All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
Disney After Hours is a great summer event that allows you to enjoy the Magic Kingdom after is closes. You feel like a VIP with the short lines and treats.
Thank you to Disney for the invite for attending the Disney After Hours event.Â
When I first moved to Florida I told myself that I wasn’t going to be a “Disney person”.
Disney World is a glorified amusement park. It’s too loud. It’s too busy. Lets not forget, it’s way too hot. It’s just some rides. It’s for kids.
OMG. I was so, so wrong.
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There are endless fun things to do in Tampa Bay. Going on a Saint Petersburg Mural walk is a fun way to see creative, colorful work by awesome artists.
I love exploring where we live!
Florida is such a great place that has so many activities for everyone of all ages. It feels like we are never more an an hour from some awesome activity, like the beach. a museum, zoo, or theme park. But even then, just strolling around town is so much fun!
We recently loaded up the kids and the dogs to head over to Saint Petersburg (aka St. Pete), about a 45 minute drive from where we live, for a fun afternoon of walking around to check out the beautiful murals that are all over the arts district.
I told Autumn that we were going on a “Saint Petersburg Mural Walk” to get to see different pictures on walls. At that point it was a good reminder to tell her that artists got permission to create art on the buildings, and that it’s not okay to just color on the walls. HAHAHA!
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Travelogue: Our fun sting ray filled day in Cozumel while on our amazing 5 Night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas.
Our 5-Night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas took us to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico, with 2 Days at Seas. It was a fantastic family vacation that introduced our 7 month old son to cruising. We were able to have a great time sight seeing, eating delicious food, toasting with great drinks, and getting plenty of much needed rest. Our family loves cruising!
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As much as I love days in port, I love days at sea. They are our chance to relax and enjoy the ship. We hang out in our room more than our days in port, sometimes we even get a nap in! We also walk around the ship a lot, check out the fun activities the cruise director and staff have prepared, and browse the shops. Our first day at sea was delightfully relaxing.
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I grew up going apple picking, so when I moved to Florida 2 years ago, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t get to experience the joys of getting to pick fresh fruit while living here.
But, Florida has providing me with plenty of great opportunities to get out and pick fresh fruits and vegetables, just not apples. While I miss getting to pick apples, I have enjoyed picking tomatoes, blueberries, and strawberries. Now I can add picking oranges to the list.
We recently went to Dooley Groves, about a 20 minute drive from our house.
Dooley Groves is a family owned grove that was started in the 1960’s. They offer a wide variety of citrus that is available from November to April.
Beside their shop and their you-pick groves, you can order their citrus for home delivery.
I had heard such good things about Dooley Grove from friends that we knew that we needed to check it out. Plus, getting bunches of oranges is so yummy and fun.
We went to pick Honeybell Oranges, which are a hybrid of Duncan Grapefruit and Dancy Tangerines. They are bright in color and densely packed with really sweet juicy meat. Honeybells are in season for a short period of time, which makes them in high demand.
While Hunter was just along for the ride for our picking adventure, he did enjoy the Honeybells when we got home. Man, he loves oranges!!!
Watching this bee buzz around all different flowers was so cool. His legs were packed full of pollen. Off to the hive buddy!
Autumn had a blast at the grove.
She was eager in selecting which Honeybells to pick and to help load them up in our bag. Can’t beat getting to run around in rainboots on a sunny day while picking fruit. Gotta love when 4 year olds dress themselves.
This behemoth is a Ponderosa Lemon. So cool.
Once our bag was full, we headed back to the shop to pay for our Honeybells
 
