Archive for July
Posted by PapiBlogger on Tuesday July 19th, 2011 at 09:00 AM
My wife is a great sport to have let us take this unflattering photo of her getting her root canal.
A day after the biggest crisis of our family road trip experiences, we arrived in the beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado, nervous and very worried for the health of Jonathan and Angela.
Urgent Care
After doing some research online and consulting with family, Angela and I decided to give an urgent care center the reins to our son Jonathan’s health. Jonathan’s clothes looked like a mess from our overnight stay in our PapiMobile in Kansas so in order for him to be more presentable for the doctor my wife and I bought him some new, comfortable clothing.
After he got his shot, Jonathan nearly fainted so the urgent care folks gave him plenty of water and took his blood pressure before discharging him.
When Jonathan and I walk into the urgent care facility he was trembling in fear he would be either hospitalized, given injections or worse. When I his age, I was the same so I understood what he was feeling.
The doctor examined Jonathan and diagnosed him with (more…)
Tags: Colorado Springs, dentist, diaper rash, doctor, Making Memories, PapiBlogger
Posted in 2011 PapiBlogger Family Road Trip, Family Travel Diaries | 1 Comment »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Monday July 18th, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Ritzville, Washington to Bellingham, Washington
Total 300 miles
DISCLOSURE: Disney Parks and Buick are sponsors of the PapiBlogger Making Memories Family Road Trip. This year’s PapiMobile is a 2011 Buick Enclave
Posted in Parenting Tricks | No Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on at 02:31 PM
Family Plankiando with Elvis: You ain't never seen this before at Graceland!
I recall I was watching TV with my late grandparents Manolo and Margarita on that fateful August day in 1977 when a network news anchor interrupted regular programming to declare that Elvis was dead at 42. Elvis’ passing was the first celebrity death I remember and it stunned my Cuban grandparents in particular because he was so young when he died.
Access to the second floor, which is where Elvis collapsed, is prohibited.
(more…)
Tags: Elvis mansion, Graceland, Memphis, PapiBlogger, PapiBlogger.TV
Posted in 2011 PapiBlogger Family Road Trip, Family Travel Diaries | 1 Comment »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Thursday July 14th, 2011 at 11:05 PM
Colorado Springs, Colorado to Manitou Springs, Colorado
Total: 34 miles
States Traveled so far: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado
DISCLOSURE: Disney Parks and Buick are sponsors of the PapiBlogger Making Memories Family Road Trip. This year’s PapiMobile is a 2011 Buick Enclave
Posted in Parenting Tricks | No Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Tuesday July 12th, 2011 at 09:41 PM
Elvis' birthplace home.
On Day 5 of our Making Memories Family Road Trip we were supposed to reach Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee but fatigue and bad weather forced us to instead improvise a trip toElvis’ Birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, just two hours away from Graceland.
My girls in the front porch of Elvis' childhood home.
Elvis’ Birthplace
If you’re an Elvis aficionado, or even if you just love all things Americana, visiting Tupelo is a worthwhile pit stop because this small town gives you a historical and environmental context to who Elvis was and who he would become that you can’t get anywhere else. (more…)
Tags: birthplace, Elvis, Making Memories, Mississippi, PapiBlogger, Road Trip, Tupelo
Posted in Family Travel Diaries, Parenting Tricks | No Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on at 01:08 PM
Plankiando with the Coke polar bear from left to right are: Gringo Papi (Shawn Hutcheson), PapiBlogger and Mike Jolly.
Day 4 of the Making Memories Family Road Trip took us for a pitstop visit to Atlanta’s World of Coca-Cola where we met up with Latina bloggers Jennifer Hutcheson (Mami2Mommy) and Piera Jolly (Latina Mom Bloggers and Jolly Mom) and their families for a short but eventful visit that included some surprising plankiando (planking).
PapiBlogger and the Blogger Familias, pictured here, from l to right: PapiBlogger, Angela Ruiz, Piera Jolly, Mike Jolly, Jennifer Hutcheson and Shaun Hutcheson. Front row: Elena, Lucas, Briani, Shauncito and Jonathan.
The World of Coca-Cola
A huge downpour greeted us outside the World of Coca-Cola, which was welcomed because the weather throughout the entire southeastern United States was scorching and the wait time to get into the museum was about 30 minutes. The museum ($16 for adults and $12 for children) is a colorful, interactive monument to the world’s most recognizable brand and despite being a bit too commercial for my own taste, we enjoyed the visit. (more…)
Tags: 64 flavors, Coke, Jolly Mom, Latina mom bloggers, Mami2Mommy, Mike Jolly, PapiBlogger, PapiBlogger Making Memories Road Trip, Plankiando, Road Trip, World of Coke
Posted in Family Travel Diaries | 4 Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Monday July 11th, 2011 at 09:31 AM
We couldn't believe the incredible blessing we had to be THE family chosen to open the Magic Kingdom! This photo was taken from the Main Street U.S.A. train station platform. Below us thousands of people.
