Baltimore Washington International Airport Global Entry Interview Report

My apologies to my readers out there. I've been meaning to write this review for a while and just haven't gotten around to it till today. Hopefully, some of the information I'm going to post is still valid. It was October 2016 when I did the Global Entry interview with a U.S. Customs officer at Baltimore Washington International Airport. The main reason I'm posting this report on the interview is because when I was researching this, I found most of the posts on the interviews covered the New York City airports interviews. I don't remember seeing any for the Baltimore area so, I thought this would cover something that isn't as well known.

For those in the Baltimore, Maryland area, there are 2 airports you can fairly easily reach to do your Global Entry interview. They're Baltimore Washington International Airport and Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. Dulles from what I saw has more interview slots but, you have to travel farther to get to it. Also, you will have to pay for parking for your vehicle while doing the interview. I don't know how the parking rates stack up between the 2 airports.

Concerning how soon you can get in for your interview, from what I saw there is a considerable backlog of appointments. Back in October, Baltimore Washington International Airport was already scheduling interviews for February! You can check on the website for unexpected openings which happen sometimes or you can do a walk in like at other airports BUT, they warn you outside the interview office that walk ins are done on a case by case basis i.e. there's no guarantee they'll see you. In my case as well as another lady I met during this experience, we figured trying to do a walk in was worth the gamble. I had a November transatlantic cruise with Royal Caribbean and, I'd read I could use Global Entry at the cruise ship terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida so, I wanted to get my application approved before I went on my cruise (see my blog post about the cruise itself). The lady I met had the bad luck of having her tour changed to where the day she was scheduled for her interview was the day she was going to return from her tour.

Office time for the interviews state Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday to Saturday 1 to 6 p.m. The sign on the door of the interview room said interviews started at 1:15 on all days and, the officers that did the interviews did arrive at 1:15 the day I did mine. To reach the office where the interviews are held, you go to the "E" terminal (International Arrivals), look for the door marked E1716 (I believe it had a Department of Homeland Security seal on it), go down to the first hallway on the right, go down that hallway and, it's the first door on the left. The door number is E1709 and, there's a sign by it stating the hours interviews are given.

The interview itself is very short - no more than 10 minutes. They ask you questions like where do you live, why are you applying for the program, do you have a criminal record - all things you would've informed them of in your application. The officers were very no nonsense. The lady I mentioned and I chatted a little bit in the room and, one of the officers didn't hesitate to tell us to shut up or take it outside the room. We promptly shut up as we wanted to do the interview and get approved. The officer will tell you if your application is approved on the spot. If it is, they take your finger prints and a picture. They let you know when you can expect to receive an email saying you were approved with your trusted traveler number and when you'll get your Global Entry card (I got mine within a week of the interview) and to not lose it.

Overall, I found the interview process pretty painless barring the fact there is a long backlog as far as appointments. If you won't need the Global Entry for a while, you can wait for your scheduled appointment otherwise, you might want to take a gamble on being a walk in like I did. I was delighted I was approved and, I did use it sort of during my cruise. When I went through TSA security for my Baltimore flight, the TSA pre-check section was closed. I mentioned I had Global Entry and, it showed on my airplane ticket (make sure you give the airline your trusted traveler number so they'll automatically give you TSA pre-check) so, I got to do a semi TSA pre-check i.e. I didn't have to take off my shoes or belt BUT, I did have to pull my laptop out and, they told me to take my mobile printer out next time. At the Fort Lauderdale cruise ship terminal I arrived at, they didn't have the kiosks for you to enter your Global Entry information however, the Customs line was so short, it didn't matter. Flying back from Miami, the TSA pre-check line was open which made security an absolute breeze. While I may not have gotten to use my Global Entry much so far, it is good for 5 years and, I'm certain I'll get to use it in the future (India November 2018). I do feel this program is worth it and would absolutely recommend it to any person in the United States of America who travels a good bit (at least 2 or 3 times a year). Happy travels all!

Dollar Tree Four Pack Paring Knife Set Review

One product that Dollar Tree sells that I've been very pleased with is their Four Pack Color Paring Knife Set which they sell for $1. The stainless steel 5.9 inch knives are made by Royal Norfolk Cutlery in China. The blade part of the knives is approximately 2 inches long with the rest being a plastic handle that you may find in black or blue (like the set I bought). Royal Norfolk puts a really good edge on these knives so, they do a fine job of cutting. Being stainless steel, I don't know if you'd be able to sharpen these knives if they get dull. The only thing I can knock about this product is the fact they come in sets of 4. How many paring knives do you think you're going to need? More so since from using the knives, these knives seem to hold up. I've been using one for over a year and, it's still going strong so, the other 3 sit in storage.

Overall, I give this product a thumbs up. These are good knives at a great price. The only problem any of my readers may encounter is that not all Dollar Tree stores may carry them. Each stores inventory can vary as I've seen from personal experience. Still, if you seen them, you might want to pick up a pack of them. For a $1, they're a great deal. Happy shopping all!

Maryland Lottery 100X The Cash Scratch Off Review

The Maryland Lottery has come out with a new scratch off game called 100X The Cash. The game was launched November 28, 2016. From what I can tell, the game has been offered in other states and, I wonder if that's where they got the idea from. It has to be challenging trying to come up with new games all the time to keep player's interest.

The game offers a $1,000,000 prize (paid over 20 years) and costs $20 (standard for $1,000,000 prize games). The game's overall odds of winning are 1 in 2.94 (Reference: the ticket I bought with my own money) which is normal for $1,000,000 prize games. Barring the instant win multipliers which I'll explain in this review further down, you try to match 1 or more of the 5 winning numbers at the top of the ticket (standard). Losing tickets do qualify for Maryland Lottery reward points (all the new games do as far as I know).

The game is noteworthy in 2 respects. First, it offers SIX $1,000,000 prizes vice the normal 3 though keep in mind there are going to be a lot more tickets for this game to make up for the increase in prizes. The game webpage (look for game 301 under $20 game scratch offs on the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com) shows there are over 400,000 $20 prizes which proves this point.

The other noteworthy thing about this game is all the instant winners it offers. The game offers FIVE instant multiplier winners. The norm is 1 though sometimes you'll have 2. Also, ALL the instant winners are multipliers. What that means is that it multiplies the win amount example: you hit a 5X instant win multiplier and you have $20 underneath it, this means you've actually won $100 (5 times $20)! The instant win multiplier gets more impressive because this highest instant win multiplier is it's name sake i.e. 100X or 100 TIMES whatever the prize is. Looking at the prizes the game offers (ranges from $20 to $1,000,000), the minimum prize you'll win with the 100X symbol is $5,000 ($50 times 100) and, you could win $1,000,000 with this symbol ($10,000 times 100). The instant win multipliers are as follows:

5X (5 times the prize)
10X (10 times the prize)
20X (20 times the prize)
50X (50 times the prize)
100X (100 times the prize)

I bought 1 ticket with my own money so, I could write this review. I found the game nice (ok, whatever, I may becoming a bit jaded as I've played so many). I suspect the odds of hitting the $1,000,000 prize are in line with Maryland Lottery's other $1,000,000 games though I can't prove this as I haven't tried to compare the numbers. This game will run longer than their other games due to the increase in the top prizes (makes sense). For now, the game will be widely available due to the number of tickets out. I think those that like scratch off games (I do) will like this game as much as others. The numerous instant win multipliers does give little more excitement if you hit one because the prizes will be so much bigger (minimum $100 based on a $20 prize times 5). Please do remember to play responsibly and that the overall odds I stated (Reference: came from the ticket I bought) are the OVERALL odds. You can do better and you can do worse. Good luck!

Disclaimer: All opinions stated in this review are my own and are not in any way associated with the Maryland Lottery which I have no association with. The ticket I used as a reference for this review was bought with my OWN money. I haven't received any compensation from the Maryland Lottery for writing this review. I've tried to be factual in this review. If you discover an error in it, please leave a comment for me to review so, I can post a correction. My other source is the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com.

November 2016 Independence of the Seas Cruise Review

I know I haven't been blogging much and, I tried to think of something I could do a nice quick blog entry about. The thing that comes to mind immediately is my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas. The cruise was interesting in a number of ways. The cruise started in Southampton, England BUT, I joined the cruise at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This was intentional i.e. I didn't miss the boat. If a cruise is open ended i.e. starts in one port and finishes in another, you can join the cruise at a later port as long as you get approval from Royal Caribbean's security at their headquarters. When the time comes, presumably, they'll notify the ship of your plans so, they know where to expect you. This was the second time I've done this. The first was on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The cruise started in San Diego, California, United States of America (U.S.A.) but, to make my then boss happy, I joined it at Cabo San Lucas to keep down the number of days off I needed.

Another interesting thing about the cruise was the itinerary. I know some people like days at sea. I don't even though I know the ship tries to have lots of things for people to do. In this case, once the ship set sail out of Southampton, it would sail non-stop for over 8 days to St. Maarten. Once it made St. Maarten, I felt it became an excellent cruise with additional stops at St. Kitts, St. Thomas, San Juan and Labadee, Haiti with 1 day at sea before pulling into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.

For me, the main reason I did the cruise was for the cruise points though I did like the itinerary once the ship made port in St. Maarten. If you join a cruise late, you'll still get all the cruise points for the cruise you would've gotten otherwise. What that means for me is that I got 15 cruise points for it being a 15 night cruise even though I was only on the ship 6 nights AND, I got another 15 cruise points as I always cruise solo i.e. I always pay double for my cabin (I don't care for the solo cruiser cabins). This means, I can advance faster in Royal Caribbean's frequent cruiser program the Crown & Anchor. I'm Diamond Plus thanks to a Baltic cruise I did with them last summer and now, I'm shooting for the ultimate - Pinnacle. At it requires 700 nights, even with me getting double cruise points, it's going to take a while to reach it.

The cruise itself had a number of mishaps from beginning to end which took away from the experience for me. Royal Caribbean normally does a better job in my opinion. I don't know why there were so many mis-steps. The first was when I arrived at the Dr. Mathey Cruise Ship Terminal. As I previously mentioned, I'd had approval to join the ship in St. Maarten months before and, they should've known I was going to be arriving that day. Yet, when I checked in that the cruise ship terminal, I wasn't on the list to proceed to the ship. St. Maarten security had to send someone to the ship to confirm I was supposed to be admitted. I waited for at least 20 minutes wondering if I was going to get on a ship I had a paid reservation for.

