Top 5 Southern US Travel Ideas for Families

>> Nov 6, 2014

Southern US is the best place for you to travel to with your family because it is unique. However, you are probably wondering where you should start because it has so many places. Well, if you are a nature lover, amusement park aficionado, country music fan, history buff or someone who loves canoeing or water rafting, and you want to plan a vacation that will take you and your whole family to warm (and conceivably sunny) places, you should try the following travel ideas in Southern US.

Nashville Area

This is a great destination for you, especially if you are a country music lover who can get an insider’s look that has a behind-the scenes tour of the museum and facility, and even enjoy a show at the famous Grand Opry House. You cannot miss the activity in the Museum and Hall of Fame for Country Music, and the Museum that is located down the street as well as the Hall of Fame for Musicians. One of the greatest ways for you to soak up this city as you are being entertained in style is by enjoying an exciting paddlewheel showboat cruise on the strikingly beautiful Cumberland River. Other local venues that you should visit in order to round out your trip of great family fun include the Frist Centre for Visual Arts, Museum of Art, Adventure Science Centre, Cheek wood Botanical Garden, and Nashville Shores Waterpark.

Orlando Area

the Orlando Area has earned the reputation of having attractions that please all kids regardless of their ages. The entertainment offerings of the Walt Disney Resort include the Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, and Epcot Centre. Orlando has so many attractions that you cannot miss and hence, it can be very hard for you to choose the things you should do. It has many other exciting opportunities nearby such as Bok Tower Gardens, Sea World, Kennedy Space Centre, Discovery Cove, Daytona Beach, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios Florida, and Cirque du Soleil. In addition, the Orlando Science Centre and Museum of Art are two of the cultural attractions of the city. Your family can also enjoy dinner theatre, take an airboat tour, and ride in hot air balloons.

Charleston Area

the Charleston Area is rich in history and it has many tours that highlight its various aspects. It has a tour that is always ready to show off its sights regardless of whether families love the Underground Railroad, buccaneers and pirates, historic architectural districts, ghosts, or Revolutionary War sites and pivotal Civil War. It offers you plenty of options by foot, by carriage or by boat. There is a wide variety of amazing aquatic life in the South Carolina Aquarium, and your family will get a chance to see some dolphins in their habitat if they walk along the Charleston Harbour or look out from the Riverside Terrace of the aquarium. Since camping, white-water rafting, fishing, canoeing, and hiking are all good for family bonding, this area will give your family an opportunity to enjoy them if you drive in Georgetown S.C’s nearby beaches.

Miami Area

When it comes to family attractions, the Miami Area offers you a lot ranging from shopping opportunities, golf courses to beaches. You can even take your family to the Miami Aquarium that has a lot of exotic marine life so that it can swim with dolphins The Miami Beach Botanical Garden’s tropical bounty is a very beautiful sight, and the Gold Coast Museum and Southern Florida’s historical museum highlight the area’s rich history. You should take your family to the Holocaust Memorial and Florida’s Jewish Museum so that it can get a fix.

Atlanta Area

the Atlanta Area has many things that appeal to vacationers who are planning a family trip, both in its surrounding metro area and the city itself. The Georgia Aquarium, which is one of the world’s largest aquariums, is next to the other family favourites like the Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta’s Children’s Museum, and World of Coca-Cola. Studio tours where your kids might have an interest in seeing how news is assembled and put on air at the nearby CNN Centre are available at the TV network. If your family wants a challenging hike, it can get a panoramic view of Atlanta by taking a 1.3-mile trek up the Stone Mountain. The Summit Sky ride, which shuttles guests from and to the peak, is also available if your family does not want the vertical trek. Other attractions like the laser light show as well as other activities for children are also available at the park. If your family loves animals, you should take it to Zoo Atlanta because it features one of the nation’s panda bear exhibitions, and if it loves culture, you should take it to the Museum of Art. The Atlanta Botanical Garden is also in the city. It is adjacent to Piedmont Park and a great place for you to have a picnic lunch with your family.

The aforementioned travel destinations in Southern US will please all the members of your family. Hence, you should engage a reliable esta application service today so that you can take them there and allow them to have a memorable holiday experience.

Decorate a Garden Shed to Add to the Beauty of Your House

A garden shed has many utilities for the house owner in Ireland. It can either be used to store gardening equipment, tools, lawn mowers, extra household items etc., or can be used as a workspace, play area for kids, or simply as a relaxation area.

Earlier a garden shed was viewed as a stand-alone structure, separate from the home. However, in recent times the thought has changed. Now it is viewed as an extension of the main house itself. Naturally, more thought is being given to select a proper design for the garden shed which matches with the design of the main home. The house owners are taking a lot of care to decorate the garden sheds further.

