Narration Cruise with Lake Pleasant Crusies!

This time of the year in Arizona, the weather is perfect! It is usually in the low sixties to high seventies often with cloudy skies and slight winds, so it is a great time to enjoy the outdoors. The lake can be such a relaxing spot to visit, they offer camping spots, hiking, fishing & boat rentals if you do not own one of your own (or know someone who does) but did you know that Lake Pleasant also offers a cruise service? Lake Pleasant Cruises offers a few different types of cruises which are perfect for a unique date idea or family day out. We were recently invited to attend one of their Narrated sightseeing tours. This tour is family friendly & perfect for all ages. If you aren't familiar with Lake Pleasant in Arizona the marina is located at 8708 W. Harbor Blvd. Peoria, AZ 85383.

The cruise lasts for an hour and a half & covers about ten miles of the lake. While you are cruising around the lake the captain will talk to you about the lake itself along with some of the local wildlife & plant life that can be found at the lake. It is highly recommended that you arrive at least forty-five minutes before your cruise time, this is to ensure you make it to the boat on time. The closest parking to the marina is a 5-10 minutes walk depending on how fast you walk so they have a shuttle service to pick up passengers. Each cart can hold up to five people so it may take a few trips to get everyone down to the marina. All of the shuttle drivers were friendly & the short ride was enjoyable. 

The boat is quite large & has two levels where you can enjoy the views. You can choose to be on the upper level which is open or the lower level which is inside. On the lower level you will also find a small bar which has alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks and snacks available for purchase. Everything was very reasonably priced. There are also two bathrooms and a small sitting/standing area on the front of the boat. The bartender was quite sweet & let us know that her favorite spot of the cruise was on the front little patio which we were lucky & able to grab seats at for the ride. The seating was comfortable & they offered plenty of space for everyone on board not to feel cramped. Once the boat takes off from port, you are able to get up and walk around to see views from all sides of the boat. Plenty of people walked out onto the front of the boat to take in the views & for the amazing photo opportunities as well. 

We really enjoyed the cruise, the boat ride was quite relaxing and the time flew by. We enjoyed hearing all of the facts about the lake & learning about the wildlife including that sometimes you'll see the wild deer swimming in the lake to reach the islands in the middle where they will live for a little while. During the cruise we were able to spot plenty of ducks, seagulls and even a bald eagle. We were also to see a ton of sail boats who were out enjoying the lake that day & if you get lucky enough, you might even get to see them race. Depending on what time of the year you take a cruise, there are chances to see the wild burro, mule deer, blue herons and more. During the cruise, my son had the chance to go up to the top deck & into the captains quarters to meet the captain & was even able to use the steering wheel. He really enjoyed the opportunity. After disembarking from your trip, there is a restaurant at the marina along with a gift shop & more so there is no need to rush back home. 

For the narration cruise it is $30 per adult & $15 for children ages 4-17, kids 3 and under are free. Aside from the narration cruise, they also offer a brunch cruise & sunset dinner cruise which have catering. Additionally they also have live music cruises and the boat is available to rent for private events. If you do not like how much boats rock when out on the water, there is no need to worry on this cruise as the boat is pretty steady and you'll hardly feel it moving around on the water, it was quite a gentle ride. I highly suggest checking out their cruises & enjoying one with your loved ones. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer- Lake Pleasant Cruises provided tickets for us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Vapur water bottles Reivew & Giveaway!

 

When hiking or spending time outdoors it is so important to make sure you are hydrating & bring plenty of water with you. But, it can be an annoyance to carry around the empty water bottles with you on the way back. I recently came across a brand called Vapur who sells a unique collection of water bottles that can be laid flat then rolled up to store in your pocket or bag taking up very little space. Each one also has a clip so you are able to clip it into a backpack or your pants. The clip also doubles as a tie to hold the water bottle in the rolled-up position so it doesn't unravel. 

They offer several different sizes the smallest is the kids size which holds 0.4L & the largest holds 1.5L. I love the color selection they offer, you can select something bright & colorful to color coordinate with or you can simply pic out an all black water bottle. The adult water bottles have twenty two different colors to choose from and the kids comes in four different designs. They also sell a bottle for wine that comes with a easy to pour spout. The bottles are able to be put in the freezer & are dishwasher safe. 

