travel — MomStart

Soring Over Florida Alligators Zip Lining at Florida Eco Safaris

February 7, 2012 By Momstart 22 Comments

If it’s not enough that my very first time zipling at speeds I’m not used to traveling at heights I’m not used to standing at we were also soring over Alligators. As far as Alligators go I would say he’s pretty sweet, if you talk to him he’ll move closer to you. I’m not sure he’s hungry, I think he enjoys the conversation, at least that’s what I was telling myself as I was praying that my lines wouldn’t give.

When asked if I wanted to go on a trip to Kissimmee, Florida, I said yes, of course. I was expecting Disney World, I’ve never been there before. Next thing I know, I’ve signed myself up for ICE, bi-plane riding, and zip-lining. UHHH, the nerves kicked in at the words ziplining and bi-plane riding. Hmmm. Ok, here we go, I wasn’t going to back out. I put on the gear and felt quite adventurous.

Then we climbed the stairs, the rickety stairs up to our first line. Now we’re talking rules and don’t touch this and don’t’ do that, my hearing glosses over as I’m noticing how high we are and that we have to be unhooked for a brief time as we get ready to jump/fall/sit into our glide across the trees. My nerves kicked into high gear and I wasn’t sure what to do.

As I watched everyone go before me I was wondering if I could really do this? The thrill seeker in me won out. I did it, I flew through the trees like a bird and loved it. It wasn’t until about four lines into it that I was actually able to really enjoy it. I’m pretty sure I’m afraid of heights but I have a closet thrill seeker in me that rides mechanical bulls, runs through the streets of New York in a ball gown, and fly down zip lines over Alligators.

Florida Eco Safaris take care of everything you need. They provide tour guides who help you along the way. They are quite prepared for any and all occasions and ours even provided some quick witted much needed humor to lighten the tension of something so adventurous. They of course provide the gear and keep up with all ziplining standards. I had an amazing time and can’t wait for round two. At Florida’s Eco Safaris you can choose from four amazing ways to explore Forever Florida: Coach Safari, Horseback Safari, soar over it all on Florida’s biggest and All New Zipline Safari™, or pedal through the treetops on the New Cypress Canopy Cycle. We also did the Cypress Canopy Cycle, it’s a lot of work and I was a little too close to really large spiders for my taste but I did really enjoy the workout.

Travel Expenses were covered by Kissimmee CVB, Global Resort Homes and Florida Eco Safaris. Special thanks to Kas pictured above for helping to organize the event.

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: Cypress Canopy Cycle, Florida, florida eco safaris, Forever Florida: Coach Safari, Horseback Safari, or pedal through the treetops on the New Cypress Canopy Cycle, soar over it all on Florida's biggest and All New Zipline Safari™, travel, ziplining

A Walk Down Alaskan Way Through Photos #2DaysInSeattle

January 31, 2012 By Momstart 13 Comments

Pier 62 and 63 is where my husband asked me to marry him almost 11 years ago. We’ll be celebrating out 10 year anniversary June 8th.

Thanks to @2daysinSeattle/ Seattle CVB for a fantastic day out with the family experiencing the fair city of Seattle.

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: Alaskan Way, photography, photos, Seattle, travel

Inside Krispy Kreme Winston-Salem North Carolina

January 23, 2012 By Momstart 9 Comments

Taking a tour through Krispy Kreme is not a lite matter, in fact it’s filling and quite sweet!

This is a picture of the Krispy Kreme headquarters in Winston-Salem North Carolina. Inside there is the beginning of every Krispy Kreme doughnut. They create the beginning of the mix that is distributed world wide, so they have touched every doughnut in a way. The quality of every doughnut is of upmost importance to Krispy Kreme.

The tour included a little history and that was the best part about Krispy Kreme to me was that it wasn’t just a boring history lesson it was a lesson filled with stories, personal connections with the brand. Like the photo above, this is how they used to cut their doughnuts. They would roll it out on a wood table, cut them with this and then after they were fresh and hot they would store them in a wood box.

