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Mama Will Travel: Souvenirs for Liam and Mila

When I was working full-time in Communications/Marketing I had the opportunity to travel a lot for training. I loved learning new things plus I got to network with like-minded people. And of course, explore the local area in my off time. It got harder and harder to go on these trips after my son, Liam, was born in 2017. I felt awful about leaving him but I still needed to go on these work trips.

I made sure to get something from each city to bring home to him. Each souvenir represented the city or region in some way. Then I would make sure to have a special time with him when I got home and tell him all about my adventures. 🙂 In this post, I share with you all of the fun things I got for Liam while traveling and later what I got for my daughter too! Enjoy!

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Boston

Going to Boston was the first time I ever left Liam for any length of time- a whole 4 days! I attended a fantastic training called the Content Marketing Conference, which I loved. In my free time, I had the opportunity to explore the city with my boss, Judi. We got Lobster Rolls at Quincy Market, explored and ate in Boston’s Little Italy, ate Clam Chowder at the Union Oyster House, and even took a Duck Tour! We got to see all the top sites in Boston on the tour including Boston Common, the North End, Newbury Street, the Prudential Tower, Beacon Hill, and more- it was so much fun!!

Souvenir for Liam- Tiny stuffed Duck

I loved the tour so much that I decided to get Liam a little duck to bring home to him. 🙂 He loved it!

Kansas

My former job was with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi as their Communications Manager. Part of my job was to assist with event coverage and help curate content for our publication, The Turtle Press. Some of the team and I traveled to Kansas, when Liam was just under a year old, to cover the Gathering of the Potawatomi Nations. There are 9 Potawatomi tribes total and each year a different tribe takes a turn to host the Gathering. This event consists of cultural teachings, craft workshops, youth workshops, elder events, and of course a magnificent Pow Wow!

We also had the opportunity to eat at three different amazing Diner’s, Drive-ins and Dives places on our way to Kansas. We ate amazing BBQ at Danny Edwards Blvd BBQ in Kansas City, Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup at Dressel’s Public House in St. Louis and burgers at Bobo’s Drive-In in Topeka.

Souvenir for Liam- A Buffalo

Each Potawatomi nation normally has something that they specialize in that they feature when they host the Gathering. For the Prarie Band of Potawatomi, it was their Buffalo Herd. We actually got to take a tour of their Buffalo area and get up close and personal with these amazing animals. So while browsing the native vendors at the Gathering, I stumbled upon a cute stuffed Buffalo and I had to have it for Liam.

Walt Disney World

Liam was about a year and a half when I went to a Ragan Communications Training on Social Media hosted at none other than, Walt Disney World. 🙂 The training itself was top notch and I got to meet a ton of cool people in the marketing/communications world. I extended this trip and my bestie, Brittany, flew in from North Dakota to meet me. We went to the Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs, and The Wizarding World at Universal Studios. And, of course, ate some amazing food! My favorites were Sanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Leaky Cauldron at the Wizarding World, Bongo’s Cuban Cafe at Disney Springs! We even booked tickets to a special Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom. We got to enjoy a dessert bar and have reserved seats to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. It was so cool, but I wished my Liam was there the entire time!

I didn’t get to ride many rides because I was pregnant with Mila- so we will just have to go back as a family. 🙂

Souvenir for Liam- Mickey Ears and Mickey Glow/Bubble Want

I couldn’t go to Disney and not get Liam some Mickey ears! Before Brittany got there, I went to Disney Springs on my own and went shopping. I found some baby Mickey ears for him and even got his name sewn into the back. Then while at the Magic Kingdom, they were selling these cool light-up bubble wands and I knew he would love it. So he ended up with two souvenirs this time. 🙂

Chicago

Liam was about a year and a half when I went to training in Chicago- All about Graphic Design! It was amazing training and I learned so much. I was pregnant with Mila at the time so I was hungry ALL the time. My amazing co-workers put together a list of yummy food places to check out while we were there. We ate tacos at Velvet Taco, enjoyed fancy Grilled Cheese at the Hampton Social, and tried Ice Cream Floats at The Bombo Bar. We even got cupcakes from a cupcake vending machine at Sprinkles Cupcakes! My coworkers and I even went to my favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, Volare.

Souvenir for Liam- Chicago Bear

As you probably know, Chicago is home to the football team, The Chicago Bears. So you can find cute little bears in just about every tourist shop in Chicago. I couldn’t help but get him one. He has since lost the cute t-shirt it had on so now it is just a bear. 🙂 Oh well, he still loves it. Especially when we go on ‘bear hunts’ in the yard.

New Orleans

When Liam was just over a year I took a work trip to New Orleans for training. It was all about Storytelling and Journalism-so interesting! As usual, we took full advantage of our evening free time. Some of my favorite things we did included dinner at Katie’s a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives stop, explored Burbon Street, drank Pimms at the Carousel Bar and Lounge, tried hot sauces, tried Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s, had a haunted dinner at Muriel’s, enjoyed Beignets at Cafe Du Monde and took a Cemetery Ghost Tour!

