Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego, October 2019

Hard Rock Hotel
San Diego, CA
October 19, 2019

In all of the time I have spent in the Gaslamp area in Dowtown San Diego, this was the first time staying at the Hard Rock Hotel. 

The Hard Rock is in the perfect location if you are attending a conference at the convention center, attending any event downtown or even in town for a Padres game. 

We were attending an event at the Marriott which is right behind the Hard Rock. So we decided to go with the cooler hotel!  The Hard Rock Hotel has a bar and it has restaurants, but it does not have the standard Hard Rock Cafe.

At one point the Hard Rock Cafe was in a separate building, but it has closed. Now it is just the Hard Rock Hotel.

If you are in the area, check it out. The hotel has some very cool memorabilia on display throughout.

The Child Free Lonely Life

The Child Free Lonely, Friendless Life

I've known since childhood that having children was not something that I ever, ever wanted to do. I honestly do not understand why people do it voluntarily. 
I had no idea when I was a child and I made the decision to never have children that it would cause me to lead a lonely life with little to no friends due to my choice.

As children, we don't really have many barriers to making friends with other kids. We end up playing with kids in our neighborhood, or becoming friends with kids in our class or maybe on our sports team or church. There really are no barriers in the eyes of the children. Parents will inherently put their own boundaries when they dislike something about a child or parent. I really can't say my parents ever refused to let me be friends with someone. I can remember in high school my sister and I were friends with a particular girl and her dad decided that she should not be friends with either of us because we were "nothing but trouble". The irony is both my sister and I graduated, went to college and have careers. The "friend" dropped out and ended up in jail. 

I typically made friends with people that I worked with, or people that I met through other activities. Work friends, normally no matter how strong, end up slowing down when you no longer work together. When I was younger and unmarried, I didn't really think too much about my decision to not have children. No one around me really had children unless they were older and married.  I made friends from college, work, or other places and it wasn't really an issue. As I got older, mid to late 20s, people I knew were getting married and having children. I started to notice that when someone I knew had a child, suddenly the friendship was over. They never had time anymore for whatever we had enjoyed together. After the kids came, we were simply coworkers and really no longer friends. I didn't really let it bother me because there were plenty of other people around me and I stayed busy.

Now, as a 44 year old, military wife, I feel like I am on an island. I feel like I do not know anyone in real life who has made the same decision. I have met a couple people close to my age who don't have children. However, each that I know, it is a medical reason why they do not have children, and it is not that they have made the same decision that I made. Or, in the case of one person that I know, she is only 22 and only been married 2 years, so she is officially a "not yet" not like me that is a "not ever".  

I try. Maybe I don't really, but I feel like I try. I try to do things that will allow me to meet other people. But I never ever meet anyone in real life that is Child Free like I am. I "know" a few people online from online groups. But as far as like a "real" person, someone I have spoken to in real life, nope, no I don't have anyone I know. 

San Diego is a city of 1.4 million people. I cannot POSSIBLY be the only person in San Diego who wants nothing to do with kids.  It feels like I am.  I have decided since the husband and I are not going to be in San Diego for much longer that I am pretty much just giving up on finding friends. I will have my few acquaintances, but the majority of my time, I am my only friend. 

Honestly, most of the time it is OK. I like to be very independent and I am definitely not the Navy Wife who can't function on duty day. I enjoy going to movies or concerts or other things by myself. I like setting my own schedule. Even though, I am the type that enjoys being alone, sometimes it is really nice to just have another person to talk to. However, with women, being friends means that you are going to have to deal with their children. Men can go and do what they want with out having to worry about dragging kids along, but women cannot. It is super frustrating for me.

Basically, I decided that I am not even gone to pursue trying to be friends with someone with kids at home. I just can't. I do not want what little bit of friend time to be run over with screaming kids. It leaves me in a weird position because I am still on a island, I am still not making friends, but I don't know how to deal with it all. 

The Las Vegas Neon Museum, July 4, 2019

Las Vegas Neon Museum
July 4, 2019

We spent a few days in Vegas for the July 4th weekend. We have been to Vegas on July 4th a few other times. Although, July 4th is a major holiday, its summer which is peak of the Vegas Peak Season, Vegas doesn't really "go all out" for July 4th. Vegas doesn't really do much for New Year's Eve either, but that is a story for another day.

