This home has a great location right within walking distance to the beach and features a private pool along with all its other amenities. You also get a nice view of the Gulf of Mexico from the top floor. And of course, there is free wireless internet access throughout the entire home if you must bring you computer and work while you are on vacation. Well okay, you might want to look up a restaurant or two while you are on vacation here in the panhandle of Florida, but don’t over do it.

Read the description of this property below:

Private pool with jacuzzi, heating optional,( off season for $250 week). This 4 bedroom, 3 full bath and & 2 half bath house located in beautiful Old Florida Beach is sure to become a vacation favorite for those groups that want to vacation in style. Sleeps 14–1king, 1 queen, 2 twins, 2 sets of twin bunks, 2 queen sofa sleepers.

Beautifully decorated, this home features awesome views of the gulf from the second and third story balconies. You can sip on a morning cup of coffee and watch the sun come up or have a drink and watch the sunset from the same location. For your convenience, a computer desktop workstation is provided for internet access during your visit. The third floor consists of the master suite and large master bath. The second floor has two bedrooms and a bunk room for the kids. The entry level has two queen sleeper sofas and a fantastic entertainment system for all to enjoy. A fireplace also adds to the ambiance of this level.

This home in Santa Rosa Beach rents for $2,485 per night but, if you contact the owner you can get more specific rates and may be able to get a better rate or negotiate some on your terms.

The All Laid Back cabin has 3 bedrooms and it can sleep up to 8 people in its 1,750 square feet of living space. And it rents for only $165 to $230 per night. Not bad for a place that you can bring your whole family to and enjoy a week or longer vacation in the Smoky Mountains.

Here are more property details:

Get “All Laid Back” in this awesome, 3 Bedroom, 3 Bathroom cabin located in the beautiful Black Bear Falls Resort community of Gatlinburg. Located in Gatiinburg’s city limits and less than 3 miles to downtown and the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and only a short drive to Pigeon Forge.

Soak your worries away in our hot tub located on the deck or warm your bones by the fireplace in our great room. In the Summer months take a short stroll to the resort’s swimming pool (located within walking distance from our cabin). Challenge your family and friends to a game on the pool table located on the lower level of the cabin.

All the bedrooms have Kingsized beds and full bathrooms attached. Plus, they are all located on different levels of the cabin which allows for extra privacy! The pull-out sofa is located on the lower level in the game room.

And of course it includes all these amenities and more:

Alarm Clock
Blender
Board Games
Cable TV
Ceiling Fans
Central Air Conditioning
Central Heating
Charcoal Grill
Deck
Dishwasher
Washer and Dryer
DVD Player
Fireplace
Freezer
Game Room
High Speed Internet
Jacuzzi/Hot Tub
Lake Views
Linens Provided
Local Guides/Maps
Microwave
Outdoor Pool
Oven
Paper Towels Provided
Parking
Pool Table
Refrigerator
Shampoo and Provided
Sofabed
Telephone
Towels Provided
TV
VCR
Wi-Fi

You can get more information on this beautiful Gatlinburg cabin rental here. Make sure you email the owner to get the best rates available.

Of course, one of the best ways to really get the most from a vacation here is to stay in a log cabin and be able to step out your door and be right in the woods on on the side of a mountain with an incredible view. If you stayed in the cabin below managed by Elk Springs Resort you would be right in the middle of the Gatlinburg action and only minutes from downtown shopping, dining and more. Check out the details of this 2 Bedroom luxury cabin rental in Gatlinburg:

A true log cabin, this beautiful two bedroom luxury cabin offers king size beds, indoor jacuzzi tub and a hot tub on the deck. Play a game of pool or just relax next to the cozy fireplace, this cabin is sure to create memories forever.

Enter on the main level into the great room where there is 20 feet of glass overlooking the wooded valley. With comfortable seating for 5, you can enjoy the fireplace or go up to the loft and play a game of pool. The full kitchen and dining room adjoin the great room where there is seating for 6 including the breakfast bar. A washer / dryer is included for your convenience.

