Ocean Park + Thrillography Goes to Hong Kong Disneyland (Day 6) : My Fabulous Far East Trip Report - Part IX

Welcome all!

We've reached our last couple of stops on My Fabulous Far East Trip Report! We're finally going to experience the regional theme park pride-and-joy of Hong Kong that is Ocean Park, and then see this adventure off with one last Disney day!

Today our adventure is shared with friends! The first to arrive is Erin, who is a friend from Kaitlin's work. :}

We're also being joined by Kaitlin and Erin's mutual friend from work, Stacey, who also brought her husband, Keiso! Last, but certainly not least, is Derrick, who is an animal trainer here at Ocean Park, as well as a good friend of the girls!

We'll be meeting everyone here in a bit. :}

First impressions: Ocean Park is gorgeous. The park's entry area is the newly-remodeled "Aqua City," which had its grand opening in 2010. 

I had no idea the park would be this pretty. If I had to guess, ten years of having Disneyland across town has kept Ocean Park on its toes!

(Ocean Park began a $700 million (USD) expansion project the same year Hong Kong Disneyland opened. Coincidence? I think not. :} )

And with eyes kept unwaveringly on even the smallest details in the park, it's no wonder that Ocean Park received the Liseberg Applause Award in 2012 (becoming the first park in Asia to do so)!

Our first stop is Ocean Park's largest claim to international fame!

PANDAS!

With Derrick serving as our tour guide, we were all led from the park's older panda exhibit over to the newer one.

Did I mention the park is lovely? :}

LOOK! ANOTHER PANDA!

AND THERE ARE RED PANDAS RIGHT NEXT DOOR!!!

WE HAVE REACHED A STATE OF UTTER PANDA-MONIUM HERE AT OCEAN PARK!

*_____*

...

I literally just cannot handle the cuteness. I can't.

As you can see, it was breakfast time for this panda. :}

If there is anything in this world more precious than a panda eating bamboo, I have yet to see it.

NOMNOMNOM

This one is having an after-meal nap. :}

Ocean Park's resident creatures run the gamut from the precious to the slightly unsettling. 

Look at the happy turtles! ^_^

Yay for a group photo in the Goldfish Courtyard!

I've never seen a goldfish exhibit before, but Ocean Park's is absolutely lovely. :}

Ocean Park just has a stunning collection of goldfish and goldfish-like creatures.

And they live in the loveliest little aquariums I've ever seen!

Inside the exhibit is what can only be described as a "Goldfish Study." It's pretty neat. :}

Goldfish of all shapes and sizes call the Goldfish Study home, including breeds that originate right here at Ocean Park!

I think the ones with balloon faces are my favorite. :}

BALLOON FACES!

This one is plump as a partridge! :}

One last look at the Goldfish Study!

Back outside are some koi ponds and more aquariums!

At first glance, they almost look like normal-sized goldfish in a normal-sized aquarium. In reality, they're massive gold fish in a rather large aquarium!

Some of the goldfish even live in retrofitted giant pots. :}

PANDA PUFF!!!

Kaitlin and Stacey approve!

Erin dressed as adorable animal #1.

MORE PANDA-MONIUM!

(Derrick had to go back to work, but we'll be seeing him again later!)

Next we made a Chinese Alligator friend!

Erin and our new friend look so cute together!

Turns out Keiso has been friends with the alligator for years. :}

See ya later, alligator!


(I gagged a little saying that. I expect you may have had a similar reaction. If so, I apologize.)

More shopping!

O______O

Stuffed jellyfish friends!!!!! Ocean Park wins cutest theme park merchandise in recorded history.

Erin dressed as an adorable animal #2.

Have you ever seen such a lovely puzzle?! 

Here's a keychain of a little stuffed shark eating a wee stuffed fish.

*cue "Circle of Life" music*

(OK, OK! Sorry! No Disney allowed at Ocean Park. Fine. Sorry.)

You may be wondering why we haven't ridden an actual ride yet. Fans of Ocean Park know that all of the rides are on the other side of the mountains! Once we finish up here at the front of the park, we'll go ride some roller coasters. Promise. 

But first, another photo op!

Happy Dolphin! ^_^

Happy pigeon!

(Yes, believe it or not, that is a pigeon.)

This pigeon looks a bit more pigeon-like. :}

Stacey found this remark wall! Take a dry erase marker and write something special! Stacey and Keiso just celebrated 2 years of marriage, so she wrote that. :}

^_^

Next up is a river otter visit!

