Travel Archives - Page 8 of 9

Pigeon Forge Titanic Museum Attraction Christmas Decorations

November 30, 2012 By Lindsay 1 Comment

As you know, I love it when I get to feature the Titanic Museum Attraction. It seems like they are always coming up with something new to display that makes me want to go back and visit. Just in time for holiday season, the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge has been decorated for Christmas! That’s right, they have put up greenery, lights, and Christmas trees around the museum! I was able to take a tour of the newly decorated attraction a week ago and was very pleased with it.

Titanic Museum Attraction Christmas

For starters, the outside of the ship is decorated. The light poles have ribbon bows and greenery wrapped around them. Then, there are wreaths on the outside of the museum. Additionally, there is the huge pile of gift boxes (pictured above) outside in front of the bow of the ship. It is perfect for taking pictures with. There’s even a little spot for you to sit down and do so. I love that the packages even say “Titanic” on them so you know where you were when you took the picture.

Christmas Inside the Ship

The inside of the museum is decked-out, too. They have strategically placed decor around the museum so that you are reminded that it’s almost Christmas without it being over the top. For instance, my boyfriend liked that the bags of mail had bows on them. He suggested that kids had written letters to Santa that were being mailed. Additionally, the suites are decorated, too. The second class passenger room had some neat little things while the first class suite had a full size Christmas tree in it.

They also managed to make the grand staircase look even more beautiful. There are two Christmas trees at the bottom of it. Then, there’s pretty greenery and red bows on the staircase. This also means that when you have your picture taken, the background of the grand staircase includes the pretty Christmas scenery. It’s a really nice touch to complete the overall Christmas takeover of the museum.

Vising the museum was the perfect way to kick-off the holiday season. All of the pretty decor definitely helped get me into a more cheery mood. Now, I want to decorate my home for the holidays. So, will you be visiting the Titanic Museum Attraction this holiday season?

Disclosure: I received free passes to the museum. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

eBags Packing Cubes and Weekender Luggage Review

July 11, 2012 By Lindsay 57 Comments

Earlier this year, I excitedly introduced you to the Piazza Lucca Satchel from eBags in a review. Now, I am super happy to partner with them again for another review (and an awesome giveaway to come in the very near future). This time I want to highlight some of eBags great travel products, in case you are planning to take a summer vacation or head out to a lovely blog conference. 😉

Let’s start with one of the more unique products I’ve seen. They are called packing cubes. They allow you to organize your bag easily. There are three cubes which are made of TechLite Diamond Nylon. This means they are soft yet durable. They can be squeezed into your bag to make room for other stuff while keeping the contents inside neatly. There are three different sizes included to allow you to pack all sorts of things. They even include a handy guide to give you ideas of how they can be used. The small cube can be used to store things like toiletries, shorts, hair styling products, writing utensils, electronic cords, snacks, etc. The medium can be used to transport your shorts, pajamas, books, folders, crayons, or just an extra set of clothes. Then, the large is great for your shirts, pants, skirts, light jackets, gym towel, blankets, and even toys. As you can see, they are great for everything from travel and business use to home organization and gym or diaper bags.

So, you get your stuff organized and packed, but now you need a great piece of luggage to hold it all? Well, the TLS Weekender Convertible bag is a great one to turn to. This thing is really awesome. First, I just thought it was a pretty bag, but when I started to actually look at it, I was amazed with all of its features. This bag looks like a simple backpack, but it is much more than that. It has room for you to carry lots of stuff. I believe it would make for the perfect carry-on bag for a flight. There’s a place for your clothing (great for use with the packing cubes) as well as an adjustable Laptop Sling. So, you can have clothing as well as electronics or reading material with you. Additionally, the front of the bag unzips to reveal even more spaces to put stuff. Just look at how much room this bag has (it even has an extra zipper that can be undone to allow the bag to increase in size or zipped up to make the bag flatter).

eBags TLS Weekender Convertible Insides — Inside the eBags TLS Weekender Convertible.

