Flori-DUH!: The Final Chapter

For fear of ending this school year without having ever experienced that real procrastination-induced all-nighter that so many of my friends have told me about, I've decided to put off writing my paper (due Thursday) until tomorrow night. Consequently, I'm going to try to finish up my trip in this blog post, as I have realized that there have been several other things I've wanted to write about but haven't because I didn't want to mess up the flow of these posts. But, I digress... So, as they say in those old explorer movies, ONWARD!

Wednesday, March 31 - Thursday, April 1
Chillin' At the Holiday Inn

After our adventures at Universal we spent the next two days relaxing next to the pool at the resort, which, consequently, was not the Holiday Inn. It was actually called Bahama Bay Resort and Spa. We stayed in a three bedroom, two bath condo overlooking a pond area, complete with spouting fountain. The weather was fantastic, and spending time there was really great. On top of the pool, there were hot tubs, sand volleyball, pool (the old-timers might call it billiards), walking trails (really only glorified sidewalks, but still nice), free movie rentals, and an exercise room.

To be honest, nothing truly remarkable happened those two days, though maybe that's for the best considering how tiring the previous ones had been. After a trip to Target, where Drew and Slick Willy bough matching swim trunks--they were so cute--we made our way outside for some fun in the sun. We played a little frisbee, read a book or two, cooled off in the pool, and just generally relaxed. Overall, the day was very relaxing, but boy, oh boy, was that sun strong! Poor Briana and I were putting on sunscreen every half hour or so and we still got burned! In fact, after the first day the two of us snuck off to Wal-Mart for some aloe lotion... for Nick Wilson, of course. Poor guy's chest was redder than a cherry.

Thursday was much like Wednesday, except that Briana and I spent much more time in the shade. Nick was still convinced that he would tan over his burn, so he stubbornly stayed out in the sun. He used a lot of aloe lotion that evening. We played some more frisbee, which was fun, but as a general rule our aim was terrible. Drew showed off during Frisbee by continually jumping the fence over which the Frisbee often flew. Nick tried to do the same, but struggled a bit. Briana volunteered to crawl into the bushes, and I just stood by and took pictures to commemorate. Afterward we met a bunch of people on vacation from Canada who we played some volleyball with. After a few games (all of which we lost by a fairly large margin), we rinsed off in the pool, went inside, showered, made dinner, and hung out until Drew's parents and little brother got in from the airport.

Friday, April 2
Welcome to Duloc

Please keep off of the grass, shine your shoes, wipe your...

face!

Pardon the interruption, but no matter how many times I hear that song I am thoroughly amused by it. But, on to the matter at hand. Drew's father is a stressful man, and our morning at Universal Studios was rather stressful for that very reason, especially for Briana and me, who were all but ignored for most of the morning except by Drew's mother, who, God bless her, puts up with it on a daily basis. I'm sure she's adapted well to it, though, considering all the practice I'm sure she gets. Nevertheless, I'll recount in record time my day at the Studios (it's a pet name; just go with it).

The morning consisted of running, literally, to the Rip Ridin' Rockit Roller Coaster, touted as "the most interactive roller coaster in the world," or something to that respect. The ride is brand new, thus the rush to get to it was chaotic and, we later found out, completely unnecessary. After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes, we were informed that they were experiencing technical difficulties and had to shut down the ride. Of course, they allowed us to sit in line for close to an hour before kicking us out and telling us to come back later, but not before our group left with about sixteen fast passes that, of course, could be used on any ride in the park except the one we had just waited an hour to an hour and a half to get on. We made use of the fast passes later in the day, after the park got a little busier and lines were longer than fifteen minute waits.

Our first and only photo op of the morning came after we had ridden both The Mummy coaster, which may have been my favorite ride in the entire park--we went on it again, twice, later in the afternoon--Spiderman (also fantastic), and the Jaws Boat tour. The big shark scared Bri Bri when it popped out of the water. Priceless. Just before stopping for mid-morning funnel cakes, Drew's parents insisted we all stand next to Jaws and get a picture. I, of course, decided to be the one to put my head in its mouth, so you can barely see me in the picture, but as a whole it turned out to be one of my favorites from the trip.

