I've Been VERY Bad

Well, it has been quite awhile. I've been crazy busy w/ work and other stuff. The rest of my trip isn't much to blog about. We went to Daytona Beach, St. Augustine and that's about it:P We decided to leave a day early because it had been long trip. We arrived home at Thursday at 3:00 PM and I went to the Cardinals game against the LA Dodgers. A great STL welcoming. I do have one story about our way home. We stopped in Chattanooga, TN in a hotel. Maddie and I were watching "Minute to Win It"...nothing else was on. The people were just about to win $50,000 and BAM the power goes out. I was also checking my email for work BUT the wireless wasn't working. About 5 minutes later it went back on, then off again, then on again, then off again, etc... My dad kept saying that if it happened again we would just drive home. But we ended up staying. Oh we also went to Andersonville, a POW civil war camp. Apparently Hitler got a lot of his ideas for the concentration camps from it? Well on Friday when we got home, my dad wakes me up and says that we are going to look for a new dog. I knew it would happen, but I wasn't ready for a new dog. I still miss Dolly today. We went to the APA and came back with Cocoa, a 7 year old jack russell terrier. She is very sweet, potty trained, and PLAYFUL. I'll play tug of war with her, and if I let go of the toy-she puts it right back into my hand! She's constantly setting toys at my feet wanting to play. Hmmm I don't really know what else to say now. Maybe more later? At the rate I'm going, in about month haha.

I've Been Bad

Day 2 of Magic Kingdom

In front of "Mt. Everest" at Animal Kingdom

At Disney Hollywood
I've been bad! I haven't blogged about Florida in about a week. Well I'll just have to do condensed versions, but the last 3 days weren't as busy. Wednesday we tackled MGM or as it is now known as "Disney Hollywood Studios." I do not like this day because I left my awesome new sunglasses that I bought for trip- paid extra for shipping so that they would come in time- in the bathroom and they got stolen. I was PISSED, and mainly at myself for being to stupid. I was only gone for 10 minutes before I realized they were gone. Well, I brought another pair but it's still upsetting. Before that Maddie and I rode Rock'n Rollercoaster. It was a lot of fun. The wait was long though. It shot off like Mr. Freeze and the entire rollercoaster was in the dark except for glowing street signs. Afterwards is when I lost my sunglasses. We next went on Tower of Terror, which I was a little nervous for. I don't like 90 degree drops. I'll do everything else but it was actually one of my favorite rides. Too short haha. We spent the rest of the day walking around, I was still pissed about my sunglasses and scowled through Muppet Vision 3D. Afterwards I dropped my attitude and shrugged it off. The last thing we did there was watch a stunt show, it was funny and very impressive. The driving reminded me of Andrea's:) (that's not a compliment). The rest of the day was R and R by the pool.
Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom, and it seemed like all of the Brazilian tour groups chose that theme park as well. We went off to 'Asia' to ride the Mt. Everest roller coaster, which we ended up doing twice because both of my parents missed the huge Yetti in it and it was just fun. The next ride was a 'rafting' water ride which was a lot like Thunder River at six flags and I got soaked. Not too happy about that. Mom and I opted out on riding it a second time, instead we just stood in the sun drying off. Next it was off to 'Africa' for a safari through the reservation, which frankly, I could have seen every one the animals there at that St. Louis Zoo. Then we rode the train up to 'Rafiki's Planet Watch' which was nothing special except a photo op w/ Rafiki. It was mainly for kids and all about conservation and there was a petting zoo with mainly goats. At that point, I was done with Animal Kingdom but after lunch we went back in because my mom wanted to see 'It's Tough To Be a Bug,' but when we got to the theatre, it was broken:\. Across the way was a character location with the characters of Winnie the Pooh (Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger). When we came back, the show was fixed. I didn't want to see, I had bad memories of it from 2000, but it wasn't bad;) Then we went back to the hotel for more R and R by the pool:) We also packed because Friday was our last day at Disney:(
Friday was a semi-short day but it seemed like we did the most. We went back to the Magic Kingdom. First stop- Space Mountain. Next we rode the teacups because, well its' Disney. I insisted that we go to Mickey's Toontown or whatever it's called because I was DETERMINED to get a picture with Cinderella or some princess. The princesses seemed like the only characters not walking around the park. We got to the character line and there was a line to meet the fairies (which was really long) and.... the princesses! I was SO happy, once again....I may be 19 going on 20 but I still sleep on a Disney Princess pillow case w/ a disney princess blanket. We got pictures w/ Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Belle (who was kind of a bitch). Afterwards we rode the Snow White ride, which Maddie was a little scared on, and then we watched Mickey's Philharmagic which was the best show. Then I said we HAD to go on "It's a Small World." Don't ask, because my answer will only be "It's Disney." Then we left Orlando. I was sad but I didn't want to spend another day at a theme park. Our next destination- Cocoa Beach. Which I'll talk about later...my fingers are starting to hurt from this typing.