How does that sound for a nice vacation rental in the Smokies? And when you add some of these amenities below you have the perfect vacation getaway in the mountains.

2 Bedroom Gatlinburg Cabin Amenities:

Air Conditioning
Blender
Cable TV
Ceiling Fans
Central Air Conditioning
Deck
Dishwasher
DVD Player
Fireplace
Fitness Room
Gas Grill
High Speed Internet
Jacuzzi/Hot Tub
Linens Provided
Microwave
Pool Table
Refrigerator
Sofabed
Toaster
TV
Wi-Fi
2 King Sized Beds
3 21″ TV’s
4 Rockers
4 Rocking Chairs

And lots, lots more. Check out this Gatlinburg cabin rental here and start planing you vacation today.

Last October of 2011 we ended our month long vacation in the Southwestern United States by staying a week in the Florida panhandle. During that stay we ventured into Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and just by providence happened across a beautiful field of blooming Liatris with butterflies, moths and bees doing their pollinating thing. In fact there were hundreds of these fluttering creatures darting in and around the Liatris and in some cases there were as many as 5 or 6 that were pollinating a single flower at the same time.

This was just at the entrance of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park right down from our vacation rental in Dune Allen Beach and we must have stayed there (in the no parking zone by the way) for probably 45 minutes to an hour just observing and photographing the flowers, butterflies and bees. I ended up taking a few hundred pictures during that hour or so and have hopefully the best posted here. Apparently the end of October is the best time to catch this pollinating crowd of creatures do there thing. If you ever get the chance to vacation in Ft Walton County along the beaches of 30A, stop in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park right at the little pond at the entrance and enjoy the show.

In the mean time enjoy the pictures here.

Moth on Liatris

Butterfly on Liatris

Bee on Liatris

]]> http://www.vacation-cabin-rental.com/blog/2012/04/topsail-hill-preserve-state-park-pictures/feed/ 0 http://www.vacation-cabin-rental.com/blog/2011/11/southwest-vacation-itinerary/ http://www.vacation-cabin-rental.com/blog/2011/11/southwest-vacation-itinerary/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:04:08 +0000 Alan http://www.vacation-cabin-rental.com/blog/?p=847

Planning a vacation takes lots of time and energy, but when you want to travel the country for a whole month you have to think about where you want to go for 31 days or so and that does take a bit of work. Alan put hours into this 6,000 mile driving vacation that took us in 31 days from Palm Bay, Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado to Northern Arizona, back to the Beaches of South Walton in the Florida Panhandle and finally back home to Brevard County.

In getting organized for the trip we had a number of supplies to purchase, but he biggest purchase for the cross country excursion was the Garmin Nuvi 1450 GPS and a Nikon D3100 digital camera.  Next, we developed a vacation packing list and began thinking and planning our trip around the idea of “what kind of traveler are you?” Food on a 30 day trip is a big issue for us because we want to avoid fast food and maintain our regimen of healthy eating so we planned lots of raw food snacks for a long road trip. We also found Google docs and maps indispensable in our vacation planning for the long trip out west.

Additional trip considerations included safety issues. We did discuss safety before we started the trip, but it was not until we got on the road that we became cognizant of several more important and simple safety travel tips. Since we were traveling in the cooler months of Autumn where the temperatures would vary significantly along the way, proper head warmers travel gear was another priority.

Because there are so many details to planning a long trip, to help out our visitors we are posting our personal Southwest vacation itinerary. This trip itinerary which starts in Florida with a destination of Colorado Springs then on to  Northern Arizona and back to Florida is listed from start to finish below. Feel free to use it, change it and make it your own. Also, here’s a travel tip – you may want to brush up on some geological terms before you head out West.

Day 1
Drive from Palm Bay, Florida drive to Chattanooga, TN
Stay: Super 8
Eat: Cracker Barrel Macon, GA; N’awlins S. Broad Street, Chattanooga
Travel Tip: Look for Cracker Barrels they have consistently good food and service were ever you go. Here’s a special shout out to  the Macon Georgia Cracker Barrel for their exceptional customer service.

Day 2
Drive from Chattanooga, TN to Columbia, MO
Stay: Howard Johnson’s I-70 and Hwy 63
Eat: The Main Squeeze downtown
Travel tip: the morning traffic between Chattanooga and Nashville is very congested – start out early.

Day 3
Drive from Columbia, Missouri to Hays, Kansas.
Stay: Super 8 3730 Vine Street
Eat: The Golden Corral Buffet & Grill Hays, KS
Visit: Ellis County Historical Society Museum, Prairie Museum of Art and History
Travel tip: Don’t be in such a hurry to get to your next destination that you miss some great points of interest along the way – be flexible that’s how we got to enjoy the Prairie Museum in Colbert, KS. The travel through Kansas was more impressive than we expected.

Days 4-7
Drive from Hays, Kansas to Colorado Springs, CO (arrive early afternoon on Day 4)
Stay: We stayed with friends
Visit: Garden of the Gods, Drive up to Cripple Creek to view Aspens, Glen Erie Conference Center to view big horn sheep, Garden of the Gods is worth seeing twice – at least early morning and  at sunset.
Travel tip: Take preventative measures as you move into high elevations and avoid elevation sickness.

Day 8
Drive from Colorado Springs to Durango, CO
Stay: Knights Inn 3515 Main Ave.
Eat: Linda’s Local Food cafe
Visit: Mesa Verde National Park, Hot Springs in Pagosa, CO

Days 9-12
Drive from Durango, CO to Marble Canyon, AZ (travel the scenic Wolf Creek Pass at 10, 857 ft elevation)
Stay: Cliff Dwellers Lodge
Eat: Cliff Dwellers Lodge
Visit:  Grand Canyon North Rim, Colorado River Rafting in Glen Canyon, Lee’s Ferry, The Navajo Bridge, Kaibab Plateau

Days 13-18
Drive from Marble Canyon, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ
Stay: Howard Johnson’s 198 E. Lucky Lane
Eat: Wildflower Bread Company, Morning Glory Cafe, Taco Locos, Sizzler, Diablo Burger
Visit: Museum of Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon South Rim, Sunset Crater, Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Cathedral Rock, Chapel of the Holy Cross, Slide Rock  State Park

Days 19-23
Drive from Flagstaff, AZ to Winslow, AZ
Stay: La Posada 303 E. 2nd Street Route 66, Winslow
Eat: The Turqoiuse Room (Excellent and lunch is very reasonable), The Falcon (mediocre)
Visit: Grand Canyon Railway, Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert, star gazing at Clear Creek, Meteor Crater,  historic downtown Winslow

Day 24
Drive from Winslow, Arizona to Clinton, Oklahoma
Stay: Super 8 at exit 65A off I-40.
Travel tip: This hotel was a little pricey without a coupon. Make sure you get to the tourist info center before 5:00 PM. If you want a non-smoking room, ask for a non-smoking room that does not have any smoking rooms adjacent to it.
Eat:

Day 25
Drive from Clinton, OK to Jackson, Mississippi
Stay:  We had a coupon, but our experience at the Executive Inn and Suites on Highway 49 South in Richland was not that great but the staff was kind and did their best to make things right.
Travel tip: Get the hotel coupon booklet at a tourist information center.stay in hotels that have other hotels close-by, that way you at least know they have competition to keep up appearances.

Days 26-31
Drive from Jackson, Mississippi to Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Stay: Contact Beach Properties of Florida and ask for a walk-in special.
Eat: The Taco Bar in Seaside and from our own kitchen.
Visit: The beach, Hike or bike ride in Topsail State Park, canoe at Grayton Beach State Park, stroll the shops in Seaside, Rosemary and other small venues on 30A east and west.
Travel tip: Unless you have limitless vacation funds plan to eat in a lot, that’s why you have a kitchen where you’re staying. Plan some simple meals and go to Publix before you check into to your house or condo. South Walton beach has no fast food restaurants.

