Our 2023 Recap- A Year of Adventure!
Welcome to our 2023 recap! We’ll be updating this post throughout the year to recap all of our 2023 adventures! We can’t wait to share all of the fun with you! This year we have a grown-ups-only trip to Iceland planned and an 8-day family Caribbean cruise on the books. On the cruise, we’ll be visiting Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. We’ll also be visiting more theme parks (SeaWorld), state parks, and national parks! Who knows where else the year will take us!
Table of Contents
Let's Dive into the 2023 Recap!
January
[Fort Matanzas] [SeaWorld Orlando] [Blue Spring State Park]
Our first road trip of the year took us down to St. Augustine to celebrate Smiley’s birthday. We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Ford’s Garage, before continuing south to Fort Matanzas National Monument. This National Park Site is the last remaining Spanish watchtower in the US.
The watch tower was completed in 1742. It was built near the site where Pedro Menendez ordered the killing of over 100 French Huguenots. Over the period of a couple of weeks, nearly 300 French were slaughtered by the Spanish between St. Augustine and Fort Caroline.
The following weekend, we made a road trip down to SeaWorld Orlando to celebrate Smiley turning 9. She’s been wanting to visit the theme park since she was 6, and we finally caved in! It was so cold and windy during our visit that the roller coasters were closed for half the day. She still managed to ride Mako and Manta, so she was a happy girl!
We ended up spending most of our time in the Sesame Street part of the park, which all three kids enjoyed.
We also caught the Sesame Street parade, the dolphin show, and a game show. All in all, it was a pretty fun day- the babes had fun, and that’s what really matters.
While we were there, we picked up my teacher pass and the boys VPK passes so all 3 of us will get in free for the rest of the year. Perhaps we’ll head back down when it gets a little warmer so Smiley can ride a few more coasters.
On the way home from Orlando, we stopped by Blue Spring State Park. On cold days, manatees flock to the springs because the water temperature is higher there than in the rivers. The numbers range from dozens to hundreds of manatees, depending on the day. On the day we visited, an impressive 625 manatee were counted in the spring run! It was so cool to see the graceful, gentle manatees warm themselves in the spring.
The following weekend, Ashley took the kids up to North Carolina to drop off some Christmas gifts for the Carolina clan and to spend some time with the kids grandparents and great-grandparents.
Blog Posts Published:
How to Spend a Day in Nassau, Bahamas Without Cruise Excursions
The New and Improved Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Why You Should Add DC’s National Children’s Museum to Your Itinerary
The Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, Virginia- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Income Generated from
5 Suitcases: $214.16
February
February was an extremely busy month for us! All 3 kid started ball and our daughter started Girls on the Run (a running club). Suddenly, our life became consumed by extra curricular activities! Between our busy schedule and sicknesses, we didn’t have many adventures.
I did, however, get to spend time mapping out our trips for spring and summer. I finalized everything for our trip to Iceland, booked our summer road trip, and booked a quick solo weekend for myself in March.
One of our first outings was a trip to our local zoo with a friend of the family. The babes always have so much fun interacting with the animals. There’s a particular bonobo that runs to the glass every time it sees the kids. It likes to mimic the kids movements- it’s the cutest thing!
We made a last minute decision to scrap a roadtrip over President’s Day Weekend and decided to check out some local parks, instead.
We started off at Bird Island Park, where we got to play on the playground, stroll along the boardwalk looking for fish and turtles, and make our way through a turtle-shaped hedge maze. Afterwards, we went to one of our local parks, Sunshine Park. It was so nice getting out and doing something (other than running and baseball/softball).
The weather in late February was in the 80s, so it was perfect for hitting up one of our favorite lakes. The kids swam a bit and played on the boogie boards. These babies love the water!
At the end of the month, my brother and his family joined us in Callahan for a drive through laser light show we covered for Instagram. The hour-long light show was synchronized with pop songs and throwbacks. The babes had so much fun dancing with their cousins. The laser show was really cool!
Blog Posts Published:
15 Must See Places in Washington DC +
Tips for Planning Your Itinerary
10 Great Wolf Lodge Tips & Tricks
6 Free Things to do in Nassau, Bahamas
The Ultimate Guide to the National Mall
& Beyond
Income Generated from 5 Suitcases: $253.51
March
[Black Rock Beach] [Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens] [Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge]
[Kelly Park/Rock Springs] [SeaWorld Orlando] [Wekiwa Springs State Park]
[James Weldon Johnson Park] [Museum of Contemporary Art] [Huguenot Beach]
The weather at the beginning of the month was a DREAM. It was perfect for getting outside and enjoying our beautiful home state of Florida. We kicked off the month with a trip to Camp Milton Historic Preserve. During the Civil War, Camp Milton was home to 8,000 troops. Confederate soldiers, and slaves, constructed over 7 miles of earth works to protect the camp. Remnants of the earth works remain on the site today.