After our funnel cake stop we spent another three hours being dragged around the park (to various rides, one of my favorites was the Disaster movie ride because it incorporated behind-the-scenes tricks of movie-making) by Drew's dad, Drew, and Nick Wilson. I think they may have been going for the Guinness World Record for fastest spin through a theme park, at least that's certainly what it felt like. Aside from feeling like I was on the wrong end of the dog leash, I appreciated Drew's parents for paying for our lunch (and consequently our dinner later that evening). Being the poor college student that I am (that we all are), it was nice to not have to spend my own money on overpriced burgers and fries. And don't get me wrong, Drew's parents are for the most part very pleasant to be around, but it was definitely a stressful experience. I know that at least Briana and I were relieved when they decided to leave shortly after lunch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon revisiting most of the park, especially the parts that we had practically run through early in the day. We stopped to take pictures of us wearing funny hats (or beaded wigs), which is always fun. We also rode Men in Black two or three times, experienced a real-ish tornado in Twister, and let a middle-ages street wench hit on Drew's little brother Tyler after getting off the Shrek ride.

By the end of the day and a few last rides, including Jimmy Neutron, which I'm pretty sure Briana and I were the only people over fifteen who weren't there with kids, we headed to the gift shops so that Nick Wilson could get himself a shot glass. I got a couple, too. One of them has a T-Rex bursting out of it! It's definitely my favorite. It makes me happy just looking at it. We decided to head out sometime around 8pm. Maybe it wasn't quite that late. It's a little fuzzy. Of course before we left we stopped and took pictures by the Universal Globe. It's on Briana's camera, though, so I can't show you.

When we got back to the condo we were all pooped. Drew wasn't feeling well. We attributed it to heat exhaustion and possibly a little dehydration, so he lay down and we ordered a pizza. We ate and packed and then went to bed. We had to get up to leave by 5:00 the next morning, so we all turned in early.

Saturday, April 3 - Sunday, April 4
Return of the Jedi Drivers

The drive home was more or less uneventful. On our way through Georgia we passed a Chick-fil-a advertisement/water tower. There were cows on it. I was thoroughly amused. We drove straight through from Orlando to Madison with a quick stop in the Falls to pick up Nick's car from Drew's parents' house. We made really good time, though, getting into Madison around 1:00am. And because we were all absolutely exhausted, getting into bed never looked so good.

So that's it, I guess. I hope I didn't bore my loyal readers too much with the details of my trip. Sorry, also, that it took so long to write about. Nevertheless, you can look back now for some more interesting pieces in the near future.

Peace, Love, and Car Trips.

Flori-DUH!: Part 2

I am skipping class today for two reasons.
#1: The particular class I'm choosing to skip is the one where the TA doesn't even know my name. Combine that with the fact that it's cold out and the class is across campus and you've got a solid excuse.
#2: The fact that I'm taking this class pass/fail leaves no motivation for me to attend. We've had two of our three tests and I've got a solid A. I'm pretty sure docking my participation grade for not attending discussion really won't hurt my chances of passing the class.

So here I sit, and what better way to pass the time than to continue the sage known as my spring break?

Tuesday, March 30
Adventures in Jurassic Park

We woke up bright and early Tuesday morning--if one can consider 8:00am "bright and early"--and got ready for our day at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. After a quick shower and breakfast, we rushed out the door in true Wilson/Wuenstel fashion, set the GPS, and crawled into the car for our "15 minute trip" to the park.

The trip took us close to an hour. Partial blame goes to traffic, which was absolutely ridiculous. Nobody in Florida knows how to drive, and the stop lights are timed just perfectly so that it's nearly impossible to drive through one without getting stopped at the next. I also lay partial blame on the GPS for telling Drew to turn off at an exit that thoroughly complicated our route. I give the final portion of blame to my navigationally-challenged boyfriend and Slick Willy, who decided it was a good idea to turn the GPS off before we got to the park. The result was further delay when we were taken about four miles off course in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

Regardless of our troubles, we did eventually make it to the park. This would certainly be a pathetic story if we hadn't. And, because it took us another half hour or so just to get into the parking garage due to very slow service at gate, Drew and Nick were ready to hit the ground running, literally. The second we got out of the car Briana and I knew that the backs of their heads would be a familiar sight.

Around 1pm, after a good morning waiting in line (and noticing we all wore the same brand of shoes), riding roller coasters and water rides, we decided to head back to the car for lunch. Being the frugal college students we all are, we decided to pack sandwiches for lunch instead of eating in the park. We had one little hiccup, however. Sometime throughout the morning's festivities, my ticket went MIA. In hindsight I realize that this wasn't the complete disaster that I was making it out to be at the time, though we did waste another twenty minutes or so waiting in line at the customer service station so that I could get it reprinted and thus reenter the park.

The rest of the day went swimmingly. We enjoyed the Hulk, Spider-Man, Dueling Dragons (about six times), and a particular water ride called Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, also known as Popeye's water torture. I got soaked! From head to toe. So soaked, in fact, that I had to go to the bathroom and wring out my clothes. To add insult to injury, I had to walk--well, waddle--around for the rest of the day. I'm sure I was the only one who didn't find it very funny.

