Islands of Adventure

Brian and I decided to spend Christmas in Florida with my maternal grandparents and cousin who live in Winter Haven. Winter Haven is just south of Orlando so we decided to spend the Saturday after Christmas at Islands of Adventure, which happens to be part of the Universal Studios complex.

We knew what we were getting into. According to information we found on the internet (which is always correct....) the Saturday after Christmas is THE busiest day of the year for theme parks in Orlando. On our drive down, this information was further enforced after being stuck in horrendous traffic just trying to make it to the IKEA right off Interstate 4. (Side note: Our visit to IKEA consisted of a hurried walk-through of the store while dodging disoriented adults and screaming children). Since neither of us can handle crowds of little more than 5 or 6 people, we decided to spend the night before our theme park adventure strategizing on how we would conquer the rides before the swarms of people descended upon the park.

First, we get detailed instructions on which rides to go to first from Brian's brother, who happens to be a huge theme park enthusiast. Next, we wake up while its still dark outside and get to the park by 7:45 (15 minutes before the opening). From there, we basically run from ride to ride with little to no wait and have basically experienced every ride by 11:00. (i should also mention that by this point I look like a sewer rat between the wet rides and Florida humidity) Right before we leave the park, we notice a bridge where you can insert 25 cents into a machine which then lets you aim and fire a water cannon at unsuspecting riders on the raft ride. This was probably the best part of the day- myself, Brian, and a nearby teenage girl even coordinated to fire all the water cannons at once on a group of people. I know- we're horrible people and deserve retribution, but we ultimately get it at the end of the day.


Before we leave the park, we decide to do one last ride that will most definately get us wet. It's a log ride with a huge descent into waves of water. We figure, "what the hell" since we were leaving anyways. The only question was what we would do with our camera/phones. So I stick both phones in my bra (one in each cup) and we use an empty Doritos bag to secure the camera (resourceful, right?). We got absolutely DRENCHED!! As we left the park, we walked against the masses of people just arriving for the day and noticed everyone staring at us since we looked like total freaks with our dripping hair and wet, clingy clothes. Islands of Adventure pales in comparison to Opryland (R.I.P.), but definately had its moments. Overall, it was a good way to recapture our youth for a day.

Mountain Biking at Lock 4

Back in December on a semi-warm day, Brian and I drove out to Lock 4 in Gallatin where we met our friend Brad for a day of mountain biking. For those of you unfamiliar with Lock 4, it is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced. This is why I am crazy- it was the first time I've mountain biked, ever. To be fair though, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just thought I'd be riding in the woods along some nice even trails. Maybe, just maybe, there'd be a challenging hill or a low branch to watch out for. Little did I know I would cheat death several times and nearly destroy my bike in the process.

First of all, they have these things called whoop-de-do's, which are basically these deep U-shaped dips that causes a bike to often go airborne. I didn't get enough speed going before I hit the whoop-de-do, so I ended up almost getting to the top before gravity dragged myself backwards and I ended up back at the beginning. It was like something you would see in a cartoon. I spent the rest of the time getting off my bike and walking through the muddy whoop-de-dos. Below is an example of a Whoop-de-do, but isn't an actual picture of me or Brian:


Also- did I mention that part of the bike trail runs along the edge of Old Hickory Lake? I almost learned this the hard way as I nearly lost control on a hill and tumbled into the icy-cold lake. Several times thoughout the ride, either Brian or me would let out a big "Ooph" as we fell (or ran into a tree) and hit the earth. Autumn leaves make for a nice padded fall.

When we finished up and got back to the car, it was such a sense of accomplishment despite all the challenges and bruises. My reward for all our physical activity was stopping at the gas station and buying Pringles, Laughy Taffy, and a diet Coke, thus throwing out any calorie deficit that I accumulated throughout the day. I'll leave you with a picture of my mud-covered leg.

Final days in Mexico

I'm finally getting around to posting about the tail end of our honeymoon in Mexico. In my last post, I ended before writing about Xel-Ha the Cultural Water Park, a.k.a. Tourist trap. Here- we planned on spending the afternoon snorkeling. That lasted about 5 minutes. Between the confusing life jackets, suffocating face mask, and snorkel that caused me to gag, we abandoned all hope of enjoying this activity and instead spent our time wandering aimlessly around the crowded park just praying for the time for our departure to draw nearer. We got stuck walking behind an annoying hippie who wouldn't shut up about the Grotto at the Playboy mansion. Who knows why....

