Busch Gardens and Super Bowl

Hello world. We are officially down to 3 weeks until departure - I have now booked my travel to staging with SATO travel and will be departing on February 27th instead of the 28th due to flight schedules. For some reason, having one less day seems like I have so much less time.

Unfortunately, it is looking like a lot of my "Pre-DR Bucket List" will not be completed. For example, it's not looking like either the scuba certification or skydiving will fall into place. While disappointing, these are things I have my whole life to do and there isn't really any rush. By finishing "most" of Rosetta Stone, I hoped to complete the first 4 levels. I think if I work really hard, I may finish the first 3, but I'm not going to get past that. While a bit of a bummer (could have saved money and only gotten the first 3 levels), I'm glad I've done as much as I have and I am better prepared because of it.

Yesterday, I got to check one more item off my bucket list - trip to Busch Gardens! It might seem strange that I had 2 theme parks on my "Things to Do" list, but honestly I wish I could have had even more! I hadn't been to Busch Gardens in probably about 5 years, and I had heard they had a new roller coaster. I am a huge thrills person and love coasters, so I really wanted to go back again to check out the new one and ride my old favorites. I went with my friend Courtney, and we couldn't have picked a better day to go. It was beautiful and sunny, but not too hot. It also was Super Bowl Sunday, so there was no one in the park! We literally walked right onto 3 of the 5 roller coasters we rode, and the longest wait we had the whole day was maybe 20 minutes. I definitely got my fix of coasters in before leaving! And we got home in time for me to still watch the game!

I just stayed home this year for the Super Bowl. I sometimes prefer it, since I can better watch the game, commercials, and half time show. I was very pleased with this years game, as I am a Giants fan! It was a really great game though - Tom Brady is a hell of a Quarterback, and any game that has a last second potentially game changing throw is exciting to watch! I was a little disappointed in this years commercials. I loved the M&Ms commercial - I thought it was hilarious. There were also a few funny Doritos commercials, and I liked the VW dog/Star Wars commercial. I actually loved the half time show with Madonna as well. There were some fun people to make it more modern, and I loved the songs she chose. While a little strange seeing Madonna, she is an icon. Plus it was WAY better than the awfulness that was the Black Eyed Peas last year!

So that's that. The next few weeks are a whirlwind - I've got a 11-12 mile run this week plus several errands around Gainesville to run for preparations. Friday is a Jeff Dunham performance with the family and then heading up to Charleston for the weekend with my parents. The next week my sister comes home to see me one last time before I leave. That long weekend is packed with a family photo shoot, my half marathon, and my going away party. Then I'm down to a week to finish packing, say my goodbyes and head out. I can't believe it's actually this close!