The Castle of Loveland

Imagine having lunch in front of a real castle! Friday this was reality when my sister and I made a stop in Loveland, Ohio to visit Château Laroche. Known to most people as Loveland Castle, it was built by Harry Andrews with the help of a group of young men he taught in Sunday school. The group of young men called themselves Knights of the Golden Trail. While on a tour of duty in the Army stationed in Europe during World War I, Andrews was inspired by the castles of France and decided to build  his own. Andrews spent over fifty years working on the castle. He started the construction in 1929 and he was still working on the castle just before he died in 1981. Though he did not completely finish the castle according to his plans, the Norman style castle contains 15 rooms which includes the bedroom that Andrews slept in, a banquet hall, a great hall and a small dungeon. The grounds outside include a rock garden with a Loch Ness monster, flowers and gorgeous vibrant plants.

For a fee of $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under, you can tour the castle and the grounds. This is a beautiful place with plenty of photo opportunities. I recommend packing a lunch and picnicking on the grounds. When you are asked what you did that day, you can casually reply, "I had lunch at a castle".

 

 

 

For more information check out the Loveland Castle website.

Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

Top Ten Things To Do In Disney World

Disney World is a place that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. It is after all  "The Happiest Place On Earth".  I remember spending a few days each summer with my dad and sister riding rides, taking photos with Mickey & Minnie and eating sugary concoctions. It was the highlight of the summer each year no matter how many times we'd been. Last week I had the same feeling at 33 years old. I was so excited to be exploring the world of Walt Disney again. I felt like I was a snaggle-tooth child, only this time I had an even greater appreciation for many things I never really payed attention to before. One of those things was Epcot's World Showcase. While there were some positives, there were also some negatives. The affordable family park experience that was once Walt Disney's priority, was now out of reach for many. For those able to handle the price tag, waits for ride lines are over an hour in some cases. Using the wait line apps and fast passes help but the experience is nothing like it was when I was younger. I almost felt bad for my nephew who was experiencing it the first time but then I remembered he didn't have anything to compare the experience to. To him it was still great. Seeing it through his eyes was awesome. 

If Disney is in your near future, I wanted to share a few suggestions. Even with the many changes, I will always love Disney World. You will too, if you plan ahead and keep a sense of calmness. It will be just as magical as you want it to be.  Sign up for the My Disney Experience app before you go, which offers wait line information and allows you to get advance fast passes for rides. Carry extra batteries or some kind of battery pack for your phone if you plan to use the app. Fall is the best time to go if you can.  Get park hopper passes if you can't dedicate a day at each park. Stay hydrated and wear comfortable shoes.

Top Ten Things To Do In Disney World

10. Get 'It's A Small World' stuck in your head.

This is either going to be the cutest or the most irritating part of your Disney experience. It is a ride that everyone can get on, even the elderly. The song will surely be the soundtrack of your Disney experience.

9.  Take photos in front of the Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom and Spaceship Earth at Epcot.

If you don't take photos these days, it's like the experience never happened. If you don't plan to take many photos, you have to pause long enough to at least get photographs in front of  the monuments at the park you are visiting.

8.  Try to catch the lions while they are still active on the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom.

If you are planning to visit Disney Animal Kingdom, early is best to get a peak at the lions before they go to sleep. Remember, lions are most active late in the evenings to early morning. If you miss the lions, there are still plenty of other animals to see on the preserve.

7.  Stay at Magic Kingdom, Epcot or Hollywood Studios long enough to catch the fireworks.

There are fireworks at all the main parks except for Animal Kingdom. They go off in order of closing time, Epcot, Hollywood Studios then Magic Kingdom. Epcot's show includes a light show.

6. Take a stroll through Downtown Disney or Disney Boardwalk.

Both of these areas offer great restaurants, free entertainment and visual stimulation. At Disney Boardwalk you can take free boat rides.

5.  Watch 'It's Tough To Be A Bug' at Animal Kingdom.

Inside this tree is a 4D bug themed show. Grab your 3D glasses and experience a cute show that covers almost all of your senses. There are smells released, liquids thrown (probably just water), and the images coming toward you through the glasses are pretty cool. I won't tell it all, it's just a must. 

