Living in Florida

Growing up in central Florida, I knew I had it good- beach vacations every summer, and it only took an hour and a half to reach our destination! I learned at an early age how to do the "stingray shuffle", to run in a zig-zag pattern if being chased by an alligator, how to tell different kinds of snakes apart (coral snake vs king snake), and how to build the perfect hurricane preparedness kit. No snow days were built into the school calendar, but hurricane days were (and still are).

One thing I never did much of growing up was visiting the big amusement parks that draw millions of tourists to Florida. In recent years, I have had the luxury of visiting several parks with friends. Now in my young adult years, I have seen Disney's Magic Kingdom, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Epcot Center, and Cypress Gardens (which is now closed). It's fun to see what brings people to your backyard... and even better to make memories with friends and people you love!

Me with the water skiing cast at Cypress Gardens a few years ago. (Not the most flattering picture of me!)

My friend Hillary and I with our Butterbeer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure!

Sue and I on St. Patrick's day at Epcot!

I am blessed to live in a great state and to experience its diverse aspects with amazing people!