Roar and Explore

Looking for a mini vacation in Ohio?

We were asked to check out the Roar and Explore package that you can get through Experience Columbus.

What a good deal.  Staying in a hotel when you aren’t far from home can really make you feel like you are on a vacation in another state.  The kids love it and it is nice to not have to worry about laundry and cleaning the house and making dinner for two nights!

Columbus Zoo

Our adventure started at the Columbus Zoo. The day was perfect (in the 70′s) and the animals were out. There was a good crowd, but not too crazy. The kids had a blast. We were there almost all day. We went to an animal show, saw the gorillas (their fav), elephants, the aquarium, rode a train and much much more.

We checked into the Drury Inn and Suites in Grove City. The hotel was very nice! The kids kept saying it was the nicest hotel they had ever stayed in. (I heard that phrase for the hotel and also the Lincoln MKT car we got to drive.. this is the nicest car we have ever been in. lol)

Drury Inn & Suites

Over the course of two days they were in and out of the indoor/outdoor pool SO many times. They loved it.

Zoombezi Bay Water-Park

The weather was great for the zoo and COSI, but not so great for Zoombezi Bay.  We ended up not being able to go on the 3rd day because of storms.  But the tickets are still good until September, so we will be able to go back and use them.  This isn’t my picture, but I was given this picture to use so you all could see what an awesome water-park this is.

COSI – Center of Science and Industry

We went to COSI on the 2nd day and saw some of what there was to offer. I don’t know if you could get through all of COSI in one day or not.

There was an awesome dinosaur exhibit.  Our tickets included this, but normally you have to pay extra to go into the exhibit. The kids enjoyed it.

We also got to watch one of the 3D movies (which is also normally extra, but is included)

My favorite part of COSI was the big machine display they had.  The kids got to actually work some of them and climb in them. It was great.

This package starts at just $375 plus tax for a family of four. (That is saving $84).

Here is what you get with the Roar and Explore Package:

1) Four tickets to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
2) Four tickets to Zoombezi Bay
3) Four tickets to COSI
4) Two nights stay at a hotel. (Columbus area Drury Inn & Suites is the preferred hotel – prices may vary at other hotels)

The package is designed for a family of four, but you may add extra family members.  You can make reservations by going to the Columbus Vacation Package on Experience Columbus.

I can highly recommend this for you and your family. We had a blast!

 

Organizing in a Hotel Room

Do you even bother to try?

I know for some a hotel room is a free ride to be messy! No worries that neighbors will drop in, someone will make your bed for you in the morning and bring you fresh towels…

What do you do when you stay at a hotel?

Do you put your clothes away or live out of your suit case?

This is what I normally do to stay organized in a hotel room.

I like to unpack right away.  When I first get in, I like to get my clothes out of my suitcase as soon as I can to keep them from being more wrinkled.  I hang them up and use the drawers to put them away.  I think like to hide my empty suitcase in the closet.

I get my toiletries and put them in the bathroom, set up the needed electronics for my computer and phone by my bed.

I like to try and keep my room neat….but you know what? If I’m in a hurry..I too have been known to just throw stuff on the bed or not put clothes away if I am running in or running out of my room. I am certainly not neurotic about it.

This last week it was almost impossible to be organized. There were 3 of us in the room and we were racing from one event to another…..literally we might be in to grab something or to change like a quick change artist and run back out to our next event.  Of course all the while dropping off bags of swag that we were given.

I did unpack when I first got there.  My roommates prefer to just open their suitcases and live out of those.  That is fine…that is how they like it. You take that….and 3 people in a small bathroom with no counters and tons of swag bags all around and you don’t have an organized Hotel room…you have a very messy one.

Did it freak me out…nope.  I was fine with it.  It was a crazy week and we had crazy stuff coming into our room. I didn’t fret or do my freak out thing (I can’t stand all this stuff!!!….aaggghhhh).  Now…if it was a long term situation…it would have been different. But it was just a temporary mess….

We had fun..and spending fun time with my friends was more important than trying to figure out how to have a neat room.

Ocean Isle Inn – Last Day

These are pictures from Wednesday which was our last full day at Ocean Isle Inn. We had a wonderful time there and this would be a great place for anyone to come. It is what I would call a very comfortable, clean, family friendly hotel. There isn’t carpet in the rooms which is actually nice when you have people coming in and out with wet, sandy feet and shoes.
The breakfast buffet in the mornings is a deluxe continental breakfast. Very nice.
Lee is the GM of the hotel and has been a delight to work with. He did provide us with three nights to stay at his hotel (see disclosure)
As I have told you (my readers) before I am not going to lie about something because it was given to me. This would be a great place to stay and I would love to come back. I would say the only negatives I could even find (and I do look of course when I review anything) would be that I think the room that we had an adjoining room with left their door open. We could hear someone over there a few times. And maybe our bed could use a little oil to keep it from squeezing. :) But that is it…really!! I am ready to go back…miss it already.
You can get a 15% discount if you mention me or Carolina Mama and reading this review or tweets on our blogs.
So I would say any hotel that could top that ….bring it on. It would be one hard review to top!

Click on the picture and it will start the slide show.