Went to Universal Studios Florida

I finally got to go to Universal Studios in Florida! Ever since I first saw shows from Nickelodeon, I wanted to go down there to be a part of it. Despite being very excited about going, there was a few issues:

1) It was extremely cold. It was cloudy and there was no sun to keep us warm. It was the coldest that FL has been in a long time.

2) I went with 2 other couples and was the odd person in the group. I felt awkward and alone 60% of the day.

But besides that, I had a pretty good time.


We went to see the new Simpson's attraction that took over the Back to the Future ride (boo). This ride was in 3D and was pretty cute. If you are a Simpson's Fan, I would highly recommend it. If you are not a Simpson's fan, you probably will not get or like this ride at all.

Because we went the first week of the year, the Christmas lights were still up! It was beautiful to see all the decorations!
If it wasn't so gosh darn cold, I would have loved to walk around Seuss Landing more. There was alot of cute little shops.

I got to see a sneak peak of the Harry Potter park. Here is the Hogwarts castle!! It was beautiful and so life-like. I can't wait to go there when its all done!

The Jurassic Park section was closed due to the cold, but I still managed to run into a dinosaur there. I should win an Oscar for my performance! I made it seem real! And yes....I really am that pale.

We did alot of great rides at Universal, but the Hulk roller coaster was my FAVORITE!! We waited almost 2 hours in line. But the worst part was that there was a cheerleaders convention going on, and there was a group of cheerleaders CHEERING in line. So let me do the math here...

Being freezing cold + waiting in line for 2 hours + twenty 16 year old cheerleaders cheering on the top of their lungs = My own personal Hell

But was the ride worth all that?? Absolutely! It had so many twists and turns going on. I loved it!
Besides all the rides and attractions there is a TON of places to shop! We had dinner at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville! It was really awesome there. If you can get past the cheesy Jimmy Buffet songs then its worth the trip. Best drinks I have ever had. I recommend the Pink Cadillac drink if you ever go there. It was like drinking Koolaid!

Details

Universal Studios: Bigger roller coasters and better 3d attractions then Disney has, but lacks the Disney magic and customer service skills. I would defiantly love to go back here! But next time I am going with a boyfriend.

Margaritaville: Very campy and cute. The food was great and the drinks were awesome. Our waitress was fantastic!

Dressed up fancy and gambled at Mohegan Sun

We thought it would be fun if we dressed up all fancy and went to Mohegan Sun for some gambling fun. I have never been there and was shocked by how huge it is there.

Here we are dressed to impress. We were the only ones in the casino dressed up like we were. But we didn't care, we looked good.

Here I am at the slots machines wondering where all my money went...

The best part of the night was heading up to the Star Bar aka The Bar in the Sky, ALL the way upstairs from the casino. It was so nice there. The ceiling was a giant sky which changed. One minute you would see a blue sky with clouds and a airplane and the next minute you would see stairs and the moon.

The drinks were good there too. They were so strong.

Here is our bartender at the star bar, Ben. He was awesome!

After a few drinks it was time to win big! I was determined to bring home big money.

But instead this is all I won at the end of the night! Yay me!



Details

Mohegan Sun - Nice place, don't expect to bring home big money. The casino lets you smoke EVERYWHERE so if smoking bothers you, you will need to find the crappy smoke free section.

Place to hang out: Star Bar- Fantastic place to get a drink and hang out

Tip: Wear comfy shoes. You do a LOT of walking

Baltimore Sox Game: So nice we did it twice!

After everything that went wrong on the first trip to Baltimore, I thought I would never convince my friends to go back with me. Even though the trip had a few issues here and there I actually had a blast. When I was uploading the pictures from the game I could laugh at all we went through.

So when my friend sent out an email saying we should go back and catch the game in September, I was all for it. I believe that right after that email within a week I had the purchased 4 tickets, booked a hotel, bought tour tickets and got us a rental car. We were ready for the Baltimore Do-Over.

This time around we knew what to expect. I got us a better hotel that didn't give my room to someone else and we took the subway early enough that we finally got to make our tour!! It was the best $9 bucks I ever spent. The tour was amazing!



