Snapshots of San Francisco

Near the start of the month, I went to California's Bay Area with my mom, aunt, uncle, and sister for my second cousin's wedding. On the other few days we were there, we did quite a bit of sightseeing and exploring. This is the second vacation I've been on since getting my new camera, so I'm pretty pleased with the photos I was able to take and am sharing some of my favorites below.

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39

Alcatraz as seen from Fisherman's Wharf

Summer 2015: Fun in Florida Part Two - Universal Studios and More

Although I spent a lot of time at Disney while I was in Florida, I spent just as much time at other places, specifically Universal Studios Orlando, an outlet mall, and the hotel/resort, of course!

Universal Studios Orlando

My family and I actually didn't know there were two separate theme parks at Universal until we got there, so that was a surprise! Overall, I think Universal has better rides than Disney. So Universal's definitely the place to go if you like rides, especially fast and thrilling ones. They also have a "fast pass" here too, but it's not free like it is at Disney. Although, it makes sense why it's not. The price of their version changes every day, but you get to use it on every ride, unlike Disney, where you can only choose three initially.

Universal Studios Florida

Rides/attractions we went on/to:

• E.T. Adventure: This isn't the most thrilling ride, but it's still pretty fun. The ride's seats are bicycles, like the one in the movie poster. You're trying to help E.T. run from the police and get back to his home planet. You go through the woods, into space, and end up in E.T.'s home planet. Then E.T. personally thanks you and says your name (unless the lady forgets to swipe your name card like me), which is pretty cool. I think this is a good ride for kids as long as they don't think E.T. is scary.
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's: Of all the Harry Potter rides I went on, which was all but the kiddie Hippogriff coaster, this was my least favorite. But I still enjoyed the ride! While you wait in line, you get to see the inside of Gringott's, and it looks just like it does in the movie, which is really cool. The ride is 3D, so you wear glasses during the ride, so it obviously doesn't go as fast or anything as a roller coaster, but it's still fun and feels like you're escaping from Gringott's on their track, running away from Bellatrix.

  

  A dragon on top of Gringott's in Diagon Alley.

• Lucy - A Tribute: Basically, this is a mini museum exhibit all about the TV show I Love Lucy. My mom used to watch it, which is why my family and I went inside. There are authentic costumes that were actually worn on set as well as interactive trivia to test fans' knowledge.
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit: This is a one-of-a-kind roller coaster. While you're on the ride, you get to listen to the song of your choice (out of their options, of course.) So you get to jam out as the coaster turns you upside-down and whatnot. Unfortunately for me, my touch screen pad wasn't working, so I didn't get to choose the song I listened to. But it was still a very exhilarating and fun ride. If you like roller coasters, this isn't a bad one to go on.
• Ollivander's: In case you didn't know, your wand can pick you when you go to Ollivander's, just like in the movies! Not everyone gets to do it though. You go in with a group of people into a room in the back of the store and line up at the right side of the room. There's a desk and about one light. There's a lady behind the desk who helps your wand choose you. She goes up to the group of people and chooses one of you to have your wand choose you. When we went, the lady chose me. As an introvert, it was sort of awkward, and I didn't even really want to do it and have all eyes on me, but what was I going to do? So I followed the lady to the desk, and she did what happened in the movies. She pulled out a wand, told me about it, told me to do some spell, and something bad happened when I did it with the first two wands. Then with the third wand, when I did the spell, a light lit up and some music played, and that's how you know when that's the right wand. Then the lady tells you to go with another Ollivander's employee, who tells you more about your wand and asks you if you want to purchase it. I don't remember much anything about my wand, so sorry if you wanted to know! Although it was sort of an awkward experience for me, it was still pretty cool.
• The Simpsons Ride: This is a motion simulator ride, but it is supposed to feel like you're on a roller coaster. Sideshow Bob is trying to kill the Simpsons by using this roller coaster in Krustyland. Your group, along with the Simpsons, are the first to try his ride. There was nothing too special about this ride, but it was still fun.

  

  The signature pink doughnut from The Simpsons! You can get these from stores in the Simpsons part of the park. Be sure to buy one, because they're really good!

• Revenge of the Mummy: If you don't like the dark, don't go on this roller coaster. It involves being in the dark and fire. It's quite a thrill though, if you don't mind the fire and dark! It turns out that going on a roller coaster in the dark is pretty fun!
• TRANSFORMERS: The Ride - 3D: If you like the movie, then you'll probably enjoy this 3D ride. It's an exciting ride where you're with the Autobots and are trying to take down Megatron and the Decepticons. It feels like you're right there in the war among the Transformers. 
  
• TWISTER....Ride It Out: I didn't think this was exciting or worth it. It's actually not a ride, but more of a simulated show. This is supposed to simulate and show you what a high-level tornado is supposed to be like, but pretty much all that happened was a funnel cloud, some wind, some rain, and a fire that was caused by a fallen electrical pole. The way they describe it makes it seem like there'd be a lot more action and last much longer. It was only like three minutes long. I wouldn't go to this again.

Summer 2015: Fun in Florida Part One - Disney World

This summer for vacation, my family and I went to Florida, specifically Orlando/Lake Buena Vista.The main reason Orlando was our vacation destination was so my siblings and I could finally go to Disney World. Like a lot of people, I've wanted to go since I was a kid, and this summer, I finally got to. We were there for 10 days, and it was a great and fun vacation, probably one of the best vacations I've ever been on.

Although the main reason we went to Florida was to go to Disney World, we also went to Universal Studios Orlando, Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets, and spent a lot of time at our hotel. My family and I stayed at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, which is a resort, so they have a pool, a spa, two restaurants, and a bunch more there. I really like it there. They have a lot of fun things to do as well as a bunch of convenient things, like shuttles to take you to the mall or any of the nearby theme parks.

Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort

There was lots to do every day I was there, even when it was raining or pouring. So to make it easier, I'm going to separate this post into two parts by theme parks/places and mention the highlights, pros, cons, tips, and whatever else I may have to say.

A Glimpse Across the Border

This summer for vacation, my family and I went to Canada. This was the second time I've gone there but the only time I remember. (The first time I went, I was still a baby.)

We stayed in Niagara Falls, where we spent most of our time. Here are some photos I took while I was there. (I felt like sharing some of them here since I just added some to my portfolio and since I haven't posted on here as much as I hoped.)

The Canadian side of the Niagara Falls, aka the Horseshoe Falls.

A little skyline view of some of the buildings (mostly hotels) near the Falls visitor center.