First a few things about us. We are frequent travelers and use Trip Advisor extensively to select accommodations for personal travel. This was our third vacation with our 13 month old son. I selected Marriott Beachside because they offered one bedroom suites with a kitchen and they were well rated on Trip Advisor. The hotel was lovely, the staff attentive and the pool was very enjoyable. Overall, I found the accommodations to be fabulous. However, I have a couple comments that I didn't read in others reviews that I think are noteworthy:
1. This hotel is at the intersection of Rt 1 and N Roosevelt. This is a very busy intersection...and consequently, fairly loud from a street noise standpoint. If you are in Building 2, which is directly next to S. Roosevelt, it can get kind of loud, especially if you are in a room closer to the lobby. However, you don't hear the road noise from the room, only from the balcony. I was kind of surprised that this had not really been mentioned in any of the other reviews (that I read).
2. The rooms are beautiful and have marble floors. The marble floors look nice, but are kind of dangerous from a toddler standpoint - we had a couple faceplants and head knocks that resulted in some bumps and bruises. The minute you spill anything on the floors they become very trecherous and slippery. They are also impossible to keep clean. I found myself wearing socks because the floors were rather gritty. Housekeeping would clean them everyday, but it seemed as if as soon as they cleaned them, they were gritty again.
3. If you have ever been to Key West, then you understand that the most fun part is Duval Street. And well, Duval Street is not quite as much fun when you have your 13 month old son with you. It was nice to go down there, shop around, but to get the most out of it, you really need to go to Hogsbreath, setup at a table for a few hours and have a few beers? You know?
4. Beaches. We did go to Smathers Beach and Bahia Honda Beach up on Big Pine Key. I think Bahia Honda was the nicest, although the Keys are just not known for the beaches. It would have been nice if we could have setup with an umbrella and chairs - you would think someone would be renting them. No dice. The water was beautiful and the weather was lovely. Michael had a great time in the sand.
one thing i've learned as a new mommy is that swaddling is the key to sleep. at least it is the key for michael to sleep. my friend jessica introduced us to swaddle designs swaddle blankets - quite possibly the best swaddle blankets EVER. they have a product called the "Ultimate Receiving Blanket" and it is awesome. the key to it is that it is bigger than any other receiving blanket you can get - so it makes it much easier to "make the burrito" as we say.
so my friend beth got me some baby socks called trumpettes back when we found out i was prego. they are quite possibly the BEST baby socks ever! plus they come in the cutest patterns...LOVE THEM. here are a couple pics and a link to where you can go get some.
ok folks. its been a century since i've posted on the blog, but no time like the present to get back into the groove of things. since i last posted, i got pregnant and had a baby! michael dominick berarducci arrived on march 26, 2009 and is the light of our lives. here is a picture of michael and mommy.
Here is a picture of me with the camp staff in at the Linyanti camp in Botswana.
Elephants swimming at Chobe.
Wild Dogs in the Linyanti.
Bull elephant making a rukus in the road.
Chobe elephants enjoying a mid-day splash.
A walking safari in Selinda area.
A BIG hippo.
On Safari in the truck.
Me and our safari vehicle.
Leopard and Impala kill in tree
Male lion in the Linyanti.
Same lion.
Young elephants.
Tent at Pom Pom Camp.
Self portrait in Selinda.
Elephant at sunset in Selinda.
Tony with bull elephant in Linyanti.
Victoria Falls, Zambia
Beautiful Victoria Falls
Elephant bones in Savute Channel.