Philly Getaway: Great Place to Stay

NEWLY RENOVATED CROWNE PLAZA PHILADELPHIA WEST OFFERS

BEST OF CITY & SUBURBS

SPECTACULAR WINTER ROMANCE AND FAMILY PACKAGES

PHILADELPHIA, PA - - As winter settles in, The Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West, 4010 City Avenue offers an array of  overnight packages from family friendly to romantic that offer an affordable option to getting away without having to go too far.

Budget conscious travelers need to look no further than the recently renovated Crowne Plaza PhiladelphiaWest. Located in a premier location near some of the city and suburb’s best dining and shopping and a short drive from cultural and historical outlets, the hotel provides a reprieve from everyday life and an opportunity to see and taste some of the best things in the region.

Love to get away? Then, the Crown Plaza’s Valentine’s Day package is the perfect way to say I love you! The hotel is offering this spectacular package throughout the month of February! Spend an intimate night in the city with all the right touches, including champagne and strawberries upon arrival, plus a $40 gift certificate to Avenue Grill. Wake up the following morning and unwind, just the two of you, with a freshly prepared complimentary breakfast.

If you are looking to get away with the family, the Play & Stay package offers family fun with lots of extras! Enjoy deluxe accommodations, four general admission tickets to the Please Touch Museum, where since 1976, the Please Touch Museum has been the Children's Museum of Philadelphia. Their mission is to enrich the lives of children by creating learning opportunities through play. Let your child be your guide through six interactive exhibit zones certain to thrill and teach! Also included in the package is a breakfast buffet in the hotels’ Avenue Grille and use of the hotel’s spectacular indoor pool.

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Mexico Travel for Mind, Body & Spirit

Mexico Travel for

Mind, Body & Spirit

I know.  I'm STILL glowing about my trip to Mexico.  

But I seriously want you to know how much I LOVED it!

It did just that.  It renewed my mind, body & spirit.  So, I wanted to share some tips about traveling to Mexico.

I have to admit-the only other time I had flown into Mexico was to Cancun in 2006.  At that time, I didn't need a passport.  But we do now.  And that is a ROYAL pain. hahaha.

But it turns out, that it wasn't oh so bad.  It just requires patience and a few hours of your time.  And some extra money because it surely wasn't cheap to get one.  

Anyway.  When flying to Mexico here are my tips:

- Look like you know what you are doing and where you are going.  (I think it was a tad obvious that I was a newbie.  Casue I was a newbie.)

- Be prepared for a LONG delay for customs both coming in the country and going back out.  Yep.  We spent an hour going in to Mexico at customs in Mexico City.  Coming back into the US, we landed in Dallas.  There I had to go back through customs and ran like the wind to make my connecting flight.  It was a disaster.  Trust me.  Be sure to leave enough time when scheduling your flights!  (Not to mention, Dallas airport STINKS. haha)

- Don't eat food from the side of street vendors.  They have totally different rules than we do with pesticides, etc.  So don't eat the food unless you KNOW where its coming from.  Cause it might just ruin your ENTIRE trip.

- DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT drink the water.  Or ice.  Unless you want to be ill.  

- If you're traveling with kids, travel light.  Who am I kidding-travel light no matter what! lol  But with kids-you don't want to be chasing after them for everything. Plus picking up behind them. Ugh.  NOT FUN.  

Ok-let's pack our bags and get out of here!  

Great Wolf Lodge Review

Great Wolf Lodge Review

I've been DYING and trying to write this post.

Oh..for 2 weeks.

And here I am.  In the radio studio and finally can share the awesomeness of our experience.

I honestly have NO CLUE where the first couple weeks of October went.

But if you can tell me?  I'm down to hear it.  =)

Anyway.  

My little family of 3 got this super awesome experience to go check out Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos.

First off:  NEVER been to the Poconos.  I always think of the Poconos when I watch or hear of the movie Dirty Dancing.  Come to find out from my facebook friends-I Boston threw the eyes of a pineapple ring! hadon't even know if it was filmed there! ha.

Anyway, we drove to the mountains.  

The Poconos.  

It's sooo awesome how many short trips there are from Philly to family getaways.  

Honestly...Hershey?  Hour and a half.

Shore?  Hour and a half.

Baltimore?  D.C?  

You get the picture.

But the Poconos?

A family home run.

So-here is my review of the Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun, Pa.

Yes.  I'm sure they've heard ALL the jokes.  (As that's what I told my husband..FUNNY guy.)

First off:  It was a 1st class deal!!  

They whisked us into the Family Suite (complete with a balcony, couch, 2 beds, fridge, dining table..and more.)

