Universal Studios

One day in mid March the Blake and I were cooped up in our apartment, freezing our little tushies off. So I looked at Blake and told him we should go to Florida for a vacation. He agreed so quickly that I was stunned (I wasn't seriously expecting him to agree). We wanted to go as early as possible so we could escape the cold. We went to the travel agent on base who was the most high-strung person I have ever encountered in my life! I had an energy powder a few hours earlier and had exercise endorphins coursing through me when we entered the building, and when we left the crazy lady I needed a nap! 

We booked our tickets so we would arrive in Florida a couple hours before check-in. We waited at the airport for hours with, "Just a half hour more" playing on the intercom. Finally the flight attendant person told us our flight was cancelled because of engine trouble. Blake hopped in line for rebooking and the line moved at a snails pace so I decided to call the airline directly and rebook our flight. Smart move, Jocelyn. Smart move. We were able to get the last two seats on a flight and arrive in Florida around midnight. We were pooped! 

We stayed at one of the on-site resort, the Leows Grand Pacific. It was about a 1/2-1 mile from the resort and had a private walkway or a water taxi. We did a lot of walking because it was so nicely landscaped and pretty. 

We enjoyed the pool and got some sun. That gave us a nice precancerous red glow. And some interesting tan lines. But it felt glorious!

Harry Potter world was awesome! We were totally enthralled at how similar they made it look to the movies. We were able to go to the park an hour before it opened because of where we were staying, so we arrived early one day and ate at the Three Broomsticks. I had pumpkin juice with my breakfast and Blake had a Butterbeer. We felt very fancy (and oversugared). We also went in to Olivander's for a demonstration, and, much to my shock and horror, Olivander picked me to be the wand guinea pig! I shoved Blake forward and said that HE was the one looking for a wand, so Olivander pulled us both up for the demonstration. We waved our wands and lights flickered and drawers rattled. And then our wands "chose" us! It was pretty fun.

I should entitle this picture as, "Blake smells hippogriff poo at Hogsmead."

We bought a chocolate frog and some Bertie Botts every flavor beans. We gnawed on that frog for several weeks before it was just a head rolling around in its container, covered in bite marks. 

The Harry Potter ride was amazing! It was a mix of 3D and coaster. Blake couldn't keep his eyes open for it because he gets motion sick on the 3d rides. Sad face. He still went on the ride 3 times with me because my favorite type of rides are the 3d rides. That must be our one bad match.

Blake wasn't sour, just squinty. How could you be sour at a theme park??

He got to pet a baby dinosaur as well! We ate at the Jurassic Park shop several times because we bought the meal plan, and all the places we ate at were delish!

 We looooved the water rides. Universal knows how to produce a splash! The token log ride meanders through the tunnels, just like any ordinary log ride, and then it rockets you out of the side of the mountain and you get your top layer of skin taken off by the ensuing splash. We rode the wet rides every day, and planned the last day to be the wettest and wore swim bottoms. I even wore Blake's teeny weeny European speedo to be prepared...  and we barely got wet haha.

The rides were awesome and the shows were so fun. My favorite coaster ended up being the one Blake had to practically force me to ride that plays music in your ears as you ride. It was awesome hearing Limp Bizkit covering up my screams of terror. It also videoed your faces during the ride so we got to see our reactions afterwards.

Enjoying our butterbeer foam. Soooo tasty!

Right by Universal was the City Walk. It had a bunch of shops, a theater, and lots of places to eat. We watched Identity Thief one evening in a dark and ominous theater. We enjoyed burritos at Mo's (where I tried my first chicken burrito) and ended every night with hand-scooped froyo from TCBY which we ate outside by the water. Sooo glorious! The rest of our meals we were able to eat in the park and they were so good! Their pizza rivaled Old Chicago I would dare say. 

Every night we would be exhausted by the days activities and we slept like babies. 

The last night we stayed at the parks until closing and stood by the water and watched their water show where they displayed images on a giant water screen and set off fireworks. I was standing there with Blake cuddling me from behind, a delicious slice of pizza in my belly and I couldn't believe how happy I was. It was seriously amazing.