What's on your playlist?

The great thing about living in the United States is that when you want to travel around, it can make for an amazing road trip!  There's nothing better than driving down the road with your windows down and your favourite song playing on the radio.

We've already had some great trips so far - we drove to Savannah, South Carolina and Atlanta... as well as a few trips to the Kennedy Space Center and whenever I hear songs that we played on those drives, I'm instantly transported back there (more often than not, we were singing at the top of our voices as well!) 

However, the main problem that we have here is that we don't own a car and we're either having to spend a fortune on collecting the rental car from the airport or another location or forgoing the road trip altogether and taking a bus.  There is a solution though: Turo allows you to find the perfect car for your road trip by renting a car from a local driver and you can choose from a whole range of cars by searching your dates and location.  Once you've decided on your car, collect from the owner and you can have a stress-free, unforgettable road trip!  Car owners can also list their own car on Turo and many renters leave their own playlist in the car for the road trippers to enjoy - what better way to broaden your musical horizons whilst making memories!

Our next road trip is a pretty big one; we're planning to visit 11 states in 25 days so of course, we're already planning our playlist for the journey!  Here's what we love to sing along to at the moment:

What's on your road trip playlist?

A visit to Savannah, Georgia

After a while of living and breathing Walt Disney World, you need to escape the bubble and go to see what real America has to offer.  However, that being said, as silly as it sounds, I was a little apprehensive about actually leaving Orlando so Savannah was a great little place to visit.  It's a port on the coast of Georgia, Florida's neighbouring state, and only about a 5 hour drive! 

It felt great to jump into a hire car (finally!  Freedom!), turn the radio up and drive.  I'd realised how much I actually enjoyed the driving part of trips and the mini holiday actually starts then, not when you arrive in your destination however many hours later. 

Savannah is a gritty but beautiful little city, steeped in history and culture.  Throughout the city, there are beautiful squares (Chippewa Square is where Forrest Gump's bench was set), each with their own personality and interest.  At the centre of the city is Forsyth Park with its picture perfect fountain.  Throughout the park, there are families playing, couples strolling hand in hand, cyclists, and buskers filling the air with music.  I loved that about Savannah, you can almost sense the art and creativity in the air.  

As you wander through the streets, you can drop into antique shops or vintage clothes shops and browse for a bargain.  On West Broughton Street, you'll find a lot of high end shops as well as small independent shops, we had to stop by the Savannah Bee Company and sample all the amazing honeys and get a bag full of popcorn (birthday cake and Key lime pie flavour) from Savannah Rae's.  I loved the old cinema buildings as well as the beautiful Antebellum style town houses.

Savannah is famous for it's riverfront and we walked along it but found it to be full of regular tourist restaurants and shops; the streets nestled in the heart of the city were much more appealing to us.  It was also super easy to navigate around the city.  We obviously brought the car but we left it at our motel (The Thunderbird Motel - Krispy Kremes for breakfast and Moonpies on your pillow!) and just walked around, I think it's a better way to get a feel for a place. 

We also visited the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum.  It's a small, privately run museum but it is definitely worth a visit that documents segregation in Savannah.  I definitely learned a lot and even now, makes me so sad to think about it.  

We also took a trolley ghost tour.  I love learning about the paranormal side of anything and I was most looking forward to this.  Our ghostly host shared stories about many of the spooks and spectres that reside in Savannah, I just wish we could have stopped at more of these eerie locations!  Whether you're a believer or not, I think Savannah definitely has a paranormal vibe about it at night! 

We were only in Savannah for three days but it definitely left an impression on us.  It's a city full of grace and poise, but is also a little rough around the edges so you can feel at home and relaxed there.  Southern charm, indeed!

CRP | 8 months in...

Clearly, I've been slacking in the blogging department during my program here at Walt Disney World. I always feared this would happen but life is so crazy busy out here, there is always something to do and I just haven't dedicated enough time to writing. That being said, I've been meaning to write some new posts and share my news for a while now so I'm going to try and devote more time to it!

I think the last time I posted was way back in November at the end of the Food and Wine Festival. Since then, understandably loads has happened! I've nearly completed my bucket list challenge of staying in all the Disney resorts and I have been able to make it out of state a few times as well! 

I'm very much settled into Florida life now and if I'm honest, once of my main concerns is how I'm going to readjust when I go back home. It's such a unique and weird place to spend your daily life in; you're very detached from the rest of the world and you can lose your sense of time as not much changes within the World - everything is very consistent on a day to day basis. 

That being said, I thought I'd use this post to share some of my highlights of my Program so far! 

1. Being able to enjoy all the "special" times and events. 

When most people visit Disney World, they come for a week or maybe two and obviously you enjoy whatever is happening at that time. If you're lucky enough to visit a few times of the year, you might experience a special festival or holiday. When you get to spend the whole entire year here, you get to see them all! We've been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, a Very Merry Christmas at the Magic Kingdom, Frozen Fever and Star Wars Galactic fireworks at DHS, Food and Wine, Candlelight, Easter, Flower and Garden at Epcot and fingers crossed, we'll be here for the launch of Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom. When Disney does a special event, they really do it well and it's such a privilege to be able to go trick or treating at Magic Kingdom or try 30 different food kiosks at Epcot. And that's just the parks and it not mentioning Christmas and Easter at the resorts.

2. The staycations. 

I love love love having the opportunity to stay in as many Disney resorts as possible. It's been one of my very favourite things to do. It was on my bucket list to stay in them all and I'm well on my way (three more to go!). Staying in a resort is a great way to unwind and disconnect from the craziness of the parks but still feel a part of the Disney Magic. I also love to learn about the different stories behind the resorts; it makes you appreciate how amazing and talented the imagineers are! 

3. Travelling 

Although it can be hard to get time off work and this can make it super difficult to organise trips, the program is a great opportunity to travel. We've done carefully organised and planned trips as well as spontaneous day trips to cities across the other side of the country. It's also so good for the soul to get out of Orlando and WDW and experience "real life" every now and again. You also get the added bonus of 30 days travel time at the end of your visa here and we're currently planning an 11 states in 25 days road trip, which frankly, would be completely unfeasible if it weren't for the this program. 

4. Trying new things! 

The great thing about the WDW property and Florida being so tourist-centric means that if you want to try something new or learn about something new you can. I've been canoeing at Fort Wilderness (I never thought I'd canoe) and discovered a new found fascination with space. I know people who have sky dived, held baby alligators, gone manatee spotting, gone to a chocolate museum, the played escape/logic games... you name it, you can probably do it here in Orlando!

Here's to keeping my fingers crossed and posting more frequently!