They then shared this super awesome new feature they have added to the park called Story Explorers.  (WHICH-by the way they are doing this UNREAL family giveaway!!!!  This contest is really awesome.  So...by all means check it out.))

I decided to switch it up a bit and ask my husband what he thought about the trip.

He doesn't get to do these things all that awesome-nor has he EVER blogged.  (He's kind of an important, busy man.  Ahem.)

This is was response:

- water slides were awesome...lines were a little long

- kid pool and slides were excellent - no lines and perfect for a 3 to 5 year old - they can go up by themselves

- loved the make your own stuffed animal thing - and the book was awesome

- food was medicore and service wasn't great

- night time story was very unique and cool 

overall I would go back in a heartbeat.  I thought it was a great experience...but I would go back on a weekday.

My take on the trip:

-The 'one stop' $ shop for the room that included the water park rocked 

-The bowling alley was RIGHT down my alley

-My husband and 3 year old are SUCKERS at the game room. (Yes. They won..again..the big claw game.)

-The bands for kids and family?  AHEM.  Should be different colors.  (Yes-I am the idiot that put my 3 year olds band on...then I had to run to the room for a bathroom emergency which in turn wouldn't let me in and a guy had to tell me that it was a kids band.  Yes.  Not so smart.)

-The food?  Eh.  TOTAL kid food.  

-Would have loved to go on more rides...but lines were awful.  Plus we had a schedule to keep so we didn't get to enjoy the waterpark as much as I wanted to....

-But they did have a cupcake making station.

-The storytellers exhibit was a HIGHLIGHT!!  I loved watching Boston pick out his friend then learn the story.  Plus the book is really cool that they make with your kid in it!!

-

Hershey Lodge Reviews

Fireplace, Hershey Lodge EntranceHershey Lodge Reviews

One of my favorite things to do is travel.  Obviously. I kinda have a 'travel' section on my website.

And I like to think I'm great at picking nuggets that fit my family.  

This past weekend was a big holiday weekend where many families either hopped on a plane or loaded up the car. 

Well..up until about 9pm on Friday night we weren't going to leave the living room!

Hershey Bars at Check-InThen I realized we had 4 tickets to Hershey Park courtesy of the great people at Chevy.  ((Side note:  NO, they did not pay me to endorse them-but they TOTALLY have the BEST social media practice of all the car companies in the world.  SERIOUSLY. )) 

Anyway...so last minute I hopped online to see about their hotels.  Seems everytime I go to see if they have availability, I always get the 'contact reservations-nothing matches your inquiry at this time' type response.  

So, I called..and after 9 minutes, 54 seconds on hold ((I know cause I told my husband I'm hanging up if it hits 10 minutes)) I finally got a friendly reservationist.  

Hershey Kisses on the Wallpaper!They had one room at Hershey Lodge avail with a king bed.  Price:  $250 a night (($289 with tax)).  For sh*ts and giggles I asked about the Hershey Hotel rooms.  Yes.  One avail.  Price:  $489 ((YES....A NIGHT!!))

So, we decided to go for the poor mans special.

The $289 a night Hershey Lodge.

Now mind you, I had envisioned this "Lodge" like something you'd find in the Poconos.  

The trip took about an hour and a half to get there from Philly.  Not bad!  For some reason I was under the impression it was a lot further than that.  Now I know.

Reese's Guy with BostonWe got to the hotel, checked in and they gave us a special treat.... CHOCOLATE BARS.

THAT was kinda fun.  

We went up to our room and dropped off our stuff.  We didn't bring much since we were only going to stay the night and return the next day.  The room was average.  Very comparable to a Sheraton Suites or a Marriott.  

*NOTE:  I may be wrong, but don't recall paying upwards of $300 for either of those hotels.  $200 tops.  So the price that we paid for the Hershey Lodge wasn't the value we had expected.  And if we would have spent $600 for two nights, I would not have been a happy camper.  But since it was one night-not a big deal.

Kit Kat guy!They did have Hershey Kisses on the walls.  Yes.  In the wall paper.  

Another great thing they do at the resort is that they have a 'Kids Check-In'.  We missed it cause we were at HersheyPark but I thought it was really cool that they do that.  It definitely did well in the 'resort' area.  The check-in for kids, they from 2p-6p daily.  They give the kids their own 'key' and do other things like treats, etc.  

When we got back from Hershey Park I noticed they had someone from the Zoo there on the lawn with kids around them.  The man was holding a boa snake.  Boston was snoring so we didn't make it down there.  But I did notice they had a snowcone machine too.  

A couple things I noticed they did well:

*Biodegradable stuff.  Yes...they were on the 'save our planet' train like other hotel chains have done.  Great work.  Things like 'reuse your towels' and even a 'biodegradable showercap.'