Dolly

I write this with a heavy heart. Yesterday, our beautiful dog Dolly had to be put down due to old age and health reasons. She has been our dog since I was in kindergarten, and she was technically 'mine' because I chose her and she slept in my room every night. The hardest part is that I'm in Florida and I did not get to say goodbye; I didn't get to hug her, scratch her ears or rub her belly one last time. She was such a great dog. She never bit anyone, always licked and she was potty trained when we got her. I still remember the day I found her. My dad told us to get in the car while my mom was at work. He told us that we were going to go to the APA to look for a dog and I was SO excited. I had wanted a dog for the longest time. Dolly was a calm, gentle dog just laying in her cage. She wagged her tail when she saw me. I stuck my hand in the cage and she started licking it. I knew right then that I wanted her and we did. We learned that she was a German Shepard/Cocker Spaniel/Springer Spaniel mix. She had a bushy tail, a black body and the fur on her ears was crimped and blonde. I remember thinking that she would win dog shows had she not been a mutt. As mentioned earlier, she always slept in my room. She knew not to jump on my bed- I had made a bed for her out of blankets. She was my pillow when I was sad, soaking up my tears. It was so weird, whenever I was upset, it was like she knew to come to me. I'd talk to her and I told her that she had to stay alive to see me off to college. Last summer we thought we were going to lose her because she became very ill, but she pulled through and lasted another year. It still hasn't hit me yet because I'm still in Florida. I know that she was suffering and that she's no longer in pain, it's just so hard. It's really hard to type this right now. I think I'm going to have to stop. I miss you Dolly, and I know that Henry is probably lost without you too. Please watch over me.

Before I Forget 2...

Day 2 (Tuesday). The day I've been waiting and waiting for. Universal Studios- Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Harry Potter and this park was, is the highlight of my trip. Getting to Universal, I was super nervous. The park only opened on June, 18 and I heard that on that day, it took 8 hours just to get into the park. It was another early morning and we arrived by opening time, practically running to the Islands of Adventure park and running to the Harry Potter section. It was amazing. It looked just like Hogsmeade and perched on a hill overlooking it all, was Hogwarts. Of course it was crowded but there was only a 5 min wait for the Dragon Challenge. It was so cool walking to the ride. On display throughout the walk was the Goblet of Fire, the three golden eggs and the Triwizard Cup. Maddie and I chose to ride the "Hungarian Horntail" over the "Chinese Fireball" because, well that's what Harry beats. It was fun. A lot like Batman, but longer. After that we decided to get into the long line of the Forbidden Journey. It was a 90 minute wait, but the line was constantly moving. I didn't mind the wait though. We walked through Dumbledore's office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the Gryffindor common room and then we got to the boarding part. It was on a conveyor belt that we had to walk on and we were off! It was AMAZING. I won't spill the details for those who are going. Then we went on Flight of the Hippogriff which was ehhhhhhhh. Afterwards I wanted to shop around Hogsmeade but there were long lines for almost all of the shops. I wanted to go into Dervish and Banges, which sells Quidditch supplies and what not but the had the second longest line behind Ollivander's (which isn't in Hogsmeade). We ended our adventure with a butterbeer which I swore to my mom I was going to try. It was like cream soda w/ whipped cream on top. My dad had left the section earlier and called my mom tell her that they were no longer letting people into the section because it reached its capacity. Once you left, you couldn't go back in. We had enough of the crowds and decided it was time to explore the rest of the park. My dad said he was in line for Poseidon's Fury so that's where we went. I stood in line thinking it was a water ride, but it was actually a show, a stupid show. Maddie and I then broke off to ride the Hulk roller coaster. The wait said 60 minutes. HA it was more like 120. It was exhausting, standing in the heat and pushing the wheelchair up ramp after ramp. The ride was fun though but after that I had enough. My only desire in Universal was Harry Potter and I was lucky enough to experience it. My mom said that they were walking around and for 15 minutes of walking there was a line four people wide and it was not moving. It was to get in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I couldn't believe and thanked my lucky stars we were able to get in. We are all burnt after that. We left around 2 and went back to the hotel. I crashed for 2 hours after that. My parents decided to go to Magic Kingdom for the Electric Light parade which was wonderful. After the Electric Light parade, a firework display over the castle. Let me say, Disney knows how to do fireworks. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. We got to Magic Kingdom around 7, rode the Haunted Mansion and then parked on the side of the street for the parade which was at 9. The fireworks were at 10 and the park closed at midnight. After the fireworks it was wonderful. About 3/4 of the people left and there were almost no lines. We went to Space Mountain but it was closed down:( We headed across the park to ride Thunder Mountain which was fun. Then we did Splash Mountain. It was my first time riding it and I was nervous/excited for the huge drop. The ride kept psyching us out making it seem like small slopes were the huge hill. Best part is, my parents got most of the water:) It was realllllly long though. Almost too long. At this point it was 11 and we were getting tired and had another early day. On our way out we decided to ride Pirates of the Carribbean then we left for the hotel.