The sheds are no longer viewed as a mere accessory for the garden, but as an aesthetically pleasing and stylish structure. Let us now discuss some ideas to decorate your garden shed.

Decorating a shed

If your shed isn’t not merely a closed structure in Ireland which is only used as a storage space, then the possibilities of decorating it are endless. If it is a structure which has a few windows, shelves etc., then you can add to its beauty by taking a few simple steps.

Add an apex roof or a veranda change the look of the shed, and make it more stylish and utilitarian.
Use the plants of your garden to decorate the exterior of the shed. The plants can add a natural look to the garden shed, and the flowers they bear will keep the sheds decorated for most of the year. Since these are the plants that are sourced from your garden in Ireland itself, no additional maintenance will be required for them. These plants and colourful flowers will make the sheds look like an extension of the garden itself.
You can decorate the interior of the shed with art, wall hangings, sculpture, etc. install a wind chime in the open area, so that relaxing and melodious sounds fill the shed whenever the wind blows.
If you plan to use the garden shed in Ireland as a relaxation area, you can put in a few armchairs, cushions, etc. for you to relax. Putting up a hammock can also be a good idea if your shed is big enough.
If the shed is to be used by the kids as a play or study area, remember to decorate it with colourful materials, cartoons, etc. you can also paint the interiors of the shed with their favourite colours, so that they inculcate a sense of attachment to the shed.
Install decorative lamps in order to light up the garden sheds in Ireland. If you are planning to use the garden shed as a work area or as a study area for the kids, then this is of prime importance.

Decorating your shed attractively would make you want to leave your home in Ireland and head off towards it whenever you have some time to spare.

About author: Gerald Callahan is an interior designer. He regularly helps his clients in Ireland to decorate their garden sheds.

Sad Weekend

>> Nov 3, 2014

Our weekend was very sad. Last Friday morning, our dearest and kindest uncle –the youngest brother of my late dad- passed away. He has heart problem for years and it worsened in the past two months. The surgery will be held next week but God has different plan.

Captured last year in a family gathering. My deceased uncle on the right.

My husband and I spent the whole weekend to attend the funeral ceremony and accompany my aunt and cousins who feel big loss the most.

Lots of blue touch!

I have missed Blue Monday for weeks, so I don’t want to miss it again this week. The scorching hot day made we wanted to go to a colder place. Three weeks ago, my husband and I went to Puncak area (Cianjur, West Java). Since it wasn’t weekend, we didn’t face traffic jam. We visited an eating place and had afternoon tea time there. We enjoyed colder and fresher air for a few hours.

The tea plantation view

Tea time

Step-By-Step Guide to Selecting a Garden Shed

>> Nov 1, 2014

A garden shed in Ireland is a covered structure which is erected in the backyard or a garden of a house. A garden shed provides extra storage space to the house, and can be used for a variety of purposes like:

Storage of gardening tools and equipment
Storage of household items which cannot be stored inside the house due to shortage of space.
Parking of tractors and small vehicles
Play area for kids
Small home office
Relaxation area, etc.

There is a large variety of garden sheds which are available for sale in Ireland, which makes deciding which one is the best for you quite difficult. Let us discuss the selection process here to guide you.

1. Decide on why you need a shed

As discussed earlier, a shed can have many possible uses. Your judgement regarding what is the best shed for you will depend on what purpose it will serve. First came from a decide the present and the future uses of the garden shed in Ireland, so that you are clear in your mind regarding what to look for.

2. What should be the size of the shed?

This depends on the area you will have in the garden in Ireland to put it up and also how you plan to use the garden shed. If it is only for storing tools and equipment, a small garden sheds in Ireland will be good enough. However if you plan to use it as an office, as a play area for the kids or for parking of a vehicle, then you will need a much larger shed. The rule is larger than the present use you have for it. But again, the size is limited by the space you have available in the garden to put it up. Buying an oversized garden shed might totally spoil the look of your garden.

3. Decide which material the shed should be made of:

It is always better to buy a shed which is robust and durable. Hence it is always suggested to go for a material which has these properties. Wooden sheds have a tendency to get spoilt in a wet climate and when used very frequently. However wooden sheds can be very elegant and classy, because of which many people frequently opt for them.

If you’re looking for rugged use, go for a metal shed. Sheds made of galvanised steel, like Armstrong steel buildings, are known to last for a very long time, and withstand rough usage.

4. Select a design:

Always ensure that the design of a garden shed matches that of the house and is congruent with the overall surroundings. Choose a matching colour as well. Any mismatch in design will make it standout as an eyesore.

5. Decide on a budget:

It goes beyond saying that you should always decide on a budget for the garden shed and choose the best one that fits within it. Do some careful research off-line and online to discover some attractive deals which will bring them within your reach.

About author: Martha McCoy is an interior designer and an entrepreneur. She regularly helps her clients in Ireland to select garden sheds.