Day 31
Drive from Santa Rosa Beach, FL to Palm Bay, FL
Stay: In our own bed

Total distance traveled in 31 days – 6,126 miles.

As we began cruising down Main Avenue in Durango we eyeballed several motels that were in the tourist information booklet and stopped at one to check out a room. For $70 per night + tax and a view of the parking lot on our first stop we decided to drive out Main Ave a little further to see what we might find. It worked well to call a few of the hotels that were marked with the $ sign in the tourist information booklet. We decided to drive to the Knights Inn on N. Main Avenue formerly called the Alpine Inn.

As we drove into the parking lot we were impressed – it did not look like a Knights Inn, if you know what I mean. It was quaint, had some curb appeal, and at least the rooms on the second floor were facing the mountains. For 2 queen size beds facing the mountain she quoted us $67. After she quoted us the price I inquired about the AAA rate and she dropped it another $7 making the room $60 plus about $5 tax.

As is our routine, especially when staying in $ hotels, we asked to see a room. It definitely met our expectations: It was large, neat and clean, and offered the amenities of a mini frig, microwave and wi-fi (a must for travel blogging). They also offered a small continental style breakfast of packaged sweet rolls, donuts, bananas, coffee and tea.

Just so you know there is another Knights Inn in midtown, also located on Main Ave and positioned a bit closer to the historic downtown area. The Alpine Inn which was recently bought out by Knights Inn is a little further out, but just a few minutes drive from the Durango historic downtown area. If you are in need of a cheap, clean hotel in Durango, Colorado the Knights Inn on Main Ave fit the bill for us. It may also fit the bill for you too.

At the end of our month long vacation out to Colorado and Arizona we decided to spend a week in the Santa Rosa Beach, Dune Allen Beach area that is just about 30 minutes east of Destin Florida. The beaches up here in the panhandle of Florida are about as pristine as you can get with sugar white sand and the emerald green colored waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We choose to end our vacation this way (at the beach in a familiar area) because we needed some time to relax after spending more than 3 weeks of taking long drives every day to see some of the incredible geological treasures of the American Southwest.

While we normally like to spend lots of leisure time on vacation, we kind of broke our traditional mold as the relaxed traveler because there was just so much to see. Even though we spent 22 days in the Southwest it was really only long enough to make plans as to what we would do on our next vacation. There were many days that we wanted to do or see several things (like 5 or 6 things), but only had time to do a few. Even when you spend a month on the road, you still have to be somewhat choosy as to what you visit because you simply can’t do everything. That being the case, we really did need to relax a little and the beaches of South Walton County fits the bill like no other place in our home state.

After rolling into Rosemary Beach late in the afternoon of October 21, we thought it would be easy to quickly find a place to stay just by talking to a few vacation rental companies or calling around to the condos or vacation rental homes that had signs out in front of them and obviously weren’t occupied. By the end of October, the 30A strip along the Gulf of Mexico in South Walton County starts to slow down quite a bit and we thought we could get a super bargain being that we were willing renters with cash in hand. However, after a few phone calls and talks with rental agents we figured out that we underestimated our budget for 6 nights by quite a bit and we either had to decide to spend more money or decide to spend our last 6 nights in a hotel.

When you come to this area to vacation and you are this close to the beach, spending your nights in a hotel isn’t really an option. There really aren’t any hotels on the beach except up in Panama City Beach or near Interstate 10 which is 25 mile away. So, if you want to enjoy all that the beaches along 30A such as Seaside, Watercolor, Alys Beach, Seacrest Beach, Grayton Beach and more have to offer, you simply pay the price. The price we ended up paying was about 30% more than we budgeted, but it turned out that we had a beautiful 4 bedroom townhouse for 6 nights that was within about 150 yards from the beach, and it was actually the least amount we have paid to stay here in the 3 times we have been to the area.

