After visiting St. Augustine and the Florida Keys and the southern most tip in the continental United States, our Florida Road Trip had us going up the Gulf Coast to the lovely sandy beaches of Clearwater Beach.
Our Florida Road Trip was the perfect way to say goodbye to summer. I’ll be sharing more about our experience and the places we stayed within EverythingMom’s Everything Travel section.
Goodbye Summer! Until we meet again, next year.
After visiting St. Augustine (the first length in our Florida road trip) we drove down the east coast to the Florida Keys. We stayed in Duck Keys but also ventured down to Key West, the southern most point in the continental United States.
Our next leg of our trip takes us up the west coast to Clearwater Beach.
We’re kicking off the end of summer with a road trip to Florida, exploring some parts of Florida we haven’t been to before. Our first stop: St. Augustine.
Next stop: Down the east coast to the Florida Keys.
You can’t deny it, the end of summer is upon us. Although many are thinking about Back to School (even us at EverythingMom have Back to School on our mind), for our family it’s vacation time. Who can think of a better way to say goodbye to summer than a road trip to Florida.
We’re not road trip novices. We’ve actually done the drive to Florida as a family a few times, usually to visit Disney World. 
But this trip we’re actually visiting Florida. The purpose of this trip is to enjoy what Florida naturally offers families: sun, sand and surf. The only attraction we plan on visiting, and we’re all pretty excited about it, is the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum (my son is eager to try out the cannon). After that, our visit will consist of beach time and some fabulous family-oriented beach resorts.
Our route has us visiting the Hammock Beach Resort in St. Augustine when we first enter Florida. Along with enjoying the stretch of beach Hammock Beach Club Resort is situated on, the kids are excited to try out the resorts waterpark with a lazy river and corkscrew slide (thank goodness it’s open until 8 p.m. on the day we arrive so the kids can get some water time). We’re hoping to visit the resort’s oceanfront restaurant, Atlantic Grille, for some fresh seafood too.
From St. Augustine we drive down the coast to the Florida Keys for a visit at the luxurious family resort, Hawks Cay. I’ve never been to the Keys but I’ve heard it’s like going to the Caribbean but without leaving the country. The Hawks Cay family-sized villas, pirate pool, and saltwater lagoon are just a few of the features we can’t wait to experience.
From the Florida Keys we head back north to Clearwater and St. Pete’s Beach, visiting the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort. I love St. Pete’s Beach; it was actually my first introduction to Florida years ago. The location and the kid’s club are just two things that attracted us to the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort (they even have a kids pirate cruise one night which the kids are very keen on). For myself, I plan to spend a lot of time in a cabana on the beach.
After an amazing time visiting some of Florida’s beach resorts, we head back home. To make things interesting, we’re forgoing our usual road trip vehicle (our Chrysler Town and Country) for the crossover 2012 Chevrolet Traverse (thanks to the folks at GM Canada). Like many, I was a reluctant van owner, feeling like it’s a box with seats stuck into it, but I must admit I’ve become accustomed to all the van’s road trip friendly features. The Traverse promises a more car-like drive, offering 7-seats and similar conveniences as our Town and Country, so I’m eager to see how it performs, both on the drive and the family travel factor.
And the Traverse will certainly get a workout on our drive to Florida. Our trip has us covering 5,300 kms+ of total driving time; that’s almost a quarter of the mileage I put on the van in a whole year. Plus each road trip length has us in the car for almost 8 hours a day (except heading into and out of Florida where we’ll be pushing close to 15-hours in the car in one day). Having a car equipped with the right things and packing the essentials for a road trip can make a big difference between a pleasant ride versus a cranky, stressful ride (we’re working toward the later).
We’ll be sharing our thoughts on the places we visit within EverythingMom’s Everything Travel section after our trip but you can follow us along for the ride. We’ll be using the hashtag #EMTravel and #TraverseTrip, updating you on the car experience and the road trip in general.
