Winchester Mystery House Review!

 

For quite some time I've wanted to visit the Winchester Mystery house in person, even way before the movie it was a spot on my list of places to visit. The history of the house is quite interesting & I've always loved things that are spooky/supernatural so of course it was on my list of places to see. We were finally able to stop by in December on a family trip to California, thus we were able to be there when it was decorated for Christmas. 

I thought it was interesting that they allowed guests to take photographs, but we were all told we couldn't film inside of any of the rooms. Our whole tour lasted about an hour, and it took us through about a dozen rooms in the house. The house is much larger than that, but a lot of the rooms are closed off to the public. 

The tour might not be for everyone, the ticket prices are a little high & none of the furniture in the house is original from when the home belonged to Sarah Winchester. However the furniture is from the same time period, after she had passed away her niece inherited all of her belongings so she kept what she wanted & sold off the rest. I didn't want to visit for the furniture though, I can to see the house itself. It's story and the way it was built is interesting and something we aren't likely to see again, so the tour kept us interested and we had a good time. 

If I ever happen to be blessed enough to build my own home, I would definitely want an indoor green house like the rooms she had built here. It would be nice to have a whole indoor space to take care of my plants and protect them from the elements. Speaking of plants, the property has a large garden which you can also tour. We weren't able to do that this time around because we were on a schedule but we did opt to buy a photography package. You were given some period friendly clothing to wear over your own & then the photographer takes you inside of the house to take some photos inside of the rooms. 

We 100% thought the photography package was worth it because not only did we get to take photos inside of some of the rooms you aren't allowed to enter on the tour, but the photographer told us quite a bit of extra information and history of the house. The gift shop was lovely as well, they had a ton of stuff to look at if you are waiting for your tour time to start. I picked up a few small souvenirs to bring home with me, but I was sad that all of the penny press machines and such were not working.  All in all, it was a lovely visit and I can cross this off of my to do list! If I had a chance to see more of the house and explore the gardens, I would come back again. 

If you are planning a trip to California & are looking for other activities to do feel free to type in "Things to do in California" in the search bar of my blog so you can find some other great activities in California. You can also click the "Things to do in California" link located on the right hand side of my blog/in this post.

🟊 This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this ourselves. I just enjoy sharing awesome spots with my readers. 

Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Review!

 

When we visit new spots it is always fun to check out local museums & tours, so on our recent trip out to California we stopped in Yuma, Arizona on the way back to grab some lunch and stretch our legs while checking out the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park. You'll go on a self guided tour of part of the original Yuma State Prison which opened in 1876 & closed in 1909. One of the nice things about the parking lot is if you are stopping by on a road trip there is plenty of regular parking spots along with RV parking. They are located at 220 N. Prison Hill Road Yuma, AZ 85364. While you are there you will be next to a park where you can walk down to the Colorado river & dip your toes in, there is also a cool bridge and if you get lucky you will see a train going by. 

On your self-guided tour you'll find pieces of the prison history like actual clothing and more that were kept after the prison closed down. You will learn quite a bit of history not only on the prison itself, but many of the prisoners as well. They actually have a banner that shows you what crimes people were arrested for & how many people were there for that crime. 

It was actually pretty insane to see how prisoners lived in this prison, most of the cells looked like a cave and some cells like the dark cell, literally were caves with a door. Not only were the spaces already small & cramped but they had two bunk beds which each had three people sleeping on them, which means six people were stuffed into a small room. A lot of people called this prison a "Hell Hole" and I can see why, it gets so hot in Arizona and being in a cramped room with no A/C I can only imagine how hot it felt to those living in the prison. 

The Dark cell was also insane to see, once you reach the end of the hallway to where the dark cell is the light get dimmer and dimmer. Not going to lie, the room did feel quite ominous and a little creepy especially if you were to fully go inside and stand in the dark area. In some of the cells they have mannequins set up to show what it would have looked like with the prisoners in the cells along side their bunkbeds and nothing else. The women definitely had it much easier than the men and were allowed clothing changes more often along with other finer amenities.   