"Hello and welcome to Ocean Park!" says the otter. 

Strike a pose!

Ocean Park's otters are trained to play fetch; this has been achieved through weeks of practice and a tennis ball that smells like fish. :}

Otters are Erin's favorite animals! Today's her lucky day; she has been selected for an otter encounter!

The otter must prepare for showtime!

"Hello, world! I am an otter!

Now GIMME SOME FOOD."

OMNOMNOMNOM

It's time for the otter to meet his new best friend, Erin!

WEEEEE! :D

Erin kept it pretty cool while she was holding the otter's hand, but inside she was like

I'M TOUCHING AN OTTER!!! I'M TOUCHING AN OTTER!!!!!!

Erin and the otter are now best friends forever!

The otter got a delicious fish treat for being such a good friend. ^_^

Alright, we've waited long enough! It's time to head over to the other side of Ocean Park and ride some amazing rides!

The way to Ocean Park's famous cable cars is through their great little Old Hong Kong area. :}

Stacey and Keiso were kind enough to demonstrate a classic cultural practice for us along the way. :}

One of the two sky rides is down today, but with one side still running swiftly (and with the park's funicular as an alternative), getting to the other side of the mountain is still a breeze!

Snack: outstanding homemade BBQ pork buns and sugar cane tea!

This spot is just too cute. What a nice surprise! 

It's almost time for our ride! This has got to be the fastest-loading sky ride I've ever ridden. 

Woohoo! Here we go!

Sky ride selfie!!

Here we have most of Ocean Park's front half, a.k.a. "The Waterfront."

Like Knight Valley, Ocean Park owns a ton of land!

Here's a lovely view.

And here's another! :D

There's nothing like coming over this majestic stretch of mountain and being greeted with a B&M!

A testing B&M!

That yellow is just so right.

We've made it to "The Summit" of Ocean Park! After traveling almost a mile of cable, the hour of B&M is at hand! 

Gosh, what a beaut. :}

*swoon*

Not a bad view from in line, either! 

These folks are just LIVING for Hair-Raiser!

Specifically this sick airtime hill, which is responsible for quite a bit of the ride's namesake hair-raising!

WOOOOO!

And, for such a short ride, Hair-Raiser really delivers!

I would say that Hair-Raiser, along with Floorless Coaster in Taiwan, are now my favorite traditional floorless coasters! It's all about terrain-oriented layouts and that unexpected airtime!

My attempt at a post-brake run selfie. As you can see, my hair is definitely raised!

(DISCLAIMER: as with the Shenzhen parks, Ocean Park has no posted loose article policy. Remember, ALWAYS follow the posted park policies! :} )

Ocean Park's new Arctic and Luna Park-themed areas are as thrilling as they are visually stunning! They really hit it out of the park with these areas!

Bursts of color and atmosphere everywhere!

The main attraction for the Polar Adventure area is Arctic Blast, a fabulous MACK powered coaster! More on that awesomeness later.

The Coney Island-flavored Thrill Mountain area is full of colorful traditional park standards.

Not the least of which is this fabulous monstrosity, which we decided to pass on. 

Thrill Mountain's obnoxious carnival midway is a homerun!

(and much more lively than the one at the Great European Carnival.)

This roller coaster sculpture is so cool that I damn-near stole it out of the gift shop. 

BIG LUNA PARK FACE :D

Hair-Raiser has a pretty nice silhouette: dive loop, bunny hop, zero-g roll, Immelmann; all right in a straight line!

Lunch: Traditional ramen, complete with pork swirls, fish tubes, sweet corn, and krab! ^_^

The park's Chance Aviator was down for maintenance, but that didn't keep it from looking festive along with the rest of Thrill Mountain!

Now that we've thoroughly explored Ocean Park's newest areas, it's time to take on the park's original ride areas!

Time for a trip down the mountain!

Look at this sammich sculpture, you guys! I want it!

ACK! Another coaster sculpture! And look at the detail on that Arrow track and car!!

Like with the sculpture in Thrill Mountain, this serves as a marquee for its respective area; Ocean Park's original ride spot, Marine World!

I've heard of Pizza Place before (and even seen pictures of it advertised on the Huss Giant Frisbee at Lotte World), but this lovely-looking pizza parlor will just have to wait until next time!

Likewise, Dragon will also have to wait until next time. :'{

You can't win 'em all.