We didn't get to go to Hogwarts. Harry Potter land doesn't open until June. Of course, though, they had to tempt us. The line for dueling dragons wound right through Hogsmeade. They had us go through a makeshift tunnel. Temporary black walls blocked our view of most of the area. I was itching for a look, though. I peeked through every crack and opening I could. It looks fantastic. Maybe I'll have to go back this summer to check it out. Too bad we didn't get any free tickets when the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit broke down three days later.

Some of the most fun we had at the park was the time we spent inside the play area in Jurassic Park. There were climbing nets, water guns, slides, hidden caverns, and waterfalls. Of course the place was littered with little kids. It's supposed to be a kids' area. Maybe that's why we all had so much fun. Later we also explored the play area in Seuss Land. It wasn't as cool as Jurassic Park, but we still had a good time.

The day ended a whole lot better than it started. After getting lost and losing my ticket, I wasn't sure there was much hope, but I was surprised by how much fun the four of us could make out of the simplest situations, like a slide too small to fit any of us down it, let alone all of us, or taking pictures with a fake T-Rex. We were all exhausted at the end of the day. Some of us were still a bit wet. Ok... I was still a bit wet. Nevertheless, we eventually got back to the condo, got into some more comfortable clothing, and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Alright, it's taken me two hours to write this. I'll update some more again soon.

Flori-DUH!: Part 1

I'm debating whether or no to tell my mom just how many times I nearly died in Florida this week. I'm exaggerating a bit of course, but I swear to God everybody in that state has a death wish. I was dragged into this treacherous plot unwillingly. Nevertheless, more on that in a bit. We'll go in chronological order:

Sunday, March 28th - Monday, March 29
The Journey

Drew, Briana, Nick Wilson, and I started out our trip from Drew's parents' house in Menomonee Falls. We were up and out of the house by 6:00am and, after a fairly non-eventful day of driving, lay our heads to rest in Cordele, Georgia, sometime around 9:30pm. That day Drew and Nick Wilson drove the entire time, and besides the runaway truck ramps in Tennessee and the sixteen lane highway in Atlanta, the drive itself was pretty blase. It was raining pretty badly for some time. Nick Wilson was driving like a FIB, and we were pretty much all yelling at him to stop tailgating when we could barely see forty feet in front of the car because of the rain. It was pretty typical.

After waking up the next morning and running on the treadmill in the hotel's expansive exercise facility (two treadmills and an eliptical), we stole copious amounts of food (a few Jimmy Dean sandwiches and a packet of oatmeal) and rushed out the door to get back on the road. This, in hindsight, was a terrible idea, specifically because I let the boys check the room before we left instead of doing it myself. The result: both my iPod and my jewelry were left in the hotel room. They found the iPod, but I am now without two pairs of earrings and the necklace and bracelet Drew got me for Christmas. I feel naked. :-(

Somewhere in Southern Georgia or Northern Florida was where we first almost died. Briana was driving, and through no fault of her own this giant bus-RV began merging into our lane while we were right next to it. I don't recall if there was another car in the next lane, and I have no idea how we got out of being crushed, but from that point on, I didn't trust any cars we drove next too. Turns out that this mistrust was indeed a valid one, as later that evening we were also almost killed...THRICE!

We made it to the resort relatively unscathed after "the incident," and settled into our three bedroom, two bath condo, definitely better than staying in some skeezy motel. We ate, explored a bit, and decided to take a trip to Downtown Disney to explore the plethora of gift shops. I bought myself a personalized mug from the Lego store, to add to my growing collection, and we took lots of pictures with funny hats, next to shiny cars, and underneath the giant Tinkertoy windmill. It was an enjoyable evening, certainly a good way to end a boring (and somewhat stressful) couple of days of driving.

Though our night wasn't over. We still had to drive back to the resort, and this proved to be more dangerous than we had expected because when tired mothers of three get behind the wheel of their overflowing minivan after a long day at Disney World, one should watch out. It will not be pretty. I can't even remember how it all happened. It happened so fast, and by fast I mean that we were nearly hit by three different cars on three different occasions in about the span of thirty seconds. The last was the scariest. A light-colored pickup truck tried to merge into our lane after realizing it didn't actually want to take the exit it was halfway up. The result: erratic movements, screaming, and almost a funeral. I applaud Nick Wilson for keeping us in one piece through all of this, but I'm sure he'll be bragging about it for the next couple of years. I may get sick of him.

We made it back to the resort alright. It was probably something close to a miracle we didn't get into a car accident. We checked out Up In The Air from the front desk and watched about half of it before going to bed.

So ends "The Journey."
More to come soon.