Top 5 Best Kept Secrets In Jacksonville

Jacksonville is known as one of Florida's First Coast cities. It is a gem that rests at the very top of the state and is sometimes jokingly referred to by locals as "Southern Georgia".
Jacksonville has a dash of southern hospitality mixed with thriving art and cultural scenes which gives it that perfect blend of big-city sophistication and small-town charm. We've compiled a list of the five best-kept secrets in Jacksonville, Florida. You will not want to miss these on your next trip down to the Sunshine State!

Thrasher-Horne Center

Craving a fabulous theater experience? Look no further than the Thrasher-Horne Center located at St. John River's State College. This theater is loved by locals for one very good reason- it produces some of the best musicals and plays south of Broadway! If you want a night of fine theater at a reasonable price, check out the Thrasher-Horne Center.

Why It's Important To Stay Hydrated

When the temperatures rise, getting enough to drink is important whether you’re playing sports, traveling or just sitting in the sun. The perfect water bottle helps you to remember to stay hydrated. A refillable bottle works best it's an endless supply and you get in a habit of carrying it. Check out the Sunsella Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle With Carrier Clip – Leakproof Double Wall - 17 Ounce – Drinks 24 Hour HOT and COLD. These are available in Light Blue, Light Pink and Silver. My son wanted this one so I got him silver for ball practice.

3 Must See Colorado Springs Attractions

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Intellifluence all opinions are one hundred percent my own and compensation doesn't affect my opinion. In The Know With JoJo only works with companies that are a great fit for our readers.

Are you in the mood for travel or looking to relocate? Colorado Springs is an amazing travel destination and one of the top ten places to live in the United States. If you are planning to travel you must check out these three must see Colorado Springs attractions all unique and beautiful in their own way! You may just decide it is the place for you to settle down. If so Colorado Springs Real Estate agency Redfin can help! Check out these three amazing travel destinations below.

Stay On The Right Track Travel Wisely With These Amazing Sober Travel Destinations

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Intellifluence for The Recovery Village all opinions are my own regardless of compensation received. 

Many of my readers know that I struggled with a drug problem in my life; I will not go into details but I know a lot about recovery as I am thankfully someone who was able to recover get my life back and be there for my children and family. Getting sober is simple, staying sober is a whole different story. In order to stay sober you must allow yourself to succeed which means making the right decisions.

LEGO® KidsFest is Coming!

Free For All received no financial compensation for this post we are just happy to share such a great opportunity for the kids to enjoy a great day with our friends at Lego Kid's Fest!

LEGO® KidsFest announces tour stops for 2016 at new 

                              and returning markets

#LegoKidsFest, @LegoKidsFest

Available Dates

Charlotte, NC: Feb. 19-21 (Charlotte Convention Center)

Harrisburg, PA: April 8-10 (Farm Show Complex & Expo Center)

Kansas City, MO: May 13-15 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Louisville, KY: June 3-5 (Kentucky Exposition Center) 

Milwaukee, WI: Oct. 7-9 (Wisconsin Center)

Houston, TX: Oct. 21-23 (NRG Center)

Cleveland, OH: Nov. 4-6 (I-X Center)

(Hartford, CT) LEGO KidsFest kicks off its eighth year on the road with new tour stops and a return to some popular markets.   

New tour stops in 2016 include Charlotte, NC (Feb. 19-21), Harrisburg, PA (April 8-10) and Kansas City, MO (May 13-15). 

It’s been three years or more since LEGO KidsFest stopped in Louisville, KY (June 3-5), Milwaukee WI (Oct. 7-9), Houston, TX (Oct. 21-23) and Cleveland, OH (Nov. 4-6). 

Covering more than three acres of space, the LEGO KidsFest extravaganza brings all of the hands-on, minds-on fun of LEGO building and experience together in an activity-filled event for all ages and builders of all skills. 

“Our 2016 LEGO KidsFest tour is going to delight both new and returning audiences,” said Vince Rubino, Events Manager for LEGO Systems, Inc. “We’ve still got some favorites on the show floor, like the Big Brick Pile, Creation Nation and the Race Ramps. There are also many new and unique activities designed for building, learning and fun.” 

Five sessions — all identical and 4½ half hours in length — are held at each tour stop. LEGO KidsFest tickets can be purchased atwww.LEGOkidsfest.com. Tickets are $19 for the Friday and Sunday afternoon sessions, and $22 for both sessions on Saturday and theSunday morning session. 