The View From our Dune Allen Beach Townhouse Rental

While here in Dune Allen Beach we spent a lot of time catching up on finishing blog posts that had piled up because we were always out doing something while out west, and the rest of the time we relaxed on the beach or in our townhouse, or went to our favorite taco bar, or went to the boardwalk at Deer Lake State Park. While we did spend some time away from our vacation rental, we didn’t plan any excursions or drive any further than about 6 or 8 miles to get to where we wanted to go for the day.

Bud and Alley’s Taco Bar in Seaside

Whether you want to end your vacation in a relaxed manner or take your whole vacation and lounge on the beach and under the Florida sun, there is no better place to relax than the beaches along the famous 30A in South Walton County. You will probably fall in love with 30A just as we have.

Every traveler knows the drill. You’ve been on the road for several hours and it’s time for the proverbial potty break. Finding a decent bathroom is always a challenge but if you are traveling through Kentucky on I-24 we think we have found the nicest, cleanest, public bathrooms available in the state. In fact you’ll feel so at home, or rather you’ll feel like you’re at grandma’s house, you might decide to extend your bathroom break and just hang out for a while. That’s what we did.

The bathroom we rate as number 1 in all of our travels is in kind of an unexpected place, Paducah, Kentucky. Once the hunting grounds of the Chickasaw Indians, according to aboutpaducah.com the White Haven Welcome Center on I-24 is the only historic house in America that has been restored as an interstate tourist rest stop. It should also be noted for having the prettiest and cleanest bathrooms in all of Kentucky – at least of all the one’s we stopped at.

What really impressed me were the 3 vases of fresh cut flowers in the ladies room – mixed bouquets of zinnia, azalea, cockscomb and fragrant roses blessed the counter tops. The workman cleaning the bathrooms told me the ladies who tend the flower gardens on the property are the same ones who adorn the bathrooms with fresh cut flowers from same gardens. Flowers are always a beautiful touch, but so unexpected at an interstate rest area. According to Alan even the men’s facilities were privy to several whiskey bottles filled with water and a single stem.

After you use the facilities, you may want to take a breather on the cast iron bench in the flower garden, enjoy the birds, the blooms and the shade trees before heading out again. You will feel refreshed and ready to continue your journey after visiting the clean restrooms and visitors center in Paducah Kentucky.

According to their website “The  mission of The Museum of Northern Arizona is to inspire a sense of love and responsibility for the beauty and diversity of the Colorado Plateau through collecting, studying, interpreting, and preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage.”  If you want a quick primer on understanding the geological, anthropological and ethnological aspects of the area, take a few hours or even a half day out of your trip and educate yourself and your family on the different attributes of Northern part of this beautiful state. This way when your kids begin asking you all kinds of curiosity questions about the wonderful Northern Arizona characteristics they will be seeing and experiencing, you and they will already have the answers.

The museum is extremely well organized and what makes it great is you can find out a lot or a little about North Arizona depending on how much time you have. We spent about 2 hours there and were able to make it through the entire museum. If we lived in Flagstaff we both agreed we would become members and visit frequently so we could take in more of the information that the museum offers about the area.

The museum has exhibits related to 4 main areas of interest: geology, biology, anthropology and art. MNA has exceptional exhibits of the various Indian people and cultures of the Colorado Plateau. These displays document 12,000 years of occupation by the native people in this region including the Anasazi, Hopi, Zuni and Navajo Indians: from their daily lifestyles to their spiritual beliefs and practices to their art. A highlight of this exhibit is the life size depiction of a Hopi Kiva room used for spiritual rituals and a central focus of these Indian cultures.

The geology exhibit features a large graphic of all the geological periods from the beginning of Earth’s history up to the present. Both kids and adults will enjoy the hands on exhibits of various rocks, fossils and even a meteorite. A highlight of this exhibit is a life size model of a dinosaur skeleton – the Dilophosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur whose fossils were found in northern Arizona.

