Tuesdays are for Traveling: Safari!

When I was a teenager, my family took a trip to Kenya and Tanzania.  My aunt lived in Nairobi while she was working for CARE, so we had a fascinating inside look at what it's like to live there.  In addition to experiencing the local culture, though, we went to the Maasai Mara for a photographic safari.  I'm sure it was incredible but all I can remember is being a mortified 13-year old watching lions mate with my parents.  (To be clear, the lions weren't mating with my parents.  I was just with my parents watching lions mate with each other.  Now that I think about this, it could have been MUCH worse.)

Now that I'm all grown up (and then some), I think I could better appreciate nature in action.  How amazing do these uber-luxe places look?

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tanzania

Singita Sabi Sand, Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Singita Kruger National Park, Sweni Lodge, South Africa

ol Donyo Lodge, Mbirikani Group Ranch, Kenya

Mombo and Little Mombo Camps, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Singita Grumeti Reserves, Sasakwa Lodge and Faru Faru Lodge, Tanzania

So many options!

If you don't have a boatload of cash and two weeks of vacation time saved up, you could also check out this place near Glenrose, Texas:

Just like an African safari?  Maybe not.  But I went with my nieces last year and they LOVED it!  Getting to feed the giraffes even made me feel like a kid again.

Tuesdays are for Traveling: Hola San Antonio!

Let's get off to a modest start.  The fam and I just returned from an almost-overnight to the fabulous Hotel Havana in San Antonio, Tejas.  With a new kiddo at home, our travel schedule has been a bit limited.  So far, we've only gone on a trip to Marfa (everyone should go!  I'll tell y'all about it in a later post) and this little jaunt to SA.  But I would highly recommend the Hotel Havana.  It's hip and welcoming at the same time, which isn't always easy to find.  Like most things San Antonio, the place is also very down-to-earth:  They were bit short-staffed when we were there so the head chef even brought us our room service.

"Almost-overnight," you say?

Well, things began well.  The hotel looked great:

 

The inside was lovely, too:

And check out the very cool King Suite, which is quite the deal at less than $200 a night:

The old school fridge was stocked with awesome snacks:

And how about this menu?  Yum.  We ordered room service (DELICIOUS!) and were all set for a lovely evening...

(That's Violet, by the way...)

(...and that's Beau)

...when our kiddo decided to have a TOTAL meltdown.  After three hours (luckily, there was no one in the room next door!), we decided to call it.

We only live an hour away, so home we went.  But, hey, my husband thought it was worth it just for the food.  No disagreement there.  If you're ever in San Antone, check it out!

Hope you guys had a great holiday weekend in some far off place!

Top photo via Traveling Fashionista.  Others from my iPhone using ShakeIt.