Birthday Weekend

On April 12, 2016 I turned 21 years old!! This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to spend it in Disney World with my two best friends. Friday afternoon we left for the super quick hour long drive to Orlando from Tampa. We then checked into our hotel. Which was the amazing Disney's Boardwalk Hotel. As soon as we entered out room we saw a gift that was sent from my parents and it was filled with popcorn, chocolate, champagne and a pillow case that was embroidered with "Cheers to turning 21!" It was such a wonderful surprise from my parents.

Birthday gift from my parents 

The next day we got up and headed over to Epcot, it is a nice easy walk to the back entrance of the park. Even though it was cloudy and looked like  it was about to rain we stuck it out. We made the most of the day and took pictures at each photo pass person we would see. Going on rides like test track, and space ship earth was a lot of fun and a must on our Disney trips.

Amanda, Jules and Aimee in Epcot 

Test Track Photo

Once night time came around we finally got to go out to Jelly Rolls. This is a dueling piano bar that we have wanted to go to for a while now but we were always too young to go. Now that I was the last friend to turn 21 we got to go in. It was such a fun time, full of food, drinks, laughter, good friends and good music.

A night at Jelly Rolls 

The las day we were there for the weekend we went to Disney's Magic Kingdom. It was super crowded but we still had fun. Once again we took picture after picture with the photo pass cast members hoping we would end up with a great picture. We definitely got some great pictures. Since we just wanted to have fun, we did some of things we don't normally do like, meet characters, go through The Swiss Robinsons Treehouse, Tom Sawyers Island and also go to go on the double decker bus. It was a day to remember and one I will not forget. 

Rafiki Character Spot  

Magical Photos

Double Decker Bus Ride 

Random Weekend Adventures

Living in Florida is a blessing in itself. When it comes to the weekends, we are lucky enough to have bright and beautiful days perfect to go out and explore. This past weekend I was able to spend it with my two best friends. Tampa is a beautiful city, there is so much to see and do. We were able to experience two great days. They were filled with smiles, laughter, fun times and made many memories to last a while.

Art on Davis Island

One of the best parts of the weekend was when we went hammocking near Gandy bridge. Hammocking is one of my favorite things to do, to be able to relax, and just take in the beauty of life. Doing all of this with my best friends makes it so much better. While exploring to find places to go hang around is not always easy on beautiful days, since this is a time where many people are going out and about. But we were able to find a wonderful spot just before the Gandy bridge.

Double Stacked Hammocks

The day doesn't end there with great walks along the water, picking flowers and just being kids again. To have fun and be free is the best feeling in the world. No one needs to tell you where to be, what to do, and the best who to be. Live your life the way you want it to be. 

My beautiful best friends and I 

Spring Break Recap

Spring semester is one that flies by very quickly and it seems like my spring break was forever ago, yet it still feels like it was just last week. Since I attend college where most people come to for spring break, my roommates and I decided to head in the opposite direction then everyone else. The Friday to the start of spring break we left in a fully loaded car, which included the three roommates (Aimee, Amanda and myself), three large suitcases, a cooler, a bag full of snacks, three backpacks, finally many pillows and blankets. We were faced with a 20 hour drive to my roommates house which is located in Urbandale, Iowa. Being the stubborn yet adventurous people we are, we made the decision to drive straight through only stopping for gas which was our food and bathroom breaks as well. With three drivers it was not a bad plan as so we thought. All was well until 3 am hit us. We all were so tired yet only had 5 hours left until we reached Aimee's house. With all of our parents telling us that we could not do it we had to prove them wrong. So we made it through the last five hours in one piece. Finally in Iowa we were able to settle down and explore. Going to many places to adventure, to eat and to just have fun. We only stayed around for about two days then we were back on the road.

High Trestle Trail Bridge, Iowa 

Sculpture Garden in Des Moines, Iowa 

Our next stop was in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the wonderful Mall of America. This has been a spot I have wanted to visit since I was younger and heard about it through my grandma when we would shop at the malls back home in New Jersey. Well it was such a great experience, but it did take hours just to travel around the entire mall. After staying one night there we headed on our way again to our next stop. 

The next morning we got up and headed to Rapid City, South Dakota. This is where Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National park are located. We had such amazing views all the time. From exploring the Badlands and seeing vast open land, rock formations and just pure beauty. Then into downtown where we saw awesome street art and president statues lining the corners, little cute boutiques, book stores, and coffee shops. After a night there we headed over to see the famous Mount Rushmore. It was a sight to see. The vast beauty of some of our great presidents carved into a mountain side is something everyone should at one point be able to visit. Deeper into the park we came upon a small section of town where we stopped at the post office and asked about some local places to eat. We were told to go to Black Hills Burger and Bun Company. And it was wonderful. This place is a must go when you visit the national parks.

Road Trip Tunes 

Outlook of the Badlands National Park

Roommies at Mount Rushmore 

Art Alley, Rapid City, South Dakota

After all the fun we had to head back to Tampa. We stopped over in Saint Louis but it was so foggy you could not even see the arch. It was all so much fun but time came to an end and we were back in good old Tampa and time to go back to classes. 

Hello Friends

Hi there! My name is Julianne but I go by Jules most of the time. I am 20 year old junior at the University of Tampa and majoring in advertising and public relations. Born and raised in Edison, New Jersey, where I have three younger siblings, Maggie (19), Matthew (16) and the youngest is Christopher (13). I love my family and one of the best things was always being able to go to Disney. In my opinion our constant trips to Disney and the Jersey Shore made me grow a love with traveling. I want to be able to see the world and explore new spaces and places. Some of my favorite things besides traveling are: baking, hammocking, photography, crafting, watching movies, hanging out with friends, social media, getting tattoos and a bunch more that I can't really think of right now. This will be a space for me to just share. I feel like sharing stories is important, since everyone is a living story and life is meant to be shared. Traveling is something I constantly dream of doing and have some opportunities to actually go.

(also you can find this post in my About Me page for easy access in the future)