AuburnChick's Adventures

A week and a half ago, I did something I rarely do…

I took two days off of work – a Friday and a Monday.

Why?

Well, to play, of course!

The Mr.’s work schedule was chaotic this summer; coordinating a weekend trip around his and Rooster’s schedules proved un-doable.

Thus it was that we found ourselves at Universal Studios the second week of school.  We stayed at the Cabana Beach Resort, where the Mr. had reserved a family suite…tres beautiful.  ❤

Chicky doesn’t live too far from Orlando, so she drove over and met us there Saturday morning…just in time to go to the parks!  We had tickets for both – Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

Oh goodness, but just seeing Chicky made me happy.  She was last in town in June for a friend’s wedding.  Our visit was somewhat short; she’s a homebody…as in her own home…because she’s all grown up now.  😉

Watching my babies (cause they’ll always be my babies) walking together, conversing about who knows what, made my heart sing with joy.

The first day started out beautiful. We quickly got on The Hulk.  I wasn’t scared until we were seated.  I remembered doing well during Spring Break when the Mr. and I rode it, but I also remember feeling just a little bit queasy when it was over because of the final twist.

This time around, I was better prepared for the flips and turns and got off the ride smiling.

Our day turned, eventually, as the weather changed from being sunny to a dull overcast…typical Florida summer weather.  The rain drove us back to the hotel after dinner at the Cowfish (a great restaurant at CityWalk, if you’re ever at Universal).

That night, we were checking out the weather for the next day, and it was supposed to rain…like an 80% chance…EVERY.  SINGLE.  HOUR.

Well, I prayed mightily before I went to sleep, claiming God’s promise that we could move mountains if we had faith.  I asked that God would allow our little part of Orlando to be rain-free until we finished all of the rides we wanted to go on.  It’s so rare that all four of us can get together, that I wanted to eke out as much fun from the day as possible.

God was so faithful and answered my prayers!  The day started off a bit hazy, but the sky quickly cleared up.

We got into Harry Potter World early because we were staying at one of the park’s hotels.  Boy, did we take advantage of this extra time!  We quickly jumped on the Dueling Dragons ride.  We’d ridden it the day before, but because there are two different tracks, we got on the second one.  The Mr. wasn’t super thrilled; roller coasters are getting harder for him to ride.

😀

What fun!

After that ride, we walked quickly back to the Rock It roller coaster, which we’d tried to ride the day before but couldn’t because it had gotten shut down with the inclement weather.

The Mr., who was going to pass on it the day before, got shamed into riding with us.  It was the main ride that Rooster wanted to go on.  As we waited in line, we discovered that rather than having an over-the-shoulder harness, the ride had a thick waist shield.

I’ll admit that I got a little freaked out.  This ride requires you to go straight up really high, so you’re looking up at the sky before you get to the top of a dropoff.  SCARY.  It flips and twists too!  We were so scared we’d fall out.

I sat beside Rooster, and Chicky and the Mr. sat behind us.

I screamed the first two drops but then began laughing hysterically when I thought I heard the Mr. screaming.  It was, in fact, the man in front of us.

Still, I found the ride exhilarating.

After we got off, we discovered that the ride had cameras in front of every seat, so we could watch ourselves as we were riding.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

I wish I had bought the video of the Mr. and Chicky; the contrast in their faces was PRICELESS.  Chicky smiled and laughed the entire time.  The Mr.’s face was screwed up like he was enduring torture.  Hysterical stuff.

This was me after I finished…the ride behind me (see the arrows…you go up the left side of them…on your back)…

We managed to everything we wanted to do…the Minions ride…so much fun!!  The Mr. and I had waited for an hour and a half before it got shut down during our previous visit, so we were especially happy to finally get to ride it.

We visited Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and indulged in beverages…

That was a creamy orange drink with cinnamon and brown sugar around the rim.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  I was licking my fingers for hours afterward.

One of the main things I wanted to do was go on the water rides.  We’d purchased ponchos because I had forgotten to bring mine after loaning them to my friend, Barb, a few months ago.  Thank goodness we had them because the water rides SOAK you through and through!  What fun though!  I highly recommend them if you ever visit Universal.

This was me after the Barges ride.

I didn’t really buy much in the way of souvenirs.  I did get this comic shirt though…so cute and so much fun to wear!

I liked it so much that I wore it to dinner that night.  I did a sneak-selfie as we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe at CityWalk…

Oh, and the rain that I asked God to keep at bay?  He answered!!!  It didn’t start raining until after we’d gotten off of the last ride we’d planned for the day.  Then, the bottom fell out of the sky…as we began making our way to the bus and, ultimately, our hotel.

Don’t ever NOT ask for something.  God does hear!

Chicky didn’t join us for dinner.  She had gone back home so she could teach the next day.  Her school was only starting its second week, so she didn’t want to take off time.

The food at the Hard Rock was divine…

I don’t remember what the guys ate; I had the veggie sandwich.  Rooster enjoyed the cheesecake while the Mr. and I inhaled its delicious aroma from afar.

Sigh.

What a fantastic weekend we had.  We created so many fun memories…even more precious now that my chicklets are grown and spending less and less time with us.

Filed under: Vacation | Tagged: family, Universal Studios, Vacation |