Between baby Naomi’s summer birth and my intense work schedule it’s been nearly impossible for my family and I do any vacations this year.
A couple weeks ago we finally broke out of our rut and accepted two generous VIP invitations to briefly visit two of Central Florida’s best destinations: the Kennedy Space Center and Universal Studios Orlando.
Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center
I’ve been smitten with space travel ever since I visited Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in 1977 at the age of 7 during my first-ever family (more…)
Posted by PapiBlogger on Friday October 12th, 2012 at 11:30 AM
My wife Angela and I just concluded a whirlwind 12-day visit to the West Coast that included baby Naomi’s first airplane ride, her first family road trip courtesy of the new Ford Fusion, celebrity encounters with film stars, hanging out with hundreds of influential Latinos and a special development for PapiBlogger that will greatly benefit the future of this family forum.
Naomi’s 1st Flight Came with a Celebrity
Three months after her birth Naomi “finally” got her first plane ride on JetBlue (I was 16 before my first flight). Our trip from Ft. Lauderdale to L.A. was a good one for Naomi who took special interest in looking out the window but what made the flight extra interesting was that mid-flight I discovered I was sitting next to the incredibly talented tween actress Bailey Madison (“Bridge to Terabithia” and “Just Go With It”). (more…)
Posted by PapiBlogger on Tuesday August 21st, 2012 at 07:22 PM
Due to storm Isaac affecting most of our team that is based out of South Florida, we’ve had to re-schedule the twitter party as some of us are still without power. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you will join us next Tuesday, September 4th at 9pm ET. We’ll be adding more prizes..spread the word and hope to see you there!Our road trippers are back and we are throwing them a party! Join me and Hispanicize as we celebrate our six social media influencers who just returned from an epic road trip through the US. They all traveled with the shared mission of visiting historic sites protected by the National Park Service that honor the contributions of Latinos throughout American history–and that deserves a celebration!
Our twitter party will include prizes and fun trivia games, and give you the opportunity to ask the bloggers about their favorite stops and national sites.
Prizes Include:
-$100 SuperBoletería gift card. (SuperBoletería is an online Spanish-language marketplace that sells tickets to sporting events, theatre shows, and concerts worldwide RSVP below to be eligible to win prizes)
- Verizon Wirless MiFi
To be prepared for the prize questions, check out the bloggers’ road trip journals by clicking on their links below, search for hashtag #LatinoHeritage.
See you next Tuesday!
Lance Rios of Being Latino: Rios (@BeingLatino)and his team from Being Latino were the first team to head out and they didn’t disappoint. Check our their road trip chronicles from New York City to Washington, D.C. on www.BeingLatino.us.
Alex de Carvalho of Social Media Club South Florida: de Carvalho (@AlexDC) and his father toured Texas, New Mexico and parts of Arizona and took some amazing photographs along the way. Check out his updated here alexdc.org.
Eva Smith of Latina Mom Bloggers/Tech.Food.Life Blog: Smith (@Eva_Smith) and her family documented the Southwest starting in San Diego, California and through Arizona and New Mexico. Her travels can be read on www.techfoodlife.com.
Cristy Clavijo-Kish of Hispanicize/Los Tweens: Clavijo-Kish (@LatinoMarketing) and her adorable family explored the Mid-Atlantic Region. Her road trip stories are posted on www.LosTweens.com.
Sonia Guerra: Florida Latina lifestyle blogger Babushka (@bbabushka) drove part of the state of Florida and documented her hilarious and educational experience on http://bohemianbabushka.blogspot.com/.
Maria de los Angeles of Sex and the Beach: de los Angeles (@ViceQueenMaria) De los Angeles blogged about her adventures at http://sexandthebeach.blogspot.com/
Posted by PapiBlogger on Thursday August 25th, 2011 at 12:25 AM
If you’re a vegetarian, this story is not for you. If you love beef, read on.
On the 42nd day of our family road trip I finally fulfilled my dream of eating lunch with my wife and kids in Houston at my favorite beef restaurant in the entire United States: Churrascos.
If you love great food, and especially if you are passionate for skirt steak like I am, trust me when I say that Churrascos has the BEST one anywhere. In addition to having their awesome skirt steak, Churrascos also features the world champion greatest Tres Leches. Even Miami’s own Los Ranchos restaurant doesn’t have a Tres Leches that compares.