On display on the inside museum, you'll also find pieces of artwork the prisoners made while in prison such as hair pieces made by female inmates and small trinkets made from steel & more. Don't miss the gorgeous views from the top of the hill where the prison is located, you'll get to see quite a bit of Yuma long with beautiful views of the Colorado River. Being up in the look out tower also offers you a chance to spot some great picnic areas if you are looking to set up a picnic instead of finding a spot in town to eat. 

🌵 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).

★ This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this on our own. I enjoy sharing new places we explore with my followers.

Besh-Ba-Gowah Museum - A educational and amazing stop in Globe,AZ!

We live in beautiful Arizona and it feels like such a waste to know that there are so many unique and interesting places to explore and not go visit them! My children are at the age where they are able to hike with us for an hour or two and not get tired, and they have a growing love for adventure as well so we've been taking advantage of the lower number of tourists and limited capacity at various destinations in our home state. 

I have been working with the state parks department to visit some of the different parks in our state, and along the way we've been stopping off at other attractions. I plan on sharing many of these wonderful locations with all of you, if you are local to Arizona and need a weekend getaway or day trip you should check out some of the places we've stopped or if you are outside AZ and everything re-opens again you should stop on your next trip through our state. This post is in no way sponsored or endorsed by the park, this is a destination we decided to check out on our own and enjoyed enough to share with you.

Today I wanted to share a spot in Globe,Arizona that I found online prior to taking our trip out to Safford. The destination is called the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park & Museum. It is the location of a prehistoric Salado masonry pueblo that sits atop of ridge overlooking the Pinal Creek, it is located on two acres of land and it is home to an actual prehistoric ruin site that has been partially re-constructed. It is closed on the weekend so we decided to see it on our way back home during the week. Finding it was quite interesting and was a mini adventure all on it's own, it is tucked away inside of the town itself so you'll drive through two small neighborhood streets to reach your destination that is tucked away next to the local community center. 

Due to covid precautions the museum currently has limited the capacity of people allowed inside of the indoor museum to allow everyone to have their space from the other visitors. There is normally a fee to visit, however it is currently being waved. When we arrived there were only three other cars, two of which were leaving so we showed up at the perfect time. The first stop was inside of the museum, everything featured in the building was excavated inside of the ruins themselves. 

The museum had dozens of arrow heads, bows, pots, jewelry beads and more that were fascinating to see. They also provided quite a bit of information on each item, had a miniature re-construction of how everything would have looked when it was first built and they offered a movie for anyone wanting to watch it. The gift shop was packed with local goodies all of which were fun and unique such as feathers with paintings on them, scorpions in magnets, local honey and more. After seeing what they had to offer inside and using the bathroom we went outside to begin exploring the ruins. 

There are no tour guides, everything is set up so you are able to explore on your own. You'll find many signs along the way describing different rooms of the pueblo and offering insight on what life was like during that time period. I've visited ruin sites before, however this one ranks as one of my favorite. The site is huge, there is a lot of space to walk around in and they incorporated some beautiful dessert life along the way.

In the back of the ruins is a large two story building, we were excited to find that you were able to enter the building. We were able to walk through the two larger rooms which lead out to the other side of the building where you'll find another path to walk along. There were several spots along the way that were perfect for taking a few photos, they even have a bench places out in front of an interesting looking cactus cluster so you can take a nice family photo. After visiting if the kids still have a lot of energy there is a small park right behind the center where the kids can run around a bit. We didn't see any close places to stop for a bite to eat so you'd have to head into the town of Globe to locate a restaurant. 

We had a lovely time when visiting Besh-Ba-Gowah, it was educational and it is always amazing to see how people lived during different times in history. I also loved that they had a number of bird feeders so you had a chance to see some of the local birds. If you are ever near the area or traveling through I recommend stopping by their facility, you can take your time or if you are in a hurry you could see everything in 30-45 minutes. 

The Crayola Experience is now open in Chandler,AZ!

Guess what Arizona residents? We have a brand new tourist attraction at Chandler Fashion Square. Crayola has just opened the first ever Crayola Experience here in Arizona and it is packed with fun things for you and the kids to do. My family and I went to a media opening day on Wednesday and we all had a blast,  I felt like a child again. It officially opened to the public on Thursday May 23rd,2019 tickets are $14.99 per person which can be bought online or in store, so head out to see the new location for yourself.

