Category: Roadtripping

Cool Vacation Rentals

Historical Vacation Rental in Toledo

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There’s so much to discover in Toledo – scenic lakes & rivers, scrumptious restaurants, history, culture…and now there’s a perfect setting: Flower Den Retreat’s latest offering, a stately historic mansion built in 1912! Centrally located in acclaimed Old West End, and freshly permitted as a vacation rental for the first time ever, this is definitely no ordinary place to sleep. The duplex has a rich history that dates pre-roaring 20’s, and it’s been the site of many memories, events, and happenings over the years.

The Perfect Toledo, Ohio Getaway

Traveling to Toledo, and afraid it will be boring? It won’t be! Let us spice things up for you with this beautiful timepiece property that will make you exclaim ‘WOW!’ when you pull up, and feel like you’ve stepped back in history with it’s hand picked one of a kind furnishings reminiscent of the early 1900’s.

Work Remote from Toledo

Are you a workcation type of person? More productive from different environments? We’ve got the fastest internet available and provide an inspiring space for you to get creative. Two dedicated working spaces – the antique desk in the front lounge or my personal favorite – the back window room! Toledo has a slogan ‘You’ll do better in Toledo’ – do you want to come and test it out?! Finish your work day early and take a stroll of breathtaking Old West End to nearby Agnes Jackson Arboretum.

Where to Stay in Toledo OH

This historic AirBnB is the perfect place to stay while you’re exploring all that Toledo has to offer. Do you travel for yearly conferences, events, and festivals that take place in Toledo, like:

Toledo Ohio annual Winter events

  • Old West End Tours de Noel
  • Lights at Toledo Zoo
  • Perrysburg Winterfest

Toledo Things to do in Fall

  • Susan G Komen walk
  • Black Swamp Arts festival
  • Toledo Zoo pumpkin patch
  • Walleye opening day

Toledo OH Spring happenings

Toledo Summer events

The Toledo Museum of Art

The Toledo Museum of Art is our must-visit favorite place while you’re in town. It’s home to a world-renowned collection of art, from ancient to modern pieces. You’ll find pieces from masters like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Picasso, as well as contemporary artists like Warhol and Rothko.

The museum is also home to the Glass Pavilion, which is one of the COOLEST most architecturally impressive buildings in the city. The pavilion houses a permanent collection of glass art, as well as rotating exhibitions. You can see people blowing glass in real time… which you know we already love to do in our private glass studio AirBnB in Southern California!

If you’re into art, you’ll love coupling a stay at our historical home with the Toledo Museum of Art. Fun fact: our columns were inspired by the museum and the original owner Gustav Lay was an early contributor and member. Our pieces aren’t as great as the museum, but we picked each picture with care and consideration. The museum…now that’s a collection! It’s one of the best art museums in the country, and best of all, admission is FREE 🙂

It’s easy and affordable to book this historical Northeast Ohio vacation rental duplex. You’ll have access to the entire top level – over 1750 sq ft! Just follow this link to book your stay, or fill out the form below to make an inquiry.

Cardano & Blockchain Events

Cruisin’ the CNFT Convention with Cardano Community

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We had a great time at the Cardano NFT conference #CNFTcon2022 in Vegas this year! It was a pleasure to meet so many creative minds, hear about interesting things happening in various Metaverses, explore stake pool options, and of course delve in to amazing NFT projects focused on art & utility surrounding the Cardano ecosystem. 

The conference opened up with Charles Hoskinson - Cardano’s founder. Charles is always so great with his ability to elaborate on the big picture in layman’s terms - if you aren’t subscribed to his YouTube channel do yourself a favor & check it out! Plus we love that Charles is so inquisitive and curious with all of the developers and projects. He really wants to see everyone succeed and collaborate together in the best possible way. He took time to thoughtfully answer questions, and although we didn’t get to meet him in person, it’s something we look forward to in the future 🙂

We’ll mention a few companies & projects in this post, but mostly I want to focus on the people we met and some of their inspiring visions. Since the Cardano ecosystem is constantly growing, maybe it will inspire some ideas for you to get involved, too?! Our favorite part of all of this is the community. There are faces and brilliant minds behind these Discord & Twitter screen names.

