Wonderful Summer Vacation 2017

a-MAINE-zing Summer Vacation

Southwest Harbor, Maine

Hello Gorgeous :)

Summer won't be complete without a summer vacation escapade. I'm just so lucky that we're able to take a week off and spent wonderful time at Southwest Harbor, Maine. This was really exciting for us because it was our first time in Maine specifically (Mt. Desert Island) I wasn't expecting much but to my surprise the place itself is a paradise. Such a sweet treat to see such a scenic views from the car window, the shoppes, and the beauty of nature at its BEST. That's how our memorable, fun, and exciting summer vacation begin.

The most exciting part about this blog post. I am going to take you to our adventures as we unfold our one week a-MAINE-zing summer vacation. Also, it will help you guide for your next summer destination at Maine. So, grab your favorite drink and lets chat. Shall we?

But first,  let me share with you a little story about Mt. Desert Island. The place is beautiful and home to Acadia National Park. 

In all, some 17.188 acres burned. Over 10,000 acres of this was Acadia National Park. Property damage exceeded $23 million dollars. Considering the magnitude of the fire, loss of human life had been minimal. An unknown numbers of animals died in the blaze, but park rangers believe that most outran the fire and found safety in ponds and lakes. Once the fire was over, it was time to start anew.  Some timber was milled, slash was burned, and other logs, still visible today, were left to prevent soil erosion. Nature, however, played the predominant role in the island's restoration. The forest that exist today re-grew naturally. Wind carried seeds back into burned areas and some deciduous trees regenerated by stump sprouts or suckers. Today, instead of one uniform evergreen forest, we are treated to brilliant mix of red, yellow, and orange supplied by the new diverse deciduous forest.

I had so much fun reading the history about Mt. Desert Island, Bar Harbor, and Acadia National Park. I can't help myself but to fell in-love with this place. Are you ready to start this adventures? Lets go!

Stay Cozy at Harbor  Ridge Resort a perfect place to stayed in while visiting Southwest Harbor, Maine. The place was SO PERFECT. It offers everything for a great vacation. A deck overlooking the beauty of south harbor, nice beds and hot tub and of course the kitchen where we cook our food.I personally LOVE this place. Its BEAUTIFUL! 

Looking to camp? Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods are the primary campgrounds in the park.

Now that we have a beautiful place to stay in. Lets move on to our MAINE Food Adventures. Yes!

As foodie lover this is probably the most awaited right? First taste was this delicious Lobster Roll with homemade potato salad. It was so good. A must-try for seafood lover out-there. Next was Lobster Combo Deal where I get to have a whole lobster to myself (lol) Other food we tried are Margaretta Mussels, Fish & Shrimp, Trio Seafood Sampler, Parmesan Scallops and so much more. 

Also, if you're into pies- this Maine Blueberry Pie is a MUST- have when your at Maine. It made with Maine wild blueberry (which you can find everywhere in Maine) and it taste scrumptious.

Next adventures are so fun and exciting! Let me welcome you to Hikes & Trails Galore where I experienced hike granite peaks, carriage road, beautiful trails, climbed mountains, rugged coast of Maine, and relaxing scenery at its BEST. 

Hiking Ideas 

I personally start with very easy trails which includes Bar Harbor Shore Path ( not a park trail ) offers Harbor and Island views. Wonderland Trail offers evergreen forest to rocky ocean shoreline. 

Easy Trails- These hikes are on uneven ground, but overall are fairly level. I love this kind of hike and great to start with if your new into hiking. There are some trails listed but I'm only going to share the trails that I hiked. Bar Island, Great Meadow Loop, Ocean Path its start from Sand Beach to Sea Cliffs. Be careful near cliff edges. 

Moderates Trails- these trails have some steep grades, and some level stretches. Its kinda like a moving up little bit from easy hikes. So, We tried to do two moderate trails out of eight trails listed. Cadillac North Ridge Trail- open scent, views of Frenchman bay. Indeed beautiful!  Great Head Trail was one of my favorite. Its really inviting hike for me and my family. We walked through evergreen forest along sea cliffs and experienced the beauty of nature. We sat on rugged shore line over looking the scenery, and  hearing the ocean waves. 

