What are you waiting for??  Get yours today.

Church in Old Town

The Golden District is a bunch of shops that sell the same stuff over and over again.  Our resort was just on the edge of the Golden District.  We went shopping through there one day and did have an enjoyable time.

The one nice thing about our resort is that even though there is a lot going on in Mazatlan it is really quite where we were.  It's like we were on our own private island.  That really helped make it an enjoyable time.  But all that to say I don't know that we will be running back there.  If we found another killer deal like we found this time, then maybe, but I would like to try something new.  I really want to go to Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  This town is the complete opposite of Mazatlan.  Its a quiet, quaint fishing village.  So you will need to watch for that review.

We decided for dinner that we would try a restaurant that I had found online. It's called Red Gables and it's just a few short miles from the park entrance. It was not a chain and the food was amazing. They have a 2 pork chop special, which my husband and I got and split. My daughter got the crab cake dinner. (We are from Oregon and I try those everywhere we go, and those are by far the best crab cakes I have ever had. Lots a crab and just a little breading.) My son got the 4 cheese pasta. Each meal came with salad and 2 sides. Which means we ended up with 3 salads and 6 side dishes. We had so much food. We even ordered scallops (amazing) as an appetizer and the kids had drinks and we had beers with our meal. I know, it's definitely a wine meal, but I was craving a beer. My daughter said it was the best restaurant that she had ever been too. The whole meal cost us $90. We got amazing quality food and we got superb service on which we chose to leave a great tip.

Ok, I know what you are thinking. That was by no means a bargain meal. I agree 100%. But we chose to cut corners in other ways. We had a fridge in our room. We started by bringing cereal that would last us the whole time. So when we got there we bought milk, I had packed spoons and we ate out of the cups in the room. So breakfast was cheap and it's what we all enjoy eating for breakfast. For lunch (because we didn't want more bad expensive food from and around the park) we chose to go to the grocery store and we bought cheese, crackers, fruits, plus we already had nuts, bars and dessert that we had brought along. So everyday we would leave the park go to our room and eat a snack that would hold us until we left for a great dinner.

The second night that we ventured out we went to Lymans Harbor and ate a very good meal there too. It too was not a chain, they pride themselves in their perch, which was great. It is across the harbor from Cedar Point. So again just minutes from the entrance and plenty of places to sit, quick service, good service and out the door feeling great.

The funny thing was both nights we would go back and pass the TGIFridays and there would be a line out the door, people would be grumpy and they would end up paying just about what we paid. Only our experience was pleasant.

The last night we were there we decided to go easy on the budget and we ordered Pizza. The Red Gables has a pizza place next door so we thought we would give it a try. That meal cost us $15. HINT: You can go into the nice side of Red Gables and order a great meal and they will let the kids order a pizza from the other side if nothing on the menu is to their liking. LOVE THIS PLACE!!

We just put the final piece of our vacation puzzle together. We secured our rental car. We have free airfare, but in order to do the days that we needed we will fly into Cleveland, and out of Cincinati. What that really means to me is 2 amusement parks. But we did have to get a rental car for the drive. We ended up with Avis. Always check things out ahead of time. I am glad that I did on this one. We land at midnight. I prefer Enterprise, I have had great service and at the San Jose, CA airport you never have to ride the shuttle bus back to the terminal, they take you back. LOVE THAT!! My husband prefers Avis. Well, as it turns out Avis is open 24 hours, and the others actually close much earlier. So my husband wins this time. We rented with Avis and used our Entertainment Book and got a free weekday rental. When you reserve this online, it won't take the discount off. But it does tell you they will take the discount at the time of purchase.

If you have read any of my earlier posts and seen some of my tips you will see that we like to take good snacks and put them in our pockets (because we don't carry any bags). I just purchased a cute pair of Union Bay cargo shorts today so I too can help the boys carry our snacks.

Let me start with Rental Cars. My husband has an account with Avis and prefers them. I prefer Enterprise because they take you back to the airport instead of making you ride the shuttle bus and they give you bottled water to take with you. But the problem came when we had a very late arrival into Cleveland. We won't be picking up our car until midnight. Turns out Avis is open all night long. I made sure to call the actual Avis car rental at the Cleveland airport. Enterprise on the other hand will only take reservations through 10:30pm. So we went with Avis. I was actually getting nervous that we might have to find a motel at the airport.

I still haven't booked our Cedar Point Resort room just yet. Last year we stayed at Breakers Express. Very nice, very clean, and newer. Plus it's a little cheaper. We then moved into Hotel Breakers which is very old. Built in the early 1900's. It was very musty, but very nostalgic. We were literally 100 yards from our room to the beach. While we were there we found these other rooms that are on the ends. They are huge and only cost about $64 more a night. We haven't booked it just yet, but we are leaning towards this room at the Hotel Breakers.

We arrive in Cleveland, spend 3-4 days there then we drive down to Cincinnati to Kings Island. We had to choose between 2 hotels. The first one was Comfort Suites Kings Island, which has a continental breakfast, and the other was Kirkwood Inn. It looks like an old farmhouse and it has a full breakfast with eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, breads, juices….I finally cut him off he was listing so many things. We chose Kirkwood Inn because it's not a hotel or a chain, and it looks quaint and has a great breakfast. It priced out the same, it was just a few miles away where the other one is less than a mile away.

Now to actually focus on the one this weekend. I just checked the weather again and they are looking at the low 80's. I can't wait. I need to get snacks and we are good to go.

My son tried on his old running shoes and they seem to fit perfect.  My daughter has found hers and plans to take them.   I just need to go to Costco and get some snacks like trail mix to carry with us during the day.  Oh yeah, in the Sunday paper they had coupons for Dr. Scholls shoe inserts.  I actually clipped it and I will take it with us.  We had to buy some for my daughter last time and they are not cheap, and this is a good coupon for a couple of dollers off.

My son has also picked out the first ride he wants to go on.  He likes Invertigo and plans on running straight to it.  I am sure we will ride it serveral times over.  It's a different ride just by changing where you sit.

I put my husband in charge of rental car.  I prefer Enterprise, but he has an account with Avis because he used to travel so much.  He thought he had a coupon, but couldn't find it anywhere.  So he called Avis and asked them, sure enough they found it, but it had expired.  He thanked them and was getting ready to hang up when they told him they would send him out a new one right away.  And it came today and he booked the rental car and we got $25 off.