4. Ride every ride with the word 'mountain' in the title at The Magic Kingdom.

Living in Ohio near the Roller Coaster Capital has changed my thoughts about coasters and rides but while in Disney, the best rides have mountain in the title. When you get to the park, hopefully early, make sure you go to one of these first because they have the longest lines. For those unfamiliar, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain (seen here).
 

3. Take a picture with your favorite Disney character.

This is a given! These are the celebrities of the parks.

2. Watch the Festival Of The Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

The costumes are amazing! So is the talent! If you have seen The Lion King Broadway Musical, you will love it. The show includes 30 minutes of the best songs from the movie and musical, amazing visual stimulation with parade floats added. If you have never seen the musical, this is the next best thing. Plus it gets you out of the Florida heat for a half hour.

1. Taste your way through the countries of Epcot.

A foodies paradise! This was the highlight of my trip but I wished I had a full day at Epcot dedicated to tasting at all of the countries. The countries I did get to visit were Mexico, Norway, China, Germany & Japan. I had to skip a few countries and purchase food items like candy to take with me. I was full by Germany, alternating between foods and adult beverages. I was also alone at Epcot. I recommend starting early and bringing a friend to share the countries fare with, so the tasting isn't all on you. 

Until Next Time!

Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!

Kris,

July Concert Wrap Up

Yesterday I did reviews on the three Ohio wineries I visited. This month I did so much. In addition to the wineries I visited, I went to a couple of concerts. I love music as much as I love my wine. So today's post is about the concerts I attended this month.

I have a broad selection of music that I listen to. This year I have seen Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Tyga, Stevie Wonder and Tesla. This month I added Whitesnake, Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa to the list.


WHITESNAKE

My beau loves 80s hair bands, so I went to see Whitesnake with him, his brother and his friend a few weeks ago near Dayton. Songs you may be familiar with are, Still Of The Night, Is This Love and Here I Go Again. I was impressed with the energy of lead singer David Coverdale. He is in his 60s and moves just as he did when I was wearing cloth diapers and Huggies. The band's songs are still being used in the soundtracks of current shows and movies.

The show was great! All though I was not familiar with every song, I still had a good time. I danced, sang along to the songs I knew and drooled over guitarist Joel Hoekstra. I also met a couple who got engaged at a Whitesnake concert many years ago. The husband celebrated seeing his 100th Whitesnake concert that night.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Photos

The Whitesnake Set

David Coverdale

Joel Hoekstra

THE BOYS OF ZUMMER TOUR

I took my preteen nephew to his first concert two weeks ago. It was a festival style concert where Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa were the headliners. It also featured Hoodie Allen and a few other acts I was not familiar with.

It may not have been the best concert to take a twelve year old because of the the glamorization of a certain natural drug that Wiz Khalifa refers to often; no judgement to those who appreciate it. His set even included giant inflatable joints that the crowd tossed around. The concert itself was entertaining and lively. I forgot how many Wiz Khalifa songs I actually knew. We went because my nephew was a Fall Out Boy fan but he left more of a fan of Wiz. Aside from the second hand smoke we inhaled during his entire show, it was a good time.

Fall Out Boy sounded just as they do on their tracks. Their set used a lot of graphics, laser lights and pyrotechnics. I felt like an old lady, jumping every time there was a big boom.  My nephew got a kick out of my skittishness. We sang along to Centuries, Light Em Up, Uma Thurman and older hits like Thanks For The Memories. Hopefully the concert will be a lasting memory for my nephew. You only get one first concert.

LEICA V-LUX 1 DIGITAL CAMERA

The tour banner

Samsung Camera Phone Photo of us at the concert

Wiz Khalifa

Wiz

Patrick Stump & Pete Wentz

Joe Trohman & Andy Hurley

Light Em Up played as we headed toward the exit.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

July Winery Wrap Up

It's almost the end of July and this will be my first post of the month. My apologies! Sometime I get busy with activities and that is great, but my schedule leaves me tired or without time or motivation to write. We also celebrated the third anniversary of the style blog that this blog was spun from. This week I will sum up the last few weeks with  the events of the month. I will share the photos I took, some of which made it to instagram.

In the month of July I visited three new Ohio wineries, so in today's post,  I am doing a few short reviews of my visits. 

