Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Yesterday I got another item checked off of my "Pre-Dominican Republic Bucket List." I headed down to Orlando for the day with my friend Meg to check out the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Islands of Adventure Universal Studios. We spent the whole day at the park, and most of it was in the Harry Potter section.

It's a bit sad considering how much I love Harry Potter that I hadn't yet made it to the park. I blame it on the fact that for the first year it had opened I lived in NYC and that I had a job with crazy hours.

Hogsmeade was exactly what I had hoped it would be. It was definitely ridiculously crowded, but that was to be expected. The one downfall I would say is the size of the stores. Several of the stores you actually had to wait in line for! We bought wands at Ollivanders, had butterbeer and British food at the Three Brooksticks, and purchased candy at Honeydukes! Just hanging out in Hogsmeade was tons of fun and made the crowds worth it.

Hogwarts was absolutely amazing. The major ride that they have for Harry Potter is inside of it. It was so cool to walk around the corner and see the castle ahead. However, the line was LONG. But if you go to the park, I am telling you, it is 100% worth the wait. It's completely unique is ridiculously fun. You don't even have to be a huge fan of the movies or books to enjoy it! We waited for 2 hours the first time, and with the single rider line cut our time down to under an hour the second time.

And of course, the signs all had to be in character! NO muggles allowed through this door - authorized wizards only!

And of course, now that I have my wand and some candy from Hogsmeade, I'm ready for the Hogwarts express to come pick me up! Any day now...

Bucket List Updates!

Well, I have in the past week done a few of the things on my bucket list and have plans for accomplishing a few more!

First, I ran my first road race! It was a 5K, and I ran it in 29 minutes 2 seconds. I was really pleased with my time - for my first road race to run less than 10 minute miles, I was really pleased. I have continued my running - I am in week 4 of the 12 week training schedule I have for the half-marathon, and will soon be registering for the Gainesville Half-Marathon the weekend before I leave for Peace Corps. I also hope to run a 10K and a 15K before I run the half marathon, so I should have a better idea for my timing and endurance.

Next, I booked my trip to NYC. I'll be heading there for about a week and a half - I think it's 9 nights exactly. One of my best friends will be overlapping my trip with me also visiting the city, so there should be tons of people to see and things to do! Now to order my tickets to see Darren Criss in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!"

Finally, I took a little mini weekend trip with my family. We went to Orlando for a night for a concert. We had an amazing dinner and brunch, and then went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. It was an AWESOME concert! Tons of cool lights and pyrotechnics! It was a great little escape for the weekend. We are working on planning 1-2 other short trips to spend some good family time together.

Other than that, things are about the same. I've got about a week left of work - I'm leaving right before Christmas, so I will have time to do all the things I want to!

Hope everyone is having a lovely December!

Pre-Honduras Bucket List

So with things getting closer and closer to when I leave (less than 3 months!), I have been working on a list of things that I want to do before I leave for Honduras.

• Run a Half-Marathon

This has been a goal of mine for some time. It's perfect - I have 12 weeks to train, which is the amount of time recommended to get up to the mileage, and there is a half-marathon in Gainesville the weekend before I leave

• Go skydiving

Another thing that I have been wanting to do for a while. Hoping to find someone to go with me!

• Get an additional Scuba certification

I currently have my Open Water Certification, but I would like my Advanced Open Water or a NITROX certification.

• Trip to NYC

Some of my family and my best friends are still in the city, and it's also one of my favorite places in the world! This one is already in the works, and plans should be finalized soon

• Go to "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and I still haven't made it to the theme park! Since it's only 2 hours from my house, it's a must do before I leave

• Family vacation

My family is very important to me, and we are currently working on planning one last trip, just me and my parents, before I go. Since I won't get to see them for at least 6-9 months once I leave for Peace Corps. We're figuring out exactly where and hopefully will be booking everything soon!

• Getting through most of Rosetta Stone

I got Rosetta Stone Spanish to better structure my Spanish studying for Honduras (which was basically non-existent before). It's not really challenging me yet, but I hope to get through most of the 5 Levels to get me comfortable again with speaking as well as to improve my vocabulary. I'll have to work on the grammar separately, but it's helping so far!

So that's about it for now - I'm sure I will add to the list as I continue to think about things. It's nice to have these goals, and I hope to accomplish some of them with my wonderful family and friends!