On tour since 2009, previous LEGO KidsFest tour stops have included major cities such as Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, San Jose, Cleveland, Richmond, Phoenix, Portland and more. 

Some of the activities at the shows include: 

• LEGO Model Museum: life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play
• Race Ramps: build a custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family 
• LEGO Star Wars™: build and display a Star Wars model
• LEGO Disney™ Princess: create a princess scene to add to a LEGO story book
• LEGO Super Heroes: pose with a life-size Spiderman model and more
• LEGO DUPLO®: younger visitors can explore imagination through building
• LEGO Retail:purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods
• LEGO Friends: build for the five empowered friends from Heartlake City
• LEGO Ninjago: spin the way to being a Spinjitzu member
• LEGO Mindstorms: build and program robots and snakes
• LEGO Technic: get hands-on with the cool, realistic vehicles at the booth
• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
• Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment
• Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color foster group creativity

TitanicMuseum Attraction Pigeon Forge TN Painting with a Twist Party!

Check out our review here! To order tickets go to Titanic Museum Attraction! To Connect with Titanic Museum Attraction on social media follow the links below

 Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

GPlus

Trip Advisor

Site

Dinosaur World Cave City, KY Review!

Are you looking for the perfect place to travel this summer? Try Dinosaur World in Cave City, KY it is an absolutely amazing, educational, family friendly destination. We were given the opportunity to review Dinosaur World. Dinosaur World has three locations the one we visited in Kentucky one in Texas and one in Florida. My whole family had an amazing time! Ticket Prices start at $9.28 for a child's admission online and can be purchased online here https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/DinoKentucky?cookieTest=Yes or at Dinosaur World upon arrival. I recommend adults purchase the general admission pass for $12.36/ Seniors $10.34 and purchase the children the Child's Excavation Pass for $16.91 (adult excavation passes also available). The child's excavation pass includes park admission, lucky strike gem bag for the gem excavation ad fossil dig ticket. The fossil dig and the gem mining are more for the kids so its important you bu them a ticket but not so important as an adult you get an excavation pass; a general admission ticket is perfect for an adult.
With a 4 and 5 year old and me being pregnant I was anxious that the trip would be a disaster as children are hard sometimes to entertain. My boys were amazed; there are just so many things packed into Dinosaur World that adults as well as children are engaged and immersed in the world of Dinosaurs. The 5 main parts of Dinosaur World we enjoyed included a trail filled with over 150 of the most interesting Dinosaurs, gem dig, fossil dig, dinosaur themed play land/park and a museum guided tour. The employees at Dinosaur World are so kind and inviting we were treated better than I could have ever imagined. The kids loved every second and me and Chris really enjoyed Dinosaur World as well.

The first part of the our Dinosaur World experience began with the museum. We received a wonderful guided tour by Keith. The museum is filled with fossils, actual dinosaur bones, dinosaur skeleton replicas and even Dinosaur eggs. The kids liked seeing the fossilized teeth of the sharks the most but also enjoyed guessing what skeletons they were looking at. Our guide Keith took every second he could to teach the boys which I loved. He stood in front of the posters and facts that showed the dinosaurs names and had the boys guess what dinosaur he was talking about or what skeleton we were looking at. I was impressed my boys watch a lot of Dino Dan and they got every dinosaur right except one. I didn't even know they knew as may dinosaurs a they do. At the end of the museum there is an interactive area for the kids to play different dinosaur themed matching games. My kids played games for quite some time guessing the different dinosaurs. I loved seeing their eyes light up as they learned.

The next area we went to was the trail that included over 150 life size dinosaurs. Each dinosaur included a description and most of them description were smart phone friendly. You scanned the code with your smart phone and could actually watch and learn more about each exhibit on your smart phone as you looked at the towering dinosaurs. The trail also includes a huge T-Rex that is the perfect spot for a photo op. You have to walk a little farther to get to the T-Rex but it is huge towering above the other dinosaurs on the trail and well worth the extra walk for a great photo of the kids with T-Rex. If you can imagine  dinosaur it is on the trail. We saw the Stegosaurus, Triceratops and the Velociraptors (the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park). I was surprised at how many dinosaurs there actually was.
One of the kids favorite areas was the dinosaur themed park. The park included dinosaurs the kids could climb on and even a dinosaur slide. The garbage cans were even fashioned in the form of dinosaurs. The kids played at the park until the fossil dig started.
The fossil dig was something I even enjoyed. The kids were given shovels and screens for sifting. Each child could dig through the sand to find as many fossils as they wanted to. When they were done digging they could choose their favorite 3 fossils to take home with them. Keith took time to sit with each child and help them pick their 3 best fossils and tell each of them all of the fossils they had found. My children choose to keep a shark tooth fossil, stegosaurus bone and assorted fossilized shells.

