A Revival: Islands of Adventure

My Birthday Celebration Vacation at Islands of Adventure!
Dates: October 7-10, 2010
(Part 2)

{Location: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida}
In addition to the Wizarding World fun we had for my birthday, we also had a great time exploring the other parts of Islands of Adventure (I decided to separate this from the Wizarding World post). So here are the awesome highlights from the rest of our trip!

{Jurassic Park}
My first time riding this ever. I haven't even been on the one in Universal Studios in California. I tend to shy away from water rides, but since we came all this way...I figured what the heck :)

{Toon Lagoon}
This whole area was just filled with comic strip cartoons! Loved it!

{Love}
'Cause she eats her spinach! ;)

This white water rapids ride was SO MUCH FUN. I think it's the best one I've ever been on. It's super long (it seemed like it was at least 8 minutes long) and at one point we thought the ride was over, but nope...it was just the climax. We may as well have been dunked in water tanks. There's no way you can get off the ride without being drenched.

{Day 2}
We verged off again after the Wizarding World. The rest of the park was ours to take! Hahaha...okay okay, we couldn't really see everything because the park was really packed that day. So we did what we could.

{Seuss Landing}
My inner child totally came out here in Seuss Landing. I loved Dr. Seuss when I was a kid. Seeing his world was pretty darn cool.

{Love}
The Circus McGurkus Cafe! I loved how everything inside was so over the top!

{Side Note}
Alee and I took this picture without knowing that water actually came out of the cage spouts. So I pulled the lever without a second thought, and then I heard Alee scream. HAHAHA! So her face in this picture was a true reaction :)

{Love}
Us. This picture.

{The Lost Continent}
We headed to Mythos Restaurant for my birthday lunch (reservations is a must for this place). I was in awe of this restaurant. If I were to choose one word to describe it...EPIC.

A very happy birthday to me!

{Marvel Super Hero Island}
Now this place was Enrique's haven...and I guess for all guys for that matter! Charlene and I were the only ones who rode on The Incredible Hulk Coaster (the others gracefully declined...whatever you guys!) Can I just say...one of THE BEST coasters I have ever been on...like in the top 3. Charlene and I couldn't stop talking about how fun it was afterwards. Believe me, it takes a really great coaster to impress my sister :P

It was time to say goodbye to this wonderful place! Why does it have to be all the way across the country from me?

That night we had a celebratory/farewell dinner at the TGIF next to our hotel.

The next day my brother and sister-in-law drove all the way from Jacksonville to Orlando to take us all out for lunch and some shopping, and then finally to the airport. So nice of them to do that for us!

{Love}
The Doubletree Hotel. Right across the Universal  Studios resort/park entry with a free shuttle service to and from. Right next to TGIF. It had a Starbucks in the lobby. Free freshly baked cookies all day at the front desk. Perfect. We enjoyed our stay here.

Our final goodbye to the Wizarding World! Hahaha! This poster/set up was near the front of our hotel's lobby. We just HAD to!

{Mall at Millenia}
After some lunch at Elephant Bar, we perused and shopped in the mall. Of course I had to buy my Orlando Starbucks city mug!

{Orlando International Airport}

[Wondrous Sigh]

QT With Friends: At Fig Tree Cafe

{Location: Fig Tree Cafe in Hillcrest, San Diego CA}
I went out for dinner tonight to celebrate Melody's birthday! She picked out this nice little restaurant in Hillcrest. It was our first time here, so we were all a bit curious (and a bit excited) for the food.

Needless to say, the food was VERY tasty! My compliments to the chef!

[While I Waited] We had Fried Green Tomato Napoleon for our appetizer...darn, I forgot to take a snapshot of it. It looked so yummy that we all just dug in right away! It was gone before I could even remember to take out my camera...oh well.
[What I'm Waiting For]  My Free Range Chicken Cannelloni
[What I Sipped, While I Waited] I got my drink on with a Raspberry Bellini!
[What I Shouldn't Have, but Did] We all shared a Tiramisu. Again, we all dug in so fast, that I forgot to take a snapshot of it.

Cheers! Happy new year of life Melody! I've missed hanging out with these two ladies...I know we've all been busy with our own schedules lately...but it's definitely nice to catch up and just enjoy each other's company. We even made plans for a quick day trip up to the place where our lovely friendships bloomed and grew (sometime in mid-February). Nice...

A gift for ME? What a pleasant surprise! Analyn gave me my late late...late birthday gift (you guys, my birthday was in October, hahaha)! Oh Analyn...THANK YOU friend! I've been SO wanting one too!

[Anthropologie: Infinity scarf in navy/marigold]

QT With Friends: Extraordinary Desserts

{Location: Extraordinary Desserts in Downtown San Diego}

I just got this picture sent to me through fb yesterday from Charlene (this picture was taken from Joann's phone). We celebrated Joann's birthday on 1.13.12 at one of my favorite dessert places! I just love love love their passion fruit ricotta torte cake...SO good!


{Tidbit Fact}
This was Joann's first time EVER eating at Extraordinary...what the heck, woman?!? How can you not have eaten here before? Hahaha :)