Above: Create your own Crayon label


Above: A few of the crayons we labeled.

What do they have to offer? They have a ton to do and it isn't just the kids who can participate and enjoy the activities, adults can participate too. When you first enter the attraction there are two machines with six stations where you can create your own crayon label, first you pick which station you want based off the color of crayon you want then you insert a coin into the machine. (Coins are not included in the price to get in,they have vending machines where you can buy coins with cash. Note: only two areas require these coins). After inserting your coin it will ask you to select a symbol, name your crayon then ask if it is how you want it so it can print. Next it will pop out a naked crayon and a label that you take over to a second station where you will add on the label yourself using the machines they have. I am hoping they change out the colors every few months so those with annual passes can get different colors. They currently have yellow, two shades of green, pink and two shades of purple available to label.

The next area you can use coins to purchase bags of play foam so you can build your own creations using the cutting tools and markers they have available at each table. Each baggie of play foam cost one coin (which I believe equals out to $0.50 each), there is enough in each bag to make one small figure, my daughter bought a bag of purple and turned it into a small teddy bear. There is also an interactive floor in this area where the kids can play games on the projector.

Following the three areas mentioned there is also an area where you can color in a animal or critter then hand it to the attendant to watch it come alive and dance on stage, They had frogs for us to color, it was neat watching them dance. A giant coloring station sits in the middle of the front with dozens of bins filled with crayons and coloring pages, where you can sit and relax while coloring. If you aren't happy with the coloring pages they have at the coloring section you can make your own with YOU as the star! They have two stations where you can snap a photo in front of the camera on the background of your choice then hit print to make a coloring page with your face on it. The create your own coloring page machine was simple to use and it took less than a minute to create a coloring page. The kids each made one together and we did one as a family. The images are black and white, they will make you look slightly cartoonish.

Above: Melted Max Spin Art

They can't fit anymore into this building can they? They sure can! Aside from everything I have already listed there is a station where you can color a picture then scan it to make it come alive on the screen, you have a choice of snapping a photo on one of their backgrounds or take a photo with your creation and email it to yourself,. Above you can see the dragons my son and I drew plus a photo of mine alive on the screen, each image actual moves for example the dragons and fairy flap their wings and move their bodies. Speaking of your creations coming to life, you can color a dress, shirt or vehicle and make it come alive on the race track or at a fashion show where you can see your creation on the big screen. Next to the creation stations is a giant light peg board, a area where you can make a 3D turtle or monkey, a station where you can make a wax hand (extra charge) and a spot where you can mine for gems.

If that isn't enough for you there is still more to enjoy! There is a molding station where you can mold your own crayon keepsake to take home, our location had either a car mold or ring mold available. They had a melted spin art area, a silly selfie station, a chalk area where you could write all over the walls, a station where you could color with melted crayons as they are melting, and a area where you could run across the screen and interact with the melting crayon rain. Almost everything here is do it yourself and very simple to use, if you do need any help there are several assistance walking around the building who are more than happy to help assist you.

Hungry? No problem, they have a cafe where you can pick up drinks or food items and if you are craving desserts they have a sweets shoppe with cookies, ice cream, fudge and more! You are bound to spend at least two hours here if you want to stop by each station so I would food plan if you'd like to eat snacks here or eat lunch in the mall food court. You can get your hand stamped before leaving so you can go eat and come back if you wish. They do have a nice clean restroom to use so you do not need to leave the store to use the bathroom. Before leaving they have a large gift shop where you can shop for crayons, markers, and crayola inspired goodies. They have a giant wall completely lined with different crayons where you can build your own pack.

So what did we end up coming home with? Each child came home with four custom label crayons, a clay model, a race car crayon they created, a custom coloring page, a melted wax spin creation and several coloring pages/creations from the other stations. I also made three of my own labeled crayons, which I had a lot of fun with. I also received a goodie bag as part of the media day which features several products from their gift shop! You can see that image above.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Crayola Experience 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.