Since moving to California in 2015, we have traveled to Vegas easily 100 times. But in all those trips, we had never gone to the Neon Museum. We've always wanted to, we just never made time. 

Both of us are fans of all of the history of Old Vegas. I definitely was surprised at how small the neon museum is. I guess I just expected to see every possible neon sign that has been retired.

I love that the neon museum has bought the names and logos for several of the old Vegas hotels. You can actually get objects from some of the old Vegas hotels like the old plastic room keys and the old ashtrays. It is really a great way to look at some of the history of old Vegas.

If the Neon Signs could talk, just imagine the crazy stories they could tell. 

The San Diego County Fair, Saturday June 1, 2019

The San Diego County Fair
Del Mar Fairgrounds

June 1, 2019

Normally, we go to the San Diego County Fair on Opening Day, due it being a special deal for military. This year, Godfrey had to work, so we ended up going to the Fair on the second day, Saturday, June 1 instead. 

The theme at the San Diego Fair this year is the Wizard of Oz. I have gone to the fair each year we have lived in California. I have really enjoyed it. There are so many things to do and check out at the fair. We are definitely going back for another fun day, but I am not sure exactly when we will be able to go. 

Godfrey's favorite part of the Fair is all of the crazy food. I swear, food vendors would fry water and sell it if they could. Of course, the vendors have the standard funnel cakes, corn dogs and turkey legs. I always try to find the craziest food item. I am definitely not going to eat any of the crazy stuff, but I definitely enjoy searching it out. Some of the crazy things I found this year were the fried oreos, fried cheesecake, fried bacon with chocolate and fried Kool Aid. I think every year the food gets crazier. This year I was a good girl and did not ear anything crazy.  

Steve Hofstetter, The Comedy Palace, San Diego, May 4

Steve Hofstetter, The Comedy Palace
San Diego, May 4

My husband and I have always enjoyed checking out stand up comedy. It is definitely one of the things that we really love about Carnival Cruises. We always make sure to check the schedule and check out as many comedy shows as we possibly can.

Now that we live in San Diego, there are quite a few comedy clubs near by to check out. We have decided we will eventually check out them all.  We started with The Comedy Palace which is the comedy club that is geographically the closest to us.

We were not disappointed.  We got lucky enough to be able to go when Steve Hofstetter was in town. He is absolutely hilarious. The show was great. We had great seats close to the front. 

Steve Hofstetter was great. We really enjoyed the show. He said that he was trying out some of his new material. I would definitely go to see him again when he is in town. 

The Comedy Palace is great venue. It is small, but it gives you a good view and it doesn't feel like it is very small.

Las Vegas

The Vegas Life for ChildFree

If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be handing out advice and recommendations about Las Vegas, I would have said they were nuts. My husband and I visited Las Vegas together for the first time in 2013. My husband had been here about 5 times when he was in high school. In 2013 we stayed at Luxor because my priority in 2013 was to see Cris Angel. In 2015, we moved to Southern California. We arrived in Oceanside, but we had a couple days before we could pick up the keys to our house, so we went to Vegas for a few days. We stayed at Mirage for 2 days and then stayed at Bally's for 2 days. We got settled in, and then quickly came back to Vegas about 4-5 weeks later. 

I had no idea that in 2016, we were going to be visiting Las Vegas at least once to twice a month. My husband and I had points with the Caesars Entertainment group, and got free stays fro his playing, so we made it a goal to stay at all of the properties in Vegas that are part of the Caesar's group. We accomplished that goal. We are now working on staying at all of the MLife Properties. We've stayed at 3 so far, so we have quite a few to go. I can't even count now how many times that I have been to Las Vegas. There are less hotels on the strip where we haven't stayed, than were we have stayed. We have seen tons of shows. We have eaten at tons of restaurants. I feel like the focus of our travel blog could be nothing but Vegas, Vegas, Vegas and I would have a million things to write about. 