Let the road trip begin!
We don’t have cable at home but that doesn’t stop us from watching TV or rather movies on our TV. Instead of television nights we have movie nights, usually Friday or Saturday nights, and no movie is complete in our house without popcorn, specifically Orville Rendenbacher popcorn.
So what a treat when the folks at Orville Redenbacher hosted an afternoon movie screening of 20th Century Fox’s movie Rio (released on DVD the beginning of August). My kids even forgo attending camp that day so we could all catch the movie together and my 9-year old even broke out her popcorn hat from Disney for the occasion. To enjoy the movie the folks at Orville Rednbacher popped up some fresh popcorn at the complimentary popcorn station, along with an assortment of fun toppings (like chocolate chips, skittles and gummi bears) and seasonings (such as salt and vinegar, cinnamon and chipotle chili - my daughter inadvertently mixed up those two flavours, ending up with a spicy surprise). The popcorn bar was open through the whole movie so guests could come up at any time to help themselves. I was surprised my 9-year old, who’s a bit of a popcorn addict, only went up once but I think she helped her 4-year old sister finish hers).
Then we settled in for the movie. None of us had seen RIO before and it was fun. Even I enjoyed the film. Actually watching RIO stirred a desire in me to visit RIO. Everyone in the theater seemed to enjoy the film, with it’s fun songs that made you want to dance and a few laugh out loud moments (at least on a kid level).
After the movie the kids were surprised with goodie bags containing items from the movie like RIO hats, tshirts, a stuffed RIO bird (or Jewel as my 4-year old wants it to be called) or stickers, some bubbles and chalk and another 20th Century Fox movie (we received Horton Hears a Who and Robots, both fun films). I loved the boxes of Orville and Redenbacher’s Lime and Salt popcorn (my second favourite flavour after their Select White flavour). Summer has been so busy so it was nice to hang out together enjoying a film thanks to the folks at Orville Redenbacher and 20th Century Fox.
Some days my kids love my job more than me. Case in point, last week we were invited by Fisher Price and GCI Canada to come down to Ontario Place to preview some of the latest and greatest that Fisher Price has to offer kids.
It was like Christmas as we entered the Kids Zone in Ontario Place. It was wall-to-wall fun.
Little People seem to be one of those staple toys if you have kids. The sets are fun and encourage imaginative play and the people can be used to play on their own, without the playsets (they fit nicely in your bag too for emergency entertainment in the car or grocery store). We recently sold off most of our Little People collection but that didn’t stop my 3-year old from playing with the house or fairy treehouse.
My kids are beyond the big building blocks but we all loved this Stack n Surprise Blocks Musical Croc. The blocks stack on it’s back and on the handle. The Stack n Surprise Blocks look like a normal block until you stack them and then, POP, a little character pops out of the top. My kids loved pulling this wagon but what the spent most of their time doing was feeding the croc the blocks (they go into the mouth and down into his stomach for storage). Great fun.
Now my son wished he had this, the Big Action Dig and Ride. He would probably live in the sandbox but since there was no sand he entertained himself by scooping up blocks. Problem was he kept trying to scoop up his sister’s blocks, while she was playing with them.
I’m not sure if it’s a boy thing or just my son, but if a toy involves cars he’s all over it, no matter what age the toy is designed for. Case in point, the Little People Wheelies Stand n Play Rampway. He spent most of his time with this toy. The best part was when he could race 2 cars from the top. Another fun car toy, aimed at an even younger age, The Little Zoomers Spinnin’ Sounds Speedway. I wish they had this when my son was younger.
The event was great. On top of playing with the toys, the folks at Fisher Price and GCI Canada had a nice snack table set up with grown-up sandwiches as well as grilled cheese and goldfish crackers for the kids, plus lots of fruit. After spending a good part of the morning playing, we ventured off into Ontario Place as we were given a play pass for the rest of the day.
