Christmas Town – Busch Gardens Williamsburg
We finally got a weekend to relax a little and embrace the holiday spirit by getting to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg‘s Christmas Town :) Last year we got to go and this year more of my family got to go and enjoy it. We also got to see more of the shows than before and take our time going around seeing all the lights! SO MANY FRIGGIN LIGHTS!!!! on the tram on the way in the “conductor” said there were about 5 million lights used this year to light up the park! So on our way in..you can just SMELL Christmas if that makes sense, there’s tons of Christmas trees everywhere, there’s lights all over everything! and it just looks so gosh darn pretty! We got inside just in time to catch the kids’ Sesame street show about Christmas and Santa, and then even got some pics of/with the clydesdale horses!! Their one of my dad’s fave animals and it was pretty neat actually getting so close to one and seeing them all dolled up with their manes braided and everything.
Then we made our way to see of one of the first shows on our stop and that was Gloria! it was so pretty, the singers, and the musicians. NEXT WE SAW PENGUINS!! haha i know excited typing for penguins, but the line for them moved pretty fast and we actually got pretty close to some real live penguins! :)
After that was to Das Festhaus, love this place, it’s got the best food, the most space to eat and it’s inside, (in the summer it has great air condition, and of course around this time it’s got heat!). PLUS there was a show to watch while we were eating! and quick tip, if you go for anything at Busch i def recommend splurging for what they call their Quick Queue..it’s basically a cut the line pass and totally worth the extra chunk of change. But anyways, food and show, awesomeness! i even ran into one of my friends Austin and his fam :)
We actually spent quite a time at the Festhaus and ended up only having time to catch the new attraction “The Polar Pathway” and ride the Airtram “Flight of Lights” . Polar pathway was absolutely gorgeous!! they decked out the ride escape from pompeii in lights.and i mean the entire place in lights….Then we got to go on Selena’s fave ride, the Flight of lights, where you actually take the airtran round trip rather than point A to point B and not be able to go back but they let you ride all the way around so you can get an aerial view of all the lights…so pretty..cant stress that enough, pretty, pretty, pretty!
The other show that we didnt get to catch but i did see last year was Miracles and that one is totally worth going to if you have the time, it’s got dancing, singing, a lil bit of everything, and such talented people putting on the show. And hey if you want you can even splurge some more and get the souvenier mugs and they have $1 refills on hot chocolate throughout the park! but it’s was totally a perfect way to get into the Holiday spirit and def something to enjoy for the whole family and totally recommend going :)
until next time! :)
Rookie of the Year
AHHHHH yes another show, this time I got to see some old friends of mine play and enjoy their company. Every time i go i can say that i haven’t been disappointed, i met Ryan a few years ago when he opened up for Secondhand Serenade and been a fan ever since, not to mention a friend! :) but it’s always great seeing him and his band in town playing their music. Last nite was awesome, there were tons of bands there but i got there just in time to catch Rookie of the Year (ryan). I got to hang out w/ one of the local bands too that one of my friends has just got together the past couple months and from what i’ve heard they’re on their way if they keep up the hard work and dedication i know these kids have (Your Favorite Coastline). but hey i’ll keep this a short post just because i could go on and on about all the times i’ve checked out Rookie and i’ll just let you check out his stuff yourself :)
Until next time :)
PS he JUST released stuff out on purevolume and his new music vid down below :)
She Wants Revenge
The day after Owl City i got the pleasure of getting/wining a chance to go to another 96x session at their station to see a band called “She Wants Revenge”. I won’t lie..i’d never heard of the band but i went anyway i mean free food and music? why not? haha
but i can say that i was pleasantly surprised, there was great sound, food, talking, all around great atmosphere and hey i got a signed cd and actually liked a couple of the songs enough to check them out once i got home. The guys were pretty chill and took the time to joke around with us, gave us an extra song than planned, take pics, and sign stuff for us :). I wouldn’t mind checking them out again.
until next time :)
Owl City – 96x Session
Owl city has been one of those bands/singers that I just can’t help but get their songs stuck in my head after i’ve heard them. I won’t lie that i’ve got the music, but it hardly comes up on my shuffle, and i’m not one to push skip when it does. I got lucky enough to win some invites to his 96x acoustic session the other day. I was pretty psyched, i’ve always loved the way some songs sometimes just sound better acoustically, plus the intimacy of those sessions is always nice. The private sessions give fans a chance to interact with their celeb in a comfy environment, and 96x has always done a great job with their sessions; i haven’t been disappointed yet! but here’s some pics and vid from it! :)
until next time!!
Outer Banks
So I’ve lived in VA most of my life and the area that i live in, everyone has always talked about “going to the outer banks”…24 years later..i finally got to go!
