‘Travel’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory {Niagara Falls, Canada}

August 1, 2019 · Narrative, Travel

“A quiet little oasis and the perfect spot to become one with nature and learn more about butterflies. Let’s visit the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory!

Since this was our second time visiting Niagara Falls, as I was compiling my list of things to do, I concentrated on finding new things that we missed on our first go around, and this is how I discovered the Butterfly Conservatory. I’ll be the first to admit, my kids weren’t entirely interested in going and needed a bit of coaxing, but some things focus 100% on what they want to check out, and sometimes I get to choose. The fact that it was a wee bit like a sauna inside the conservatory probably didn’t help, but once we left, they both admitted they enjoyed it.

Alright, let’s get to it.

It was very easy to find, and really not far from the floral clock and the Centennial Lilac Garden. There was a reasonably sized parking lot that, although they had only opened an hour before we got there, was filling up fairly quickly. We stopped at the snack shop right outside the entrance and grabbed a few (overpriced) glass bottles of water (it was hot!), and made our way to the entrance. Admission is reasonably priced, between $13-15 for adults and $8 for kids under 13, and surprisingly about the same cost as our aero car adventure, and once inside, you are free to wander on a self-guided tour, which is pretty much our favorite was to explore.

There were literally hundreds of butterflies freely flying around the conservatory, and even landing on many guests. Maddie was desperate to have one land on her, and even proclaimed that she wasn’t leaving until one did. Sadly we gave up that objective after an hour of unsuccessful attempts. I did read this tip after we left > “Visitors are encouraged to wear bright clothes, wear perfume or cologne and move slowly if they wish to have butterflies land on them.” > so we might have to make one more visit for her to try again.

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Stay: Kimpton Saint George Hotel {Toronto, Canada}

July 26, 2019 · Narrative, Travel

Heading to Toronto for a getaway? Check into the Kimpton Saint George Hotel, and you will not be disappointed.

Ever since I got my drivers license a million years ago, I have always loved road trips. My kids kinda sorta love them (depends on the destination, duration, and mood).

And so that’s how we found ourselves driving to Toronto at the end of May. We had been to Canada a few years ago, and loved our Niagara Falls visit, so when we went back to visit the Falls again this past Spring, we wanted to venture a little bit beyond that area.

In the grand scheme of things, I would have liked to stay a few days longer in Toronto, but we just did one overnight this time. When I was looking for hotels, I picked the brain of a friend who had recently gone there with her family for Spring Break, and she mentioned how much she loved the Kimpton. I had never even heard of the hotel chain until then, and now that we’ve been, we are all smitten.

Any time I’m booking a hotel room, I like to stay under a hundred bucks a night. Because, let’s be real, I am looking for a safe area and a clean bed, anything after that is a bonus (swimming pool and room service check my kids’ boxes). I sometimes find great deals through Groupon or Living Social, and scour all the travel web sites, and the hotel’s own web site as well. Kimpton is not exactly an inexpensive brand, but I got lucky and because I had flexibility with my arrival date, and with the US/Canadian conversion, our gorgeous room ended up being around $75/night.

SCORE!

We pulled up right to the front door and splurged the extra ten bucks for valet parking, because even if I didn’t, I still would have had to pay for parking, and it would be in a separate lot and a bit of a schlep. We were greeted warmly as soon as we walked into the lobby and checked in quickly. Adjacent to the lobby is a comfortable sitting area, with lemon water, a few books, and a fireplace.

We walked down the hallway to the elevator so we could dump our bags and start checking out our room.

To say the hotel is very Instagram-worthy would be an understatement. There was a photo opp literally around every corner.

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Visit: Whirlpool Aero Car {Niagara Falls, Canada}

June 2, 2019 · Narrative, Travel

Visiting the Canadian side of Niagara Falls? Put the Whirlpool Aero Car on your list – it’s not to be missed!

We visited Niagara Falls (and Toronto) for a few days over the Memorial Day weekend and, since we’ve been there before, I wanted to make sure we had new things to do this time around, and this Whirlpool Aero Car was one of the stops that made our list, and I’m glad it did.

I cannot properly express in words or photos how seriously amazing this is. I am honestly not a big fan of heights, but usually the opportunity for a photo opp will trump that fear, and this was no exception. That being said, as I approached the Aero Car to get on, I almost didn’t. It doesn’t look like much is holding you up over the water, and you are up really high, so I absolutely hesitated, but I ended up getting on.

When the Guide saw me hesitating, she reassured me that I would be fine. One of the things she said was that they only need two cables to carry the car over the water, and they actually had six cables, and everything had been replaced recently. I still moved very slowly and held on tightly, both to my phone and to the railing, but I’m so glad I didn’t let fear hold me back from this opportunity. In fact, I liked it so much that I debated momentarily, turning right around and paying to go on it again.