Fisher Price is actually bringing the fun across Ontario in the form of the form of the Playtime Tour. Checkout where the tour stops next and you and your little ones can experience some of the great toys Fisher Price has to offer. And while you’re out having fun, be sure to capture your little one’s laugh to enter the Fisher Price Best Little Laugh contest.
You may remember my post about dealing with my three kids going to camp. I must admit I was a little bummed that the my youngest headed off for her first day of camp without even shedding a tear or a simple glance back to me, waiting…for the tears.
The kids are on their last camp rotation now and we’ve all become pretty accustomed to the routine (note, becoming accustomed and being ready and organized are two COMPLETELY different things). So I was a little surprised that my 3-year old daughter hesitated when going to camp yesterday. Today was the same thing. She was fine until the camp was right in front of her and then she dug her heels into the ground and refused to go. She was upset and clearly didn’t want to go to camp.
A flash of the BAD PARENT: all I could think was the work I had to accomplish today and how having my daughter at home would complicate things. I knew from experience that 10 minutes of being home she would pine for being at camp with her friends and my day would be spent trying to find some sort of activity to placate her while I grabbed what few minutes were left of the day to get my projects done.
Then the GOOD PARENT. Obviously she was upset and work or not I couldn’t walk away, leaving her like that. I knew it would spin out of control into a full-on melt-down (years of experience with my 6-year old son have taught me that much), but I couldn’t take her home with me either.
So I tried to steer the conversation into areas not so much about going to camp but about playing in the playground: what’s your favourite piece of playground equipment to play on? The see-saw is great fun, great because you need to use it with a friend. Which friend do you like to see-saw with? Do you think the pool will be cold today? How far do you think you’ll walk into the water before you turn around and come back out? Up to your ankles? Your knees? Hey those kids are colouring pictures of unicorns. You’ve never coloured a unicorn. Imagine how cool that will look on our art wall at home.
As I’m ’selling’ going to camp to my daughter, it occurs to me that we’ve fallen into a bit of role reversal. I feel like the child trying to convince my mom that I really need to have a hamster and explaining how I’ll take care of it and that my teacher thinks having added responsibility makes you a better person (and who doesn’t want to be in teacher’s good books) and petting animals has proven to have a positive affect on your own mood and personality. Yadda yadda yadda.
Funny thing, it worked. Not selling the hamster idea to my mom; I never did convince her on that. But talking to my daughter about the fun things she will do if she stays with her friends seemed to work. Eventually my daughter gave in and decided she would go to camp. She actually seemed happy. Thankfully kids are an easier sell than mothers.
Have you ever had to sell your child on doing something? If it worked, please share because I have years of selling ahead and I have a feeling as my kids get older and wiser, the sell job will get harder.
We love pizza in our house. We usually make our own. The kids can help add toppings and customize the way they want. The cost to make your own is usually much cheaper and the taste much better than anything ordered in or re-heated from frozen.
But then I was given the chance to sample Dr. Oetker’s Casa de Mama frozen pizza. I must admit I was a little sceptical. I mean a frozen pizza is a frozen pizza is a frozen pizza right? Turns out that’s not necessarily true. My 8-year-old and I shared a Ultimate Hawaiian version of Casa de Mama and the taste was actually quiet good, especially the crust. I’m a big fan of crust (I’m a bread-aholic actually) so the taste of the crust is important. There was no cardboard flavouring, but rather a nice butter taste (and aroma). The pizza’s are small, only giving my daughter and I 2-slices each but it was enough for a quick lunch.
You can try Dr. Oetker’s pizzas too at your local event. Introducing the Dr. Oetker Trattoria Tour. Dr. Oetker will be sending two equipped Trattorias on a cross-country tour to share fresh-from-the-oven samples of its leading frozen pizza.
The Trattoria Tour kids off in Toronto at the East York Canada Day celebrations July 18 and it continues to visit other community events, retailers and university campuses across Canada up to early September. You can check out the Trattoria Tour Facebook page to see if the Dr. Oetker portable Trattoria’s will be at a local event in your area as well as a map outlining all the tour stops.
