travel

hello from jamaica!

Melissa 3 Comments

We made it to Beaches Negril yesterday – it was a long journey, but totally worth it. Colin and I arrived in the afternoon and immediately changes and hit the beach. He could not get over how warm the water was – of course, he’s used to swimming at the Jersey Shore! This is slightly more exotic ;-)

Last night, the girls arrived with my husband around 4:30, and we headed right over to carnival! The parade was fabulous – Colin was most excited to see Big Bird and Super Grover, but the girls loved the costumes and dancing. (How can you not dance along? Its infectious!) My bird-lover, Ellie, had to get her picture with the guy in this amazing costume!

 

and to a beach party… We all ate outside on the beautiful beach at sunset. The food was fantastic – I had some type of grilled fish that was amazing and I want to eat it again, so I need to try and find out what it was! Relaxing on the beach with my toes in the sand with my husband while sipping a glass of wine while our kids frolicked in the waves – does life get much better than that?

And one of the highlights — my kids got to live one of their dreams…. drinking out of a coconut! They all said it didn’t taste anything like they thought it would.

disclosure: we are visiting beaches negril on a press trip, meaning some of our expenses have been covered so that we might experience beaches and share with our readers.

wild africa trek at disney’s animal kingdom

Melissa

Last month, at the Disney Social Media Mom’s Celebration I got the chance to go on the Wild Africa Trek — a private guided tour in Disney’s Animal Kingdom where you get to go behind the scenes and get close to the animals.

It was amazing. Incredible. One of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had at Disney – and we’ve done some really cool things! Check it out:

QUICK FACTS

  • cost is about $200/person, depending on when you go.
  • 3-hour VIP tour through Pangani Forest on a thrilling, privately guided expedition featuring close encounters with exotic wildlife species, followed by a VIP safari through African savanna, including a visit to an exclusive safari camp with incredible views of everything from towering giraffe to powerful rhinos.
  • light African-inspired refreshments are served. And by ‘light refreshments’ they mean WOW. Curry-chicken salad, roasted pepper hummus, grilled shrimp, fresh food, pita bread… SO delicious.
  • And while you’re on the tour, you have two guides with you who are taking tons of pictures – and you get a photo cd to bring home. So, while you will be taking tons of pictures – because its really amazing – you don’t have to worry about missing something. And you can put the camera down and enjoy the view!

QUICK TIPS

  1. Only guests eight years old and up can go on the trek. There are medical restrictions as well, such as a minimum weight.
  2. You cannot bring a camera without a strap and cell phones must be left back at base camp. Lockers are provided for all other belongings, but they aren’t huge, so leave the big backpack at the hotel.
  3. You will not be near a bathroom for at least two hours, so plan accordingly.
  4. You will be required to wear long shorts or pants and close-toed shoes. Trust me, you will be glad you did. This is off the beaten path.
  5. Consider the weather and time of year when booking your trip. It was about 80 degrees the day we went, and I wouldn’t want it to be any hotter. I’m glad we were there during the morning hours, when it’s cooler and the animals were more active.

This was truly an experience I will never forget. I’m so glad I got to go with a few friends – I am dying to take my family as soon as my kids are all old enough!

 

disclosure: i experienced the wild africa trek as part of the disney social media moms conference. while i did pay to attend the conference, we were given a terrific deal by disney!

disney’s yacht club resort

Melissa

I just enjoyed a three night stay at Disney’s Yacht Club, part of the gorgeous Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. And let me just say, every resort I stay at at Disney World is just as amazing as the last!

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is a lakeside Disney Deluxe Resort featuring lush landscaping and the formal grace of a grand New England yacht club. The design makes you feel like you’ve been transported to the summertime Shingle Style hotels of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Located right on Crescent Lake, it is walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. And it is positively breathtaking to boot.

photo by @JoLynneS

We pulled up to the Yacht Club after getting off the Magical Express, walked right into the amazing lobby. The wood was gleaming and it felt like stepping into a old New England beach house. The lobby is warm and inviting, with comfy sofas grouped off inviting guests to relax and linger. And, seeing as its Disney, the staff was absolutely delightful.