Not only does the bag provide you with ample space to transport stuff, it has many ways you can carry it. I was surprised to find so many different handles on the bag. There’s one on the top of it, the side, and the top of it. Plus, I found two detachable straps for the bag. Additionally, it has the backpack straps which can be stored away and out of sight with a zipper (top left picture in the collage). This means you can wear the bag comfortably, no matter where you are. Just look at the options.

So, are you as impressed with the packing cubes and TLS Weekender Convertible from eBags as I am? I absolutely love it and am just waiting for the opportunity to take it somewhere. 😉 Stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway event with the Noise Girls called Seen in the City for your chance to win some packing cubes and this bag from eBags. Additionally, you can stay up-to-date with them by following eBags on Twitter and liking eBags on Facebook.

Disclosure: I received the eBags packing cubes and bag for free. I was not required to post about them. The opinions expressed are my own.

Titanic Museum Attraction 100 Years Anniversary Giveaway

March 16, 2012 By Lindsay 46 Comments

It’s no surprise, that I love visiting the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge. I mean I’ve been lucky enough to visit a couple of times and post a couple of Titanic Museum reviews. So, when I was offered the opportunity to tell you about the Titanic Museum Attraction 100th Anniversary Tribute Event going on at the museum (and host a giveaway), I jumped on it.

Both of the Titanic Museums in Pigeon Forge and Branson are hosting a Titanic Tribute Event on Saturday, April 14th at 8:30 pm. These are the only 2 places in the United States where guests can attend a tribute event. It is called “A Night to Remember: An Original Musical Tribute to Titanic,” and it will feature musical performances, historic ceremonies and appearances by actual descendants of Titanic’s passengers and crew! Wow! Won’t that be a lovely event and tribute to those who were on the ship? Oh, and in case you were wondering, April 14th is the 100th anniversary of the night the ship hit the iceberg. So, the tribute will have some real meaning to it.

I’m actually going to be receiving passes to the event. However, one lucky reader will win a family pack of tickets to the museum to visit during the 100th year anniversary. The tickets will be good until August 31, 2012 with one day they can’t be used: April 14th. So, 2 adults and up to 4 kids can visit the museum with these passes.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED!

Disclosure: The prize tickets are being provided by the Titanic Museum Attraction. Also, I will be receiving free VIP tickets to the tribute event at the museum for hosting this giveaway. The opinions expressed are my own.

What I Learned at the #GreenGiantVV

August 22, 2011 By Lindsay 8 Comments

You already know that I had a fabulous time at the Green Giant Valley Visit last week. So, I wanted to share with you some interesting things I learned about Green Giant while there.

What I Learned at Green Giant

I learned that Green Giant started out as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1903 in Le Sueur, Minneosta. The first ad with the Green Giant appeared in 1928. However, the company didn’t officially become Green Giant until 1950. Something I found to be very exciting was that even though Green Giant is a big-name brand (to me), the company still works with small family-owned farms to grow its vegetables. Then, the company harvests the vegetables at the peak of perfection in a timely manner to lock in the nutrients and taste.

Not only is Green Giant a great company, they are constantly trying to make improvements in the way things are done. For instance, we learned about the sweet corn sustainability projects (picture of board below). Over the last several years, Green Giant has dramatically increased the amount of yield (corn produced) per acre of land used. This means less land is needed to grow the corn. Plus, it helps farmers make more money with their land.

Green Giant also helps farmers use less water. They are in the process of converting broccoli farms to drip irrigation (versus traditional irrigation) which is 50 percent more efficient. I was really happy to learn that Green Giant has eliminated over 90 percent of pesticides used to grow sweet corn and cutting applications in half. They are also finding ways to have more efficient packaging and recycling packaging material.

