25th Birthday

For my birthday this year I ventured up to the Gardens after more than six years since my last visit.

Actually, I can barely remember my last visit there.  I've only gone twice in my life before last weekend.  The first was in middle school with Amanda...the only thing I remember about that is my dad sitting behind the two of us on the Loch Ness Monster, taunting us saying that the ride sounded broken.  A second later we were down the first drop and Amanda was screaming and laughing while I was adamantly professing how much I hated her for making me ride.  The second visit was in high school...I think...all I remember about that visit was crying in the line for the park's newest coaster: Apollo's Chariot.  As you might have noticed--I was not a fan of roller coasters.  It wasn't until I encountered The Hulk at Universal Studios that I made the switch to roller coaster enthusiast (and thus began the slow climb to adrenaline junkie).

That being said, it was great to be able to return to the theme park that held memories of salty tears and frozen lemonade with a fresh new out look on roller coasters...and fell in love.  Who needs a man to put butterflies in my stomach when a roller coaster can do the same?  

It was slightly rainy and cold which lends itself to perfect theme park conditions: NO LINES!!  We walked right onto to every ride (with the exception of The Curse of DarKastle which is an indoor ride) and several times we got right back on without a moment to blink.





Sadly, the Big Bad Wolf is no more: (It's being replaced by a new ride set to open next year)

 

Then

Now

But there is this:

The Griffon.












and yes.  That is a 90 degree drop

Best part?  They hold you over the edge facing straight down for six agonizing seconds before you dive to the ground.

The Griffon is fantastic.  And not nearly as rough as it looks.  Definitely a thrill though.  We got on, loved it, and rode it again immediately, only this time we clambered into the front row.  When they drag you over the side and you're in the front row, all you see is the sky.  No coaster beneath you, nothing.  You can spread out your arms and legs (if you dare) and it's as if your suspended in mid air.  Absolutely fantastic.


It was the best birthday I've had in a long time.  I was nervous about turning 25...it used to sound so old.  But I realized something.  I'm young and have no real commitments which opens me up to a world of endless adventures.  So Happy 25th to me!
 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios

As many of you know,  I jumped on the Hogwarts Express with KF and CY and traveled to sunny Orlando get a taste of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.  And I fell in love.

My deep love for Ron began with his awesome chess skills.  Oh Ron.

The decor, the atmosphere, the food, the shops, and the new ride all completely blew my expectations out of the water.  It even impressed my brother, which if you know him...impressing him can be difficult.

Biggest piece of advice to anyone going: GET THERE EARLY!  Get to the parks as soon as they open and make a beeline to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter....otherwise you'll be standing in line for hours just to get into to that section of the park.


Being a huge Harry Potter fan I decided that I did want to do some sort of review/description/mention of this wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip: so here we go!!!

Rides:

Snow actually fell from the ceiling as
Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked to us

The Pensieve

 There's just one new ride for this section of the park and it's called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  It's utterly fantastic, Harry Potter fan or not-this ride is the shiznit.  In all honesty is the best ride at Islands of Adventure and a true original.  It's a mix between a roller coaster and visual effects ride; you are strapped into to a seat and tossed and turned while flying through air, interacting with characters, and fighting HUGE dementors (and the basilisk!) You will be waiting in line for quite some time for this ride though, but don't let that deter you.  Most of the wait is spent in the Herbology section outside the castle but once you enter the castle you are bombarded with numerous scenes and wonderful treasures from the movies and books and you just can't help but stop and look!

The other three rides are older ones that were renovated to fit the theme.  The flying Hippogriff is geared more towards younger kids (or people afraid of roller coasters) and the Dragon Challenge is the the old Dueling Dragon's ride-castle and all.  Of course, the two roller coasters on the Dragon Challenge are great as always :)

Food:

The food is not bad.  We ate at the Leaky Cauldron and I none of us were incredibly impressed with the food but eating in the Leaky Cauldron was fun :)

Plus they serve butterbeer

Of course you'll pay extra for the souvenir cup...
but it can be worth it depending
on if you'll use it again.  I personally drink chamomile tea
out of mine most nights

Now, something the must be mentioned is the Butterbeer.  Simply delicious.  It's served cold or frozen and it's a slice of heaven.  The frozen is said to be a bit too sweet but the cold is just right.  Of course butterbeer is supposed to be served warm but I'm going to let that slide in my criticism :)  The drink itself tastes of something similar to cream soda but not nearly as sweet and not bubbly like a soda.  It's a smooth taste that would take awhile to get sick of.  It's topped with a thick froth that is much sweeter than the drink and almost has a hint of marshmallow.  DO NOT leave the park without trying butterbeer.  Forget about the cost...just drink it.

They also serve pumpkin juice but I skipped out on this due to the price but the bottle was very cute :)

Shops and decor:

The Chimneys!

Wow. Just Wow.  Details, details, details.  Everything is so detailed down to the fact that every surface looked old and laden with years of history.  There were so many small details from the books and the movies everywhere that you completely forget that you aren't actually on the streets of Hogsmeade.  But what better way to tell you about than to show you pictures:

There were so many fun surprises around every corner.  Like the snowman dressed like a Hogwarts student with Hedwig on his arm, the butterbeer carts, the floating items in the shop windows, and even screeching mandrakes.

They also had every employee dressed the part...British accent and all.  Several of the shops were decoration only.  And the shops weren't just at street level, looking upwards you could see the second stories complete with the most detailed and fun window displays.  Each roof was covered with snow as well with made you feel even more immersed.