When I got to the Independence of the Seas, Andrew Evans from Guest Relations met me, subsequently took me on board and did my in-processing. It should've been a normal cruise at that point but, it wasn't. I was supposed to get my 2nd crystal block but someone forgot to tell the Loyalty representative I was supposed to get one. I had to see her to get this straightened out. I was supposed to get a $200 shipboard credit but, I wasn't able to get this fixed until the very day I was supposed to leave the ship! The Voom WiFi Royal Caribbean raves about crashed though they did give me a refund for the days it was down. I was supposed to get luggage tags for my bags but, someone forgot to put me on the departure list so, I had to ask my cabin steward for them. People were sent to the Alhambra Theater to wait till their number was called to leave the ship but, the announcements didn't come over the theater speaker system. I was supposed to leave the ship at 7:15 but, they fell 30 minutes behind. They had 500 people going to Miami International Airport but, they were only able to board 3 buses at a time and got behind because of number of people in wheel chairs didn't tell them they were going to be in wheel chairs (that was the excuse they gave).

There were some good points to the cruise. I got to do the scenic train ride in St. Kitts which was pretty cool barring some unexplained technical difficulties which delayed the train. I did the jet boat ride in St. Thomas which was really fun, interesting and did wonders for cooling you off (you will get wet!). It was 103F when we made port at Crown Bay. I got to visit the only tropical rain forest in the U.S.A.'s National Park System, the El Yunque National Park. The La Coca falls were very pretty. Lastly, I got to do a scenic cruise out of Labadee where I learned more about Haiti and some some stunning scenery. Sadly, thanks to the first medical emergency I've ever heard happening on a cruise I've been on (someone supposedly had a heart attack and we had to turn around and return to San Juan to send them on their way to the hospital), we arrived late to Labadee though Captain Iv Vidos did his best to make up the lost time. Also, thanks to the loyalty representative, I was able to do 2 behind the scenes tours Diamond Plus and Pinnacle are allowed to do for free. I particularly enjoyed the bridge tour and have a neat picture of myself with an officer's hat in a command chair on the bridge presumably making sure the ship sailed smoothly and safely to Ft. Lauderdale.

I accomplished what I wanted to do on the cruise but, I wasn't very pleased with Royal Caribbean. I can't wait to give them feedback on it. Incredibly, I'll be doing the same cruise on the same ship at the same time next year. Hopefully, it'll go smoother next time. We'll see. Happy travels all!

Review of Maryland Lottery's $1,000,000 Platinum Play Scratch Off

The latest $1,000,000 prize scratch off lottery game that the Maryland Lottery has come out with is the $1,000,000 Platinum Play game. The game has been out since August 22, 2016. Surprisingly, none of the $1,000,000 or $50,000 prizes have been claimed as of the time of this post.

The game features prizes of $1,000,000, $50,000, $10,000, $5,000, $1,000 and lesser amounts down to $20. One difference in this game vice previous $1,000,000 game scratch offs is that the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 vice the normal three such prizes. Also, there are nine $50,000 prizes though I don't know what the norm is for that. I suspect the Maryland Lottery will issue more tickets in this game to make up for the increased number of $1,000,000 prizes. I saw on the game's webpage that there will still over 250,000 $20 winners alone still out there.

Like all $1,000,000 scratch off games, the tickets cost $20. Overall odds of winning according the 2 tickets I bought with my own money are 1 in 2.94. Please remember those are the OVERALL odds i.e. you can do better and you can do worse.

Another noteworthy thing about the game is the Maryland Lottery doesn't mention on the FRONT of the ticket that the game has an instant win feature which is common enough with their scratch offs. If a star symbol pops up on the ticket, you win that prize automatically. Otherwise, you try to match 1 to 5 of the 5 numbers you get at the top of the ticket. The game states you have 30 chances to win though the number that really matters is the overall odds ration i.e. 1 in 2.94 which is normal for the $1,000,000 prize games.

Like all the recent games, losing tickets do qualify for Lottery Rewards points. There isn't any second chance drawing in this game for those who like that feature.

Overall, I found the $1,000,000 Platinum Play a decent enough game though I didn't find anything that makes it particularly noteworthy barring the fact the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 prizes this time. I do wonder if this will be the new norm for all their $1,000,000 prize games. Time will tell. Best of luck to all players out there and please do remember to play responsibly.

One final comment: all opinions in this review are my own and aren't in any way reflective of the Maryland Lottery i.e. they didn't have anything to do with this game review. I bought the 2 tickets I played with my money i.e. I didn't receive any kind of compensation from the Maryland Lottery and, I never will. Any statistics that I stated for this game came either from the tickets I bought or from the game webpage on the Maryland Lottery website.

Jot Brush Pens Product Review

While checking out the Dollar Tree store at 2653 Annapolis Rd in Hanover, Maryland (not the one close to Arundel Mills Mall), I came upon some Jot Brush Pens. As I'd never heard of a "brush pen" before and, they're only a $1 like everything at Dollar Tree, I decided to buy a pack of them and try them out.

The pens come in 4 colors - blue, green, red and yellow. They do look something like a brush (from the long handle) though they have a long felt tip at the ink end (vice some brush bristles). The tip gives a very wide stroke which in my opinion causes this item to be misnamed. I think they should be called "Brush Markers" as you can't really write with these like you could with a pen except in very large script.

The "pens" would be good for use in making some kind of large signs but wouldn't be good for every day writing. As far as I know, the pens are available only in the 4 colors I found.

Overall, I wasn't really impressed with these so called pens though I'm not very disappointed as they only cost me a $1. If you want something to help make a large sign, you might find them useful. However, I give them a thumbs down as I'm not really impressed with them and feel they are misnamed. They really should be called "Brush Markers." Happy writing all!

South Lyon Dollar Tree Store Review

This is the store that started me liking the Dollar Tree chain. My Filipino step-mother Geroncia (also known as Jane) loves this place. To help my Dad who doesn't like to drive for various reasons, I always offer to take Geroncia where ever she wants to go when I visit. This past Labor Day weekend was one such occasion. One of the places she always wants to go was the South Lyon, Michigan Dollar Tree store.

The store is located in the Glenwood Plaza at 21835 Pontiac Trail in South Lyon. It's open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and 9 a.m to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is plenty of parking at this shopping center. As Pontiac Trail is the main drag/street in South Lyon, it's easy enough to get to.

The store is of good size, has a refrigerated section (a plus in my book), is well stocked and well kept up. The store's staff do an excellent job maintaining and running this store.

Overall, I've visited and shopped at a number of Dollar Tree stores since I first visited this store 3 or 4 years ago so, I tell if a store is a good one or a bad one. This one is a very good one for the reasons I've mentioned. If you like Dollar Tree in general, you'll like this store if you live in this area. I give it a 2 thumbs up. Happy shopping all!

Phileas Kultur Fountain Pen Review

According to Montgomery Pens (www.montgomerypens.com), this pen's name varies. Some call the Phileas pen while others call it the Kultur pen. The package my pen came in didn't have a name on it and merely called it translucent which is what it is (in this case translucent blue). Also, according to them, the pen was never offered for sale in the United States which is too bad as this is an excellent and very affordable fountain pen by Waterman. According to Pen Boutique in Columbia, Maryland this pen isn't for sale any more barring Ebay or maybe Amazon.

As far as I'm able to tell, the pen comes in 3 translucent colors - red, blue and purple. Also, it comes in a clear version. The pens I've seen offered on Ebay have all been fine point stainless steel nib pens which is what I prefer anyway. The pen can use the standard cartridge adapter so, you can use bottled ink and save money or you can use Waterman cartridges.

Prices on Ebay vary ($21 to $30) for the pen depending on what's included though usually the cartridge adapter isn't so, you'll have to shell out another $8 or $9 for that. Montgomery Pens have offered auctions on the clear pen (I lost one of those by 50 cents not that I cared much). Another pen seller called Pens N More on Ebay is offering a 3 pen set of these pens for $62.99 which I think is a really good price per pen as long as you don't mind getting 3 of them (and why I didn't care about losing the auction the Montgomery Pens pen I'd bid on).

Normally, I don't like stainless steel nibs with the rare exceptions like Pilot's Varsity disposable fountain pen. Also, this pen has a large nib. But, this pen writes really well for a stainless steel nib. Other steel nibs I've tried have scratched the paper when I've tried writing with them. This is why my preference is for 18 karat gold nibs which always glide across the paper. However, in the case of this pen, the nib does a good job on various papers and, the price is awesome for a Waterman fountain pen. In my opinion, Waterman is a really good maker of pens. I had 4 of theirs including 2 with 18 karat nibs (and if I had $220 lying around, I'd be getting another one) until I bought this one which I've been surprisingly pleased with.

Another plus of these pens is the fact their translucent or clear. This makes really easy to see how much ink you have left in the cartridge or cartridge adapter. I had a real problem with a Pilot retractable fountain pen I tried recently because of this. I didn't know if it was working when I tried to draw ink into the cartridge adapter via the nib. The only way to be certain with that pen was to pull the adapter out which can get messy and see.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this fountain pen and would recommend it. It writes well, is affordable and translucency (or clear) is an added plus with it. If you like fountain pens, you might want to check out the 2 sellers I mentioned or see what others are selling these fine pens for. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them. Happy writing all!

Silver Spring Dollar Tree Store Review

Last Sunday, a friend at the Extended Stay where I live asked me to get him some hand sanitizer. Dollar Tree Stores are one of the best places I know to get cheap hand sanitizer lotion. They sell it in 8 ounce bottles or slightly smaller bottles if you want it with aloe vera or they have multi-pack 2 ounce bottles. Per the Dollar Tree name, they all cost $1. I've bought a number of bottles of the stuff myself there and, it's worked fine. I promised to get my friend some while my friend Kathryn and I did some shopping.

After we'd finished our shopping at the Kings Contrivance Harris Teeter supermarket, I remembered my promise and called up the various nearby Dollar Tree stores on my Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS). The closest Dollar Tree store was the one in Columbia, but as my readers know, I'm very unimpressed with that store. It doesn't have refrigerated or freezer sections and, it's very small which means it has a limited selection of merchandise. While it might've had hand sanitizer, I wanted to try some place else. I saw on the list of stores there was one in Silver Spring, Maryland that I'd never been to. I asked Kathryn if she'd mind checking that one out. She said she didn't so off we went. The store isn't far from Maryland Route 29 and, it's address is 13837 Outlet Drive (phone number 301-847-7865). It's located in the corner of what I'd call your standard strip mall. The only problem I had with its location is it is in the corner and, you have look for it to find it. Interestingly, there's a Family Dollar store within 40 feet or less of it. Kathryn and I thought initially the Dollar Tree might've been bought out by Family Dollar and so, we checked that store out first. We were UNIMPRESSED by Family Dollar and, we're delighted when a shopper there told there was a Dollar Tree store further down.