It was that amazing.

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Weekend Photos in Review

May 28, 2019 · Photos, Travel

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Visit: Packet Alley, Delaware

August 12, 2018 · Narrative

Looking for a fun day trip with your family? Let’s head to Delaware!

Last summer, another family and I planned a whirlwind day trip to Delaware. If you’re a regular reader here, you know I am fond of the Roadside America app, and that’s how a quick visit to Packet Alley in New Castle, Delaware got added to our “Things to Do” list.

Seriously the cutest neighborhood ever with narrow cobblestone streets and beautifully designed houses, I swear I would move there in a heartbeat. We slowly navigated our way to our destination and found on-street parking easily.

This above sign was put in in 1933, to herald the significance of this little blink-and-you-miss it historical alley way.

Why was this spot so important?

Back in the 1830s and ’40s, it was a common DC-to-Northeast thoroughfare for many of those traveling North. Stagecoaches from the south would unload on one end of the alley by the street, and riverboats from the north would pick up the contents from the other end and be on their way. A practice started in the 19th century, many famous people walked the same path we did that summer day, including former President Andrew Jackson, Presidential hopeful Henry Clay, Davy Crockett and Chief Black Hawk.

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Visit: Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia {Spring Break 2018}

April 13, 2018 · Narrative

Making our way through the East Coast’s amusement parks one rip roarin’ ride at a time, let’s visit Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia!

Busch Gardens is one of my fond memories from childhood vacations. I have no idea how old I was when we went, but I don’t think my sister was born yet, so that would put me at 9 or younger. I distinctly remember Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg, and taking a visit to these destinations has been on my list for the past five years. It kept falling lower on the list because of the long six plus hour drive to get there, but this year, we finally got it done.

Interestingly enough, during our time in Virginia last week, we met a few other families that were actually there for the same reason. It was a vacation from their childhood that they wanted to share with their own kids.

Check and check.

Busch Gardens graciously comped me two admission tickets, which was quite generous given the entrance tickets for four years old and older are $90 a person! Eeek!

Unfortunately, while it was our Spring Break last week, it also appeared that everyone else was on Spring Break too! The traffic started about two miles before the highway exit for Busch Gardens. At first I just thought that it was late morning rush hour traffic. Unfortunately I was wrong. From that two mile mark to when we actually parked our car in the far-flung-Scotland parking lot, it was over an hour. It was so bad that the parking lot ticket agents were comping everyone’s parking, which was a nice savings of $20.

Given the weather was grey skies and a threat of rain and a cool fifty degrees, we weren’t expecting it to be as busy as it was, Spring Break or not. Apparently the employees thought the same because we heard several of them talking about the very unexpected 25,000 guests that were there that day!

Because we ended up actually entering the park so late, we actually stopped for food as soon as we got in. Probably not the best idea, because everyone else does the same. Busch Gardens is set up with different countries, and the first country is England. If we had walked a smidge farther, just into the next country, the wait for food probably wouldn’t have been quite so bad, but hindsight and all that being what it was, we stopped at the first place we saw.

Wanting to experience things, ahem, properly, because we were in England, I opted for the fish and chips, while my kids got chicken fingers, and salad. I actually ended up getting the kids meal for myself (pictures on the top left in the below photo), because it was three dollars cheaper and looked like plenty of food for lunch, and it was. The food was cooked to order, which was awesome in terms of freshness, but not so much in terms of the wait. It was about forty-five minutes before I had our tray with food, and luckily I stationed my kids outside on table duty since there are only a handful of tables to grab from to sit and eat. The pricing is akin to any other amusement park, lunch was around $34.

Once satiated we started scouring the nearby gift shops and rides. We actually ended up hopping on the train ride first, because it’s a good way to get a quick overview of the park and scope things out. It goes through four countries and makes a full circle, so you can either get off at a different country or take a round trip (we did the latter).

As a side note, we didn’t see any paper maps near the entrance, nor did the ticket staff hand us one when we went through, so we were kind of winging it through stumbling and finding things.

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Visit: Journey Behind the Falls {Niagara Falls, Canada}

March 15, 2018 · Narrative

When you’re visiting Niagara Falls, you want to dive deep into all things Falls-related, and that’s exactly what we did. Let’s Journey Behind the Falls.

In the interest of getting all the Canada photos off my phone, and because Spring Break season is coming up and readers may be venturing to Niagara Falls, I figured I would continue some of my blog posts from our visit last Spring.

