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flyingarnolds

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#wanderlustwednesday to when we flew our own airplane to France. We have the passport stamps to prove it!
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Did you know that there are islands just south of Newfoundland, Canada that are still part of France? Check out Saint Pierre et Miquelon.
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We were there for one night on our trip to Newfoundland in 2012. From the cars, the food and even the electrical plugs you felt like you were in Europe. Being small islands, the people were most definitely reliant upon the water for work and play, as you can see by these boathouses.
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#spmexception #saintpierreetmiquelon #offthebeatenpath #flyingfamily #whywefly #exploremore #generalaviation

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FIVE! Happy Birthday buddy!
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#happybirthday #fiveyearold #flyingarnolds @whathudsoneats

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#throwbackthursday to our very first trip to Europe. As kids, neither of our families had the budget for much travel, let alone traveling across an ocean. So this trip was a big deal and a new experience for both of us.
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We spent a magical month in France. We departed for France right after I graduated from university and we came back just before the results were posted to see if I had passed my exam to become at CPA.
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This shot was taken at some point during the middle 2 weeks of our trip. We were joined by two other couples and we rented a penichette (aka a live-aboard canal boat) in the southwest part of France. We spent 2 weeks navigating the canal system between Montpellier and Toulouse. Part of our trip was along the Canal du Midi, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2017. It was an absolutely unforgettable trip.
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#canalboat #southwestfrance #canaldumidi #penicette

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#tbt #throwbackthursday to our very first cross country flying trip after H was born. He was 3 months old. Our flight was from Waterloo, ON (just west of Toronto) to Burlington, VT, to visit our good friends at their cottage.
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Ever since H was born (in 2015), he and Mama have spent most of the time together in the backseat of our airplane. The backseat is actually super comfortable with lots of room to move around. Daddy has been up front and has been our amazing pilot on all our flying adventures.
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During 2019 there were a couple flying trips where H told Mama to ride up front with Daddy so he could have the backseat all to himself. It was usually when he was tired and wanted to lay down to rest/sleep. When our 2020 flying trips officially start up again (in April or May), we will see if he he wants the co-pilot seat or backseat more…
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#c195 #cessna195 #generalaviation #aviationfamily #flyingfamily #familyflying #flyingarnolds #aviationadventures #haveplanewilltravel #madlyoffinalldirections #aviationlife #aviationlovers #eaa @theaviatorstv

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Parque Josone is a 22 acre park in downtown Varadero that dates back to 1940. It was a lovely place to wander away from the busy main street in town.
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#varadero #varaderocuba #myvaradero #cubatravel #travelingfamily #familyadventures #exploringfamily #flyingarnolds

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Dreaming about being back on the beach in Cuba...
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#escapingwinter #beachvacation #varaderocuba #varaderobeach #travelingfamily #familyadventures #exploringfamily #travelmoreoften #flyingarnolds #myvaradero

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Museo Casa Natal de Jose Antonio Echeverria is one of the three museums around the main square in Cardenas. We took a short tour through this museum. Photography was not allowed inside the museum.
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#cubatravel #cubagallery #cuba2day #autenticacuba #cardenas #cardenascuba #travelingfamily #familyadventures #exploringfamily #flyingarnolds

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Cardenas is a city about 20 km from Varadero. It is the 15th largest city in Cuba and is where many of the Varadero resort employees live.
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The city has a lot of history and is where a lot of “firsts” happened in Cuba. In 1850 the Cuban flag was raised for the first time in Cardenas. The city was also one of the first to have electricity, public trams for transportation, telegraph and telephone.
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Horse drawn buggies or pedal bicycles are the main modes of transportation. It is a bit like taking a step back in time standing in the main square surrounded by old colonial buildings (that now house museums).
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#cubatravel #cubagallery #cuba2day #autenticacuba #cardenas #travelingfamily #familyadventures #exploringfamily #flyingarnolds
@autenticacuba

