St. John National Park Island Tour (via Royal Caribbean)

At least 2/3 of the amazing little island of St. John is located within the National Park which was donated by the Rockefeller family in 1956. If you want to spend more time learning about St. John, this 4-hour tour is worth it. This tour is mostly offered by cruise ships like Royal Caribbean, and other cruise ships, but itineraries can be a bit different depending on what cruise ship would you be in. In my case, I am sharing this experience when I had my 7 nights Southern Caribbean Cruise via Royal Caribbean when I signed up for this tour. :)

The tour begins with a 45-minute boat ride going to St. John from Charlotte, Amalie, St. Thomas. The boat docks at the charming town of Cruz Bay, wherein an open-air safari vehicle is waiting for tour passengers to board for a scenic island drive.

A tour guide (the driver) will provide you information about the rich history of St. John, while enjoying the tropical lush foliage and the indigenous wildlife at the same time during your sceninc sightseeing.

This tour also mainly shows St. John's panoramic views of the British Virgin Islands as well as its white-sand beaches. Visits also include scenic overlooks of Trunk Bay, - considered to be one of the most photographed beaches in the world, Caneel Bay, Hawksnest Bay and many more.

Trunk Bay

From Caneel Bay, you'll also be able to look at the scenic view of the famous Rockefeller plantation. Another highlight will be a drive to Bordeaux Mountain which is the highest summit in the Virgin Islands at 1,277 feet elevation,which also provides one of the most extraordinary vista points.

Bordeaux Mountain

The tour ends back at the louche part of Cruz Bay. Some free time will be for shopping. There are upscale shopping spots in this quaint town.

There is also a visitor center (V.I. National Park) just located at the Cruz Bay docking area in St. John for visitors who want to know other activities to do while exploring the island.

Music Is For Kids Too!

One way to produce a good musician is to train them while they are young. Most musicians of today had been trained when they were young, and of course another major reason why they become successful in their music career is that they love what they are doing. The passion for things you love doing is a stepping stone to turning good on what you become. 

 So, if your kids demonstrates their passion of liking music, don't forbid them. Instead, help them and support them in their training. Do they love to sing? Help them develop the talent. Are they interested to play a certain musical instrument? Then, let them develop a training to play with it. There are musical instruments for toddlers that can help you train your little kids to develop their passion for music. The earlier they are trained, the higher they develop a passion to keep on doing what they love. Come check them out!

The Shen Yun Performing Arts Show (The Modell Lyric Baltimore)

If you are fascinated in learning about cultures, the Chinese culture is one of those that has a lot of story to tell, from the ancient times up to the present.

The Shen Yun dance performance can promise you a show full of dances that reflect colors, action, theater effects and songs describing their ancient culture.

Shen Yun started in 2006 in New York formed by leading Chinese artists from all around the world with a goal to revive the Chinese ancient culture through music, dance and songs.

They perform few times each year and every year, they create an all-new production of performance.

You have to be aware though that in between the performances are dances that reflect teachings of Falun Dafa books, which are inspired by Falun Gong philosphy. It's nowhere that you can see anything about Dafa teachings being promoted until you watch the entire performance.

Falun Dafa is a Chinese spiritual practice for mind and body, through meditation that mainly focuses on truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. 

Some reviews about this, being incorporated with Shen Yun performances sound offensive to some, and some were led to practice it. They leave up to the audience to choose, - to practice and believe it or not.

Otherwise, the audience can just focus on the spectacular and colorful dances, music and the colorful costumes of the dancers, the acrobats, and many more.

Musical Instruments' Winter Clearance!

It would take quite a while before winter ends! And so when it comes to musical instruments, this is your best time to save big for the winter clearance. Make sure to check from woodwind and brasswind store online and get 50% discounts on some selected overstock instruments and accessories. 

 You can get the chance to browse all their offered products as well such as all types of woodwind and brasswind instruments. There are top brands to choose from as well, and even if you are looking for hard to find products, you can find them all here, and quality products are all assured!