The experience was so powerful I couldn't put my little camera down.
This was only part of our family's view from above the Main Street U.S.A. train station.
Surreal. Unbelievable. Magical.
When my wife and I thought about a cool way to launch this summer’s epic family road trip from Miami to Alaska we didn’t dream of what Disney randomly selected us to do Friday: be THE official family guests opening the entire Magic Kingdom!
In the annals of our family’s legendary traveling history – and we’ve logged more than 14,000 miles in four years of combined trips – we’ve had some really cool experiences but nothing so far compares to opening the Magic Kingdom, a Disney tradition that one lucky family gets daily.
Our family aboard the famous antique Disney fire truck.
The park opening experience included: (more…)
Tags: Buick Enclave, Disney Destinations, EPCOT, General Motors, Magic Kingdom, Mainstreet U.S.A., Mickey Mouse, Mission Space, PapiBlogger, Road Trip
Posted in Family Travel Diaries | 7 Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on at 12:48 AM
The Disney All-Star Movie Resort features characters from such classic movies as 101 Dalmatians and Herbie the Love Bug.
One of the best tips I can give families visiting Disney Parks and resorts is to combine hearty days of theme park fun with equally long days of rest and relaxation in between. A day after starting our best of Disney theme parks visit we decided to recharge by hanging out with our family at some of the Disney resorts and restaurants.
This is the magical broom from The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Other All Star Resorts feature other famous Disney characters as well as giant items like footballs and hockey nets. Copyright, PapiBlogger 2011.
Even though we stayed at the Contemporary Resort, which is located “across the street” from the Magic Kingdom, we spent most of our relaxation day at two of the All Star Resorts where my family stayed, the All-Star Movies and the All-Star Music Resorts. (more…)
Tags: Disney resorts, Kona Cafe, PapiBlogger, Polynesian Resort, resort experience, Road Trip, The Wave
Posted in 2011 PapiBlogger Family Road Trip, Family Travel Diaries | 6 Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Friday July 8th, 2011 at 07:23 AM
To learn how you can take this photo scroll to the bottom of this story. Hint: You'll need a tripod. (Photo copyright, PapiBlogger 2011).
My wife and I are notorious for always working so when it comes time to take vacations with our children, we don’t mess around. Our definition of vacation starts and ends with adventure and imagination so when you combine those two words in one sentence there’s no better place to start a creative, 36-day family road trip vacation than the best spot on the planet to create memories: Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando.
No, we did not Photoshop this photo. (Photo copyright PapiBlogger, 2011).
(more…)
Tags: character breakfast, Cinderella's Castle, Crystal Palace, Disney Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, R2D2, Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Tower of Terror
Posted in Family Travel Diaries | 2 Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Wednesday July 6th, 2011 at 11:00 AM
We're off to the Magic Kingdom and beyond!
I just wanted to share with you the announcement that is going to be distributed today about the epic family blogging adventure that my wife, three kids and I are kicking off this week. It all commences in one of the most incredible destinations on the planet: the Magic Kingdom. Enjoy and please do stay for the entire ride, which you can also track through our Twitter hashtag #DisneyPapi!
Whales, Glaciers and Disney Parks: PapiBlogger Travels from Miami to Alaska for Summer’s Ultimate Family Road Trip
A year after logging 12,000 miles with my family during a summer odyssey that took us through 33 states, social media entrepreneur Manny Ruiz – aka the “PapiBlogger” – is headed on the road again.
We'll be getting an in-depth view at Disney's terrific resorts during our stays in Orlando, our cruise and Disneyland.
Starting July 8, PapiBlogger (http://www.papiblogger) will be “doing Disney” coast-to-coast and beyond the blue horizon plus several of America’s national parks during a 37-day adventure that will touch 18 states from Florida to Alaska.
During the epic family trip, geography and science class will be in session for Jonathan (11), Elena (7) and Briani (2). They will see glaciers, search for whales and bears as well as marvel at mountains and valleys on a Disney Cruise Line® vacation to Alaska (more…)
Tags: 2011 Buick Enclave, Contemporary Resort, Disney Parks, Disney resorts, Miami to Alaska, viaje familiar
Posted in 2011 PapiBlogger Family Road Trip, Family Travel Diaries | No Comments »
Posted by PapiBlogger on Monday July 4th, 2011 at 11:03 PM
For the second year in a row PapiBlogger is taking to the road for an epic family trip that we believe has got to qualify us for the Guinness Book of World Record’s feat for most miles driven by a blogger with his wife and three young kids. Well, there may not be an official record for such a thing but I have to think that adding last year’s 12,000 miles plus this year’s anticipated mileage will qualify us for some sort of wild family prize.
(more…)
Tags: 2011 Buick Enclave, Bose speakers, GPS, OnStar, Papimobile
Posted in 2011 PapiBlogger Family Road Trip, Family Travel Diaries | 8 Comments »
