Jersey Shore Fun!

Last week my family had the pleasure of visiting Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, NJ. Monday was Mr. Locke's birthday, so we ventured nearly 7 hours by car so he could spend his birthday at the beach.

Long Branch is a beautiful city with lush, sandy beaches. Most of the beaches are public and run by the city, but our resort had a private beach that was uncrowded and well-maintained.  Lounge chairs with umbrellas are set out every morning and resort staff checked for wristbands to make certain the beach stayed private. 

Ocean Place Resort has modern, ocean-themed rooms with private balconies and a seating area. Each room is quite large, and ours was no exception. Our room had 2 queen beds, a flat screen tv, iPhone dock, mini fridge, and a sizable closet. The bathroom was tiled floors with floor to ceiling glass shower doors.

Our daughter loved running back and forth in the waves and trying her luck with a boogie board. She did great for a first timer!

High quality restaurants and helpful, courteous staff make our stay even better, and we would gladly stay again!

To read my full review on Trekaroo, go here: 

State Capital Fun!

Last week my family traveled to our state capital- Columbus! Mr. Locke was heading there for a board game convention, so the kid and I decided to tag along and take in some of this city's best family friendly spots. Our first stop: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The Columbus Zoo has not only lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!), but also houses a temporary exhibit-Dinosaur Island. This "island" is located in the upper section of the zoo and is home to some 25 animatronic dinos. These lifelike creatures move their heads and tails, growl, and roar. The coolest bit is that they blink. I was a dinosaur enthusiast as a child, so seeing these big beauties in their proper scale was a dream come true! The kid loved them as well. The zoo has adapted their pre-existing boat ride around this theme which, in all honesty, is a perfect melding of the two. Mist, mood music, and water spewing from some of the dinos added perfect little touches to the ride as well. The kid asked to go no the ride, which I gladly obliged. Hey, if education can be thrown in with a fun day, I'm on board! Get it? On board?

To read my full review of The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Trekaroo, go here: