Tag Archives: weekend

Traveling to Charleston, South Carolina on a Budget

Charleston parkI’ve been under a lot of stress at work, so when I finished up the huge conference I was planning, I threw caution to the wind and decided to go on a little weekend getaway. I’ve been on a spending fast for a while, i.e. I only spend $100 per month on unnecessary stuff. I knew this would totally blow my budget, but I did it anyway. Travel is so important to me, but I also know that if I travel too much, I’ll never save any money. It’s a Catch 22.

swamp in Charleston swamp in CharlesonWe did a lot of things to cut costs for this trip. Charleston is only four hours from our home so we drove there in my fuel-efficient car. I found a budget hotel and used my credit card points to book it. We packed snacks, we participated in free attractions (we found a gorgeous park and visited the beach!), we had a continental breakfast each morning at the hotel and, although we ate at restaurants several times, we also picked up dinner from a local grocery store.

George and Bambi Bambi at the beachWe even took Bambi with us! That was an adventure, but places were much more accommodating than I imagined. And after she got used to the hotel and not barking every time someone shut a door, she calmed down. By the end of the trip, she was a road dog. We even took her on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city. Ha-ha. I’m sure we looked insane, but I love that little girl.

rainbow row

charleston house

How huge are these houses?!

house in charleston Charleston house george in Charleston Charleston is so pretty and I’m glad we got to share it together as a family. After the trip, I felt much more relaxed and ready to take on the world.

What are your favorite tips for budget travel? I want to hear all about it in the comments!

love,
melanie

Love Adventure: Philadelphia!

This past weekend, George and I headed up to Philadelphia. George had drawn the poster for the Ride to Skate event and he wanted to sell a few prints. We were technically there on business, but we had plenty of time for pleasure too. Here’s a couple of snapshots from our weekend.

I had to take a picture at Love Park.

We ran… ok, walked… up the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Rocky was seriously fit.

I broke the Liberty Bell!

George skating at Ride to Skate.

And he sold a couple of prints…

It’s been hard to come down from the travel high. I didn’t have to cook, or clean, or do boring chores for 3 days. I had some amazing food and hung out at (gasp!) an actual bar. The trip definitely made me miss living in a bigger city. But que sera, sera. I had fun, had some new experiences and saw some new things. I’ll move back to a big city soon.

Have you ever been to Philadelphia?

love,
melanie