travel – Page 11 – PalmTreeMusings

Try Out An RV This Weekend!

March 4, 2018February 28, 2022Posted in North America, Travel TipsTagged airbnb for rvs, borrow an rv, budget camping, budget rvs, budget travel, camping, how to buy an rv, rent an rv, rvshare, travel, travel blog, try out an rv, van life11 Comments

Looking to go on a road trip this summer, but not sure you can afford a month of hotels? Tired of sleeping in a tent on the ground? As more and more adventurers are captivated by “Van Life”, you might be wanting to try it. But what if you’re not quite ready to take that plunge just yet? Here’s how you can try out an RV this weekend to see if a house on wheels is right for you.

AirBnB an RV

You can stay on private property in a self-contained RV using Airbnb. The owners will generally provide all the comforts you need, including bedding. One RV on offer in the Shenandoah Mountains even offers a ‘smores kit for guests! Staying in an RV is a great way to get out of the routine of a hotel room and not have to set a camp- especially if you don’t already own a lot of the “camping essentials”. Many RVs on AirBnB come with guides to nearby trails, ponds, and hikes, and tons of them offer fire pits, outdoor seating, and picnic tables as well.

RV in backyard in Shenandoah mountains — photos courtesy of AirBnB website

airBnb RV with a view of Shenandoah Mountains virginia — photos courtesy of AirBnB website

Test Drive an RV using RVShare.com

If you’re thinking of buying a recreational vehicle but aren’t sure what size and configuration would fit your needs, try someone else’s first! The website RVShare.com has thousands of RV rentals ranging from tiny tow-behind pop ups to 34-footers that sleep six. Starting as low as $25 a night, you can reserve an RV for a weekend or a couple of weeks and find the one you like best before shelling out the money to purchase one.

rv motorhome vanlife — Photos courtesy of RVShare.com

tow behind trailer rv motorhome vanlife — Photos courtesy of RVShare.com

Try a Tiny House

A new website lets city dwellers get out into nature and explore the delights of a tiny home, without having to sell all your household items! Getaway.House currently offers tiny houses in the woods outside Boston, New York, and DC. You specify how far you’re willing to drive, and they pick the cabin for you. Shortly before your arrival, they will disclose the exact location to you. You can just relax, knowing all the details are handled for you. Be spontaneous! In the past few years, Getaway has expanded from 5 cities in the northeast United States to more than 20 areas, including 3 in Texas and 3 in the Pacific Northwest.

exterior view of getaway house — Enjoy your view!

interior view of a tiny home getaway — This tiny home has it all for a weekend away. Photos from Getaway website.

Try Before You Buy

If you’re serious about purchasing an RV, many dealers have a “try before you buy” program. You can work with All Star Coaches to find a dealer near you and try out one of their inventory. You choose the amenities you want, and All Star will find the right motor home for you. The best part is, if you purchase the RV at the end of your trial week, the cost of the rental is deducted from your sales price! So you got an extra vacation for free!

Drive into the sunset with a rental before you buy.
Photo credit: Flickr user Kevin Dooley

Don’t worry if you don’t have your own home on the road yet. Now you can camp in an RV in a scenic location without having to worry about driving and parking, or you can try a tiny home for a weekend in the woods! If you’re ready to motor, you can share someone else’s RV for a week, or try one out before you buy your own. The options are unlimited, so what are you waiting for? It’s time to hit the road!

Oman, an Oasis in the Desert

January 2, 2018March 20, 2022Posted in Middle EastTagged bahla, best things to do in, diving oman, extra divers qantab, fortress, grand mosque oman, jebel akhdar, jebel shams, misfat al abriyeen, muscat, muscat souq, muswalat, nizwa, oman, oman national museum, scuba, scuba oman, sultan qaboos, travel, travel blog9 Comments

oman fortress model with arabic calligraphy in background

From Qatar, it was just a short 90 minute flight to Oman. The main city of Muscat is a long narrow strip along the coast, running 40 miles east to west. It was once four towns but they’ve g Continue reading “Oman, an Oasis in the Desert” →

Three days in Qatar

December 29, 2017March 20, 2022Posted in Middle EastTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget, budget backpacking, doha, dohabus, karma bus, museum of islamic art, qatar, qatar airlines, soup waqif, tour, travel, travel blogLeave a comment

exterior of IM Pei Museum of Islamic Art Doha Qatar

With eleven days for winter break, Chris and I decided to seek warmer weather, and picked Qatar and Oman: a perfect winter destination. We took a Continue reading “Three days in Qatar” →

Ten Tips to Save for a Dream Vacation

December 20, 2017December 21, 2017Posted in Travel TipsTagged budget travel, dream vacation, how to save, how to travel, save money, top ten tips, travel, travel blogLeave a comment