My Ohio Winery Visits

I love Ohio wine, so I  travel to new wineries every time I have the opportunity. This month I got the chance to visit Buckeye Lake Winery, Three Oaks Vineyard and Hidden Lakes Winery.

BUCKEYE LAKE WINERY

I spent July 4th at Buckeye Lake Winery. It is a beautiful place, even by the low lake water. They offer mostly dry wines, so those sweet Ohio wine drinkers may not appreciate the selection as much. I thought the wine was decent but the cheese plate, scenery and live music were my favorite parts. I recommend visiting just for a nice day by the lake. Supporting the businesses in the area will help them to survive while the city works on the issues with the dam.

Photo from the patio.

The cool tasting carrier at Buckeye Lake Winery.

Cheese and fruit! Delicious!

THREE OAKS VINEYARD

A week ago, Christina, my guy and I went winery hopping and Three Oaks was one of our stops. We were rushed because it was really busy that day. The inside and outside were both packed, so we did our tasting standing up in the middle of their tasting room. We tasted three wines each. The winery offers both sweet and dry wines. I found the Peggy's Pink to be interesting. It was sweet and citrusy. They have special events once a month with live music and food vendors. It just so happened we visited on that day, which is their busiest day. We were not prepared for the situation since we were winging everything that day. I look forward to returning in the near future, on a quieter day.

Christina at Three Oaks Vineyard

My tasting glass

HIDDEN LAKES WINERY 

The second stop that day was Hidden Lakes Winery in Canal Winchester. They were hosting a wedding party so we didn't get to see the grounds outside but we had dinner and did a tasting. The wines are mostly sweet. They offer flavors that come dangerously close to wine coolers in taste. My favorite was a sweet red called Red Velvet. It tasted like chocolate. We tasted five wines each and we're given two free wine slushy drink samples. I don't think there was anything that I didn't like. The food menu was simple, offering pizzas , subs and appetizers like artichoke dip. The Italian sub I had was good and filling. We also shared the artichoke dip, which was good as well. I plan to return to try the wines I didn't taste, check out the grounds and get a Red Velvet bottle to take home.

The front entrance of Hidden Lakes Winery.

My tasting at Hidden Lakes.

I will continue my July wrap up tomorrow, so come back to check in.

Thanks!

& 

Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!

Kris,

Motts Military Museum

(photo credit)

Saturday it rained just about the entire day, which made it a great day to visit a museum. Motts Military Museum is in Groveport, Ohio, an area I don't visit much. I am a super fan of Groupon and the one I bought for the museum was about to expire after Saturday. I am really bad about cashing in the deals at the last possible minute. However, I am glad I waited so long because I managed to catch the founder of the museum. Warren Motts was giving tours personally. I am not sure how rare and special this is but it felt like I was a VIP. The museum covers The American Revolution, The Civil War and both World Wars into more recent wars. They have the second largest collection of Holocaust memorabilia as well as the second largest collection of memorabilia from 9/11. The Holocaust and  9/11 items are in storage until the museum can raise enough money for  proper displays but if you ask and there is enough staff present, you can get a quick look at some of these items. Unfortunately, my photos did not come out the greatest from my phone because of lighting issues; so a portion of my images are borrowed. Photos that aren't mine have credits attached.

 Mr. Motts personally took us out to a hanger size building where he opened the doors revealing a caved in fire truck from 9/11. The truck belonged to Ladder 18 and was crushed under the second tower of the World Trade Center. He explained that he was raising money to create a 9/11 display that would also include the marble floors from the World Trade Center, so that you can stand on the floors of the World Trade Center while looking at the truck and other 9/11 memorabilia. This was the highlight of my experience. I took photos in front of the truck but couldn't allow myself to smile because of the seriousness of the display. Though no one died in the fire truck; the two firemen who were manning the truck survived after diving underneath it before the tower fell. Somehow, the tires held up and gave the men shelter from the falling building.

As someone who studied fashion, I found myself paying extra special attention to uniforms and clothing items. There is a wedding dress displayed made from a parachute from WWII. There was also a section of the personal Presidential plates used in the White House from the terms of Presidents like Grant, Monroe, Jackson and Lincoln.