The Silver Spring, Maryland Dollar Tree store is large which means it has a lot of merchandise - give them 1 point for that. They score points for also having refrigerated and frozen sections. Lastly, they have decent parking. Kathryn and I found ourselves very pleased with this store vice some others I've been to.

Overall, I was really pleased with this store and would happily shop here again except for the fact that it's a bit far from where I live. However, for those who live in Silver Spring or close by, this is a Dollar Tree store worth checking out. I'd happily give this store 2 thumbs up! It's an excellent store with some very good Dollar Tree bargains (they had some cans of soup where I thought were particularly good price wise though I haven't tried them yet). Happy Shopping all!

Birra Moretti Beer Review

While shopping for foreign (anything made out of United States of America (USA)) beers, I came upon some Birra Moretti beer. The beer is a lager with 4.6% alcohol and is brewed by Heineken Italia in Comun Nuovo, Italy. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells a 6 pack of 11.2 fluid ounce bottles for $7.99.

One thing I liked about this lager is that it's a genuine Italian beer i.e. it's brewed IN Italy. I've seen a number of foreign beers that are actually brewed in the USA. To me, they're not legitimately foreign though they may have a different taste to what we're used to in the USA. This lager tasted like a standard lager. It wasn't harsh tasting like some German beers can be though it wasn't super smooth like some Hawaiian ale I've tried. Basically, it's a decent lager at a reasonable price for a genuinely foreign beer.

Tip: Total Wine & More has a frequent shopper club called Total Discovery where they'll send you coupons for their stores that'll save you money on beer or other spirits. In this case, thanks to the coupon, I saved a $1 off this 6 pack. If you drink a fair amount of beer or other spirits, it could be worth it to you to look into it.

Overall, I thought this was a nice beer. I very much liked that it's genuinely Italian. I do question the claim on the bottle about Italian passion for brewing. I think Italy is known more for its wine then its beer. Still, it was fun to try this brew. Happy responsible drinking all!

Trader Joe's Old World Rye Bread With Caraway Seeds Review

I like rye bread and, I like caraway seeds. To me, rye bread isn't rye bread without caraway seeds which add a nice flavor to the bread. So, I was delighted to see Trader Joe's had what looked like some very good rye bread for sale at its store in Elkridge, Maryland.

The bread comes sliced in 1 pound packages, 12 slices to the pound. It sells for $2.49. It has 80 calories per slice as well as 3 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber per slice (Source: the loaf I bought at the Elkridge Trader Joe's). Each slice does have 160 milligrams of sodium for those who have to watch their sodium intake.

The bread has an excellent texture and does well in a sandwich or as a flavorful toast. I found this to be an excellent all around bread with a really nice flavor.

Overall, I was really pleased with this bread, would buy it again and definitely recommend it. The bread does contain wheat, soy and possible traces of sesame seeds (according to the package) for those who have health issues with those. Barring that, if you like a hearty and solid rye bread, this bread is for you. Bon Appetit!

Before, I had to mention that at the time, I had a sister who worked for Trader Joe's even though it didn't influence my reviews of their products. My sister no longer works for them so, there isn't the slightest possibility of conflict with my reviews of their products. If I think the product sucks, I'll tell you so!

Goya Coconut Soda Review

When I saw Goya's Coconut Soda at the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans, I had to try it. I like coconut water and, I enjoyed drinking fresh coconut water out of a coconut at St. Martin (French side of St. Maarten) The soda goes for $1.59 for a 2 liter bottle at Wegmans. The soda is artificially flavored (and honest about it, it says it on the front of the bottle) which is a downer though a plus is it does have a coconut taste. Another downer is that Goya uses high fructose corn syrup. I prefer cane sugar which I think is better for you. The soda is somewhat unique as its the only coconut soda I've seen on the market in the United States.

Overall, I think Goya's coconut soda is ok. I think if you want a real coconut drink, you should try one of the coconut water brands that are for sale in the United States (I don't know what is available elsewhere). Still, if you want coconut soda, this is the main producer of it here. Happy drinking all!

Update May 29, 2016: I forgot to include calorie information on this soda. An 8 ounce glass of the soda has 130 calories (Source: the bottle I bought at Wegmans). Of that, 32 grams are sugar. The soda contains absolutely NO fruit juice. It is entirely artificially flavored. Also, it contains 105 milligrams of potassium in each glass which is a plus in my book.

Woodbine Maryland Dollar Tree Store Review

Today, I visited the Dollar Tree store at 712 Lisbon Center Drive in Woodbine, Maryland. I thought I'd write a store review on it. Here goes:

The store has ample parking and is of good size. The size is important as some Dollar Tree stores can be pretty small like the one in Columbia, Maryland. Having plenty of good priced merchandise can make them worth the trip. This one does though it does have one drawback in my opinion - it doesn't have a refrigerated section like other Dollar Tree stores do. This is important me as Dollar Tree offers some nice deals that way like Sunny Acres Swiss Slices or Bar S Bun Length Franks which Dollar Tree sells for a $1 at the stores that have a refrigerated section.

Note: If you do a search for this store on your smart phone and find it's mobile page, you may see it has the symbol for a refrigerated section. This is wrong. The main web page shows correctly that it doesn't have one though I wish it did.

Hours for the store are: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
                                      Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

I think the store hours are convenient. Also, the store is easy to get to. I exited Interstate 70 heading west (exit 32 I think) , took a right turn toward Woodbine, took the 2nd exit on the roundabout and first right after that. You'll see it on your right and a supermarket on your left.

The store can be reached at phone number 410-489-2653.

Overall, I thought it a nice Dollar Tree store. The staff were helpful and courteous, parking was ample, they have convenient hours but, they don't have a refrigerated section. Because of that, if you could, I recommend you find one that does have a refrigerated section. I think I saw they have a store in Eldersburg that does. I'll have to check that one out some time and get back to my readers and let them know what I think of it. Happy shopping all!

Laurel (Maryland) Main Street Travel Inc. Closed

I saw in Yelp and Yellowpages.com that they're reporting that Laurel (Maryland, I don't know if there's a Laurel Main Street Travel in some other state so I'm specifying what state) Main Street Travel Incorporated as open. They're not. They're permanently closed and didn't move to another location. I visited their former office yesterday personally and spoke with a very nice lady from the Laurel Board of Trade that now occupies the site. Also, I can personally testify that number 410-792-4438 has been disconnected i.e. I called it myself and got a recording saying that.

I don't know why the business closed. I saw on one webpage that I don't remember that they'd been in the travel business for 35 years. I was saddened by their closure. I think travel agencies are having a tough time with all the competition they have now and various travel companies trying to cut their agent's commissions. Personally, I like working with a travel agent vice trying to do it myself. My travel agent Joel Mills has been priceless at times.

Anyway, to repeat one final time - Laurel Main Street Travel Incorporated (Inc.) is permanently closed. Happy travels all!

Pilot Frixion Pen Review

While visiting the Bed, Bath and Beyond store at 9021 Snowden River Parkway in Columbia, Maryland, I stumbled upon some Pilot Frixion gel pens. The pens are special in that they're erasable whereas other gel pens aren't. The store sells the pens for $2.99 which is apparently high compared to other stores but, I bought five of the .7mm retractable pens to try out. Later, I did some research on the pens and found out how the ink works.

The gel ink is thermo sensitive which means it's sensitive to heat. According to the jetpens.com website I visited, if you have the pens out in 140 degree heat or higher, the ink will become colorless. It's this same sensitivity to heat that enables users to erase their mistakes with these pens. The friction from rubbing the ink with a regular eraser causes the ink to become colorless. This makes these pens pretty handy.

Specifications wise, the pens come in 7 colors:

Black
Blue
Turquoise
Red
Purple
Green
Pink

They come in fine (.7mm) and extra fine (.5mm) nib sizes. Also, there are retractable and non-retractable pens. The retractable pens are interesting that as there is a small eraser at the end of these pens, you have to press the clip down on them to cause the nib to come out or retract.

Prices can vary. Walmart.com offers a 5 pack of the .5mm (extra fine nib) pens for $9.75 while Staples.com offers 7 pack of the .7 (fine nib) pens for $14.99. Officeworld.com sells the pens singly and in multi-pen packs. In some of the stores I visited looking for these pens, I found the selection of them very limited compared to the very popular Pilot G2 pens.

Overall, I've been very pleased with these pens. I do wish Pilot offered them in more colors and, they were more widely available. Pilot's G2 gel pens come in 15 colors (there are more colors than this though some aren't offered in the United States such as their pastel color G2 pens) vice the 7 they offer in their Frixion line. These pens definitely can be handy in certain cases. I definitely recommend them. Happy writing all!

Update May 4, 2016: Yesterday, I checked the Walmart next to the Sam's Club at 3535 Russett Green East in Laurel, Maryland. They don't have these pens (no shock that). However, the Sam's Club offers an 8 pack of the retractable pens for $6.81. The pack is missing the turquoise pen and has 3 of the black pens.

Tokyoairporter.com Review

Recently, I did a Globus tour of Japan. I'd never toured Japan before and while I was looking forward to visiting it for the first time, I was a bit daunted by it as well. Their language is hugely different from English and, their culture is very different too. Still, one of the great things about Globus is your tour director is with you from the start of the tour till it's end. The tour director knows the language, the culture and their way around. So, I felt at ease until I got a notice from Globus that there wasn't going to be anyone to meet me at Tokyo Narita Airport and, I'd have to take a bus (ticket provided) from the airport to the Tokyo Hilton where my tour group would stay for the first two nights of the tour. (Globus claimed this was the most efficient way to get their travelers from the airport to the hotel.) So, for my first 2 hours in Japan, I was going to be on my own trying to make my way to my hotel. Crap!

That's when I got the idea of using a private car and driver. As some of my readers may remember, I used one in Stockholm, Sweden to get me from the airport to their cruise ship terminal for my Baltic cruise on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas. By hiring a car and driver, someone would be waiting for me at the airport who knew their way around and would be able to get me to my hotel.