The clothes in these windows floated around :)

Now let's not forget the shops you can actually go in.  I kid you not when I say that I wanted to buy everything I saw.

Including this Voldemort doll.  Esp. for HM since I thought he would love it 

Every shop had different items to buy: Flich's Emporium (the largest selection of souvenirs-where you will find the Voldy doll), Dervish and Banges (mostly clothes and of course the Monster Book of Monsters) Ollivanders (wands of course), Owl Post (stuffed owls and letter writing supplies), Zonkos (Pygmy Puffs!), and Honeydukes (candy, candy, candy!)

Now I of course must give you a picture of the castle, which was by far the most stunning thing there...so here are some great shots of it:

 

There are so many more pictures I want to share but I will refrain (check my facebook for the rest).  

However I must mention the new roller coaster and Universal Studios:

 The Rockin Roller Coaster (or something like that), it has the biggest drop I've ever expereinced (and the steepest drop is actually the second one out of the five on the coaster).  This coaster lets you choose a song to listen to while your riding and it has some of the biggest thrills I've encountered.  And dare I say it? It. is. the. best. roller. roller. coaster. I've ever been on...and the scariest.

My "OMG I'm sill alive" face

Goodnight :)

Canoe Adventure

Once upon a time...

I was on a canoe rushing through the water and then down a waterfall with the grace of Disney's Pocahontas....and then I awoke.  It was at this moment that I decided I should learn to canoe.

I can totally see myself canoeing with a pet raccoon.

The canoe trip started off as a mere whim, a fanciful idea of something fun to do, but as I started facing opposition to it it became something much more.  It became my own personal Everest.  I not only felt the need to prove to everyone that I was capable but it also became a physical manifestation of my own inner emotional Everest I've been facing for several months now...well let's be honest- this whole year. 

Not sure of exactly what revelation I was hoping for I set off on the trip sure that it would reveal itself in time.



They were so graceful the sun even liked them better

We put in Saturday morning and paddled away from shore while my mother and aunt watched us float away with worried looks.  The fact that I almost tipped the boat over as soon as I stepped in was not very assuring in their defense.  I'd like to say that I put my paddle in the water and took off with grace and speed and felt a sense of calmness and comfort with the water and the canoe.  But that would be a lie.  I regretted planning the trip within a minute of sitting in the canoe.  It was unsteady, uncomfortable, and with three people in the canoe we hit every single possible rock there was to hit within the first ten minutes of the trip while my Dad and Uncle paddled gracefully in their canoe.  As we rounded the first river bend I looked back at the boat landing and suppressed my strong desire to return to shore and instead looked ahead and began my navigating duties.   (I was in the front of the canoe, which is where the navigator sits. Yes, I see the irony.)

We spent a good part of the first hour out of the boat.  The water was shallow and full of rocks that held us up every five seconds. My brother CY would sit nonchalantly as HM and I clambered out of the canoe to drag it off the rocks and to an area we could paddle in...only to be stuck again before you had the chance to even say the word Pocahontas.  It amazes me that my brother managed to stay perfectly dry and keep his shoes and socks on the whole day while HM and I lost both of our shoes, were soaked up the waist, and covered in mud. 

However, it wasn't too long that things started to change.  We began to laugh every time we got stuck, and we began to figure out how to get unstuck while staying in the canoe, and even better than that, we figured out how to avoid getting stuck.  I began to feel comfortable in the canoe, comfortable and calm with the water, and the art of paddling began to become soothing.  I was graceful in my own way, it felt natural.

Physically I accomplished great things on this weekend trip.  I battled amazing rapids, worked my arms like never before, walked eight miles with an extremely raw and painful left foot, and battled a bear. 
                                                                                                               ...............ok that last part is a lie.
Mentally I accomplished great things as well, I figured out how to mentally prepare a canoe route through rapids, improved my patience level, slept in spite of intense fears of being attacked by a slew of woodland creatures, and bonded with my friend and family.

But where was my great revelation?  This was my Everest!  Yes, I proved to the doubtful people that I can sleep outside and that I can survive in a canoe for two days.  But what about my spiritual and emotional breakthrough?  Where was my moment of "aha?"

There was none except the simple mirroring aspect this trip had on my personal life.

I had such a great time on this trip and I honestly can barely wait to get inside a canoe again.  But those first ten minutes of being in the canoe scared me and I begged and pleaded with myself to get out of the canoe and go back home.  Everything inside of me wanted to get out of that canoe.  To give up immediately.  But I'm stubborn and I stayed.  I stayed and fell in love with it.  It was something different and new.  Avoiding details, I have actively fought changes in my life, especially this year.  Every change that was thrown at me I tried to reverse it, complained about it, and made myself miserable over it.  Eventually I reached a point of acceptance, but that required letting go and getting rid of some things.  Despite every one's constant assurance that I had made the correct decision, and my own personal new found joy, I doubted myself.  The river and the canoe was God's way of showing me something everyone else could see except for me;  that letting go of the shore picking up the paddle is the best thing sometimes, despite how uncomfortable it may be at first, because eventually it will feel natural and perfect.   

Lastly I leave you with some canoe and camping tips:

1.  Pack matches and a lantern.

2.  Do not lean while on the canoe!

3.  Have a path mapped out for rapids.

4.  Pajama's are apparently not camping attire.  Otherwise you'll be called a fashionista the whole time.

5.  Packing toilet paper is futile.

6.  Deer will attack you.

7.  You're gonna get wet.

8.  Band-aids.  Pack them.

9.  Don't spill food on yourself while camping out in the wild...surrounded by bears.

For my pictures look at my facebook.