They didn’t know all the things about wood that we know now. Now every doughnut is made form a mix. that mix is created at the headquarters and distributed world wide. In each region of the world taste buds and regulations are different so the recipe is a little different for some of the doughnuts variations. However, the original doughnut is as close to the same as it can possibly be for each region. They mentioned a green tea doughnut and I want to go to the country that sells that doughnut just to taste it. Krispy Kreme really understands their customers, it’s rooted into their company motto. Of course they care about how many doughnuts they sell but what’s even more important to them is enhancing the lives of others through joy.

Our tour included the store front model. Here they simulate how things are to be positioned and how they should look. Are the doughnuts easy to put together and how do the drinks come together. On day two we even went back there and created our own drinks. I’ll tell you more about that fun later.

And it included ever so beautiful hair caps and lab coats. Pictured here is my friend Liz (A Nut in a Nutshell) and me.

We also saw the doughnut assembly line. They make all the variations of doughnuts on this machine, they run them in shifts. That’s actually something I didn’t realize. I thought every store made only the glaze doughnuts Plus we had an original doughnut hot off the line. YUM!

Krispy Kreme prides themselves on their high standards. They don’t accept flour unless it’s up to specifications and they monitor everything with state of the art technology.

We also had the privilege of seeing the original Krispy Kreme recipe.

Behind this safe

Inside this envelope. Ok, that’s as far as he got. He said it was his first time to ever hold the envelope, but no one gets to look at the original Krispy Kreme recipe, it’s TOP SECRET.

Travel and expenses were covered by Krispy Kreme.

Filed Under: review, travel Tagged With: blog trip, Krispy Kreme, Krispy Kreme Blogger Summit, Krispy Kreme headquarters, North Carolina, travel

Awed and Amazed by Fantasy of Flight

January 22, 2012 By Momstart 8 Comments

Sometimes I get lucky and have so many fabulous photos of a place I visit that the entire review can be in photos and Fantasy of Flight was breathtakingly photogenic. In Seattle we have The Museum of Flight where we can take all kind of photos of airplanes. It’s walking through a museum. Fantasy of flight takes you on an adventure while showing you all the airplanes over the years. You not only get to see the planes you feel the life they lived. You have to see it to completely understand what I’m saying. You live the fantasy!

Fantasy of Flight is in Polk Florida very close to Kissimmee. It’s worth the drive over to see a unique display of the history of planes. They offer a variety of guided tours including visits to their working restoration and maintenance areas. My favorite part was the tour we took. Walking through areas of war actually made me nervous.

Some of the aircraft we saw has been carefully restored to represent the same dignity they possessed when they ruled the skies. They were beautiful planes. I think because my son has such a fascination with airplanes it gave me a fascination. Seeing everything through the eyes of a child makes me feel young again. This is defiantly a place I want to take Miles to one day.

One area that we didn’t try was the Fun with Flight Center. There you can take a spin on a state-of-the-art hang glide simulator and climb on board a real B-17 Flying Fortress in a WWII bombing mission.

Travel and Expenses were covered by Kissimmee CVB and Global Resort Homes

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: airplane musuem, Fantasy of Flight, FL, Florida, Global Resort Homes, Kissimmee, Museum of flight, review, travel

The Fly Girls: Waldo Wright’s Flying Service

January 21, 2012 By Momstart 5 Comments

Just outside the Fantasy of Flight in Kissimmee Florida is Waldo Wright’s Flying Service. There you get to fly above Florida in a little bi-plane and relive adventures of the 1930’s.

That’s what we did back in December of 2011. Thanks to Kissimmee CVB, Fantasy of Flight, Global Resort Homes and Waldo Wright’s Flying Service, I got to dress the part of someone who took a little joy ride in a bi-plane. We heard the history of the plane, as it was used to smuggle alcohol at one time, a fact I found to be really cool. Plus flying through the air in bi-plane was much easier and much more fun that I ever thought it would be.

I was a bit scared because I’m used to small planes being quite shaky, this wasn’t it was a smooth ride and the weather was perfect for us. I loved the wind in my hair and seeing the water and orange groves below me.

So here are the fly girls.

Kas – Southern Bellas Ways To Save

Crystal – Simply Being Mommy and Becca – Mamabblog

Jen – The Mom Reviews

Now here are the planes. Waldo Wright’s Flying Service offers a variety of vintage biplane experiences. Travel back to the 1930s to enjoy an authentic barnstorming ride in a New Standard D-25, or the 1940s for a more hands-on WWII adventure at the controls of a Boeing Stearman N2S-3.

