Residence Inn by Marriott -Our First Stop! #Roadtrip2fun #RImom

Residence Inn by Marriott -Our First Stop 
 Our First Stay at Residence Inn!
Planning a sixteen day road trip from New Jersey to Florida was no small task. Our family is not new to road trips. Both my husband and I spent years as children taking road trips with our families. Since my grandparents lived in California, I was the queen of road trips that went from the east to west coast all in a car. Route 66 was just a part of life. I swore after being a child of a road trip family, I would never subject my children to it. But, there is something to be said about everyone gathering up their goods and packing into a minivan and heading for a special destination.

Our family of five has taken the trip on 95 South NJ to Fla. a few times already, so we are not exactly newbies to it. We always do the trip with one sleepover stop on the way down and two on the way back.

Although we do all have our quirky little roadside pullovers that we need to stop for, when it’s time to pull over for the night everyone agrees that the hotel must be clean and welcoming.

If you know our family, you know that we do love the Marriott chain of hotels. We have come
to rely on them as a brand that we can rely on. They are consistently clean and modern.
We have stayed at many of the Marriott hotels, but have never had the chance to stay at 
Residence Inn. We did not know what to expect. The pictures online looked nice enough, but we 
all know about pictures online. Sometimes they can be quite tricky! 
On this roadtrip we stayed at the Residence Inn, Florence, South Carolina as our first stop.

We always we try to shoot for a little more than halfway through the trip and have found Florence a great place to regroup. There are also a bunch of stores in case we need anything that you have forgotten. By five hours into the trip you begin to realize everything you have forgotten.
It’s better to grab it on the way, before you hit the Orlando area.

Anyway, with a family of five I am always hesitant about booking a room that will accommodate all of us with space enough that no one will get on each other’s nerves. Twelve hours in the van is enough to do that!
We were thrilled to pull up to the Residence Inn. From the outside I already knew it would be wonderful. You know how you get that gut feeling about places. This was a good gut feeling!
The outside of the Residence Inn, Florence, South Carolina was nice enough. I was hoping that the trend continued. Happy to say it really lived up to those photos online. The check in was easy and quick and the workers were very helpful. No one was on their cell phones or preoccupied. Before long we were at the door of the room and about to open it. That is always a pivotal point in the trip for us. Will the room be clean, smell nice, be big enough? The room passed all of our expectations. It was definitely big enough with two rooms and a kitchen that included a full size fridge. I was ready to move in! The room was extremely eye friendly and very modern. It was a room I would more than go back to visit again. If you are traveling on Route 95 through South Carolina and need a clean and comfy place to rest your head, this is perfect for you! Since our family also stayed at another Residence Inn on the way home, I can say that both of our experiences were similar and wonderful. Soon the post will be up about our stay at the Residence Inn Savannah, Georgia. Different look of the hotel, but same hospitality that makes you want to come back and stay over and over again. Click here to find out more about Residence Inn.

You can follow our road trip on twitter #roadtrip2fun or on facebook.com/3decades3kids.
Disclosure: Room was provided for the purpose of review. Email me at ELgeorgia@aol.com or tweet me @3decades3kids.

Check out our video inside the Residence Inn room!

Giveaway: Sesame Place Has A Great Fall Line Up! Count’s Halloween Spooktacular!

Giveaway: Sesame Place Has A Great Fall Line Up!
 Count’s Halloween Spooktacular! 
Win A Family 4 Pack of Passes Here and
Join In On The Fun!
Going to Sesame Place is always an enjoyable experience for our family! It’s sad to think that my youngest child is already six years old. I really don’t want the Sesame Street years to end, but it seems, as I have seen two times before there is really no way of stopping time. So, with saying that, our family has been enjoying seeing the world through Emily’s eyes before they soon join us in the teen world.
Recently our family had the pleasure of visiting Sesame Place. Even though it was past Labor Day we caught a gorgeous day and were able to enjoy the water. When we visit next time, I’m sure we will not be bringing our swimsuits along. We are looking forward to all the Fall events taking place during the next month at Sesame Place. It’s incredible to think we can travel less than two hours from NYC and have so much family fun! If you have the chance to visit Sesame Place during the Halloween Spooktacular, do not miss it!
We had an amazing time last year and this year will prove to be even better!
Sesame Place has A Lot going on this Fall! We can’t wait to get in on the fun!