Souvenir for Liam- Baby Alligator

New Orleans is in a bayou after all and therefore there are lots of Alligators! There were cute little stuffed Alligators in every tiny shop so I just had to get Liam one.

Other Non- Work Trips:

Italy

Just a few months after my mother passed in 2018, my family and I attended the S.A.F.E. Place Celebrity Server event at FireKeepers Casino Hotel. S.A.F.E Place Women’s Shelter was my mother’s favorite charity and she served on their board of directors. So we couldn’t miss the opportunity to go and support them at this event. While at the event the opportunity came up to bid (they had a live auction) on a trip to Italy. My mom had always wanted to go to Italy but never got the opportunity. We combined our money and bid on the trip- and we won! We were going to Italy. 🙂

Liam was still really little and I knew he wouldn’t make it on the 8-hour flight or the 10 days we were going to be there. It was just too much for the little guy. So, graciously my aunt and uncle agree to watch him for us. I felt horrible leaving him but I knew we needed this family trip to reconnect. We ended up having an AMAZING time. Check out more about my favorite places in Italy here and here!

Souvenir for Liam- Chingale

While in Italy, we ate a LOT of Chingale or Wild Boar. It is native to the Tuscany area and is amazing in pasta! When I saw a stuffed Chingale while exploring the town of Siena, I knew I had to get it for my Liam 🙂

Englewood, Florida

When Liam was almost a year and a half we finally decided that he was old enough to travel with us. So, we took him to visit my aunt and uncle at their condo in Englewood, Florida. It was his first time on a plane and we were so nervous. But with lots of toys and distractions, we made the best of it- he actually did really well. Liam even got his ‘wings’ from the pilot- it was too cute. 🙂

We spent about a week exploring the area, going to the beach, taking boat rides, and eating lots of yummy food! My favorite places to eat were Lock and Key, The Sand Bar, Landy’s On the Water, and Farlow’s. The highlight for Liam was a trip to Mote Marine. This aquarium located in Sarasota had tons of sea creatures and fish to enjoy. He loved watching the fish and seeing the Sharks!

Souvenir for Liam- Baby Shark

He was really into Baby Shark at the time so while at Mote Marine we got him a little shark to take home. Now (he is almost 3), the shark has become one of his favorite toys after watching the movie Finding Nemo. He calls it Bruce after the large vegetarian shark in the movie. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed my personal story about getting souvenirs for my little love Liam. 🙂 If you want to know more about me- click here! Or feel free to browse the blog for travel stories and inspiration. I am lucky enough now to be able to spend all the time I want with both of my kiddos. 🙂

Las Vegas

Our most recent trip (Post Covid-19), was to fabulous Las Vegas! My husband and I were finally able to get away after having our second child, Mila, last year. It was so needed and we had so much fun. But things were different in Vegas- check out the COVID-19 safe things we did –here! We also got to visit with my brother-in-law Ryan and his partner Phillip on this trio! It was so much fun to travel with family.

We did a lot while we were in Vegas because it was my husband’s first time so we enjoyed showing him around. We stayed at the Bellagio which was a bucket list place to stay at for me! It was so nice and the pool was amazing! We walked the strip a lot, road the Slotzilla Zip Line, did a Saw themed Escape Room, road the High Roller, went to the Neon Museum, gambled on Fremont Street, wandered the Linq Promenade, and had lots of yummy food and drinks. We even did a day trip to Zion National Park up in Utah! The two favorite places we ate included Italian food at Lago (at the Bellagio) and Sushi at Mizumi (at The Wynn).

Souvenir for Liam- Vegas Monkey, Pink Dog- Mila

After all the fun was done in Vegas, we had trouble trying to decide what to bring home to Liam (and Mila!). So we wandered into one of the many Vegas souvenir shops and ended up picking out the cutest stuffed animals we could find, with Vegas written on them of course. We got a Monkey with sunglasses for Liam and a little pink Dog for Mila. Check out their cute happy faces below 🙂

Walt Disney World

Another trip to Florida is under our belts and this time we popped up to the wonderful Walt Disney World for a special one-night stay. We stayed at the amazing Animal Kingdom Lodge! The kiddos loved the pool and all of the close-up encounters with the African animals. Liam loved the Giraffes and Mila loved the water slide!

The next day we spent our time exploring Disney Springs! We had lunch at the T-Rex Cafe, which the children loved, cookies at Gideons Bakehouse, donuts at Everglazed Donuts and Cold Brew, and all the amazing drinks. The kiddos were allowed to choose one souvenir each which can be very difficult for childern at the World of Disney but they managed it.

Liam decided to pick a giant Beast from Beauty and the Beast and Mila really had no choice but to go home with the matching Belle doll. 🙂

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About the Author

Sara Moore

Travel Blogger at WanderMoore | Website | + posts

Hi my name is Sara and I am the creator of WanderMoore! 🙂 I started WanderMoore in early 2020 after leaving a full-time job in the Communications/Marketing field to stay home and raise my kiddos, Mila and Liam. I wanted something fun to work on in my free time and WanderMoore has become one of my biggest passions! Thank you for reading my post! I can't wait to share more of my travel adventures with you 🙂

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