The first goal was to find a great deal on Cedar Point Discount Tickets.  Because of the short notice, I could not get the discount tickets on the cedar point website because they were only good on certain days.

Drug Mart turned out to be the best Cedar Point Discount Tickets we could find in short notice.  It saved us time and it saved our family of four about $18 I believe.

We went on a Friday to try to avoid the weekend crowd and there was also a chance of showers all day.  I actually looked at the satellite to see where the storm clouds were the morning before going and they appeared north of Sandusky.

This turned out to be a great call.  With it being a Friday and with a weather forecast of rain, we found the park fairly empty.  We only waited more than 5 minutes for a couple of the rides.

In the end, around 8 the rain did arrive and the coasters were shut down, but by then the kids were really tired and we just road a couple of the smaller rides still running and left.

They obviously added many kids rides that they purchased from Geauga Lake when it closed.  This was great because we have a 13 year old and a 5 year old – and both had a lot of fun.  There was plenty of things for the 5 year old to do.  I’d not come to Cedar Point in many years because I thought it was mostly coasters and not much for younger kids.

The kids coaster they got from Geauga Lake is much better than the kids coaster they have had from before.  It was my 5 year old’s favorite ride.

If you need to have a fun day that is affordable go get your Cedar Point discount tickets at Drug Mart and take the family out for a good time at Cedar Point.

That has really changed.  While this capital city may not be a hot torist destination, it is strategically located near the cost and an easy drive to many great beaches, including Puero Vallarta to the south and Mazatlan to the north.

We took Alexandra and Maya to Tepic and then out to Los Corchos Beach.  They had a blast playing in the sand and swimming.  The only negatives were the mosquitoes and the tight sleeping conditions because we stayed with family and did not stay in a hotel.

We are now seriously thinking about buying a house in Tepic, as it seems an ideal location that is close to many great places to relax.  We are also considering relocating there part of the year, as it would be easy to run an Internet business from there.  The Internet cafe’s had good, fast access.

If you compare Tepic to Guadalajara, it is not even a comparison.  While Tepic seems to be improving, Guadalajara seems to be getting more conjested and many older neighborhoods seem to have vacant buildings covered in graffiti.  It has new, modern neighborhoods as well, but it is pricy, poluted and less than charming.  The downtown areas are still wonderful to visit, but parking, like most major cities, is terrible.

Overall we had a great trip and did get a better idea of our strategy to start a business in Mexico, but it will be a while before we can execute the plan.

We recently needed to go to Guadalajara Mexico on very short notice.  One option was to fly, but that was going to run about $5,000.  We thought we could do the whole trip for much less if we drove.  We also knew that not having a car in Guadalajara is possible, but not convenient.

So we opted to drive into Mexico.

What are the issues?

• Security – With two young kids we were worried about crime.
• Poor Roads – We worried about the road conditions
• Insurance and Road Side Assistance – I did not even know that 040 is 911 in Mexico
• Getting Sick – We did not want to eat along the way and get sick.

Some precausions we took.

• Not traveling at night.  (Although we ended up doing it)
• Filling up on gas and food before crossing the Mexican border
• Getting a good nights sleep before crossing the Mexican border

Unexpected things for driving in Mexico

We crossed the Mexican Border in Laredo, Texas.  The Mexican side is really chaotic and we ended up paying tolls several times before we found the road to get to the visa place.  They were not making it easy.

Car Registration – We had to have origionals, not copies, of our car registration.  We did not have it and had to go back to the United States and get temporary tags in Texas.

Insurance – Your US insurance does not cover you in Mexico.  We bought extended travel insurance before we went and we bought our car insurace at a business close to the Mexican border.  A pleasant surprise was that it included roadside assistance.

Road Quality – Most of the roads were better than I expected.  They are building a network of new highways that are very nice, and most of our trip was on those.  What I did not expect was the very high tolls (cuotas) to travel on them.  From Laredo to Guadalajara was well over $100 US.  However, we felt very safe and they were good roads.  In many cases they were fenced in, making the livestock problem less of an issue.

Crime – The person that sold us the insurance said that the big problem with driving in Mexico is not the crime.  It is the livestock.  And as you drive you can see why.  People have cows and horses tied up right along the highway.  That is the number one reason you do not drive at night.  Since we did not experience any crime, I cannot say anything else.  Everyone has been friendly and great once we got away from the border.

Mexican road signs are not as clear and consistant.  You really need a map and to know where you are going.  Unfortunately, my GPS does not work in Mexico.  Talk about the dark ages.

Ultimately, 85% of the trip was exactly like driving in the United States.  Great, clean, smooth highways and no problems. 

The challenge was to make sure our 3 year old got a chance to ride a horse and our experienced horse back riding 11 year old also enjoyed herself.  We surfed the web and found a place that did trail rides as well as pony rides for younger kids.  The did the pony ride before the main trail rides started, so we all walked along as Maya rode her smaller horse that was lead by hand by a guide.  Since it was fairly steep in parts, I made sure I stayed close.

Then when that was over, I went on the trail ride along with our 11 year old for 45 minutes. 

The disadvantage of this was that my wife ended up getting left out, but since neither she or I are really into adventure horse riding, she did not mind too much.

Total cost was about $71 dollars and it took up most of a very nice fall day.  The kids really enjoyed this family adventure and Maya keeps talking about her horse every day.  I think it made a lasting impression.

However, much like many of you we are experiencing, financially it has been tight and we are keeping our adventures smaller.  We are in the Cleveland area, so going to the Pittsburgh Zoo is about a two hour trip for us and we made it our adventure in August.