Here is our tour guide giving us a history lesson on Camden Yards. He knew ALOT of fun information! I learned what Babe Ruth's Batting average was (342), where Babe Ruth lived and learned about baseball, and we learned some fun facts about what goes into a baseball game at Camden Yard.

Part of the tour was to walk down to the field. But we weren't allowed to step on the grass because it is a special blend of seeds and our shoes could contaminate it.



Making our way to the dugout! I can't believe how close we got to the field!

My friend and I sitting in the dugout! It was great to sit where the pros sit and it was super clean too. The bench was cushioned too! These guys have it all!

The view from the dugout. It reminded me of my softball playing days...

This is where important phone calls are made!

We then moved on to inside Camden Yard. I guess they keep a stats board of every game. I had the worst urge to just whip this clean.

We got to go where the newspaper/TV/Radio reporters go to see the game. The view they had was amazing.

While our tour guide was talking, I spotted Dustin Pedroia doing some batting practice. I love his socks!

Finally the game began! Here is us (minus 1) waiting for the game to start.

The Red Sox killed Baltimore. It was a great game!

An important lesson for you kids: Doing this at the game all through the game, plus eating a Camden Yard Hot Dog, plus having a big lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and being in the Summer heat.......

will result to this. I was so sick. I came back to the hotel and fell on the bed. I didn't even get undressed. My friends thought I was dead the next morning. But would I go again?? Absolutely! Baltimore is a great place to watch the Sox play!

Details

Camden Yards - I love dealing with them! They are so friendly!!

Where we stayed: Weston Hotel- Beautiful inside and they had a room for me when I arrived! I heard the bar and gym is nice, but I was too sick to enjoy it.

Rental car: Hetz- My car wasn't as big the first time and they gave me a car with Rhode Island plates...yuck... but they are great over there

What to do: Camden Yard ballpark tour- well worth it!!

Went to Baltimore to See the Sox play!

In February I thought it would be a great idea to go to Baltimore to see the Red Sox play against the Orioles. So I booked a hotel and bought 2 tickets. I was also able to score 2 more tickets from someone who canceled so I was able to bring 3 of my closest friends. This trip was going to be so much fun! Wrong! This trip is now known as:

The Epic Fail of Baltimore aka Waitsomemore

Why was this trip an Epic Fail? Let me list the reasons.

- The Sheraton overbooked the hotel and we had to stay at a "nicer" hotel

-The "nicer" hotel turned out to be a dump

-We missed our tour of Camden Yard because it took forever to check out of that hotel

- On the way back from our non existing tour we waited like 45 mins for the train in the hot sun in the middle of no where

But we didn't come to Baltimore to go sight seeing, we were in Baltimore to see the Red Sox play. The game was fantastic and Camden Yards is beautiful!

The view from our seats. Pretty darn good for just $35 buck seats!

I see why Baltimore is called "Boston of the South" I didn't see any Orioles fans in our section. Do you see any orange?

Except for this jerk sitting in front of us. He was so annoyed at us Red Sox fans. Yet...isn't that a Red Sox hat he is wearing?!

Their field was so nice! And it was so clean! Even the bathrooms where clean.

Despite the fact that Ortiz was supposedly using steroids back in 2004, us fans still shouted out his name. The couple beside me was shocked at how into the Sox we fans are. I also had to explain that we were NOT booing Youk.

The best part of Camden Yards was the hot dogs and the Margarita's! That's right, Margaritas passed out by a vendor! We had fun taking advantage of that!

The Sox win!! aww the sad wittle birdie is all gwouchy and sad

The Sox won, we were full of hot dogs, and the drinks were tasty! Baltimore wasn't such a fail after all! (BTW, I wanted a picture of me at our section....we were section 61)

Despite everything that happened with the hotel, on the way back home we all agreed that this was a great trip and that we should do it again! I guess it makes for a great story.

Details

Camden Yards-Orioles Stadium- I called them to get the tickets and everyone I talked to was super nice. Great customer service!

Rental Car: Hetz (Woburn MA)- Great customer service!

Where we stayed: The Sheraton Hotel BWI airport- I would not recommend this hotel because I booked the room in February and yet my room was not available when I got there

Favorite place to eat: Camden Yards- FANTASTIC hot dogs and I loved the vendor with the margaritas!