Future Trip to The Breakers in West Palm Beach

Monday Morning I opened my email and found out that I won a trip to The Breakers in West Palm Beach, FL.  I couldn't tell you how excited I was - I'm still grinning from ear-to-ear!

Special thanks to Garden of Life for giving me the SHOCK of a life time!

If you are unfamiliar with The Breakers - take a look at the Wikipedia Page for it!  Or click on the link above for the official website!  It's REALLY something!

We hope to travel there in March.

We will be staying there for 4 nights!  I'm told that we will be staying in a Deluxe Resort View Room.

After doing some research...I think our room might look something like the next 3 photos. 

The first one being the living room area.  Another one is a photo of the bedroom and the last one of the bathroom.

I'm totally LOVING the sunshine peaking thru those windows!

And if we go in March like I am hoping - Dale and I will totally be sick of winter by then and be more than excited to go and see sun!

I think - for the most part - weather is between mid 60s and upper 70s even the first 3 months of the year - there - in West Palm Beach area.

Not only are we excited because of the weather but because it's such a historic place!

In the coming months I will be sharing more of our research and findings here on our travel site in preparation for our trip there!

These room photos were found on the Breakers Website.

WAIT until you see the elaborately decorated Mansion/Hotel Rooms and sections!  I will save those for another post, tho!

The Island in Pigeon Forge

One of the places we learned about online prior to visiting Pigeon Forge was The Island.  We watched YouTube Videos and saw it mentioned on a few different websites and it looked really cool so we decided to go while we were there.  It's FREE to park and FREE to enter.  It's a gorgeous layout and everyone you pass by is extremely friendly.  There are connected shops every where you look.  There are a few rides for kids as well as their center-piece - the HUGE Ferris Wheel. 



Instead of old Ferris Wheel carts the compartments are called Gondolas.  I always think of Gondolas being the boats in Italy that the rowers sing while they float you around...maybe they are spelled different or something.  Either way...pretty cool! 

Here's a better photo of the Wheel.  At night it lights up.  There are surrounding restaurants, shops, games, and other attractions within The Island.  This is a new destination, however, they are currently working on Phase 2 which includes more restaurants, shops, tasting rooms, bars, hotels, and more.  More on that in a future post.

Dale and I did pay to ride the Wheel and it was neat.  There were amazing views.  The climate in the Gondola's was 'just right'.  The Wheel zips around at a steady yet medium speed.  Not overly fast and not slow.  I think we were on there for about 10 minutes - maybe a little less.  We went fully around several times.

As you can see this was great for picture taking.  On the right side was one of the Pigeon Forge area mountains full of trees.  When we were there it was the perfect temperature - during the day - the coolest was about 76 degrees and it got into the upper 80s most days.  My ideal temperature that is for sure!

Another major attraction at The Island was their programmed Water Show.  Their fountains light up at night but spray all day regardless of time.  They have water shows set to music every half hour.  I believe they have 16 different shows with more on the way.  They were really impressive.

I took LOTS of additional photos of The Island in Pigeon Forge.  I really LOVED this place.  In a few years I wouldn't mind going back just to see what The Island has added to their layout.  I think this is going to be the new "place to go" in that area.

More From Dollywood

Here are some more photos from Dollywood!  Again, we had a GREAT time and you can see more photos in the post from yesterday  - below this post.  I mentioned that everywhere you looked we 'dressed up' really nice.  They were fully decorated for FALL and Harvest Time and the colors were amazing!  This fountain was placed in one of the more open areas towards the beginning of the park.

Here was one of the many roller coasters they had.  It was linked to the Firefighters Dedication space nearby.  Towards the end of this ride the roller coaster cars went into a 'warehouse' where it was getting ready to 'explode' and the coaster was shot backwards thru the rest of the ride.   I could hear the rides speaker outside of the 'warehouse' part of the track.  It was pretty neat and we didn't even ride it.  Overall it's a great place to 'people watch' but I still thought the fall and harvest time decor and colors throughout the park was my favorite part!

I'm pretty sure this roller coaster was the Eagle Soar one.  Again, I loved the surroundings.  And nearby there was an Eagle Sanctuary of sorts - which was for Eagles that were previously injured that were nursed back to health but were unable to be released into the wild for one reason or another.  One of the Dollywood Theatres and Stage Areas had an Eagle theme, too!  The weather couldn't have been better!  It was the perfect temperature the day we went.  The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze, and very few clouds in the sky.

Another ride that was popular was the River Boat Ride.  I've seen these before but the path that this one took seemed superior.  You were able to get a good look at that side of the park as well as all of the wonderful seasonal decorations.  After the thrill seekers were done with this boat ride there was a nearby place to drive off.  I think it was called a 'family dryer' or something and it was a couple of bucks to use.

Dollywood certainly didn't lack for water element, eye candy, and scenery that is for sure.  This is one of the other rides that we saw...actually TWO...behind was a ride in a mill like structure and to the left you would see a small 'island' where there was a place to sit with tables and umbrellas and chairs and such.  On the other side of that there was another ride for the younger crowd that was flat but the wooden raft like floats took riders around a path and onlookers could squirt them with water from outside of the ride.

One of the little nooks in Dollywood was set up like a small town "Main Street" or downtown area with shops and a diner.  Next to that was an old time 'used car lot'.  Out front of that were these cars!  They were in tip-top shape.   The diner was an old Red's Diner that you could go in and have a bite to eat.  There were windows throughout so you could sit in there and see what was happening outside with no problem.

One of the things that was happening outside was SONG!  These 5 street performers we singing songs from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  I read later that they are nationally recognized - as are 5 of Dollywood's Roller Coasters!   Behind these performers was an old school gas station.  Again LOTS to look at and take in.  Dollywood really does have something for everyone!

Rocky Top - Let The Count Down Begin...

Dale said Paco was singing this song this morning before he left for work but I don't think that's true!

I'm posting this for many reasons...one because we should be there before the weekend ends...two...because of the song at the beginning and I know a few people on our list who will be keeping on eye on this blog are Bluegrassers...three...because Dolly Parton is just so 'darn cute' and talented...and four...because she surprised me with the sax and I think Dale would get a kick out of that part - eventho - I KNOW - I KNOW - just like 'there's no crying in baseball' - there's NO sax in bluegrass!  She's just having fun, folks!  Simmer down now! LOL

Bear Necessities Cabin - Jackson Mountain Homes - Gatlinburg, TN

Here is the Cabin we will be staying at while in Gatlinburg, TN.  The cabin is called Bear Necessities and it's part of Jackson Mountain Homes.  I will post more photos when we are in a settled but you can view more of the official photos on their website here.

It has a view of the SPUR area in the Great Smoky Mountains.  This cabin has 1 bedroom, 2 baths, but can sleep up to 8.  It's Pet Friendly and we will be taking Paco with us because we want to keep a close on him since he's on medication.  Square Footage for this cabin is approximately 1,275.

There is a short 2 minute video tour of the cabin, too, in case you wanted to check it out!  We don't have any concrete plans YET but will report any activities we end up doing here on our blog!

I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN, areas while we are there!  This will sure be an adventure for Dale, Paco, and I...since this is our very first Pet Friendly centered trip so far.

Welcome to the State of Bliss Travel Blog

Welcome to the State of Bliss Travel Blog.  Blog posts will be made by Jennifer (or Dale) to close family and friends about our travels while we take them or shortly after.  This will be a more in depth look at our visits and stop and will be heavy on the photos!  Thanks for stopping by!  Our first posts will be from The Smoky Mountain Area in Tennessee.  Stay Tuned!