Our consolation prize is this Huss Condor! And this one is called Eagle. :}

I'm a huge fan of these rides, and I haven't ridden one since 2013 (a.k.a. "The Year of the Condor," in which we either rode or encountered a whopping seven different Condors: The Great Escape, Hersheypark, Vidampark, Skyline Park, Holiday Park, Freitzeitland Geiselwind, and Belantis.)

Kaitlin and Erin are ready for their first Condor ride! They're ready to see what all the fuss is about!

Eagle is a winner!

*moment of silence*

Hoo! Looks like the Huss Condor isn't the only eagle around here!

(or hawk or whatever this thing is)

Hey, wait! Where're you going!?

Oh look! I think it's time for a Wild West Mine Train ride! 

Hooray for no loose article policy on possibly the world's most scenic roller coaster!

(again, DISCLAIMER. Posted park policies and all that jazz.)

*o*

Wild West Mine Train was added to Ocean Park in 1999, finally giving the park a second roller coaster after debuting Dragon in 1984.

It looks a bit like something out of the Togo catalogue, but Wild West Mine Train is actually a rare custom Zamperla creation!

Hooray for one of the only custom Zamperla coasters in the world!

And man, what a home run this ride is! For a company whose wheelhouse is concise  compact, pre-designed coaster layouts, they sure know how to do a terrain coaster!

And there's some pretty stellar airtime here in the back seat!

Whew! What a view! 

Coaster sculpture #3: Wild West Mine Ride and…an Arrow Super Flume?!

*GASP*

How did I not know there was a custom Arrow log flume here??

OMG it's BEAUTIFUL!

(and, as the sculpture suggests, it seems to have been built as an Arrow Super Flume (which use the speed boat vehicles) and then later retrofitted with traditional logs.)

The sprawling "Adventure Land" area of Ocean Park has only three rides total, the third being this Huss Enterprise, which is down for maintenance. 

Don your ponchos, folks! It's gonna be a wet ride!

…ohhhhhhhh! Wild West coaster? Canadian Log Flume?

*lightbulb!*

 Adventure Land is themed to North America! 

>.<

Please, for the love of God, don't use your umbrella on the log ride.

If I see you using your umbrella on the log ride, I'm going to steal it from you and beat you senseless with it. 

Hooray for our first Canadian-themed log flume!

I don't think they even have Canadian-themed log flumes in Canada!

The girls didn't feel like getting too wet; I gave Kaitlin my hoodie since I didn't care either way. :}

"Will the Enterprise be opening later today…?"

Raging River is stunning. I was having flashbacks to two of my absolute-favorite log flumes, Log Flume at Liseberg, and Log Jammer at Magic Mountain.

The surroundings are just beautiful! I'd guess by the size of the nearby trees that this log flume is over 30 years old.

And with only one confirmed drop and no crazy fire hose antics (cough*happyvalley*cough), Raging River is largely camera safe!

Not since Liseberg have I seen such amazing foliage on a log flume! And, if any of you Log Jammer fans are ever feeling nostalgic, Ocean Park is only a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles. :}

A unique benefit of Raging River is how much of it winds along side the midway. Magic Mountain's log flumes were/are not the easiest to photograph, and Liseberg's is no better.

It's almost time for the big plunge! Camera away!

The drop wasn't bad, but the girls were still pleased to have some hoodie protection. :}

Our on ride photo is hilarious, btw. I'll have to post it to the Thrillography Facebook page sometime. :}

I call it:

Arrow Flume in the Wild

Here's another angle on the sculpture. I can't find any photographic evidence of Raging River having Super Flume boats, but with the sculpture being less than 15 years old (and the log flume being significantly older), I would say that the evidence suggests as such.

We'll be back for another ride on Wild West Mine Train soon!

Hmm…I wonder what that construction is down there?

This might look like it was taken from a tall ride, but we're actually on a midway right now!

Everyone just make believe that there's a train on Dragon. lol

We see you, Hair-Raiser!

Back up Thrill Mountain,

And into Polar Adventure!

Ooooh…hello accordion guy… :}

Wait, what was I doing?

Oh yeah!

Polar Adventure animal show, hosted by Derrick!

The seals were adorable and hilarious. I want one. :}

Group photo! Thanks again for everything, Derrick!!!

*Eskimo style*

Seals are basically aquatic puppy blobs.

How could you not want one??

Directly underneath the seal show area is a walk-thru exhibit!