I checked various companies. Viator gave me a price of $394 which was the highest I found. Another company I requested a quote from told me $340 with an extra $35 for an English speaker. Tokyoairporter.com came in at the cheapest with a flat price of 19,000 yen which with the current exchange rate broke out to about $160. Twice during the quote request and when I confirmed my request reservation, I said the driver must speak English. I haven't forgotten my misadventure in Cartagena, Colombia and, I didn't want to subject my travel friend Harvey who was going on the tour with me to that.

Tokyoairporter.com requests prepayment via Paypal which surprised me. Also, they will hit you with a 7.2% charge if you use a credit card. As I was determined to use one, that brought the price up to roughly $180.

On April 5, 2016, after flying over 14 hours non-stop from Washington Dulles International, I arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport. To my dismay, they had a HUGE line to get through customs. It ended up taking me over an hour and a half to get through the line. My travel friend and I both wondered if our driver would still be waiting for us when we finally got our suitcases and exited the arrival area. To our delight, there was a driver with my last name on her sign.

We quickly realized our driver's understanding of English was iffy at best. Still, she seemed to know what she was doing. She directed us outside to a vehicle parking lot where she indicated we should wait while she got the vehicle. The vehicle turned out to be a mini-van which was fine with us. The lady apparently had been told somehow where we were to go and plugged it into her Japanese Global Positioning System i.e. GPS. Then, we took off for our hotel.

Along the way, we passed one of the buses we might've have taken otherwise so, Tokyoairporter.com is a faster way to get to downtown Tokyo. The driver knew what she was doing and took us directly to the Hilton. I think we got there in roughly an hour. While I wasn't pleased about her apparent lack of understanding of English, she did a fine job and got us where we had to go. My friend and I tipped her $5 each and thanked her as best we could.

Overall, I was very pleased with Tokyoairporter.com. They're cheaper than other services but, they're competent and give good service. I'd definitely use them again and would recommend them if you need a car and driver to take you to your hotel from the airport in Tokyo. Happy travels all!

Maryland Lottery's Million Dollar Spectacular Game Review

While visiting a friend's liquor store, I discovered Maryland Lottery's newest $1,000,000 prize scratch off game called Million Dollar Spectacular. I remembered reading one big winner's strategy where he'd play the new games as he felt there would be a greater chance to hit a big prize initially. It worked for him but, it didn't work for me. I ended up with 4 losers in a row before I hit back to back small winners.

The game is your standard $1,000,000 prize scratch off game. There are three $1,000,000 (see note) prizes (all still available at the time of this post), six $50,000 prizes (all still available at the time of this post), twenty-four $10,000 prizes (all still available at the time of this post), thirty-seven $5,000 prizes (35 remaining at the time of this post) and 733 $1,000 prizes (701 remaining at the time of this post) as well as various smaller prizes starting with $20. You match 1 or more of the 5 numbers at the top of the ticket and you win that prize. The game does have 1 difference from other big prize games in that there is a box at the upper left of the ticket. The box contains 6 prize amounts. If you match 3 of the prize amounts, you win that prize instantly. I liked this feature though I had crummy luck with it. The game started December 28, 2015 so, it hasn't been out that long. Like all new games, losing tickets are eligible for lottery reward points. Overall (meaning overall for the ENTIRE game) odds are 1 in 2.97 of winning. You can do better or you can do worse like I did initially.

Overall, I thought it was a nice game though not a great one. I plan to try it again some time and see if I can a bit better luck with it. To me, it's a pretty standard $1,000,000 prize scratch off game. If you like playing the newest game out in Maryland, you might want to give it a go. Good luck!

Note: the $1,000,000 is paid out over 20 years in an annuity. The winner has 60 days after turning in the winning ticket to inform Maryland Lottery if they want a cash option i.e. all the money immediately. If they choose that option, the payout will be LESS than $1,000,000. If they don't inform them in time, they will automatically receive the annuity (source: one of the game tickets I bought).

Lastly, my source for the odds in the game was one of the tickets I bought. My source for how many prizes remained at the time of this post was the Maryland Lottery webpage for this game. That web page can be found under the $1,000,000 prize scratch off games.

Starbucks Dark Chocolate Peppermint Grahams Review

Last week, while trying to earn more Starbucks reward points so, I can keep my Gold status for another year (you have to earn 30 reward stars to do that), I saw some of their dark chocolate peppermint graham crackers on sale at one (there are 2 of them) of their Laurel, Maryland shops (store 7257 located at 929 Washington Boulevard). The grahams were 40% off and seemed a cheap way to earn another reward star. With the 40% off, it cost me $4.77 for 3 of the grahams (they come 3 in a pack).

The grahams live up to their name in that they are coated with dark chocolate and have peppermint candy piece sprinkled on top of them and each comes individually wrapped in a very nice red box. They have a slight peppermint taste to them i.e. it isn't that strong. They normally cost $7.95 which I think makes them expensive. You're talking nearly $2.65 a graham at regular price!

Overall, I think the grahams are good BUT, in my opinion, they're NOT worth $2.65 a piece. So, if I had to buy them at regular price, I'd give them a big thumbs down. If you can find them at 40% off like I did then, they might be worth buying. However, you may have to search some stores to find the remaining ones as I think they are a holiday item and won't be on the shelves much longer. I like a lot of Starbucks stuff but, I wasn't wowed by this one. Bon Appetit all!

Progresso Soup Review

I've been meaning to write this review for a while but, procrastination got the better of me. I did some research for it as you'll see.

I first bought some Progresso soup because, the base commissary I use had it on sale for either 79 cents a can or 89 cents a can. I'm don't remember which. I wasn't familiar with the soup but, I figured for that price, I could try it and see if I like it. I like soup though I don't have it often. I'm not a fan of Campbell's condensed soups and, that was the main kind of soup I usually have barring the rare bag of Lipton's Soup Secrets soups. The Progresso soup sat for at least 2 months before I got around to trying it. When I did, I was very impressed with it.

The soup comes fully prepared. You don't have to add anything to it. All you have to do is heat it up. You can heat it up in pot on a stove or in a microwavable bowl like I do in a microwave oven. If you microwave it, it takes a maximum of 4 minutes to heat up and, you must cover the bowl with some kind of covering.

Progresso soups come in a wide range of soups. I don't know the exact number but, I would guess based on what I saw at a Weis Supermarket that there are at least 30 different kinds of their soups. Some can be used those on Weight Watchers programs (I've had at least one of those). Price wise, it can vary depending on where you get them. I've seen as cheap as $1 a can and as much $2.19 a can at Weis though in their defense, Weis offers one of the best selection of the soups I've seen. The cheapest place I've seen barring the base commissary I use sometimes is Dollar Tree. They offer the soups for $1 of course. However, their selection is extremely limited. I've never seen them have more than 2 of them if they have them at all. Also, the selection they offer can change depending on what kind of deal they can offer on them at the time. I bought a good corn chowder soup from the Laurel, Maryland store one time and later, they weren't offering it anymore. In the middle of road price wise is WalMart which offers the soups for $1.50 a can and has a good selection though not as good as Weis. Sam's Club and BJ's offer the soups for around $1.30 a can but, their selection can be very limited too. I think BJ's only offered 4 different soups when I checked them out and 2 of them were closer to $1.50 a can because, they were fancier soups vice the cheaper New England clam chowder. For those who need to watch their sodium intake, Progresso offers low sodium versions of some of their soups.

Another plus about the Progresso soups is they take part in the Box Tops for Education program. Every can you buy has a coupon attached worth 10 cents for your school if it participates in the program. The program helps schools get needed school supplies. One down side to these coupons is they must be turned before their expiration date. Cases of the soups come with a 9th coupon (I believe i.e. I'm not 100% certain on this).

Overall, I've been really pleased with Progresso soups. Their hearty soups and can form part of a nutritious meal. If you like a little zing in your soup, some of them have it. I tried their Southwest black bean and vegetable soup and, it had some zing though not overly so. They're easy to prepare and have good shelf life (close to a year I think though do check the best by date on the bottom of the can). I would definitely recommend them. Bon appetit all!

Update May 18, 2016: For some unknown to me reason, the price on Progresso soups has really jumped. What I used to be able to buy for a $1 at the commissary I shop at, now costs $2. There has been a big price jump at Walmart too. Oh and forget about buying their soups anymore at Dollar Tree. I had a fluke find at one of their stores and was so delighted, I bought every can they had. Otherwise, I haven't been able to find at any Dollar Tree store in at least a couple months. I still really like these soups but, I don't like the higher prices. :-(

Norwegian Jarlesberg Cheese Review

BJ's Wholesale Club sells a Norwegian Jarlesberg cheese under the brand name Wellsley Farms. The cheese is a semi-soft part skim cheese. It's a firm slightly nutty flavored cheese that is sold in various triangular wedges for $5.39 a pound. The cheese is legitimately Norwegian as it's made by TINE SA in Oslo, Norway and distributed in the United States by Norseland Inc out of Darien, Connecticut.

Calorie wise, a 1 ounce serving has 100 calories of which 80 of those are fat. The cheese is a very good source of calcium (no surprise considering it is made of milk). Interestingly, the cheese is lactose free as well as gluten free. The cheese does have a rind which is easily peeled off.

Overall, I think is a good cheese. I don't know if it's available at other stores though I would think it would be. I've bought wedges of this cheese twice and enjoyed it both times. It apparently has a decent shelf life. The wedge I bought today supposedly would be good till August though the cheese must be refrigerated at all times. If you see this cheese in the store you frequent, you might want to try it. It's great as a snack or on a sandwich. Bon appetit all!

Source of information I mention in this blog came from the wedge I bought today at BJ's Wholesale Club in Columbia, Maryland with my own money i.e. no compensation. Further information on this cheese can be obtained at their website: www.jarlesbergusa.com. All opinions in this blog entry are MY own and are NOT representative of BJ's Wholesale Club, TINE SA or Norseland Inc.

Famosa Lager Beer Review

I haven't done a beer review in quite a while so here goes.

Unlike other foreign beers that are sold in the United States (U.S.) (a number of them aren't like Sapporo and Fosters), Famosa Lager (Gallo, don't know why I should include that) is actually brewed in Guatemala City, Guatemala and imported to the U.S. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells 12 ounce 12 packs in cans for $9.99 U.S. which I think is a decent price for that much foreign (to those us in the U.S.) beer. The beer is classified as a Euro pale lager.