Besides selling freshly picked citrus, they sell delicious juice, jams & jellies, and fun Florida centric gifts.
I’m looking forward to going back to pick some Ortaniques. yum!
1651 Stephens Rd
Ruskin, FL 33570
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Price and I had been to Key West in 2013 for a day as part of our “Babymoon” in the Florida Keys when I was pregnant with Autumn, so we were really looking forward to going back to Key West. We had so much fun the first time that I was really excited that this was a port of call for us on this cruise.
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Manatee. Sea Cow. Floating Couch Cushion. Gary.
No matter what you call them, manatees are pretty cool.
We are pretty lucky that we live less than a 5 minute drive to the Manatee Viewing Center, run by Tampa Electric, in Apollo Beach, Florida. It’s about a 30 minute drive from Tampa, so it’s a great place to visit if you are visiting the Tampa Bay area.
We stop by often as it’s so close and admission is FREE. Can’t beat a fun, educational, attraction that is so close to home.
The Manatee Viewing Center is open from November 1st to April 15 for viewing of Florida Manatees and Stingrays. We go so often to check out the manatees and to visit the touch tank. Autumn loves getting to touch the rays. Or at least dip her hand in and yank it out just before touching them, squealing with delight.
While we don’t love having a view of the 3 stacks of the Big Bend Power Station from two of the second floor rooms in our house, we do enjoy this perk of it. (At least it’s a very clean Power Station, and the largest solar array in Tampa Bay is located down the road. The Big Bend Solar Power Station has over 200,000 solar panels, powering 3,200 homes.)
The Big Bend Power Station is a coal-fire power plant that attracts large numbers of manatees in the cooler months, as they are looking for warm water. The power plant discharges clean, warm water that has cooled Unit 4 in the power plant, that the manatees use to stay warm. Once the waters in Tampa Bay hit 68F, they head up the discharge channel to relax in the waters that are in the 80’s.
It is a federal offense to feed the manatees so they just come for the warmth, before heading out into the Bay for vegetation again.
You can view these manatees by walking along the platforms that take you out, over the waters of the canal. The discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that helps protect the gentle, slow animals that seek refuge from the cold winter waters.
You can also view them from the Tidal Walk. The 900-foot long walkway is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail takes you out, along the canal. You can view the manatees coming and going up the canal from this vantage point.
There is so much to learn about the Florida Manatees that live off the coasts. The Education Center on the 2nd floor of the Viewing Center is for for kids of all ages. You learn about the local manatees and how the power plant runs and attracts them. Exhibits feature manatee bones, games, and interactive displays.
Adjacent to the Education Center is the Gift Shop.
You can’t pet the manatees, but you can touch stingrays in the tank that is located on the ground floor of the Viewing Center.
The Stingrays reside at the Viewing Center during baseball’s off season, when they move to the touch tank at Tropicana ballpark to hang out with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
The stingrays are pretty social as they come up along the sides and flip their wings (is that what you wall them?!) and splashing water. You can gently touch them, but be sure to follow the directions to properly do it to keep them safe and happy.
After we stop by the touch tank, we always swing by the butterfly garden. There, we get to look at the beautiful flowers and the butterflies that are in various stages of development in an open air cage.
 
I am pretty strict about not buying stuff at a gift shop, but I couldn’t resist getting a wax figurine that is made right in front of you for just $3 during one of our recent visits. We now have the dolphin, but will have to get the manatee in the future.
Before you leave, take some time to walk the trails that originate from the Viewing Center.
You will enjoy getting to hear and feel the One of the trails leads you to a wildlife observation tower that gives you great views from 50′ up.
We really enjoy getting to say ‘hi’ to Florida Manatees, I bet you will too.
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Manatee Viewing Center
Apollo Beach, FL
Nov 1- April 15. 10am-5pm
Admission: FREE
Woohoo!!! Cruise Day!!!!
The day is finally here!!! We’ve been looking forward to going on our Royal Caribbean cruise since we booked it in October. We were counting down the days!
We were so ready for the day to come.
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We had such a blast during out visit to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween (even with getting poured on!), that I was trilled when the opportunity to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party arose. I was so eager to check out the Magic Kingdom all decked out in it’s Christmas best.
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I still can’t believe that it is September! The year has sped by and that just means that the holidays will be around the corner before we know it.
I love living here in Florida but I have to admit that I do miss the fall season in New England. The cool mornings are refreshing, the color changing leaves are stunningly beautiful, and the decor is spot on. At least we can enjoy the decor here.
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When my brother and his family were visiting last week from CT, we took everyone strawberry picking. It was a great, delicious activity for everyone, especially the kids.
 
Strawberry picking is fun but it’s a great, affordable activity for young kids. They get such a trill finding a ripe berry to pick. And depositing it into the bucket (or their mouths) is the best. There is a great sense of accomplishment when you have picked something.
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