Our room was a standard room with a pool room. It had two queen beds, a desk, dresser, lounge chair , gorgeous nautical decor  and a huge marble bathroom with private toilet. Rooms are available with 2 queen beds and a day bed – thank you Disney for accommodating families of 5! The rooms also have coffeemakers, refrigerators and microwaves (on request), hair dryers, irons and ironing boards and an in-room safe. Cribs are complimentary on request. There was more than enough room for our group of four women and the astounding amount of luggage we brought with us. It would have easily fit my family of 5.
This photo is from the Disney website. You can not even imagine how our room instantly exploded when the four of us got into it.

As I’ve said many times before, the two non-negotiables of a hotel are 1) comfy beds and 2) a great shower. The beds at the Yacht Club were quite comfy. the linens were amazing – no scratchy sheets or gross bedspreads here. The shower was perfect – only the tub didn’t drain quickly, but easily overlooked. Our room was squeaky clean – not a speck of dust, dirt or hair on the floor and everything was sparkling every day.

The hotel offers so much right on site. For an additional fee, you can have a Club Level deluxe room, with admission to the Regatta Club which includes:

  • Advanced Walt Disney World Itinerary Planning service
  • Personalized front desk and concierge service
  • Evening turndown service with chocolates
  • Secured key access to the club-level lounge, which serves refreshments from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily
  • Complimentary fax assistance
  • Limited selection of DVDs

There are also two restaurants on site – the Yachtsmen Steakhouse, character dining at Cape May Cafe, the Captain’s Grille (which was SO yummy and very affordable!), not to mention two lounges and a soda shop! Plus – you are just a 5 minute walk to the World Showcase at EPCOT. Talk about dining options!!

And the pool!! The pool was AMAZING. If you are staying here, add an extra day to your trip just to stay here and play by the pool. Actually, make that two days – because this pool in incredible. You can’t even capture it in one picture. There’s a sand-bottomed pool, a lazy circular river, a “Shipwreck” to explore with one of the highest hotel waterslides at Walt Disney World Resorts… even an elevated tanning deck. And the bar makes a fabulous margarita.
And you are a short walk to Epcot, a slightly longer walk to Hollywood Studios and buses to Downtown Disney, Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom pull up right outside about every 20 minutes.

This hotel was FABULOUS! Our next trip to Disney, I would love to stay here again and highly recommend this hotel. The location is just too perfect!!

disclosure: i stayed at the yacht club resort as part of the disney social media moms conference. while i did pay to attend the conference, we were given a terrific deal by disney! photos from disney.com, except where noted.

longwood gardens

Melissa

On Saturday it was sunny. Then it suddenly started to snow. Then it stopped. Then the sun came out again.
Weird.
But we decided to live life on the edge and head to Longwood Gardens anyway! (Who says the wild and crazy life ends when you have kids?)

Longwood Gardens is one of our favorite places in Philly. We’ve gone here on dates for lots of romantic strolling among flowers and we’ve brought the kids for some fun in the gardens. Its a quick drive from the Main Line out to Kennett Square. We were excited to visit in February, as we’ve never been to Longwood in the winter. We’ve gone in summer, of course, and to see the famous Spring Blooms where you can walk through an ocean of tulips (so so amazing) but never in the cold weather.

Saturday ended up being quite chilly, so we stuck to the lovely and warm indoor Conservatory for our visit. We brought along my in-laws – Longwood Gardens is a great place to bring out-of-towners, who may not be up for a trip into the city. My mother-in-law used to always bring her mom here. None of us had been in over a year, so we were looking forward to seeing what was new. The conservatory was just as breathtaking as I remembered. Flowers everywhere, the air smells amazing… its like walking into Eden.

image via longwoodgardens.org

The kids had a great time taking pictures. Longwood Gardens is an amazing place for budding photographers!