I like that these bottles are really easy to clean & I have no issue filling them up. Aside from the weight of the water, the bottle itself is very lightweight so when it is empty you won't even notice it in your pocket or bag. It is also kind of fun to drink out of, so you'll find yourself drinking water more often if you are someone who is trying to increase their water in-take. I like carrying mine around by the clip, it is comfortable to hold. I also like the spout the bottles have, if I ever run into a situation where I need a little water to wash my hands or my kids hands I can use this to pour a bit onto our hands without making a mess. My kids also enjoy using these bottles which is a plus. 

What do you think about these bottles? Is this something you can see yourself using? 

Prize Alert:

One lucky winner is going to receive a 1L bottle & a 0.7L bottle. 

This is open US Residents only! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 03/16/23

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know which color water bottle you'd like from Vapur. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Vapur for the review & giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Venustas heated vest Review!

 

As many states are bracing for major snow storms it may be a great time to pick up a heated vest for when you need to go outside. I was recently gifted a Womens Heated Vest 7.4V from Venustas to test out for winter & it is wonderful to have on hand for the extra cold mornings. Whether you enjoy being outdoors or just get cold easily this is a great way to add a little extra warmth to your outfit when the temperature drops outside. This vest can be purchased for $159.99 on their website & they also sell heated jackets, gloves & more. 

The vest is sold in a S all the at up to a 4XL, it has a water & wind-resistant exterior to add an extra layer of protection during winter weather. This vest has six sections of carbon fiber heating elements, which include your back, the back of your neck, each shoulder and the front stomach area on both sides under the pockets. It has three different temperature settings low, medium & high so you can adjust to a lower setting if you start getting a little too warm & it comes with a helpful guide to teach out the color for each setting so you can adjust it using the black button on the breast of the vest. 

Depending on which setting you leave the vest on it will run from anywhere between three to ten hours when fully charged. The battery comes with a wall charger & instructions on how to make your battery last longer when you aren't using it during the warmer months. 

I can definitely feel the most warmth in the neck & shoulder areas of the vest, I don't notice the back as much but that may be because I wasn't leaning against anything while I was wearing this. It does really help keep you warmer when wearing this though, it makes a great middle layer between your shirt & your jacket to really keep you cozy. I haven't needed to wash this but you'll be surprised to know that it can be washed in a washer without any issues. 

Disclaimer- Venustas provided me with the products mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Holiday gifts for Outdoor lovers from Oceas.

If you have someone on your holiday shopping list this year that loves being outdoors & going camping you should check out the products sold by Oceas. They have some great products to help make your trip a little more comfortable & I will be sharing two of those products with you on this post which are the Backpack Cooler & The Puffy.

The backpack cooler is my favorite out of the two items I was gifted to review simply because it is the product we use the most out of the two. It isn't just great for camping, but it is also good for bringing on hikes, picnics & short car trips. The inside of the bag is made with a insulated, leak-proof liner so you can add ice packs or loose ice so you can bring cold drinks & food along with you. According to their website it can hold up to 45 cans of soda, I haven't tried to hold that many cans as we generally don't buy canned soda, but it holds several of our extra large water bottles, some re-usable ice packs along with snacks with plenty of extra room. Along with the inner pocket there are also two zipped pockets, one large one along the front and one at the top of the bag plus two mesh pockets on either side of the backpack. This back pack is comfortable to wear even when it is full of stuff, the straps are padded to give it a little extra cushion. I like using this for hikes, days at the lake, etc because we don't have to drag a large ice chest with us in order to bring drinks. You can pick up their cooler backpack for $59.99 it can be purchased in grey, black or blue & it comes with a bottle opener keychain. 

They sell five different types of blankets for various outdoor needs, I received "The Puff" which is a padded blanket which can either be used as a regular blanket for warmth or you can place it under you for a little extra cushion. This is a soft nylon shell filled with cotton, it is water proof, durable & can be rolled up to fit perfectly back into it's carrying bag just like you do with a sleeping bag. It comes in three different colors - black, blue or green & has a second side with a lighter shade of which ever color you choose. It has a stretchy strap attached to the blanket itself so when you are done rolling it up, you can put the strap over it to hold it into place which makes it easier to get into the carrying bag. You can purchase this blanket for $69.99 on their website along with their other blankets that include the Sherpa which looks so soft & warm. This blanket is not only good for camping, but you can use it at home or take it with to sit on while you picnic or hang out on the beach. The materials used are easy to wipe off & dirt or sand will simply shake right off of it. 