The preserve is connected to the Jacksonville Baldwin Rail Trail, a 14 mile stretch of paved trail. The kids had so much fun riding their scooters and bikes on the trail. It was the perfect place for them to stretch their legs and practice their riding skills.
March is Spring Break month here in Florida. 4/5 of us have off of work/school for an entire week.
Here’s what we did the last couple of Spring Breaks:
2021- Cumberland Island National Seashore, strawberry picking, DeLeon Springs, Alexander Springs, and Sweet Pete’s
2022- Cruise to Amber Cove and Grand Turk
We decided to include some weekend activities in this time, so that Ashley could join in on some of the fun.
On Saturday, we started our day by visiting a coffee shop called Bitty and Beau’s which employees people with different abilities. It is such a fun atmosphere full of love, acceptance, and embracing diversity. Afterwards, we scooted on over to the Northbank to walk along the river. We started at the YMCA and walked eastbound to the colorful Locks of Love Bridge and to Corkscrew Park, an outdoor gym area.
Afterwards we went to our local ballpark to practice our hitting and fielding for t-ball/softball.
The next day, we decided to visit a couple of local trails. We hiked Big Pine Trail (1 mile) and Black Rock Trail (1 mile) at Big Talbot Island State Park. Black Rock Trail is one of our favorites because it empties out onto a beach called Black Rock. Black Rock is sometimes called Boneyard Beach because it is covered with sun-bleached downed trees.
After two days of cold and rain, we were finally able to head back outside for our next adventure. We braved the cold to spend a couple of hours at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens. It was so nice because the zoo was pretty empty due to the weather.
Later in the week, we took a road trip up to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. The Okefenokee is the largest black swamp in all of North America. It estimated that between 10k – 13k alligators call this swamp home. The swamp is considered to be one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Georgia.
We hiked 3 miles worth of trails/boardwalk and drove around the paved scenic loop. We saw 7 alligators (one of the boys counted 64…hahaha), 2 snakes, and more turtles than we could count.
The babes really enjoyed the Chesser Island Homestead. The homestead was built in the mid-1800s by the Chesser family. During our visit, the interior of the home was closed however, I have toured the inside on a previous visit. The interior is decorated with period furniture.
The home, and the several outbuildings, give insight as to what life was like on the swamp 170+ years ago. The kids favorite part was the syrup shed where they were able to work the water pump and play with several of the tools in the shed. They had a blast pretending to make sugar cane syrup!
That same weekend, I took a solo trip down to Orlando. On my way in to town, I stopped by Kelly Park to check out the gorgeous Rock Springs. I brought along my paddle board and float, but it was only in the 40s while I was there, so I didn’t end up getting in the water. Still, it was absolutely gorgeous to look at! The springs form a natural lazy river. This place is typically slammed, so I was very lucky to have the place pretty much to myself!
Afterwards, I headed to SeaWorld Orlando to check out the Seven Seas Food Festival.
I had a lanyard that granted me 15 food/drink samples at the park. After fasting for 16+ hours, I was ready to eat! Be sure to check out our blog post on the Seven Seas Food Festival for all the details.
The main reason for me going down was that my favorite band of all time (we’re talking 25+ years!) was playing at the festival. I ended the night with singing and dancing to Hanson.
The next morning, I woke up and hit up my second spring of the weekend, Wekiwa Springs. Again, I opted not to get in due to the weather- although I was super tempted. The water is a consistent 72 degrees, so it would have actually felt warm in the spring. It was the getting out part that I was worried about. I walked around the swimming area, down the spring run, and did a mile loop trail through the woods.
I absolutely love spending time at the springs, I wish they were closer to home. Our closest springs about about 1.5 hours away. I’m going to make a point of visiting a few more this week…and getting in the water!
The following weekend was a busy one! The kids all had games and team photos. Afterwards, we went downtown to check out the sidewalk chalk artists at Art at the Park. The babes loved being able to create their own artwork and enjoyed the incredible works of art created by artists of all age.
