Missing The Breakers

Yup!  I'm already missing The Breakers!  I'm missing the Florida weather.  Just when I thought spring was here we had 2 days of snow in the PA/NY state line area last week!

To warm up I thought I would post more photos from our trip earlier this month.

This first photo is one that I took the day we went to the beach.  You can see their private beach area with some of the chairs and umbrellas and the lovely clouds and ocean!  From where I was taking this picture was from the pool area.  They had 9 different pool areas there.

Here's a photo I took at The Surf Break.  The Surf Break was a little spot near the pools, cabanas, and beach where you could get small meals, finger foods, and drinks. 

One of my mini goals while I was there was to get a coconut with the coconut water in it.  I was able to do that the 2nd to the last day we were there inside The Surf Break but I will share that photo with you at another time.  Yes...there were surf boards on the ceiling of this hut and it was so fun.  The breeze was nice, too!

While we were at The Surf Break there were two young ladies there bar-tending.  They were very nice and sure worked their butts off!

This photo was taken outside the front entrance of The Breakers!  Each day it was fun to take a walk out front and see what kind of exotic and fantasy cars were there. 

It's not unusual for The Breakers to hold various car shows, too!  The weekend we were there they didn't have a car show but I have seen a lot of pics from past ones and they are pretty awesome!

This was also where a lot of the limo's came to pick up and drop off people, too!  We were fortunate enough to take a limo to our tour of the new offices of Garden of Life.  More on that in the near future.

This wasn't a photo of our limo but of one of the many others we saw in and out of The Breakers.

The Breakers was incredibly clean all day and night but one morning I was out and about earlier than most people were and I noticed several golf carts around the grounds cleaning up debris from the night before.  And when I say debris - it was NOT garbage - but downed palm tree limbs - for example that came down naturally from the winds the night before.

They really do a great job working at all hours to keep this place looking amazing!  And each and every person there greeted us and was extremely helpful and nice.  I can't say enough about their terrific staff at The Breakers!

This was one of the many photos I took from the Terrace which was part of the Flagler Club.  The Flagler Club was the 6th and 7th level of The Breakers.  We were lucky enough to stay on the 6th floor and absolutely LOVED every minute of it.  I blogged more about this on both this blog and My Travel Blog so be sure to check those posts out!

I loved the blue and green colors on the terrace...the umbrellas were HUGE...the seats were comfy, the stone and marble beautiful, and everywhere you looked there were plants!  I should have counted how many plants were JUST on the terrace but I didn't.  I wouldn't be surprised if there upward of 100 plants in that area alone!

I've already shown a lot of the photos I have taken of the Palm Trees at The Breakers and I wanted to let you know I did a whole post of the Fountain at The Breakers and that is located over at my Travel Blog...check it out...HERE is the direct post on the Fountains.  Outside in the enclosed area past the lobby you will see an area with water, a fountain or two, and statues like the one you see here.

There was marble, stone, fountains, plants, palms, and other bits of eye-candy EVERYWHERE.  There was something to look at - at every turn and it was breath-taking!

In the near future I will share some of the foods and beverages I enjoyed while there.  I was just thankful for all of the fresh fruit and salads and organic fresh pressed juices, too!  So stay tuned for that!

My LOVE Of Palm Trees!

Once again I am WAY behind on blogging!  But I thought I would jump right in with some posts and try and schedule some as well so you might be seeing a lot more from me over the next few days and weeks!  Many of these posts will be about our trip now that we are back I'm already missing Florida. 

In case you are just tuning in...I won a trip to West Palm Beach Florida at the end of last year and we were supposed to go in March and we had a family and work emergency and we were so lucky that they worked with us to reschedule our trip!  I will NEVER forget that!  The folks at Garden of Life are truly amazing!

Went we went to West Palm Beach we stayed at The Breakers.  I have never stayed at a 5 star hotel so this was a completely amazing experience but with the winter we had here up north - I was so excited just to BE in the middle of 85+ degree temperatures, too!

The theme to this post will be PALM TREES.  There are few things I LOVE more than water falls and palm trees when it comes to landscape and/or nature...there certainly were palm trees at ever glance down there!  There were also a lot of salamanders and lizards, too!

It only rained for a few hours the one evening while we were sleeping. 

In the first photo you will see the historic brick and entrance to The Breakers with the amazing gardens and golf courses surrounding it.  In the next photo another angle from the beautiful grounds.

We stayed on the 6th floor of The Breakers which was part of the Flagler Club.  It was like staying inside of an INN within the hotel.  We had incredible breakfast, snacks, beverages, and other consumables throughout the day and evening as a part of our Flagler Club stay.  More on that in future posts, tho.

