• Travel

    Simplify Travel with Park Sleep Fly Options

    December 2, 2019 - By 

    So many moving parts involved in planning a trip. Park Sleep Fly options can simplify your vacation, no matter who you are traveling with and it’s often an affordable option. This is a sponsored post which means I received compensation. Imagine planning a trip with multiple family members. Not only do you have to choose where to go and comparison shop for best prices and activities, but you need to book the flights, juggle the passports and snacks and negotiate all of the busy airport details. Then you drive to the airport hoping and planning for potential heavy traffic and…

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    The Cody Hotel – Wild Wyoming

    November 22, 2019 - By 

    Like the town it’s named for, The Cody Hotel is pure Wyoming. Cody is often called one of the last few western towns, and I could easily see why when I stayed there on the first night of my tour with Austin Adventures. The town itself may have grown and modernized itself over the years, but you’d never know it driving through downtown. When it comes to accommodations in Wyoming close to Yellowstone National Park, The Cody Hotel, ticks all the boxes. With great views of the surrounding countryside, comfortable accommodations, superb service and a distinctly wild west vibe, The…

  • Travel

    7 Most Beautiful Things To See In Montana

    November 19, 2019 - By 

    With its panoramic, breathtaking mountains and wide open spaces, it’s easy to see why Montana is referred to as Big Sky Country. From vast mountain tops in Glacier National Park to the badlands, Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone National Park, Montana has numerous one of a kind iconic drives and vistas, each memorable in its own right. I travelled with Austin Adventures on a hosted media trip in Montana and Wyoming this Fall. Big Sky Country Nearly 13 million tourists annually visit Montana’s Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Flathead Lake, Big Sky Resort and other attractions. There’s no place…

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    Travel

    Adopting The Pace of Nature – Group Travel with Austin Adventures

    November 12, 2019 - By 

    This fall I was on a group travel experience and media trip with Austin Adventures which means I received travel, accommodations, food and excursions in exchange for potential coverage. This story is based on that experience. “Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” We are sharing a picnic lunch on the outdoor patio at Old Faithful Inn waiting, listening. There’s a clock inside on the main floor that projects an estimated time that Old Faithful will erupt. It is nothing if not faithful, just as it says right in the name. Old Faithful The crowd murmurs and holds…

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    Travel

    How to Spend 24 Hours in Watkins Glen New York

    November 5, 2019 - By 

    The drive from Rochester New York through to Watkins Glen is unforgettable. Curving rural roads stretch out for miles and then suddenly the landscape switches carving down towards one finger-shaped lake after another. Wineries crop up on both sides of the road and the sloping rows of vines command attention. Welcome to Watkins Glen Watkins Glen, a small village that’s part of Finger Lakes New York wine region is a geological marvel. Oddly, I had no idea it was so spectacular and so close to home. We were guests while in Watkins Glen which means we received accommodations, meals and…

  • Travel

    Three Days of Play in Rochester New York

    October 29, 2019 - By 

    “Play is the highest form of research,” – Albert Einstein It had been years since I last set foot in Rochester New York. There was a time Rochester was a destination Canadians visited for the weekend, when they wanted to shop and save money. Shopping bags loaded with clothing, shoes, and the occasional bottle of rum or whiskey, we’d return satisfied and armed with Christmas presents for everyone, but not before that final stop at the Duty Free store. This is how I remember Rochester, New York. We were guests of Visit Rochester while in the city which means we…

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    Travel

    The Flight Before Christmas – Everything You Need To Know Now

    October 22, 2019 - By 

    Need to travel over the holidays? Need the flight before Christmas? Oh sure we all want to travel during the holiday season and go somewhere warm, or even some place familiar filled with family and friends. But do you need to travel during the holidays? If so, then you need some ground rules and also some guidelines and tips on how to go and when to book the flight before Christmas. There are lots of benefits to holiday air travel and a few big drawbacks too. But, if you want to know the ins and outs and the ways to…

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    My Blogging Anniversary – A Decade of Sharing and Gratitude

    October 21, 2019 - By 

    Ten years goes by in a blink. I started this blog Thrifty Mommas Tips ten years ago this past summer! My ten-year blogging anniversary happened quietly on May 26th. I wanted to have this up sooner, but then my crazy summer of travel happened and I didn’t have time to finish it until now. So, forgive me if this is a little late. Where has a decade gone? Well, my girls have grown up into beautiful teenagers. Sure, they argue a lot some days and frankly parenting teens is so much harder than I ever imagined…but they’ve changed so much.…

  • Travel

    Cody Wyoming – Embrace the Wild West Now

    October 15, 2019 - By 

    I was invited to travel with Austin Adventures recently while in Montana and Cody Wyoming on a media trip. My opinion is truthful. A raven-haired young woman dressed in an emerald green ball gown sits beside a woman in white and brown fashionable dress at a table inside a saloon. Two men talk loudly about rustling up horses, as a stranger saunters in, wearing a black cowboy shirt and pants, with elaborate leather boots, the kind that make a noisy clattering every time the heel makes contact with the floor. Someone’s spurs jingle. The two women whisper, and all eyes…

  • Travel

    Best Places to Wine and Dine in Tualatin Valley, Oregon

    October 13, 2019 - By 

    Hundreds of families push strollers through downtown Beaverton, Oregon while middle aged couples line up at each food station waiting their turn to buy everything, from organic fruit popsicles to Falafel burgers, and gourmet grilled cheese. Nearby, in a green space, families spread out impromptu picnics on the lawn. Some stroll hand in hand browsing bright coloured Indian scarves, Korean jewelry, crafty bookmarks and holiday decorations made from old tattered, repurposed, maps. Across the tracks, a cable car periodically splits the crowd in two, while police stand by watching and guarding barricades. The streets are cordoned off in a radius…