...But first, coffee (with Jen)

Like most Harry Potter fans, I'm still waiting for my letter to Hogwarts to arrive via an owl.  But, until then, I've settled for visiting the Harry Potter sections of Universal Studios. Most of this post will be Harry Potter related because that is were I take most of my Universal park pic's, and, during this visit, we experienced rain while we were visiting.  So, the photo ops didn't happen because we were running from cover to cover in our neon ponchos. We visited the two sections over two days.  If you want to do both sections in the one day you do need a park hopper pass.  We didn't bother seeing it all in the one visit because we wanted to revisit the area on day two to spread out the fun.  If you do have a park hopper ticket, take the Hogwarts Express when traveling from side to side because it is a different experience each way. On one of these days in Universal we ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Why?  Because we haven't eaten he...

Back in May myself, my hubby and a friend took a trip to Florida to see the parks (again!).  I love going to the Disney and Universal Studios theme parks.  The combination of the warm sun, sights, thrill rides, food and shopping does it for me every time. There is a lot of planning that goes into a 10 day trip like this. First, we visit during off season.  So, we miss the intense heat and long ride wait lines.  I'll post all the details on how we plan our Florida trips a little later because this post is just going to be gushing about the amazing time we had. At Epcot we experienced the Flower and Garden Festival. This festival is filled with beautiful sprawling flower displays, amazing character topiary (see the Stitch topiary behind me?), and featured menu items throughout. We've been to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival, and I'm allergic to certain plants, but I think that this is my favorite time of year to be at Epcot.  I loved walking around t...

Road trip to the Trinity Train Loop. This is an abandoned family park that I had visited when I was a kid, and a few times as an adult after it closed. From my childhood I remember the train, the train tracks, the Ferris wheel, the mini golf, and the bummer boats (I was not allowed to go on the bummer boats). Trinity is about a 3 hour drive from St. John's. Now that you have a happy little image of the park, here is what it looks like now: The park took a huge hit with Hurricane Igor.  And a majority of the tracks, the parts that not have been reclaimed by nature, were washed out.  As in, I can stand under the track, put my arms in the air, and *just* reach the track above my head. The cabins, trains, petting zoo, and other buildings have all been destroyed but vandals. The copper has been pulled from the walls, and signs have been tossed into the pond.  How's that for a shot right to the childhood? The Ferris Wheel had a mean lean on it when we visite...