For example, we loved the concept of the Cardano Caravan…a group of artists and Cardano fans who met up in the Midwest and made their way over to the conference in Vegas. One of the artists best known online as Schhhart did an awesome oil painting of Charles that we just loved. We told them they should make it an annual excursion and next time we want to join in on the roadtrip! 

Another highlight was the Prismatics booth & NFT project. We had the pleasure of doing lunch with the artist, Alexia, her marketing manager ‘Dolphin’ - what a great conversation. Alexia is originally from Switzerland and is full of talent and neat ideas. We talked about the magic a passionate team creates, and how she loves to collaborate on projects. Her booth was well thought out with meditation pillows and pretty crystals - even a photo spot to capture all the community members she met. Kudos!

Click the link to mint: https://cyberia.gg/en/

It was great to meet our friend Srink in person, working on a project surrounding the chakras that will include free yoga & mindfulness sessions for NFT holders. Yes please. His NFT’s were beautiful featuring various yoga poses and utopian type planets that represent the different chakras. Twitter handle is @atomofgod

We loved meeting up with the Proxies crew. To talk about the project and learn some of the backgrounds of its cheerleaders. One moderator is also a HS teacher and he created a Web3 club for his students at the school where he works. He mentioned some students are now planning out their Web3 majors - how neat! He's also creating his own project focused on RPG-style gaming community & choose your own adventure story telling. Twitter handle @CosmicCutiesNFT is minting now

We joked we were turning into droids in this picture.

We also made a serendipitous connection with Steve & his wife Angie from Texas, after helping a woman we saw fall & injure herself in the parking lot. We shared in fun, vulnerable & meaningful conversation throughout the weekend. Both investors with exciting ideas for their own project bringing useful utility to the Cardano ecosystem. You can follow their journey on Twitter @steveofw73

They introduced us to Virginia & Jason, who run the XYZ stake pool. Virginia does real estate in Virginia along with fix & flips, so we had lots to talk about. We shared our goals to weave Flower Den & Vow2Save in with DAOs, and we talked about potential options to tie our projects & crowdfunding campaigns in with a stake pool as well. 

Another project we thought was interesting was Faces; it was the first AI art recorded on the Cardano blockchain. He’s currently minting his second run with ‘We the Blinded’, combining famous works of art with masks and blindfolds. Daniel minted one of those in hopes of getting a bonus poster, but no luck - maybe next time! 

Of course we had to stop over to the Nano frames exhibit, because they offer square, round, and mountable digital frame displays that connect with your Cardano wallet, and display your NFT collection. So far, they are the only frame that connects with the Cardano blockchain. Eventually we would like to get one of these in all of the Flower Den Retreats properties, so we can display both digital and fine art. We planned to take one home, but they were out of black frames, so we’ll have to order online. 

The Blockchain education booth was of particular interest - we get so many questions from friends and family about this stuff…and we’re no experts haha! We thought it was a synchronistic partnership they created with the AZ Science Center, and hope to see them in all the science centers across the country someday! Plus the coffee shop they are building is a fabulous non-threatening way to introduce people to blockchain education. They have free downloadable infographics, and you know we’re going to put some of those up in our AirBnB’s. 

All in all our interactions were thought provoking and genuine, which made us love the Cardano community even more. If you’d like to get involved with an NFT project or learn more, join our discord and we can all learn together! 

Cool Vacation Rentals

RV Retreat – 16 ft Airstream Basecamp is now available for rentals

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Are you interested in the RV lifestyle? Have you heard of a Basecamp but never used one? If so, then we’re inviting you to try out our 16 ft Basecamp – now available for rentals in gorgeous Utah!