On Saturdays, the Museum of Contemporary Art offers free admission, so while we were across the street, we decided to stop by. This worked out perfectly because I’ve been wanting to check out the Milagros “Flutter Zone” installment (pictured right). It features a combination of patterns, color, light, and music. You’re able to interact with the piece by crawling inside of it and playing an organ. It was a pretty fun and unique experience.
We wrapped up our beautiful and busy weekend with a visit to the beach. We found several starfish and crabs, built sandcastle and took our boogie boards for a spin. It was a great way to close out the busy week and a great reminder of what’s to come this summer!
Blog Posts Published:
All You Need to Know About Visiting SeaWorld Orlando with Kids
5 of the Best Beaches in St. Thomas
Do I Need to Book an Excursion in Amber Cove?
Ultimate Guide to the 2023 Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld
Income Generated from
5 Suitcases: $106.00
April
We started off April with a trip to the kids favorite camp ground (it’s top secret!). As soon as we found out my parents would be camping there this weekend, we made plans to visit them. They got to swim in the pool, paddleboard in the lagoon, play catch, and hangout with all of their cousins. It was quite possibly the best April Fools Day ever!
Easter weekend and our kids Gotcha Day overlapped this year. We had family come in to town to help us celebrate! We hung out at breweries (which our babes love!) and did a bit of axe throwing.
Later in the month, we celebrated love at the Strides for Pride 5k. We didn’t run, this time, but cheered some of the runners on and checked out the vendors. The kids are big fans of events like this because they walk away with a ton of swag. Afterwards, we met up with our neighbor friends at our local swimming hole for some fun in the sun before they move to Texas.
Blog Posts Published:
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History: A Must See in DC!
How to See Manatees at Blue Spring State Park
Touring the Library of Congress- The World’s Largest Library
Easy-to-Use Printable Cruising Ducks
Free Things to do in St. Thomas
10 Must See Things at the National Museum of American History
Income Generated from
5 Suitcases: $113.76
May
May was a little hectic. I wrapped up my 9th year of teaching, the boys graduated from VPK, Smiley kicked the state tests ass, and we spent a lot of time at the ballfield. The month wasn’t a total wash. We squeezed in some time at the lake with our neighbors before they moved to Texas. We also spent some time out on the boat with our framily.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we drove up to North Carolina to visit with Ashley’s side of the family. The kids went bowling for the first time and weren’t really fans 🤣 I think if they had a little more sleep they would have enjoyed it more.
In the month of May we published 4 posts:
National Museum of American History- Iconic Treasures from America’s Past
10 Tips for Riding the DC Metro That Will Make Your Trip Easier
10 Practical Tips for Visiting Washington DC with Kids
Florida State Park Bucket List
Income Generated from
5 Suitcases: $232.52
June
With the stress of school behind us for a couple of months, we had a fun month! We spent lots of time at the beach catching crabs and snails, looking for shark teeth, and catching fish. We’re also making the most of our zoo membership and visiting the some of our favorite animals.
Later in the month, we drove down to St. Augustine to celebrate a day of love at their Pride Parade. We discovered our new favorite donut shop (Peace, Love and Donuts) and spent some time strolling around St. George Street and Constitution Plaza.
At the end of the month, we drove 600 miles from Florida to Kentucky. We were invited to check out the Camp Jellystone at Mammoth Cave. Despite the terrible weather (we had severe thunderstorms our entire stay!), we still managed to have an excellent time. When it rained, we headed into town to explore. We ate at a charming Amish restaurant, visited a replica of Stonehenge called Kentucky Stonehenge, and visited the American Cave Museum.
The amazing thing about this Jellystone it is within just a few miles of Mammoth Cave National Park! We booked the 2-hour, 2-mile historical tour. It was AWESOME (minus the 572 steps…). Afterward, we drove out into the country to visit Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historical Park.
In the month of June we published 5 posts:
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Popular Caribbean Cruise Ports
8 Hamilton-Inspired Things to do in DC
Fort Matanzas: A Local’s Guide
Guide to the Great Wolf Lodge Water Park in Williamsburg
Income Generated from
5 Suitcases: $44.14
July
Our Kentucky road trip carried over into the month of July. We stopped by the Aviation Heritage Park in Bowling Green, strolled around the Western Kentucky University campus (to see the pioneer cabin and the Abraham Lincoln statue), took a book ride inside of a cave at the Lost River Cave, and rounded out our trip with a trip to the National Corvette Museum.
We had a wonderful time exploring the state of Kentucky together! With this trip the babes were able to add Kentucky to their list of states they’ve been to, and traveled to a different time zone for the first time!