 Whether you are a beginner or a professional musician, every product that suits you are available. You can conveniently shop direct from home without really needing to drive over and visit an actual music store only to be discouraged not finding what you are looking for.

Cape May Winery Tour

A visit to Cape May Winery while in Jersey shore is worth doing. They offer winery tours year round including self-guided vineyard walks (tour of the vineyard) and inside their facility such as the fermentation room and the bottling area.

The first part of the tour will lead you to a room where you will be given an introduction about the art of wine-making. As you continue the tour, your tour guide will lead you to various facilities inside the winery as he will share to you about how and where the wines are processed and bottled.

processing area

fermentation room

fermentation room (back)

bottling area

Although tours are being offered all-year round. it is much more recommended to visit during the warmer months like summer. The vineyard during the winter is bare and dry, plus it can really be very cold during the tour outside. If ever you plan to visit in the colder months, be sure you are bundled up as you will be outdoors for the vineyard tour.

The highlight of the tour is the free wine-tasting. This will be done at the end of the tour at the tasting room. Included in the wine tasting is a fruit and cheese tray to pair it with your wine.

You will then pass by the shop after the wine tasting. They have many good collections of both dry red and white wines, sweet and dessert wines.

Cape May Winery is located at Townbank Road, in North Cape May, New Jersey.

Historic District Trolley Tour in Cape May

The perfect way to get acquainted with Cape May is to hop on those cheery, red trolleys and let your tour guide tells you about Cape May. You will learn and enjoy it in a most comfortable and easy way as well.

As you sit back and relax, you will see some of the highlights of the tour like the gingerbread houses, the oldest residential street in town, (Hughes Street) and the elegant Grande Dames of Cape May. You will also see and learn about the town's Victorian heritage and the historical past and present about Cape May as America's first seaside resort and about its maritime and seashore history.

A ginger bread house;Courtesy photo by Tripadvisor.com

You can take as many photos as you want. Just be sure your camera can take good and clear photos in a moving vehicle. This is the best time to take photos because the tour is done during daytime.

Christmas Candlelight House Tour

The Christmas House Tour in Cape May is a self-guided  evening tour to festively decorated residential homes, hotels, inns and even churches. Most decorated homes and centers are open to the public as people will enjoy the twinkling holiday lights and Victorian-style decors for a visit. This is one of Cape May's main attraction during the holiday season. It is filled not only with decorations but also with some caroling, strolling musicians and good old fashioned cheer.

Some participating homes, inns and hospitality centers offer warm beverages and traditional treats for visitors too!

When you sign up for the tour, you will be given a map as a guide. On the map are lists of participating homes and their addresses along with the street map on which these houses are numbered. Trolley stops are also indicated on the map, so if you plan to go for a faster pace, and you want to see all of the participating houses, boarding the trolley saves you time.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good experience with this tour when I visited in December 2014. Well, every experience is different so don't get discouraged! There are some tips I want to share though for those who are planning to do this tour.

Since this is an evening tour, it gets cold at night, so don't forget to bundle up. Every home or inn you'll be visiting is heated though, so that would be a bonus. But remember that this involves a lot of walking. There are some houses that are a block away from one house to the other and the closer the distances, trolley stops are NOT in the area.

Next thing to consider: - as early as 6PM would already be peak hours, which means ALL trolleys are full and would NOT stop at the trolley stop if they are full! You can still probably make it to your next stop since it's a walking tour NOT unless when you are with a tour bus group and when your time is limited. Normally, trolley comes every 15 minutes in every trolley stop, but peak hours can last until around 9:30PM or even later. I experienced waiting for a trolley for almost an hour, - and ending up walking back later to where our bus was which was a 30-35 minutes walk! It so happened I was at the farthest area from where our bus was :((. So, instead of spending time seeing more houses, it was all spent walking back to the bus because I had to catch the time departure.

Unless you are living in the area for an overnight, or staying for a few nights, you are safe just to skip the trolley because there is no time to beat up.

So, there you go...you have the idea to keep in mind. We all deserve to enjoy the holiday festivities no matter what. The more you know what to expect, the more you would enjoy it.