Before I Forget....

I better do this now before this whole trip is a complete blur. So far it has been non stop not counting this afternoon/evening. Sunday was a 3 hour drive to Orlando (great 4th of July right?) When we got to out hotel we decided to go to Downtown Disney because 1) entry was free 2) we could walk around and shop and 3) we thought there would be fireworks. First off, there were no fireworks which I was very disappointed in and it was CRAZY crowded. We went into the main store in the marketplace and we each got some souvenirs. I got a really awesome frame w/ the Disney Princesses, Maddie got some Mickey Mouse earrings, Kevin and dad got shirts, and mom got a frame. As we left, it seemed like thousands of people were coming in. On Monday we decided to go to Epcot first. A book we bought said that it wouldn't be as crowded as the other parks, and the for the most part it was very pleasant. Maddie is in a wheelchair because of her hip, and my advice to you all-bring someone who is in a wheelchair. We had handicap parking (pretty much front row) and on the majority of the ride wheelchair access is like skipping the long lines. The only downside is having to push the wheelchair. Well we got up at 6:30, which is standard wake-up time for our family vacations, ate breakfast then headed off to Epcot. At Epcot my mom and dad stood in line to get fast passes for the Soaring ride-which was the most popular. With the pass we could bypass the main line if we entered at a certain time. So while we were waiting to get in line for Soaring we took the opportunity to get out pictures with Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald Duck, and Goofy. I may be 19 going on 20, but I had the time of my life meeting them (again haha). It was so fun and entertaining I was almost skipping. Soaring was good. It didn't blow me away though. I heard that it was a must-do, and I understand that. It's basically a simulator of being on a hang-glider. Then we saw a few films, a lot of it was about the environment. We got fast passes for Test Track, a family favorite of ours, and then rode a couple of rides while waiting. We rode another simulator which was like "astronaut training." My friend Becca pre-warned me about the intensity of this ride w/ all of the G forces etc... and I have a heart problem so I decided to ride on the watered down version, which made my wish I had rode on the intense one, but what can you do? We then went on the ride that was inside the big ball it was about the future and it was really good! After that it was off to the test track! We love that ride:) Maddie and I were laughing the whole time. We had a picnic in the parking lot afterwards then decided to walk around the nations, but once we went through about 4 of them, we wanted to leave. We rode the rides in Mexico and Norway which were really good, but at that point, we were burnt out. We knew before we were leaving that our cousins, aunt and uncle would be in Orlando at the same time as us so we wanted to meet up with them. My uncle and two of my cousins were in the Magic Kingdom so we went to eat dinner at Red Lobster with my aunt and cousin, Rebecca. Afterwards we swam in our hotel pool but they had to leave because Rebecca was performing at the Irish Dancing Nationals at 8:00 in the morning. I'll add the next day in another post so it's not TOO much to read:) The photo uploader is being super slow so I'll try it at another time.

LOOOONNNNGGG DAYYYY

Well we started to make our way to Disneyworld:) It started at 2:30 AM and the drive ended at the 4:00PM Eastern time zone. Not much to report except that I ate fast food twice in a day which disgusts me. I had been doing so well- I hadn't eaten any for about 3 months. I slept awfully. Maddie was up all night and she would not SHUT UP. She kept talking, talking, talking. I eventually drowned her out and fell asleep. Well... Maddie, Kevin and I are going to the pool, Later:) Tomorrow we'll be in Orlando

Woke up to some pretty sad news today via Twitter. A band I really like, Madina Lake is going through some hard times. The bassist was walking in his hometown of Chicago to meet up with a friend. Along the way he came across a man beating up his wife. He immediately tried to stop the abuse and gained enough control to call the police. Afterwards though, that man jumped Matt (the bassist) and savagely beat him. He was left unconscious on the ground- both the wife and the man had left. He was eventually found. He's in the hospital. What gets me is that a third of his skull was removed to compensate for the swelling of his brain. Thankfully the hematoma stopped and his head is covered in ice to bring the swelling down. I read that he gained consciousness and can begin to speak but it's still very slow. I'm just so disgusted. It's not like I ever met Matt or even went to every concert in St. Louis. What I'm disgusted in is humanity. Honestly, this guy was beating up his WIFE and then almost killed someone trying to protect her. Thankfully, an arrest was made. His twin brother Nathan said something that stuck to me though. I don't know the exact words but it was about when you lose complete faith in humanity, it comes back a hundredfold proving you wrong. All the support and concern Nathan has received has been beautiful. I will be keeping Matt in my prayers and you should too. No one deserves this for trying to be helpful.