2024 Summer Road Trip - Maryland - 2024/08/13

Continuing with our Summer 2024 Road Trip, it's time to travel into Maryland! 

Tangy Ketchup Doritos and Hot Mustard Doritos Taste Test Comparison

I love finding different Doritos flavors! My family even did a taste test with 23 different flavors! 

So, I was thrilled to find another version of that tasty corn tortilla chip. We've got some interesting flavors to try here today. 

Doritos Tangy Ketchup and Doritos Hot Mustard! 

And along with the Doritos chips, we're going to compare it to the real thing by dipping plain tortilla chips in ketchup and mustard. Will they get the flavor right? 

Both chips are in appropriately colored bags. 

Thank you Patrick for finding these and picking them up. 

Japanese Hi-Chew Taste Test

One of our favorite candies in the United States are Starbursts. Originally made in the UK in 1959, they're a delicious chewy taffy with a great flavor. 

In 1975, Hi-Chew fruit candies were made in Japan, as an edible kind of chewing gum, since spitting out gum is bad manners. Since then, over 170 different flavors have been created. During a visit to Japan, we picked up 5 different flavors we found and brought them home to try! 

There's Green Apple, Asian Pean, Grape, Strawberry, and Lemon. 

Japanese Curry Pringles - taste test comparison

One of the best parts about traveling is all the unique snacks that you can find! While we were in Japan in Fall 2023, we found a special treat by Pringles! Japanese Curry! 

These Pringles came in a pack with three snack size containers of Pringles in a fancy embossed black box. Of course when we tried them, we had to make our own curry to see how it all compared! 

Grape Milkis Taste Test - A New Flavor!

On a recent trip, after finding a Korean restaurant for dinner, we were shocked and delighted to see a brand new Milkis flavor that we've never tried before! Grape! 

We tried all of the 6 previously released flavors, including comparing the bottled Milkis to the canned Milkis, and we've even tried a Milkis knock-off called Milky Pop! How will this new one compare?

The can has a purple color to it, indicating grape I suppose. Previous cans we've seen have a woman in a dress with an umbrella being lifted away. This can design has two people on it. A man holding onto a heart balloon with a wand, and a woman in a skirt being blown away with an umbrella. 

2024 Summer Road Trip - Delaware - 2024/08/12

It's another travel day as we continue our trip across the US and try to close out our RV map. We're almost done! 

Delicious Sticks from Japan taste test

While visiting Japan, I loved looking through the shops and grocery stores for all the different treats! 

I'm relying on Google Translate to help me with the name on the package. Near as I an tell, it's something like Delicious Stick. 

These snacks are like giant puffy Cheetos! Except there's only one giant one in the package. The other thing I thought that was wild was the price! It was something like 18 Japanese Yen for one package, which is equivalent to about $0.12 each. There were four different flavors I found while I was looking. Corn Potage, Cheese, Mentai, and Vegetable Salad. 

2024 Summer Road Trip - Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari in New Jersey Day 3 and 4 - 2024/08/11-12

It's Day 3 for us going to the Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey! We've had a lot of fun so far at this park going on all the big rides. Today, we'll start with the rides and then head over to the 2nd park that's included here in New Jersey. The Six Flags Safari! 

Every Diet Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper Zero flavor taste test

We already know that Dr. Pepper is one of the best sodas there is. We know this. But what if you want that great Dr. Pepper flavor but not all the calories that go with it?

Today, we're trying to figure out, which version of zero calorie Dr. Pepper is the best. We've done something similar with Diet Mountain Dew, but that only had Diet Dew and Dew Zero. Today we're trying 7 different varieties! (correction: 8 varieties!)

We'll be trying, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper caffeine free, Dr Pepper Zero, Dr Pepper Cherry Zero, Dr Pepper Cream Soda Zero, Dr Pepper Strawberries & Creme Zero, and Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut Zero (plus Dr Pepper Zero Blackberry at the end). 

We love seeing friends and family when they visit Florida!

It's really nice living in a climate that doesn't get freezing cold in the winter. That means that all of our cold-weather friends who are looking to escape come to Florida! And if we're lucky, we get to hang out together!

