Spring Break Treat for the Kids

 I stopped by Mango's Frozen Yogurt today in Media with the kids for the first time. 

In three words: They Loved It!

1. Grab a cup 

2. Choose your flavor (there are so many!) and self serve it. 

3. Choose your toppings (tons of choices).

4. Weigh and pay (.49 an ounce) 

5. Enjoy!

The kids loved creating their own treat!

Look at all those choices!

Plenty of toppings to add to your favorite flavor(s)

Yum-o!

 

*I was not compensated in any way for this post. Just wanted to share my experience!- Crystal

Kicking Off Spring Break at Saharah Sam's Oasis Water Park

 We were invited to spend our first day of Spring Break at Saharah Sam's:....this is what we saw when we arrived.  Snow on the ground & the water tunnels! 

Brr!

 It was cold and snowy outside, but nice and warm inside. (84 degrees and sunny!)

Seems to us, that it is worthwhile to take advantage of the Annual Pass for $59.95 per person. (non-transferable)
It pays for itself after two visits!
The annual pass includes both the indoor and outdoor parts of the water park.
The annual pass can be used anytime & is good for an entire year from the date of activation (your first visit).

 Check out online special ticket prices: HERE

There is an arcade in the lobby!

You can't bring your own food in, but they have a cafe where you can buy food.

seating for the cafe

One of our favorites: The Lazy River

Another favorite

Watch out!

A few things we want to point out: 

It took us about 45 minutes from Wallingford, PA (easy to get there).

The water temperature was great.

There were plenty of Life Guards on duty.

Bathrooms/locker areas (along with the rest of the place) were clean, but don't forget flip flops or water shoes (the bathrooms have that hard rubber mat that stops you from slipping but hurt bare feet!)

Staff was friendly.

Lines moved pretty quickly.

There are lockers to keep your valuables in. The large lockers are only $1 more than the small ones and have twice the amount of room (although there were alot of large lockers that were out of order). How can a locker be out of order you wonder, well this is what the locker key looks like:
 

locker wristband key

$5/$6 for lockers

You too can spend Spring Break at Sahara Sam's! Check out the online deal they have going on: 
Spring Break Admission Tickets are available at $24.95!  (Must be purchased online & only valid for admission between Friday March 22nd and Friday April 12th)

It did get a bit crowded while we were there, and the chlorine was a bit strong, but overall we all agree that it was a blast and would love to go back during the summer.

Check this out: The Grand Opening of the Outdoor Water Park Expansion is May 25th and 26th of Memorial Day Weekend.
The new facilities will include a leisure pool, children’s splash area, tiki bar, cabanas, volleyball courts and a Wave Pool!
(The outdoor expansion will be included in the price of admission--no additional charge).


Watch for special events, discounts, and happenings on their facebook page : HERE

*Delcopamoms  received tickets to Sarah Sam's in exchange for this review* Our opinions are completely our own as always.

My Dolphin Research Experience

One last post about my Spring Break adventures - One of my most exciting and memorable:

My brother is the Boat Operations Manager for Coastal Carolina University. He was taking a student out on a research boat for her to work on her behavior research project involving Bottlenose Dolphins. He volunteered me to go along to one of her five sites up an down the coast of South Carolina to help her. (He knows I have always loved dolphins).

So we went out to find dolphins and take pictures. I learned that what we were doing would have actually been against the law, if not for being with the research student who had a permit, because it is considered harassing the dolphins to follow them, try to get near them, etc. Boaters must maintain speed and course when they see a dolphin -- it is against the law to try to get closer to them for a better view, to take pictures, or whatever the reason.
The problem is, that this can be hard to enforce,
especially when it is not known whether there
are resident dolphins in certain areas, what the
population is, etc. 

Pictures courtesy of Sam Gary

The student we were with was cataloging the different in-shore dolphins, seeing who's who (identifying them by their dorsal fins - notches, markings, etc) to identify resident dolphins and determine "stocks" in certain locations, so that the dolphins of SC can be better protected (enforcement in identified locations, determining how people are impacting the dolphin population, etc.)

The research student said that Bottlenose dolphins on the east coast are considered depleted. One of the things that seems to be a big problem is people out on boats are harassing the dolphins, by chasing them, getting closer to them and often feeding them. Feeding them creates "beggars". Some dolphins are starting to associate boats with getting food, so they'll swim right up to the boat (we experienced this twice while out on the water that day). This begging behavior is only hurting the dolphins.  They often become injured or tangled because of it. So don't feed the dolphins -- it isn't helping them! Sure you may get an up close and personal experience, a cool story to tell, and great pictures, but it is very selfish and can end up hurting the dolphins!
--Crystal

Supporting Autism Awareness During Our Family Vacation

While on Spring break last week in Myrtle Beach, SC my family and I attended the Myrtle Beach Pelicans home opener game against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. It was Autism Awareness Night.

My daughter was excited to help her Aunt Amy out at the Autism Advocate Foundation's table. (She also of course enjoyed the face painting, stilt walkers, and balloon artists --that is her pictured to the right, all smiles with the artist from Over The Moon Productions, who painted her face).

The Autism Advocate Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides emotional, financial, and therapeutic support for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders living in Horry County, SC. They did a great job raising money, creating smiles, and spreading awareness during the baseball game.

April is Autism Awareness Month-- to find out more about Autism, check out the Autism Speaks website, (which I found provides a lot of good information). Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by grandparents of a child with autism, and is now one of the nation's largest autism advocacy organizations. Click HERE to go to the Autism Speaks website.

--Crystal

  

How Did You Spend Your Spring Break?

Did you discover a cool new place? Go to an old favorite place? 

Have a funny story to share? 

Did you spend the week at home, have to work, or did you get to go away?

Share your Spring Break comments with us. (I'll be posting this week about a couple of cool things I experienced during my Spring Break last week). --Crystal