Not only did i get to go but got to spend the weekend with my best friends :) We’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten and been friends ever since. One of them Jessica (@vasun_kissed17) and her boyfriend were invited to a wedding down there and had the idea that we should all chip in and help rent out a house for the weekend…so off we went..
the three of us drove down there first and got settled into the house…and suffice to say…the place was awesome, it had plenty of room for all of us to have our own rooms, great view, great area…just great haha.
My other best friend Aida (@aida_liz) and her boyfriend, Jessica’s sister and a couple of her friends were all meeting up later that nite, so we had plenty of time to explore the area and get things situated. After everyone got there, dinner was ready, and we let the drinking and games begin! haha. That weekend was actually the first weekend i learned to play apples to apples..not that that’s too interesting a fact but nonetheless something new i got to do on the trip!
I mean really most of the weekend we spent relaxing, watching tv, movies, eating food, hanging out, sleeping and just spending time with each other. Before everyone left we went to visit a place called Jockey’s Ridge, which was pretty damn awesome, i mean who doesnt love a little hiking. Then we went to the aquarium, stopped at this spectacular christmas shop, and ate at this great seafood place..ahhhh food comas definitely happened this weekend. It sucks i’m posting this like a couple weeks later, and i’m not going to bore you with every single little detail but it was just something that we’ve decided we’re going to do at least twice a year just to get away and relax. :)
until next time :)
Mmmbop
So it was about 1997..i was following/into the boy band craze and one of the bands that i’ve continued to follow and who has actually continued to make music that has grown with them..
haha yeah i know..really? Hanson? trust me..they still got it goin on, and they’re all grown, married, and have kids now..and still making great music.
one thing that stood out to me about this show was that they gave fans the opportunity to vote on which album they wanted to hear the most of..which i thought was awesome, luckily for my date there were some old school hanson fans and the first album they put out was voted for majority of the show. SCORE!
haha i wont lie..i fan-girled when they first stepped out on the stage, but before they even came out, a guy named Charlie Mars opened up for em, his stories were pretty hilarious, and his songs had a sweet, southern/country/pop feel to em…yeah i know hard to classify but i liked it. :)
Now…most of my friends thought i was crazy for even going to see Hanson, but there were some..uber die-hards out there; they had spent the nite in front of the venue to score front seats..like there were sleeping bags, pillows, and such out there with em, i have no clue if i would/could do that for something. I mean dont get me wrong i go as far as maybe midnite showings, dressing up in costumes for events..but idk about spending the nite out on the st. to makes sure i’m up front. i mean we showed up at 3 that afternoon and were about 2 people back from the barricade..so yeah; no need to spend the nite. There were even girls there that had been following the tour; most i heard was this girl was on here 11th show..really!?
So, back to Hanson hitting the stage..it was a surreal moment; like i’ve only seen them one other time and that was back when i was in 5th grade and they looked about the size of ants from the seats i was at; and here they were about 10 ft away from me! it was pretty fuckin cool. And i was SO not disappointed in the show, they put on a great live show, the sound was awesome and not garbled, to have them play songs that i havent heard in years or ever heard live..but still knew ALL the words to..it was priceless. I needed a show like that, i needed to go to a show in general, but to go to something where i had that much fun, and the people around me had a great time (except for there almost being a fight between drunk girls..yeah a fight at a hanson show, tough to believe but these girls were pretty schmasted).
I sang my lungs out, pumped my arms in the air, jumped up and down, and rocked the nite away, i love that natural high i get going to shows and having a great time. It’s the feel of the bass drum beating through you, tapping your foot to the beat of the music, the sound of the guitar strings being played with feeling, and a solo making the hair on your arms stand up; that breathlessness you feel from jumping to the music and singing your loudest; not caring if you’re singing in tune or not, but the fact that you’re singing to songs and feeling emotions that certain songs always bring to the surface in you. I love the chills i get when everyone else in the venue is singing RIGHT with you, or when you make eye contact with someone on stage, not even in a flirting sense but the fact that there was a connection, there was a MOMENT. There is no better place that you would rather be than that time where you’re singing your favorite song with all your heart.
this was definitely one of the best shows i’ve been to in awhile, and another plus was that there was room to breathe, i wasnt ass to front with the person next to me, there was space just enough for everyone to dance their dance and enjoy the show and NOT shove, hit each other, getting angry because someone is touching you. Granted there was a moment where we thought blows were going to be thrown but shows where people look out for one another..those are my fave; shows where everyone knows ALL the music, and everyone does everything TOGETHER. ahhh
Hanson..i love you :)
until next time!! :)
Warrior Dash
I know this is a late/long post but I was waiting for all of our race pics to come through and order them…so here goes..
add to the busy weekend of seeing Disney on Ice, the Howl-o-Scream but on to the next obstacle..literally..