o    Save $10 online on our Elmo Ticket and get any 2nd visit FREE! This offer is available online only and available through 9/22/13 only. The second visit is valid any regular operating day through 10/27/13 and does not have to be used on consecutive days.
o    Save $20 on single-day admission to Sesame Place through Groupon! This offer is available for a very limited time so don’t miss out!check it out here!
o    Save $15 on single-day admission to Sesame Place online with promo codes available through our retail partners including McDonald’s, Subway and Burger King Click here!
o    2014 Sesame Place Season Passes are on sale now!  When you purchase a Season Pass now, you can enjoy unlimited visits for the rest of this year plus all of 2014 including A Very Furry Christmas! Pass Members also save 30% on food and merchandise at Sesame Place.
o    2013 Pass Members can upgrade their Season Pass to include unlimited admission to A Very Furry Christmas for only $10. This exclusive offer is available to Pass Members only and the $10 promotional upgrade price is available through 9/28/13 only.
  Upcoming Events at Sesame Place
    • Caillou’s Musical Playdate: 9/21 & 9/22  Click here!
    • The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular: Weekends 9/28 – 10/27 Click here!
    • Season Pass Member Fall Party: 9/28 Click here!
    • Zoe’s Monster Mash Party: 9/28 & 9/29 Click here!
    • The Count’s Batty Birthday Bash: 10/5 & 10/6 Click here!
    • Grover’s Not -So- Spooky Birthday Bash: 10/12 & 10/13 Click here!
    • Jack Hanna: 10/12 & 10/13 Click here!
    • Abby Cadabby’s Fairy Pumpkin Party:  10/19 & 10/20 Click here!
    • The Count’s Halloween Party: 10/26 & 10/27 Click here!

Halloween Costume Contest: 10/27 Click here!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
The wonderful Sesame Place folks have been kind enough to offer one lucky 3decades3kids  a 4 pack of one day passes to enjoy a day at the park! Passes are good until 10/27/2013 and can be picked up at Guest Relations under the winner’s name. Winner chosen September 27, 2013 at noon and contacted by email. Good Luck! Winner will have 24 hours to repond and claim prize before a new winner is chosen. Enter on the Rafflecopter below. Disclosure: Diane Sullivan is a Sesame Place Ambassador Blogger. All opinions are that of my own. Contact me at ELGeorgia@aol.com or on twitter at @3decades3kids.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Pompeii From The British Museum September 25th! One Time Event!

Giveaway: Pompeii From The British Museum 

September 25th! One Time Event!


Being a former teacher I am always thrilled to find out there will be something educational coming to the big screen. Being a total Pompeii fan just goes without saying. Our family has been Pompeii buffs for years. It’s just fascinating to the entire group of us! So it goes without saying that Pompeii from the British Museum is at the top of our must do list!

Introduced by British Museum Director Neil McGregor, audiences will be given an exclusive view of the Pompeii exhibition with insights from renowned experts who help bring these fascinating objects to life. With accompanying music, poetry and readings from eyewitness accounts, this is not a dry and bland history lesson and it will take viewers behind the scenes of to discover the stories of these famous Roman cities.

This event will give American audiences a rare chance to see the an exclusive never before seen perspective on  displays, which have already received five-star reviews from press outlets including London’s The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday, and Metro, from the comfort of their local movie theatre








GIVEAWAY: Win a 4Pack of Tickets to this amazing event! You will not want to miss out!
Great for families, date night, or friends! Good Luck! Winner will be contacted directly from
theater representative. Tickets will be delivered through mail as hard copy tickets.
Good Luck! Diane. Contact me at elgeorgia@aol.com or on Twitter +3decades3kids .
@3decades3kids.

Enter Here http://tinyurl.com/NYCPompeii