Focus On The Turtle

My hubbs and I celebrated our one year anniversary by taking a trip to Orlando. We stayed at the Westgate Resort and Spa, it was so nice!












There were mirrors everywhere, that was a little strange...!








Our room had such a pretty view of the water!




That night, we went to a dine-in theater. It was so cool! We had never been to one before. It's just like a movie theater except your row has a table and servers take your order and deliver your meal. Pretty neat :)








The next day, we went paddle boating. Let me just say, it's a lot of leg work and you only go like 1/2 a mile an hour... But hey, it was free at our resort and now we can say we've done it!












We also went to one of my favorite places- Sea World! We rode some rides, saw some shows, and ate some dippin dots :)








We fed some animals, which is always frightening to me haha.








And went to a sea turtle show! I'm a little obsessed with sea turtles. I think they're the cutest things since sliced bread.
In the sea turtle show, you watch a 3D movie about baby sea turtles, then go through an aquarium with sea turtles that have been rescued. The big guy pictured lost his arm to a shark.








Later, we went to a carnival- type place called Fun Spot. We drove... (why does drove not seem like a real word to me right now? Anyway...) ...drove go-carts, rode rides, and ate slushies :)




My FAVORITE part of Fun Spot, and probably my favorite part about the whole trip was the Sky Coaster! It's known as the highest skycoaster in the world, reaching 300 feet at its highest point. It was absolutely terrifying. Jon and I both agreed it was the freakiest thing we've ever done, but SO. MUCH. FUN!








First, they harness you up in these oh-so-flattering ensembles.




Then they hook you up to a cable, lay you on your bellies, and drraaaaggg you up 300 feet in the air. Up. Up. Up...
There were like 3 different times I thought to myself "Surely this is as high as we're going.... Surely were not going any higher than this"... and higher we went.




So, we're going up and I start getting nervous. Like, really nervous. So I tell Jon "I'm kinda freaking out!" And he says "Look! A turtle!" I look down at the lake below us and sure enough, a little turtle swimming around. Jon says "Just focus on the turtle."
So I focused on the turtle until it turned into a teensy little dot.
When you get to the very top of the sky coaster, a voice comes on over the intercom. It says "THREE! TWO! ONE! Pull the cord!!!" And then you're supposed to pull your own ripcord to release yourself into the abyss.
Needless to say, Jon had to pull our ripcord because I knew from the beginning that I was not gonna be able to. I mean, really? You're about to fall to your potential death and they can't just pull the cord for you?? So yeah, he pulled the cord. And down we went.
Apparently the top half of your body is heavier than your bottom half. I discovered that because we started out on our bellies, and as gravity began to take effect, we were falling head first towards the water below. And I'm screaming. And Jon is yelling "Oh My Gosh!" And then the cable catches us, and we swing forward. Then backward, then forward. I finally stop screaming and release my death grip on Jon's arm. I extend my arms out like a bird. Exhilarating.
We slowly float back and forth until we're close enough to the ground that we can grab the pole that the ride operators hold up for us. Then they lower us down to safety.
See the picture below? The tiny dot? Those are people!




I wanted to do it again so bad! But unfortunately Fun Spot only allows you to ride the Sky Coaster one time unless you wanna pay 20 more bucks per person... And let's be honest, we ain't rich ;)
When we got off the ride, I hugged Jon and said "thanks for pointing out the turtle". This isn't the first time he's had to calm me down... I tend to be a worrier. (Worry-er? Eh, whatevs)
You see, this last year has been the best and worst year of my life. I married the man of my life, and a few months later my parents filed for divorce. Jon got an awesome job as a youth pastor in Florida, which meant I was moving very, very far away from my friends and family.
But through everything, Jon encourages me. He comforts me. He prays with me. When I'm mad for a silly reason, he talks me off the ledge. And when I'm mad for a real reason, he's on my side and defends me to no end. He finds the turtle and helps me focus on it. I love him :)


Happy one year, my love. I'm excited for lots lots more.
Have a wonderful day.