on the beautiful bridges, being by the water, shopping on King Street, and of course eating in Charleston!
Another one for the books, check out our other travel posts here!
We have all heard of it, everyone is moving there, songs are written about it… Austin, Texas!
Over Thanksgiving my family and I went to Austin. I have a cousin who lives there and he can’t rave more about what a wonderful city it is! With two kids, 5 and 7 years old, we were looking for a good balance of sightseeing and family-friendly activities.
The Hotel: Westin – Downtown Austin
We stayed at the Westin in downtown Austin. The location of the hotel was central to many of the the places we planned to visit. Being a Starwood member with Westin allowed us to upgrade our room to a suite for a comfortable stay in a new city.
The swanky Westin Lobby
I recommend renting a car when you visit…unlike other cities, like New York or DC, a lot of this city is best accessed by cars or ride-share services. Majority of the things we saw were a driving-distance away.
Uchi was a fantastic spot for both food and ambiance. Don’t be fooled by its label as a sushi restaurant, chef Tyson Cole whips up many delicious vegetarian dishes. Uchi’s dishes come both in the form of sushi and others variations! My personal favorite was the nasu sushi…..I’m still dreaming about it! This dish was a succulent eggplant dish that literally melts in your mouth. This restaurant is not necessarily family-friendly but our kids enjoyed themselves nonetheless.
Another restaurant I would recommend is Counter Culture. We came upon this restaurant on our drive back from the grotto (which I will touch on later). It was a small vegan restaurant with a quaint feel. The food was absolutely fantastic — they were able to mimic regular restaurant food with vegan replacements….it’s always a great feeling to know you can eat everything on a menu! Unlike Uchi, this was a much more causal spot. Don’t leave without trying their nachos!
Lake Travis
A MUST stop is Lake Travis. While I didn’t find the vegetarian food at the Oasis to be all that great, the views were simply breathtaking! We had a family sunset dinner on their outdoor terrace which made for a beautiful family memory…I would highly recommend this stop if you have time!
Family Friendly Activities
Because we were with our kids, we enjoyed doing a variation family friendly activities. Some that stood out were the bat cruise, canoeing Lady Bird Lake and paying a visit to Westcave Canyon and the Grotto.
The bat tourtakes you beneath the bridge that is home to thousands of bats. If you take the sunset tour, as we did, you can see hundreds of them flying in and out. Needless to say, both adults and kids delighted to see the hustle of nature as it integrates with man-made architecture. As city dwellers we don’t get a lot of time to connect with the great outdoors so this made for a fun stop!
We took the kids canoeing at Lady Bird Lake – which is a clean and crystal clear body of water. The kids loved spotting turtles and fish all in their natural habitats. My husband and I spent most of our time doing the rowing, but the kids loved pitching in every now and again. Not a bad workout, honestly!
Finally we went to Westcave Canyon. They provide guided tours to the infamous “Grotto” (pictured below). This beautiful natural occurrence made for a beautiful sight and great teachable moment for our kids. Our guide was knowledgeable and respectful about nature, serving as a role model for our children. The hike there was easy enough for a 5 year old and the end result….seeing the Grotto, was the cherry on top! A must-visit, but make sure you call and book in advance!
“Keep Austin Weird” is a common phrase throughout the city. This is likely in reference to its diverse array of activities and food, enough to entertain populations from children to adults. I would venture to add “Keep Austin awesome!”
I would highly recommend this beautiful city for a great family trip! See where else we have wandered here.
Sonia’s Black Fox Crossbody is $46 and linked here | Rina’s White Rina Bag comes in all colors and is $42 and is linked here