*I'm a product junkie.  Hershey Lodge uses its own Chocolate Blend of products.  Chocolate Shampoo anyone?!?!?!  I rate a hotel on what kind of products they leave for you to use in the bathroom.  Congress Hall uses Aveda, W Hotel in Times Square uses Bliss, Avalon Golden Inn uses Bath & Body Works...and so on. YOU get the picture.  =)

Big smile and BIG strawberry Milk!*The Hershey Characters visited from 10-11a on Sunday morning.  Boston loved giving them a 'high five'.

*They have many things to choose from if you have a rainy day.  Like, Mini Golf, game room, etc.  We didn't see them-nor experience them.  But we knew they were there.

*The Bear's Den restaurant had GREAT stuff to keep the kids occupied!  They give out Wikki Stix.  (Their story is awesome...check them out sometime!)  Not only do they give them out-they display the artwork that kids make while there.  LOVED it!  I had to take pictures of it.

*Their gift shop had unique goodies in there.  Yes.  I'm a sucka for chotskies.  I won't pay silly amount of cash for something that is useless but if I find something fun in a gift shop or such I'll get it.  My son is a DIE HARD strawberry milk kid.  I think it's more psychological than anything.  Ever since he was tiny my husband use to take him to get 'strawberry milk and a donut' on the weekends at Dunkin Donuts. And it has just stuck.

So their gift shop had this almost lifesize bottle of strawberry syrup.  And it was a piggie bank.  So of course the SUCKA novelty lover I am got one for Boston.  I figured he'd toss it aside but turns out he loved it.  

Made me smile...not because I know how HORRIBLE that stuff is for my kid...but because it entails a memory that child will have for the rest of his life.  'Going with daddy to get strawberry milk and a donut' might be up there like 'hearing about the birds and the bees'.  NO!?!?!??!  Ok.  maybe not then.  

Oh well.  At least now he thinks we have to snag all of daddy's money and fill up our bottle so we can take a trip to Disney World!! hahaha. ((He's still at a great brainwashing age, ya know?))

You can't see the pic very well since it was after dinner and late when I took it.  But you can make out the smile and the bottle, right?!?!?!  

To RECAP:

*Hershey Lodge is a great place to stay if you head to Hershey, Pa.  It is definitely a bit overpriced...but I can't complain too much since we just came and went in 24 hours.  They did exceed the 'family options' though.

Have you been to Hershey? Where did you stay?

Check back to see our review of Chocolate World and Hershey Park.. 

DISCLAIMER:  This is my HONEST opinion of my experience.  No one knew I was coming....nor did I get any 'special' treatment to share my review.  My family paid for everything: except the tickets to HersheyPark.  They were provided by Chevy.  We just had a great time and many moments I said to my husband 'I have to write about this!'

Unplugging: The Gift of Camp

One thing that has been truly beneficial to me this summer was actually going out of town with OUT my computer.  I got to really enjoy my time with my family.

Here's a great way to do it with your family......

Unplugging: The Gift of Camp 

Throughout the school year our children can be overscheduled, stressed out and plugged in to some or multiple electronic devices. It is pretty unavoidable; between iTouches, iPads, computers, video games and TV, kids spend a good amount of their day "plugged in". Summer is the ideal time to literally unplug your child. There is no homework and the weather is perfect for outdoor fun and learning. When you send your child to camp in Maine, the majority of camps do not allow any electronics whatsoever. At some camps the older kids can listen to music during quiet time in their bunks... but for the most part it's all about enjoying the beauty and nature surrounding them. Ronald Hall camp director of O-AT-KA feels "When you are enjoying what Maine has to offer, you don't need any outside distraction. You learn to appreciate the sounds of the wilderness." Kids these days have a lot of pressure on them, whether it's academically, socially or even when it comes to material objects; there is always competition over who has what. For those glorious weeks they are at overnight camp, they don't have to worry about all that. Everyone is on the same playing field. Pam Cobb, Director of Camp Runoia says "Some campers feel relieved to not be plugged in. They have a chance to decompress." When you give your child the gift of sending them to overnight camp, they grow in so many ways, and unplugging them for that time is priceless. Interacting personally with peers and staff, connecting with the incredible water and nature, encouraging self-discovery and skill development, are all the rewards of unplugging at Maine camps. To find out more about all the amazing overnight camps in Maine, please visit Maine Camp Experience and start planning the best summers of your children's lives now!

Sponsored by the Role Mommy's writers network. To read personal stories by real camp parents, visit http://www.mainecampexperience.com/camp-reviews/