Category Archives: Travel

Conferences, Photo-A-Day, Skylanders, Toys, Travel, Video Game, Vlog

Blogger Bash 2016 Day 2 – A Sweet Suite Day

At Blogger Bash
Photo-A-Day #4109

Last night was an appetizer to the fun that would be had today. I was up early with Tim because we were headed over to the boat first to do speed pitching with brands. Only I wasn’t on the list. So, instead I walked over to the next event or rather the event that was happening simultaneously over at the espace. That event was the Care Bears breakfast. This was a very nice event and I ran in to me friend Tim Jones and his family. Tim and his family are great people and they run Jones Family Travels. And they also run Destinations in Florida, a travel business that we have used many times in the past to head to Florida. We have not seen each other in years and it was so great to catch up with Tim over this trip.

The Care Bears event was fun. I had a nice time and they gave out some nice gifts at the event. There was even a very special Golden Funshine Bear that each attendee received. A cute keepsake and there are only 500 around. Then Jessica who founded We Care Bears came and spoke about her program. She is a pretty amazing kid.

After the Care Bears Brunch I met up with some of the other guys and then we went and took a ride on The Ride. The Ride is an amazing bus ride around New York City where there is interaction on the bus but also along the route. The seats on the bus are turned toward one side of the bus which is covered in windows so you can see people as you drive along. It was a fun time and I captured part of the fun in the vlog today.

After The Ride I took my bag and Tim’s back to the hotel and got ready for Sweet Suite. The weather was hot but not terrible. Luckily our hotel room was close enough to walk back and forth or else being weighed down by bags of great stuff would have been unbearable.

Sweet Suite was three floors of great sponsors showing off the latest fun toys. This took place from 4:30 to 9pm and I think it was the perfect amount of time to get around and see most everything. I was able to connect with a bunch of the fun people that I have had the privilege of working with year after year on toys. I love getting a chance to meet up with even more people and discover new things.

I did get to all my favorites, though and Skylanders Imaginators was something I had to hit. I cannot wait for this newest game to come out. With the ability to create some incredible new Skylanders characters you will have unlimited possibilities in gameplay. I even got to try my hand at character creation and also some gameplay. The game looks awesome! I did not win the create your own Skylanders contest but my roommate won the grand prize! I’m happy for him.

After Sweet Suite we headed back to the hotel after a quick bite to eat along the pier in the shadow of the Intrpid.

Conferences, Photo-A-Day, Toys, Travel, Vlog

Travelling to Blogger Bash NYC 2016

Dinner at Daisy Mays BBQ
Photo-A-Day #4108

This morning I headed to Providence to catch the train in to New York City. I am spending a couple of days in the city for Blogger Bash 2016. This is a blogger event with some very fun events planned throughout the few days on site. I’ll be going on The Ride, pitching my blog to a bunch of sponsors and seeing a ton of hot new toys from 80+ different brands. That will be incredible.

The train ride down was good, it seemed faster than normal to me. I wrote up a blog post and watched the movie The Wedding Ringer (except for the last 10 minutes). I got there before it ended and then walked from Penn Station to 48th street. It was a nice brisk walk on a comfortable day. It could have been sweltering but it was great, nice breeze and everything.

I got to my hotel at the same time as my roommate, Tim of A Geek Daddy. I had just sat down and heard my name. Tim went over to the Intrepid Museum and I went for lunch. I found my way to Lansdowne Road where I got some Beef Short Rib Tacos and some Fried Pickles. The tacos were great but the fried pickles left much to be desired. I didn’t eat many of them anyway as I’m trying to cut down the carbs. Then I walked back to the hotel and waited for check in. Went upstairs to get a little rest. I couldn’t sleep.

Tim came back from his trip and the two of us went out to get some dinner at Daisy May’s BBQ. I got a Beef Brisket Sandwich and it was okay. Not a Brother Jimmy’s by any stretch. Man I love that place.

We got back to the hotel and got ready to go and get our badges for the conference over at Yotel. It is good to know people. I was with Tim and so I was able to get into a little reception where I got to meet Veenita from I Am Elemental. We talked for a long time about so many things. She was so cool. I can’t wait to go to the I Am Elemental Booth and show you the new series of female action figures, Wisdom. That and more are in today’s vlog.