Those who love the big toys and war machines, there are the normal things that you'd expect to see at a military museum. There are guns from just about all the wars represented. There are vehicles like tanks and jeeps. There are planes,  helicopters and a boat. 

Other displays of interest are the NASA Exhibit, a Medals Exhibit, POW Exhibit and a  life size replica of the childhood home of Eddie Rickenbacker. The replica home has some original items and is set up as it was during his childhood, with help from family members.

Replica of Eddie Rickenbaker's Childhood Home (photo credit)

 A rainy day doesn't have to to be a bust or a day shut inside. I love being outside but the rain gave me a reason to check out another great museum that I almost postponed visiting. The Motts Military Museum has something for everyone. If you aren't into military memorabilia or history, there are presidential items, uniforms that both men and women wore during those historic times and machines you barely ever see close up. Check it out this summer or when you get the chance!

 Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

Whistles, Popcorn & Ice Cream

During the summer, finding things to do during the week can sometimes be tricky. The weekends are much easier with festivals, fairs and interesting events. After the normal places like parks, museums and libraries have been exhausted, what is left? Well, Ohio has many amazing businesses with interesting stories and accolades. Some of these businesses offer factory tours or history tours with delicious treats or cool souvenirs at the end.

Last year my nephew and I enjoyed the Anthony Thomas Factory tour. It was quick, informative and cheap. We were given a free chocolate Buckeye at the end and the modestly priced tickets doubled as vouchers that could be applied toward goodies to take home. Of course we took full advantage.

This year my goal was to make this summer with my nephew mostly about new experiences. So the last two weeks we started our adventures touring a few Ohio businesses that we had not before. The thing is, of three businesses visited, we only got one real tour. Here is the breakdown of our experiences.

The American Whistle Corporation

I can't say that this is the most exciting tour unless you have some kind of affinity for whistles but this is an important company not just to Ohio but to the United States. The company is the ONLY company in the United States that produces metal whistles. The competition is all overseas. They create whistles for the Columbus Police department, and bigger police departments like NYPD. They are even responsible for the whistles used in the Super Bowl. 

For $4 you are walked through the process of creating a whistle. The tour guide takes you from machine to machine, explaining how the machine works and holding up the product for each part of the process. If it's hot outside, expect it to be pretty hot in the factory as well. They also have a rule of no photography in the factory. At the end of the tour you are given a company whistle. At the giftshop you can buy accessories like lanyards or the gold whistle like the ones Super Bowl officials and referees receive as gifts.

Al's Delicious Popcorn 

Founded by a man named Al who has since passed away. Family friends took over the brand and have been running the business and developing new flavors ever since. 

At Al's, the tour is more like watching a video, then tasting a bunch of their 60+
popcorn flavors. You don't get to go behind the scenes; they show you the process and go over some of the company history through the video. We stopped being terribly disappointed after we started tasting popcorn. The guide selected several flavors for the group to taste and then allowed us to pick extra flavors to try. There didn't seem to be a cut off. We probably could have tasted everything if we wanted to. Flavors we tasted included, Bubble Gum, Root beer, Jellybean, Pizza, Mango and Columbus Mix (a mix of vanilla butternut and white cheddar). They offer small $1.25 and $1.50 bags if you want to continue your tasting at home. Which we did. Our favorites were kosher dill and butter pecan.

Graeter's Ice Cream 

The Graeter's have been making ice cream
 since 1868. The fourth generation is still very much involved in the business. They pride themselves with producing the ice cream as they did in the beginning, in a French pot. This process produces a denser ice cream whereas newer ways to produce ice cream allows more air in the cream.

If you have the 15 person minimum that gets you a personal tour guide, this guided tour is probably worth checking out. Otherwise, going to this location when you have a Graeter's up the street from you is kind of a waste in my opinion. The production has been shipped off to Cincinnati so the tour doesn't include getting to see anything being produced. It is just a hallway where a video can be viewed, you can read historical facts, view production photos and get a close up of old equipment. It's kind of cool if you are in the area but I can't say it's destination worthy. My nephew and I stopped in after our tour at Al's Delicious Popcorn. I would recommend visiting them both while in the area. Who can't appreciate popcorn and ice cream in the same day?

If you are interested in these tours and need more information, clink on the business name links.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,