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Santa Elvira church in downtown Varadero.
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During one morning last week we took a walk from our resort into downtown Varadero. There are lots of shops and restaurants that are obviously geared towards tourists. In any case we enjoyed the walk and getting off the resort for a the little glimpse of real Cuba.
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#escapingwinter #varadero #varaderocuba #cubatravel #travelingfamily #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamily #flyingarnolds

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Varadero beach is one of the prettiest beaches we have visited so far. The sand is so white and soft. When you go for a dip in the ocean it is shallow for quite a distance out (which is especially perfect for little ones).
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We are typically not the all-inclusive type. But 2019 was a bit of a crazy year for us, so we just needed some time to unwind and relax as a family. It is wonderful when the big decisions of the day are to go to the beach or pool or both and which buffet or a la carte to eat at.
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#escapingwinter #beachvacation #varaderocuba #varaderobeach #meliainternacional #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #travelmoreoften #flyingarnolds
@varaderobeach.cuba @_varaderobeach

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In one week we’ll be seeing views like this 🏖🌴☀️🌊. Can’t wait!
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#travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #beachgetaway #escapingwinter #palmtrees #flyingarnolds

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As we get closer to the New Year we’ve been reminiscing about all the trips we did in the airplane in 2019. The most epic one was Alaska and Yukon in July.
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We were away for 21 days and in the airplane for 54 flight hours. Most of the flight hours were spent just getting to Alaska and back home. Our first stay in Alaska was in Gustavus and that was the only reservation that we were able to stick to. The poor visibility due to the smoke from the forest fires mixed with some weather here and there prevented us from keeping to the rest of our schedule. But we revised our itinerary on the “fly” and it all worked out wonderfully.
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This is a picture flying west through the northern Rockies near Muncho Lake, BC. We were following the Alaska Highway through the valley headed towards Watson Lake, Yukon. Pictures don’t do the views justice.
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#canadianrockies #alaskahighway #mountainflying #alaskabound #generalaviation #flyingfamily #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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And for Country music fans like us, a trip to Nashville is not complete without going to the Grand Ole Opry! Including a backstage tour after the show (which is only available on certain days).
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There is something special about the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville when it comes to Country music and it’s history. We have certainly not researched this, but after visiting Nashville, we have asked ourselves what other music genre has a single location that contains so much history for a specific type of music? We don’t think there is any other place (but we are happy to be corrected).
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#nashville #nashvilletennesse @nashvilletn #explorenashville #musiccity #grandoleopry #grandoleoprybackstage #countrymusiclover #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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Nashville’s nickname is “Music City”. Although you might associate the city with Country music you can find music from many genres at venues around the city.
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During our trip in June we asked different locals (waiters, waitresses, bar tenders, etc) for recommendations on where to go to see some good local live music. More than once The Basement East in East Nashville came up. And it just so happened to be walking distance from our AirBnB.
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So we decided to check it out. The main attraction the night we went was a home grown band called The Foxies. Alternative rock/punk/indie pop. Even though we didn’t know any of the songs we had an awesome time. We loved the truly local experience.
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Do any of you ask for recommendations from locals when you are travelling?
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#nashville #nashvilletennesse @nashvilletn #explorenashville #musiccity #thebasementeast #thefoxies #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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In June we enjoyed a 4 day trip to Nashville, TN. This was a Mama and Daddy only trip. H stayed with family and was spoiled rotten.
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We did a family trip to Nashville in May of 2018 and loved exploring the city. But with a little one we couldn’t fully experience the museums, music and night life. So that’s why we decided to return again this year without the little man.
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It was a wonderful 4 days just the two of us. We covered a lot of ground, ate way to much food, imbibed on many delicious cocktails and experienced lots of live music.
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One of the museums/historic homes we visited was Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage (pictured here). The mansion and plantation were owned by him from 1804 until his death in 1845. There is a museum about Andrew Jackson’s life and presidency. You can also tour the home and grounds. Definitely worth a visit if you are into history.