Enjoy Christmas in Cape May!

West Cape May Guided Tour

It's one of the most pleasant experience to join this tour with multiple itineraries. I love to see a lot of things and places in one tour without having to worry about GPS directions and getting lost :). A big bonus if it's a guided tour as well.

Our motorcoach guided tour through West Cape May brought us to the tip of Cape May's peninsula, which is one of the most celebrated migratory locations in North America.

We visited Cape May Point State Park where a fully restored lighthouse built in 1859 is located.

The park is considered to be a popular tourist attraction for viewing the fall bird migration. There are observation platforms for wildlife viewing where visitors can witness the park's constantly changing coastal marsh and ponds, and dunes.

The Cape May lighthouse which is accessible within the park is another attraction frequently visited by tourists. It has 199 steps in order to reach the top and get a panoramic view of the scenic Cape May peninsula. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was closed for the season when we visited :(.

Near the beach is a WWII bunker that served as a gun emplacement and hiding place of 6-inch guns. It was built as one of the coastal defenses for the Delaware Bay in WWII and after the war, it was deemed obsolete and ultimately disarmed. The bunker and the two barracks buildings (which are now converted as the museum and office at the park) are the only ruins that was left after it was abandoned.

Sunset Beach is also a must-see when you're in Cape May. You can still see the sunken ship "Atlantus" halfway visible on the beach, just off the shore. The S.S. Atlantus was once one of the concrete ships that were built which hauled cargo and troops back and forth the Atlantic several times! In 1926, it was repaired and towed to Cape May, but was unfortunately hit by a storm in the summer of the same year and broke off some of its parts which caused it to run 150 ft. off the coast of Sunset Beach, N.J.

As of today, the ruins are deteriorating fast, since the ship began to split apart at the mid section in the late 50's. It is expected that sooner, the last of its visible remains will then be buried underneath the waves.

Me and the visible remains of  S.S."Atlantus"

Sunset Beach didn't only become famous because of S.S. Atlantus, but it is also considered as one of the East Coast's most unique beaches situated at the end of Sunset Blvd. way at the tip of South Jersey. It is here where you can view spectacular sunsets over the waters of Delaware Bay without any obstructions.

One interesting fact you would want to discover is about how to find beautiful gems known as "Cape May Diamonds". These are pure quartz crystals carried by the tides and appear as pebbles on the beach, just off-shore close to the Atlantus. Quartz comes in a variety of colors and is one of the common forms of minerals. They say that the source of these diamonds can be seen at the upper point of Delaware River, and some about 200 miles upstream that can take thousand of years to form, and then being swifted by strong flow of the sea sending these quartz pebbles ashore.

During early spring until late fall, tons of visitors gather at Sunset Beach to collect Cape May Diamonds, including Indian artifacts and other fossils. During winter months, most of the larger stones come ashore when the tide is considered to be stronger, especially during storms.

At the Sunset Beach are also 3 gift shops you can visit for shopping, a grill restaurant where you can grab a quick bite, and a mini-golf course with a magnificent view overlooking Delaware Bay!

Along Sunset Blvd. going toward Sunset Beach is the WWII lookout tower called Tower 23. It was built in 1942 and was used to spot enemy ships during WWII. It was one of the coastal defenses that is still standing today and restored in 2008-2009 by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC). Inside the tower is now a museum with built-in stair cases for the public to climb up to the top.

Giving Your Music "Power" With Fishman!

I have to be honest...I am not super techy when it comes to guitar accessories since I don't play guitars. But the good thing is that I love listening to music and I sing a little bit! ;)

 But sure thing, I appreciate guitar music basing on the type of music I love as well. For many guitar lovers, here's one power chip  worth recommending for musicians who want to enhance the quality of their music.

Fishman products such as the powerchip preamp are the commonly recommended control set up for your  powerbridge  pick up system.

It's always a fulfillment for a musician to know that when his music is at its best, he knows he's got the best chosen power chip for his instrument.

