A few weeks ago my family and I attended a convention in Washington DC.  I was trying to keep the cost down since I was paying for both of my children to attend the convention, I spent a lot of time researching a money saving way and I wanted to share what I discovered with my readers.  

Many families from our area take trips into Washington to see the sites.  Many of the hotels in D.C. have high parking costs $30-$50 a night.  If you drive into to Washington there is free parking in the mall area but it's hard to find unless you're there very early in the morning.  If you find a parking garage you can pay $25 or more a day to park your car.

After some research, I found out that if I stayed in the town of Bethesda and took the red line metro into D.C., we would be in walking distance to the convention hotel.  I never knew how easy and convenient it was.



Where to Stay
We found the Hyatt Regency Bethesda, which is right by the entrance of the Metro.  Which turned out to be perfect because it was raining on Saturday.  The Hyatt was just renovated and was gorgeous and perfect for our family.  I loved the modern finishes in the room.  The kids loved the mirror showed the time.  The staff at the Hyatt were so helpful with helping us find restaurants, offering umbrellas to use when it was pouring rain and giving us tips on riding the metro.



Bethesda
The town of Bethesda is a great town for families everything was a no more than a 10-minute walk from our hotel.  Plenty of restaurants to choose from and many different price points.  For instance, they had budget friendly choices like &pizza, Noddles & Company to a romantic date night Morton's Steak House.  If you want a special treat after dinner or lunch Georgetown Cupcake is there and also a frozen yogurt store. We loved window shopping after dinner at all of the boutiques.



Riding the Metro
Since we arrived after dinner on Friday night we decided to check out the metro before we needed to board it on Saturday morning.  I do have to warn you there is a very steep and long escalator that you need to take to get to the Metro.  You can purchase passes right at the station you load the SmarTrip card with money and you can use the card over and over just reload it with more money. I found the Metro station clean and the metro cars were clean.  Coming from Bethesda and going into DC you pass many stops, for instance, the zoo, Smithsonian, Dupont Circle, and so much more that are perfect for sightseeing in the area. The D.C. Metro website has tools for you to plan your trip using the Metro.


Overall, we found staying in Bethesda and taking the Metro a fun experience and would do it again.  My husband and I couldn't get over how easy it was and how much money we saved on parking and the stress of driving in the DC area.

If you have been following me on Instagram or Twitter you know that my family and I were invited to spend a few days at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, New Jersey. Crystal Springs in about 2 1/2 hours from the Philadelphia Area, located in the Mountains in New Jersey and 1 hour away from NYC.

Resort

If you've been following me on Twitter or Instagram you may saw that I visited the new indoor water park located in the Poconos called Kalahari Resort.  Kalahari is just under two hours away from the Philadelphia area. When you visit Kalahari you certainly feel like you've been taken on a tour to Africa.





Disclosure: Thanks Kalahari Resorts for arranging for our complimentary stay to facilitate this review. As always all thoughts and opinions are our own.

During a recent break from school my family and I traveled to Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Virginia Beach is about a 5 hour drive from the Philadelphia Area depending on traffic and weather conditions.  Since we were in Virginia Beach in November it was neat to see how the town was decorated for the holidays. One of the neatest holiday events is McDonalds Holiday Lights at the Beach.  This is the one time a year that you can drive your car on the boardwalk to see a half million twinkling lights.

The town is very welcoming and so was everyone we interacted with.  Everyone was so helpful and wanted to make sure we discovered everything about this fun beach town.  It's also very easy to get around by car, bike, or even walking.

Recently my family and I visited The Amish Village in Ronks, PA.  I remember visiting the Amish Village when I was young and I was excited to share this experience with my kids.  The Amish Village is an authentic living museum showcasing Lancaster County’s Amish community, the oldest and largest in the nation. The 12-acre Amish farm and homestead, located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, gives visitors a unique look into history and into this beautiful and peaceful culture.

Farmhouse
Our tour started in the 1840's Amish farm house, our tour guide walked us through the rooms of the house and explained may of the Amish customs and the reasoning behind them.  I was fascinated with how they use some of our modern day appliances without electric by converting them over to propane. My kids enjoyed learning about the clothes the Amish women wear. They loved the simplicity of the Amish wedding dress.

This guided tour lasted about 25-minutes and we learned about the history of the Amish, their religion, family life and cultural traditions and why they choose not to use some modern conveniences.