Do you love to travel? I do, and I’ve visited 107 countries so far. I started traveling in 2003, so I average about 7 or 8 countries a year. Some of those trips have been short, one week breaks (such as spring break, as I am a school librarian). Others have been on a Continue reading “Ten Tips to Save for a Dream Vacation” →

A Day in DC: White House, Renwick, National Geographic, and T.Roosevelt Island

November 16, 2017May 19, 2023Posted in North America, US City GuidesTagged best things to do in, how to visit the white house, island near dc, national geographic museum, renwick gallery, theodore roosevelt island, tomb of christ, travel, travel blog, Washington dc, washington dc city guide, white house tour4 Comments

As we are currently living near DC, we try to take a day whenever friends visit and check out a part of DC we haven’t been to yet. This month, we applied for a tour of the White House and when the date was confirmed, we decided to take the whole day and cross a few things off our “DC Bucket List”.

How do you score a trip to the White House?

It’s pretty easy, actually. You just visit this page and fill in your zip code, which will lead you to your Congressperson’s page. From there, look for a link that says “Request a Tour of the White House”. Since we live nearby, we didn’t need to specify a certain time period we’d be traveling to the capital, so we pretty much just let the system choose for us. A couple of days later, we got an email listing three dates in November that we might be granted a tour. And then a couple of weeks after that, we received an email letting us know exactly which date and time, as well as a map showing us where to check in, and what items to bring and what we could not.

the white house in washington dc how to visit — The White House

The Renwick Gallery

We arrived a bit early, so before we got in line for the White House tour, we stopped in at the Renwick Gallery. Downstairs they had a fascinating exhibit featuring 19 dioramas made by Harvard, which were case studies of death scenes. You had to read a synopsis of the police report and study each diorama and determine accident, suicide, or murder. Fun!

Upstairs in the Renwick my two favorite installations were “Volume”, a 32,000 LED light pattern powered by an algorithm, and a set of bronze doors by Albert Gates. But really all the art work up there was amazing, a blend of modern, unique, and a twist on the traditional. The Renwick is free and I’d definitely recommend stopping in. You could spend anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours here if you wanted to see it all. The gallery is open daily 10-5.

The White House Tour

After breezing through the Renwick, we headed to the White House Tour office, which is on the east side of the building. If you are in DC and you didn’t sign up for a tour, try going to the White House Visitors Center, just one block away- they have many artifacts and photographs from inside the White House.

After we went through security, we found ourselves at the residence portico. The tour is self-guided, and you can take up to 45 minutes to explore the 3rd and 4th floors of the residence (the 1st and 2nd are basement storage, and the 5th and 6th are where the President and First Lady actually live). Downstairs you can see rooms such as the Library, the Screening Room, the East Garden Room, and the China Room, where several sets of china service from past presidents are stored. Heading upstairs, you pass through the Green Room, Blue Room, and Red Room (the valets were setting up the table and china service for a luncheon in the Blue Room as we passed through), and then on to the State Dining Room, and out the cross hall- where John Travolta and Princess Diana shared a dance in 1985.

The National Geographic Museum

We’re subscribers and big fans of both National Geographic Magazine and NatGeo Traveler, so I’ve always wanted to look inside the National Geographic Museum. Part of the museum building is free, and you can see famous covers and short bios on several of their most well-known stories. They have two paid exhibits, and tickets are $15 ($12 for military). On the day we went, they were just finishing installing their newest exhibit: Tomb of Christ- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Experience, so they gave us a free return ticket to use anytime for the rest of this year to come back and see it. The “Wild: Michael Nichols” exhibit was open, and it is fantastic. If you walk through this exhibit you will see some of the most famous nature photographs ever taken and watch a short video of Michael Nichols detailing his work over the years with NatGeo. Just walking past the amazing photos made me feel like such an amateur explorer!

national geographic museum magazine covers — Just a few of National Geographic’s famous covers

One of Michael Nichol’s amazingly wild photos

Teddy Roosevelt Island

There was one more site in DC we’ve always been curious about. There’s an island in the Potomac River and I’d never ventured on to it, so today was the day to fix that. You can access it by the northbound lanes on the George Washington Parkway, just after the Roosevelt Bridge. There’s a parking lot on the Virginia side, and a short bridge takes you onto the island, which is car-free. On the island you’ll find three trails (the longest is a 1.3 mile loop)- the Woodlands trail, the Uplands trail, and the Marsh trail. At the center of the island is a statue and memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. From the island you will see nice views of Key Bridge, Roosevelt Bridge, National Cathedral, the Kennedy Center, and Georgetown Waterfront. There are deer on the island, so if you’re quiet you may be able to spot one.

Roosevelt Island, with a view of the National Cathedral

Theodore Roosevelt Monument Island Washington DC — Theodore Roosevelt Monument

There is no way that you could ever see DC in a day, but it sure is nice to be able to take a day every now and then and explore a new corner of it (well, new to me). What hidden secrets have you found in DC? Tell me about them in the comment section so I know what to look for on my next DC day.