Florida Part 1: Orlando

The day after graduation I wrote my CRNE! Which was stressful and crazy and a little bit exhausting. I had a slight panic attack right before I handed the test in since it's pretty much going to define my future but I sucked it up and now I just have to wait. The next day I flew to Florida!! Nathan and I had been planning on going for a few months but we had a little miscommunication. He booked the tickets for the day I wrote my CRNE, and I couldn't really miss that. So he flew out when I wrote my test and I followed a day later.
I made some weird friends and spent an entire day on airplanes. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning (after having slept through my alarm) and even got to spend four hours in Newark, New Jersey. Nathan picked me up from the airport and we immediately hit up Chick-fil-a! Which had fountain cherry Diet Coke, by the way. It was lovely.

The next day, we started with waffle tacos at Taco Bell. They sound gross but are actually delicious. We ate them a lot. This was my first time. I was nervous.

Then we hit up Busch Gardens! It's a mix between an amusement park and a zoo. It was a little busy but really great. It was also my first day in real Florida heat. Needless to say I was pretty much a puddle by the end of the day. I wore my hair down like an amateur. The heat is like a blanket that mildly suffocates you all day.

Next we drove to Tampa Bay and went to a Rays game. We went to batting practice and watched a lot of people playing catch. But it turned out to be a pretty fun game. And all ballparks sell my two favorite things - churros and cotton candy - so I was pretty easy to make happy.

Day 2 - Gatorland! It was great. It was bigger than I expected and really fun. And there were all kinds of different alligators. I definitely recommend going if you're around!

Nathan was more interested in the other animals. This is his new friend, Cinnamon, the albino raccoon. Also for some reason there was a little room full of budgies. And Nathan really wanted to feed them. So he went in and held a popsicle stick with bird seed on it and birds would land all over him. I definitely did not participate. I did go in the room to take a picture and really struggled. It was legit the worst.

The next day was Magic Kingdom!! And it really was magical. It was completely packed. I couldn't believe how many people were there. But it was great! Nathan had never been to a Disney park before so it was fun to be there for his first time on all the rides. He even let me impulse by Minnie Mouse ears. Which I love. And wore around the park for pretty much the whole day. I got to meet Ariel, but it was really hard to meet the princesses. They're really regulated in Florida. We think because it's so hot.

Nathan's first time on It's a Small World!! He loved it as much as I knew he would. I made sure to point out the Canada section. And all the weirdly racist parts. 

The next day we were on to HARRY POTTER WORLD!! It's actually Universal Studios and Harry Potter World is just a little section of the park but the whole park was spectacular. I was in heaven. I loved every minute of it. Butterbeer is SO good. And I even bought a chocolate frog. They even told me to be careful because it was going to jump out of the box when I opened it. Magical. 

 

Next we headed to Miami! We took the scenic route because Nathan wanted to see a few people from his mission. This meant we got to stop in Fort Pierce. Let me tell you - it is super ghetto. The whole city is a little on the sketch side. But there is a Manatee Center there! Who knew people needed one of those?