Later in the month, we dropped the babes off with their grandparents and headed to Iceland to celebrate my 40th birthday. We spent an entire week exploring the Land of Fire and Ice.
We visited the Blue Lagoon, Thingvellir National Park, explored an Ice Cave, checked out Diamond Beach, went whale watching, and hiked to countless waterfalls.
It was such an incredible week! It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday.
In the Month of July we published 3 posts:
Guide to Great Wolf Lodge Water Park in Williamsburg
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Mammoth Cave
Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historical Park
August
After getting back from Iceland on the 2nd, we fit in as much time with the kids as we could before school started back up. We enjoyed boat days with our besties, hung out at the zoo, hit up the beach and soaked up the last few days of summer.
September
Just because school was back in session doesn’t mean our adventures were over! In September we spent a long weekend down in Orlando with Ashley’s boss and his family. We all shared a timeshare and spent the weekend floating down a lazy river and watching the babes launch themselves down waterslides.
The kids favorite part of our mini-roadtrip was a very special dinner at Medieval Times. They being able to eat with their hands (shocker!) and enjoyed watching the jousting matches and medieval games.
October
October was all about baseball and softball for us! The kiddos started back up in August. We love our nights at the ballpark.
November
In November we celebrated the boys 6th birthday with an 8-day cruise to San Juan, Amber Cove, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. My parents joined us, which made our trip even more exciting!
Our first top was Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. We actually celebrated the boys 5th birthday with a cruise to the DR the year before. On that trip, we had to book a “bubble tour” because the boys weren’t vaccinated. Because of that, we didn’t really get to experience the DR like I wanted to.
This time, we took full advantage of our day in Puerto Plata! For the boys birthday, my parents bought an excursion to Monkeyland, a place they’d visited on past trips.
Monkeyland is a natural jungle habitat that is home to super friendly squirrel monkeys. Part of our tour included a visit to an “authentic Dominican home” and a demonstration/sampling of Dominican coffee. The home part wasn’t very entertaining, but we enjoyed watching them make coffee by grinding the beans with a mortar and pedestal. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it since I normally take my coffee with creamer but it was to DIE for! They also made cocoa for the babes (which was great!) but ours liked the coffee just as much.
Next came the part we were all waiting for, Monkeyland! I was a little nervous that Scoop would get overstimulated so we brought along his noise cancelling headphones, but he wasn’t able to take them in. He ended up being perfectly fine (thank goodness!).
I can’t even begin to tell you how many squirrel monkeys were inside the enclosure. As soon as we walked in, the squirrel monkeys swarmed us hopping off of our heads, backs, and arms. It was so much fun!
One of my goals on our trip was to cross off a National Park while we were visiting some of the US Territories. While we were in Puerto Rico, we visit the San Juan Historic Site, the oldest European construction in all of the US territories and one of the oldest in the New World. We got a chance to check out both Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal.
The next day we were in St. Maarten, where we planned a beach day. We hopped a water taxi over to the Great Bay Beach. The beach was easy to get too, and despite constantly being hassled by the locals to buy things, we enjoyed our time at the beach.
Our last port was St. Thomas, a place Ashley and I both had visited many times before. We talked about catching the ferry over to St. John to collect another stamp in our National Park Passports, but nixed the morning we arrived. Instead, we walked around and did a bit of shopping. While were exploring, we came across the Pirate’s Treasure Museum- which ended up being the perfect spot to check out with the kids. They had tons of pirate artifacts and treasure alongside interactive displays and games. The museum was very well done and the babes really enjoyed it!
