All-American Road Trip – Thank You Cracker Jack Snacks!

How is your memory? Like your memory from childhood?

You see I have an awful, I mean AWFUL memory.

{cue sad music}

I don’t remember a lot from childhood. Sure bits and pieces of memories are still faint memories in my mind, but for the most part…nothing.

For the longest time, I had either thought I was adopted or an alien.

Adopted, because I was the second child and had only a few grainy black and white baby photos of myself. You know how that goes, 2nd child syndrome.

Alien, because I didn’t see how it’s possible that I had so few memories from childhood.
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I do remember going on vacation often with friends of my parents, The Smiths, to their cabin in North Carolina and their house in The Keys. I was basically their 3rd kid. I am thankful for them.

Maybe my lack of memory has to do with being the child of divorced parents. When parents get divorced, family vacations don’t really happen and thus memories don’t either.

However one thing I do remember is going to Dodgers baseball games. The LA Dodgers had spring training where I grew up in Vero Beach.

Those are very fond memories of mine. I remember sitting on the hard bleachers, sweating and eating hot dogs and Cracker Jack snacks.

My kids are 10 and 8 and I want to build as many memories with them as possible, in hopes that if they inherited my bad memory, they will grasp onto a few.

I bet if I said Cracker Jack Snacks, you could give me a memory associated with them.

When Cracker Jack brand contacted me and wanted to help me build some memories with my family I was so excited. The wanted to send us to Miami for a Marlins game.

I mean how perfect is that??? Those are some of my fondest times at the baseball park as a kid eating Cracker Jack Snacks and sweating in the Florida sun.

So my family and I were off on a little road trip to Miami. The last time I was in Miami was ohhhh, about 20+ years ago for the Miss Florida Beauty Pagent {don’t laugh} and I didn’t know quite what to expect these days.

We stayed at the beautiful Miami Hyatt.

Kids love hotels. What is that? Why do they love them so much? Maybe it’s because I order room service and let them eat in bed! I certainly don’t let them do that at home. They’re not even allowed to bring food out of the kitchen.

Our first day we headed to South Beach. It’s quite a colorful place. We saw interesting people, walked around to a billion shops, and had a great day taking in the sights.

We went to a place about 30 minutes down the road called The Coral Castle. Look it up on Google, It’s crazy. One man, by himself, built a “castle” from coral in the early 1900’s. How one man lifted pieces of coral that were thousands and thousands of pounds, is beyond my comprehension.

At night we had the privilege of going to the Marlins baseball game in their beautiful new ballpark and of course I had to sport my Cracker Jack snack shirt!

My son is obsessed with baseball and has been to quite a few MLB games.

However, my daughter never has.

The seats were awesome, right behind home plate.

I wanted them both to have all the experiences of a baseball game, as I did as a kid.

We got hotdogs, sodas, cotton candy and of course Cracker Jack snacks.

A baseball game would not be complete without Cracker Jack snacks.

 

For goodness sakes, they are in the song that everyone sings in the 7th inning stretch at every baseball game…..

 

Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don’t win it’s a shame. For its one, two, three strikes, you’re out, at the old ball game.

So how can one NOT get them? Cracker Jack snacks are an American Tradition and I am proud to say one of my few childhood memories!!!!!

My daughter was getting a little antsy in the 8th inning, so I got my hair done.

The Marlins lost, but it wasn’t about the score for me, it was about watching the joy on my kids faces.

I am eternally grateful to Cracker Jack snacks for allowing my family this opportunity.  Be on the lookout for a follow-up post to this one where I share a new recipe with Cracker Jack snacks front and center.  With their two new flavors – Kettle Corn and Butter Toffee – and the original having more nuts, it’s one you don’t want to miss!

And with that, I open the forum to you my readers. As Cracker Jack snacks is one of those brands that’s been around for all of those important moments throughout the past 120 years, what are YOUR nostalgic memories of the delicious All-American treat?

Disclosure:  Disclosure:  Even though my family and I went on this trip at Cracker Jack brand’s expense and was compensated, all opinions expressed are totally my own.