Roller Coaster Junkie.

Busch Gardens

Yes, it is Wednesday.  Yes, I am still talking about Labor Day Weekend.  No, I do not care. The Santos' had an amazing Labor Day Weekend and I will talk about it for as long as I want (okay, no I won't, this is the last post!).  As I mentioned before, we made a spontaneous decision to turn our Labor Day Weekend into a quick Tampa Bay adventure.  A stop in Lake Wales and to Tampa we went!  I could barely contain my excitement.  I am a roller coaster junkie.

We had our weekend planned out pretty well.  Leave Saturday morning, stop at Bok Tower, and drive to Tampa Bay.  Hang out at the hotel, have dinner and go to bed.  On Sunday morning we woke up wide-eyed and bushy-tailed (me more than Felipi) and off to Busch Gardens we went.  Our day was amazeballs.  However, I most definitely underestimated the heat of a Florida August.  It-was-hot.  

At first I was fine.  The excitement was too great to realize I was slowly overheating.  At around three o'clock I was done.  I can't decide whether it was the amusement park food or the stress of the heat but I had a stomach flare up.  This left me super cranky.  Cranky enough where I didn't even want to wait to ride the Sheikra a second time (I love Sheikra).  Poor Felipi, he had to deal with a cranky, hot, and in pain Renata (not a good combination, trust me).

If you have ever had gastritis symptoms you know how I feel.  Think of a non-stop burning sensation in your stomach.  Intensify that pain times ten.  Add almost 100 degree weather with humidity and you've got certain disaster.  I am a trooper though.  Even though I was hot, in pain, and exhausted I did not let that stand in the way of enjoying the ride on those roller coasters.  No stomach pain could ruin that!

Stomach flare-up and all, our day could not have been better.  Well, my stomach could have been fine, I would have been okay with that.  And, I think August is off limits for theme parks.  No matter how many bottles of water you drink, those fans blowing hot air just do not help.  Smelly, sweaty, loud, obnoxious individuals waiting in a 20 minute line just doesn't do it for me.  Now those kangaroos?  Well, I may have wanted to bring one home.  Adopt a kangaroo organization where may I find you?

Heed my advice, do not under any circumstance take a trip to an amusement park during the summer months.  Avoid them like the plague.  Now, November, well, November is a good month for just about anything.  Go in November.  Busch Gardens, until next time.

xoxo

Look at that kangaroo?  He is just asking to come home with us.

Bok Tower Gardens.

"I come here to find myself.  It is so easy to get lost in the world."

John Burroughs

The Santos' spent an adventurous Labor Day weekend.  Last Tuesday after dinner as we spent the last few hours hanging out before bed my husband had a genius idea.  He turned to me and said, "Babe, why don't we go to Busch Gardens this weekend?".  Say roller coasters and I'm in.  So, the very next day the hotel was booked and we were ready to go (yes, we wanted to leave the very next day).  Major bummer that we had to endure three whole days before hitting the road.

Saturday morning we headed out towards Tampa.  Before arriving at our final destination we made a quick detour in Lake Wales, Florida.  Hidden in Lakes Wales is Bok Tower Gardens.  Never heard of it?  Till last week neither had I.  However, if you ever find yourself near Lake Wales you MUST go.  Bok Tower Gardens is a botanical garden and bird sanctuary.  The tower is built upon Iron Mountain, one of the highest points of peninsular Florida.  Bok Tower Gardens is also considered a National Historic Landmark.  It is also in the running to become one of the Eighth Wonders of the World.

In one word the garden is magnificent.  It is a true hidden gem in the state of Florida.  Walking hand-in-hand with my husband while enjoying peace and serenity is absolutely the icing on an already amazing day.  And the Pinewood Estate on the property?  Beautiful. We also met a kind older woman named Ruth.  Ruth is an 86 year old volunteer who calls Bok Tower Gardens heaven.  She was truly an inspiring woman who made me realize that getting older does not have to be something worth dreading.  Ruth, thank you.

Before this weekend I would never have suspected that our Sunshine State was home to a place filled with such beauty.  Nature truly has a way of bringing you back home to reality.  Knowing that one man wanted a beautiful place to exist for the benefit of others left me in awe.  Again, humanity has surprised me.  I hope that I too one day can make someone feel a little more optimistic.

Enjoy the photos of our journey through Bok Tower Gardens.  And if they don't impress you, well, take a drive there and check it out for yourself.  Your heart, your mind, your soul will thank me.

xoxo