It really is a nice zoo.  You walk a big circle and get to see a bunch of stuff.  The layout is better than many of the other zoos I have visited.  By the end, we were all tired, so it seemed the length is about right.

My kids said the highlight was seeing the baby elephants and our 3 year old loved petting the deer.

The polar bears were not jumping into the water this time, which was dissappointing.  The view in the glass tunnel of the polar bears is incredible.

Want more information on how to go to the zoo for almost free?  Read Family Budget Travel.

Here is the list as of June 2008:

We joined in Cleveland, but you should be able to join at any of these zoos.

The kids have a great time and the workout we get from walking around the zoos is great.  If you need some adventure on the cheap, a zoo membership is the way to go.

You may think you have to work in a travel company or be a big shot, but I assure you that anyone can develop this kind of lifestyle.

In my case, I spoke at a conference.  I know enough about the web that non-technical people find my advice very valuable and will pay me to speak.  Since my family helps me with these articles about Family Lifestyle Design, I can take them along as we experiment in ways to live a more adventurous life.

Here are some ideas you could do to get paid to travel.

1. Put on a workshop
2. Put together a tour group.
3. Scout for clients for where you work.
4. Write articles.
5. Speak
6. Courier
7. Seasonal Job

If you are earning some money from the web and can have flexibility, there are a lot of ways to work from exotic locations.

In February, we decided to make our family adventure the Kalahari Indoor Waterpark in Sandusky Ohio.  Kalahari’s website boasts that it is America’s largest indoor water park.  In February, nothing seems more like a welcome adventure than to go run around in your swimsuit and act like it is summer on water slides.

We decided to stay in a hotel room.  The package included the room, tokens, the water park and some discounts for under $300.  We were able to spend most of the two days in the water park, which would have cost more if we bought straight admission to the park for two days.

Whether you have a 2 year old or a 10 year old, Kalahari has a lot to do for all ages.  We spent a lot of time together in the wave pool.  Our younger daughter would then go with one of us over to the toddler area while the other half of the family would explore some of the many water slides.

The pool area was well kept, busy but not packed, and really fun for the kids.  If you are thinking about swimming some laps while the kids play, don’t get your hopes up.  The park has not place you can actually swim more than a few feet.  But there is a fitness room in the hotel, so go run and then play in the water.

Best of Kalahari

• We were there nearly 24 hours and did not have time to do everything.
• Life guards were quick to jump in and help someone that was struggling.
• Could almost feel like we were in Mexico with the margaritas by the pool.

Worst of Kalahari

• We took beach towels and did not need to.  We failed to take sandals and should have.
• Hotel room smelled like bacon from the people before us. (There is a microwave in the room) Our vegetarian daughter found that repulsive.
• Line at the counter to cash in your tickets from the games was disorganized and understaffed.  We wasted at least a ½ hour trying to cash in those tickets for some candy.  Not how I like to spend my time.
• While we got into our rooms early, we did hear other people complaining about taking a while to get the rooms.

Ideally, you will be able to go during the week when you can save some money on Kalahari.  They have discount packages during the week.    http://www.kalahariresorts.com/hub/

If you have a comment on your experience with Kalahari, please leave it in the comments section to help others decide if they should visit. 

We found many positive and negative comments at Kalahari Wisconsin and Kalahari Sandusky.

Overall, we did find Kalahari a bit pricy, especially if we were to just go for the day. While we had no major negative experiences, the reviews on the links above show that many people have.  Had we not gotten into our room early (luck) then it would have been impossible to start swimming as early as we did.  We’d have needed to rent several lockers to put our stuff in.  My solution to this is to leave everything in the car if you are checking in early.  Have your swimsuits on under your clothes, leave your coat & baggage in the car and go back for it once you have your room.  Then you should just need one locker ($5 + $5 key deposit) to stash everything in and swim until your room is ready.

We tentatively recommend Kalahari to charge your summer-time battery in the winter.  Just be ready for some bumps in the road and plan ahead for them. 

This year we took the challenge and bought a package for skiing.  It contains 6 weeks of lessons and passes, plus three free passes to use whenever we want.

After the first trip, our 10 year old daughter was ready to quit.  Luckily, we’d made the financial commitment and we were going back even if it killed us.

Now, 6 trips later, it is her favorite sport and we are thinking we should have bought a bigger package.  To help you get through that first ski trip, here are some tips we learned the hard way.

1. Boots go on and off much easier if you fully loosen them.  I mean take off the binding so it is flapping around.  We struggled the first couple of times because we did not know how loose they go.
2. The first time skiing stinks.  It does for everyone and you just have to go back and try it again.  Once you start to get it, you will love it.
3. Take lessons.  They usually offer fairly inexpensive lessons and they really do help you get the basics down so you can start enjoying it.
4. Don’t go someplace where they only have a tow rope.  Probably the thing that made our first trip the most miserable was that we had to use the tow rope.  It is a cable that has metal bars and you hang on as it drags you up the mountain.
5. Make sure your books are tight.  If you are not snug in those boots you have much less control.
6. Keep turning.  If you can keep turning, you will eventually be going up hill and slow down.
7. Go regularly when you are learning and you really do pick it up fast.  I can say I tried the black diamond once, and paid.  But I feel great on the intermediate hills.  Our first trip is a distant memory.
8. Use Goggles – If it is at all windy and cold, using goggles keeps the ice and snow from blowing in your eyes.  We bought a pair for $15 and it was a good investment.

If you are visiting us, I hope you have made a commitement to add more adventure to your life, and downhill skiing is a great and fun adventure.