Halloween Horror Nights Universal Studios Hollywood (And other Fall Fun)

 

We had so much fun over the Summer, we decided to keep it going in the Fall.

Our October activity was Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. I cannot believe how long it took me to go to this place. They have nine haunted houses. Nine! The challenge is, how many can you make it to between the hours of 5:30pm and 2:00am. The tickets actually weren't as expensive as I thought they would be. We paid $112 + an extra $25 to get in at 5:30 pm instead of 7:00 pm. We figured it would be worth the money to get a jump on the lines and boy were we right. That extra 1.5 hours was crucial. We got an advantage on our first two haunted houses Stranger Things and The Last of Us, waiting for 45 minutes and then an 1 hour for those, but all hell broke lose after that once the general admission and Express folks were let in. The Exorcist jumped to 240 minutes! We could not spend the rest of our night in line so we had to skip it and hope it would go down later. 

Summer in San Diego Is Stunning

 

We didn't have a summer vacation vacation. We went to Vegas twice in two months, but we decided to do a different kind of trip this year and that isn't happening until December. Which felt like a really long time with the summer stretched ahead of us, but you know how that saying goes? Time flies! Summer time flew by so quickly. We did a lot of fun things. That vacation will be here before we know it.

We had friends and family in town so we did vacation things at home. What better city to vacation at home than San Diego? May Gray and June gloom is a thing here and it was really really bad this year. After a very rainy spring it dragged on longer and heavier than I've ever seen, but once it cleared up it was spectacular.

From Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon

I will complain about the prices in Las Vegas every time and then go right back. Las Vegas has always been expensive, but the level of expensive has definitely gone up and like most people who love and enjoy Vegas, I really don't like it, but apparently it's not enough to stop me from going. We keep going back and when we do we pack in a lot. I wonder if some day we'll have a leisurely trip to Vegas where we laze about and don't stay up until the brink of exhaustion every night. Maybe, but this trip was not it. We were on the go the ENTIRE time. 

Two Nights at the Newly Remodeled Bellagio Hotel Las Vegas

Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens - Bellagio Hotel

Las Vegas hotels are a spectacle, and a lot of your entertainment in Vegas comes just from wandering around and taking in the sights. This enchanted garden is the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and the best time to visit this 14,000 square foot space is late at night (or early am) because it’s very crowded otherwise. It takes over 11,000 flowers to make this happen and they change the theme out every season. This is “Giardino Dell’ Amore” or Garden of Love for Spring and it ends on May 20 so there will be another set up for Summer when we come back next month. It was so peaceful with the classical music playing and just really beautiful to look at and they pump in special scents so that it also smells really nice too. They started something new recently, offering dining service right in the center of this area at the Garden Table. They seat 4-6 max and it’s $125 to $225 per person depending on the meal. That could be fun.

Valle De Guadalupe: Mexico's Wine Country

The day before our trip, I was in a really good mood. I’d worked through most of my feelings of fear, about going to Mexico. And after months of rain, the weather was predicting none. I was starting to get excited. I was cleaning house, when suddenly I decided, hmmm. Let me check my passport. So, I go and check my passport and what do you know. The darn thing is expired. So here we are the day before our tour. It’s too late to cancel for a refund and my passport expired last year.  I was put in touch with the tour company by the booking agency and the person I spoke with said not having a valid passport should not be an issue. People go back and forth all the time with other documentation. Did I really want to take that chance of not getting into Mexico or most importantly not being able to get out? We know someone who knows someone who works for the border patrol and they agreed that it should not be an issue. So…we decided the trip was on. I’d travel to Mexico with my expired passport and hope for the best.

Much Needed Healthy Reset & Dry January

Between August and December last year we were on a trip every month. One was just a weekend getaway to Los Angeles, but it was New Orleans, Hawaii, Buffalo, and Miami for every other trip. It was a lot! I think I did a good job keeping up with exercising and meal prep up until Hawaii in October but I lost steam after that. There was just so much going on between travel and the holidays. No regrets. I enjoyed it all, but that can only go on for so long. It was definitely time to reset and get back on the exercise and nutrition wagon. My body (and my liver) needed a break.

Welcome to South Beach Miami (in December)

Miami was our last trip of the year. In December. Right before the holidays. Five trips in five months is a lot. I was a little travel weary by this point but excited to see what South Beach has to offer. We had a 6:00 am flight. I hate early flights. It was brutal. The crazy thing is that even after a 6am flight and a full day of travel we didn't make it to our hotel until about 7:00 pm Florida time. I was not trying to sit in one of the many hotel restaurants located along Collins Ave and pay over $50 for a meal when I was exhausted, not about to change out of my travel clothes, or put in my contacts, and just needed some food. I found us a cheap take out place to eat and we called it a night.

One Second Every Day (For An Entire Year)

 

I've always been the one taking pictures and writing in journals. Then blogging came along. Then social media. For whatever reasons, I've been drawn to documenting my life since I was 10. One second every single day? Who has time for that? And what's the point? 

From So Cal to Buffalo Again (in November)

 

 We went to Buffalo in September 2014. September 2015, and September 2021. Do you see a pattern here? Cause I do. I said I’d never go to a Buffalo Bills game past September and yet there we were on our way to a Buffalo Bills game past September. I didn't even have an appropriate jacket. I bought one at Costco the day before we left! November in Buffalo sounded…scary but this man loves the Bills so much that he went to a total of FIVE last year (including one in January!!) and this was the only time we could make it work this year, so off to Buffalo we went.   

