2016 Trip Report: Day 4 - Water and Food (What's Better?)

Tuesday, July 26
On what was probably the most relaxing day of our trip, we headed down to the Shipwreck Island again, but this time, we decided to stay on the bottom deck where there was a zero entry pool with spraying palm trees and slides for the kids. The deepest the water got was like four feet.

Jackson wasn't interested in going in, but I put his life jacket on, picked him up and took him in with me to force the issue. I knew he liked to splash around and that he would love it after he actually loosened up a little. Well, I was right because I could not get him off those slides. He said he wanted to go down them a million times. He only got out to eat lunch and by the end of our time there, he was jumping in to TK off the side. He was even doggy paddling by himself. Addison was also having a great time in the shallow end and then swimming from one of us to the other.

The bottom deck also had a quick service restaurant and a bar. We had lunch there and the portions were huge, and our order was also huge. I had a giant cheeseburger and got myself a refillable mug of beer from the bar. I was able to refill my cup anywhere in the resort for $6. Addison was napping while we ate.

Back at the room, we got ready and Jackson and TK took a nap so they both could be in a good mood. I took a walk with my parents and Uncle George with Addison in her carrier on me. We saw the market, the bar and the ice cream/coffee shop. They sold Hershey's Ice Cream and Starbucks Coffee. Addison ended up falling asleep when we sat down to drink the beverages we bought.

When we got back to the room, we waited for everyone to get ready and I went out to the balcony to read my book, Inferno by Dan Brown. I think I ended up closing my eyes and dozing off.

For dinner, we headed out to Texas Roadhouse because we heard it was good and a lot of fun. We heard right. The wait staff was line dancing and they played country music the whole time. They had peanuts on the table and they served warm rolls with cinnamon butter. I had a 6 oz. steak, rice, shrimp and two $4 margaritas. It was a lot of fun.

When we got back to the room, we went down to my aunt and uncle's room because we had desserts left over from two nights before. I was able to see the fireworks again from the balcony. At that point, my dad and uncle left to go get my brother at the airport. The rest of us went to bed.

30 B4 30 Day 2: Leave a Note in a Library Book

It may seem a little odd but I love the library. It may be because it is a building full of knowledge or maybe it is because you can borrow whatever you want for free. I love free. I also love solving a mystery or learning about historically significant stories. So today for Day 2 of my 30 B4 30 project, I left a note in my favorite book at the library for the next person who borrows it. My favorite book is Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. It's a thriller that mixes symbology, art history, religion and modern culture together for a fast paced, gory novel that I actually read in 3 days. It is the first of the series of books by Dan Brown that feature the fictional character, Robert Langdon, a religious iconology professor from Harvard University that helps solve murders, decipher codes, read ancient texts and analyze artwork. I think Angels & Demons is better than its overrated successor The DaVinci Code and I actually make sure to tell my new friend in the little note I left today.

When I walked into the library with the note in my book tote, I felt like a cat burglar on the job even though everything in the library was open and ready for the take. I went up to the fiction area and headed to the Mystery/Thriller section. I saw 3 copies of The DaVinci Code and 6 copies of The Lost Symbol, but zero copies of Angels & Demons...WHAT? I started to think my bad luck had found me again and I would have to go to another library to complete my task. Then I remembered that there was a General Fiction section and went there. Phew! There was one single, yellowed, copy of the book. So I took out my little note with its burnt edges and slipped it into the book. Then I took the photo to the right and really felt like a little sneak. Who takes pictures at the library? Yep, I do.

Anyway, here's what the note said:


So, I am about to turn 30 and in commemoration of this monumental event in my life, I started a 30 B4 30 project that began yesterday, 30 days before I turn 30. This is Day 2 and for the second item on my list, I am leaving a note for the next reader of this book.

This is my most favorite book and I hope that you are enjoying it so far. I also hope that you will share my opinion in the fact that Angels & Demons is a faster moving, more interesting book than The DaVinci Code. If not, that’s OK too. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and in saying that, I would like to leave you with a few of my favorite quotes:

- “Use what talent you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” - Henry Van Dyke

- “A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak.” - Michael Garrett Marino

- “Embrace your uniqueness. Time is much too short to be living someone else's life.” - Kobi Yamada

- “After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.” - Italian Proverb

- “Minds, like parachutes, only work when open.” - Anonymous

I hope you enjoy these quotes and feel some inspiration from them. Thank you for helping me accomplish my 30 B4 30 and enjoy the rest of this exciting book!

Maybe it seems a little trivial and ridiculous, but to leave a note to a stranger in a book that I have read and loved just seems interesting and exciting to me. That person will try to envision what I look like, what I do for a living, if I have a husband or a wife and what my interests are. This person will create my back story and may even leave the note in the book for another person to see or for my kid to discover in 20 years when he or she finds out I did this 30 B4 30 project. Maybe it's just wishful thinking or maybe it is just my mini-legacy...or maybe no one will take out the book and it will just sit there for years to come never to be seen again by the human eye. Nah! That can't be.