Mommy Octopus

I recieved a complimentary meal through the travel campaign with New Creative Media.   All opinions expressed are 100% my own. Any additional expenses incurred were my own.  

Another place we visited while we were on our Wyndham Weekend, was No Mas! Hacienda & Cantina in Atlanta.  Not only do they have a beautiful restaurant, they also have shops and a little bakery as well!  When you first step in, it seems like you’ve stepped right into Mexico. Their concept combines the Cantina Restaurant serving classic Mexican favorites & house specialties, and the Hacienda Showroom with an amazing collection of artistic creations from over 350 artisans in Mexico.  I think I could have stayed in the shop forever!  So many interesting pieces to look at!

The food was great and presented beautifully.  Everything had loads of flavor and tasted like authentic Mexican food.  I absolutely LOVED my fajitas and my husband enjoyed his swordfish platter.  The only concern we had was the size of the children’s meals.  It was tiny.  The quesidilla was simply that – 2 little pieces of quesidilla and that’s it.  My 3 and 5 year olds were okay with it and also munched off our plates, but if we had brought our big kids, they would have been starving.  

I loved the chips and salsa.  We couldn’t quite figure out what all was in the salsa, but it was sooo good!

If you go by No Mas Cantina, be sure to save room for the desert!  We got the brownie sundae that had a little spicy chocolate sauce.  I’m sorry, I can’t remember the name of it, but it was sooo good!

Thanks again to No Mas Hacienda & Cantina for hosting the Wyndham Weekends bloggers for the evening.  We had a great time and service was fantastic.

For more information or for reservations, visit the No Mas Cantina website, Facebook, or Twitter.

I recieved a complimentary ticket through the travel campaign with New Creative Media.   All opinions expressed are 100% my own. Any additional expenses incurred were my own.  

A few days ago I told you about our stay in the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.  During our stay, we ventured out to local activities including the Southern Hollywood Film Tour.

The Southern Hollywood Film Tour is offered by The Peachtree City Convention and Visitors Bureau.  We were taken by van through the cities of Peachree City and Senoia.  Throughout our tour, we were taken around the city and shown scenes from popular movies such as Fried Green Tomatoes, Sweet Home Alabama, and Joyful Noise.  Several popular TV shows were also filmed in the area such as Drop Dead Diva and The Walking Dead.

Our guide, John, was very knowledgable about the area.  He happily answered any questions that we had and pointed out sights along the way.  First up, we visited The Fred, which is the local Peachtree City amphitheater.  It is used in their summer concert series and also in the Joyful Noise movie.

My favorite part of the tour was seeing the beautiful Starrs Mill, which was featured in Sweet Home Alabama.  It is absolutely gorgeous!  While we were out there, several photographers were as well, shooting photos.  There was a beautiful river that ran along behind it.

We also ventured around Senoia and saw one of the houses in Fried Green Tomatoes.  It’s such a pretty house in a peaceful area.

Next we were shown fences that were being put up for a new Walking Dead scene.  I admit, we have never seen the show, but it was kinda neat seeing stuff that other people were excited about.  The Walking Dead is being filmed by Raleigh Studios in Senoia.  After the tour, the driver dropped us off in Senoia so some of the tourists could visit The Official Walking Dead Store and so we could walk where Driving Miss Daisy was filmed.  We walked around town a bit and then decided to stop by to see what all the fuss was about.  We didn’t stay long, but took a few pictures to share with you guys.  

In the Official Walking Dead Store, there was a couple jail cells that you could stand in for photos.  There was also a set of doors chained together that said “DONT OPEN DEAD INSIDE”.  Also displayed were several posters, writings on the walls from cast members, a motorcycle, and some full size cutouts of characters.  Sorry I can’t elaborate more, I am very unfamiliar with the show.

After we left that store, we decided to try out some of the local foods.  We visited Main Street Fudge & Ice Cream and tried their Deep Fried Oreos.  Yes you read that right!  Deep Fried Oreos!  YUM!  I definitely recommend stopping here if you go on the tour.

We were very thankful for this opportunity to see where some great actors have been and where movies were made.  If you’re ever in the area, be sure to check out the Southern Hollywood Film Tour.  I’m sure you’ll have as much fun as we did!

We are part of the Busch Gardens Ambassador program for 2014 and we traveled down to Florida on Tuesday to check out Busch Gardens.  You guys know that I’m a huge Disney girl.  I haven’t been to Busch Gardens since I was a kid, so honestly cannot remember much of what they had to offer.  I have to say that it blew me away and we are eagerly awaiting our next trip!

For starters, they have a tram that will take you from your parking area to the front gate.  That was a huge help at the end of the day when we wanted to get back to our car and we were tired.

When we arrived at the park, we scanned our tickets, got in the gate, and then the bottom fell out of the sky.  I’m talking torrential downpour and lots of thunder and lightning.  We ducked into the nearest shop and waited the storm out.  As soon as we felt it was clear, we hopped to the next store and the next one.

Busch Gardens automatically shuts down all rides if there is lighting within 8 miles of the park.  It took a while for the rides to re-open, but there are a ton of things to do in the meantime.  We went to all the animal exhibits and watched Madagascar Live.  The Animal Care Center was also fun to check out and had an interactive game for the kids.  The employees were super kind and pulled out a coloring table to help pass the time as well.

There were up close and personal animal encounters and even feeding opportunities.  It was awesome feeding kangaroos!  We even got to see a little baby joey and his mama!

Once they reopened the rides, we enjoyed those. It was such a stormy day so many people didn’t go to the park.  We were able to walk right on pretty  much everything that we wanted to ride.  They did continue having to shut down the rides throughout the day, but it was never for long once the initial storm went through.

There was plenty for everyone to ride, even my littlest girls, age 3 and 5.  They had an entire section of rides for the toddler age in their Sesame Street area.  I was very impressed with their variety.  Even if you don’t like rides, there is plenty to do and see!  Not a roller coaster fan, plenty for you as well.

I had forgotten how incredible Busch Gardens is for the family.  It’s like having a zoo, amusement park, and water park all in one!  We are definitely going to be visiting this more often!  Can’t wait to go back!