The beer has a crisp and not bitter taste. I find it a decent lager. Plus, it reminds me of my Panama Canal cruise with Royal Caribbean International. One of the ports my ship (Legend of the Seas) called at was Puerto Quetzal which is a container port which Guatemala apparently uses for cruise ships too. From there, I took an excursion to Antigua Guatemala which was a pretty interesting town.

Anyway, while visiting there, I remember seeing advertising for Famosa Lager but, I didn't get around to trying it while I was there. However, I did make amends once I got back to the U.S. and did get to try it. It's a decent beer. I've had worse. I remember one in Peru that was pure piss water but, that's another story which I'll spare you for now.

Overall, I think Famosa Lager is a decent foreign beer which Total Wine & More offer at a good price. If you want to try a decent beer from a country you've probably never been to, you might want to give it a go. Happy and responsible drinking all!

Gold Hard Cash Scratch Off Game Review

On September 21, 2015, the Maryland Lottery introduced it's Gold Hard Cash scratch off game. The game offers 6 top prizes of $100,000 none of which have been claimed at the time of this post (Source: Maryland Lottery website). The tickets sell for $10 and the OVERALL (you could do better and you could do worse) odds are 1 in 3.42 (Source: the ticket I bought with my OWN money). Prizes are: $10, $15, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $10,000 and the top prize - $100,000.

The ticket has 3 different games.

In the upper right hand corner, you have instant win window where you win any prize that shows up in the window.

In the main part of the ticket, you get 5 numbers that you try to match. You win whatever prize under the number you main. There is also an instant win symbol - a bag of money with a dollar sign on it where you win whatever prize is below it.

The 3rd game on the ticket is where you scratch the entire area in the bottom of the ticket and see if any gold bar symbols come up.

Get 1 gold bar, you win $10.
Get 2 gold bars, you win $50
Get 3 gold bars, you win $100

Other top prizes are $10,000 and $1,000. The game started with 15 $10,000 prizes but at the time of this post, 5 had been claimed so, there are 10 left. The started with 28 $1,000 prizes but at the time of this post, 6 of these had been claimed so, there are 22 of these left (Source: Maryland Lottery website).

Overall, it's a decent scratch off game. It's more expensive than Maryland Lottery's $1, $3 or $5 but cheaper then their $20 games. There are lots of tickets out there so, it should be easy to find.

Lastly, please remember to gamble responsibly. The odds aren't in your favor. Good luck!

Review of Dollar Tree's Anti-gravity Ballpoint Pen

One semi good deal you can find at Dollar Tree stores is it's anti-gravity ballpoint pen. By anti-gravity, they mean you can write at any angle like you can with a Fisher Space Pen. Both pens use the same technology i.e. a pressurized ink cartridge. The pen doesn't state what it's temperature ranges are like the Fisher Space pen but, I would think it would still work in very cold and very hot temperatures because of the pressurization forcing the ink out. The pen comes at a significant savings compared to a Fisher Space pen. Dollar Tree sells the pen for $1 whereas the cartridge for the Fisher Space pen costs $5 alone.

One downside to the pen and why I call this a semi good deal is you can't get new cartridges for the pen as far as I know though I plan to keep looking. Nor can you put a Fisher Space pen cartridge in the pen to replace the spent cartridge it came with. The Fisher Space pen cartridge isn't long enough even with the extender it comes with for certain click pens like Parker pens.

The cartridge in the pen comes in standard black ink. The pen comes in 2 designs apparently and 2 different colors - gray and black. Advertising on the box can be a little over the top as there isn't any cruise control with the pen.

Overall, the pen is a pretty good deal BUT, I'd really like to be able to get cartridges that would work with the pen. I hate throwing away a perfectly good pen just because the cartridge is used up. I still hope to find replacement cartridges for it. Happy writing all!

Maryland Lottery Wizard of Oz Game Review

For those who like or love the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) classic movie "Wizard of Oz," you might like the new $5 scratch off game the Maryland Lottery launched on September 21, 2015. The tickets show characters from the beloved movie and has that theme. The game offers six top prizes of $50,000. Other big prizes offered are $5,000 (12 of them) and $1,000 (50 of them). All the top prizes are up for grabs at the time of this post except for 1 of the $1,000 prizes. The game is like a slot machine game in that you have 2 columns of 7 chances each in rows. You scratch off a row in the column and, you win the prize at the end of the row if you get 3 alike symbols or you win five times the prize shown if you hit a tornado symbol among the 3 symbols (I'm not sure if the 2 other symbols must be the same, the ticket I got isn't clear about that point). Odds of winning OVERALL (you can do better and you can do worse, I have it had happen both ways for me personally) are 1 in 3.61. The game does qualify for lottery rewards points and has the box in the lower right hand corner that you can scan at the ticket seller or on the new Maryland Lottery Rewards app that lets you scan scratch off tickets with your smart phone and see if you're a winner or enter them for reward points (it's a pretty handy app and it's FREE). Overall, it's a decent game. If you like or love the movie, you might enjoy playing this game. Disclaimer: I'm not associated in any way with the Maryland Lottery and all opinions expressed here are my own. All statistics stated here came either from the Maryland Lottery website (www.mdlottery.com) or from the ticket I got on my own. Please do remember to gamble responsibly and good luck to any of my readers!

Maryland Lottery Royal Gems Game Review

Six days ago, the Maryland Lottery launched its latest $1,000,000 prize scratch off game called Royal Gems. Like all $1,000,000 prize ($50,000 a year paid over 20 years, a lump sum is available but will be less than $1,000,000) games, the tickets cost $20 each. The game offers an instant winner at the upper left of the corner under a gem studded throne. Scratch any amount under that and, you win it instantly. In the main part of the ticket, you get 5 numbers where you can match between 1 and all 5. Here, they offer another instant win. If you scratch a 5X symbol, you win 5 times the prize shown below example: scratch a 5X symbol and have reveal a $100 prize, you actually win $500. Top prizes offered are $1,000,000 (3 of them), $50,000 (5 of them), $10,000 (20 of them), $5,000 (25 of them) and $1,000 (283 of them of them). At the time of this post, only two $1,000 prizes had been won so, this game has LOTS of big prizes out there. Odds of winning OVERALL (you can do better and you can do worse) in this game are 1 in 2.99. The game does qualify for Maryland Lottery Reward points and has a box you can scan at the lower right corner if you want to find out if you won anything without scratching the whole ticket. Also, thanks to this box, you can scan the ticket with Maryland Lottery's new Rewards app for smart phones and save yourself having to enter the ticket the hard way i.e. having to enter both sets of numbers. I've used the new app. It is very good and, it's FREE. Overall, the game is a decent game. If you like sparkly game tickets, you may be drawn to this game as it does sparkle. Disclaimer: I don't have any association with the Maryland Lottery. All remarks are my own. Statistics for the game came from either the ticket I bought with MY own money or the Maryland Lottery website (www.mdlottery.com). Please do remember to gamble responsibly. Good luck!

Tallinn Estonia Cruise Terminal WiFi

On August 1, 2015, I got to visit Tallinn, Estonia for the first time. I did a walking tour of the old city. It was awesome. At times, it felt like I was stepping back in time. At the end of the tour, I chose to return to the pier with the tour bus. At the pier, you can find a small building that is sort of a cruise ship terminal even though it isn't used to process people for cruises.

The small building has 2 or 3 souvenir shops including one that sells postcards and stamps. Just outside the building is a mailbox where you can mail the postcards. Throughout the building, the terminal offers free WiFi. At one end of the building is a small cafe that has tables and chairs both indoors and outdoors. The cafe offers various drinks including Estonian beer. I think the cafe also offers food though I don't remember what exactly they offered in that way. This part of the building was packed with people taking advantage of the free WiFi. I felt bad for the lady behind the cafe counter as so many of the people weren't buying anything from the cafe (it wasn't required) and yet using her tables and chairs. This was the main reason I decided to buy one of their drinks and settled on one the beers they had for sale as I thought it would be neat to try it. During my travels, I will try various foreign beers. Some can be very good like Carlsberg Dark I tried in a hotel in Arhus, Denmark and some can be basically piss water like one I had in a restaurant in Peru one time.

Overall, the WiFi at the terminal was very good. It had a good connection speed and, I liked that it was FREE. If you do a cruise into Tallinn (well worth doing), I'd recommend you take advantage of the free WiFi and maybe try one of the Estonian beers the cafe has. Happy Internet surfing all!

Neptune Internet Cafe St. Petersburg Russia

To my great surprise, as far as I can tell, there isn't any information on the Internet about the Neptune Internet Cafe located in Terminal 2 of the Marine Facade Complex (cruise ship and ferry complex) in St. Petersburg, Russia. This blog entry will give a little information on the cafe and the terminal. I personally visited this terminal during a port call at St. Petersburg, Russia from 29 to 31 July 2015 while cruising on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas.

The Marine Facade Complex is located 3 miles northwest of the city center (source: cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg) in an area of the city that is being developed by city authorities. I personally saw a number of new buildings close to the complex. The complex was finished in 2008 and comprises of 7 berths which serve 3 cruise ship terminals and 1 ferry terminal (terminal 3) (source: www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/).

According to the Marine Facade Complex webpage (www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/), all of the terminals have a cafe so, all of them may offer Internet service though I can only vouch for the cafe at terminal 2 which I personally used.

The Neptune Internet Cafe is located on the 2nd floor of terminal 2. It's a small cafe offering WiFi access for a fee and a selection of drinks (I didn't buy any so I can tell you how much they cost). I don't remember if they offered any food for sale. The cafe accepts U.S. dollars, Euros and Russian rubles (I didn't note what the charges were in Russian rubles). WiFi charges were:

$3/3 Euros for 1 hour
$5/5 Euros for 2 hours
$8/8 Euros for 24 hours continuous service

The cafe offered better WiFi prices than what were offered on Serenade of the Seas and had better connection speeds though I didn't have a meter to see just how fast the connection speeds were. I don't remember if they had terminals for use if you didn't have a WiFi capable device.

Concerning connecting to their WiFi, once you paid for how ever long you wanted to connect to their WiFi, they gave you a ticket with a username and password. The ticket told you how long you would be able to connect to the WiFi and the fee you'd paid. Lastly, there was a time limit in which you had to activate your account by. I don't know what would happen if you didn't activate it in time.