Here’s a little history:

The New Standard airplane was designed specifically for barnstorming at the request of Ivan Gates, the proprietor of the famous Gates Flying Circus. Gates, with Clyde Pangborn, formed and operated one of the largest groups of barnstorming airplanes from the middle 1920s and into the 1930s. Carrying 4 passengers in a large front open cockpit, the airplane was instrumental in introducing hundreds of thousands of people to their first airplane ride, when aviation was in its infancy. Many still remember flying out of a pasture near their hometown when they were young. There are very few of these magnificent airplanes still operating today; in fact, Waldo owns two of the seven presently airworthy and flying.

My husband had told me a while back that he was going to take our son up and I said. NO WAY. You are not taking my son on a bi-plane. Now that I’ve been on one as soon as I know my son can stay in his seat, he’s allowed to fly with his dad and a professional pilot of course. Waldo Wright’s Flying Service is located in Polk City just outside Fantasy of Flight. If you ever are in the Kissimmee area you should consider going up in one of his planes.

Travel expenses were covered by Global Resort Homes and Kissimmee CVB.

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: bi-plane review, bi-plane ride, Fantasy of Flight, Florida, Global Resort Homes, Kissimmee, Kissimmee CVB, review, travel, Waldo Wright’s Flying Service

Finding Alligators In Florida Wetlands Boggy Creek Airboat Rides

January 20, 2012 By Momstart 20 Comments

My adventures in Kissimmee Florida weren’t only holiday excursions, we also had lots of adventure. One of the adventures felt like an episode out of CSI Miami and as we went around every turn in the wetlands, I was expecting to find a body floating in the water. You know what TV does to the imagination right? Happy to report no bodies found, just Florida Wildlife.

We were taking an adventure with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides. On this adventure with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides we took a tour through the wetlands looking for alligators, can you guess how many we found. I only expected to see one, and thought we’d be lucky if we saw one. instead we found 18. Most of them were itty bitty babies but it was still so much fun finding and counting them up. The tours started with a leisure idle down a natural canal viewing exotic birds,

turtles

and the 18 Florida alligators we found in their own natural environment.

Ok, we found them as we went along our 30 minute tour of the wetlands, not all in one spot. We found babies in groups and as the alligators got larger they were found in smaller numbers.

We flew down into the wetlands experiencing the wind and water whisping our faces as we traveled on the airboat reaching up to 45 miles per hour. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides is the best way to experience the beautiful Central Florida Everglades. Our tour guide was great at finding the wildlife and explaining everything to us. We saw and eagle and I have to warn you there are a few spiders here and there and even though I’m terrified of them I would ride the airboat again in a heart beat. I had a great time. I’d never seen a collection of shells like this before.

The Boggy Creek Airboat Rides offer 4 airboat tour choices. A 30 minute or a 1 hour scenic airboat ride on 17 passenger airboat, 45 minute airboat tour on 6 passenger boat & the 1 hour night airboat ride. They suggest that In the warm seasons the best time to see alligators is at night. If you are not able to go at night they suggest coming first thing in the morning. Our tour took place in the morning.

I got to drive too, ok, I’m just pretending to drive, I would have run over something I’m sure or tipped the boat over.

And at the end of the tour we had a lesson on alligators and all had the chance to hold one. I gave him a kiss. I guess Alligators don’t turn into princes like frogs do.

This tour was made possible by Global Resort Homes and Kissimmee CVB.

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: airboat ride, Boggy Creek Airboat Rides review, finding alligators, Florida, Kissimmee, travel

Ten Reasons Why You Should Choose Global Resort Homes

January 2, 2012 By Momstart 15 Comments

My family is so looking forward to going on a vacation of some sort this year. We’re working on paying off some debt and when that’s done we’re going to Disney World in Florida. We’ll be staying in Kissimmee in Global Resort Homes because my stay with them in December was fabulous. The house we stayed in was a 6 bedroom 4 bath 3500 sq. ft. home and my family doesn’t need that much space, so we’ll probably be looking at something a little smaller even though my kids would ADORE this house. Look they could each have their own room with two beds to choose from and Zoe would get her purple Disney Princesses Room

and Miles would have red Mickey Mouse room.