Colin was fascinated by the banana trees – he took so many pictures of the bananas!

The orchid exhibit was incredible.



The kids were inspired – they were talking about what flowers we should plant this year and what veggie plants we should try to grow. And they even got to get their hands dirty, leaning how to pot plants and each bringing home their own little spider plant.

Meet Spider-Girl, Grace’s plant.

We had a wonderful afternoon at Longwood Gardens. Our kids made us promise to go back on a warm day so we can explore all of the gardens!!

disclosure: we received a complimentary admission from visitphilly.com. all opinions are our own.

 

 

academy of natural sciences

Melissa 1 Comment

This afternoon we had no school (insert daughters doing cartwheels here) so we hit up the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Now, I would never tell you to play hooky. But if you ever have a random day off, go into Philly and hit the museums when they’re not crowded. Even if you’ve been somewhere twenty times, it is incredible to have it practically to yourselves.

The dinosaurs were awesome of course.

Except when they tried to eat Ellie and Grace…

Then we headed up to our favorite place… the Outside In! We met some new friends. Ellie was watching this cute bird play in the water – and it splashed her right in the face! Hilarious!

We got to pet a legless lizard, a box turtle, this swimming turtle I forget the name of…
and THIS GUY:

Can you believe how brave Grace is??

I was brave enough to touch it with one finger, but if that thing had climbed up my arm, I would have probably shattered glass with the high pitch of my scream! (I am NOT a bug person!! I prefer my wildlife cute and furry, thanks.)

We had so much fun – what an amazing day! The Academy of Natural Sciences remains one of our favorite outings in Philly!

Check out the girls’ blog – they wrote about our visit as well!

disclosure: we received a complimentary admission from visitphilly.com. all opinions are our own.


philadelphia flower show

Melissa

Today the kids and I bopped into the city (literally – MMMbop was definitely played at one point) for an event at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for a sneak peek at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. We have gone to the flower show several years now, and it is always a treat. Despite my definitely not being a gardener, I do love flowers.

We arrived and my kids immediately got inspired and started making signs to advertise the flower show. Ellie’s was greeting people at the door:
We watched a sneak preview of the show this year, and the kids were enthralled. They were all asking, “When can we go there?” “Are we going there this year?” “Mom, please can we go?” I don’t blame them. The show looks even more incredible than previous years. Watch this and tell me it doesn’t look amazing:

One thing I appreciate as a parent is how family friendly the Philadelphia Flower Show is. They are partnering with Sprout to bring families some truly unique experiences – kids can meet characters from The Lorax, do crafts, see puppet shows, play with toys, see live performances of their favorite Sprout shows – and more in the totally free Family Lounge.  And for an additional charge, kids can meet their favorite Sprout characters in the Sprout Snack! How cool is that? Honestly, if my kids had this much fun at the preview, they’re gong to love the show!

Check out the PHS Family Fun Pack tickets, which includes tickets for the whole family and a one-year family membership to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society!

disclosure: we received a gift bag as a thank you for attending this event. as always, all opinions are our own.

day in philly

Melissa

We went into Philly on Friday and started the day in one of my favorite places, Reading Terminal Market, for breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place. Best breakfast in Philly.

If you’ve ever had a hankering for a pancake the size of your head, this is the place to go.  Seriously – out of control yummy pancakes, french toast and bacon the way it was meant to be – thick, crispy and in abundance.

We wandered around finding all sorts of amazing culinary wonders. Reading Terminal Market is a cook’s paradise. Or a eater’s paradise. If you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist. And discover things you didn’t know existed. Like Bacon Salt. Oh yes, BACON SALT. *cue angels singing*

And hit the Christmas train! Colin could have stood here all day.

Then we headed over to Macy’s for the Holiday Light Show, then took the kids to Chinatown. Grace is in love with China and keeps asking to go there. Since we are a little short on vacation time, we did the next best thing 😉
The kids were fascinated by it – we’ll need to come back when we can spend more time – and we’re not stuffed full of pancakes!

What did you do for New Years?