Green Giant is really trying to become more green with many new and upcoming ideas and projects for sustainability. Plus, I know that they are constantly trying different variations/kind of their vegetables. I mean their test plant harvested many different types of corn the day I was there. I know they also do a taste-test every Thursday. Green Giant is really trying to become even better than they already are. So, kudos to Green Giant.

Did any of this information surprise or intrigue you? Are you a bigger fan of Green Giant now (like I am)?

Disclosure: Green Giant sponsored my trip. The opinions expressed are my own.

My #GreenGiantVV

August 19, 2011 By Lindsay 7 Comments

Wow! I still can’t believe everything I was able to experience on my GreenGiantVV or the Green Giant Valley Visit! It was so much fun and interesting. I have another post detailing stuff I learned about Green Giant. In this post, I wanted to go over what we actually did.

#GreenGiantVV Arrival

Tuesday
I arrived in Minnesota and was greeted with a great package from Green Giant and a fabulous room at the Marriott Southwest. My package contained my first blogger badge. 😀 I’m official now. Haha! It also contained a wonderful L.L. Bean tote bag with some awesome green boots, sunblock for Wednesday, a Green Giant folder which sings the Green Giant Ho Ho Ho tune when you open it and a Green Giant branded hat. My room had 2 queen sized beds in it! Plus, it had a nice television and an iPod docking system. Such a nice room!

Everyone went out for a dinner cruise on Lake Minnentonka that night. It actually stormed while we were out there. However, the conversation was lively, fun, and interesting. I somehow managed not to take any photos of this. *sigh* Afterwards, I hung out with some of the other bloggers at the Marriott, which was a real hoot.

GreenGiantVV Tours

Wednesday
This day was jam-packed with stuff! This is when I learned everything I want to tell you about Green Giant. It started with a nice breakfast and I got to meet Lil’ Sprout. 🙂 Then, we headed off to the Valley.

We visited the Green Giant Ag Research facility. I got to walk through the Seed Vault (which is colder than I thought it would be) and toured the Test Plant. I couldn’t take pictures in either of those locations. However, it was really fun. Then, we were driven to a nursery where I wore my awesome green boots and learned more about Green Giant’s sustainability projects.

Next, we went to a local farm for lunch. This lunch was simply magnificent. The apple pie was some of the best pie I’ve ever had. Plus, it was a beautiful day which made for a lovely experience. Then, we took a hay ride to the corn field where we got to pick, shuck, and eat sweet corn. OMG! The corn was so sweet!

Then, we returned to the Ag Research Facility to taste different types of Green Giant corn. Fyi: I love the canned niblets. Then, we were driven to the Le Suer Museum which has a room with just Green Giant stuff in it. It was really interesting to see all of the stuff. We also got to view a video on the history of Green Giant as well as some upcoming commercials.

We headed back to the Marriott to freshen up for dinner. General Mills was generous enough to send us bloggers to Bar la Grassa that night where the James Beard Foundation 2011 BEST CHEF – MIDWEST: ISAAC BECKER cooks. Bar la Grassa was named one of the top 10 best new restaurants by Bon Appetit in 2010 and I can see why. This meal was really the best one I’ve ever had. It was a five course meal! Some of my favorite dishes included the Soft Eggs and Lobster, Crab Ravioli, Halibut with Wild Mushrooms, and the dessert. I picked the Salted Caramel Crespelle for my fifth course and I’m so glad I did. You can see a picture of it in the slideshow above. It was to die for. I even did my butt dance for it while seated. 😉 Oh, and the conversations during the meal were very insightful – thanks to my new found friends at Robyn’s Online World, Serendipity Mommy, and Confessions of an Over-Worked Mom. What nice ladies!

GreenGiantVV Departure

Thursday
I traveled back home which was pretty uneventful (thankfully).

So, there you have it. I feel so lucky/blessed to have been chosen for this trip. Thank you General Mills and Green Giant.

Disclosure: General Mills sponsored my trip to the Green Giant Valley. The opinions expressed are my own.