One drawback to using the cafe were the tough Russian customs rules. If you were on a cruise ship, you could visit St. Petersburg (for no more than 72 hours) without a tourist visit ($100 U.S., good for 2 years) but, you had to show a tour ticket to the Russian customs officer at the terminal. Otherwise, you weren't allowed to pass through the terminal and, you had to get through customs to be able to get to the Neptune Internet Cafe.

Another drawback is there aren't any other alternatives to the Neptune Internet Cafe that are close to the terminal. The cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg webpage has a picture of the Marine Facade Complex which if you click on the view larger map offers some excellent pictures of the complex and the area close to it. You'll see from the pictures there isn't much close by.

According to the Marine Facade Complex (see previously mentioned webpage), authorities do run buses (bus number 158) to terminal 3. If you click on directions on that webpage, they give a bus schedule. The bus runs to the Primorskaya Metro Station. Also, according to the webpage, taxis run from all the terminals though I don't have any idea how much a taxi or the bus would cost you.

Overall, I was really pleased with the Neptune Internet Cafe. The people running it were very courteous, the connection speeds were very good and, their prices were better than what were offered on my cruise ship. I would definitely recommend it and, I give it a thumbs up. I hope to use it again when I visit St. Petersburg again some time in the future. Happy Internet surfing all!

Serenade of the Seas WiFi

To provide more information on Royal Caribbean's ships, here is my review on their Serenade of the Seas WiFi.

I sailed on this ship from July 26, 2015 to August 8, 2015 though I didn't use the ship's WiFi that entire time. The reason for that was it had problems. When I first tried to log in to see what discount I would get for being Diamond with their Crown & Anchor Society (frequent cruiser program), it couldn't give me the discount. It told me I could pre-pay the plan now and see about getting the money for the discount through guest relations later - no thanks. The second time I tried to pick a plan, it wouldn't even let me into the plans. The third time I tried, it finally would give me my Diamond discount AND let me pick a plan. So, I finally signed up though I still had issues with the ship's WiFi. I tried to connect to various websites at times and, the connection was sooooo SLOW that the connection would time out. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Still, there were pluses to the ship's WiFi.

First, they were now offering unlimited time on the plans for one flat price. You could get the unlimited WiFi plan for one device which cost $20 per day. Or, you could get the unlimited WiFi plan for two devices which cost $30 total per day. If you didn't like either of those plans, your final option was getting their daily plan which was 24 hours continuous for $39.95. I thought the first two plans were better though I didn't care to give them another $10 a day for a second device. If you had a family on the cruise, the second plan would probably be worth it.

Second, there is the convenience of using the ship's WiFi. I did use the free WiFi offered at various ports but, that meant I had to have my device on hand. Often I did as I was using my new smart phone which can connect to the Internet using WiFi. Still, it was nice not having to lug around whichever device I wanted to use while visiting various ports.

Third, using the ship's WiFi gave me something to do when we were at sea. I know the Royal Caribbean comes up with lots of things to do at sea but, I find I still get bored which why I hate days at sea. Being able to surf the web then gives me something I find entertaining to do.

Overall, I felt the ship's WiFi was worth it though I still looked for free WiFi spots while in port because I found they usually offered a faster connection. I've heard about Royal Caribbean's new VOOM system and, I can't wait to try it to see if it's equal to all the hype they're putting out about that. I don't know when I'll get to cruise one of their ships that has it. My next cruise will be on their Independence of the Seas November of next year. It'll be an interesting cruise for me because, I'll be doing the opposite of what I did on it the last time I sailed on that ship. The last time I sailed on her, I boarded at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and left the ship early at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This time, I'll board at Philipsburg, St. Maarten and depart at Ft. Lauderdale. Also, it'll be my first cruise as Diamond Plus. I'm curious to see what discounts you get at that level.

FYI, for Diamond members, the discount was $39.95 which would could be applied toward your bill if you got one of the first two plans or you could get one 24 hour continuous period for free.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mint Creams Review

A month ago (I think), while visiting the Pikesville, Maryland Trader Joe's, I noticed and decided to try their Dark Chocolate Mint Creams. The creams come in 10 ounce plastic containers and sell for $3.99. They're shaped like the Tootsie Roll Junior Mint candy only bigger.

Taste wise, the creams have a wonderful creamy mint center that is deliciously minty. The dark chocolate that covers them gives a nice contrast to the creamy center.

Calorie wise, 6 of the cremes have 170 calories (normal serving size) with 40 fat calories and zero trans fats.

Overall, I think this is an excellent product and, people who like mint candy will like Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mint Creams. I give them a big thumbs up!

White Cheddar Popcorners Review

I like Popcorners (snacking chips made out of popcorn) a lot so, I was looking forward to trying this flavor of this snack. The Laurel, Maryland Dollar Tree store had 3 ounce bags of the white cheddar flavor for a $1.

I found I wasn't impressed with the flavor. I don't know if it just doesn't go well with the popcorners themselves but, it just wasn't very good in my opinion. I plan to try other flavors of popcorners ( barring Kettle which I think I reviewed and gave a thumbs up) and see if they're any better.

Overall, I give this flavor a thumbs down though I still very much Popcorners overall. Bon Appetit all!

Addition Date 9/10/2015: I forgot to put in the calorie information for the flavor of Popcorners. It's 130 calories for each 1 ounce serving (source: nutrition information on the bag). Apparently, the flavoring adds an additional 10 calories per serving compared to the kettle flavor which has 120 calories per serving.

Also, yesterday, I visited the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store and, they carry all the flavors of Popcorners except butter. I'll be writing reviews later on the sweet chili, caramel, cheesy jalapeno and sea salt flavors.

Harborside Raspberry Iced Tea Review

While shopping at the Laurel, Maryland Dollar Tree store, I stumbled upon some Harborside Raspberry Iced Tea. As I like iced tea, I decided to try it. Like most things at Dollar Tree, the 2 liter bottles sell for a $1. The iced tea uses black tea, natural flavoring, high fructose corn syrup to sweeten it, potassium sorbate and potassium benzoate to preserve it and some other chemicals whose purpose I don't know.

Taste wise, it's ok. I suspect the main thing with this ice tea is it's cheap. It's a decent iced tea that can be had for a very reasonable price.

Overall, I think I would prefer Arizona Iced Tea over this because it doesn't have all the chemicals including the preservatives. However, you will pay more for Arizona Iced Tea. I think a gallon of it was $2.29 at a base commissary close by (I'll find out the specific price and correct this later). If you want a cheap iced tea, Harborside Raspberry Iced Tea might be for you. Lastly, I believe it does come in another flavor though I don't remember what that flavor is (will find out later and correct that too). Happy drinking all.

Trader Joe's Maple Water Review

Another product I decided to try at Trader Joe's while shopping at their Pikesville, Maryland store is maple water. The water is the sap that runs out of sugar maple trees in late winter/early spring. The sap is boiled down and turned into maple syrup. Trader Joe's sells the water/sap in 32 ounce containers for $2.99.

I expected a maple taste and some kind of dark coloring as you see in maple syrup. To my surprise, the maple flavor was extremely faint and, there wasn't any kind of color in the water. The water at times was clear. However, each 8 ounce glass of the water still has 25 calories and gives you 30% of your daily requirement of manganese. So, the water is good for you.

Overall, I thought this product was neat for its novelty. I won't rush out to buy more as I can hydrate myself more cheaply with Powerade or Gatorade. You might want to buy some if you think it would be neat to try some maple water/sap. Happy drinking all!

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies Review

While visiting the Pikesville, Maryland Trader Joe's, I noticed they had Maple Leaf Cookies for sale. The cookies are a sandwich type cookie. You have a white maple creme center sandwiched by 2 maple leaf shaped cookies. The cookies come in a 11.4 ounce box and, there are approximately 14 cookies in each box. Each cookie has 110 calories. Trader Joe's sell the cookies for $3.29.

I found I liked the maple flavor of the creme center and, the maple leaf shaped outer cookies added a nice touch.

Overall, I was pleased with these cookies. I think they're reasonably priced and have a nice maple flavor (they use real maple syrup in them). If you like maple flavored cookies, you'll probably like these. I would recommend them. Bon Appetit!

Breckenridge Farms Kosher Baby Bills Pickles Review

Dollar Tree Stores offer a number of Breckenridge Farms products. One of them is their kosher baby dills pickles. The pickles come in a 17 ounce glass jar and have approximately 15 pickles per jar. Calorie wise, they are low in calories coming at 5 calories a piece for every 1 and a half pickles. Taste wise, these are pretty good pickles. They do have a nice kosher dill taste to them. Price wise, like the majority of items at Dollar Tree, they cost $1 per jar which I think is a pretty good deal.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with these pickles and plan to buy more of them. I'd definitely recommend them to people who like pickles. Unlike other products at Dollar Tree, you should be able to find these at most of their stores. Bon Appetit!

Minute Maid Soft Frozen Orangeade Review

While looking around Laurel, Maryland Dollar Tree store, I noticed they had Minute Maid frozen orangeade cups for sale. As I'd never tried these before, I thought I'd give them a try.

The cups come in 12 fluid ounces, have 320 calories per cup and impressively are 28% juice. Like almost everything at Dollar Tree, they sell for $1.

The taste of these cups is very good. I think they would be particularly refreshing on a hot day and since they're 28% juice, I suspect they're good for you.

Strangely, when I checked Minute Maid's website, they didn't say anything about a frozen orangeade product. I don't know if the cup I tried is a product they're phasing out or what their availability might be. So, you might not be able to find them at your local Dollar Tree store.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent product worthy of the Minute Maid name. If you can find them, I'd definitely recommend them. Minute Maid makes a frozen lemonade cup which also may not be available widely. I plan to review that later. For now, happy scooping this frozen treat!

Bar S Chicken Franks Review

One of the cheap food items you can find at Dollar Tree Stores are Bar S Chicken Franks i.e. hot dogs. The stores sell the 12 ounce/8 hot dogs packs for $1.

The hot dogs are decent tasting, easily microwavable and not super fattening (110 calories per hot dog with 80 coming from fat). They must be refrigerated and, they have a shelf life of about 3 months (guesstimating based on one of the packs I bought).

Per the pack I bought, each hot dog has 440 milligrams of salt (18% of your daily requirement), 50 milligrams of cholesterol and 3 grams of saturated fat.

Overall, I think Bar S chicken franks are ok. The big thing with them in this case is their CHEAP. Like I said, Dollar Tree Stores sells them for $1 per pack which I think is a good deal. If you want some CHEAP hot dogs, these are worth checking out. Bon Appetit!