We traveled the country in 2021 in this cutie, and love how it fits pretty much anywhere. Here’s a pic from one of our favorite tiny lakeside spots along the upper peninsula of Michigan. Staying right on Lake Superior was absolutely fabulous, but it was a little tough to get back there…so…we recently added a lift kit and offroad tires for even more exploring.

Welcome to your RV Retreat – 16 ft Basecamp – a wanderlust’s traveling home in the wilderness.

“Airstream Basecamp originally launched in 2007 and its redesign in 2017 became one of the most celebrated travel trailers in our towable lineup,” said Bob Wheeler CEO and President of Airstream. It was created for those who want to get out and explore nature in an easy-to-use, durable, and efficient vehicle.

Built by hand in Jackson Center, Ohio, USA by hundreds of talented craftspeople, each Airstream travel trailer is well thought out and takes approximately 350 hours to build.

Even though Basecamps are the smallest airstream out there, they pack a mighty punch! You’ve got

  • Air conditioning
  • Fans
  • Heater
  • Water heater
  • Solar
  • Queen sized bed
  • Kitchen that includes mini fridge, microwave, and 2 propane burners.
  • YES, there’s a bathroom
  • Plus a shower, with a pass through showerhead if you’d like to wash the pup outside, or shower amidst the wilderness. (This is a must try at least once in your life 😉

Come enjoy this new addition to our rental fleet – it’s the perfect RV for couples or solo travelers who are active outdoors and love camping out in style! Be prepared for everyone to ask you about the Basecamp at the gas station, and watch people pointing as you drive by, LOL.

We believe affordable accommodations on the go are the reason why so many people choose to live a remote lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for temporary housing while you’re working on your septic system, or want to take a tour to Moab, UT, now is a good time to get away. Currently, the RV is located in Helper, UT, and we offer options to deliver locally, to the following locations; or, you can come pick it up:

If you’d like to rent the RV just click this link. If you have any questions about our travels, please leave them in the comments below. We love hearing from folks who are interested in RVing. We hope you enjoyed this post and stop back for more!

Cool Vacation Rentals

Smitten over Stillwater & The Commander Grain Elevator

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Just….WOW! Sometimes this career path is so cool because we get exclusive access to vacation rentals & amazing new listings before anyone else. This was the case with some dear clients in Stillwater, Minnesota; Sally & Bill, who recently put the iconic Commander Grain elevator up for short term rentals on AirBnB. It was an honor & a pleasure they asked for our tips & feedback! 

Stillwater has such a fun downtown with tons of live music, libations, & energy. I was impressed by all the rooftop decks and restaurants with views of the Saint Croix River. Take an adorable trolley or a riverboat cruise, or opt for the trail loop over the river and through the woods into Wisconsin. There’s tons to do and see.

The property itself is unforgettable. Not only is it the focal point of Stillwater’s downtown, it’s a cornerstone of its history. Enter to the sweet smells of grain wafting through the air, and step up into the innovations of Sally’s father, architect Michael McGuire. He kept the charm and original wood walls of the grain silos, yet completely renovated the space for modern day living. The grain elevator was formerly his office, where he designed thoughtful living spaces for thousands.

Local art adorns the walls and the coffee table, and the design is both compelling & comfortable. The space is perfect for a weekend with friends or family offering 2 bedrooms and an upstairs outdoor deck, complete with views of the downtown, famous Stillwater lift bridge, and Saint Croix river. It was great to hear live music from the private deck, and bonus that both bedrooms have river views, too!

Visit this architectural delight in Stillwater, MN designed by Michael McGuire

We walked to a spectacular dinner at Feller restaurant in the Lora Hotel, which is formerly a brewery. Daniel had a banana nut bread old-fashioned, and had to go back for more, LoL. Bill arranged an exclusive tour for us of the caves the brewery used to store the beer in (yes, caves!) and I officially fell in love with this town. Plus there’s Matt’s Basement coffee shop & tea lounge right below the rental – so quick & easy. Make sure to take a stroll & support the local restaurants & shops!

We didn’t get to experience Stillwater’s kayaking or the beaches this time, but we’ll surely be back to this historical gem again.