What are some products that would help make your camping or hiking trip easier & more comfortable?

Disclaimer- Oceas provided the products mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchasing the product.

Camp in comfort with the Arizona GT 7/8 tent by NTK Global.

My family and I love being able to camp when ever we can, just before the lockdown for Covid happened we went on a family trip to the lake for a weekend of camping. On our camping trip we brought our new Arizona GT 7/8 Family Camping Tent by NTK Global. This tent retails for $349.99

Usually when we camp we have two tents that we set up, one for the kids and one for us which can be a lot of work because who wants to put together and take down two separate tents? Plus my car doesn't offer a ton of room for camping equipment so it is nice to cut back on the equipment a little.

The Arizona GT 7/8 is large enough to fit two double mattresses + two singles, or a queen mattress and two singles. Honestly you could probably mix and match depending on how many people you are planning to have in the tent, when we went on the camping trip at the lake our kids slept in the RV with their grandparents which left the tent for my husband and I. We had a queen sized mattress in the tent and still had a ton of room, we could easily fit one queen size mattress on each side of the tent with room in the middle and sides still.

The image above shows our tent set up with our queen sized mattress placed in the corner, the tent almost makes the mattress look tiny in comparison to how much space is still open. A big issue with a lot of tents is once they are set up and you put the air mattress or sleeping bags in there isn't a ton of room to move around, in our old tent once we had the air mattress all set up there wasn't a ton of room between us and the roof which made getting changed difficult. This tent is 6.2FT tall in the middle section, both my husband and I are under six foot tall so once we are through the door we can completely stand up in this tent without any issues! I am only 5'5" so my head doesn't even hit the roof when I am standing, which makes moving around, getting dressed, unpacking/packing everything a breeze.

A big tent means it is a pain in the butt to set up right? Wrong! This tent is actually fairly easy to set up and it doesn't take long to get the tent up, put the tarp on and get the cover to the door up (takes ten minutes or less to do everything). Taking it down is pretty simple as well, but like with most tents the worst part is getting it back into the bag it came in, I always seem to have an issue with getting any tent I've ever owned to fold up just right to fit back into the bag properly. With a little help from my husband I can get this into the bag and zipped up, and I will tell you that this bag is large and actually a bit heavy. If you have a generator or decide to stay at a camping location with electrical hook ups, it is nice to bring a fan/heater which means running a cord into your tent. With this tent instead of having to leave the door unzipped a bit to run a cord into, it has a small zippered flap in the bottom of one of the corners to make running a cord into the tent easier. (As you can see in our backyard camping photo above, we had an extension cord in the tent with a fan and a radio on).

Need space to put your glasses, phone, flashlight, etc while you are sleeping without setting them on the ground to be possibly stepped on? No worries, this tent has two mesh pockets in the corner of the tent along with a hanging mesh hammock at the top of the tent for your smaller items. The mesh hammock in the middle of the inside of the tent also has a hook to hang your light on to make it easier to see at night.

The tent has two doors (one on each end of the tent) along with windows on both sides of the tent, it comes with a waterproof cover to put over it and it has a little gray mat (Seen in the first photo)  that comes with it for outside of the door. The windows on the side do not have zippers instead the fabric rolls up and it has little plastic hooks that hold onto it. The tent comes with several orange ropes to hold the tent up and in place, you don't have to use these the tent stays up just fine without them however your tent might not extend out it's full amount. Adding the orange ropes to the tent and securing them to the ground helps add an extra few inches on the length of the tent and helps open up the inside of the tent.

Covid has made it to where we haven't had a chance to go out and go camping, but earlier in the summer before the heat struck we set up the tent in our backyard for a night of smores, board games and sleeping outdoors. Which was nice because we had an actual bathroom near by for when we needed to go.

