The Great Escape Room - Royal Oak, MI

A few weeks ago I had one of the most entertaining evenings I've had in ages. And my life is pretty fun (ha!). I got together with a group of local bloggers to visit The Great Escape Room in Royal Oak, Michigan. With locations already in full swing in Orlando and Miami, the Royal Oak location just opened recently, and D.C. and Tampa will soon be following.

I knew there would be a mystery of some sort, but beyond that I had no idea what to expect. This is one reason I love blogging - I often find myself in situations I'm pretty sure I would have never been in had I not been invited as a blogger.

Since it IS mysterious, I can't give away too many details. But I can tell you that this place is just plain awesome! Here's a brief rundown of what you can expect.

Upon arrival, your party will be shown to a room where you can enjoy some light snacks and beverages while you await your turn. I suggest you use this time to visit the restroom as well, because when you're shown into The Great Escape Room, you won't be getting out until either 1) your group solves the mystery, or 2) your time is up.

A guide of sorts will accompany you into the room and lock the door. Not just on the doorknob, where you can easily get out, but with a key. She will give you some instructions, play a Sherlock Holmes recording that explains the mystery at hand and reiterates some rules and guidelines, and set a timer for one hour.

There are four puzzles to solve, and clues to find for each of those puzzles. Each is color coded, and when you find a clue it will have a colored sticker on it so you know which puzzle it goes with. For each puzzle there is a small bin where you can collect its clues, and a whiteboard where you can jot down any relevant information that might help you solve the puzzles. There are also signs indicating how many clues you need to find for each puzzle. Once the timer starts, you have free reign to tear the room apart looking for clues.

Now, there are a few rules. All clues are within reach, so you won't need to stand on furniture to find any. And there are a few items with signs requesting that you don't move them. But other than that, you can move everything, take out drawers, and disassemble whatever you can. You have permission to trash a room, AND you don't have to clean it up afterward.

Before and after shot at The Great Escape Room in Royal Oak.

Your guide is there to help you - to a point. She gave us some very vague clues to help keep us moving. The point is to have fun! They aren't going to solve the puzzles for you, but if your group is really frustrated or stuck, they will try to steer you in the right direction without giving anything away.

What did I like love about The Great Escape Room? It was entertaining, interactive, and mentally stimulating. It was a singularly unique experience, something out of the ordinary, social, and an absolute blast! Our whole group was grinning from ear to ear by the end. We were all completely engaged. The Great Escape Room would make a fun date, girls night out, parents night out, birthday party, etc. All ages are welcome, and it is completely G-rated - nothing violent or inappropriate. However, we agreed that we would recommend this experience for kids 12 and up, in a group mixed with adults, or 15/16 and up without parents or other adults.

If you successfully solve all the puzzles in time, you will find your way out of The Great Escape Room. If not, don't worry - they'll let you out once you're time is up. We are obviously awesome so we made it out in time, but don't feel bad if you don't - a lot of groups don't! Everyone gets a group shot at the end, with signage appropriate to your outcome.

Group shot with other local bloggers at The Great Escape Room in Royal Oak

Details:

Location: 301 W. 4th St., Suite LL110 (downstairs), Royal Oak, MI 48067
Phone: 248-495-7032
Email: TGERMichigan@gmail.com
Website: www.TheGreatEscapeRoom.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thegreatescaperoom?fref=ts
Cost: $28 pp Friday-Sunday, $23 pp Thursdays
Up to 12 people per group (book a min. of 10 tickets and your group will go through alone - otherwise you may be with some strangers - but that's fun too!)
Private Events (starting soon): $38 pp, up to 25 people (special 2 room events)

Right now the Royal Oak location has one Escape Room, but eventually they will be expanding to include at least one more. The clues and puzzles will be the same for awhile (approximately four months), so once you've done it, it's not really something you can do again...until they change it up or open a new room. Royal Oak is planning on opening their second room within the next month, and I am looking forward to taking some friends and going back for more! Located in downtown Royal Oak, there are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby to extend your evening fun. If you live in the area, or you're visiting, The Great Escape Room is not to be missed.

Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo, Valvoline Instant Oil Change + GIVEAWAY

Looking for a fun holiday event in Metro Detroit? Wild Lights, presented by Bank of America, will be at the Detroit Zoo for 24 nights this November and December, featuring 5 million lights and over 100 different animal sculptures. Look at these photos...doesn't it look magical? Photos provided by the Detroit Zoo.

WHEN:

• November 22-23
• November 28-30
• December 5-7
• December 11-14
• December 18-23
• December 26-31

TIME: 5:30-9 p.m.

