Month: January 2018

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How to plan for a perfect girls’ getaway!

Ever find yourself tired, uninspired and just need a break from real life?  Me too.  One of the ways I get myself out of this rut is to plan a girls getaway with my girlfriends or my sisters.  It doesn’t have to be big or involve air travel!  It’s about relaxing for a couple days and not worrying about the day to day stresses.  Here is a quick guide on planning your girls trip:

  1.  Look at your calendar.  Choose 2 different dates that work for you.  Chances are higher that your girlfriends can join you on one of those dates.
  2.  Get your girls on the same page!  Initiate the trip!  Send a quick group text message to let them know that you are planning a girls getaway on either date that you chose.  Ask if they have a preference and go with the majority.
  3. Decide on a location.  Want to keep it low-key and drive an hour out of town?  Decide who is driving (usually the person with the biggest car!).  Do you have a little more time and can take a flight?  Try and coordinate flights to sync if you are coming from different areas.
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    My tribe: Julie (sister), Andrea (sis-in-law), Richelle (sister) and my mom, Rita. Girls Trip to Los Angeles (January 2018).
  4. Start a private Facebook event for your girls trip.  This way, you can post ideas and travel arrangements so you all have the same info.
  5. Ask each person what top two attractions they definitely want to see.  Then plan around those.  Group them together in location so you can maximize your time during your vacation and plan around them.  Buy a book, read travel blogs or check out Pinterest for ideas on places to visit.
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    I found this book at the AWAY store in Austin for our last girls trip to Los Angeles.
  6. Have your own vacation countdown.  Whether it’s on your phone or on your calendar, sometimes the act of counting down to a vacation makes us happy and the time just flies by!
  7. Go!  Have fun!  Relax by the pool or beach!  Go shopping!  Eat good food!  Do something you wouldn’t normally do!  Explore a new city!  Bond with your girlfriends!  After all, that’s what we are here for!  Cultivate those relationships!

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El Paso

El Paso is a west Texas gem!  We recently traveled to visit my sister and her family over the Christmas break and had so much fun!  There is so much to do in El Paso!  First on our lists of places to visit was Chamizal National Memorial and the El Paso Zoo.  The Chamizal National Memorial is part of the US National Park Service so don’t forget to bring your National Park Passport to get stamped!  We haven’t been to many national parks so we bought our first National Park Passport when we visited.  The museum does not take long to walk through so bring a picnic lunch or walk around the park to enjoy all it has to offer.  The El Paso Zoo is close by so after we had our picnic, we headed to the zoo.  The zoo takes about 2 hours to go through if you aren’t in a hurry and let the kids play on the giant playground.  We also saw the bird show that I highly recommend!  These two attractions are located in close proximity so you could definitely do both in one day.

The next day we headed to the National Border Patrol Museum.  The kids enjoyed being able to get into the vehicles and helicopter that are in the exhibit.   Do plan ahead as it is only open Tuesday through Saturday, 9-5.  Oh and lunch at Burritos Juarez!  Y’all have GOT to go to Burritos Juarez!  Everything is made fresh and their aguas frescas are delicious!  We wanted to go back before we left but realized that they were closed on Sundays.  You must go to Burritos Juarez when you are in El Paso.

And now for our most fun day…..  WHITE SANDS, NEW MEXICO!  White Sands is less than 2 hours away from El Paso!  Make sure you bring your disc sleds!  We brought 4 to share between the 10 of us and it was fine.  It was a beautiful day and we stayed for a few hours.  Here’s a tip:  drive back as far as you can go and it is less crowded.  Find a covered picnic table and park next to it and it’s yours for the day!  We looked for an area with a bathroom as well since we had 6 kids with us!  Don’t forget to pack your picnic lunch, snacks and drinks because there is nothing out there.  And your National Park Passport to get stamped!

Sunday was our last official full day in El Paso.  We started off the morning by going to church on base and then headed to lunch at L&J Cafe off Stevens and Missouri.  Make sure you get there early because there will be a wait.  But it’s worth it!  The service was great and everyone enjoyed their meal, even my vegan daughter!  After lunch, we headed over to the Wyler Aerial Tramway located in the Franklin Mountains State Park.  Be prepared to wait in line for a little while if the weather is nice and if you are going on a weekend.  (The tramway does close during bad weather and high wind.)  Be sure to ask questions as you ascend to the top of Ranger Peak!  The park rangers are so knowledgeable and the kids were asking all sorts of questions.  You could also hike up to the top but the hike is about 90 minutes to 2 hours long.   Once the tram reaches the top, you have all the time you want to explore the gift shop and take pictures.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed the city of El Paso!  We would have never put El Paso on our list of places to visit but since my sister and her family have lived there for over a year, we knew we had to come out and visit.  The drive out to El Paso from Austin is a long one, I’ll admit.  But so worth it!

Did we miss something spectacular in El Paso?  If so, comment to let us know!