Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?
Weekend photos in review, old school edition. Cont Weekend photos in review, old school edition.
Context: 1) Lola has zero chill in the car, 2) fulfilling request for Chicken Parm Penne with Vodka Sauce, 3) Sunday vibes 4) my favorite porchetta sandwich 5) from @butlerandtheboard 6) affirmations, 7) the sun was out today
Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what phase you’re in. ✨ Got this one back in September and it’s one of my favorites. I sometimes forget it’s there until I get a random flash of it.
Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to ca Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to call Clifford an asshat, because he basically was. But there’s a new asshat in town… 🙄 Clifford is now a freaking rockstar. His tumor and age have slowed him down a LOT and he virtually never misbehaves, and we are seriously so proud of him. Lola, on the other hand, is still full blown PUPPY. Tonight I’m assembling a gate to replace the wooden one she ate through. 😂 Berners love wood and she is OBSESSED with being in the kitchen. So one new metal gate coming right up as soon as I can figure out how to put it together.
Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
People complain about how much time is spent on ph People complain about how much time is spent on phones sometimes, but if it wasn’t for phones. I wouldn’t have these awesome little snippets of them growing up. I only wish I had more. Appreciate and document the little mundane things, for they are the very fabric of your life.
happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’v happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’ve been waiting for the seasons to change and I’m so excited that Mother Nature was on board today! ☀️ There is nothing like the energy from the sun and it makes me happy. Hope you got some today!
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Visit: Sahara Sam’s {West Berlin, New Jersey}

November 5, 2013 · Narrative

An indoor water park in South New Jersey makes a perfect escape for a day trip.

UntitledWhen I took the kids and a friend of Nick’s to Dorney Park in September, it was an overcast and dreary day. Luckily, all was ok in terms of riding the rides and doing sightseeing, but it was too iffy for the water park, so we skipped it.

And the kids were majorly disappointed, because they are all about water. Like they would seriously spend all day, every day at the lake, the beach, or any other small or large body of water if I let them.

So I promised them a consolation prize.

That I would plan a trip to Sahara Sam’s for the next month (October), and we would make a day out of it.

Little did they know, I already had free passes to Sahara Sam’s, tucked away for just the right time.

Untitled

‘Cause I’m sneaky like that.

(And although people might think I’m silly for collecting Coke rewards, I’ve been doing it for about three years now, and that’s exactly how I got the free passes. So there.)

Untitled

The indoor water park is open from 10 am until 7 pm, and our goal was to leave in the morning, when everyone was up, and be down there by lunch. It’s about an hour and a half away from us, but a pretty easy, mostly highway drive.

Which was totally narrated by two eleven year old boys in the back seat and their video game sound effects.

Untitled

When you arrive, your bags are checked. I’m not exactly sure what they’re looking for, but I know you are not allowed to bring in your own food or drink.

We paid $6.50 for a large locker, which was the perfect size to store all our bags, clothes, shoes, and other unnecessary items. Lockers are accessed with special wrist bands, and it was kind of awesome not to have to keep track of a locker key.

And then the kids were off.

There are many different areas to explore, but the focus is on water slides, a lazy river, and a few obstacle course-type areas. The inside is similar to Great Wolf Lodge and CoCo Key, an expansive space with ample seating for parents to hold down a home base.

Untitled

At Great Wolf Lodge, you can’t pay for the day (the indoor water park is only for overnight hotel guests) and the inside temperature takes your breath away when you first walk in. At Sahara Sam’s (and likewise, Coco Key), the temperature was warm, but mild, and you can come and visit for the day.

There are life vests available for littler (and non-swimming) kids to use, and lifeguards stationed all over the place. The lifeguards do an excellent job, are definitely on high alert the whole entire time, and take their job very seriously. One kid slipped while we were there and went under water for a moment, and the lifeguard was in the water helping him with seconds, with back-up right behind him.