I get asked by people what is your number one piece of advice for someone who is visiting Las Vegas for the first time. I would say my number one piece of advice would be, if there is a show, museum, or attraction that is on your "bucket list" check the schedule. Shows have dark weeks and dark days. Museums and attractions have closed days and sometimes will close to upgrade or renovate. Check the schedule! Don't fly to Vegas hoping to see Celine and visit the CSI attraction and get here and realize she is not performing that week and CSI is closed. Sam with the pool schedule. Don't show up in February thinking the pools will be open. My second piece of advice is just as important, DO NOT pay full price for anything. Just about everything has a discount. Hotels, shows, restaurants all have discount codes or coupons. Some shows have BOGO deals, or attend one show, get tickets to the other for free. Some hotels have special deals for guests. Don't pay full price for anything!

We have stayed at a variety of hotels. Everyone has had a different flair and feel. They also all have different restaurants, shows and even the casino games can be different at the different hotels. Some hotels are better for the under 25 crowd, some are better for kids, some are better for the older crowd. They all just vary. Doing your research based on the group you are visiting Vegas with is very important. My husband really likes Caesar's Palace. But when my sister came to Vegas for her first time, we stayed at Planet Hollywood because I really thought she would like that better due to the setup and the location. If my sister was to visit again and bring my niece, we would probably pick another hotel where my niece would have more things to do. 

Las Vegas is like my vacation home now. Even though we have been to Vegas a countless number of times, each time we try to do new things and we always have a good time. I head home from Vegas totally exhausted, but ready to go back for the next adventure!

CHILD FREE LIFE

Vegas Baby!

Vegas Baby!

I decided to take a solo trip to Vegas at the end of January. I had some freebie days at the Caesars Properties. I decided to stay at Linq. I hadn't stayed at Linq in a long time. My husband and I have stayed there maybe 2-3 times. 

Linq and Cromwell are probably the only Caesars Properties without a Starbucks and with me being a huge Starbucks fan, I probably should have stayed at another property.

I decided to seize the opportunity to see a few shows and go to a few exhibits that my husband would not be remotely interested in. I walked and walked and walked. I swear I got well over 20,000 steps each day. It was at the end of January, so the big conference of January, CES, was already over. But of course, its Vegas, the convention capital, so there still were conventions going on. 

I had a good time, even though I was solo. I enjoyed the weather. It definitely was not too cold or too hot. My husband and I will be back in Vegas together in April.

MSC Seaside, June 9-16, 2018

MSC Seaside

Miami, Florida

Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Nassau, Bahamas

Our First Cruise on MSC was MSC Seaside out of Miami. 

This was our 10th cruise overall. However, the first 9 were on Carnival.

Our cruise journey definitely started out quite interesting. First when booking and checking in, we had to get used to how MSC does it. I actually liked their system better.
Instead of opening your on board account ahead of time, you have until you have been on the ship for 48 hours before your account is "on hold" until you put a credit card down. It can be done from one of their many kiosks, so we definitely did not have to stand in some long line.

We have cruised out of Miami before but MSC was at a different terminal. When we got to the terminal, our Lyft driver pulled right to the luggage cart. He was actually not in a parking space. He was just trying to get us to the pile of luggage as close as he could.
As we get out of the car, I have my husband asking me questions, the Lyft driver talking to me, and the dock worker talking to me asking me questions. Even though the dock workers are unionized, get an $15 an hour, they still expect tips. We had 3 bags that the handlers had to move from the ground to the cart. That was it. We were right by the luggage cart. If we had been further away, I could understand. I opened my wallet while talking to the driver and my husband and THOUGHT I grabbed a $5 for our 3 bags. My standard in the past had been $2-$3 basically $1 per bag. If we are getting on earlier and our room isn't ready, we check more. If our room would be ready, we carry on more.

In this case, our room would be ready. The dock worker took our 3 bags, one spinner suitcase, one regular roller, and a garment bag. I thought I handed him a $5. He looked at what I tipped and gave me the world's dirtiest look. I have gotten worse looks from people when I intentionally did something bad to them. Finally the Lyft driver was satisfied and left, my husband took off towards where we would check in, and took off after him.
Later, I looked in my wallet and realized I must have given him a $1 instead of a $5 based on what was in my wallet. It was an accident. 
We got on the ship, ate, did the safety drill, went to dinner, waited and waited waited. My husband had his luggage. But my suitcase with our toiletries, my medication, ALL of my clothes was never delivered.
Finally at 9:15pm I could not wait any longer and I went to guest services and then was directed to the "no tag: area. Thankfully my suitcase was there, and my luggage tag was easily visible.
I could tell where the tag had been ripped off clearly the dock worker was angry that I had not tipped what he expected. It made the cruise start off on a sour note, but it was not MSC's fault.