Hoover's Barrel Root Beer Review

While shopping recently at the Laurel, Maryland Dollar Tree store, I noticed they had 3 liter plastic bottles of various Stars & Stripes (made by Cott Beverages Inc in Tampa, Florida) soda for sale. Stars & Stripes calls their root beer Hoover's Barrel root beer. They claim it has "Great Taste!". I decided to try it for myself and see.

I found the root beer does taste good and isn't loaded with calories (each 8 ounce glass has 60 calories). It has another plus in that it doesn't have any caffeine unlike Barq's root beer. Also, it has a price plus. Like everything at Dollar Tree, the 3 liter bottles sell for $1. That said, I did discover some negatives in my opinion.

The soda has a fair amount of chemicals in it including potassium benzoate which it uses at a preservative and aspartame i.e. nutrasweet. One reason I suspect the soda tastes good is because they give you a double dose of sweetener in each glass. The soda also use high fructose corn syrup which is another negative in my book. I prefer cane sugar.

Overall, Hoover's Barrel root beer is decent tasting root beer at a great price though I am leery of the various chemicals they use in it. Personally, I'd prefer Virgil's root beer which is all natural over this even though you will pay a LOT more for Virgil's (a 12 ounce bottle will cost you a $1 or more). Still, if you want to save money, you might want to give this soda a try. It is good tasting stuff.

Source: information on this soda used in this blog entry came from the bottle of the soda I bought. I didn't receive any kind of remuneration for this article and don't have any connection with Cott Beverages.

Dr Best Soda Review

While shopping at the Columbia, Maryland Wegman's store, I noticed that they had a soda called Virgil's Dr. Better (made by Reed's Inc.). As I understood it, this was their version of the classic soda Dr. Pepper. While I'm not a big fan of Dr. Pepper, I decided to try this soda.

It comes in 12 ounce bottles in 4 bottle cartons and sells for $3.99 at Trader Joe's (see note) and Wegman's (if they have it, the Columbia, Maryland store doesn't at the time of this review).

The soda has no caffeine unlike Dr. Pepper, uses unbleached cane sugar unlike Dr. Pepper which uses high fructose corn syrup and has no preservatives unlike Dr. Pepper which uses sodium benzoate. All of these are pluses in my book.

Taste wise, I compared the two and, I feel (for what it's worth) that Dr. Best has a smoother and creamier taste than Dr. Pepper making it the better of the two sodas.

The only down side to Dr. Best is it is more expensive. This is a gourmet soda made with the finest ingredients (supposedly) and, you pay more for that.
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Overall, I'd definitely recommend this soda if you like Dr. Pepper. It is very good. Happy Drinking all!

Note: Per this post by Trader Joe's dated August 21, 2014 http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/virgils-dr-better, you can expect to pay $4.49 for a 4 pack of this soda in West Coast, Pacific Northwest and Southwestern parts of the United States of America.

Breckenridge Farms Kosher Sandwich Slices Review

Until I visited the Jessup, Maryland Dollar Tree store, I'd never heard of Breckenridge Farms or their products. As everything in the Dollar Tree stores is $1, I decided to try their Kosher Sandwich Slices. Their sandwiches slices are long slices of kosher pickles. The slices are ideal for putting on top of a sandwich giving it a bit of crunch. The slices come in 17 ounce jars which have to be refrigerated after opening. The pickles surprisingly come from India and are imported into the United States by a company called Greenbrier International Incorporated. Presumably, that company in turns supplies them to the Dollar Tree Store chain though I don't know if they're available at all Dollar Tree stores.

Overall, the slices are decent pickles which are handy for sandwiches. The biggest plus of these pickle slices is their price - $1. For that alone, if you like pickles, you might find these worth trying if they're in your local Dollar Tree store. I don't know if other store chains sell this brand or not though if they do, I haven't noticed them. Bon Appetit!

Maryland Lottery's Amazing 8's Scratch Off Game

Another new game the Maryland Lottery introduced on June 22, 2015 was their Amazing 8's scratch off game. The game costs $5 a ticket and offers a top prize of $50,000. Odds of winning overall are 1 in 3.71 (per the lottery ticket I got on my own). Remember those are the overall odds i.e. you can do better and you can do WORSE.

The game offers 2 instant win chances. On the left of the ticket, if you scratch a single $ symbol in that box/spot, you win instantly win $8. On the right of the ticket, there is another box where if you scratch a double $$ symbol, you win $88. Below the instant win boxes, you get 4 numbers and 16 chances to match them 1 to 4 of them. If you match any of the numbers, you win the prize below the matching number.

Note: Considering the name of the game, I would've thought they would had a instant win where you scratched an 8, you would've won the prize below it BUT, they didn't do that for some reason.

Prizes run from $5 to $50,000 with six $50,000 (see note about first big winner below) prizes, eighteen $8,888 prizes and thirty $1,000 prizes out there (at the time of this post).

One couple in Frederick, Maryland according to the Maryland Lottery website became the first big winners on this game when they hit a $50,000. They claimed their prize on June 29th.

Losing tickets do qualify for Lottery Reward points. The tickets have a prize check box for those that don't want to have to scratch the whole ticket.

Overall, I'm not wiped out with this game. The only thing really good I can say about it is it is cheap relatively to play i.e. $5 a pop. Personally, I'd rather spend the $20 and play for a million dollars (for 4 times the money, 20 times the cash). Anyway, good luck to any Maryland Lottery players who read this latest post.

Maryland Lottery's Hit It Big Scratch Off Game

On June 22, 2015, Maryland Lottery launched it's newest $1 million dollar prize scratch off game. The game is called Hit It BIG. The game offers 3 $1 million dollar prizes (the $1 million dollar prize is paid over 20 years in an annuity, a lump sum payment is available BUT the winner will receive less than $1 million dollars in that case) as well as prizes of $50,000, $10,000, $5,000, $1,000 and lesser amounts. At the time of this posting, all the big prizes are up for grabs i.e. none have been claimed.

The game features 2 different games on each ticket. In the first game, you have the standard 6 numbers where you try to match any or all of them in the 21 numbers beneath them. There is an instant win chance. When you see the word BIG, you win the prize below it. In the second game, you have 7 dice rolls. If your dice add up to 7 or 11, you win the prize below them. This game also has an instant win chance on it. If you see on any of the dice the symbol DBL, you win double the prize below it.

The odds of winning in this game are 1 in 2.97. Please remember, this is the OVERALL odds. You can do better and, you can do WORSE. I've personally seen both.

The game is eligible for lottery reward points. There isn't any kind of 2nd chance drawing with this game.

Overall, it's an all right game. Personally, I like the Instant Millionaire game better as you can find out a lot faster if you won something (see my review on that game).

Do remember to gamble responsibly. The odds are not in your favor of hitting it rich.

Lastly, all information for the review came from the game ticket I bought with my OWN money and the game page on the Maryland Lottery website. I don't have any connection with the Maryland Lottery and any opinions on this review are my own. Good luck!

Review of Toby's 1776 The Musical Show

This past Sunday, I went to Toby's of Columbia (there's one in Baltimore too) to see their production of 1776 The Musical. I've never this musical before so, I had to no idea what to expect barring that it was about the founding fathers of the United States.

Before the show began, Toby's serves a fine meal included with the price. For my matinee show, it cost $53.00. My server's name was Coleen who worked on the lighting for the show. One of the really neat things about Toby's is that your waiter or waitress will have some part in the show be it performing or handling sound or lights. Coleen did a fine job of serving ensuring my ice tea never went empty.

Food wise, Toby's started with a fine salad bar then went to the main course. As this was a matinee show, there were a number of breakfast items like sausage, bacon and eggs as well as some lunch or dinner items like ham, roast turkey breast and roast beef. For dessert, they had a make your own sundae bar.

Show wise, the show had some nice songs as well as funny jokes. It also made a serious point that our founding fathers while great men were men all the same with faults. Many would suffer during the Revolutionary War. It was no joke when they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Those that signed the Declaration of Independence knew if caught, they could be tried and hung for treason, something the show hit upon.

Overall, Toby's version of 1776 was a very enjoyable experience. It you're into the history of the American Revolutionary War, you should enjoy this show. The show runs through July 5, 2015. Toby's of Columbia is located right next to Merriweather Post Pavilion.

BJ's Wholesale Club Review

Today, I did a review on BJ's Discount Warehouse Club on Living Social. I bought my membership through them as I felt they offered a real good on it. You got a 1 year membership (which normally costs $50 though I have seen them offer them for $25) and a $25 gift card for $35.

This is the first time I've belonged to their club though I have bought stuff from them years ago (pickled pepperoncini peppers).

Living Social gave me 2 ratings to choose from: great and not great. To me, BJ's doesn't rate either. BJ's rate as ok, middle of the road. They have some very good products that apparently they only sell vice Costco and Sam's Club (which I also belong to) like Belle Sole Cooked and Marinated Asparagus (see my review on it) as well as Virgil's Root Beer Party Keg (see my review on it).

Membership price wise, BJ's seems on par with the other 2 clubs. Like the other 2 clubs, they offer an elevated membership where you get a 1 or 2 percent back reward though I suspect you'd have to buy a lot of stuff there to make that worth it (I don't).

Customer Service is pretty good too. I had to deal with them today to get my latest coupon booklet and, I was very pleased with how courteous they were.

One big downside in my book is they seem to be chintzy with their specials. You'll only be able to get one whereas you might be able to get 3, 4 or more at Costco or Sam's Club. Example: Both BJ's and Costco had Magnum Double Caramel Bars on special. BJ's allowed you to get one at their special price. Costco allowed you to get 3 or 4 (I forget the exact number). So, they don't wow me on this.

BJ's does offer free WiFi at their clubs though I've had a hard time connecting to it when I've tried to use it unlike Sam's Club which seems to work better. Costco doesn't offer WiFi at all for some reason (annoying that).

They sell terminal lottery tickets like Mega Millions and Powerball at one check out counter and have a scratch off ticket machine that sells various scratch lottery games. For some reason, neither Costco or Sam's Club sell any kind of lottery tickets. For me, this is a plus as I do like to play the scratch off games.

Overall, I've been pleased with BJ's but not wowed. I think they're ok and depending on which club is close by, they could be worth joining in your case. They are definitely cheaper than standard supermarkets (I found that out recently when I bought some Lloyd's Bar-b-que ribs at Giant). Keep an eye out for deals on their memberships and when you see one, try it for 1 year and see what you think. I think they do offer enough to make it worth being a member. I know I'll be renewing next year even though I'm not keen on belonging to THREE clubs. Jeez. Happy shopping all!

