Cheap, thrifty, economical and prudent are all accurate descriptions of my mom’s spending habits. However, she prefers the word frugal. She clips coupons and shops the “manager’s special” section at the grocery store. She builds her wardrobe by going to 50% off Saturdays at Goodwill and takes advantage of free days at local attractions in Indianapolis.
When mom announced we were going to NYC for spring break 2018, I thought she hit the lottery! Everyone knows that spending a whole week in New York city can be super expensive. Fortunately, my mom’s frugal habits work just as good on the east coast as they do in the Midwest.
A representative from Enterprise Rental Car picked us up early Monday morning. He mentioned that we got a great deal on the SUV. “Coupons are awesome” mom responded.
We hit the road with our cooler full of homemade goodies and anxiously anticipated seeing the sign that said “Welcome to New York.” But New York is not where we ended up. We pulled up to The Villas at Treetops in the Pocono Mountains. Mom said she got a great deal. Her friend had an RCA account with points that were expiring soon so she gifted the points to us. What she paid for 1 week there was the equivalent of what she would have paid for one night at the hotel in NYC. Mom was excited because we were only 75 min from anywhere we wanted to go.
The villa was beautiful! We had a great view of the mountains from the balcony. It was so spacious and felt more like a home than hotel. Mom even went grocery shopping and cooked breakfast and dinner every day. We ate out for lunch tasting something new daily!
Day 2 we caught the Staten Island Ferry to Battery Park. We saw the Statue of Liberty, visited Castle Clinton, Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, and Ground Zero. We also got pictures with the Raging Bull and the Immigrant’s Sculpture. This was all free and within walking distance. We learned a lot and had so much fun!
Day 3 we ventured to the Bronx and visited the Art Museum there (free admission). The Bronx Zoo was free too but we slept in and got there too late. Then we came back to the villa and watched movies.
Day 4 took us to Philadelphia! We visited the US Mint, Liberty Bell Center, Franklin Square, the President’s House and Carpenter Hall. More learning and more free fun!
On day 5 we visited the New York Aquarium, Luna Park and Coney Island. We did spend money to ride the attractions at Luna Park but enjoying the boardwalk and playing on the beach was absolutely free along with our visit to the aquarium.
On day 6 we went to the Big Apple. We went across the Brooklyn Bridge, visited the M&M store and the Hershey Store. This was the day we actually spent money on souvenirs and really expensive food.
We drove home on day 7. We talked about all the places we went and how much fun we had. Mom was excited because she spent less than $1,000 for the whole vacation (hotel, rental car, gas, food and tolls). She showed us it is totally possible to be frugal in NYC.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
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The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Great destinations for First Night and New Year’s Eve! Check out our favourite ones in Europe: https://tapsy.blog/?s=new+year%27s+eve
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
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very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Aloha!
I would like to add my baby equipment company, Nana’s Baby Equipment. I serve the entire island of Kauai with aloha!
Mahalo,
Sharon Hackleman
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]