Other things about the cruise definitely made up for it. 

CHILD FREE LIFE

I can remember being 12 years old and having the husband and kids discussion with a relative. I said when I was 12 that I did not want to ever get married or have children.
Of course I was told then, I would change my mind, I didn't know what I want, etc. All of the things that childfree people are told on a regular basis.

When I married my ex husband, I knew I did not want children with him. He was too much of a child,and I did not want two children to take care of.
Everyone told me that when I  met the right person, I would want children. I did meet the right person, but I knew that I never wanted to SHARE my husband. I never wanted to be the second string quarterback to a child.  I could not imagine having to share my husband with a child. I am so thankful that we will never have anything or anyone to come between us. The childfree life is the only way for us. 

Pinners Conference & Expo

Pinners Conference & Expo

The Pinners Conference is where Pinterest comes to life. It is a two day conference full of classes and vendors the represent all aspects of Pinterest.

Beauty, Party Planning, DIY, Crafts, Cooking, Fashion, Health, Fitness, Jewelry, Sewing, Travel, Photography, Plants, Canning, Renovations

Just about anything that would be on Pinterest is represented at the Pinners Conference.

I bought the 2 day, 2 class per day package. Two of my classes did not have a class fee. They were cardmaking classes and the kits were included.

The other classes I did was a Hello Sign, a USA sign and a Mermaid sign.
Many of the vendors had make n takes at their booth. I was able to make several things to take home. 

Everyone in attendance received a free reusable bag and a free planner.

Get Over It

We all make our own choices in life. The best thing you can do in life is make the choices that work for you and what you want out of life. We have chosen to not have children so that we can be free to travel and enjoy our free time. We wanted a life without constraints. 

Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, December 2017

Knott's Berry Farm

Buena Park, California

December 7, 2017

We love Knott's Berry Farm!

This was our second year in a row taking advantage of the free military days from Knott's Berry Farm.  When we lived back in Virginia, Cedar Fair had the theme park Kings Dominion. Cedar Fair operates Knott's Berry Farm, so the rides are very similar. 

The best part of going to Knott's Berry Farm during the free military days is that the park is decorated for Christmas. We really enjoyed the day. We changed it up and saw some different shows, and tried some different food.

The roller coasters will always be my favorite. My favorite coaster at Knott's is the Silver Bullet! It reminds me of the Dominator at Kings Dominion.

Carnival Glory, June 2017

Carnival Glory

Bahamas, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, Puerto Rico

Port of Miami

This was our first cruise out of Miami on Carnival. This was our sixth cruise on Carnival. Each itinerary so far we have cruises on a different ship, out of a different port, and the itinerary has been slightly different each time as well. 

This was our second time in Half Moon Cay, but this was our first time in St, Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. My husband had been to St. Thomas and San Juan as part of a Navy cruise a long time ago. But he didn't remember much. However, he had never been to any part of Turks and Caicos. I was excited, FINALLY a country that my husband has not been too!

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, May 2017

For Memorial Day Weekend 2017, We decided to visit someplace that we have never been. We went to Palm Springs for the weekend. The first thing on our agenda after arriving was to check out the Aerial Tramway. 

My biggest piece of advice with the Aerial Tramway is to give yourself plenty of time. We did not realize how long it was going to take just to PARK! Once we parked and went up, we had to wait an hour before our scheduled Tram.

The Trams only hold a set amount of people, so they are scheduled going up, and then coming back, you will just get in line and wait your turn.

It was definitely a cool experience to go up that elevation for someone who has not really been to an elevation like that before. 

We took the tram and probably stayed at the mountain top about two hours, then got in line to come back down. The views were amazing and we would definitely do it again. If you are are a hiker or into mountain climbing, go prepared! You can take the hike up the mountain for some amazing views.

CHILDFREE LIFE

Sea World, San Diego, April 2016

We have had Platinum passes with Busch Gardens / Sea World for years. Whenever we have had to go to customer service for an issue and the rep actually realizes how little we pay each month, they are shocked. That tells you exactly how long we have had our passes. 