So i’ve done my share of hitting up the gym every once in awhile but we (my sis and I) got this weird itch to check out an obstacle course race..i think part of the reason i wanted to do it was because i mean who doesnt miss playing on a playground? and getting to climb all over things; not to mention my want when i was little to be on global guts, wild and crazy kids and legends of the hidden temple. so sure…obstacle race it was.
Now..the main reason we signed up for this particular race was because it said you DIDN’T have to know how to swim…yeah..
So leaving howl-o-scream at Busch Gardens, we drove up to Richmond that nite and got up bright and early to hit up this obstacle course..it was drizzling, kinda cold…not ideal for running a race..at least to me..but we were there..
checked our gear, put on our bib numbers and got in line..we ended up being the first wave at 9 in the morning..i had no clue what to expect. granted we saw a preview of the obstacles online and knew what we had to deal with but then again..didnt have a clue what to deal with. Standing in line we’re checkin out the competition, and there were all kinds of people, and my fave things to look for; teams in costume. We saw some ppl dressed as the ninja turtles, zombies, guys in tutus, pirates, all kinds! but the gun goes off and BAM there’s hootin and hollerin’ and warrior yells..along with blasts of fire shooting off from the starting banner.
First mile wasn’t too bad, some mud (which i was trying to avoid at the time) and then the first obstacle…over and unders..over barricades and under barbed wire..fun..then up next was the rubber jungle (tires hanging from ropes that you had to run through) then an actual tire run until we got to about 6 cars that we had to climb over, then more tires (those were oh so awesome on my legs, and by this time i’m a bit dirty) and then a cargo net that we have to crawl up and across.
and….our first water obstacle..
so my sis has already run ahead of us about 5-10 minutes and my dad and i ran together…as we come up to this river crossing, my dad makes the remark
“hey that water is up to their necks we better be careful”
little did we know…
as we get into the water…it’s pretty high as we get to the first log that we’re supposed to crawl/climb over..over that log and a few feet away is a second one..get over that and the water was already about chest high at the 2nd long..i go ahead and duck under water to get it over with..and as i start to bounce away (mind you that i’m not a very good swimmer, make that can hardly swim and like to feel bottom under my feet) i realize the water is TOO DEEP..i try to get back to the log..and BLUB BLUB BLUB under i go…let’s talk about panic..hyperventilating and scared…come up, grab some air, go under again..all i can think is…”daddy? BLUB BLUB BLUB”
dad grabs my shoulder/shirt..we try to swim and i’m panicking..until someone has come up behind me (i’ve gone under a couple more times and yelled help) and some guy comes up behind me, he goes i got ya…i’ll swim you in..thank goodness..gosh…i almost drowned..not to mention scared my dad cuz he was trying to help me..
but the guy got me to the very last log before we got out of the water and as soon as i’m out i’m coughing up thanks and saying “THAT WAS NOT WAIST DEEP”..totally not waist deep and new years resolution was to learn how to swim..
sooo back to the race..after spitting up a lung, i’m deciding i’m going to briskly walk the rest of this sucker..and a bit of jogging, but almost drowning sure does put a damper on things dontcha think?
we come around another corner and see a balance beam..that wasnt too bad and then these huge walls..theres somewhat of a grid you climb up one side, climb over a barricade at the top and then squat down, dangle your legs and drop down the other side (totally dont know if that made sense but i found a vid a guy took who had a cam strapped to him) then the next wall was ropes hanging over one side (with small small ledges for foot/hand grips) and a grid on the other side to climb down..climb down, turn around and BAM more water..
but this water was totally what i’m used to and was expecting, beach..and we had to go about 300 yards in actual waist deep water with a somewhat more solid bottom than the river..now i dont mind this because i feel pretty much clean by the time i get out..only to round another corner..and a huge cargo-net wall that we have to climb over..then jump over 2 things of fire (only a couple feet high) and… a massive water/mud pit where we have to crawl UNDER barbed wire in the mud..
suffice to say..i was dirty..like had to get in the shower with all my clothes on and had twigs, leaves, mud, dirt…everywhere..but SO worth it..
now usually there’s a huge celebration with drinks, music, etc, but they werent able to serve beer at the last min so they gave us free entry to the next race of our choice, and i’m totally learning how to swim and cant wait to find our next obstacle race…
until next time :)
FLICKR PICS FROM THE RACE HERE
Howl-O-Scream #frightnight
Soooooo it’s been i think a couple weeks since I got to enjoy Howl-o-Scream at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, only reason the blog post took so long on it was because i wanted to add some pics and vid to the post :)
so Busch Gardens (twitter) has been doing this great thing over the past year or so where they get a few people from their different social media outlets (like facebook, twitter, foursquare, etc) and invite them to the park for social media nights, we get to eat some great food, see great shows, enjoy the park, and meet other social networkers :) it’s pretty darn awesome. Well my sis and i got invited to enjoy their annual halloween event; Howl-O-Scream. and it was….