Holiday Lights Trolley Tour

Photo courtesy of homesteadcapemayrentals.com

Holiday lights at night in Cape May bring a lot of cheer to people in Cape May, New Jersey, both visitors and residents alike.

A trolley ride at night will be the best way to enjoy a front row view of the town's holiday decorations and lights along with stories of Christmas past shared by your trolley tour guide.

You can see the historic district mainly residential homes and inns glitter and sparkle with festive decorations, hear and see sing-alongs on the streets as well as Christmas music.

An important tip during this tour; - if you want to take photos, be sure your camera can get clear shots in a moving vehicle, and can take the glittering lights with a night focus feature.

Tour lasts about 30 minutes.

Physick Family Christmas House Tour (Physick Estate)

They say that visiting the Physick Estate in Cape May, NJ in December is always a big highlight because it is full of glittering holiday decorations, - Victorian style!

The Emlen Physick Estate is an 1879 Victorian house museum that sparkles for the holidays with authentic Victorian decorations that invite you to step back into the Christmas past with a unique living history experience. During the tour, there are people who act as members of the family household and they will be welcoming you as their visitors in their home :).

The tour guide will tell more about the Physick family and their lifestyles, careers, etc. during their time, including the life of Emlen Physick Jr.

Take note that during the tour, taking photos are strictly prohibited while inside the mansion. 

The mansion has 15 rooms that will be visited giving you a glimpse about the Victorian lifestyle era of the Physick family.

The Physick house has a stick-style architecture, designed by Frank Furness, making it quite unique and different from other houses in Cape May which were built in gothic, Italianate and Mansard styles in a more conservative design.

This guided tour lasts about 45 minutes, and you will end the tour at the Carriage House (also a gift shop). Be sure to take a glimpse at their holiday decorations in the gallery area of the shop...photos are allowed! ;)

Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center Tour (formerly Wheaton Village)

Wheaton Arts is located in Millville, New Jersey, - one unique location to watch how world class glass arts are created in the Glass Studio.

There are several buildings inside Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center that are constantly visited by tourists including students and art aficionados. These include studios like flameworking and ceramics studios, the glass studio, the Museum of American Glass, boutiques and crafts studios, the stained glass studio and unique museum stores and gift shops.

The Museum of American Glass is worth visiting. It has more than 6,000 glass display objects placed in sunlit galleries ranging from old bottle collections from the old American era, various shapes and colors of flasks, Mason jars, and paperweights, to the present contemporary artistic glass arts.

Displays are changed at certain times with some special exhibits being organized throughout the year, thereby making visitors particularly art collectors to keep going back for a visit.

The Glass Studio is the most highly visited where visitors can watch a master glass artist while at work shaping molten glass into beautiful creative designs. You will surely enjoy watching their glass blowing and artist demonstrations as well.

All studios that are open depending on the season are all worth visiting. So, never skip any of it. In the winter, some studios are closed, but all studios are usually opened during warmer months such as summer.

Boutiques and stores are ideal places to go when you want to buy gift items or just for personal keepsakes.

Enjoy Nature & Wildlife at Sylvan Heights Bird Park

(Scotland Neck, NC)

Do you want to witness the beauty of more than 2,000 exotic birds from all around the world in just one place?

The Sylvan Heights Bird Park is an 18-acre wildlife sanctuary for birds with different species that you would surely enjoy seeing and can even interact with them. The park doesn't only showcase these birds and other wildlife but also educates the public about the importance of conserving our wetlands and letting them know how important it is to care for these wildlife as well.

There is an admission fee for the park. ($10-adults; $6-child as of this writing).

Guided walking tour is also available by appointment with a tour fee for at least 10 people or more. This tour is ideal for students and those who love to learn more about birds, exhibits and their history.

There is also a guided golf cart tour with a maximum of 5 guests and a tour guide, but advance reservations are highly recommended.

One good thing about this park is that they offer education programs to help the students learn further more by giving them the chance to explore through wetland adventures, scavenger hunts and animal presentations.

The park is easy to navigate, thus you can easily find your way easily back to the visitor center in any case you want to.