Trader Joe's Sweet Tea Review

Today, I stopped by the Trader Joe's at 6610 Marie Curie Drive in Elkridge, Maryland (close to Columbia). I wanted to buy another 1 gallon jug of their Sweet Tea so, I could write this review.

According to Trader Joe's, the sweet black tea is kettle brewed (I don't know what difference that makes) and sweetened with cane sugar vice high fructose corn syrup. I do like that they use cane sugar with it. I'm not a fan of the corn syrup Coco-Cola uses in their soft drinks.

Price wise, it sells for $3.99 for a 1 gallon jug of the tea which seems a decent enough price to me though I couldn't tell you how that stacks up compared to other packaged sweet teas.

Taste wise, the tea isn't overly sweet. I think McDonald's sweet tea might be sweeter. This disappoints me a little as it is supposed to be SWEET tea.

Overall, I think Trader Joe's Sweet Tea is ok. It isn't outstanding and, it's terrible. It's more in the middle i.e. decent stuff. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy (though I did in this case solely so I could write this review) the stuff but, I wouldn't turn it down if a glass was offered to me. I'd recommend the same to you. It's decent sweet tea. Happy sipping all!

Trader Joe's Pomegranate White Tea Review

Another Trader Joe's tea I decided to try recently is their Pomegranate White Tea. The tea calls itself an "antioxidant powerhouse." It gets its antioxidants from the white tea part of the blend. At the same time, the white tea doesn't give a huge caffeine high. White tea in general is a very weak tea with a very faint flavor to it. In this case, the pomegranate extract Trader Joe's uses in the tea totally overpowers the white tea flavor though this isn't a bad thing. The pomegranate extract actually in my opinion gives it a better taste than if it were a straight white tea. As far as their antioxidant claim, I don't know how I could tell if that is true or not.

Price wise, the tea is very reasonable. A box of 20 tea bags costs $2.49 (this is the price I paid at their Elkridge, Maryland store).

The tea has 94% organic ingredients including organic white tea leaves, organic hibiscus flowers and organic lemongrass (Source: the box of the tea I bought) and is certified organic by the Quality Assurance International. The tea is made in Canada.

Trader Joe's recommends customers brew a bag of the tea for 4 to 5 minutes and sweeten if they so desire though I didn't feel it needed it.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with this tea. I like the pomegranate taste and appreciate the antioxidant benefits it gives drinking it. Also, I like the low caffeine levels. It's a tea worth checking out when you're visiting your local Trader Joe's store. Happy drinking all!

Belle Sole Grilled & Marinated Asparagus Review

Back in February, Living Social offered a great deal on a BJ's Warehouse Club membership. Because of that, I decided to take the deal and join BJ's. As I had no idea what they had, I walked around their Columbia, Maryland warehouse club and discovered Belle Sole Grilled & Marinated Asparagus. As I really like asparagus, I decided to buy a jar of it and see if it was any good.

I found the asparagus thanks to the marinade has a really nice flavor. Thanks to Belle Sole not overcooking the asparagus, the asparagus still has some crunch left in it. I don't care for limp asparagus. Belle Sole also earns points with me in that they tell you how much dry weight i.e. actual asparagus you get in each jar (1 pound .75 ounces) which weighs 2 pounds 2.2 ounces.

Price wise, BJ's offers this fine product at what I think is a very good price i.e. $6.99. I liked the price so much, I went back and bought 4 more jars of it.

Another interesting thing to me personally is the product is made in Peru. I have fond memories of Peru from my Globus Legacy of the Incas tour there. That the product in Peruvian made another point with me.

Overall, I was really pleased with Belle Sole's grilled & marinated asparagus. It has good flavor, the asparagus is crunchy and, BJ's offers it as a very good price. It can serve as a nice side dish to a meal or as a nutritious snack. This is one product I'd definitely recommend if you like asparagus. I give this product a big thumbs up. Bon Appetit!

Update: Yesterday (June 5, 2015), I visited the Columbia BJ's and to my great displeasure found out the BJ's there no longer has this product. I don't know where else you may find it as I've never seen it at Sam's Club or Costco. I would recommend this product if you can find it.

Update: June 7, 2015: I decided to drive out to the BJ's at Owings Mills, Maryland to see if they have this product. To my delight, they do however, if you want to buy some, you may want to move fast as they don't have many jars left. I don't know if they'll be putting out any more.  I discovered another nice thing about this product. It has a long shelf life. According to the use by date on the lid, this product stays good for something like 2 years!

Trader Joe's Rooibos & Honeybush Tea Review

I haven't written a review on a Trader Joe's product in a while so, I thought I'd do one.

Around March 13th of this year, Trader Joe's came out with a new product called Rooibos & Honeybush tea. The tea combines 2 traditional South African teas - Rooibos and Honeybush. Both are supposed to have a slightly sweet taste with the honeybush the sweeter of the two. Rooibos helps provide healthy antioxidants while having none of the caffeine of real tea.

Price wise, Trader Joe's is selling a 20 tea bag box of the tea for $2.49 in Maryland. According to the post they posted (http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/organic-fairtrade-rooibos-honeybush-tea), prices may be different in other parts of the United States.

Brewing time (per one of the tea bags in the box I bought) is 6 minutes for 1 tea bag, 8 minutes for a pot of the tea (put in 1 tea bag per person and 1 for the pot).

Taste wise, I didn't think the tea tasted much different from a straight up Rooibos tea. I found I like Trader Joe's Spiced Rooibos (also known as Ruby Red Chai) better though they may have stopped making their Spiced Rooibos (I haven't been able to find it in 2 different stores in Maryland).

Lastly, the tea is organic and Fair trade i.e. South African farmers are paid a fair wage for its production.

Overall, I thought this is a decent product though not a great one. There are other Rooibos teas out there that are just as good so, I wouldn't go out of your way to get this product. Happy sipping all!

Costco's Master Carve Ham Review

Recently, I bought my third Costco's Master Carve Ham. I confess I've been very pleased with these hams. The hams are very easy to carve as they're pretty much flat. Other pluses to them are they're fully cooked, boneless, applewood smoked and come with as 12 ounce packet of red currant ham glaze though I've never tasted or used the glaze.

Price wise, I think they're a good deal. Costco sells them for $2.69 a pound. Shelf life wise, they seem to last up to 5 or 6 weeks depending on when you buy it from Costco. One down side I've found is that they're not available at all Costco stores though you can order one on-line (I haven't tried this).

Overall, I've been very pleased with this ham and would definitely recommend it if you like ham. It's easy to cut, ready to serve and lasts a while. Bon Appetit!

Virgil's Root Beer Party Keg Review

Last month, while shopping at the Columbia, Maryland BJ's Wholesale Club, I notice a pallet load of Virgil's Root Beer Party Kegs. I'd seen them before at the Columbia, Maryland Wegman's. This time, I decided to get one. The aluminum keg cost $10.99 and has 1.32 gallons/5 liters of their root beer. There are directions on the top of the keg that tells the 3 steps for operating it. First, you have to air the keg. You twist a red plastic switch on the top of the keg to do that. Second, you pull the red tap out of the keg all the way till it stops coming out. Lastly, you twist the tap till it starts pouring root beer. It's pretty simple.

Before you do those 3 steps, you should chill the root beer keg. The keg is small enough to fit inside a refrigerator.

Price wise, this keg could save you money. Wegman's is selling 4 pack 12 ounce bottles of Virgil's root beer for $1 a piece. As each keg has the equivalent of 14 bottles, you'll save $3 on of these kegs. Another plus of these kegs is you have less waste to throw out. Lastly, you can have the amount of root beer you want. Feel like just a smidgen of root beer, no problem with this keg. Like wise if you feel like having an extra large glass of this gourmet root beer.

The root beer itself is very good and prides itself on its fine ingredients that come from all over the world such as vanilla from Madagascar and cinnamon from Ceylon. Also, it uses pure cane sugar vice cheaper corn syrup.

Personally, I found I really enjoyed pulling myself a glass of root beer from the keg. I suspect kids would really enjoy this too. I'd definitely recommend this product. The only problem you may have with this product is finding it. I know Wegman's says it has limited availability i.e. not all their stores offer it (sadly). Happy drinking all!

Update June 7, 2015: the price has gone up on the keg at BJ's for some reason. Now, it costs $12.49. Also, you can buy a keg at their Owings Mills, Maryland store as well as their Columbia, Maryland store. However, you might want to move quickly if you plan to buy one at the Owings Mill store as they only have about 35 to 40 kegs left.

Update July 1, 2015: From July 2 to 15, 2015, BJ's has a coupon in what I consider it's 4th of July specials that will save you $2 on any Virgil's or Reed's soda. This obviously means you can save $2 on one of these root beer kegs till July 15th. Also, their Columbia, Maryland store has a decent supply of the kegs. While visiting that store, I walked by where they're located and, they have quite a few (I couldn't guess what the exact number is).

Cariloha Bamboo Throw Blanket Review

During my cruises on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas with my fabulous Aunt Marge and cool Uncle Dave this past January/February, I made it a point to stop at the Nassau, Bahamas and Key West, Florida Cariloha stores. I really like their bamboo products even though they do tend to be more expensive then conventional ones. While visiting their Nassau store, I discovered that Cariloha had come out with a bamboo blanket. The blanket is made of 50% bamboo fiber and 50% polyester. Like all of their bamboo products, the blankets are incredibly soft. As I needed an extra blanket to keep me warm during the past winter months, I decided to get one.

The blankets come in 3 colors: harbor gray, sand and ocean blue. As blue tends to be my favorite color, I went with the ocean blue. Price wise, the blankets sold for $125 at the stores though I found out you can buy them $119 on their website www.cariloha.com/bed-bath/bedding.html. The blankets measure 50" by 70". Please note there is a difference between these blankets and their bamboo knit throw blankets. Their knit throw blankets aren't as plush though they are cheaper ($89 on their website).

After trying out my blanket, I can certify that it should keep you warm on cold nights. I do think they are a little more expensive then other blankets but, I they're worth it. They are incredibly soft and come in some very nice colors. Plus, bamboo is supposedly good for the environment. Lastly, I do like Cariloha. If you're in the market for a new blanket, this is one you might want to give a look at. They are really nice.