Traveling with Airbnb
Today I'm sharing a little of our life lately on the blog as well as sharing with you a bit about the crazy adventure I have planned for my kids and I - and an idea that's worth considering if you like making an extra buck here and there.
Last weekend we attended the Linden Hills Farmers Market - Maker Day. Such a cool round up of local makers with really nice price points and a really approachable vibe. It took place the same day as the Edina Art Fair - which if you've been, can feel a little overwhelming on a busy day. This was a nice alternative after we spent most of the weekend wandering the Art Fair. Many of them will be back selling at the Linden Hills Market this weekend if you were planning to attend!
I pretty much own the snow cone stand after a weekend at the Edina Art Fair. Downside to living in such close proximity to 50th & France. Anyone able to attend last weekend? It was a hot one!
A favorite weekend outing of ours is going for donuts. If you love donuts, we like heading to YoYo Donuts in Minnetonka (they are peanut-free by the way!)
Now that it's warm, grab your donuts to-go and head a quarter-mile down Shady Oak Road to Lone Lake Park. Follow the road down to the very bottom where the trees part revealing the most incredible park. Walking paths, amazing playground, shaded picnic area and more. A nice alternative to trying to find seating at YoYo!
YoYo Donuts - 5757 Sanibel Drive, Minnetonka, Lone Lake Park - 5624 Shady Oak Road, Minnetonka
Our kids wrapped up school this week and summer as we know it is officially underway. We spent the evening tubing down Minnehaha Creek from St. Stephen's (at 50th Street & Wooddale Avenue in Edina) to Arden Park.
If you follow me on Instagram, you saw our journey in my Insta Stories. If not, I must insist you take the adventure for yourself. That distance takes about 25 minutes and ending at Arden Park is a great way to enjoy a picnic dinner. We are daring to venture a little further this weekend - I'll let you know what we find (hopefully no rapids;-)
I've shared my guide to Summer Camp Planning more than once on the blog - as a parent of 4 kids, I like to think I've earned my Summer Planning badge more than once now. However, I'd be lying if I didn't say that sometimes the driving, planning and regimented schedules of summer can be taxing. This year, I decided to throw caution to the wind and use the same budget I typically set aside for summer camps to take my kids on an adventure.
One frigid January evening, my Google search took me to "best beaches for families" and number 1 on the list was Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Knowing that hotels can be a drag with kids, I knew being able to set us up in a condo or apartment where we would have access to our own laundry, a kitchen and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms would make the experience so much more enjoyable.
Enter Airbnb. Have you guys booked an Airbnb before? If not, let me share a bit about it. Airbnb is a site for individuals to list their properties for rent - anything from a private room in an otherwise occupied home to entire homes, condo units, igloos, treehouses, castles - no kidding! Their site is slick and easy to use, just enter the dates you want to travel, the destination and how many travel companions you have. From there, you will receive results based on your search that you can easily scroll through or further filter. One of my favorite parts about their search is that you can view all the properties on a map that is labeled with their nightly rate - makes getting the location right a piece of cake.
I will tell you if you are looking to travel internationally on a budget, renting a room in an occupied home can save you a fortune! Check out this private room with private kitchenette and its own bathroom in a gorgeous central London townhouse for $79/night!
The flip side of renting via Airbnb is hosting. Perhaps you have a friend or neighbor that rented their home out locally for the 2016 Ryder Cup banking a nice little bonus income by simply opening their home up for a weekend. The 2018 Super Bowl hosted right here at US Bank Stadium will be much the same...except on steroids. You can read more about what hosting a Super Bowl in a modest sized city like our own Twin Cities entails here. The demand for lodging accommodations is great, greater than the capacity of hotels Minneapolis has to offer. If you are open to crashing elsewhere for a few days in the interest of allowing some face-painted Bowl goers to take up residence, there could be a nice little nest egg in it for you and yours.
Going rates for modest sized homes in the South Minneapolis area during Super Bowl weekend range from $1,500-$2,500 per night. What do you think? Would you give it a go? If you want to learn more about hosting, check out this link here.
For now, you can follow our own Airbnb adventures kicking off next week! Follow along via my Instagram feed to see how this mom drives 4 kids, 1400 miles just to see, smell and taste that salty fresh air. I'll be taking a short summer hiatus from posting new content while we explore, returning to the blog on July 13th. When I'm back, I'll be sharing more spaces in our home, another #housetohome post about plans for the future remodel and more local roundups of everything from Minneapolis Wading Pools to summer race series. More to come!
( cover image via )