2024 Summer Road Trip - Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey Day 2 - 2024/08/10

It's our 2024 Summer of Traveling to all different Six Flags parks! We're in New Jersey visiting one of the best at Six Flags Great Adventure! We were here yesterday, but there was one big coaster, the biggest one in the world, that wasn't running. If we're going to call ourselves REAL roller coaster fans, we HAVE to ride it! That's it in the background. Kingda Ka stretches 456 feet into the air. It's the tallest roller coaster in the world.  

Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps - All 8 flavors - taste test comparison

It's time for another pretzel taste test! We're doing this one with Nicole and Alfredo specifically because we do so many "sweet" taste tests and Nicole thinks we should do more savory ones. 

So today we're trying one of Theresa's favorite pretzels to snack on, the Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps. We have all 8 flavors available, not counting the chocolate covered ones or the Pop'ums which are a different thing all-together. 

The 8 flavors we'll be tasting today are: Honey Mustard & Onion, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wing, Original, Cheddar Cheese, Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper, Everything, and Cinnamon Sugar. 

Milkis versus Milky Pop taste taste comparison - Milk sodas from Korea

Over the summer, while visiting California, the family and I were walking through the local Korean grocer and found something we just had to try! 
A year before, we had taste tested all 6 flavors of Milkis (by Lotte), Korea's Number 1 Cream Soda. But this is something new! A competitor! 

Sitting on the same shelves beside our favorite Milkis is Milky Pop from Ilhwa. How will it taste? Will it be better? We must know! 

And since it's always fun to do these sorts of things with friends, I brought them along as we were invited to Scott and Karla's for dinner! The Flowers family might be biased, having tasted Milkis before, but everyone else is going into this with no prior preferences. 

Happy Valentines Day 2025 - 2025/02/14

Happy Valentines Day! It's a day where we get to show our love and affection to the people we care about in our lives! 

In years past, we've gone to Disney World to pass out valentines treats to all the cast members we saw, but this year we've let our annual passes expire and can't do that. We've got some other fun plans though. 

Alli and Ian are all dressed up for the day. The night before, they put together valentines treats bags for all their school classmates with Nerds, Gummy Bears, Skittles and more. 

Dots BBQ Pretzel Taste Test

 A little while ago, I posted a Dots Pretzel Taste Test, where we tried Original Dots Pretzels, Honey Mustard Dots Pretzels, Cinnamon Sugar Dots Pretzels, and Southwest Dots Pretzels. A short time later, I had to update it because Dots released a new flavor, Garlic Parmesan, which we all enjoyed. 

As I was walking through the store, I saw a brand new offering by Dots.

Dots BBQ seasoned pretzel twists! 
I'm surprised they've got a new flavor already. 

Nicole - Well Dot doesn't own the company anymore. More power to her, she's a millionaire now. It's Hershey and they are probably trying to make a whole line of flavors, like a chip company. 

I was waiting for them to go on sale, but Nicole went ahead to Publix and bought them. 

Nicole - The world is crazy! Buy the pretzels when you can!

Six Flags Magic Mountain - 2025/02/03

Well, it was a great race weekend at Disneyland in California. But we're not flying back to Florida until Tuesday. What should we do with our extra day here...? Well, we've got these Six Flags passes from the summer that are good at any Six Flags in the world. And I've been telling the kids how one of the best coaster parks that had some of my favorite coasters anywhere was out in California so...

Let's go to Magic Mountain! 

2025 Disneyland Half Marathon - 2025/02/02

It's so early... The Disneyland Half Marathon starts before the world wakes up to ensure the parks and roads are cleared before guests arrive for their day of fun. 

I had my alarm set for 3am, but was awake and not going back to sleep at 2:15am. Despite that, this year I'm not feeling nervous at all. My training has been solid for a year now. I'm healthy and I don't have any nagging injuries to speak of. 13.1 miles, especially 13.1 Disney miles, should be a walk in the park! 

