Cheap trip Alert...

I am always looking for a way to take a quick trip without spending too much money. It just seems crazy to me to spend so much on a hotel when you just need a room to sleep in over night. If you are going to have to get a hotel, get your moneys worth. I recently planned an overnight trip with my husband to celebrate his Birthday, our dating anniversary, and Valentines all in one. Let's face it, with three kids, its hard to get away ever and leave them so we need to get the most out of our small trip. I was trying to find a location within two hours from our home and also a place we have never been. After looking at a map online, it seems like we have gone to every little town and beach city from Santa Barbara to San Diego. I found online that you could take the boat to Catalina on your Birthday for free. Thats a great deal considering its about 70.00 round trip for one person. I went there once when I was a kid and my husband has never been. This was a cool idea. It was only and hour away, by boat, and we were on an Island, enough said. I started looking into what we can do there and where we could stay. They don't say Catalina is pricy for nothing. Man, I started to maybe have second thoughts about this trip. Then I found a great hotel room, and I am very picky about it looking nice and being very clean, that seemed to be the perfect spot. It was steps from the shore, looked very modern in the photos, and had great reviews. The best part was, because we were going off season (Feb. 8) the hotel was offering 1/2 off on all the rooms. I wanted to book a king room with a view but it was booked. I was informed the suite was avail for only about 25.00 more and it had a seating area, balcony, and view of the ocean. Sweet. I now had one free boat ride and a 1/2 price suite. The weather for this Feb. had been warmer than usual and we picked a great time during the week to go. The Island was pretty empty and it was like having a little piece of paradise to ourselves. Our Hotel was right next to a Vons so we could save money on snacks and other things we might need. I found a great little pizza place around the corner of our hotel which had the best prices on the island, I believe, and really good food. We got so much pasta and garlic bread for 12.00, my husband and I spilt it. Talk about a cheap meal. We really just spent time relaxing near the water and exploring the shore. We did splurge and do the zip line tour, they didn't have discounts but it was well worth the money. We had the best 24 hours away and it didn't cost much. 70.00 for both of us to ride round trip. 170 for the Hotel Suite (we did splurge a little, but it was half off and it was a special occasion) and maybe 50 on food. Not bad for a much needed, exciting and romantic get away. I attached some photos to show our hotel: Catalina Island Inn and Island Atmosphere