The last highlight of our Dinosaur World experience was mining for gems. This included real water and it was very hot so the kids loved getting their fingers wet finding gems. They each got a large bag of dirt to sift through, a screen to sift with, bag to place their finds in and a card detailing what they found. They found everything from crystal points, quartz, emeralds and rubies and their cards showed them how to classify their finds.

The only area we didn't get to explore was the excavation site. There was an area where a dinosaur skeletal replica was set up covered by sand and blocked off in labeled squares. The kids could actually go through and dig up a whole dinosaur square by square. It was a child friendly simulation of an actual dinosaur skeleton excavation site. The kids gave out though as little ones do and it was getting very hot. I recommend you go early and beat the heat but the whole trail is very shady. Dinosaur World has the tourist in mind from the shady location to the gift shop and all through the park every detail is perfectly thought out for an amazing family experience.

Start planning your trip today go to Dinosaur World's website http://dinosaurworld.com  and find the location nearest you! Also be sure to follow Dinosaur World on Facebook to stay up to date on all the special offers for tickets and any special events going on. You can also book your childs next birthday party at Dinosaur World that would be a fun birthday book here http://dinosaurworld.com/kentucky/birthday-party-ky/! You won't want to miss the dinosaur fun Dinosaur World has in store for your family learn new and amazing facts that you never knew about dinosaurs plan your Dinosaur World trip now!

Free For All was given free tickets to facilitate this review. No financial compensation was received all opinions are 100 percent my own!

Ripley's Aquarium Gatlinburg TN Review!

 Ripley's Aquarium Gatlinburg TN Review!

Ripley's Aquarium located in Gatlinburg, TN is one of my families favorites! We have been 3 times since the kids were born. I wish I could take them every year; there is just so much for kids to learn and see. Ripley's Aquarium is always the highlight of our trip! It is not only the kids favorite but it is my favorite and my husbands as well. I have never been to a beach and this is probably the closest I will ever get to seeing some of these amazing sea creatures. Around every corner there is something new to see. It takes us a good 3-4 hours to get through the aquarium usually. Christian got so sick on our trip and ran a high fever and this was the only thing he got to do. That was OK though because Ripley's Aquarium is absolutely the best attraction in TN and the one he most wanted to see. Let me tell you a little bit about what to expect!

Everything in Ripley's Aquarium is geared towards children and touch and feel engagement! They have several different exhibits and play areas for the kids. Then in the center everything opens up and they have a mini "play world" for the kids. They can crawl through LED painted fish caverns, crawl in peep holes for them to pop through and look inside fish tanks( pictured below) and if they are old enough hold horseshoe crabs. The kids really love the section in the play area where they could steer the boat wheel and look inside the treasure chest(pictured below). With Ripley's Aquarium there is never a dull moment. In every picture you can see the kids are engaged and learning! Most pictures they wouldn't even turn around for!

Play Area

Peep Through Tanks Play Area

                                    

Play Area

Ripley's Aquarium brings in a new exhibit every year. This year the new exhibit were all about Slime. The kids loved this part of the Aquarium! It was one of their favorite areas. They loved the water gun game where they had to hit their lobster and make it ding. What child doesn't love water. The also really liked all of the different worms on display in the Slime exhibit. The bullfrog exhibit was extremely funny because they had just eaten frog legs. Their daddy was sure to tell them that is what they had just eaten. My favorite part was touching the jellyfish. Jellyfish are super slimy but they are also very delicate. 

Touching the Jellyfish    

Interactive Exhibit on Sharks

Interactive Exhibit in Slime World Crab Water Target

Shark Lagoon is also another amazing part of the Ripley's Aquarium. The floor actually moves and transports you through the whole bay which is actually a tunnel. You can look up and see Shark's swimming above your head. There are so many different fish and the colors of the different fish are amazing. Ray Bay is also an extremely nice exhibit. At different times Ripley's Aquarium employees swim with the rays and allow you to touch them it is such a unique experience. We were also lucky enough to see a dive show. Christian and Gavin thought the diver would be eaten by a shark. The last thing you see before exiting to the gift shop is the Penguins. My kids love the Penguins; we spend most of our time there. It is an indoor/outdoor exhibit so it is very nice and you actually see the Penguins in such an up close way that it is mind boggling. I climbed in the kiddie tunnels with the kids and was delighted to see the Penguins swim right above you.

