ard to believe Christmas is coming up! As I bake my cookie I start to remember Christmas past and all the fun trips I took during that time and other holidays. My family used to stay home and do the normal Christmas thing of opening presents and eating good food. As time went on, my brothers and sisters all went their own ways. So, to see everyone, we started traveling during the holidays. This was always a fun time since we would all be together and get to spend it in some new places and not on the couch.
During my freshman year of college we went to St. Kitts. and stayed at the Marriott’s St. Kitts Beach Club. This resort had four restaurants, a market place, three pools and a swim up bar all on property. (I am writing about this experience years after being there and from memory, so things could change or be different.) I could walk to little shops down the way that had clothes, bags, hats, and souvenir type of items. There was also a coffee shop/little breakfast place. I also believe there was a lunch/dinner place down that way too. We were also able to go to the supermarket right across the way from the resort to get all of our food and alcohol for the week. When I travel with my family, we usually get the two bedrooms which gives us a full kitchen, living room, dining room and two rooms With the full kitchen we like to go grocery shopping to be able to cook meals in the room. This is one way we save money on trips. Spending 30$ on a bottle of rum compared to paying 15$ a drink is a big difference. When I am traveling solo this is slightly harder for me to do, but I will talk about that more in the future.
This is a photo of the resort. It was so pretty, right on the water. You could see lovely mountains from my room. I wish I had a photo from that time but that was before I had google photos and downloaded things to my phone. I will try to find one, but the camera quality might be so bad from how long ago it was.
There is one reason why we have not been back to this place and it’s not because of the resort but because of the airport. The airport security was so tough. They really make sure you have all your liquid in one bag. So you might have to throw out some stuff if you don't check a bag with all your liquid in. The airport was also so small! The whole place was smaller than a restaurant/bar. In fact, the one place to get food/drinks was literally one bar with three stools. Flying into the airport is not the problem but going home is. Going once was worth it since the resort was so great. If anyone has been there recently and has any update on how it is, please tell me. I would love to convince my family to take another trip there!
For the next couple of Christmas’s (minus the one I spent sick coming home from the hospital and this year) my family has gone down to Galloway NJ to spend Christmas at Marriott Fairway Villas. This resort is ten minutes away from my favorite Christmas activity, Smithville. They have the best local shops with everything from homemade beauty products, to homemade peanut butters, to jewelry, to the most delicious bakery. There’s a light show on the water at night and a famous talking tree! Adults should check out Tomasello Winery tasting room. Last year it was 12$ for a little wine tasting that my family did. It is nothing fancy, but an entertaining 20 mins to have a little drink together. Today, with my banana I had the chocolate peanut butter from the Smithville Peanut Butter Company and it was mouthwatering good.
I love everything about Smithville, it never gets old and I never got a single thing I didn't love. I believe you can even stay at Smithville in either the hotel or the little rooms within the village. I love staying at the Marriott with our two bedroom villa, so I am not sure if I would ever give that a try.
Last year was one of my favorite Christmas’s. The resort did some really fun activities that my whole family got into. We went to build and decorate our own little tree to bring back to the room. During that, there were also crafts for little kids to do. We then sat out by the fire pits and then went back to the room for hot chocolate. We did a wine tasting down in the lobby and went swimming in the indoor pool right after we got too hot for the hot tub.
For dinner down in Galloway on Christmas eve we went to an Italian restaurant called the simplest thing. Gourmet Italian Cuisine & Pizzeria. It was so delicious. We had wine; I ate fabulous penne, salmon and bruschetta. Christmas morning we opened our presents and ate my mom's famous french toast. Of course, NJ is cold during the winter and not nearly as warm as St. Kitts, but I love my Christmas in Galloway.
I have been going away for Thanksgiving way longer than Christmas because of one simple thing….sports! I play field hockey and the time for major tournaments was during that holiday season. One year I was in Palm Springs California playing in the same fields they have at Coachella. The years after that I was in Sarasota playing on polo fields. I always remember my team thanksgiving dinners and playing, but everything else was a blur. When you travel for sports your focus is not on going to the beach (although we made a stop) but on winning the game and getting a new medal. So, it was really hard to recall much from those trips besides the fact I won a new trophy.
There were a couple of years during my college life that my family would spend our thanksgivings in NYC. We would eat at delicious restaurants like Becco and go Black Friday shopping in the busiest stores I ever saw in my life. One year, I actually fell down a step and hurt my ankle having to be carried back by my dad (he's always my hero). I remember being at the Marriott Pulse and those rooms are normal two bed hotel rooms, so I would sneak down to the lobby to try to get some homework done away from the nosy room. We even got to see some of the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade balloons!
Two years ago, right before I got sick and the last Thanksgiving I was traveling for since then, I went to Orlando Florida and spent my holiday going to Universal riding my favorite rides. Something you will learn about me is my joy for things such as Disney and Universal. I went on that trip with a friend. We spent our day with Homer drinking beer at Moe’s and then we would catch the Hogwarts Express over to ride with Harry. It was one of the most exciting things I did as an adult.
I think traveling during the holidays to family can be stressful, but if you make a vacation of it, it can be the most memorable experience ever. Traveling during the holidays has pros and cons. It could get expensive, but the tradeoff is you do not have to take as many vacation days since you might have some of those days off already. You might miss time with extended family/friends (this could be good or bad ha-ha!), but you get to spend quality time with your closest family.
Maybe over the next couple of days, I’ll be reminded of some other fun travel memories, and I'll be able to write another post about them. For now, I hope you enjoy this beautiful holiday season and find something that reminds you of all your wonderful adventures.
Happy Holidays
-G
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