We are pretty happy with this tent, and we look forward to using it for years to come because it seems well built and very sturdy. NTK Global has tents of various sizes to fit all of your personal and family needs and they also sell a wide variety of other camping goods, I highly suggest taking a look at their site.

Do you enjoy camping? What are some of your favorite things about camping, or your favorite spots to camp?

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by NTK Global for review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Sun Tails Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Sun Tails for the review free of charge.**

Every year during the holidays I look for fun and unique gift ideas for my loved ones, this year I was present with an opportunity to work with a company called Sun Tails on a review as part of my holiday guide. Sun Tails makes and sells mermaid fins and tails to transform you into a mermaid while you swim, they also sell shark tails. I was looking over everything and decided I would pick out a tail for me and test it out to see how it is before picking one up for the kids.



                                      

I was sent a Blue Lagoon Mermaid Tail + Monofin set. The Monofin is one big flipper that you put your feet in together, it is shaped like the end of a fishes tail and has three straps to help keep your feet in place and then the actual tail is made from a bathing suit material that gets put on and slipped over your monofin via a hole at the bottom of the tail. This set along with many others retail for $79.95 on their website but they are currently running a holiday promotion, Receive a 10% discount on your order at www.SunTailMermaid.com code: BestGiftEver  @usfg

                           

The tail comes with a kit that is what they call training wheels for your tail, it comes with two puffy protective sleeps and plastic sleeves that go over the tips of the tail to help protect the monofin and the bathing suit material from becoming rip, torn and ruined. Until you are used to your tail, how it works and what surfaces are not good for it you must keep the padding on the tips of the tail otherwise it will void the warranty it comes with. The tail is easy to get on and fits well, it is designed to hold your legs together to make it easier to use the monofin, and it has a slit in the bottom where you can pull it over the monofin to complete the look of having a tail. I found I needed a slight bit of help getting the monofin on and pulling the bathing suit part over it but I could manage it on my own.

I wanted to fully test out the tail, but it is starting to get colder out even in Arizona and the pool water was freezing so I was only in long enough to snap a few photos and get out. I dig hang onto the edge of the pool and test out the fin a bit and I can tell it will be a helpful work out during the summer once I get used to the tail.Once it gets wet the materials will suction to your legs like a regular bathing suit but once you get out it will not hold onto the water. The mono fin is a lot of fun trying to use and really does give you a unique swimming experience. 

GoSports Soccer Ball Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by GoSports for the review free of charge.****

My kids love going to the park so we go as often as the weather allows but it is always the same thing, we go the kids play on the play set for a bit then when they are board we go home. So we've been thinking of other things to do with them at the park and the kids decided it would be fun to be able to kick a soccer ball around which is where GoSports came into play. They sell a wide assortment of sports and outdoor activity sets so we were excited they agreed to a review.



I was sent a six piece size 4 soccer ball set that came with a mesh carrying/storage bag and a ball pump. The soccer balls were really easy to pump up, my four year old was able to fill most of them by himself however the pump gave out and broke apart on the fifth ball but thankfully I had a backup pump so it wasn't that big of an issue.The soccer balls seem like they are made to be pretty sturdy and will be able to take quite the beating, we've tested these out in the yard a bit but haven't actually been able to take them out yet so the kids are excited to go out and put them to the real test. Being a size four they are the perfect size for not only the kids but for my fiance and I as well. The white of the material they used seems to stain easily so I am not counting on these staying the nice white color for long but that is a good thing because it means they've been put to use. You can find a selection of products sold by Gosports on Amazon including sports equipment and lawn games like their giant dice set you can use for backyard lawn games. The six piece soccer ball set sells for $39.99 which comes out to about $6.67 per ball.

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

Dorcy GIVEAWAY & Review

After a bad storm we had about two to three weeks ago I have been thinking about steps to prepare for bad storms & natural disasters in the future. We experienced heavy rain,lightning/thunder and some mild wind which was we were perfectly fine inside watching TV until the power went out,Being her first time in a power outage my daughter started freaking out which is when I came to the horrible realization we had No flash lights in the house & only a few candles which were hard to find with only a cell phone light.