scary.
haha trust me i’m all for gore, getting scared, all kinds of creepy, crazy stuff and if you let yourself enjoy it then you’ll have a great time! Let down your guard a little and get scared! “Let your fear grow” :) haha but anyways, so we get there, check in, make our way to the Festhaus and meet up with some other social networkers; one of whom i’ve mentioned in my previous post (@naomadoriguzzi) and grab some grub, and had a great Q&A session with the creator of howl-o-scream.
lucky us..we won a raffle to wear a scare cam through one of the new mazes this year “deadline” which is about these workers installing a new subway line when a gas leak causes the work to stop and everyone get infected, and it’s your job to “stop the leak”. they had these neat videos that you get to watch while standing in line that give you kind of the whole back story to the maze…so fast forward to us getting fitted with the cam :) (link to the pics and vid at the end)
yeah we freaked out..and def ran into the walls a couple times haha all because there was a very bright light at the bottom of the cam that pretty much added to the effect of the maze because we couldnt see what was coming at us. all in all it was pretty good time/thrill.
We also got the privilege of getting a quick queue pass which lets you essentially “cut the lines” and if you’re going to any theme parks and they offer this..i totally recommend spending the extra money for em. but this pass helped us get to the front of all the lines and actually in front of all the groups when they sent them out. The only maze we didnt get to go through was another new one, and it’s the only outdoor maze they have this year, and actually the one i really was looking forward to; the fear fair (yeah haunted amusement park type), only reason we didnt get to go through it was because it started to rain :( ugh which kinda sucked because it caused some of the scare zones to shut down (the actors left the areas).
After we hit the mazes we got to meet up with everyone again to watch one of the shows that the park has going on and that was “Fiends at the Festhaus” (the other show i remember from last year was “Monster Stomp: Revamped” <–def another recommendation when/if u go) this one was def more adult oriented (scantily clad actors and dances) but totally entertaining. We even got to meet some of the dancers at the end of the show! :) overall though i totally want to go again and cant wait to see what they have in store for next year! :) thanks Busch Gardens! :)
OH YEAH BEFORE I FORGET!!!
BEFORE we went to the Festhaus i tried out the newest addition to busch gardens and that’s the Mach Tower…OMFG…so i’ve rode the drop zone/drop tower at Kings Domionion and that’s pretty high, pretty smooth, easy ride..holy cow mach tower…it had me screaming from actual scared rather than the scream to scream during a ride that i do. on top of that we rode it while it was raining..so it takes you up..you spin around and get a full 360 degree view..since we went while it was raining when we spun around we hit pockets of rain and wind and then pockets of nothing..it was SUCH a bad idea (not really haha). You get to the top..there’s a lull where you can take in the view..and BAM you plummet to the ground..and i’m not talking about just fall and ease down..no you DROP/FALL/PLUMMET…so worth the adrenaline rush! :)
until next time! :)
Here’s a link to the pics! :) FLICKR
here’s FIENDS AT THE FESTHAUS
and here’s the link to our scare cam vid!
On ICE
So I’ve been sick since about Monday, I went to work, and really all I wanted to do was lean on everything and count down the minutes until i could go home and lay in my bed under my covers.
Come to find out…i had a nasty looking throat and ended up going to the dr. the next day to get tested for strep and mono..
JOY! ^_^
right?! sooo fast forward a couple days, i’m on antibiotics in case it was strep (rapid test they did came back negative), I DONT have mono,called out of work and i’m finally able to swallow without it feeling like shards of glass going down my throat! sweet!
but…to the important part..the beginning of an interesting weekend..
i got tix from another blogger :) Naoma Doriguzzi which she gave away on her blog a few weeks ago and just announced the winner yesterday, soo suffice to say i was psyched i was off the next few days, that i was starting to feel better, and i could surprise tater with taking her to see Disney on Ice! We were supposed to go yesterday but there was a horrible backup with traffic and whatnot, so we saved it for tonite. She knew she was going somewhere but had no clue that she was going to the show and i was SO happy i got to surprise her. she knows mommy always wins tons of things but only recently have things i won been surprises for her (the first was getting her to meet Miranda Cosgrove at Busch Gardens). I loved the fact that she wasn’t one of those kids who whines to go home or ask what’s happening or anything; she was completely into the performance, story, everything, and that’s happened with all shows/movies i’ve brought her to :) i love it! Here’s a link to the pics from the show here
but this is just the beginning tomorrow i’ve got invited to Busch Gardens to check out their #frightnight Howl-o-Scream event and then on Saturday my sis, dad, and i are participating in our first obstacle race, THE WARRIOR DASH.
so until then..just smile loverlies
