Keel & Curly Winery // CENTRAL FLORIDA TREASURE

I am all about having some you-time. 

As a mom, your identity becomes very wrapped up in taking care of others that it can be easy to loose the woman behind the mom. 

One of the things I love and enjoyed before children was going to vineyards for wine tastings. That is how I discovered that I adore ice wine and really am a huge fan of aperitifs and a good cheese plate. There is nothing quite like relaxing and sampling small helpings of various fermented beverages while you nibble on a hard cheese and lovely cracker. 

For my 31st birthday, my husband arranged a surprise trip to the local winery, Keel & Curley. They specialize in making wines from fruit other than grapes and are best known for the sangria. I am a HUGE fan of surprises! Craig organized it for my entire family to meet there and have fun together.

There is a playground for the kids, which is the first time I've seen that but what a smart idea! While the men watched all the kids outside, my Mom, sister-in-law and I headed in to sample some local fare.

At only $6 for a flight of 8 different wines, it is a steal! But believe me that you will want to grab a couple of bottles before you drive home. You will fall in love with several of their selections. They are truly divine even if you aren't a typical wine drinker. Many of their wines are very sweet, almost like an after dinner drink or a fruity cocktail. 

My favorites were the Winemaker's Reserve Blackberry Wine made with 100% berries, their traditional Merlot and their fruit fusion Key West Key Lime Wine. And as a part of your tasting, you receive a complementary wine glass with their logo. Fun!

If wine isn't your think, they recently launched a craft brewery called Two Henry's Brewing Company. You can sample both the wines and beers in their tasting room. Various cheeses and crackers are available to purchase and made the whole experience that much more complete. 

They offer tours on Saturdays and Sunday on the hour from 1-4pm of the entire winery at $5 for the tour or $10 for tour and tasting. Since I visited in June, I opted out of the tour but will definitely go when the weather is cooler.  

I enjoyed my time at Keel & Curly so much that I went back the weekend after my birthday when my best friend came into town. We met some lovely ladies there, including one who had a heart for Africa and started/maintains a sustainable community that is operated completely from people from the local area. If Keel & Curly wasn't neat enough, when it introduces you to amazing women doing extraordinary things to help the world around them, you can't help but like it. 

Any local ladies like to make a night of it? They are open Sunday through Thursday from 11am-7pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am- 11pm.  As long as we get a babysitter, I'm up for a little me-time!


p.s. Surprises are a tradition around here. I surprised Craig for his 30th and he surprised me for my 29th.

A visit to Solomon's Castle // CENTRAL FLORIDA TREASURE

There is a quirky little treasure here in central Florida that takes you off the Mickey Mouse style polished attraction to a lovely quaint locally operated gem. It is called Solomon's Castle and is named after the artist and builder Harold Solomon. In June, my parents and my entire clan drove out to enjoy a quiet Saturday before they closed for the summer.

Craig and I are into off-beat things and unique experiences and have found this to be a lovely location for our family. This was our second visit and we found it just as enjoyable as the first time we went back in 2010. There is a nature trail that ends in a wooden draw bridge, a replica of the Alamo from San Antonio, and a restaurant in a boat based on Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria. Talk about unique! The charm of the place is in it's homemade quality and local staff. Everyone is a friend or family member of Solomon's and that family-style atmosphere permeates the entire property. There is a low-key, unhurried vibe as you meander the tree-shaded paths and walkways, allowing you to enjoy at your own pace.

A tour of Solomon's art collection and the a visit inside the house can be obtained for a small fee, but you are free to roam the grounds at no charge. The tour is guided with all sorts of fun tidbits, like what exactly the exterior of the house is made out of. We find the outer grounds to be a very relaxing location for the kids to run and jump and explore while we stroll behind, enjoying their enthusiasm and the tranquility of the remoteness. And around every bend there seems to be a new building, sculpture or creation to look at and enjoy. For my kids, it was like a treasure hunt to see who could spot the next neat attraction. 