I no longer need to worry about finding my way through a pitch black house because A company called Dorcy came to my rescue! Dorcy is a company that has marketed Flashlight products for over 55 years & is a proud business partner with many of the world’s largest retailers including Sears,Wal-Mart,ACE Hardware,TruServ & Target. For a recent review I was sent A 41-1080 500 Lumen LED Spotlight,A 41-2097 134 Lumen Headlight Spot Beam, A 41-4750 180 Lumen LED flashlight, 4 41-6407 LED Glow Light - Glow Stick & Two sets of Batteries [AA & AAA].The 500 Lumen LED Spotlight uses a new battery saver technology that extends the life of the battery ensuring years of great performance the spotlight gives 2 ½ hours of continuous use which is perfect for when the power goes out,fishing trips or camping trips I plan on keeping mine where I can always reach it.The 180 Lumen LED Cyber Light Flashlight takes advantage of leading technology with its True Spot Reflector system that gives you a 275 Meter beam of light & Believe me it really does have a wide reach when I am collecting fire wood or have to use the bathroom at night while camping I like being able to see what is in front of me but the one flash light we have in the truck doesn't do much justice in the way of lighting the way so I will be more than happy to pack this in my camping bag. The Flashlight & Head light are both light weight the Spotlight is a bit heavier but would still be easy to carry around.



We were excited to try out our new flashlights & I can tell you that these lights are Bright we were actually surprised at how bright they were and how well they work. My favorite is the Lumen LED Spotlight it lights up our bedroom better than our actual lamp does & it covers a large amount of space I can't wait to take this with me camping. My daughter enjoys playing with the Glow sticks & the headlight she will run around at night with the headlight on which is an adorable site. After trying these products I would be more than willing to purchase more of their products & I plan on doing so in the near future. Dorcy offers a wide range of lights & lighting needs one of my personal favorites from their website is their Lumens 4D LED Twin Globe Lantern & their LED Motion Sensor Flood-Lite. All of the products they offer are offered at very reasonable prices and the products are worth it they work well,& will last a long time. My entire family can honestly say we Love Dorcy & the products they offer we will be Dorcy fans for life. ****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.Products were Provided by Dorcy for the Review & Giveaway free of charge****

PRIZE ALERT: Dorcy has agreed to give one lucky winner the following (1) Lumen LED Spotlight,(1) Lumen Headlight Spot Beam & (1) Lumen LED flashlight.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Pink Monogram Review

When ever my family & friends gets a chance we love to take road trips out doors whether it's to go camping,Hiking or just to go fishing we love being out doors. We always like to be prepared which includes having a small knives collection because you never know when or what you will need one for so when I received a chance to add a new pocket knife to my collection I couldn't refuse.

I recently worked with a great company called The Pink Monogram that sells a large rang of items from House goods to Wedding gifts. For my review I decided to go with the Monogrammed Black Buffalo Horn Lock Back Knife from their Wedding gifts for men section the knife itself looks great! Here is the description from the website: "Monogrammed Pocket Knife! This Monogrammed Black Buffalo Horn Lock Back Knife has class. The 3 ¼” handle is exotic buffalo horn with brass pins. The mirror polished bolsters and the filework design on the lockback just add to the overall fit and finish. The blade is a polished 2 1/8” 440C stainless steel with a flat grind. Other details include Rockwell Hardness of 54-58, flat blade grind, 3 1/4” closed length and a 5 1/2”  overall length." The knife arrived in a fantastic amount of time considering a separate company did the engraving which says "K3", The pocket knife has a nice weight to it,Easy to open easy to close & looks great. The blade is sharp &can be used to cut a number of things my husband works with boxes all day so this comes in handy when he needs to cut open boxes or cut the plastic off of a product. Both my husband & myself enjoy this product and would recommend it to family + friends.

The Pink Monogram offers dozens of other every day items including Totes,Ice buckets,Bedding,Cups, & Much more some of my favorites include the 6-Inch Pillar Candles In Fall Colors And Scents which can be engraved with your Initial,Personalized Sit N Sip Cooler And Sports Seat And Camping Stool & New Personalized Engraved Square Platter And Easel. Based off of how easy the site is to navigate,friendly customer service & high quality product I expect to return to this website again to find future presents for myself,husband & family + friends, I suggest you head over & check out everything The Pink Monogram has to offer. ****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.Products were Provided by The Pink Monogram for the Review free of charge****