There is a bar for parents to indulge in adult beverages, a large restroom and locker area, and a cafe. Lunch choices are your typical highway robbery priced fare of chicken fingers, salads, burgers, pizzas, and the like. Avoid eating there, if you can. The prices are just, honestly, ridiculous. You also need an ID for all credit card purchases, even at the snack stand, and even though you had to show ID upon admission. Which means don’t just stick your wallet in your locker and grab a credit card without grabbing your license too.

Untitled

With your day pass, each visitor also gets $2 on an arcade card. Most games are 0.50-$2 a play, so, of course, the $2 is gone before you can blink. The games can only be played by loading more money (minimum of $5) onto the card (no coin play). When you win tickets, you swipe your card into a separate machine, and feed the tickets into it, and it adds the value to your card, which makes it easy when you go to cash in your points for ridiculous pieces of plastic junk nobody needs.

Although the allure of the arcade is tempting, that wasn’t what we were there for, so we kept our playing to the $2 that came with our admission. Ok, and, of course, if you know me, you know we also did the photo booth.

Because I never skip a photo booth.

The only drawback to Sahara Sam’s is that they really don’t have any open pool areas if kids just want to swim or wade (they *do* outside, just not in the indoor portion). CoCo Key definitely does. They also do not provide towels (the other indoor water parks do). Luckily I saw this mentioned on their web site, so we brought our own beach towels with us.

If you’re not going with free passes, do buy your tickets online. You’ll save a few dollars on each ticket that way (just pay and print), and Sahara Sam’s runs frequent specials (on the weekend we went, admission was “buy one, get one 50% off,” for example). Even without discounts, the daily passes are very reasonably priced.

All in all, the kids had a great afternoon, and it was the perfect way to escape a little cold weather.

Sahara Sam’s
535 N Route 73
West Berlin, NJ 08091
Telephone: (856) 767-7580

Follow Sahara Sam’s on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPRINT

Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: CoCo Key, day trip, Great Wolf Lodge, New Jersey, Sahara Sam's

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    November 6, 2013 at 7:25 am

    I’ve never heard of an indoor water park before! I was definitely wondering how you guys went in October! I mean, it was still warm, but not THAT warm!
    Joanne recently posted..Salt-and-Pepper Biscuits with Rustic Cornmeal Swiss Chard Soup

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Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?
Weekend photos in review, old school edition. Cont Weekend photos in review, old school edition.
Context: 1) Lola has zero chill in the car, 2) fulfilling request for Chicken Parm Penne with Vodka Sauce, 3) Sunday vibes 4) my favorite porchetta sandwich 5) from @butlerandtheboard 6) affirmations, 7) the sun was out today
Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what phase you’re in. ✨ Got this one back in September and it’s one of my favorites. I sometimes forget it’s there until I get a random flash of it.

Pinterest

Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?
Weekend photos in review, old school edition. Cont Weekend photos in review, old school edition.
Context: 1) Lola has zero chill in the car, 2) fulfilling request for Chicken Parm Penne with Vodka Sauce, 3) Sunday vibes 4) my favorite porchetta sandwich 5) from @butlerandtheboard 6) affirmations, 7) the sun was out today
Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what phase you’re in. ✨ Got this one back in September and it’s one of my favorites. I sometimes forget it’s there until I get a random flash of it.
Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to ca Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to call Clifford an asshat, because he basically was. But there’s a new asshat in town… 🙄 Clifford is now a freaking rockstar. His tumor and age have slowed him down a LOT and he virtually never misbehaves, and we are seriously so proud of him. Lola, on the other hand, is still full blown PUPPY. Tonight I’m assembling a gate to replace the wooden one she ate through. 😂 Berners love wood and she is OBSESSED with being in the kitchen. So one new metal gate coming right up as soon as I can figure out how to put it together.
Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
People complain about how much time is spent on ph People complain about how much time is spent on phones sometimes, but if it wasn’t for phones. I wouldn’t have these awesome little snippets of them growing up. I only wish I had more. Appreciate and document the little mundane things, for they are the very fabric of your life.
happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’v happy Spring, friends! Y’all know how long I’ve been waiting for the seasons to change and I’m so excited that Mother Nature was on board today! ☀️ There is nothing like the energy from the sun and it makes me happy. Hope you got some today!

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