Beach time, magical adventures will make upcoming birthday trip the best ever

Beach time, magical adventures will make upcoming birthday trip the best ever
Austin Wells, Editor

This good news just in: I will be celebrating my 28th birthday by planting myself on the white sand beach in Destin, Florida, with a glass of rum punch – my own recipe – and a picture perfect view of the crystal blue ocean water (stay away, seaweed)!

Now, as tempting as it will be for me to want to grow roots in the sand and stay on that beach for my entire week-long stay, these fidgety legs of mine simply won’t allow it. And that’s perfectly okay, because there’s plenty of fun things to do and places to see in Destin to keep my active self occupied. But I’ll try not to wear out my welcome too quickly, so I’ll probably keep it simple, maybe toss a Frisbee or find a game of sand volleyball.

Of course I can’t forget about one of my favorite pastimes while vacationing in Destin: hunting for those little white sand crabs which scour the beach when the sun goes down. I remember when I was younger taking me a small net and a flashlight and walking up and down the beach chasing the little critters, netting them, and then releasing them back to their sand burrows. I call them little, and most were, but some of them weren’t so little. Some of them were roughly the size of my palm. I didn’t mess with those, although it entertained me to no end to see them frantically scuttle sideways and quickly burrow a retreat under the sand.

Reminiscing aside, I’ll skip to the part of this trip that has me so excited I can hardly sit still while I write this: my first ever visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando!

For those who don’t know, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter consists of two separate theme park experiences: Hogsmeade at Universal’s Island of Adventure and Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. And the best part is you can access both parks via a ride on the Hogwarts Express train with a Park-to-Park admission ticket!

Looking on the website at all of the attractions, shops, and rides Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley have to offer… I’m so overwhelmed and completely stoked for this! I’ll definitely be taking up the Dragon Challenge, the two intertwining high speed roller coasters resembling two dragons featured in the Tri Wizard Tournament from the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, “The Goblet of Fire.” I also very much look forward to stuffing myself with some authentic British cuisine at the Three Broomsticks, and indulging myself to a fair amount of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice as well.

At Diagon Alley, I’ll definitely make a stop inside Ollivander’s to purchase my own wand! The Interactive Wand sounds like a dream come true for the Harry Potter nerd in me. And who can forget about all the magical jokes and novelty items to be had at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes? Or the thrill ride inside the Gringotts bank? Or all the Quidditch supplies you could ever need at Quality Quidditch Supplies? Good grief! It sounds like I’m going home broke after this trip. But it’ll all be so worth it!

Looking forward to the best birthday trip ever!

By Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor. 

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