There are several different touristy things you can do when you’re visiting Niagara Falls, and I really debated about which ones we should do. I, along with the rest of the world, am obsessed with the Falls itself, so I wanted to get up close and personal. But … within reason.

The Maid of the Mist, the boat that actually takes you out on the water, was tempting. But I’m not gonna lie, seeing it tossed around a bit on the rough water made me think of the little boats of survivors that jumped from the Titanic. And the people coming off the Maid of the Mist were WET. See the below photo.

So we did the next best thing and signed up for the Journey Behind the Falls excursion instead, which was perfect.

It was walking distance, even in the chilly rainy weather, from our hotel, so we hit the streets.

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Visit: Turkey Hill Experience {Columbia Pennsylvania}

January 25, 2018 · Narrative

Looking for something fun to do with your kids? Or maybe you just love ice cream? Let’s check out the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

A visit to the Turkey Hill Experience has been on our bucket list seriously, like, forever. Every single time we’re in Pennsylvania, or going through it, I look up how far away we are from it, and it is always over two hours away. Pennsylvania is really deceiving. It’s big, wide, and everything is always in the opposite direction.

Not kidding.

But when we were meandering about Hershey last month, we actually found ourselves only about thirty minutes from Turkey Hill, and FINALLY, we were able to go and get it crossed off our list.

Located in downtown Columbia, the place was easy to find and, although the parking lot was fairly full when we arrived, we were able to find spaces up the hill a bit.

The layout when you walk in is a little … weird and counter-intuitive. Although there is a Guest Services desk right inside the door when you enter the building, you actually have to go upstairs to purchase the tour tickets. The downstairs registers are strictly for gift shop purchases.

Once upstairs, there are a few different options to choose from, between the self-guided tour and a few tastings. Because of the timing of the tastings, and because we were heading back on the road home right after this stop, we opted for just the tour, and paid our admission (they give discounts for AAA, btw).

There were a lot of guests milling around, and some kids racing around, and it was generally happy chaos. You can meander on your own from room to room, learning about Turkey Hill and their product line. Some rooms are filled with placards of information about the company, some have interactive displays, and there are a few tasting areas, one with their iced teas, and one with a variety of ice creams. No limit on how many items you taste, and the ice cream tastings are very generously portioned (which means we all actually stopped after trying one flavor!). There were several new flavors that day that I haven’t heard of!

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Visit: Grove’s Candies {Hershey, PA}

January 5, 2018 · Narrative

How can you visit Hershey, PA and not visit ALL THE CANDY STORES? That was exactly our thought as we walked into Grove’s Candies recently.

We spent two days in Hershey during Christmas break, and although I have been going to Hershey since I was a kid, during this trip, we did things that I (and my kids) have never done before, which made it exponentially more awesome. I just momentarily fell down the blogging rabbit hole … we used to go to Hershey semi-annually, but it seems we actually haven’t been since 2011! I promised Madeline we would go back this year when the weather warms up a bit. Although the theme park was open last week when we were there, the wind was making the cold weather almost unbearable.

Focusing on enjoying other attractions in Hershey is exactly how we found ourselves walking into Grove’s one afternoon last week. My friend had spied the brochure at the hotel we were staying at, and it was around the corner from another stop we made in the area, so, of course, we had to go.

It was easy to find, and is the bottom level of a small house right on East Chocolate Avenue (on street parking). As soon as we opened the door, we were greeted by a very friendly and talkative elderly woman who welcomed us right in. She was definitely up for visitors and was excited to explain every single candy item they make in the store. She has been making candy for over sixty years, and everything is made by her family and another family.

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When in Canada, Eat Poutine {Potato Heads}

November 6, 2017 · Narrative

Warm gravy, melted gooey cheese, crispy fries … let’s dig into some traditional Canadian food and have poutine!

Once of the (many) perks of participating in National Blog Posting Month, where bloggers post daily for a full month, is that I can tackle many of the topics that I’ve had on a running list on my phone for the past … um … few years. The good news is, I have no shortage of topics; the bad news is, sometimes I get a little more behind than I’d like.

So let’s go back to Spring Break this year, when we visited Canada!

When it comes to visiting anyplace new, I always make a point to seek out the “must eat” food items of that area, to really get a taste, no pun intended, on what it’s like to be a local. And when I started searching the food items that were not to be missed in Canada, poutine kept coming up.

And with good reason.

Poutine is a popular French-Canadian dish that is comprised of french fries, hot brown gravy, and melty, gooey, cheese curds. I mean, really, what’s not to love? The dish has been around since the 1950s, and legend has it that besides being a great hangover cure dish the day after a bender, it was a popular meal amongst truck drivers because it’s hearty and not as greasy as you’d expect.