Plus everyone who visits the Trattoria while it’s on the road will have a chance to enter a draw to win free Dr. Oetker pizza for a year. Now that’s a lot of tasty pizza.
To occupy my kids this summer (and maintain my sanity) I registered my kids in summer camp programs as soon as they became available. I didn’t fill the whole summer. I mean part of the joy of summer is not having to get up early and rush to camp or make lunches; summer should also be about being lazy. But I know with my kids, doing lazy things quickly translates into ‘I’m bored’. So I scheduled a few camp weeks.
We’re lucky to have a community centre within walking distance to our house and the city runs a few of their camp programs out of it. I like the program because it’s close but also not that expensive, compared to specialtiy camps out of the city. And just becuase it’s a city run camp program doesn’t mean it’s boring, non-constructive daycare with cousellers who are there watching the clock. My son’s program has cousellers with an ECE background, camp art and outdoor program education. One such couseller, Emily, has taken outdoor art program at OCAD and shares some great craft ideas with the kids.
One such craft was a paper kite. When I picked my son up after school he was all excited about a little paper kite he had made that day and he wanted to show me how it worked. Of course I said yes as enthusiastically as I could but in the back of my head I didn’t really expect much. Kids make lots of things at camp that don’t really function the way they’re suppose to; they keep kids busy as a craft. So you can imagine my surprise as my son run down the hall (inside, not fan or air) and his kite took off over his head. It was amazing and all from this simple kite design that sort of resembled a paper airplane. I thought others would like to try this at home so the camp kindly gave me the following instructions/
Materials:
2 skewers/straws
glue
construction paper
string
hole punch
tape
markers or other items to decorate your kite
Instructions:
Although you can use this outside like a kite, what makes this kite really cool is you can use it on days without wind or inside even. It works on your child’s on energy. My son could get his kite flying by running around the room or just swinging it around his head, sort of laso style.
Have fun!
My son is like most 6-year old boys: he builds elaborate structures out of Lego, he imagines he’s Indiana Jones looking for treasure and hunting bad guys, he races cars down tracks and around his room, Hot Wheels cars. So when we had the chance to come out and see a full size Hot Wheels car, my son went nuts; he opted out of missing his last day of school so he could attend (and he loves school).
Hot Wheels is kicking off summer and their new Hot Wheels Colour Shifters with a cross Canada road tour. Not only will they have the latest Hot Wheels Colour Shifters to checkout and play with (which are pretty darn cool) they have a full size Ford Mustang that has been treated using the same colour changing technology as the toy cars.
My son loved this Hot Wheels Colour Shifters Dr. Bones Colour Lab Play Set. He would have stayed all day playing with it if he was allowed. He even took it upon himself to demonstrate to all the other kids, anyone who would come near the table, just how cool it was. He’s added this to his birthday list (which isn’t until next year now).
The toys were cool but the big draw for all my kids was the full size Ford Mustang. They had sponges and water guns and buckets that the kids could use and change the car from it’s blue state to it’s white state. I must admit is was pretty awesome to see the colour change so quickly and dramatically. You could even put your hand on the blue and it would change to a white hand print. Now if only this technology could be applied to other items like dishes and teeth, I could get my kids to clean-up all the time.
As if playing with the new Hot Wheels toys and splashing the full size Hot Wheels Colour Shifter wasn’t enough fun, the folks at Hot Wheels were giving away all sorts of goodies to the kids: cars, hats, sunglasses, shirts and more. We love the collector book, highlighting all the vehicles. My kids have been going through their collection checking off all the vehicles they already own.
The Ford Mustang will be on tour from June 29 until August 29, 2010. Checkout the schedule for the Hot Wheels Colour Shifter Road Tour to see where it’s going next. The event is FREE and it’s great fun.
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