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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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Things to Do in Oceanside, California

June 28, 2019      California, Destinations, North America

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Oceanside, California was the second stop on our sponsored Southern California road trip with Go RVing and Visit California. Road trips with kids are better in RV’s so after landing in LAX from Miami we picked up our rented RV from Outdoorsy and drove to our first stop Huntington Beach. After spending two nights we drove 60 milesto reach Oceanside. We would spend one night in Oceanside before heading to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Here’s how to pack in the best things to do in Oceanside in two days along with the best RV park to book.

Things to Do in Oceanside, California

Things to Do in Oceanside Day One: Oceanside Pier, Oceanside Boat Rentals, Privateer Coal Fire Pizza

After checking into our RV Park we decided to beat the crowds and have an early lunch. We decided on Hello Betty Fish House as we read about it’s great ocean views. Unfortunately they are doing construction right in front of the restaurant so we weren’t able to get that view but the restaurants decor inside was nice. It wasn’t our favorite restaurant of the trip but it wasn’t terrible.

table with 3 plates of food

From Hello Betty Fish House we walked to the Oceanside Boardwalk. Here we rented a surrey bike from Wheel Fun Rentals. We pedaled up and down the pier stopping at the many parks right on the beach for my daughter to play. Bring a bluetooth speaker with you so you have music to listen to on your ride. Be sure to also leave plenty of room for all the good treats sold on the boardwalk. My dad enjoyed a milkshake while my daughter and I had shaved ice.

You May Be Interested in Reading: Tips for Taking Family Vacation Photos

Since we already enjoyed the beach water in Huntington Beach we skipped swimming in the ocean here. Instead we headed to the marina. We came to rent a small boat from Oceanside Boat Rentals and noticed a surf competition! Unfortunately it was the end of it which we were bummed about because we thought it would have been a great experience. I recommend checking local events in the area when planning your trip to not miss out on these unique experiences. Still we had a nice ride on the small boat we rented to go around the marina. We came across some sea lion sun bathing on a pier and enjoyed the sea breeze.

man driving a small boat

You May Be Interested in Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Planning a California Road Trip

For dinner we ate at a local favorite, Privateer Coal Fire Pizza. The owner, Charlie Anderson, is an Oceanside local and surfer. He prides himself on working with Oceanside Cyclops Farms to ensure as many ingredients as possible are locally grown.

My daughter took the longest afternoon nap so she was full of energy after dinner. I saw an advertisement for a trampoline park, Altitude, in the brochure we got from the Oceanside Visitor Center so we went there. It was the perfect place to burn off some energy before bed.

Things to Do in Oceanside Day Two: Beach Break Cafe, Whale Watching Tour, & More

We started off our second day in Oceanside with breakfast at Beach Break Cafe. Another locally owned restaurant, Beach Break is famous for their cinnamon-laced coffee cake. While I don’t like coffee cake in general, my dad who loves them says it was the best coffee cake he’s ever had. I had their signature banana crunch french toast which was excellent but ask for light whip cream if you’re not a big fan as they don’t hold back on it at all.

After a very filling breakfast it was time for us to try to see some whales. We were going on a tour with Oceanside Adventures which lasts two hours. From November to April you can spot Gray, Mike, Humpbak and Fin whales along with all four species of dolphins. Then from May to October you can spot Fin, Blue, Minke and Humpback Whales and all four species of dolphins. Unfortunately for us we didn’t see any whales on your sailing. However we did see a pod of over 300 dolphins and they were not shy at all. They put on a lovely show for us, constantly jumping out of the water and coming right next to the boat for us to see them. While we wanted to see whales, the dolphins didn’t disappoint. I know many whale watching companies offer refunds or a rain check if you don’t spot a whale but Oceanside Adventures does not. 

Our time in Oceanside was coming to an end but not without having our last meal. We had lunch at Lighthouse Oyster Bar and Grill which is right at the marina as you come off the whale watching tour. This was the best meal we had while in Oceanside and it came with a beautiful view.

Other Things to Do in Oceanside

Since we only had two days in Oceanside we weren’t able to experience all the things to do in Oceanside. If you have more time or if your interests differ check out these activities:

  • California Surf Museum
  • Oceanside Museum of Art
  • Vital Climbing Gym

Also be sure to check out Oceanside’s event calendar for things to do in Oceanside during your visit as they often have special events. There was a surf competition going on the day we arrived but we discovered it too late. Check out other family friendly ideas for your California visit here.

Paradise by the Sea: The Best Oceanside RV Park

When we arrived to Oceanside we checked into Paradise by the Sea RV Resort. Just one mile from the Oceanside Pier it’s a prime location for enjoying the water activities Oceanside has to offer. It’s sparkling clean with friendly staff that even helps you park in your spot. Paradise by the Sea is a 4 star RV park with an amazing clubhouse, pool, hang-out area plus it has a path that leads straight to the beach.

Have you rented an RV before? If not, here are 6 tips for first time RVers and what vacationing in an RV looks like plus save $50 of your first RV rental by signing up for Outdoorsy here.

 

There are so many things to do in Oceanside and it’s a beautiful city in Southern California. We’re so happy we got to explore it on our Southern California road trip. Our next and final stop on this trip was Anza-Borrego park, 80 miles from Oceanside. This summer road trip was a big change from our winter getaway in Lake Tahoe snowboarding at Northstar Ski Resort. If you found this article helpful please share it.

 

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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