Parks/Nature Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

Our Long Term Love Affair With The Best Water Park In The World: Schlitterbahn, In New Braunfels, Texas

Joe and I have been going to Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels, Texas, nearly every year since 2006. For us, it’s our “happy place” vacation, where we don’t have to plan anything; we know where we’re going to go for the whole trip and we can “just go,” and play, relax and eat delicious food. Well, and visit Buc-ee’s, too. Probably several times (but I’m not obsessed).

So many people we know have more traditional places to visit every year. The mountains. The shore. How and why did we wind up with a water park like Schlitterbahn as our annual “go to” vacation? Well, I’ll tell ya…

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This Has Got To Be The Coolest Way To See The Fall Colors, Ever!

It’s September, which means summer is winding down, and we can start looking forward to autumn. Of course, some “fall” things have already started early…Halloween stuff in stores, pumpkin spice everything, etc. But there are some parts of the “-ber months” that commercialism can’t control, including when the leaves change color, especially in the northeastern United states.

Lots of people drive up to the northeast to see the foliage, but here’s a much more relaxing way to do it…see them by train! And not just any train, but the historic Great Dome Car on Amtrak’s Adirondack route. Here’s more about it:

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Bicoastal Disney Openings, Visiting Liverpool With A Beatle, A New Way To Search for Flights & More

And here it is, Sunday again. Hope y’all have had a good week! Here are some travel articles we’ve recently seen that we think you may enjoy.

Nick at Frequent Miler wrote about a new search function on one of my favorite websites, Google Flights. You’re now able to search for airfares that allow you to put a carry on bag in the overhead bin. So it’ll eliminate basic economy fares that don’t allow bin access and add the bag charge to flights that charge extra for the privilege (like Spirit and Frontier).
Caroline from Frugal Travel Guy wrote about the best places to stay in Cuba on points and miles. The hotels available for points redemption are slim if you are an American who can even visit under the current travel restrictions. Personally, I’d strongly suggest staying at a casa particular instead of a chain resort. You can go to any island in the Caribbean and stay at a resort. If you’re going to Cuba, spend some time with the people. You’ll never forget it.

sharon-and-joe-in-cuba — Sharon & Joe in Havana, March 2016

Have you ever been on a flight where the person sitting near you is eating something that has a strong smell?. You know, something fishy, spicy or just nasty smelling? Well, what if you’re inadvertently that person? Road Warriorette was in that position and you can read about how she handled it.
Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure is now officially open and Attractions Magazine has given us a front car view of the re-imagineed Incredibles Incredicoaster.
Not to be outdone by is sister park on the west coast, Walt Disney World is preparing for the June 30th grand opening of Toy Story Land at Disney Hollywood Studios. WDW News Today shared some photos and video of the new land at nighttime.
Gary from View from the Wing wrote about how Delta may be looking at Austin, TX as their next focus city. Flights to Austin are getting really expensive so more competition in the market will be welcome. All the easier for us to fly there for some water park action and Texas BBQ.
As a Starbucks junkie, I rack up a fair amount of stars in the Starbucks Rewards program (but I’m not tempted to get their credit card). Lucky at One Mile At A Time wrote about how you’ll finally be able to redeem those stars for free items at many new locations, including airports.
Doctor of Credit wrote about how a Google Express offer for free shipping has been extended until the end of June. This can combine with an AMEX offer which makes it more valuable. I stocked up on some Tide detergent and Kleenex and saved $20 off a $60 order. If you’ve never used Google Express, you can sign up with our code and save an additional $10 off your first order.
Jon from No Mas Coach wrote about a recent stay at the Jackson Lake Lodge. I’m a huge fan of National Park lodges. It was nice to see another one I can add to the list of ones I want to visit.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, I’d recommend watching the 20 minute video of Paul McCartney going around Liverpool with James Corden. We visited many of the same sites on our Beatles Fab Four Taxi Tour, when we spent the day touring the town with some of our UK friends. I’d strongly suggest visiting the town if you get the chance and the Taxi Tour is a wonderful way to get to see all the Beatles sights.

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We FINALLY Saw The Austin Bats (a.k.a. “Normy & Sam Were Good Luck!”)

Joe and I just came back from a whirlwind 5-day trip to New Braunfels, Austin & San Antonio, Texas. We’ve done bits and pieces of this trip almost every year since 2006 or so, but this was the first time we brought our friends Norman (Normy) and Samantha (Sam). They live in Georgia, had never been to Schlitterbahn New Braunfels (our main reason for the annual jaunt…although Buc-ee’s, one of the best hotel employees in the world and some of our favorite restaurants in the area [The Salt Lick and Huisache Grill, among others] are a close 2nd, 3rd and 4th), and Sam had never been to Texas, period. So we had reason to do a few more touristy things than usual, including the Austin sign and the Alamo (both of which were perfect opportunities to add to my photobomb collection, LOLOL!).

Normy had mentioned he would like to see the bats in Austin. Now, Joe and I had already tried to see the bats twice before while standing on the South Congress Bridge, with absolutely NO results. So we figured this visit would be “3 strikes and you’re out,” or “3rd time’s the charm.”

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#1 Visitor Destination Closed Until Further Notice

While you’re making plans for summer vacation, be aware that, depending on your plans, you may need to strike one popular historic location off your list.

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