things to do Archives - Mom's Guide To Travel

Jul 31 2016

Things To Do In Annapolis: Great Frogs Winery

Living just 15 minutes away, I’m always looking for interesting things to do in Annapolis when I’m not traveling somewhere else.

Don’t you get excited when you stumble upon a cool local find?

That’s how I felt when I learned about Great Frogs Winery last year at a Maryland tourism event.

Something interesting to do “around the comer”

Great Frogs sits on acres of old tobacco farm land that dates back to 1691. The property was destined to be sold and turned into condominiums. However, winemaking duo and Cali natives, Nate and Andrea O’Shea, flew in to save the day.

The first vines were planted in 1999. The first wine produced from its soil was bottled and sold in 2013.

The property is tucked away on Harness Creek, just feet away from South River on one of many peninsulas you’ll find in Annapolis. This is characteristic of the Chesapeake Bay Area.

An ever-changing scene, I’ve been to the vineyard several times now. Every time I visit, my eyes spot something new.

Aside from the changing decor of the restored barn turned tasting room and wine shop, the outdoor scenery seems to constantly shift and transform. Sunsets and thunderstorms happen in technicolor, painting the landscape behind the property contrasting shades of blue, orange, or red.

This backdrop to the vines is one that even Monet would have drooled over.

My imagination wanders when I’m at the vineyard. I often forget that I’m still in Maryland (especially after a few glasses of their Meritage Red).

During a recent wine club event, the skies opened up above the farm and delivered one of the loudest cracks I’d ever heard.

Things To Do In Annapolis: Tasting Room — Rustic, smart details dot the winery.

Startled by the thunder I jumped, screeching just a bit (yes, I screeched). My eyes immediately darted to the barn’s timbers over our heads, wondering if they’d protect us should something more dramatic like a tornado came our way. I thought of Toto, the Tin Man, Emerald City and a sparkly pair of red shoes.

Told you my imagination runs wild when I’m out there.

Great Frogs Chardonnay — A wine and Mediterranean food tasting for Great Frogs wine club members.

Tastings at Great Frogs are always an adventure. Greek and Mediterranean inspired small plates paired with G.F. varietals entertained tastebuds at the private wine club event I described above.

Well Crafted Squash Pizza — Our first course: Summer Squash pizza from Well Crafted Pizza and Great Frog’s 2014 Chardonnay.

Fresh artisan pizzas hot from a refurbished Pickup food-truck paired effortlessly with a Chardonnay, Rose, red and dessert wine.

Well Crafted pizza truck — The Well Crafted Pizza food truck, based out of Baltimore.

Great Frogs has about a dozen varietals ranging from crisp whites aged in steel or Oak to full-bodied reds and dessert wines.

Great Frogs Capital Rosé — A beautiful bucket of Great Frog’s 2015 Rosè.

Once you’re done exploring the sites of historic Annapolis, feasting on sushi or seafood on Main Street, head over to Harness Creek for a few more unique things to do in Annapolis. Walk past well-manicured grape vines and taste a few glasses of local Annapolis wine.

While you’re at it, pull up a chair and watch the sky decide how it’s going to behave for the day.

Aug 06 2014

Travel To Cincinnati: An Unexpected Travel Moment

Why do we travel? It’s a question that comes up a lot amongst conscientious travelers.

There’s no singular answer. We’re all propelled by different reasons, in search of varying types of fulfillment whether it be for recreation, respite, wellness, healing, adventure or enlightenment.

My recent travels brought me to Cincinnati, Ohio. When I first told family and friends where I’d be traveling next, the common response was “Why?” Or “What’s in Cincinnati?”

The wonderful part of what I do is finding out and answering those questions. I like “sleeper” destinations – those places that the general public “sleep” on or don’t take into consideration because of their lack of national awareness. In other words, those places that might be well-known regionally but not on a national scale.

Cincinnati is one of those destinations that caught me by surprise. My purpose in traveling there was to aggregate information for a family vacation guide for Trip Advisor’s Family Vacation Critic website. It’s the unexpected, unplanned, “what are the odds” experiences that make travel interesting and so worthwhile.

One of my stops in the “Queen” city was at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a poetically designed building located in downtown CIncinnati just along the Ohio River.

While visiting the Freedom Center on a private tour with a museum representative, I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime random moments. In addition to several other moving exhibitions, the Center runs a Solomon Northup tour and has been doing so since last Fall. If you remember (or maybe you’re not familiar), Solomon Northup is the free-born man who lived in Saratoga, NY with his family in 1841, was kidnapped in Washington, DC and sold into slavery in New Orleans. He is the gentleman on which the movie 12 Years a Slave is based. The Freedom Center provides historical context for what Northup might have experienced in his time in slavery.

One of the first exhibits that provides such context, took me aback, and gave me moment for pause is the intimidating yet authentic Kentucky slave pen that sits on the second floor of the Center. You see its’ massive structure as soon as you enter the floor but it takes a moment to register that 1.) it is authentic and 2.) that it could be found intact in this day and age. Other elements of the tour include an interactive exhibit explaining the back-breaking work Northup would have done while enslaved.

At the end of my visit and on our way out, I bumped into Clayton Adams, a fifth-generation descendent of Solomon Northup. I felt compelled to talk to him and ask him how seeing all of this in the Freedom Center felt for him – I knew how it felt for me!

Clayton Adams and his wife were visiting from Pittsburgh and are a couple of the nicest people I’ve met. My question to Clayton: “What does it feel like for you, walking through the Center?” He mentioned that the Kentucky slave pen (photo above) was the most moving experience for him – that putting the shackles on his wrists sent something through him. I told him he was a braver man than I was a woman – all I could do was hold them in my palms, conscientiously protecting my emotions. His response: “Oh, I didn’t let them close them!” We all laughed knowingly. “I know that’s right!”

