11/21/12: Gift Baskets Plus Discount Code

It is really difficult to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.  Next up in my Holiday Gift Guide is Gift Baskets Plus who have been doing gift baskets for over 10 years.  These baskets are so much more than your typical candy, nuts and cheeses.  They are awesome and geared toward any interest.

First off look at these beautiful holiday baskets.  Look at this beautiful Sparkling Holiday basket with three bottles of wine.

 For the beer lover in your family - the Christmas Ale's Basket.  You can go here to see all of their Holiday Gift Baskets.

Go to Holiday Gift Baskets Website:  http://www.giftbasketsplus.com/

Use the following discount code for 15% off: 15OFF

The website is also broken out by recipient.  Check out this beautiful Spa Basket for the Mom that needs some pampering.

 For the Sports Fan on your list check out this basket.  They have a great selection for men including Nascar fans, sets with beer and cool products.

 And of course they even have baskets for kids.  Love this kids activities and treats box.

 And this one could be my favorite since I am such a Disney Fan - The Mickey's Playtime Gift Bag.

With such a huge selection you really can't go wrong with Gift Baskets Plus.

Disclosure:  I received a Gift Basket in exchange for promotional post.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

7/1/12: Boston-Portsmouth Air Show and My Flight With the U.S. Army Golden Knights

I had the pleasure of attending the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show yesterday and had a wonderful time with my family.  It was my kids first Air Show so it was a huge thrill for them!  Plus I got the thrill of a lifetime.  I got to ride with the U.S. Army Golden Knights during the show!

This is a sampling of pictures but at the end of this post is a slidehow of all pictures I took.  Also in this post I have video of the entire flight including ground coverage and coverage on the plane that is really cool.  Here are the Blue Angels, more pictures later.  The view of them from the Media Area was phenomenal.

So awesome.

They also catered to the kids by having space and aeronatical bounce houses.

Kre-O Battleship Toys were represented.  I had seen them introduced by Hasbro at Toy Fair.

Now on to the fun part!  This is the plane I got to travel up in during the show.  This was one of the most amazing things I have done in my life.

Here I am with the plane ready for my briefing!

Here you can see the U.S. Army Golden Knights getting their parachutes ready.

On the plane.  I have to admit, despite my Aerospace Engineering background I was nervous.  I have never flown on a plane right next to a huge open door!

The guys getting ready!  You can see a small red canister around their ankle.  This is to provide a red cloud as they are parachuting so you can see them. 

The crew and the Golden Knights were all awesome to work with and were so nice to us.  They kept sitting next to me and asking me how I was doing and why I had never jumped out of a plane.  Maybe someday.

The view of the Air Show from the plane. 

Checking out where is the right spot to jump.  This took quite a while for them to decide.  They needed to guage the winds and use something that looked like a streamer to determine where the drop point should be to land on their target.  Talking to my husband after they hit their target perfectly.

And the 1st one jumps!  If you watch the video you will see him coming down.  It is so fast!

The rest of the guys ready to jump! 
The cool thing is there was one guy that jumped with them that had a helmet that had a camera and video camera.  He would use his tongue to take pictures as they were falling.

Here is the video which is awesome to watch as it covers inside the plane and out.



Here I am with the Pilot and crew.

This is a picture of the plane up in the air.

Here is Michael Goulian.  He is a former U.S. aerobatic champion from North Andover, Massachusetts, a competitor in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship and a recipient of the prestigious Art Scholl and Bill Barber Awards for air show showmanship Goulian was recently awarded the 2011 International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Sword of Excellence, a prestigious recognition awarded to an individual based on contributions made to the air show industry.

When I was getting driven back across the runway I got a good view of the Blue Angels.

Crew of the Blue Angels getting ready.

Blue Angels during the show.  Awesome!

Here they are again.

The kids checking out the planes.

Evan in the Black Hawk.

Here it is from the outside.

Lauren in the Black Hawk.

Evan wih my media pass.

What an awesome show!

One more shot of the Blue Angels.

If you would like to see all Pictures you can check them out here on Shutterfly.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Disclosure: I was provided a Media Pass to the show and was treated to a ride with the U.S. Army Golden Knights.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

6/26/12: Boston-Portsmouth Air Show - Fun for the Whole Family

I am very excited to share that from June 30th to July 1st the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show will be at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease.  I can't wait to share the wonder of this Air Show with my kids.  I myself am a Aerospace Engineer by trade and took many Aeronautics classes during college and still love to marvel at these wonderful planes. 

All images credited to the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show Website.  
I just want to highlight some of the featured acts here.  You can look at the full list of featured performers here. 

The United States Navy Blue Angels returns with their adrenaline – rushing performance to New Hampshire.  A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. It includes the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of the four-plane Diamond Formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two Solo Pilots. Finally, the team illustrates the pinnacle of precision flying, performing maneuvers locked as a unit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

The team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, during the show season. However, the squadron spends January through March training pilots and new team members at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.

 America's Premier Civilian Squadron...The Black Diamond Jet Team is a seven-ship aerobatic civilian-owned jet team. The team is fully-sponsored by United Bank Card, Inc. The sponsorship enables the team to be a featured act for shows not hosting a military jet team. With five L-39s and two Mig-17s all in the Arctic camouflage paint scheme, the Lakeland, FL based Black Diamond Jet Team is an exciting addition to this year's show.

You can also see Jane Wicker who is a wingwalker.  Jane not only is a wingwalker but also an aerobatic pilot and is one of just a few wingwalkers in the world who transitions across the wings without the assistance of safety lines. The aircraft that Jane performs with is named Aurora. She is a beautiful 1941 450 HP Boeing Stearman that was meticulously restored from ground up and has been used by Jane since June of 2010. This is truly a one of a kind aircraft not only due to the authentic paint design but also the many modifications she has like an inverted fuel and oil system, an extra flying wire, all new control bearings and many more. With a fuel injected Pratt & Whitney R-985 450 Horse Power Radial engine and customized dual stack exhausts, creating breathtaking smoke trails, and the unmatched roar of the 450 propellers it is sure to be a plane that excites the crowd. Nowhere else can you see wing walking done like it was back during the Golden Age of Aviation. Spectators will be introduced to Jane as she begins her act of climbing and walking on the impressive 450 HP Stearman at show center. Jane shows off her impressive daring feats between and on the wings as the Stearman performs its aerobatic maneuvers. Once they have landed, to conclude her performance, the plane will taxi up and greet the crowd.

You can find the full schedule here.

You can go here to purchase tickets.   

I bet your kids would love it.  Note this particular airplane below will not be at the Air Show but the picture is super cute of the kids.

You can also follow the Air Show on Twitter here: @BostonPortAS

And Like them on Facebook here

Disclosure:  I was provided a media pass to the Air Show.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.