Like the sweatshirt? I visited Goodwill a week before to pick up some clothes I could wear to keep warm and then toss before the race begins. All those clothes get collected and donated again. 

By 3:20am, I was out the door with all my gear. 

Preparing for the 2025 Disneyland Half Marathon - 2025/01/30

It's that time of year again! The beginning of January and it's time for the Disneyland Half Marathon! I've run it all the years they've held it, so of course I'll be running it again this year. One small problem is that when I started running it back in 2006, I lived in California. Now, we've moved all the way across the country to Florida! It's a bit of travel to get back!

But, bright and early on Thursday morning, we headed to the Orlando Airport. 

Lay's Honey Butter Chips taste test comparison - from Canada - flavours from Korea

During our trip to Canada earlier this year, I found so many fun things I wanted to bring back home for a taste test. When I saw these chips, I knew we'd have to give them a try. Who doesn't love Honey Butter? 

And what does Honey Butter go great on? Definitely fresh bread rolls. We're excited to try these all today!

2024 Summer Road Trip - Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey Day 1 - 2024/08/09

Well, yesterday we weren't able to make it to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey before they closed (an unscheduled 2 hours early), but today we're back and ready to see it all! 

A Cabot Popcorn Taste Test - Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, Pepper Jack Popcorn, Maple Cheddar Popcorn, and Sea Salt Caramel Cheddar Popcorn

On our recent travels to Vermont, we visited Enticement Alley, a section in Waterbury Vermont that's filled with lots of fun, food themed shops to visit. One of those shops is the Cabot Creamery, where the Cabot Cheese company sells a whole bunch of their different cheeses and cheese products! 

We've previously done a sharp cheddar cheese taste test that included 9 of their cheeses, so on this visit, I was looking for something a little different. And I think I found something that we'll all love! Popcorn!  

There's 4 different popcorn flavors to choose from: 2 savory and 2 sweet! 

Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, based on their best selling cheddar cheese. 

Pepper Jack Seasoned Cheese Popcorn, a spicier alternative. 

Maple Cheddar Popcorn. Combine sweet and savory? Oh yes, definitely looking forward to this one. 

Sea Salt Caramel Cheddar Popcorn. Caramel and cheese? Let's try it!  

2024 Summer Road Trip - New Jersey Pt 1 - 2024/08/08

It's been a lot of fun hanging out in Connecticut (and going to the nearby Six Flags New England in Massachusetts) but it's time to go to the next stop. We're just missing a few more states before we will have traveled to all of the 48 lower states! Our next stop is... New Jersey. Hmm. 

Theresa told me that my drive that morning would take us through New York, and I'd be driving the RV through the Bronx. Lovely. 

A Giant Doritos Taste Test - 23 Unique Flavors including International Flavors

It's time for a Mega Doritos Taste Test! 

"Another one?" I hear you say. Yes, another one. I was a little disappointed with the first one, only having 11 different flavors when I knew there were a whole lot more! 

So today, I have found 23 different Doritos flavors for all of us to try including unique flavors from Japan and Mexico!  

With the whole family together, it's a great time to have these giant taste tests to get lots of different opinions on all the flavors. 

That's a whole lot of chips. 

Six Flags New England Pt 2 - Connecticut - 2024/08/07

Let's continue on with our summer travel from 2024. 

Six Flags New England - Connecticut - 2024/08/06

Jumping back a little bit to continue the write-up from our summer travels. 

We're leaving Rhode Island and headed to our next stop in Connecticut! 

A Nerds Gummy Cluster taste test - 6 unique flavors - Rainbow, Grape Strawberry Blitz, Very Berry, Berry Punch Rush, Spooky, and Frosty

A few years ago, the family decided to do a giant Fruity Candy taste test to determine our very favorite fruit candy treat. We tasted 17 unique items with 53 different flavors to come up with our favorite. The winner of that taste test, with 44% of the overall votes, went to Nerds Gummy Clusters! Who doesn't love those tiny tangy and tart candies. 

Well did you know that there are more than just 1 flavor of Nerds Gummy Clusters? After collecting a few versions over a couple months, I finally had enough to have a taste test with 6 different kinds of Nerds Gummy Clusters! 