The park has also a landing zone, - one enjoyable place the kids would love!

The Landing Zone is where you can actively interact with colorful birds by feeding them through a seed stick that is available for purchase right at the entrance area as well as at the gift shop.

The birds are tamed and they come to you for a perch, while eating their food from the seed stick. These colorful parakeets have their own colors that make them so unique, - like  colored moving objects when they are in groups. :)

There are also American (pink) flamingos inside the zone that you can feed.

Other bird species are also available in other park areas such as doves, pigeons and pheasants.

For sure, an experience in the landing zone would be your kid's highlight on your visit! :)

Visiting The Roanoke Canal Museum & Trail

If you like hiking or biking on trails and at the same time learning the historical past about it, - the Roanoke Canal Museum & Trail is the most ideal place to visit while in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

You can visit the museum exhibits for a minimal fee per person. The various exhibits can be viewed in a historical photo timelines, and through short videos on TV screens. The museum entirely shows the historical development and construction of the Roanoke navigation canals, including its engineering platforms and designs, the historical past of the Roanoke River Valley, and the canal's ultimate conversion as source of electrical power generation.

There are more exhibits downstairs consisting of some artifacts that were used during the past on displays. It's in here where you can see and touch interactive exhibits. This part of the museum used to be a power station built in 1900.

They say that Roanoke Canal Museum & Trail is the "world's longest museum". I'm not sure why, but probably because of the size of the canal that extends its history along the 7.5 mile trail.

The Roanoke Canal Trail can be enjoyed either by walking or biking where you can get the chance to view some ruins of the old structures, see the wildlife and witness the scenic view of the Roanoke River. The ruins can be seen at least a mile away from the museum as you follow the trail.

(I didn't make it to the ruins, so I couldn't share photos...sorry! ) :(

The Hagerstown Premium Outlets - MARYLAND

There are always ideal places to find impressive deals when it comes to shopping items without compromising the quality, like the Premium Outlets in Hagerstown, MD. ;)

I usually go to this outlet when I need some items from my favorite signature brands ;).

There are at least more than 100 stores in this outlet mall which is situated along interstate 70, which is 3 miles east of the highway's junction with interstate 81 in Hagerstown, MD.

It's one of the major shopping malls in Washington County, opened in 1998 and was formerly called Prime Outlets - Hagerstown.

It was then in 2010 that its name was changed to Hagerstown Premium Outlets after the mall has been acquired by Simon Property Group.

The mall is open-air which means, there will be a lot of walking outside. It has a village-style lay out, without upper floors, but has cemented path walks all throughout.

Celebrating Labor Day at Longwood Gardens

Trip Date: Aug. 30 - Sept. 01, 2014

Longwood Gardens is one of the most visited garden in the U.S. It is more than an ordinary botanical garden you will ever see; - it is a place for learning, entertainment, peaceful retreat and a place to commune with nature while enjoying thousand of species of plants and flowers in every season.

As you keep coming back to visit the garden, there are new attractions it offers to the garden and nature lovers. Visitors never get bored of coming to visit because there are always new ones to discover every visit.

I and my husband prefer coming back here from mid-spring to early or late summer to spend more outdoors! It was at this visit that we discovered the newly opened garden - The Meadow Garden.

This is an ideal place to do a walk and hikes, while at the same time admiring the beauty of nature and living things. A new experience for those who haven't seen the garden yet ;).

The Meadow Garden was designed for walking and hiking trails with a spanning area of 86 acres. Trail maps are always available for those who prefer to self-explore, although there are also expert guides that can lead visitors for shorter walks/hikes in some selected days.

The garden has more than 3 miles of walk and trail hikes as you continue to enjoy at your own leisure and at the same time discovering lush wetlands, open refreshing fields as well as seeing amazing diverse habitats for flora and fauna.

Saw a toad!

...and a turtle!

Take note however, that guided walks and hikes are weather dependent. It's always a good idea to visit and inquire at the Visitor Center at the entrance to the garden or by visiting them online. (longwoodgardens dot org.)