Strenuous Trails- these trails include steep grades and steady climbs. I was little skeptical about this trail but we made it. Yay! First was Cadillac South Ridge Trail its forest opening to gentle granite scent, exposed ridge. I admit that this hike was little harder compared to other hikes that we've done. It got to the point that I feel so tired that we have to stop multiple times. Its definitely rewarding hikes. It just beautiful and Maine wild blueberry provides good eats. They're literally everywhere and they're so delicious. I helped myself by grabbing blueberries on our way back (wink)

Acadia Mountain Trail was one of my favorite views of some sound, step descent to fire road. I admit that it was little challenging for me at first. But, then again, we stopped multiple times enjoyed the beauty of nature and when we reached the top. It was BEST ever! I can't describe how fun and memorable it was being on the top of Acadia Mountain and seeing everything from top. It was indeed BEAUTIFUL.

Sand Beach, Echo Lake & Indoor Pool Adventures

If your looking for great place to hang out and for swimming. Sand Beach is famous for its unique sand made of shell fragments. It is a great place to go for the day to relax and enjoy the Maine weather. I personally love Sand Beach its located really close to nice hikes and trails Great Head Trail & Thunder Hole are two really popular tourist destination. A great place for lunch or picnic after long hikes. We visited this place twice and can't get enough of its beauty and uniqueness.

Another great place for swimming is Echo Lake is really popular swimming destination. It's located very close to Acadia Mountain Trail and other beautiful trails. My kids love being here and spent half of the day swimming.

Aside from these two great swimming destination. We also enjoyed the indoor pool and soaking on hot tub offer at the resort that we stayed in. It was so FUN!

We done so many things in a period of a week. I surprised myself on how many things we accomplished. Next on our adventures are Sight Seeing Tour Cruise. Yes, the Island offers all kinds of tour cruises, like Whale watching, lighthouse & Acadia Park Tours, Lobster and much more. We decided to go for Sight Seeing Tour Cruise- it was great experience. We're able to visit little island around the area, up close and personal with seals, lighthouse, and able to see 5 Eagles. On top of that, the scenery of the whole Island is beyond amazing. Yup! the trip lasted for like 2-3 hours and it was so wort it. Indeed one of the list on to-do list when visiting Maine.

Even if the weather is not on your side. There are still ton of things to do, to make every single fun and special. Like visiting Museums & Oceanarium, OR take a drive on Park Loop Road where you can see breath-taking views. Its beautiful! We visited Wendell Gilley Museum a special stop in Southwest Harbor for visitors who love woodcarving, since this is the home of marvelous collection of carved birds. Local carver Wendell Gilley became very well know for his miniatures of song birds and sea birds. I loved all the birds carvings inside the museum. They all look SO real and so inspired by Wendell Gilley. Its great for birds lover, kids, and family. 

We also explore Oceanarium where we learned the life of the lobster and the lobster fisherman. I found out that it takes 7 years for a lobster to reach 1 pound. I was so amazed with this information and changed my views towards lobster. It was great visit and learned so much.

...and that summarized my a-MAINE-zing summer vacation. I hope you have fun reading my blog and gives you inspiration on your next summer vacation. Before I end this post. Let me share some tips that I learned from this trip and to save you money.

** Travel Tips*

* Get your PARK PASS you can buy this online or visit one of the locations. This pass is valid 7 days, and it gives you access when entering Acadia National Park. 

* If you're driving. Packed everything you need from toiletries, pantry essentials, and so much more. I literally brought everything with me. The only thing that we bought while we're there were the basic necessities like milk, butter, lunch.meat, bread, and water. That cut down our expenses to like 90 percent. 

* Packed your own FOOD. To maximized your saving packing lunches are best way to do it. There are lot of picnic areas around the park. It's great to just sit, relax, and enjoy the nature. 

* To enjoy this vacation to the fullest, treat yourself and family for great dinner.There's plenty of nice restaurant around and they all served delicious food. Yum!

* One thing that we enjoyed to do after dinner is sight seeing around the area, shopping, and getting ice cream while watching Bar Harbor. 

I will see you in few days for more fun and exciting blog post. Until next time! Stay gorgeous my friends.:)

xoxo- Melgie

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Outerbanks, NC Summer Vacation 2016

Summer Vacation 2016

Hello Everyone!

