Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 80

Los Angeles with Kids

Just coming back from LA, I've learned that there are a bunch of things you can do for free or with kids. I didn't get to them all, but you can certainly do LA on a budget if you know how. You may have to drive quite a bit, but you can keep it to a minimum if you park and walk to things that are in the same vicinity, like many of the cool arty things downtown are. Got kids? Here are some things to put on your list:

Looking for ways to make your trip cheaper? Check out GoCards and Explorer Card...

It's My Blog Birthday!

Whoa! You guys! I've been blogging here for EIGHT years (on Monday)! What the what? That seems crazy, right? I've loved bringing you guys all my best travel tips and photos from my travels. Well, it's not going to stop, and my next book is in the works. I'm hoping to have it available before Thanksgiving. 
photo creditUsually I try to bring you some awesomeness from the year, which I will, but I'd also like to do a bit of a wish list for my travels. Since I've just turned 8, I'm going to...

Harry Potter's Birthday: Part 2

It's been over a week since The Boy Who Lived turned 38, but that doesn't mean he's been forgotten. My house is still Hogwarts and we did our second Harry Potter themed tea last weekend where we did tea leaf reading in our mini Divination class. It was so well done, I decided it deserved its own post for pictures. 


The best part of this tea were all the little details. I've left them at full resolution, so you can click to make them bigger and see all the gorgeous ways this steampunk tea...

How To Save On Airfare

No matter where you go, airfare can be a big chunk of your vacation budget. If you know what you’re doing, it can be a smaller one than expected, even during the more expensive times of the year. Of course, planning your trip in the off-season can save you big time. Here are my best tips on how to save on airfare:

Book/Look on Tuesday or WednesdayAirlines set their prices for the week on Tuesdays, this means that if you're going to find a sale on your chosen destination, this is the likely day...

Earn Free Gift Cards during the Back to School Team Challenge - US

It's that time of the year again! Swagbucks is holding a Back to School Team Challenge to help you earn free gift cards! For those of you who don't know what Swagbucks is, it's a website where you can earn cash back on everyday tasks you do online like shopping, answering surveys, discovering deals, and watching videos. You can even earn for searching the web! 
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If you've never tried Swagbucks before because you didn't know where to begin, their Team Challenges are a great way to learn the...

Organizing Your Travel Info

When you’re planning for vacation, do you end up with endless pieces of paper for hotels, car rentals and other stuff you’re doing? I know I do, but instead of printing out every last thing that I may or may not need, I now have learned that putting it all together online is a better method and helps me to know exactly where everything is and what I’m still needing. Once I go on my trip, I can print out the necessary things (3 pages vs 42 is easier to carry) and have a back-up for myself...

Get 300 bonus SB when you sign up for Swagbucks in August

All throughout August you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash.

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When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here's how: 
1. Sign up us...

Red Roof Inn Is Making Your Summer Travels Cheaper

I'm a fan of Red Roof Inn. Their hotels are convenient and super comfortable. It helps that they are pretty affordable too, and now they're making your summer even cheaper with low rates and a special summer promotion called Red Hot Stubs. 
You're going to do things when you travel, otherwise, why go anywhere, right? Red Roof Inn knows this and they want to reward you for being an awesome traveler and contributing to the local economy. Now through August 31st, you can get 10% off your sta...

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

Yesterday was a big day for Potterheads. It was Harry Potter's birthday. As you know, I spend a lot of time planning parties and traveling for Potter-related activities and helping the Harry Potter Alliance. This marked our 5th annual Potter party at my house and though it was pretty hot this week, we still made it work, with some adjustments.

This year's theme was Triwizard Tournament and we had a Goblet of Fire that guests put their names into to compete in a task that would earn them points...

Eating For Cheap On Vacation

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I love to eat and it can be one of the best things about traveling. I will plan whole days around places I want to eat, but I also plan ahead to save money on food before I leave, so I can afford to splurge on a few meals and also eat more often than usual, since I am always hungry when out in the fresh air. 

If you’re like me and want to eat all day long, you’re going to need some tips on how to do it inexpensively, so...