Travel Archives - Page 9 of 9

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.

Titanic Museum Audio Tour Review

June 15, 2011 By Lindsay 8 Comments

A year ago, I went to the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge and did 3 separate Titanic Pigeon Forge Reviews posts on it. Well, this past weekend, I was lucky enough to make a return trip to the museum with my mother to witness their new audio tour!

The Titanic Pigeon Forge Audio Tour is pretty cool. For an additional $6 (or 2 for $10), you receive a cool personal handheld speaker device. The device has numbers as well as volume controls. There is an adult and youth version of the audio. Around the museum they have several plaques up which have numbers on them. You simply enter this number into your handheld device and press the green button to hear about this part of the museum. The cool thing about this is that you can hear either the adult and/or the youth’s version since both are stored on the device.

I really enjoyed the added audio. It means you can get additional information not written up in front of you. Plus, the extremely cool thing is that some of the audio is from interviews with actual Titanic survivors from years ago. So, you can get the facts, plus the experience from the people who were there! I thought that was so neat!

My mother and I tried to listen to both formats of the audio. The youth’s was a little more exciting/fun than the serious adult. However, they are both good. I liked that you can control the volume and you hold up to your own ear. That makes the experience more personal. I definitely think the audio adds something to the experience of the museum.

My mother really liked the museum, as this was her first time seeing it. It was a nice experience that is wonderful for the whole family. As you know from my previous posts, there is something for everyone at the museum. The addition of the audio just makes it even more open for the whole family. Plus, it’s a nice place away from the heat of the day. Haha!

You can keep up with all of the new additions and events at the museum by liking the Titanic Museum on Facebook and following TitanicUSA on Twitter. Additionally, you can text TITANIC to 62447 to receive event information or text ICEBERG to 62447 to receive a discount in the gift shop! 😀

Disclosure: I received free passes and an audio tour for myself and my mother. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Wilderness at the Smokies Review

June 9, 2010 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Well, you may have read the I’m going to post or guessed where I was going in this post. Now, I’m back and ready to share with my lovely readers about my wonderful trip! First, I wanted to do a post about the waterpark resort that I stayed at. That’s right. I got to stay at a lovely resort that has a waterpark on site! How nice is that?

Wilderness at the Smokies

I got to stay in the portion of the resort that is connected to the indoor waterpark! The picture above is of the beds, couch and balcony of the room. I love how the room decor goes along with the wilderness theme. The wood of the beds and table are sort of rough around the edges (not rough to touch). The beds are actually pretty comfy! The couch in the background is really nice, too! It is comfortable and roomy!

Our Room

Here is a picture of the view from our balcony! It was a nice and relaxing balcony. The resort even gives you two chairs and a foot stool to relax on outside. Doesn’t that look calming and nice? It was nice to step out at night when it was cooler and just enjoy being away for the night.

This next picture shows the cute table for two in the room and the wonderful tv and stand in the room. My boyfriend went with me on my trip and we enjoyed a nice little breakfast at this adorable table. It made for a nice start to the day. The rooms also come with a flat-screen television and dvd player! We actually watched some tv on Wednesday night and the tv is really nice. Also, in this picture you can also see how the wood goes along with the wilderness theme.

Another great thing about the rooms at Wilderness at the Smokies is that each room comes with a mini-kitchen area! This area includes a mini-refrigerator, a cook top, coffee maker, microwave and sink. It is nice to have so that you don’t have to go out into Sevierville, you can just stay in and cook your meals. It’s also a great way to save money (the meals at the resort are a bit pricey and we didn’t try any of the food there). They also include a mirror with another sink for a vanity type area. That means there is two sinks in the room! I think that is a really nice touch.

Indoor Waterpark

Now, on to the waterparks! Since I stayed only one night, we hit up the Wild WaterDome Indoor Waterpark. The indoor park has 2 tube slides and 2 adventure slides under a see-thru Texlon roof that allows you to get a year-round tan! It also has a wave pool, a kiddie area Washout Mountain, the Smokies SurfRider, and a regular pool. My boyfriend and I rode two of the tube slides. Here is a picture of the 4 slides. We rode the purple and yellow ones. We went down the purple one first and it was so much fun. Then, we tried the yellow one. I’m glad we did the purple one first. The yellow one gets completely black/dark at one point and I didn’t expect that. It scared me! I was too chicken to try the Storm Chaser (the orange and white one)! My boyfriend really liked the Great Wave wave pool. He went into it two or three times. He liked trying to go against the waves. I enjoyed relaxing in the 3.5 foot regular pool.

One Complaint

As you can tell, it’s a great place for people of all ages (it also has a 36-hole golf course)! It’s a nice place for families! You can go and enjoy the park during the day and then not have to drive home. My ONLY and very tiny complaint about the whole place is the long walks. Here is a picture of the hallway that our room was on. I took this at the end of the hall to demonstrate that I’m not just being your average lazy person. Hehe! However, I definitely think if that’s the only thing I could find wrong with the place, then it is really awesome! The long halls wouldn’t stop me from visiting again (actually, I would love to go back and experience the outdoor waterpark). I just want my readers to feel like they’ve actually been there and seen the whole place. Wilderness at the Smokies provides a fun experience for the whole family and even has a friendly staff! The check-in and check-out were quick, easy, and painless! I would definitely go back there!

Disclaimer: I received a free night at the Wilderness at the Smokies. However, I was not obligated to review it. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.