Tropicana Pure Premium sweeps and reliving a past Florida memory! #TropFloridaOJ

Before 4 years ago, the closest I'd come to Florida was drinking orange juice!  I had won airline tickets to anywhere in the Continental US and then had to brainstorm as to where we'd want to go.  I'd never seen the Pacific, so we toyed with the idea of going to California.  In the end, Florida (and Disney World) won out.  The kids, of course, were ecstatic.  We adults were too!  Neither me nor my husband had ever been to Disney, so we made our first trip there together as a family.  We made lasting memories and it wasn't long before we were planning our next trip to Disney for our son's 5th birthday.

One of my favorite Florida memories was going to Fantasmic!  It was such an awesome experience the first time with the sounds, the fountains showing scenes... I think everyone should experience it once.  Here's a pic (sorry it's not great quality, but it was dark and the water is moving.)  The other shows the paddle boat with Disney characters waving goodbye.  Of course, who doesn't love basking in the sun when your brain is telling you that April is way too early for it to be so warm and lush looking!  That was another thing I loved about Florida --- the warmth!  There's so much to do in Florida that we want to plan a non-Disney vacation and enjoy other things that Florida offers tourists.  I love going off the beaten path to discover things and places normal tourists just don't have the time for.

So when I think of Florida, I think of Disney... but I also think about oranges.  Tropicana Pure Premium 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice is made up of Florida oranges (none from other countries).  I try to buy American whenever I can.  Tropicana Pure Premium is the largest buyer of Florida fruit (approx 11.6 billion oranges per year).  Now, that's a lot of oranges!  They buy them from orange groves in 22 different Florida counties, mostly in central and southern Florida, and some of the growers have had a relationship with Tropicana since the 60s.  Other fun facts to know:

• The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season. 

• The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias typically have more intense color and flavor, while Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add unique characteristics to the TPP blend.

• Oranges have been grown in Florida since the 1560s (that's approximately 147 years before any other U.S. state!) 

Win a trip to Sarasota, Florida!  99 other lucky Tropicana Pure Premium fans will win a year's supply of orange juice (to be given away as 12 coupons).  The Florida trip will include a visit to an orange grove.  How do you enter?  You'll want to do it quickly as this sweepstakes ends 4/20/2012.  Go to Tropicana's Facebook page and click the Sweepstakes tab to enter.


I would love to win, as I'm sure you would too!  We love Florida and have been recently talking about when we can go back down to the land of oranges and palm trees.  I would love to visit an orange grove and sample Florida goodness right on the spot.  I drink orange juice a few times a week, more so since I've cut way back on soda.  It's refreshing, nutritious, and is a healthy alternative to soda.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.