Universal And Other Adventures.

     This was a good weekend. I hit Universal on Friday, and had a great time, even though I was alone. I didn't take any pictures with characters, for the simple reason that I thought it was too weird, even for me. Wait, I did get one picture with a "character", We looked oddly similar, so it was fitting. We could be related in some way. This was at the end of the day, and I was bored while eating, so I figured this was a good picture to take. This was part of my Instagram Story that I did for the day. I hope that you got a chance to see it. If you didn't, you are out of luck, because it is gone. A little something before we get into the park itself.

     I hit the bank in the morning before heading over to Orlando. I walked in in a tank top and shorts, and the bank teller looked at me, and paused. Then she smiled and asked why I wasn't on the motorcycle. I told her I was heading to Universal for the day, and the bike would have to wait. She said she was shocked and couldn't remember not seeing my in my "biker jacket". This all makes me think that I truly have made an impression on her. This was all while I was still in line. She was working the drive-thru, so I didn't make to her window. Should I ask her out? I'm still wary of the whole thing. Things like this never work out for me, so I am giving pause when thinking about asking her to go out for dinner or something.

     After that, it was off to Universal, which has it's own exit now. Made it real convenient to get too. There wasn't a huge crowd of people, but there were some high school groups roaming around, which clogged things up a bit, but was still way more manageable than any normal day there. I rode the new Jimmy Fallon ride first. It's called Race Through New Your featuring Jimmy Fallon. The line was really short, and I made it into the "Lobby" in 5 minutes. Once you are in, you get a ticket and then go to the staging area where you watch a small video feature form The Tonight Show. It is mostly the skit he does as a high school girl called the Ew Show or something like that. When the lights turn the color of your ticket, you are allowed to enter the ride. The ride is very similar to Shrek 4D, in that you sit in theater seating. In this one, you are the audience of The Tonight Show, but you have to imagine that you are in a vehicle called the Tonight Rider. You do have to put a seatbelt on, and you are locked down with it. The entire seating area moves around as if you are driving in the Tonight Rider, as you travel through New York City at break neck speeds. Then all of a sudden you get launched into outer space and onto the moon. I know, that has nothing to do with New York, but it worked for the ride. You end the ride racing through the halls of The Tonight Show studio, and you, well I'll leave the final ending to you to go see for yourself. The ride was much better than I thought it was going to be for a simulator. Usually those types of rides beat the snot out of you, and leave you with a headache. This one, although herky jerky, was rather smooth, and left you feeling satisfied. It was a fun ride. If I had to wait a half hour, I'd say that was the limit of time that you would want to wait to ride it. Any more than that, and it might not be as enjoyable.

      This day was about hitting some of my favorites as well as rides that I've never gotten to ride, for one reason or the other. I hit The Mummy, Grningot's, The Simpson's, and the Hogwart's Express twice. The video that goes on out the windows is different depending on whether you are going to Hogsmeads or Diagon Alley. It's really great and relaxing. I was going to ride The Hulk, but I had to put all my stuff in a locker and I didn't feel like doing that.  I also achieved my goal, and got my socks, and a couple of other things. They had two different pair of socks, so I got both of them, a Hufflepuff Team Quidditch Captain shirt, and a Death Eaters tank top, became who doesn't need a Death Eaters Tank top. Yeah I spent a little more money than I had planned too, but these will make for good Universal going outfits whenever I go back. I do think that I'm going to make the most of my days off when they happen and go to the park as long as my pass is valid. I haven't decided whether I'm going to renew or not. I do really like it over there, but it isn't a necessity. I'm not sure how much time is left on my pass, but I believe that it is soon, so I will have to make that decision then. I did find out, that in order to use my pass for the new water park, that they just built, called Volcano Bay, you have to upgrade for the cost of $99. Not sure if I'm going to upgrade when and if I renew. That would just be one more thing that I go to alone.

     I have a few pictures of the park to share with you, so I'll just leave those here. I'll be back with you shortly.