There is much more to see and experience at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Don’t miss the exceptional native American art, rugs, and jewelry on display and the museum store where you can begin your Southwestern souvenir collection. MNA is located at 3101 N. Ft. Valley Rd. Flagstaff, AZ 86001 and is open 9 am – 5 pm daily. The cost for adults is $7 and for children 6 and under get in for free. Check out the Museum of Northern Arizona website for more details about exhibits, hours, costs etc. Before you tour the canyons, rivers, reservations, and deserts begin your tour of the Southwest at MNA.

Here are the restaurants we ate at while in Flagstaff:

Sizzler at 3540 East Route 66 was the first place we went after arriving in town. They got our business because they have a salad and food bar plus we had a $2 off coupon. The lunch salad bar is under $7 and you can get it before 4 PM. The Dinner salad/food bar begins at 4Pm and is about $1 more. Definitely a good deal, because it’s all you can eat, chose the healthy items,  but it’s not local food. Unfortunately, you can’t have everything all the time. The service was good, the salad/food bar could have been fresher and neater, but all in all it was a decent meal.

Diablo Burger on the Square at 120 N. Leroux Street was a must try. Alan had read about it and learned that all the meats they use are local and from humanely treated animals without hormones and antibiotics. We call this clean meat and if having a hankering for animal flesh which we do occasionally, it is the best option. They also have an all local vegan burger they call “The Netzky” that is made for them by a local catering company. It’s a bit pricey at $10.50, but was a quality vegan burger not like the package kind you usual find in restaurants. Both the vegetarian and 100% local, hormone and antibiotic free beef burgers ($8.50-$11.25) were delish and the service was excellent. All burgers come with an over abundance of homemade french fries. Alan liked it so much he wrote a separate post on the place.

Tacos Locos is a roomy and authentic Baja style family owned foods joint at the corner of Phoenix and Beaver street. If we can’t do local foods we try to support small, family owned establishments. We were drawn to Tacos Locos for 2 reasons: we wanted to some authentic Mexican food and we needed an Internet connection and we scored big on both. It has easily accessible outlets and a wi-fi connection that worked, plus the food was really good. We both got tacos and chips and salsa. I’m not sure what they do to them, but they were some of the best tacos we have ever had. Good is all I can say – we were both impressed with the fresh flavor and would have gone back except that we ran out of time.

Macy’s European Coffeehouse, Bakery & Vegetarian Restaurant at 14 South Beaver Street was enjoyable and with a definite European flair. We were drawn to it because of the mixed reviews, wi-fi and the location next door to the laundromat. While we were doing our laundry one day, we needed a place to blog, wait and have a snack. Neither of us had a full meal at Macy’s but the Molasses Cookie and toasted pumpkin bagel were both excellent. The employee at the counter seemed a little confused when I asked for my bagel to be toasted, but he got it done and even directed me to the day old pumpkin bagel for 72 cents which we both agreed when toasted would taste great – it did. I enjoyed my brief conversation with him over the effects of microwaves on food and Alan said the Molasses cookie hit the spot for him. We wanted to go back as the salad items in the menu looked tasty but we ran out of time. One little tip for Macy’s – tidy up a bit more (bathroom, tables and counters) and make it a little more homey for your guests.

Wildflower Bread Company in the Aspen Place at the Sawmill on the corner of Butler and Lone Tree deserved a separate review due to the many qualities of this fine bistro. But simply put, we loved the food, the service, the atmosphere, the amenities and especially the price. Would you move across country just to be closer to your favorite restaurant?

There were other Flagstaff restaurants and eateries that we wanted to experience, like the Himalayan Grill at S. Milton Ave and the vegetarian Morning Glory Cafe on South San Fransisco Street. We might have made it to the Himalayan Grill if they had been answering their phone on the day we were planning on going. As Providence would have it they did not answer all morning and early afternoon so when we arrived at 2:30 PM to catch a late lunch the doors were locked. That’s how Wildflower got our business.

What we did discover about Flagstaff was that they have a number of quality restaurants, eateries and bistros that won’t break the bank whether you are a local, a student or traveling through, give some of these places a try.