Lastly, we attempted to relax on the isle of hammocks, but I quickly learned that I have the balance of a drunken fisherman as the hammock not-so-kindly spilled me out. When we finally got on the bus, we ended up in horrendous traffic due to construction. While Brian dozed off, I watched all the locals walk in the dark on the side of the highway and construction workers labor in the dark with nothing more than some cones lit up with tiny bulbs on the inside. This would definitely not occur in the U.S.- OSHA would throw a fit.


On Friday, our last full day, we spent the somewhat overcast day lounging around, but in the evening, a hotel shuttle took us into the fishing town of Puerto Morales where we ate dinner at a real Mexican restaurant and shopped for gifts. We ate at a place called Posada Amor and I had this yummy chicken enchilada thingy and Brian had chicken fajitas. When the waitress brought out our chips and salsa, we dug into the pico (Mexican salsa in this region is chunky and very unlike the saucy salsa that we get in Mexican restaurants here in the States). We wrongly assumed that the red chunks were tomatoes, when in fact they were extremely hot habanero peppers. Brian loved it and sweat with his meal.

Saturday morning we woke up and sadly began to pack. It was good to get home, but depressing to get on the plane and head to our layover in Chicago where the temperatures were in the 30s as opposed to the 80 degree weather we left hours earlier.

Over the next couple of weeks, we would ocassionaly catch a whiff of sunscreen from our laundered clothes and it was the most depressing feeling to know we were back in Tennessee, working the daily grind, and facing cold, wintery months ahead.

Part II- Riviera Maya Honeymoon

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I spent mine with family in Atlanta, and enjoyed my four day weekend. With the weather being dreary and cold outside, I figured it might cheer me up to reminisce about the last part of our vacation to the Riviera Maya.

Day Three found us relaxing around the hotel, taking advantage of the pools and ocean view. That morning, we got a couples massage at the resort spa. The ladies who massaged us started off with a foot scrub and then had us inhale this scent that was so calming. In hindsight, I wish I had asked what it was, but i was too relaxed at that point. Then they went on to rub out all our aches and pains (which is saying alot since I have chronic back pain due to stress). I left feeling drunk and completely relaxed- I could barely keep my eyes open. Later that evening, we had a special dinner on the beach. Just me and my husband surrounded by ocean and stars. Our five-course meal came complete with our own personal waiter, a bottle of champagne, and a harp player named Gabriel who serenaded us with Antonio Carlos Jobim. After dinner, we left feeling a bit tipsy and walked over to the theatre where we caught the tail end of a Mexican circus act. When we got back to our room, a bubble bath had been drawn by hotel staff, and incense was burning on the side of the jacuzzi. Perfect end to the perfect day.


On Thursday, we set out once again for adventure and took a bus ride down to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The ruins of Tulum are located on a cliff overlooking the turquoise-colored Caribbean Sea. Here, our guide lectured on how advanced Mayan civilization was and we witnessed their ingeniosity in the form of architecture that predicted storms. We also learned that Tulum was founded during a very violent time in Mayan civilization. Because of this, there is a platform in front of the main palace where human sacrifices were held to appease the Gods.




After leaving Tulum, we headed over to Xel-Ha, or what Brian and I nicknamed Hell-Ha. Don't get me wrong, Xel-Ha was absolutely beautiful and had tons to offer, but it was also full of annoying tourists from nearby Cancun. More on that in my next post.....

Mayan Riviera Honeymoon- Part 1

So I'm pretty depressed to be sitting in my unkempt house surrounded by gray clouds and cold weather after spending a whole week in beautiful, sunny Mexico. Brian and I traveled to a seaside town called Puerto Morelos (located just south of Cancun) where we stayed at the all-inclusive Excellence Riviera Cancun. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a glass of champagne and then led to our room where two towels shaped like swans surrounded by rose petals awaited us on our bed. The room was amazing- jacuzzi tub, marble floors, balcony looking out over the turquoise ocean.... but the hotel pools and grounds were really the crown jewel of this resort. A total of six meandering pools, along with botanical gardens served as our playground for the week.