In our test today we'll try Very Berry, Rainbow, Berry Punch Rush, Frosty (Christmas), Grape Strawberry Blitz, and Spooky (Halloween). 

Barebells Protein Bar taste test - 2023/05/22

It's a new year and it's time to get healthy! When you can't get in a healthy meal, why not substitute a meal replacement protein bar! These bars from Barebells have 200 calories and 20 grams of protein each! Barebells makes quite a few different flavors, so we figured we'd buy a whole bunch of them and see which would be our new favorites. 

Today we will be trying six different flavors of Barebells Protein Bars. 

Barebells Chocolate Dough, Barebells Cookies & Cream, Barebells Salty Peanut, Barebells Caramel Cashew, Barebells Creamy Crisp, Barebells White Chocolate Almond

Queen Anne Cordial Cherry taste test - all 6 flavors!

It wouldn't be a family get together if we didn't have some big taste test together, now would it? 

A few weeks before Christmas, Patrick let me know that he'd found something that showed potential as a group taste test. Cordial Cherries! There's so many different flavors now! I'm in! Whenever there's a box of mixed chocolates, I'm always looking for the one that looks like a chocolate covered cherry. 

There's 6 exciting flavors to try! Classic Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Coconut flavor, Cherry Cola, French Vanilla, and Blueberry. Blueberry?!? What are you doing here Blueberry, this is a Cherry taste test! Hmm, you complete the set huh? That's all the Cordial products that Queen Anne makes. I suppose we'll allow it. 

A Washington Family Christmas Visit - 2024/12/23-29

Well everyone made it to Washington safe and sound! We're all together at my brother and his wife's house in Washington to celebrate Christmas and hang out together. 

Getting to Washington for Christmas! - 2024/12/22

We've had a lot of fun in Michigan celebrating Ethan and his graduation from college, but this season it's supposed to be Christmas with my family, so we've got to get going! 

Peppermint Candy Cane Peeps and Brachs Candy Cane Taste Test Comparison

Time for more holiday treats! This time it's from the makers of all those Easter marshmallows, Peeps! For Christmas, they have come out with Candy Cane Peeps 

Alli and Ian bought these for me and said that we should do a taste test. I agree! 

We have tasted a whole bunch of different Peeps flavors, and even had a 9 flavor Peep face-off! There was even one time when we tried Peppermint Bark Peeps, which sounds similar, but they were actually dipped in Chocolate! 

But these Peeps we're trying today are Candy Cane Peeps. I love the packaging with its red and white stripes. We all think it's pretty hilarious that they can't seem to put the eyes in the proper place on the Peeps. These ones all seem to be looking to one side (or have an "eye" on the top of their heads). 

Joe - They're all leaning to one side, like a dog going "huh?"

For our comparison today you've got to go with the delicious Brach's candy cane. I know there's lots of different candy cane makers out there, including Spangler, but we think Brach's makes the best hard candy.  

Holiday Challenge - Making Peppermint Butter Mints

Happy Holidays! Every year since 2014 I've challenged myself to do something creative and make something I've never done before for the holiday season. 

It started when my friend Ariel shared Disneyland's recipe for Gingerbread Cookies, and I thought to myself "I've never made homemade gingerbread. I should try it!" Since then, I've been making different treats every holiday season that I've never attempted before! Things like Homemade Candy Canes (2015), Fudge (2016), Peppermint Marshmallows (2017), Figgy Pudding (2018), Eggnog (2019), A Holiday Yule Log (2020), English Toffee (2021), and Pepperidge Farm Cookies (2022). In 2023, I branched out and instead of making something to eat, I made something to wear. With some help from my mother, I learned how to sew a Santa Hat (2023), so I made a few for me and even more for the rest of the family.

This year, we're back to the tasty treats. While I was pondering what I would attempt this year, my Facebook feed must have known what I was thinking about, and showed me recipes for butter mints. Hmm. I know some butter mints are peppermint flavored, and my Dad loves (and seeks out) the soft peppermint candies.