 The first one is the entrance to Hogsmead, with of course Hogwarts right next to it. The bottom picture is what you seen once you enter Diagon Alley. Gringotts is at the end of the street with a large fire breathing dragon on top. I didn't get the fire breathing in the picture, I was on my way out when I remembered to get a picture, and it wasn't time for the display. I think it breathes fire every 15 minutes, or there about. It starts with a low rumbling, there is a pause of about 10 seconds then a loud roar, and the fire. It is quite thrilling to see, and even better than that, is all the people standing around the entire place, holding their phones up to get a picture at the right time.

     There was one last ride that I had to hit. It is more of a show than a ride, and it is one of my favorites. The Horror Make Up Show, is fun and fantastic, and I always try to see it. The script hasn't really changed in all the years they have been doing it, so I pretty much can do it word for word. As I started walking over the area that it was, I heard them making a "last call" for the Terminator ride. It was only 5 o'clock. Something was a foot. I started getting a little worried, that I wouldn't get to see my show. My worries were confirmed as I got closer. The park was closing for the day. I think they were having the Rock the Universe festival or whatever you call it. It's a series of concerts performed by Christian artists. They close the park and only leave the area open around the band shell. I was a little bummed and then I realized that I was going to have to drive home through rush hour traffic. h great.

     Somehow I managed to get home with little delay. This left me with plenty of time to change and go out for a ride on Saki. To get the day back in line, I needed to end with the perfect shot of Saki. Melvin was in charge of this, so if it doesn't look good, you can blame him. I did end up with two shots that I liked. One with the flash and one without. You can pick your favorite.

I don't have a favorite out of the two, because I li ke them both for different reasons. It was only short ride Friday night, but it felt good to be on Saki after walking around the park for the whole day.

     Saturday was for a more in-depth ride. I'm still trying to figure out the destination for the next adventure. Still would like your help on this. Which would you want to see more, KSC, or the McLarty Treasure museum? Anyway, If I choose the Space Center, I need to check out a route, so that was my main goal on Saturday. I went out on a road that I discovered a few weeks ago, and it will be a nice relaxing way to KSC. I will have to fudge with the route a bit more, but that will be a great last few miles to the Space Center. It runs parallel to the main road, but has overgrown trees that canopy the road, and a few areas that are just barren, and that means fun. I've asked a few friends if they want to go with me, and one of them has made their preference known, and that is going a long way to my decision. No, I'm not going to let you know their preference. You'll have to wait and see. I do plan on make my final decision by this weekend though, so you won't have to wait long.

     After seeing exactly where that road went, I needed to hit the twisties near the airport. I wanted to work on my body position when cornering, and that is the best place to do it. When I talk about body position, if you take a look at the picture to the left, you can see Valentino Rossi. Notice how he is hanging off the side of the bike and it is leaning over? Well that is what I'm talking about. I was working on getting that hang time. It's called knee dragging. I'm nowhere close to that lean angle, but I started feeling comfortable in the hang and the lean. In order to get that hang, you have to position yourself on the seat. With each turn, you need to move your butt to the side of the seat that you are turning on. You are basically sitting half on and half off the seat. It's a little sketchy at first, but after a few turns, you start getting the feel for it, and then it begins feeling far more natural than just sitting on the seat and leaning the bike over. There is a reason for doing this, and that is so that the center of gravity of the bike shifts, so that the bike doesn't have to lean over quite as far. Now I know that the picture above would lead you to believe that that isn't the reason, but trust me, it is. You have to realize that he is going about 75+ MPH in that turn. The faster you go, the more lean you have, so in the end, the more you can help the bike by letting it lean less, the better. If he didn't hang off the bike, and have that lean angle, he would have to take that corner much slower. I need a lot more practice, but it was definitely feeling good.

     It was a great weekend. I got to do a bunch of things that I wanted to, and I didn't wait for other people to have to come along to do them. It was lonely, but good, and I know that I can do that any time that I want to now. Peace in and goodnight.