One of my favorite parts of the Flagler Club Level was the outdoor terrace - again I will be blogging about that more in the near future.

Today - in this post - it's all about the Palm Trees!  YAY!

This palm is located in the back of the hotel near the beach.  You can see that they had coconuts still in the tree.  They used the coconuts in their own drinks.  One of my many personal goals was to have raw coconut water straight from the coconut which I was finally able to do the 2nd to the last day we were there.  It was fabulous!

I loved the walk way where I was standing taking this photo.  In the evenings it got breezy but the breeze was terrific.  Most days and nights I wore dresses.  I'm not a girlie-girl but I kind of liked it and the dresses I found to wear while we were there.  I will share some of those pics at some point, too!

This next photo was taken on the one side lawn.  EVERY WHERE you looked at The Breakers there was something you could look at, appreciate, and enjoy!  This area had a delightful lawn with gardens and fountain.  Behind where I'm standing taking the picture were pillars and over hangs with comfy chairs, tables, and places to meet and greet and soak up the sun it a casual setting.  If you were to walk thru the court area there was another fountain as well as stores/shops and paths to get to other places in and around the hotel.  Surrounding the hotel were two golf course - on either side - and behind the hotel was the ocean!  They had their own private beach and within the resort they had 9 separate pool areas.

This last photo is off to the side of the hotel behind where I am standing there are other lawn areas, the walkway off to the side facing the ocean, the pool areas off to the other side, and gardens everywhere.  Looking forward is one of the many entrances.  Off to the left there is a hidden playground for the kids, an activities area, the Italian Restaurant, and a Barber Shop...among other things.  Off to the right are shops, the main hotel and lobby, and other historical treasures of The Breakers.

I'm so very grateful I was able to experience this trip.  It was wonderful to get away for a while.  More on this trip over at the TRAVEL BLOG we have set up, too!

The Breakers - Front & Back

Over the next several posts I will be sharing with you the trip we took to West Palm Beach, Florida, thanks to Garden of Life.  We stayed at The Breakers and it was overly amazing!  I was able to blog my way to The Breakers last year and I was finally able to go!  After the horrible winter we had we were overly excited to see sunnier skies that is for sure!

This first photo is a shot taken from the 6th Floor on the Terrace of the Flagler Club Level.  This is the entrance of the resort.  You can see the beautiful fountain and front garden greeting you as you arrive!

This was the view looking out of our window.  It was listed as Partial Ocean View but I would say this is a head-on Ocean View!

Sure - it was 'out of this world' to walk among the wealthy - but - it's the little things that I truly loved the most like the palm trees!  The sunshine!  Seeing birds I don't usually see at home and being surprised by small lizards and salamanders!

And coming across a single red vibrant mini flower in the middle of nowhere during a mid morning walk.  I carried it around with me for a few hours and even brought it back to the room, too!

Stay tuned for more blog posts and photos from Florida in the coming weeks!  It will probably take me that long to catch up and post all of the eye-candy we came across while there!  You can also see more photos on my Instagram and our Travel Blog.

Oh...YEAH...And I Won A Trip To The Breakers In West Palm Beach, FL...

Monday I was notified that I was 1 of 2 winners of The Breakers West Palm Beach Trip Giveaway from Garden of Life!  I couldn't be MORE excited!!!  We are hoping to take our trip in March.  I will surely keep everyone posted on that!  I think I will also be posting more on our Travel Site, too!  So keep an eye out!  I think I will post a few more photos over there today!

Oddz & Endz From Dollywood & The Island AND Another Giveaway!

Looking back on last week I really had fun taking a slew of photos from Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. To read more and see more visit my Travel Blog's post Coming Soon...To The Island.

This photo here is also from The Island.  It's a row of those chairs I spoke about in the link above.  I was testing out my photography eye a bit and was going for shadows, textures, color, lines, and 3D type shots in this one.  I mentioned the last couple of posts that all of the photographs from this trip were done on my iPhone.  Usually I take one of my other cameras but since we were packing light and traveling in my Fiat I wanted to just use my iPhone.  I was very pleased with the outcome.

A little bit more from Dollywood now...here you will see one of their many artisans that were set up thru out the theme park.  This was the Glass Blower.  I've always enjoyed watching people blow glass.  It's quite the process.  I've been fascinated with it since I was small.  I remember my first experience visit Cornell, NY, and have loved it ever since.  There were others around the park showing off their crafts and trades...baking, painting, metal, candles, wood, leather (I hate the smell of it and of course I don't wear it so I walked right by it) and LOTS of other arts, crafts, trades!