We spent the first day recovering from our day of flying by lounging around the pool and beach. Food and drinks were gratis since we were at an all-inclusive, so there was a frozen umbrella drink in my hands at nearly all times. I especially liked a drink called the Miami Vice- it was a mixture of strawberry daquiri and pina colada. Tasted like heaven. Brian enjoyed them too as evidenced by the following photo:


Day Two consisted of more lounging in the sun followed by an afternoon of zip-lining, mountain biking, and cenote (cave filled with water) swimming. Zip-lining through the Mexican jungle was really exhilarating and at one point, a guide let me flip upside down and spun me around as I zipped from tree to tree. After the hour long zip-line tour, we hopped on mountain bikes and rode a mile over to a cenote where we were able to zip-line and then drop into a cave filled with water. If you look closely, you can see me in the photo below right before I drop into the water.


Once we mountain biked back, they served us a dinner of chicken, rice, and beans and then we went back to the hotel and cleaned up. Later that night, we ate at one of the six restaurants located at the resort. It was an Asian fusion restaurant called Spice and all meals ended with dessert. The packing on of the pounds begins.....

I'll write about the second part of my trip in my next post.

An apology

I apologize for not posting in nearly a month. I've been concentrating on a big mid-term paper that was due last week, and more importantly- my upcoming nuptials that will take place this coming weekend. We'll be going to Mexico for our honeymoon so I promise to post about our trip soon after we return.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this short write-up of my recent explorations on the Shelby Bottoms/McGavock area greenway. Last week, I bought a hybrid bike that can be used for mountain biking or road biking. Just about every other day, I've been peddling back and forth between Inglewood and East Nashville via the Shelby Bottoms greenway. This is an easy 6 mile ride that is relatively flat and meanders along the Cumberland River. It really is a nice afternoon ride.

However, this weekend I decided to do some exploring, and Brian and I crossed the new pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River and rode through Two Rivers Park, past McGavock highschool, and on to Ravenwood country club where the greenway meets up with Lebanon Rd. near Kohl's in Hermitage. The stretch between McGavock and Ravenwood is so beautiful and its hard to believe you're in the middle of Davidson Co. The trail takes you past rolling farmland with cows, and the point where the Stones River enters the Cumberland. This part is also the most challenging to bike due to the rolling terrain. My goal is to make it up the hills without huffing and puffing like I did yesterday. All in all, it was about an 18 mile ride and I was exhausted at the end of it. I can't wait until I build up the stamina to ride all the way from my house to Percy Priest lake!! I'm so lucky to live near such a great greenway.

I'll leave you with some earlier photos I took of the pedestrian bridge that crosses over to Two Rivers Park.

Booby punch and Old Hickory Lake

So what do booby punch and Old Hickory Lake have in common? Absolutely nothing. Unless you spent the weekend with me, however.

Thursday afternoon the wonderful people at my work held a bridal luncheon and shower for me. A couple of us ladies went to lunch at The Standard at the Smith House, Nashville's only remaining townhouse from the 1800s. Built sometime in the 1840s, the Standard originally operated as a boarding house and later as a Social Club. Nashville's first bowling alley was built underneath the ballroom sometime in the late 1800s. While we were there, our waiter pulled a nearby table away from the floor and we saw the outline to a trap door that supposedly served as a secret passage for the Underground Railroad. Lots of history abides in this house and the food is tasty as well. I especially loved the mini biscuits they brought out before the main course.


After the meal, my coworkers and I headed back to the office where they had cake and punch waiting for me. My supervisor had planned to make a punch ring, but wasn't able to find the mold and ended up using muffin cups to freeze a maraschino cherry and create decorative ice cubes. Unbenownst to her, the ice cubes ended up looking very much like breasts floating in the punch. Hence the newly christened name, booby punch. The look on my male coworkers' faces as they viewed the punch was priceless.


On Saturday, Brian and I decide to head over to Mt. Juliet to go boating on Old Hickory Lake with my parents. Created in 1954, Old Hickory Lake is located along the Cumberland River and serves as the backdrop to several famous peoples' homes. Johnny Cash lived on the lake until his death and then his home was bought by former Bee Gee, Barry Gibb. Tragically, the house caught fire during renovations and all that's left is the foundation. We drove past the ruins so that Brian could take a picture.


Lastly, Brian decided to get out on the tube for some good ole' fashioned redneck fun. I grew up tubing on the lake so its only appropriate that my future husband be released in the cold waters of the lake and held at the mercy of my dad at the helm. He had a good time.