It's a great opportunity to get closer to the aquatic puppy blobs. :}

Speaking of puppies, Ocean Park is also home to an Arctic Fox exhibit!

LOOKIT HOW CUTE!

*__________*

Arctic Foxes can have as many as 16 pups per litter! Keeping well-fed is very important!

Next we finally get our ride on Arctic Blast!

Keiso allegedly "doesn't like roller coasters," but he looks like he's having a lot of fun to me!

Soooo sweet!

Do I need to give that loose article disclaimer again?

Nah, I think you guys have it down. :}

The views from Ocean Park's rides cannot be beat!

Here's another shot of Keiso not liking this one bit. Clearly.

Stacey, I apologize, but this picture was just too hilarious not to post. >.<

The sun is starting to set on our day at Ocean Park! I wish we had more time here!

MACK, you sure make a mean powered coaster! 

We had time for one more ride, and while Hair-Raiser is excellent, we ended up going in favor of the completely-unique Wild West Mine Train.

Time to funicular our way back down to the Waterfront.

Ocean Park took advantage of their underground funicular ride by turning the 3-minutie voyage into a fun dark ride, full of fascinating ocean views from the point of view of a submarine! Very clever, Ocean Park!

Before we knew it, we were all the way back at the front of the park!

Ocean Park is a pretty nice place to be at night. :}

They even have their own little World of Color of sorts!

Aqua City is full of colorful lights!

GLOWING JELLY! :D

Nighttime snack: Guava juice, kiwi juice, and a fabulous fresh peach eclair! So delicious!

Good night Ocean Park! I'll be back again some day!

It's times like these I'm so pleased to not be relying on roadways for transportation on this trip. :}

Back at Kaitlin's place, we decided to enjoy a local favorite for dinner: Saizeriya!

Picture Italian food in a setting not unlike a Denny's or a Shoney's, but still WAY better than Olive Garden. I had Seafood spaghetti marinara again, and it was delicious. :}

I can't believe my Fabulous Far East adventure is almost over! Tomorrow is my 6th and final day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

Six days is the most days I've ever spent at one park on a single visit, and I really can't think of any place better to spend six days than at Hong Kong Disneyland!

Other parks may have more roller coasters, and other Disney resorts may have more going on, but there's peacefulness here that is unique to Hong Kong Disneyland. The last thing I ever expected to do on this vacation was relax, but that's exactly what I did here. 

I also didn't expect to catch Tsum Tsum fever, but now I've got five of the little plushies and a full-on addiction to the video game!

I will miss the pop-up book Sleeping Beauty's Castle! Even when I make my return to Hong Kong Disneyland, the pop-up castle will likely not be present. I'll just have to settle for the lame real castle. ;}

Time for our last ride on RC Racer! Hopefully we'll see this little guy make his way to the U.S.!

Heehee…even on the sixth day, there were new things to notice. :}

When Toy Story Land was first announced, it seemed like an unusual choice for a Magic Kingdom park, but Disney knew exactly what they were doing. Toy Story Land fits right in!

Alright, everyone! I've been promising you some inside photos of Mystic Manor since the beginning of the trip report, and now I'm finally delivering!

On this, my third and finally visit to Mystic Manor, I took extra care in photographing as much of the ride as I could!

There's plenty that eluded my lens, so you're going to just have to come out here and ride it yourself to see it all. ;}

One last look at the pre-show chandelier!

Here we go!

The ride begins with Lord Henry Mystic reminding Albert not to play with the new music box.

I'm sure you can guess what happens next.

The music from the box has brought the inanimate objects inside the Mystic Manor to life!

And that includes all of the plants inside the Mystic Manor's very-Haunted-Mansion-like greenhouse of horrors!

Pictures in the art gallery come to life and play out some very interesting events! This sunny Dutch landscape freezes over completely when it comes in contact with the music box's mystic melody!

Inside the Tribal Artifacts Room (which is a nice throwback to the Enchanted Tiki Room), this giant likeness of a Polynesian god begins vomiting lava!

The events inside the Mystic Manor culminate inside the Dojo, where the ride vehicles revolve and spin as the power of the music box overwhelms the Mystic Manor!

Finally, when all hope seems lost, we find ourselves in a room where the magic music is being called back to its box!

Albert has done it! He's conducted the music back into the box just in the nick of time! 

And Albert closes the music box just as Henry returns to the room to check on us!