Besides the millions of LED lights that will blazing up the trees, buildings, and animal sculptures, guests can also delight in ice carvers and carolers, participate in a holiday craft, and write a letter to jolly old St. Nick. "The Polar Express 4-D Experience" will be playing at the 4-D theater in the Wild Adventure Zone.

AND...if you purchase your Wild Lights tickets ONLINE before November 21, you will be entered into a drawing for a Family Four Pack of tickets to Dinner with Santa at the Detroit Zoo!

AND...(one more thing before we get to the GIVEAWAY)...if you have a Detroit Zoo membership, be sure to get your vehicle in for a Valvoline Instant Oil Change by the end of the year at one of 14 Metro Detroit locations, and get a 15% discount. Use this coupon:

Now we get to the GIVEAWAY part...

Courtesy of Valvoline Instant Oil Change and the Detroit Zoo, MichiGal is giving one lucky reader a
prize package that includes a FREE OIL CHANGE and  4 TICKETS to WILD LIGHTS at the DETROIT ZOO!

Just the use the Rafflecopter form to enter!

Disclaimer: MichiGal is receiving services in exchange for this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Walking with Dinosaurs Report

Still deciding whether you should treat your kids to Walking With Dinosaurs tickets for this weekend? Read on before you decide!

Wednesday night I took Connor, Mathilda, and my godson to the Palace of Auburn Hills to see Walking With Dinosaurs. I had heard of the movie, and in fact Connor and Chris had seen it at the theater when it was out. But, even though I had read a bit about this live show and wrote about it over at MichiGal Travels, I wasn't really sure what to expect.

I've been to the Palace for basketball games, Disney on Ice, concerts, and other live shows. They always manage to change things up to suit the performance. In this case, I'd say the staging area was about the size of the ice arena for the ice shows. Really big. There was a (human) narrator who was out there the entire time, and two jumbo screens on either side of the stage so that the audience could get a better view of what was happening down there.

Walking With Dinosaurs was way more educational than I was expecting. The narrator basically took us through an abridged version of the history of dinosaurs. As he told us about different eras and various species, the dinosaurs would come out on the stage. Some were manned by people who were inside of them, but most of them were robotic. They were massive! Aside from the educational value of the show, there were some cool special effects - like when the narrator explained about the origin of flowers, colorful flowers "grew" all around the stage.

If you have kids, you have probably read and learned quite a bit about dinosaurs since becoming a parent. Nonetheless, I felt the show was pretty interesting, and I learned some new things. Having the huge dinosaurs up on stage illustrating the narrative really brought it to life. They moved around the stage, demonstrating some typical dinosaur behaviors. A few times they sort of interacted with the audience by growling up close or bending their long necks over them.

We were sitting in section 224, and the seats were great. We had a clear view of everything. But it might have been fun to sit on the lower level, especially when those big long necks poked their head over and got up close and personal.

A word of caution: at times it was super loud. When we got up during the intermission, I noticed someone selling ear plugs. If you have a child who is sensitive to loud noises, you might want to consider bringing some. Also, when the T-Rex is out, and you notice her walking over to the edge of the stage to look directly at the audience, know that she is about to snarl really loudly. She walks around and does this to different sections of the audience, and it's loud and potentially scary. So, I'm not trying to ruin anything for you, just giving you a heads up so you can be prepared in case you think it might scare your child.

Other things you should know:

The show started at 7:10 and was over at 8:50. This included a 20-minute intermission.

Parking is $10.

Food is expensive but I've seen worse. I bought 3 regular size beverages, an order of nachos with cheese and salsa (big enough to share) and a soft pretzel (also big enough to share) and the total was $24. I also bought three individual size cotton candies, and that was $9 total. The serving size is small, but how much sugar do you want your kid consuming anyway?

If you have a dinosaur fan on your hands, I'd say this show is a MUST. The three kids I had with me, ages 5, 8, and 11, are not particularly huge dinosaur lovers. But their attention remained drawn to the show the entire time and they really enjoyed it. This is a unique performance and I was impressed with the stage production and the flow of the narrative. If you're looking for a fun family outing this weekend, this just might be it.

Walking With Dinosaurs

Dearborn's Giulio and Sons Offers Tasty Vegetarian Options

Our dinner group, with Chefs Vera and Mills

At times, being a vegetarian has its challenges. For example, when eating out I am sometimes underwhelmed by the vegetarian options available at certain restaurants. On the other hand, one of the things I love about adhering to a vegetarian diet is that it has often pushed me outside of my typical food comfort zone. If  I had turned vegetarian in my 20s, I probably would have lived on grilled cheese sandwiches. Now I'm more willing to try new things, which often leads me to delicious culinary discoveries that, at one time, I would have never believed I could love.

