Going To Orlando For The First Time In Years? There Is Plenty Waiting For You

If you are like me, you haven't been to Orlando in years. As a teenager, I went on a couple of family trips to Disney World, made a stopover trip during a college spring break on the way to a cruise, and went to Epcot as a young adult.  A good friend of mine recently moved there, however, so a trip may be in my near future.

I started researching Orlando and found that there is a ton more to do there now. There are many great Orlando Hotels, but I will be able to stay with my friend, which will help keep costs down. A trip to the Magic Kingdom and Disney World may be in order, but I might prefer to go to some other sites, such as Universal and some of the attractions they have there, including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Space Center, the Wild Africa Trek, Disney--MGM Studios, and the Richard Petty Driving Experience might be fun. I'm not sure though--I say now it sounds fun, but I can't imagine driving a race car.  And the Jack Kerouac House sounds intriguing. I think that would be one of my top picks. And even though I wouldn't be staying at an Orlando Hotel, maybe we could go to one for brunch or the spa.

It might be good to go to Orlando and just have some crazy, silly fun. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy Orlando!

When In NOLA, Check Out Brad Pitt Homes

While in New Orleans, try to take a Katrina tour to see the progress that has been made in rebuilding homes for people. The news came out recently that the last FEMA trailer left the city! Many of the destroyed homes have been fixed, rebuilt, or replaced. Brad Pitt has invested a lot of time and energy in providing new homes for people in the devastated ninth ward. Here are a few of the pictures of the homes. More info at
http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

Mardi Gras 2012!

The only time I have gone to Mardi Gras in New Orleans was in the 1980s. Of course, I had a great time! I went with two friends, and we booked a hotel room outside of New Orleans to save some money, and because it was really, really hard to find a room in or near the French Quarter.

Some things I learned from that Mardi Gras trip:

• Prior to my trip, I had only heard of the raucous, depraved side of Mardi Gras. I found the celebration to be much more family friendly than I expected;
• In my 20s-something mind, I thought the parades would be boring. Little did I know, they were so much I wanted to experience them all to the end;
• When you put 100s of mardi gras beads around your neck, they are really hard to detangle and remove at 3 a.m the next morning;
• You don't have to do any thing risque to get those beads;
• Some floats are more likely to give you beads than others. You can yell at some floats all you want, and you still won't get them;
• Pralines still are wonderful;
• It really would be a good idea to get a hotel room in or near the Quarter, as you don't want to spend all of your time fighting the crowds to go 25 minutes away.

Let the Good Times Roll!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/mardi-gras-celebration-rocks-new-orleans-with-fat-tuesday-music-revelry-and-parades/2012/02/21/gIQAjfeMRR_story.html