Based on my five day stay at the Kissimmee Vacation Homes I came up with 10 reasons you can’t go wrong by choosing to stay in Kissimmee Vacation Homes.

1 Fully Furnished – It’s nice to stay somewhere that has everything you need. All the furniture is there and they are beautifully decorated homes. This house in particular was decorated for a family a very large family. Two kids rooms in bright colors and the other bedrooms were decorated very grandly and plush pillows and plenty of dressers and closet space. We didn’t have any time to watch TV but every room included a television.

2 Multiple bedrooms – When I go on vacation with my children and we stay in a hotel most of the time we get a one bedroom room and it’s impossible to put the children to bed early because they keep talking playing and goofing off. My husband and I usually conquer and divide and sleep in separate beds with the kids and that’s no fun. Sometimes we are lucky enough to find an affordable suite but we’re still in really close quarters making it very difficult to get any time alone or anything done other than take care of the kids and try to keep them in bed. So I love the idea of staying in a house while on vacation thrills me to no end.

3 Great Bang For Your Buck – thinking of all the amenities combined and the prices of hotels in Kissimmee, staying in a Kissimmee vacation home would be the same price if not even cheaper than staying in a hotel. You can save on food, and get better sleep. Hotels are noisy. I just did a search for a three bedroom house for seven nights in October, came up with a house for $138 a night. That’s an amazing price for that location. Plus you know you get a kitchen, washer and dryer and possibly a pool; which are all reasons on their own.

4 Washer & Dryer – Since suitcases cost so much it would be great to take half of the clothing you need and wash it and wear it again. Or you know when you have kids messes are going to happen and extra changes of clothes won’t be needed if you can wash the clothes. Or you could even wash everything before you pack to go home and get home with clean clothes. I hate getting home from a vacation exhausted just to have to do laundry.

5 In House Cook – With Kissimmee Vacation Homes, aka Orlando Vacation Homes you have the option of getting an in house cook. He/She (we had a she, Dinner at the house by Chef Linda was divine) will come in and cook for you. You tell her in advance what kind of needs your family has and she’ll cook a few meals. Of course it’s an extra fee, but her cooking was amazing. She made us breakfast dinner and dessert and her home made croutons were exquisite.

6 Game Room – Some of the houses like the one I stayed in had a game room. Sometimes on vacation you just want to stay in for a day and rest. This way you can rest and the kids still have things to do.

7 Gated Pool

8 Great Location – the homes are centrally located and you’re not far at all from the attractions just minutes from Walt Disney World.

9 Full Kitchen – It’s so much cheaper to be able to cook your own food and drink a pot of coffee rather than going out for every drink and meal. Also, the kitchen facilities in these homes are worth bragging about. They come stocked with plates and cooking necessities. Some even have basic spices salt and pepper. And if you don’t want to cook, just remember the in home chef option.

10 Because I said so!

All of these photos belong to Global Resort who also allowed me to stay in the home for free. Kissimmee CVB also paid for part of my stay and events that I attended while being in Kissimmee.

Filed Under: review, travel Tagged With: house stay, in house chef, Kissimmee, Kissimmee Vacation Homes, Orlando Vacation Homes, travel, vacation homes

Celebration Dinner Snow & Ice Skating In Florida

December 20, 2011 By Momstart 20 Comments

As part of our exploration of Kissimmee and Central Florida we visited the town of Celebration. Celebration looks like a quaint little town right out of a movie. The buildings are all colorful and as they look different they all blend in to each other having the same picket fence appeal. First off we had dinner at Columbia Restaurant.

Columbia serves a taste of Columbia, which is something I’ve never experienced before. I tried the sangria and I had an excellent dinner with rice, sausage, beef and pork, it was called Paella “Campesina”. The flavors were fantastic. I had a hard time stopping because it was delicious. I was actually full before it even arrived because we had the original “1905: salad. YUM. My friend didn’t like what she ordered and since the serving sizes were huge I had plenty to share with her. I also tried the Sangria and we had a fabulous lime dessert. After dinner we hurried over to Celebration for the SNOW! It snows in central Florida and they have an ice rink. (although the ice rink looks like it’s made plastic.)

