Rob Taylor's Blog, page 26
August 11, 2022
What are National Parks and Why Do We Care: Planning and Visiting America’s National Parks
Once upon a time in 1872, in a faraway place called Washington, DC, there lived a mediocre looking fellow named Ulysses S Grant: the President of the United States. At this time and a bit before, there was a group of people that had explored the Yellowstone area of Wyoming and convinced congress and the president that the area needed to be protected and also made accessible to the American people. With that (and a whole lot more work) Yellowstone became the first national park in the world. Fo...
August 9, 2022
Things to Do in Yosemite Country: 5 Easy Ways to Explore Outside the Park
Even when a place is as remarkable as Yosemite National Park, it’s always nice to explore beyond the most famous sights and most popular trails. True, you cannot surpass the epic view that awaits at the end of the Wawona Tunnel as the Yosemite Valley opens up to show off Half Dome, El Capitan and the waterfalls, but when it comes to experiences in nature, there’s more than you imagined in Yosemite Country.
After spending a week at the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, we’ve seen a different side of Y...
August 7, 2022
Beautiful and Fun Things to Do in Mammoth Lakes, CA in the Summer
If you didn’t grow up in California, you may not have heard of Mammoth Lakes before. Known to San Francisco Bay Area residents as the place to go for winter skiing, in the summertime it’s a quiet mountain getaway. There are so many things to do at Mammoth Lakes in the summer, and it’s the perfect addition to a Yosemite National Park Vacation.
Most people think of it as a skiing destination like Vail, CO or Big Ski, MT, so we wanted to find the best things to do in Mammoth Lakes for a summer v...
July 20, 2022
Staying at Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, an All Inclusive Review
Have you heard of Club Med and weren’t sure what it was? That was us until recently. We had our first Club Med experience at their Punta Cana, DR resort and it was such a surprise. All we knew before arriving was that it would be nice, it would be all-inclusive (we weren’t sure what that entailed) and that we would want to stay longer. Now that we’ve been, here’s the full scoop on Club Med Punta Cana.
Did you know that Club Med has locations all around the world, from Morocco to Quebec and lo...
July 17, 2022
California Central Coast Road Trip Itinerary: castles, wine and more
What could be more perfect any time of year than a California Central Coast road trip? Nothing. Leaving the SoCal area out of Los Angeles and heading north up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), you’re bound to find beautiful, quirky, delicious, and captivating stops. A road trip up the Central Coast fits nearly any budget and can last a few days or two weeks. There’s never a dull moment with or without kids, and we’ve done it both ways.
Looking back (and as we plan to do a Central Coast road tr...
July 9, 2022
Staying at the Sundial Beach Resort, Sanibel Island
We’ve been so lucky to get to have many trips to the Florida Gulf Coast, and with each one we try to stay in interesting or unique hotels or resorts, like the Sundial Beach Resort on Sanibel Island. Since it’s not a hotel, but is truly a resort in the sense that it offers all kinds of amenities and activities, it’s the perfect home base for a vacation to Sanibel or the Fort Myers area.
Our review of the Sundial Beach Resort is based on five days / four nights there and taking advantage of as ...
July 8, 2022
Getaway to Sanibel and Captiva: Things to Do in Southwest Florida
Sanibel Island is such a Florida gem, and it’s one of those places that everyone’s heard of but not everybody has actually been to. It’s pretty awesome, and is a gorgeous getaway on the Florida Gulf Coast, in the Southwest Florida area. Located directly next to the city of Fort Myers, Sanibel Island is an ideal family getaway, and our family loved it.
We’ve got our top picks for fun things to do on Sanibel and Captiva islands, as well as a few fun ideas in the more broad Fort Myers area. We s...
June 23, 2022
Staying at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort: Vintage Vibes and All Fun
There are only a handful of properties around the USA that we’ve stayed at many times, and the Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal Orlando is one of them. I feel it’s the best value of the many Universal hotels and we always enjoy ourselves.
We’ve stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Disney’s Contemporary Resort each quite a few times, and then our favorite ever, the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort, a bunch, but nowhere else over and over. Cabana Bay has been our top pick for a Unive...
June 14, 2022
Where to Kayak in Yellowstone National Park: Lakes and Paddling Past Geysers
Kayaking in Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons needs to be on any paddler’s bucket list. These famous National Parks have some of the most epic landscapes and features. Whether you’re kayaking on Yellowstone Lake past geysers or hiking with a folding kayak, you’ll love it all.
Yellowstone National Park is one of the USA’s most beloved parks. With geysers, high peaks, scenic waterways, and an abundance of wildlife, this park has so much to offer visitors in summer and fall months. ...
June 1, 2022
190 Mile Utah Biking Journey – Hut to Hut Adventure Experience
We love experiencing new adventures when we travel, and doing a Utah biking journey is pretty much as epic as they come. Much of our travel includes exploring a mix of both off-the-beaten-path destinations AND popular sights, like the Utah National Parks. Did you know that there are mountain biking trail systems all around Utah, and now you can even bike the backcountry, going from eco-hut to eco-hut?
The Aquarius Trail Hut System offers a backcountry mountain biking experience like no other ...