Before moving to California, We lived in Virginia about 45 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and about 50 minutes from Water Country USA in Williamsburg. We would go to Busch Gardens at least 4-6 times a year and Water Country USA 1-3 times a year when we first met. Over the last couple years we lived in Virginia, we reduced the amount of times we were going because we were doing other things. But we kept the passes. Living that close to the parks, it made sense.

Living in Southern California, the only parks nearby are Sea World San Diego and Aquatica in Chula Vista.  We have not visited Aquatica yet. But we try to go to Sea World at least twice a year.

This visit was our first visit of 2016. It was great weather. We went during Sea World's Magic Days. It was the first time that we had been able to go to Sea World during Magic Days. Sea World had a schedule of visiting well known magicians who performed during the month.

When we visited Sea World during Magic Days, We got to see the Magician Rick Thomas. We had seen him on tv. Obviously, the show stage at Sea World is smaller than what he is used to, but he was still able to give a great show!
We really enjoyed the show. 

The theme days and special events at Sea World are truly a don't miss. If you are visiting Sea World, make sure you check out the schedule of special events and plan accordingly.

Strip Side Junior Suite, Flamingo Las Vegas, March 2016

Our Second Stay at the Flamingo, We decided to check out the Junior Suite instead of a regular room. Typically, it doesn't matter if we don't have a huge room or a suite at hotels because we are the type who are only going to be in the room long enough to sleep and shower before we are back out again.

We had a deal, playing at the casino does that, and we ended up getting the Junior Suite at Flamingo for free.  The best part about out suite was that it was right on the front side facing the strip, with HUGE windows looking out on the strip. This would definitely be a good spot for fireworks, or one of the 5ks. 

The only slightly negative thing with the Junior Suite, is with one bed, and a glass wall separating the bathroom, it would have been a little weird with 2 people who were not together or used to seeing each other naked or "on the throne". 

That is the only slightly negative thing I could say. Since my husband and I rarely travel with anyone else, it is always just he and I, the glass wall in the bathroom was not a problem. 

'The Flamingo is probably one of the most well known hotels on the strip for those who know ANYTHING about the history of Las Vegas. We love walking through the hotel and feeling like history is everywhere. The last original section of the hotel has been gone for a long time, but the history remains. 

Have a drink at Bugsy's bar, some say his spirit will have a drink with you. Or maybe those who said that, hit Margaritaville and the Its 5oclock Somewhere Bar first. 

The Blacklight Run, March 2016

The Blacklight Run

March 2016

Sleep Train Amphitheater, Chula Vista, California

The Blacklight run is a night time colorful, glow, 5k. Basic registration included a t shirt, and each person got a bag of the colored powder. 

As with the other similar colorful runs, the powder is completely safe.  The difference with the Blacklight run is that the powder is treated to glow under Blacklight. 

The course was a mix of surfaces. They used some blacktop areas and some grassy areas. The one weird thing about the course was that there was not enough space to set up a full course, so parts of it were just winding back and forth in a small area like going through a roller coaster queue. 

The other item that was kind of weird was there was no music or anything as part of the beginning, there was only a DJ for the "afterparty" after a good quantity of people had gone through the course. So those who went first or were faster had to stand around as long as an hour to wait. 

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico

Cabo, or Los Cabos is one of those legendary places where you hear about the amazing views, the wonderful people, the excellent food and of course The Partying. Traveling on both coasts of Mexico, I have learned that the culture is deep, beautiful and proud. 

We took and Land and Sea Tour to get acquainted with the area. Of course the highlight of the water part of the tour is getting as close to the Arch as possible. There is a small beach in the arch area, one side of the beach opens to the Sea of Cortez and the other side opens to the Pacific Ocean. Its one of a few crazy places like this in the world where one beach can swim in two bodies of water.

Part of our tour went to a glass blowing factory, a restaurant, shopping, and a few other places with some amazing views along the coast.  I was totally fascinated by the glass blowing process. It honestly seemed though that it was more of a tourist thing, like the factory only existed just as something to do for tourists until we got to a restaurant for our lunch and tequila tasting. Then I saw how all of their bar ware had come from the place we just left. It was quite an interesting lesson in zero waste. The restaurant and bar sends the glass blowing factory their beer bottles to recycle and the glass blowing factory made them amazing bar ware. 

Los Cabos is one of a few places where the old meets the new in this balanced way. Its truly someplace that I would love to spend a long amount of time. Its also in my dreams for retirement.