"You didn't touch that music box, did you?"

;}

Hey look, it's Tinkerbell!

The more I see her, the more I could swear I've met her before! She just looks so familiar. :}

Fourth day of small world being open = Fourth ride on small world.

I would now say that, coasters aside, it's a small world is my favorite Disney ride. I didn't realize this until that third day when the ride opened. It wasn't until I was re-united with small world that it occurred to me how much I would've missed it if it hadn't opened.

And I definitely would've missed this amazing ice cream!

Walking around Fantasyland once again, I realized that there was now only one operating attraction in the entire park that I had not taken part in.

I'm normally not a big carousel person. I haven't even ridden the one at Disneyland in Anaheim. But, with this ride on Cinderella's Carousel on this last day at Hong Kong Disneyland, I'd ridden every single operating ride in the park. I've never been able to say that about any park before. :}

LOL. I don't know what this kid is doing, but it looks like he's having a good time. 

We haven't had any flower shots in a while, so, here are some flower shots. :}

These stunning flowers were hiding in a secluded walkway inside Adventureland; one that is really only used during parades on super crowded days to keep traffic flowing. 

Speaking of parades, we'll be taking in both of Hong Kong Disneyland's parades one last time, this time from the heart of Main Street!

These awesome trashcan percussionists made for great pre-parade entertainment!

Flights of Fantasy has commenced!

(but it'll take a bit for it to reach us)

The Mickey Mouse balloon ship thingy has reached the castle! That means it's time for show stop #1.

:}

*fast forward 5 minutes*

The first show stop is complete! The parade is now heading directly for us!

Dumbo and Mickey are ready to party!

Woohoo! Flights of Fantasy has landed on Main Street U.S.A.!

Next is the bandstand!

And the color guard! 

It's amazing to peer all the way down the parade and watch the guests interact with the performers!

Everyone wave to Christian!

Thanks for being such a good host, buddy!

Gosh, I can still hear the music in my head. It's so catchy! The music for both of the parades are definitely worth YouTube-ing.

You guys have just been so wonderful! I promise to be back soon!

The Pooh ensemble is next!

Followed by the princesses!

Such lovely girls you are! I feel like I've gotten to know you all so well! ;}

The jungle crew is next!

Here we can see the parade making its way back around to the backstage area.

Party on, fellas!

TINK! TINK! I'll never forget you!

Keep ridin' those waves, dudes! 

Here comes Toy Story to finish out the parade!

I am so glad I invested in that Buzz Lightyear Jacket. It's the best $25 I've ever spent, I swear. :}

Main Street's a wild place to be when the parade ends! So many people!

I'm sure gonna miss seeing this view practically every other day. :}

More flowers. :}

Hey, Disneyland Railroad! You! Me! Next time for sure!

One place Kaitlin and I had yet to visit is Mystic Point's fabulous food court!

Korean pan-fried glutinous rice cakes / veggies and tapoyaki (octopus fritters)

DE. LIC. IOUS.

Like, wow. Now I really don't want to leave!!! 

This day is slipping by too fast! The lights are already on on Main Street!

There's still plenty of time for some magic in the day, though. :}

Had to come back and visit Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!

Space Mountain! You beautiful thing! Never change! :'}

Okay, never say never. Sometimes change is good! Like Space Mountain's amazing soundtrack! What a brilliant idea it is to set rides to music; now they seem incomplete without their accompanying scores!

During one of our countless rides on Space Mountain (it was the most ridden ride of that trip, with Grizz taking second (yes, we of course rode it on our last day! I just didn't take pictures. Oops. Love ya, Grizz!)), Kaitlin and I talked about the various music and musicians that have contributed to Disney. We believe that, in the tradition of Aerosmith and Red Hot Chili Peppers, it's time another great act perform music for one of Disney's flagship rides. 

Kaitlin and I thought for a moment, but it quickly became clear! The artist? Taylor Swift. The ride? Space Mountain.

The music?

Are you ready for this??

"BLANK SPACE MOUNTAIN"

(I took the liberty of composing some lyrics. I swear that I did not just sit down and say "I'm gonna write a parody of Blank Space about Space Mountain. It just sort of happened. It was fun. :} )

This is a space endeavor

it could go down in flames!

You can tell me when it’s over

if the ride was worth the wait.

Gotta love how stardust hovers

with each dispatching train,
and you know I love my dark rides

and you love parades!

This is a space adventure

with music-playing cars.