Discover a giant horse, guards made of metal, and stunning hand-made stained glass all around the castle. The inside of the Boat in the Moat has many sea-faring trinkets to see and it feels as if you step back in time. I highly recommend grabbing dessert and coffee at the end of your time there. You can sit inside in the air conditioned wooden boat or outside on the vine covered patio with live music on Saturdays. 

If you are lucky, you might find the 80 year old Solomon working in his workshop. And he loves visitors! Head on in and ask him what project he is in the process of building. 

Be sure to bring cash, as Solomon's Castle does not accept credit cards to keep their operating costs low. They are open Tuesday thru Sunday, 11am-4pm, but closed the months of July, August and September. 

Come October, be sure to plan a family trip to enjoy this one-of-a-kind place! And let me know how you enjoyed your time.


p.s. We visited the source of the Nile River and Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. 

Legoland trip // CENTRAL FLORIDA TREASURES

One of the perks of being an actress is knowing people who work in the entertainment area of theme parks. Seriously, the best! So when a friend (thanks you, Francis Fortin!) offers their free passes to Legoland on Facebook I jump at the opportunity, because we all know this family of 6 living on a teacher's salary can't afford tickets to theme parks. What a wonderful blessing to our family this was!



We actually went (thanks to Francis, again) a couple of weeks after we came home from Uganda in 2012 and made some of our first fond memories all together there. Because it was free, we didn't feel the need to stay all day if it became too overwhelming for our two new guys. Thankfully, Andrew and Simon slept a lot of the time due to the drastic time difference between Uganda and Florida, and Asher and Alethea were able to play to their hearts contentment. It was a wonderful time and amazing memories that we all cherish.



Here are some of our favorite photos (all phone pics, sorry for quality) from our first trip.

 

Francis, the Rock Star, Fortin offered his tickets again just a couple of weeks ago as he was transitioning from working at Legoland to his new job with Disney (CONGRATS!) and we were lucky enough to get to go a second time, a year and a half later. Instead of my thoughts on our trip, I decided to interview the family and let them tell you how they liked it.

Craig

What was your favorite part? : Carousal (kids called it a merry-go-round)
What would you do again? : Carousal
What food would you like to eat next time we go? : Pirate burgers
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : George Washington

Karissa

 

What was your favorite part? : Merlin's Ride
What would you do again? : Watch the show
What food would you like to eat next time we go? :  Funnel cakes
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : Eiffel Tower

Asher

What was your favorite part? : Watching the show
What would you do again? : Play at "Pharoah's Revenge" because they shooted balls
What food would you like to eat next time we go? : Burgers
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : Big dinosaur that shoots water

Alethea

 

What was your favorite part? : Merry-go-round
What would you do again? : Merry-go-round because Andrew was smiling
What food would you like to eat next time we go? : Cereal and eggs
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : Big Lego cooker man

Andrew

What was your favorite part? : When the girl helped me push the pedal in the car
What would you do again? : Merry-go-round
What food would you like to eat next time we go? : Burgers
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : Not want to build a donkey

Simon

What was your favorite part? : Riding in the car
What would you do again? : Ride the horsey (because he wasn't old enough this time)
What food would you like to eat next time we go? : Pumpkin
What would you build out of Legos, if you could? : Donkey

For our age kids, Legoland is the perfect amount of activity, nature (Cypress Gardens is an amazing place to walk with napping kids in the stroller or to let the kids run around.) and shows. It isn't as overwhelming as Magic Kingdom or Universal Studios and there is plenty of things that all of my little guys can enjoy. If I were to give a good age range for maximum fun, I would say 4-8 years old. This park is MADE for kids that age and all four of my kids have nothing but wonderful memories of their two trips to Legoland.


Here is a side-by-side shot of them from the first trip and our last trip. My, how they've grown!

And they ask every weekend if we can go back!