Another neat part of Dollywood was the replications of her childhood.  This was one of the one-room-schoolhouse that she went to while a child.  It was incredibly done.  There was another one of her childhood home, too, a one bedroom house with a kitchen that ALL of her family members shared and she had a large family!

I will probably squeeze in more photos from time to time in the next few weeks but I have lots of other things to blog about, too!

One of the many things I will be blogging about is MORE GIVEAWAYS!!!!  Today I have a package of Organic Chia Seeds from Garden of Life!  All you have to do is comment on this post and let me know a valid email addy to contact you if you are the winner.  US Shipping Addresses, only, please.  I'll choose a winner by 5pm EST tomorrow! (Friday the 3rd)

Some of the things I have done with Chia Seeds in the past have been:
* Strawberry Chia Jam
* Chocolate Chia Pudding
* Blackberry Chia Smoothie

Wheels, Turkeys, The Walking Dead, and Steam From the Fountain Show!

This photo I posted over at my Travel Blog but the next 3 pics you won't find over there.  These photos are from our trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, last week.  Inside Pigeon Forge there is a new(er) destination called The Island.  You can read more about that and see more photos here. 

This first photo is of their Wheel.  The Island has LOTS of shops, restaurants, attractions, games, rides, and things to do with more on the way.  They are currently working on their 2nd phase adding more restaurants, tasting rooms, hotels, and shops.

This place is already neat but I think when it's complete it will be really special.

Just like everything else in Pigeon Forge - they are decked out for fall.  Harvest Time is BIG down there.  Outside of the Wheel they had this place where you could pose for photos - so I did.  Yup!  Just us 3 turkeys!  (teehee)

The layout out was amazing and the whole Island was incredibly clean and everyone was very friendly.  More on that at the link above if you are interested in hearing more.

Sometimes when I travel and see something that reminds me of a friend or family member I will snap a pic just for them.  I remember one time I saw  friend of mine on Facebook that took a photo of herself drinking beer thru a straw while in Vegas so the next time I went to Vegas I did the same thing and took a photo of me doing it and posted it and tagged it just for her.

In this case...a good friend of mine has a thing for "Darryl" on The Walking Dead so when I saw this cut out I HAD to take a pic for her and text it over right away!  I'm looking forward to the season premiere of The Walking Dead this coming month and I do like his character but I can't say that I'm obsessed with him like many other women I know.

And this photo I intentionally took, too, but for different reasons. 

I took LOTS of pictures at The Island - and many of them were of the fountains and water show - but this one I took because I wanted to get the fountains moving, the steam rolling, the rocks glistening, the sun shining, and the surrounding landscape with a little bit of the buildings showing in the back ground.  I think I was able to accomplish most - if not ALL of that.

For those of you wanting FOOD posts...stayed tuned I will have another blog post later today!

Dollywood Photography From My iPhone

Over at my Travel Blog earlier today I posted More From Dollywood and there are plenty of more photos over there if you want to check those out but the ones I am posting here today are ones that I feel turned out exceptionally well especially since all I used was my iPhone to take them.  This is the first time I haven't taken an actual camera on vacation to take my 'good' photos.  Needless to say I was pleased with the outcome.  We were trying to travel light and most of what we did pack was for Paco.  We drove over 10 hours in my Fiat and it certainly got the job done.  We averaged about 400 miles a tank.  We only spent a bit over $100 for gas so that was AWESOME.  Now on to the photos, eh!?  This first one is one of the many mills that Dollywood featured.  It was functional and festive.  Inside you were able to purchase their fresh made breads that they made daily.

One of the many decorated gardens was this one.  It had flowers galore!  Not only that they had a turning Ferris Wheel that moved slowly with the potted flowers in each Ferris Wheel Car.  I stopped and stared at it for a few moments.

I mentioned in another post that we visited Dollywood at the beginning of this years Gospel and Harvest Time Festival.  It last about a month and a half and features over 350 live performances throughout the theme park.

While we were there we did see a number of preachers, reverends, pastors, etc from different denominations and faiths.  There's a small church there that is named after the doctor who delivered Dolly Parton as a baby.

One thing I will have to research more is if there is a connection to birds and birdhouses and Dollywood and/or Dolly Parton.  I saw a SLEW of birdhouses throughout the theme park.  And I don't mean just any old birdhouse.  I mean INVOLVED birdhouses that were colorful and creative...ones that were HUGE...ones that had multiple stories...even ones that were themed.  Some were unusual, some where tall yet thin, and others were just so stunning I couldn't help but snap a photo...or 10 photos!