Finally Made it to the Big Island

 

We’ve been to Hawaii five times before. I don’t remember the exact flight details, but I guarantee it did not take as long as it took us to get there this time around. Our original flight to LA got cancelled so, Delta sent us on a super early flight from San Diego to Seattle which was basically a waste of about 6 hours because we had a two- hour flight to Seattle that didn’t take any time off our air- time to Hawaii, then a four-hour layover in Seattle. After all of that we still had a five- hour flight to Kona. All together it took us about 11 hours to get to Kona, but it was all worth it when I stepped off the plane and felt the warm balmy air of The Big Island. 

New Orleans: Bourbon Street After Dark and Alligators in The Bayou

When we booked our trip to New Orleans in August I was worried about the weather. If I had my pick I definitely wouldn't travel there during this time, but by the time we got around to planning our trips for the year our options were limited. June to September is considered the off season for New Orleans due to the heat and because that’s when you can expect the most rain. Hurricane season is June 1 to November 30. August is considered one of the worst months to travel there, but that's when we could go so we went for it. Our flight would leave for New Orleans on the day Hurricane Katrina hit 16 years ago, and we had a swamp tour scheduled for the day Hurricane Ida hit last year. Who plans a trip to New Orleans during hurricane season? We did! And while I was hopeful that we wouldn't have to cancel our trip or be stuck in a storm I knew without a doubt that the humidity would be bad. 

Closet Makeover Before and After

When we moved into our house we were hit hard by all the expenses that come along with moving into new construction. Window covers for obvious reasons and landscaping for HOA reasons had to be prioritized, so some things had to wait. Like our master closet.

The Fair and Other Summer Things

 

It's mid August. It's still hot as ever outside, but Summer is basically over! Where does the time go? Thanks to very little actual vacation plans I had so much vacation time to use that I took two Fridays off per month for the entire summer and that's the thing that made summer feel like an actual summer. An extra day off with no plans in particular, is glorious indeed. 

Back to HOT Las Vegas: We Can't Get Enough

I've been to Las Vegas a lot. Too many times to count at this point. Due to close proximity to San Diego it was always a popular getaway spot. And then my parents moved there. Last year I went three times!!  Over the years I've stayed at Flamingo, Tropicana, The Orleans, Monte Carlo (which is now Park MGM), Polo Towers, Planet Hollywood, Bellagio, Excalibur, Hilton Grand Vacation Resort, The Venetian, Treasure Island, Palazzo, Caesar's Palace, and this time we added Mandalay Bay to the list. 

How To Get To Catalina Island and Why You Should Go

I don't usually plan anything for my birthday except maybe a dinner date with my husband, but this year I decided that since we really haven't gone anywhere in awhile, Catalina Island sounded like a good idea.

You can get to Catalina Island by ferry from four different locations. The Catalina Express will take you there out of Dana Point, Long Beach, or San Pedro. You can get there on the Catalina Flyer out of Newport Beach. We chose Catalina Express because they offer more departure times. Dana Point was closest to our house, but had the least options available so we ended up going out of Long Beach. The ferry ride over was lovely. I upgraded us to Commodore section so that we could avoid the wait and I'm glad that I did. The line was much shorter, and we got let onto the boat first so we didn't have to wait long and it comes with a drink and snack. First class all the way!! It was more expensive but it was worth it.  You could be even more first class and take a Helicopter, but that will cost you a lot more. The weather is usually a bit iffy this time of year so I was preparing myself for gloom, and that's exactly what I got the day we left.

The Holidays

The holidays were in a word. AWESOME. Did I do much? No. Did I go anywhere? No. And that's part of what made it so great. I love a good staycation.

I kind of feel like the fun of the holiday season starts with Halloween. We went to the 17 Door Haunted House up in orange county for the second time, and there is a good chance I will never go back. It was super intense. I was so traumatized! Click the link and you will see what I mean. I just looked at it again to link it here and got flashbacks.

Summer Things Catch Up: Atlanta & Buffalo

Now as part of my summer things catch up series I'm jumping back in time to July and September when we traveled to the other side of the United States twice for sporting events.

Summer Things Catch Up : Las Vegas Part III

 

I'm going to jump back in time to August. Even though it's November. Why bother you ask? Because this is my blog and it has to be here. Late or not. I went out of state once per month in July, August, and September. I think I was overwhelmed by all the posting it was going to be and my time was stretched between writing and YouTube so I didn't. Now I feel like I can't not so I'm doing two summer things catch up posts. 

My New Favorite Meal Delivery Service

Recently we tried Hungry Root; A meal delivery service that focuses on grocery delivery with simple recipes. After completing a quiz at sign up, you pick a plan size and get either their suggested meals or ones you choose to substitute in yourself. And because it’s a grocery delivery service you can also order snack foods, and other a la carte grocery items that you might need for the week using a credits system. I do not quite understand how the credit system works, so I can't really explain it that well, but somehow the number of credits you have is based on your plan size and then that determines how much you end up paying for any a la carte items. Anything that you would get at the grocery store you can also get from them. Dairy, bread, produce. They have it all. 

One Night On The Strip

Las Vegas is truly an adult playground if there ever was one, and they don't call it sin city for nothing. It's a spectacle that screams party, opulence, excess, and sex. Each building tries to outdo the next, and and there is always something new to see and do. People get wild, but I love the energy, and I love that anything goes vibe. The sun and heat is very intense during the day, but warm summer nights are the best. Vegas is close enough that even before my parents lived there, it was one of our favorite getaway spots. Most of the time we go to the strip, but there have been times that we skipped it in favor of Fremont Street or nothing at all. Especially if it's cold. This time, spent one night on the strip and the rest with family.