Summer time is always something that I look forward to- that warm weather reminds me of fun under the sun activities. Hanging out at the beach/pool is something that I really love and enjoy to do with my family. So, this summer I'm taking you with me to my beach and beyond experience at Outerbanks, NC - a place where you can relax and creates memories that will last for lifetime. I will never get tired going back to this place over and over again and over again... I'm so grateful to my in-laws for always inviting us for fun summer vacation. As you may remembered my first  Outerbanks, NC experience back in 2013, followed by Outerbanks Escapades 2014 and of course Outerbanks, NC 2015 where I get a chance to visit Jollibee on our way back home..:)

This summer vacation 2016 is no different. Once again, we hit out paradise destination! Outerbanks, NC. I can't wait to share with you, another fun memorable memories this summer. If you can't get enough of summer vacation. Checked my Disney World Florida Experience 2016. Grab your favorite drink and keep on reading. Its going to be awesome summer ahead!

Best thing about this vacation was hanging out at BEACH anytime you WANT. There's no time restrictions, you go as you please. Our condo was located very close to the beach and has unlimited access to the pool and hot tub anytime. Awesome right? That's not all--- sunset and sunrise overview from deck was amazing!

One of the things that you can do while at Outerbanks is go fishing. My in-laws said it was super FUN and they caught a lot of fish. I was able to enjoyed that fresh caught fish. Checked out my last photo.

Bonfire & Smore's at the BEACH is another fun activities you could do at Outerbanks. All you need is a fire permit, smore's essentials, music, and family. I LOVE Smore's and hearing the ocean breeze feels wonderful. This was one of the things that I looked forward in doing every time I'm at Outerbanks.

Beach and Beyond Experience with Family- nothing can beat being with your family just hanging out at the beach all day long. Feeling the sand between your toes, building sand castle, swimming, long walk, and sunbathe. So relaxing!

Jockey's Ridge "Sand Dune Adventure" was something that I looked forward in doing at Outerbanks. My kids loved climbing, running, playing with the sand and so do I. Next on the list is Souvenir Shopping as its BEST that's right my friend. Since, everything is so close together you can just walked to get your souvenir. Its fun walking with hubby, get exercise, and catches as many Pokemon (wink) I have to admit! Pokemon Go is addicting! Don't you agree?

Lists of fun things to do at Outerbanks:

*Wright Brother Memorial Park-  I visited this park back in 2013 and it was amazing. Its great experience for the whole family.
*Aquarium Adventure
* watched "The Lost Colony" @ Roanoke, Island
*Bowling
 .....and so many more!:)

Summer vacation won't be complete without delicious meal at the end of the day. Yup, that's right I will be sharing my delicious foodie escapades. Starting off my with my scrumptious brunch at Nags Head Fishing Pier. I ordered "Special EM" which composed of sausage, egg, toast and grits. OMG! It was delicious- sausage egg and grits together is simply delicious. Not to mention that we have a great view of the ocean while enjoying brunch together with my family.

I made homemade fresh blue fish and Spanish mackerel. Yes! Delicious- my in-laws went fishing and caught these fish. Best ever! I had scrumptious meatloaf, crab cakes, macaroni & cheese, corn, buns, pizza, wings. Aside from this delicious food. I also get a chance to celebrate two wonderful birthday's

A summer vacation that forever be treasure in my heart and memories of lifetime. That's how I spent my summer vacation with my wonderful family. I hope this blog post will inspires you this summer. Don't forget to smile and always be grateful. Until next time everyone! Stay gorgeous as always.

P.S Thank you to my family for another wonderful Outerbanks summer vacation. :)

xoxox- Melgie

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Family Disney World Vacation 2016

My First Disney World Experience!

Hello Everyone!

Oh YES! I finally hit the paradise destination, Disney World at Orlando Florida with my beloved family last week. It was wonderful vacation, full of excitement, and surprises for the whole family (first time at Disney!) Aside from our magical experience at Magic Kingdom, where my family spent whole day exploring the beauty behind the magical park. I also want to share with you my foodie escapades, all the places we went to and other fun things we did at Florida. Are you ready to experience one week in paradise with me? Grab you favorite drink, keep on reading. One thing for sure this is going fun and magical. :)

 

Paradise Destination (Orlando, Florida)

After almost 18 hours of driving we finally hit our destination. Oh yes! a very long tiring ride but to make it short. We stopped at Cracker Barrel, Georgia where we had delicious brunch. Then, finally we checked in at Westgate Vacation Villas Resort & Spa.   Let me tell you, Westgate Villa & Resorts is amazing! It has everything you need for a perfect vacation. 