Churrascos is owned by a Nicaraguan chef Michael Cordua and is part of a franchise of local restaurants that includes the equally brilliant Americas restaurant.
Posted by PapiBlogger on Monday August 22nd, 2011 at 04:00 PM
I was truly honored to plank for Minnie Mouse. She was dressed in Hawaiian garbs to promote the new Aulani Resort in Hawaii.
Vacations are a time for exploring, having fun and just being plain silly. This summer we heard about a new social media phenomena called planking, or plankiando in Spanish. It’s a really stupid, harmless thing that entails laying straight like a log with your feet and your hands straight and your face down. There is absolutely no meaning to planking except that in our case I tried to do it with famous places and people. Almost no one had seen this done but in a couple places like the Golden Gate Bridge and in front of the Hollywood Walk of Fame we did overhear people say, “look, they’re planking!” Planking made our 44-day road trip so much funner! I hope you enjoy our collection of road trip planks!
My toddler Briani joined her sister Elena and I for her first plank in front of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.
I couldn't believe we were allowed to plank in front of the Coca-Cola Polar Bear.
Roadside oddities are part of what makes family road trips fun so when we learned that our Texas travels on day 36th of our adventure would take us through the colorful Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, we simply couldn’t resist making this place the first of our two awesome pitstops in Texas this day.
Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac Ranch, also nicknamed CarHenge, is the name of a empty cow pasture near Amarillo, Texas that features 10 Cadillacs that are half-buried nose-first. The Cadillacs are part of a public art installation created by the art group Ant Farm in 1974 and owned by local millionaire Stanley Marsh 3, who also commissioned the project. (more…)
Posted by PapiBlogger on Thursday August 18th, 2011 at 10:04 PM
We walked on glaciers, hung out with bears, planked with Elvis and even got the rare opportunity to open the Magic Kingdom with Mickey Mouse but on the 44th day of our family road trip all that we could think about was getting back home.
Latina blogger Stephanie Ruiz of Midtown Chica came to welcome us, one of numerous bloggers we hung out with throughout our trip.
Six hours after departing from Madison, Florida for the final leg of our epic drive aboard the PapiMobile (a 2011 Buick Enclave), we arrived at the Miami Williamson Buick GMC dealership where our family, friends and media awaited us (more…)
Posted by PapiBlogger on Wednesday August 17th, 2011 at 03:55 PM
The Grand Canyon is truly of the most beautiful places on Earth but unfortunately it also overshadows many surrounding natural treasures that are worth your visit. One of those very special, must see places in the United States is Arizona’s Petrified Forest, the star of our family road trip’s 35th day.
Yes, that REALLY, REALLY is "Mater" from the movies Cars and Cars 2. This particular vehicle was the inspiration for that Disney Pixar's character.
Sedona, Arizona is one of our favorite places in the whole United States so on the 34th day of our family road trip we ventured to see some of the things that makes this place so special. Here’s seven things that we think make Sedona a terrific family destination:
- The red rock canyons. These rocks are everywhere and they especially shine “reddest” at sunrise and sunset, the best time to photograph or video tape them.
- Slide Rock Park. This park features a large spring that has natural water chutes that propel you through the rocks. One part of the park also features a canyon with 12 foot cliffs that you can dive into the water from. The water is frigid but your body will get used to it. Diving from the 12-foot cliff is scary and exhilarating at the same time.
View of Slide Rock Park, a Must See place in Sedona.
- An easy and great place to hike and bike. The hiking paths in particular are not hard and offer beautiful walks right up to the red canyons. This is like walking among the lower parts of the Grand Canyon. (more…)
Can our road trip get any stranger? The 33rd day of our family road trip proved that when it comes to the PapiBlogger clan, the answer is a resounding yes.
Genesis of Trouble
We started the 33rd day of our family road trip with plans for a casual, 400-plus mile “driving day” from Barstow, California to Sedona, Arizona. We deliberately stayed in Barstow because it is strategically located in the southwestern chin of the picturesque Mojave Desert in California, which I wanted to videotape and photograph. (more…)