Penguins

Ray Bay

Shark Lagoon

The whole family had an amazing time and will definitely be going back to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It is truly a magic alone of a kind experience. A huge thank you to Ripley's for giving my family the opportunity to experience Ripley's Aquarium! To buy tickets go to http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/gatlinburg/plan-your-visit/ and to find out more visit Ripley's Aquarium website . Be sure to like Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokie's Facebook page also they have a lot of contests, specials and information. Right now a new Penguin needs a name!

That is not all though I got to visit every Ripley's Attraction and let me tell you they are all amazing! I will be posting links to each Ripley's Attraction as I get them written. Next you will see the Ripley's Mirror Maze, Ripley's Haunted Adventure , Ripley's Believe It or Not, Ripley's 3D Adventure and Ripley's Mirror Maze!

Free For All received free tickets to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100 percent my own. This was an amazing opportunity and so much fun! No financial compensation was received.

Titanic Attraction Pigeon Forge TN Location Review

"The Titanic" even the name could not describe the magnitude of the ship.The titans themselves seemed 

small in comparison to the size and magnitude of this great ship.  Everyone was anticipating what lay

inside the walls of this great vessel. The kids were filled with a million questions. Maybe it was having known the story or maybe it was just knowing all of the lives that were lost aboard this ship. People who dreamed of starting new lives lost everything. The devastation the Titanic caused was massive. The Titanic Museum Attraction caught my eye from the beginning I have always been interested in the Titanic.

As we reached the front we were greeted by a pleasant lady in a long black dress just like you would imagine the real Titanic staff to be.  She wore glasses and spoke with an excited and confident English accent I loved how everything was so real and true to the era. There we were greeted by the usher where we were given our boarding passes, an explanation of the handsets. The boarding passes assign you an actual person on the Titanic and at the end you find out your fate (whether your passenger lived or died). I was a 3rd class passenger and my son Gavin was a 2nd class passenger.

  I was surprised at how huge the ship actually is; just the fact that they were able to build something so huge was amazing to me! At each point on the ship you used your handset to type in a number and that number corresponded to where you were on the ship. My favorite exhibit area was the Grand Staircase of course and also the Dining Hall. The night the ship sank they were eating crab legs, fish only the best. In that time dining like this was only for the rich and more or less unheard of. Gavin loved the different inclines; that depicted the ship actually sinking. They had 3 different ship deck ends each one set at a different incline that you could climb up and experience how steep and difficult it would have been to stay on the boat and keep from falling in the icy waters. You think you could survive but we actually touched the water (at actual temperature the night the boat sank) as part of an exhibit and it is so cold you feel like a million needles are stinking in your hands. Imagine trying to swim in that water more than 2 or 3 minutes it would be nearly impossible.

                                                 Dinnerware on Titanic      (The Unsinkable) Molly Brown's                                                                                                        Granddaughter on the Grand Staircase

  At the end of the tour you see the passenger manifest all of the names are on a huge wall and labeled as to whether you lived or died. Me and Gavin 3rd and 2nd class both lived. What I took away from the living dying aspect was if you were a woman or a child a man died so you could live basically. Almost all the women and children made it but that was because the men stayed behind to give them a seat. What chivalry! I wish that still existed with men today! It is truly an experience though. I was surprised that it made me sad since I was so excited to see it but once you put yourself in the actual moment and see the lives lost and the sadness you will understand. 

 Everyone should see the Titanic Museum Attraction it is designed to accommodate all ages and offers something for everyone.We were pleased to find that wheelchairs were provided for handicapped and the elderly.  My grandmother was able to enjoy the entire tour something that she would have not been able to physically do and later in the tour an elevator took her to the second story.  I also had my 3 year old Gavin and the Titanic had so much for kids to do.  It is truly a glimpse back in time. At the end you can stop and get everyone an amazing souvenir also. They had a wonderful gift shop. Gavin bought an amazing boat and he picked Christian out a very neat scale size Titanic replica. I wish Christian had not gotten sick and could have seen the Titanic Museum Attraction to. We will definitely be going back you can't take everything in on one visit! Thank you so much for having the Bailey Family on board the Titanic Museum Attraction.

To order tickets go to Titanic Museum Attraction! Also be sure to follow the Titanic Museum Attraction on facebook the themes are always changing. When we were there Molly Brown was highlighted. Who will be next!

Free For All received free admission to facilitate the review of this amazing event/experience.