Now that everything is situated. Let's start our fun vacation escapades. First stop - Baseball Game Spring Break Practice- We got some cute souvenirs. Then,we had so much watching the game and enjoyed delicious food. Awesome! because The Detroit Tigers won the game..:)

After the game we head back to Westgate Villa & Resorts, where the kids had fun at the pool. Then, delicious dinner at my in-laws unit.

Delicious Filipino Food Dining Experience at Nipa Hut bar/restaurant 

We (me and hubby) decided to take the whole family for Filipino Dining Experience. We did some researched and found one perfect place, who specialized on Filipino cuisine. Nipa Hut is located close to Westgate Resorts, very convenient location. It was a blast! my in-laws had Red Horse beer for the first time and they liked it. Everyone else loved their food. We had Letchon Kawali, Chicken Barbecue, Pansit Bihon, Calamari, Lumpia, Chicken Adobo, Rice, Mozarella Sticks, and my daughter ordered Cheese Burger (hahahah) I just think its funny! It was great feeling..:)

 
Beach & Beyond Escapades 

Oh yes! We hit the beach and the kids are static. They made sand castles, played, and looked for some sea shells to take home. My kids really loved the SUN and the SAND. After our beach relaxation, We hit the shoppes for souvenirs, and eat the best burger. It was so good! no wonder why a lot of people wait in line just to have it.

Magical Experience at Magic Kingdom

Wohooo! the most awaited part of this vacation finally a step away. Tuesday morning when we all drove to Magic Kingdom (excited overload ) I just can't put into words how excited I was. This is something that I only watched on TV when I was a little kid. I would never thought that I'm finally feeling the moment. Magic Kingdom is truly PERFECT paradise for everyone. When we walked to our first ride, which is the Haunted Mansion. I saw the PALACE! I was like (loka mode) Its beautiful and totally amazing. I had to stop for a moment, snapped a picture, and fun adventure begins. 

We enjoyed 11 fun rides, able to meet Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, and watched the Fantasy Parade- which by the way were so entertaining, fancy, colorful and awesome.

Best thing about my Magic Kingdom Experience was the whole MAGICAL experience. You won't see any workers cleaning, picking up trash, or any delivery trucks that delivered food. It just felt like MAGIC! and I LOVE all the rides. If I get a chance to do it again. I will do it in a heartbeat! Beautiful place indeed.

You guys need to come to Disney and experience the magical moment with your family.!

Fine Dining Experience at Four Seasons

The Sommer's (my sister in-law) stayed at Four Seasons resort. She invited us (The Spence's and The Campbell's) for family dinner at Four Seasons resort. The place was superb beautiful! (As in talagang sobrang ganda) I had so much exploring the place and the food were delicious. I ordered Tonno which is basically Tuna fish with eggplant and other great spices. So good! fabulous dinner experience. :)

My mother in-law own a timeshare at Westgate Resort. As perks of being an owner, we are able to enjoy resorts amenities for free. Awesome right? Come on, join us as we unfold great moments

Swan Boat Ride- fantastic feeling and I loved it! It's perfect way to get exercise and seize that moment watching the whole resort has to offer.

Jurassic Mini Golf- The Jurassic Mini Golf designed to entertained everyone. Especially the kids who LOVED dinosaurs. It was awesome mini golf experience and great family bonding experience.

To summarized our wonderful vacation. We spent our last day hanging out in the pool, relaxing in the hot-tub. It was fun afternoon for the whole family. Then, We hit the outlet mall to grabbed some last minute souvenirs, and of course I enjoyed shopping (who doesn't? :). Totally fun, festive, luxurious vacation. I will truly treasured every moment of it.

I hope you find this blog post wonderful and guide you to an awesome Disney World Adventures. I'll see you in few days for more exciting blog post. Don't forget to wear that smile and embrace this awesome weather. :)

P.S. Thank you so much to Spence's for great Disney Vacation and to Sommer's for great dinner experience.- Every little thing on this vacation was AWESOME! and forever to be treasured in my heart. Love you! 

xoxox- Melgie

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