But if you’ve been a visitor to my site for any length of time (or especially if you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat), you know I was in as soon as I heard cheese.

Because #cheeseismyhappyplace.

Poutine’s popularity, of course, traveled beyond the Canadian borders, and if you’re in the US, particularly in the New Jersey area, an adaptation of poutine is more commonly known as disco fries. The biggest difference between the two dishes is that disco fries features melted mozzarella, as opposed to the original cheese curds of the Canadian version.

Now that we’ve covered the what, onto the where.

Just as I’ve said before, if you want to know where to find the best local eats, ASK A LOCAL.

And so when we were in the middle of a downtown grocery store, I asked a store clerk where to go for the best poutine. Not where she sends tourists, but where SHE would go.

Which is exactly how we found ourselves a few miles away, hunting for the bright orange Potato Heads food truck in a grocery store parking lot.

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Visit: DuPont Environmental Education Center {Wilmington, Delaware}

September 24, 2017 · Narrative

Looking for a fun place to visit in Delaware? We stopped at the DuPont Environmental Education Center, and found it’s quite the little treasure trove in Wilmington.

When we made a whirlwind day trip to Delaware last month, I had our day very carefully planned so we could make the most of our time there. The DuPont Environmental Education Center in Wilmington came up as one of the “Top 10 Places to Visit,” and I quickly added it to our list for the day. We drove there right after our visit to the Brandywine Zoo, and it was pretty close by.

It’s located in a sort of industrial park area, and I kind of thought we were lost as the Waze app was directing us. As we went under an overpass, scenes from Law & Order flashed in my mind … like if I go missing, they should start the search here. But never fear, we continued to follow the directions and then we saw the center. Phew.

The parking lot isn’t huge and was already full when we got there, but we parked on the street easily enough. There is no admission cost, but donations are, of course, always appreciated. As we walked to the center, we meandered through the gardens and the pathways, taking our time to enjoy the scenery along the way. The property is situated on the Wilmington riverfront, and is 212 acres of marsh, gardens, ponds, and home to many different animals. The gardens are kind of amazing in and of themselves, with so many different plants and flowers that we’ve never seen before.

Once we got through the gardens near the parking lot, we climbed the stairs and followed the bridge to the environmental center. Three stories tall, there is a little bit to explore inside, including a baby turtle and clean restrooms, and the history of the property and what you can see. Along the perimeter of the center, there are outside balconies so you can get panoramic views of the marsh and pond areas….

Visit: Bird Kingdom {Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada}

July 20, 2017 · Narrative

A sweet little place to stop when you’re visiting Niagara Falls in Canada … let’s pop into Bird Kingdom.

Any time we’re traveling, I always keep my eyes open for places where we can visit animals. Whether it be a zoo, aquarium, sanctuary, or something completely different, it’s something both my kids like (especially the nine-year-old who is still aspiring to be a vet when she grows up!), so when I spotted references to the Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls, I added it to our Spring Break list.

Bird Kingdom was located just a few miles from where we were staying, slightly on the outskirts of the major touristy area, and boasts the world’s largest free-flying indoor aviary. It was easy to find, and they have their own parking garage (albeit small), and will validate. The fact that it was a covered and attached parking garage was a bonus because it was pouring when we visited.

We checked in at the front desk, got our hands stamped, and started our self-guided tour. As much as I love the information a tour guide can impart, I equally love the go-at-your-own-pace of a self-guided tour, especially since we were a group of 8.

The name “Bird Kingdom” is a bit of a misnomer because while the majority of the animals ARE birds, there are other animals there as well (including turtles, bearded dragons, pythons, and more). We toured all the different areas, reading information on the different species as we went, but there were two areas that I was most looking forward to … one spot was where we could hold a parrot, and another was when we could enter a large enclosure, and feed birds as they swarmed around you and landed on you. I love these types of activities because it’s what sets this place apart from other places, and it’s something completely different for the kids.

Because, really … how often do you get to hold a small cup of sugar water and have birds swarm all over you??? I swear it was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, but in a completely fun and OMG way. And totally worth the extra $2 per person charge (you can go in the room for free; the extra $2 was if you want to hold the sugar water and feed the birds). Maddie was a little reticent to do it at first (I don’t blame her!), but usually after I say I’ll do something, she’ll do it … because I’m the biggest scaredy cat of them all! (And it’s totally why I was the one petting the tarantula when we visited this place, and this past week, I was the first to pet a chinchilla because YOLO!).

Outside of these two special and different experiences, Bird Kingdom reminded me a little of RainForest Adventures, a similar place we visited when we were in Tennessee a few years ago. Similar set up and vibe, but different animals.

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