I’ll write about the attractions, restaurants, and hotels in Cincinnati. My five days there were most significant in those few moments talking with Clayton Adams and his wife. In that space of time, I wasn’t a travel writer. I was a fellow descendant, moved by artifacts of our ancestors’ tragic past and unified by a shared knowing in the present.

Those unscripted, unplanned experiences – that’s why I travel.

Oct 18 2013

Things To Do In Niagara Falls NY: Best Water Attractions

Water, water, and more water. If you like water, then there are plenty of things to do in Niagara Falls NY to satiate that appetite. Best of all, you can experience the Falls in several ways: from a far, up close and personal, or right in the gorge.

Niagara Falls From “A Far”

On my second night in Niagara Falls for the TMS Family Travel Conference, I enjoyed appetizers and dining with other attendees at The Top of the Falls Restaurant on Goat Island in Niagara State Park. Both outdoor balconies at the restaurant overlook the park and provide picturesque views of the top of Bridal Veil Falls. Looking out at the Falls, across to the Canadian skyline, there’s a constant mist that floats upward, peaking a first-timer’s curiosity as to what lurks below. Observing the Falls from either the park or the restaurant is a nice way to appreciate the beauty of the area from a far.

The Falls Up Close And Personal

You have a couple of opportunities to feel the Falls up close and personal that don’t require you going over them in a barrel like 63-year-old teacher Annie Edson Taylor or daredevil Nik Wallenda. For something less extreme, Cave of the Winds and Maid of the Mist are perfect.

Things To Do Niagara Falls — Even in the darkness, you can find a rainbow at the Falls.

Cave of the Winds is not really a cave. Let’s just get that out of the way. It was closed down in the 1920s because of a rockslide. Getting to the attraction requires a 175 feet descent down an elevator shaft to a well-lit tunnel. We got all fashionista with a pair of lime green and blue orthopedic sandals that walked our feet through a maze of wooden steps and platforms which led us to the Bridal Veil Falls.

You can view the Falls from several areas, depending on how wet you like to get. If you’ve traveled all this way, you might as well head up to the Hurricane deck. You will see, hear, and feel the force of the water. It is intense but oddly euphoric. (Apparently, it’s believed that the mist from the Falls creates negative ions that increase serotonin levels which help to alleviate depression and stress and boost daytime energy.) In other words, you feel good.

Maid of the Mist is a boat attraction that transports eager visitors into the mist of Horseshoe Falls. Getting to Maid of the Mist was an adventure all in itself. You walk up a super crowded platform dense with bodies and cameras, enter an even more crowded building where you can find the gift shop and the restrooms (and probably some other stuff but there was so much going on, my brain was in overdrive and I had to block things out). Go to the bottom of the stairs to catch an elevator that you will pack with other visitors to get to a short path that will lead you to the platform where you will board the Maid of the Mist.

If you didn’t pick up my subtle hints, this attraction is packed! It’s extremely popular so be prepared if you have a thing about crowds. Once you’re on the boat, scurry your way to a spot along the boat’s railings if you really want to get wet and grab a great shot of the Falls.

Niagara Falls Cliffs — Ridges and cliffs surround you as you cruise on Maid of the Mist.

As the boat approaches the mist, you look around at the surrounding mountains realizing that you’re in a gorge and how insignificantly small you really are. I had a moment where I stood in awe of nature’s beauty before I felt the gentle prickling of the mist creeping up my hands and then my face. Before you know it, the weight of that mist gets more and more dense and suddenly it’s an onslaught of water. The squeals and screams of women, children, and men are soon drowned out by your own. Within a few minutes, as the Maid of the Mist makes her turnaround, the cool shower is over.

In the Gorge

Forget about a shower if you make your way to Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours , located in the historic village of Lewiston, NY. I think the term that the peeps over there use to describe the tour is “refreshing”. Um…it’s a straight up bathing! Here’s the video of our excursion to give you a clear idea of what I’m talking about:

Yes, that was me, front and center. I don’t know why I listen to the “crazy lady” voice that tells me to do certain things when I’m out exploring. All I kept saying throughout the ride, as water from the Class 5 rapids (that we were “playing in”) kept dousing our bodies, was, “ridiculous!” There. Was. So. Much. Water. Why did I think anything was going to stay dry?? I had the nerve to roll up my pants. I did manage to keep my hair dry but it took copious wrapping of three different materials to accomplish that feat. Not my best look.

Listen, when I tell you that you’re going to get wet, believe me. You WILL need a change of clothes. You will need a change of everything. Get my drift? I have no photos from this experience because I valued my camera and my cell phone.

This soft adventure tour is a fun fun ride on a high power speed boat that uses a triple turbo diesel water jet system for both propulsion and steering. It’s completely safe and exhilarating, and probably the closest I will ever get to white water rafting on the Niagara River gorge. We got close to some Class 6 rapids but didn’t dare go into that sink hole. The force and movement of the water in this particular area where we went creates a dangerous whirlpool that you wouldn’t want to get swept into.

All of these attractions were the wet side of fun things to do in Niagara Falls NY. Here are some ideas of other fun activities in the region. Have you been or do you know of some other fun wet things to do in Niagara Falls that I missed? Please share.

I was hosted by Travel Media Showcase and The Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation for my trip to Niagara Falls NY, where my entrance to the aforementioned attractions was covered. If you couldn’t already tell, all opinions expressed here within are my own.

Things To Do In Annapolis: Great Frogs Winery

Something interesting to do “around the comer”

Niagara Falls From “A Far”

The Falls Up Close And Personal

In the Gorge

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