Honda Bear Goes Coast to Coast!

The Honda Bear has been having a fantastic couple of months!  (Honda Bear, for those of you who haven't heard, is a friendly bear that gets to go on adventures with me, Sarah Kimmel, (aka the Honda Mom, or Tech4Moms).  He sits in my Honda, and travels around with me).  Typically Honda Bear doesn't get out of Utah that much, but lucky for him, I had places to go last month!

First up, Honda Bear drove up to the airport with me when I was heading out of town to go to New York city.  

He looked at me from the car window when I was heading into the airport, and I just couldn't leave him there, he looked like he wanted to go so badly!  So I opened the Odyssey back up and grabbed him to come along for the ride.

In New York City Honda Bear got to...

Hang out in a swanky New York Hotel room...

Visit Rockefeller Center, and look at the Christmas Tree...

Ride the subway...

And visit Times Square!

He had such a fantastic trip!  He was definitely glad to be back home in his Honda Odyssey though a few days later.  

Shortly after the trip to New York (and I'm talking days after), I had to go to Southern California for work.  Since Honda Bear had such a great time in New York, I took him with me there too.

In California Honda Bear got to...

Go to Disneyland....

And of course, the beach!

Honda Bear is happy to be back in Utah now though, and has some fun stuff planned for this month!  Check back to find out what he's been up to in a few weeks!

Tips for a Great Staycation

It's a well known fact that people who live in Cleveland never go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  People who live in Southern California rarely go to the beach (unless they are a surfer), and many Utahns rarely get up the mountain to go skiing.  It's usually because when we do have some time off, everyone would rather go out of town than stay in.  I definitely understand that, as most of my vacations end up in Southern California.  Gas is expensive, flights are expensive, and sometimes you can have just as good of a vacation without going very far!

Before I was married, I went on a trip with my friends.  We went sailing in the ocean.  We lived in Newport Beach and we sailed up to Long Beach.  It's literally a 30 minute drive from where we started.  It took us all day, but it felt like we had traveled SO far!  It seriously felt like a vacation, even though we were really only 30 minutes away from home.

So, how do you make a "staycation" feel more like a real vacation?  Here's a few tips...

1. Mode of transportation - Sometimes just changing up the way you get there can make all the difference in the world.  I know it's hard to leave your Honda, but you *can* drive to a train station and take a train somewhere, or take a taxi, or go for a long bike ride to a camp site.  When you travel using a different method, or even just drive the "long way" to a location, it can feel like it's a world away.

2. Explore what is right in your back yard!  One of the best ways to explore what is right under your nose is to go Geocaching.  This is where you use GPS tools to go on a scavenger hunt.  People have left notes or small items all over every city!  You could spend all day discovering these items.  Along the way you will be able to appreciate the beauty that is all around you every day!

3. Do the touristy things.  If you had someone coming to visit from out of town, what would they want to do?  Finally go skiing?  Go to a local museum?  Use an app like Field Trip for Android to find all the great things to see and do right where you are.

4. Sleep somewhere fun.  To really make it feel like a vacation, spend some money on a local hotel or motel, or even just change up the sleeping arrangements at your house.  Everyone camp out in the backyard, or in the living room.  Something to go outside of the norm to really give it that vacation feel.

Get out and explore the area you live in!  Your wallet might just breathe a big sigh of relief!

Fav Feature: 2014 Odyssey Auto Sliding Doors

There is a feature in the Honda Odyssey that I probably use more than any other feature (besides the Bluetooth link, cause that just happens every time I get in the car no matter what). It’s the automatic sliding doors, and I am smitten with them.

When I first pulled up at the elementary school to drop off my daughter and her friend for school, and with the push of a button their door magically opened and they disembarked…BEST DAY EVER.

Now lets talk about errands. It was a cold rainy Saturday afternoon. I work full time, so most of my errands get done on Saturdays. Since I can’t really pick and choose my errands day, I had to go out in the cold wet weather. On the way to the car I pushed the button on my key fob to open both of the side doors and the trunk. The car opened, I unloaded my groceries and loaded my kids up in the car in what had to be world record setting time. I hopped into the car myself, and we were off. I prayed to the automotive gods for this technological wonder.

To read the rest of Sarah Kimmel's post go here.  

Blogger Sarah Kimmel takes her 2014 Odyssey (and Honda Bear) to see the lights.

If the Holiday Season wasn't so darn cold here in Utah, it would probably be my absolute favorite time of year. It's all those years I spent living in Southern California. Frigid Temperatures aside, I absolutely adore Holiday music, love Holiday lights, and absolutely, positively LOVE cheesy made for TV Holiday movies. All I have to say about that right now is that my DVR runneth over! So what makes me super happy? Loading up my kids in the car, grabbing a mug of hot chocolate, and exploring all of the houses that go ALL out with their holiday decorations. There is a great map on Google Maps that has ALL the specially lighted homes around Utah Valley. You can see the map here.


View Utah Holiday Lights Map in a larger map

 So Honda Bear and I loaded up in my 2014 Honda Odyssey and decided to go check some of them out last night! First we went to Thanksgiving Point, which is always so much fun. If you are a member at Thanksgiving point, you get a discount too!

    

Next we hit up some of the houses around the Lehi area.

 

 We loved this one on 380 west in Lehi! So definitely take your family out for a drive and visit some of the special holiday lights in the area! Next stop for us this weekend is Temple Square!

Tech 4 Mom's Test Drive with Stacie's Place

Sarah Kimmel took Stacie (of Stacie's Place) out to dinner and on a test drive of the 2013 Honda Accord.  Stacie's favorite feature? The steering wheel. 

"[Stacie] was so in love with the steering wheel of the car (which could help you answer the phone, change the volume, the song, the display on the monitor in the car, etc etc.  She even said 'I wish I could just take this steering wheel off and put it in my car!'  She just loved having all the controls right there available to to her without taking her hands off the wheel!"

Read Sarah's whole post here.

Photo Credit: Tech 4 Moms

Tech 4 Moms Takes Formerly Phread For a Spin

Blogger Sarah Kimmel has been on a #HondaTestDrive in a 2013 Honda Accord.  We sent her off on a trip to California and now that she's home, she's taking other bloggers our for a spin.

"This week I’m going fast and furious with the test drives.  The next ones will definitely be more spread out, but I had to make up for lost time in California!  My very first test drive was none other than my friend Jenny Eckton of Formerly Phread.

I arrived at her house and told her to hop into the drivers seat.  When she saw the button to turn the car on, she said “is this all I push?”  I confirmed, and she turned the car on.  Then she said “It’s like we live in the FUTURE!”  It really is amazing to just push a button and have the car turn on.  Especially when you’ve been used to turning a key to start the ignition for the last 20 years!" 

Read the rest of Sarah Kimmel's (aka Tech 4 Moms) post here. 

Cars: Another Piece of Technology

Today's cars are full of technology.  From the keyless driving on the new Honda Accord to the shop-vac on the 2014 Honda Odyssey, Hondas are full of the latest tech and fully connectable (is that a word?) to your latest gadget.

It only made sense to partner with IT geek and blogger Sarah Kimmel from Technology for Moms to have her check out the Honda technology.  To start, we've given Sarah a test drive in a 2013 Honda Odyssey for her family trip to CA.  To see how it goes follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google +.  Make sure you track #HondaTestDrive!

Sarah definitely has room for souvenirs!

She's off to a good start!