The Snow comes down at different scheduled times and it’s actually soapy bubbles. Somehow even as bubbles the snow captivated all the people there and feel as magically as real snow does. Watching all the people gave me joy. You could see people in the streets just lifting up their arms looking straight up into the sky with their arms outstretched. I had a great time.

I recommend visiting the picturesque town of Celebration built by Disney. They know how to do food and fun!

All travel and expenses were paid for by Global Resort Homes And Kissimmee CVB.

Filed Under: personal, travel Tagged With: Celebration FL, Columbia Resturant, Florida, Gobla Resort Homes, Kissimmee, personal, review, travel

Capone’s Dinner Theater Kissimmee Florida: Holiday Edition

December 20, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

On my trip to Kissimmee Florida I experience a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do on my own but now that I’ve tried them I can’t wait to do them again. Dinner theater, I’ve heard so many mixed reviews on people having a good experience at a dinner theater. Yeah they’re fun but the food isn’t usually very good. Capone’s was fun from the minute we entered the place. Their gift shop has cute “cheap junk” as they even referred to during the show. We’re all wearing the hats from the gift shop.

pictured Crystal from SimplyBeingMommy, Me, Tara from Global Resort Homes, Becca from Mamablog , Jen from The Mom Reviews, Kas from SouthernBellasWaystosave.

At Capone’s Dinner Theater the mashed potatoes are to die for and the rum runners are even more deadly. We were seated at the VIP table and Vido was our waiter, he promised to fill our drinks if they were ever empty, umm they never were empty because he kept filling them if they went an inch below full so I actually have no idea how much I had to drink that night.

pictured Vido and Bill from Global Resort Homes

Entertainment starts as soon as you’re seated as the talent walks around and talks to you. They tell you their names and part f their storyline. Everyone gets dinner from the buffet line and then after everyone has a chance to eat the real entertainment on the stage begins.

As the curtains go back be prepared to be included in the show and be prepared to laugh out loud. The comedians on the stage are quick witted and kept me laughing and no it wasn’t the alcohol. I was impressed with the ability they had to make up jokes as they gathered information from the audience. Since it’s Christmas time our show had lots of Christmas songs and a holiday theme.

We had a blast and I would do this again with my husband. I would not take my children as many of the jokes were not appropriate for little ears.

All travel and expenses were paid for by Global Resort Homes And Kissimmee CVB.

Filed Under: review, travel Tagged With: Capone's Dinner Show, Dinner Theater, entertainment, Florida, Kissimmee, review, travel

Shrek The Halls ICE at Gaylord Palms Kissimmee Florida

December 19, 2011 By Momstart 11 Comments

Christmas in Florida is a nice balmy 80 degrees more or less, and I’m quite happy with that kind of weather so I love visiting Florida in the winter time. But if you’re a Kissimmee native and in need of some cooler weather you can find it inside the Gaylord Palms ICE exhibit

Christmas at Gaylord Palms is super cold I wanted out as soon as I got in, but I hate being cold and 9 degrees is cold. So bundle up, bring gloves and wear your coat.

They do provide parkas but you might want even more, I did. Inside the ICE exhibit is Shrek The Halls, where you’ll see 4.5 acres of carved ice Shrek sculptures.

As you enter the exhibit you can watch a quick introduction and informational video on where ICE came from. I found it fascinating that ICE is over 10 years old and that the blocks of ice are colored. I would have thought that lights gave the colored effect but nope, the ice is dyed and carved and pieced together to make such a fun exhibit.

My kids, Zoe and Miles both would have loved this exhibit. They wouldn’t have felt cold at all. Kids are so much more weather resistant than us sappy adults. Ok, I was the only pansy in the group. Everyone else made it all the way through!

I forgot to mention that you also get to watch the Shrek The Halls short before you enter the ICE exhibit and there are slides for everyone to go down inside the exhibit. I didn’t go down the slide because I was worried about getting my butt wet on the ice. I didn’t want to get any colder than I already was.