This one was behind a kiosk.  I couldn't believe that it wasn't more out in the open!  It stood about 6 to 6 and a half feet tall, had 3 floors, windows, doors, a deck, etc.  It was very beautiful!  If we visit Dollywood again...I just might have to try and count how many birdhouses I see!

Going along and keeping with the Harvest Time theme - giant colorful displays like this one could be seen throughout the theme park. 

As you can see this is almost like a Christmas Tree made out of potted flowers that tier into the sky.  Behind it was Hay, Wheat, Corn Stalks, and other festive decor. 

You can tell that Dollywood goes above and beyond to change things up and make the place look amazing!  I hear that Christmas Time is even more involved, too! 

We saw several people working on adding lights to many of the standing structures.  I bet they were getting ready for the Christmas Time Festival.  I'm sure it takes a LONG time to decorate for that!

Kid at Heart

Eventho our vacation is over I am way behind at blogging about.  So over the next week or two I will be blogging pretty heavy on the trip.  The photos I post on this blog are different than the ones I post over at my Travel Blog.  So if you want to see more pics from the trip visit this site. 

Yes...I'm cross promoting a bit here!  But there is a method to my madness, too!  The post here at My Blissful Journey is about being a kid at heart.  It's one of the many things I reflected on during our trip.  I feel being a kid at heart is important.  Sure...you want to act your age most of the time...but it's important to break away from that and be FUN.  Be a little weird or crazy from time to time.  Do things out of the ordinary.  And what better time - than while you are on vacation, right?

These photos were taken at WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge.  Eventho a lot of the things inside this up-side-down building are geared more toward children and youth - there were many things I found interesting.  Many of them it didn't matter what age you were you could still enjoy them.  You can read more about that - and see additional photos from WonderWorks in this post. 

In the first photo you will see I'm have some fun with bubbles.  Very LARGE bubbles, that is.  Then out front in the lobby I found this psychedelic piano that was super groovy and had to get my photo taken with it...the hippie at heart I am.

Also in the lobby - looking UP - you saw this amazing sight!

Everything was up-side-down on the ceiling!  There was SO MUCH to look at!  When I look at this photo - I keep thinking to Alice in Wonderland!  Or even The Labyrinth...remember that movie with David Bowie!?  LOVE that movie!

On the travel blog (linked above) I wrote about the many Optical Illusions that were at WonderWorks.  It was one of my favorite parts of our visit to this tourist attraction.

Here's another one of those Optical Illusions.  It's a gorgeously colorful painting.  It looks FLAT but it's actually 3D.  The corners of the buildings in the front are pointed out and the alley-way between the buildings sink inward.

I tried to have my husband take a photo of my hands in front of it to show that it was in-fact 3D but it still didn't do it justice.

Here's another one taken from the side view.  It's laid out the same and in 3D but it's very well done almost too well done that you can't really tell even in the photo or from the side.

I guess you could relate this to The Mona Lisa painting - but only for the Optical Illusion of the eyes 'following' you and and necessarily because of the 3D-ness of it...Mona was flat and this wasn't...but still pretty cool, eh!?  What or which Optical Illusions do you like best?  What do you think about 'being a kid at heart'?  Do you take the time to be a kid every now and again!?

Surprises at Dollywood!

Check this out!  It's part of my lunch at one of the places inside Dollywood!  I had their Salad Bar which also included a Mac & Cheese Bar.  I asked them if I could do it with no meat or dairy and the wonderful lady who was doing the custom mac n cheese orders went back to the kitchen and found the olive oil and did mine vegan style!  I thanked her multiple times for the special treatment!  This is what we came up with!  Macaroni in Olive Oil with tomatoes, green onions, read peppers, onions, mushrooms and it turned out yummy!  A special shout out and THANK YOU to Dollywood!

One of the many things I enjoyed about Dollywood was the friendly ducks throughout the park just waiting to greet passerby's.  Everyone who worked at Dollywood treated them like guests of the park...they were completely free to come and go as they please.  There were many natural places for them to frequent including ponds and streams.

Another neat part of Dollywood was the artisans and their demonstrations.  This guy was one of the blown glass guys.  Everything they make during the day goes into the last part of the process to cool over night and then it's available for sale the next day in the gift shop next to the demo area.  I posted a bunch of photos of me over at the Travel Blog if you want to check it out and I will have a lot more from Dollywood in the very near future.

State of Bliss Travel Blog

Just a quick blog post about a sub blog I started!  Feel free to check it out it's called State of Bliss Travel.  MyBlissfulJourney will ALWAYS be my main blog and website but this sub site is specifically about travel and adventures and will be heavy on the photos.  I will cross post and cross link when appropriate.  Check out this new site to see why I'm posting this gorgeous cabin!