No need for seat belts;

just little black lapbars!

Gotta love how stardust hovers

with each dispatching train.

Yeah, this is Blank Space Mountain

so let’s fly away!

:}

…anyway, we rode small world again. I just can't get enough!

AND I had to take more nighttime pictures. :}

Much love, small world!

^_^

Sometimes I just hear myself repeating those immortal Disney words in my head.

"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

Time to reconvene on Main Street U.S.A. for Paint the Night!

But we've got some time to kill. Let's check out some more fancy souvenirs! 

:} I love this so much. Just love it.

<3

HELLO! I'm Tigger!

That's T-I-double-guh-err! That spells Tigger!

Hand crafted souvenirs at Disneyland come in all shapes and sizes. :}

LOOK AT HOW TINY AND CUTE!

Mickey and Duffy are ready to ring in the new year!

World?

Are you ready for a future full of Star Wars and Disney together as one?

I'm down. :}

Back outside, it's time to get in position for Paint the Night!

 

Main Street is all lit up and looks dazzling!

  

Even the gazebo glistens like a star!

  

Everyone bright, shining, and ready to go, even the pop-up Main Street buildings!

  

The castle's changing colors! That means it's showtime!

  

Tink's making her way past the castle!

And here comes Monster's Inc!

And there's Mack! The hub is filling up with Disney stars!

Here's the first show stop! Technically the parade hasn't yet begun where we're standing.

Oooh! Now it's beginning!

Here we go!!!

Out go the lights! :}

And the first show stop has ended! Here they come!

Tink's coming right for us!

Tinkerbell has arrived!

TINKERBELL! I LOVE YOU!!! ADD ME ON FACEBOOK!

(update: Tinkerbell did in fact add me on Facebook. :} )

Here comes some of the Pixar crew! It's Sully and Mack!

HONK HONK!

Right back at ya, buddy. :}

Mack's light show is always a big hit with guests!

Here come's Ariel's ensemble!

There she is! And with Belle not far behind!

She's just so happy to be part of our world!

We love you, Sebastian and Ariel!

Here comes Belle! Will she remember me?!

BELLE! OVER HERE! BELLE! 

Turns out she did remember me. :'}

I'll never forget you Belle! You're my favorite princess in the world!

Belle's ensemble! You serve a very fair princess indeed! :}

Here comes Slinky now! It's time for his nighttime romp around Main Street!

Keep on keepin' on, Slink! And take care of yourself!

Here comes Mickey and crew to close out the parade!

Mickey! Don't let it be over yet! I'm having too much fun! I don't wanna go home!

Thank you for sharing your Magic Kingdom with me, Mickey! I'll never forget it!

Off he goes. Thanks for everything, Mickey. :'}

Quick! One last ride on Space Mountain! It's not too late!

I hear that the pop-up castle walls have been down for a few weeks now.

I'll always remember them this way in Hong Kong. :}

It's now time to close the book on this chapter of Thrillography, and we're doing it the only way we see fit:

With FIREWORKS!

This is China, after all.

You can't go to China and not see some fireworks!

Ooooh!

Aaaaah!

Like with all Disney shows, the fireworks show is set to Disney music that will have you getting all weepy by the time it's all over.

The show began and ended with "A Whole New World," which is a very fitting song for this whole trip, actually.

This trip has truly shown me a whole new world!

A new world, complete with places that made me feel right at home.

I'm kind of surprised that it took me six days to finally see this firework show, but I guess it was kinda meant to be.

As I stood here watching the fireworks, I reflected on the last two and a half weeks.

It's all just so amazing, you know?

What an wonderful trip this has been! What a blessing!

I still can't believe this all really happened. It's been too good to be true! Fortune has been in our favor the whole time.

I am just so grateful that this trip happened and I'm so thankful for everyone I spent time with along the way!

Thank you to Christian, for hanging out with me and being a such a great host. 

Thank you to Erin, Stacey, Keiso, and Derrick for being such wonderful people to enjoy Ocean Park with!

Thank you to Kaitlin, my AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING host, without whom this trip would have remained a pipe dream forever. 

Thank you to my mom and dad, for helping me pay for this trip and for supporting everything I do!

And thank you for reading. Each and every one of you, thank you.

This has been the greatest adventure of my life, and I'm so glad I could share it with you!

And before you know it, it'll be time for the next one!

Like seriously. I'm leaving for Dollywood in five hours!

Until next time!

:}