A recent dinner at Giulio and Sons, located within the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan, is a case in point. I met up with a few fellow local bloggers (Gwendolyn from Finding Sanity in Our Crazy Life, Amber from Metro Detroit Mommy, and Stephanie from Mom Among Chaos)  to sample some items from the new dinner menu. Having no idea what to expect, other than a vague idea that Giulio and Sons serves Italian fare, I kept an open mind and palate.

Giulio and Sons has recently welcomed a new head chef, Chef Gabriel Vera, and a new sous chef, Chef Byron Paine Mills. The two have collaborated to create a new menu of unique, contemporary Italian dishes.

First Impression The Adoba Hotel, at 600 Town Center Drive, was easy to find coming from I-94. Free parking is ample and the restaurant, on the second floor, was easily accessible from the front lobby via stairs or elevator. Giulio and Sons itself is lovely, if a little dimly lit (some might say romantic).

Staff  From the hostess to the waiter, to the manager and chef, everyone was friendly and accommodating. Our waiter was especially wonderful, which enhanced our dining experience all the more.

Food We sampled smaller portions of several menu items, as well as a full sized main course and the decadent dessert buffet. In short, we ate until we were ready to burst.

Giulio's Caprese Salad  Heirloom tomatoes, barrata cheese, micro basil, smoked sea salt, and house made balsamic reduction.

This was not something I would normally order because I am not much of a fan of anything balsamic. However, mixed with the delectable dainty tomatoes and the flavorful cheese, it was a very tasty combination.

Would I order it again? Yes, I would order it to share. Balsamic is still not my favorite, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Miniature Portobello Burger  Made with chimichurri sauce, roasted red peppers, and Swiss cheese on toasted brioche.

This is something else I would not typically order because I generally steer clear of mushrooms.  In fact, I'm going to have to admit that this was the first time I had ever tasted a portobello mushroom. Unbelievable, I know. But I went to dinner with an open mind and I'm glad I did because this little "burger" was so enjoyable. (My stomach is growling as I type this.)

Would I order it again? Yes, it was quite good. And now I can say I like portobello mushrooms. See what I mean about vegetarianism? If I weren't a vegetarian, I could have easily passed my entire life without ever trying this!

 Vegetable Lasagna  A 60 layer vegetable lasagna served with marinara sauce.

The spiciness of this dish really overpowered the flavors. I like a little spice, but not this much. I'm not sure if it was the marinara or the lasagna itself, but this was definitely my least favorite sampling.

Would I order it again? No, I don't think so.

Homemade Mushroom Ravioli  With brandy tarragon cream sauce and glazed sweet peas.

Again, because of the mushrooms, I would not have ordered this on my own. But I loved it. The sauce was perfectly creamy and scrumptious, and the mushrooms were just right - not overpowering at all.

Would I order it again? Absolutely, yes. This may have been my favorite dish of the night. 

Lemon Parsley Risotto  With chili oil, sweet peas, and parmigiano reggiano cheese.

This was a creamy, flavorful, mouthwatering dish. It is really too bad it came last because I was fairly bursting at the seams by this time. But no worries - I brought it home to finish.

Would I order it again? Yes, I would most definitely order this again. 

Clockwise from top: Risotto, Vegetable Lasagna, Caprese Salad, Ravioli, Portobello Burger

Despite the fact that we were stuffed to capacity by the time our last tasting was brought to the table, none of use would think of leaving without a visit to the dessert buffet. I would come back to Giulio and Sons just for dessert. It was amazing! There were platters upon platters full of various cakes and treats. The bread pudding was particularly heavenly, but there were so many options it was really difficult to choose. Save room, trust me!

We tried so much, but we didn't try everything. The menu is full of many enticing options. We also didn't try the salad bar, but I took a peak and was impressed with the expansive spread. In speaking with the chef, I was also impressed to learn that Giulio and Sons uses many local ingredients from the surrounding area, and that all pasta is made in house.

Giulio and Sons is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Guests staying in the hotel can also order up room service from the restaurant. This would be a perfect place to come for a special occasion meal. It's a bit of a splurge, but well worth it. (Note: I did not see the breakfast and lunch menus.)

I had a very enjoyable dining experience at Giulio and Sons, and would like to thank the staff and management for a fabulous evening of good food and good company.

Please click over to read Gwendolyn, Amber, and Stephanie's takes on our evening at Giulio and Sons! 

Finding Sanity in Our Crazy Life - Unveiling of Giulio and Sons New Menu
Metro Detroit Mommy - Check Out These 5 New Menu Items at Giulio and Sons
Mom Among Chaos -New Menu at Giulio and Sons Restaurant

Disclaimer: As part of a blogger dinner, I received a complimentary meal from Giulio and Sons. All opinions are my own. No other compensations was received.