Sites Visited in 2023
Florida
Florida
Georgia
- Fort Matanzas
- SeaWorld Orlando
- Blue Spring State Park
- Bird Island Park
- Sunshine Park
- Camp Milton Preserve
- Kelly Park/Rock Springs
- Wekiwa Springs State Park
- Huguenot Memorial Park
- Medieval Times
- Northbank River Walk
- Big Talbot Island State Park
- Black Rock Beach
- Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens
- Museum of Contemporary Art JAX
- MOSH
- Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Kentucky
Iceland
Iceland
- Camp Jellystone Mammoth Cave
- American Cave Museum
- Kentucky Stonehenge
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
- Aviation Heritage Park
- Lost River Cave
- National Corvette Museum
- Blue Lagoon
- The Penis Museum
- Thingvellir National Park
- Gullfoss
- Skogafoss
- Kvernufoss
- Geysir & Strokkur
- Katla Ice Cave
- Svartifoss
- Skaftafell Nature Preserve
- Diamond Beach
- Fardagafoss
- Dettifoss
- Akureyri Botanical Garden
- Hofsos Pool
- Hraunfoss
- Barnafoss
- Deildartunguhver
Dominican Republic
- Monkeyland
- Amber Cove
Puerto Rico
- Castillo San Felipe del Morrow
- Castillo San Cristobal
St. Maarten
- Monkeyland
- Amber Cove
St. Thomas
- Pirate’s Treasure
Museum
2023 Recap Numbers
Number of PBJs Devoured on Adventures: 40
Number of Charcuterie Boxes Eaten: 6
Number of Buc-ee’s Stops: 10
Numbers of Miles Traveled for Adventures: 13,239.19 miles
Our 2023 Goals
Goal
Progress
Visit SeaWorld
V- In January, we drove down to SeaWorld Orlando to spend the day riding rollercoasters and catching animal shows.
- Elle went back to SeaWorld in March to check out the Seven Seas Food Festival.
- Take a Cruise
- In November, 23 took an 8 day cruise to celebrate the guys turning 6. We visited the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.
- Spend some time in the mountains
- Ashley took the kids up to the mountains in January.
- We spent Memorial Day weekend in the mountains
- We’re planning on visiting Kentucky this summer.
- Visit at least 3 new springs
- We visited Blue Spring State Park in January, but this isn’t a new spring for us. We still have some work to do on this goal.
- In March, Elle visited Rock Springs and Wekiwa Springs.
- Visit at least 2 National Park Sites
- We visited Fort Matanzas National Monument in St. Augustine early in January.
- We visited the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in March
- In June we went to Mammoth Cave and Abraham Lincoln’s Birth Place National Historical Park
- In November we visited the San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico.
- Add a new state to the list of places we’ve been
- Ashley and the kids added a new state to their list this summer during our road trip to Kentucky.
- Plan our Christmas trip
- This year’s Christmas trip is going to look a little different…we’re not going on it until the summer. We’ll be hitting the Florida keys with some friends.
- Accrue airline miles
- Smiley did a report on Montana which inspired her to want to visit. It’s somewhere Ashley and I have always wanted to go, so we’re going to try to make it happen in 2024.
- Increase Instagram followers by 10% (4719)
- 2023 has been a great year for us on the ‘Gram. We met this goal during the first 2 months of the year.
- Increase blog traffic by 50% (85,417 visitors)
- We have several posts that are ranking really well on Google so we’re hopeful well be able to achieve this goal.
March update– we’re nearly 1/2 way there
April update– we’ve officially surpassed our # of visitors from last year.
May update- We’re about 10,000 visitors away from our mark!
June update- We are less than 1000 visitors away!
July update- mission accomplished!
- Create 12 YouTube videos
- With our planned trips and weekend adventures, this shouldn’t be a problem. Our YouTube videos have come a long way and we’re looking forward to enhancing our skills!
January– Colonial Williamsburg, Great Wolf Lodge
February- Blue Spring State Park Manatees
March- SeaWorld Orlando’s Seven Seas
Festival
July– Jellystone Park Mammoth Cave
August- Blue Lagoon
- Visit somewhere new each month
- This was my favorite goal from last year so I’m bringing it back for 2023!
January– Fort Matanzas, SeaWorld Orlando
February– Bird Island Park
March- Camp Milton Historic Preserve, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Rock Springs, Wekiwa Springs - April- Stumpy’s Hatchet House
- May- Bowling alley
- June- Mammoth Cave National Park, Abraham Lincoln Birth Place National Historical Park, Kentucky Stonehenge, American Cave Museum, Jellystone Mammoth Cave
- July- National Corvette Museum, Aviation Heritage Museum, Lost River Cave, see Iceland sites above
- Generate $1,000 in income from 5 Suitcases
- We make money from Google AdSense and have monetized our Facebook and Instagram. Every time you visit the blog, or like comment on our content on social media, or watch our Reels we generate income. We use this money to fund our adventures! We’d love it if you follow us on our socials to help us out!
- July Update- we are about $7 away from meeting this goal.
- August Update- Mission accomplished!
The 2023 Recap for the Blog
Top 5 Posts
Nerdy Numbers
New Posts: 27
Traffic Increase: TBD
Estimated Miles Traveled: 13,240
Annual Focus
New Pages
Last updated: 8/05/23
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