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#nashville #nashvilletennesse @nashvilletn #explorenashville #musiccity #andrewjacksonshermitage
#travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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Following Disney we flew to Pensacola, FL to spend the weekend with our airplane “family”. Every May, since 2013, we have organized a weekend trip for the International Cessna 195 Club. It gives us and members of the Club an excuse to fly somewhere and have some fun together in a new place.
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The destinations are usually selfish picks for our family. But since we are the ones organizing the weekend that’s okay, right?!
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The main reason for picking Pensacola this year was so that we could go to the National Naval Aviation Museum. It is the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and is located at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola (also home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team). We also have a friend that works at the museum so we were able to organize a special tour for our group.
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The museum has more than 150 restored airplanes on display to tell the history of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Aviation. H is standing in front of 4 retired A-4 Skyhawks that were once flow by the Blue Angels. We would highly recommend a visit even if you are not big into aviation. And the best part is that admission, parking and tours are free!
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(And yes, we are Canadian… but we do love our neighbours to the South! H is proudly wearing a shirt our good friends from Mississippi gave to him. Above the flag on his shirt it says “Mr Independent”, which perfectly describes him.)
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#pensacola #pensacolaflorida #experiencepcola #pensacolavibes #navalaviationmuseum @navalaviationmuseum #nationalnavalaviationmuseum #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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We got to experience the “rope drop” craziness on our last day at Disney World. As hard as we tried we could not get a FastPass for the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster. At the time of our visit it was the most popular ride at Hollywood Studios. And of course that was the one roller coaster that H kept talking about, so we had to figure out another way to avoid the super long line ups.
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While researching for our trip we learned that they typically let you through the gates about 45 mins before all of the parks officially open. You can get into the parks only so far and then the park attendants have the roadways/walkways to the rides blocked off until the official park opening time. When the rope drops it is a mad “dash” to get to the top rides and then you get to line up again. The wait was definitely shorter than the posted wait times for the rest of the day.
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Slinky Dog Dash was worth it though! And it was a new experience that we gained together as a family. But where possible be sure to book a FastPass!
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#waltdisneyworld #hollywoodstudios #toystoryland #slinkydogdash #disneyfamilyvacation #firsttriptodisney #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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For our 5 days at Disney we actually stayed off property. Our friends that came with us had tons of Hilton points so got their room and our room using points. We have the best friends!
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After some research we learned that some off property hotels close to Disney Springs are affiliated with Disney. What this means is that you get some of the benefits as if you were staying on property, such as booking FastPasses 60 days out and extra magic hours at the parks. There is also bus transportation from the hotel to all of the parks.
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We had stayed on property on a previous trip to Walt Disney World which we enjoyed very much. But we actually preferred staying off property in the Disney Springs area. So if you have hotel points for any of the major chains you should definitely do a little research to see if there is a Disney affiliate hotel off property. A trip to Walt Disney World is not cheap so being able to save on accommodations helps big time!
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#waltdisneyworld #epcot #spaceshipearth #disneyfamilyvacation #firsttriptodisney #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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The Disney Photopass is definitely worth the money. It allowed us to get great family photos at all the parks, as well as photos from some rides, character meet and greets and character dining.
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The other thing that people might not know is that any of the photographers will graciously take pictures with your phone or camera. Which we also took advantage of.
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All of the photographers are great and spend the time with you to capture traditional shots as well as some fun shots. The photographer that took this shot had a great sense of humour 😁.
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#waltdisneyworld #animalkingdom #avataranimalkingdom #disneyfamilyvacation #firsttriptodisney #disneyphotopass #travelingfamily #travelingtogether #familytravels #familyadventures #exploringfamilies #travelmoreoften #adventureiscalling #letsgoexplore #exploringtogether #flyingarnolds

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