Dear 21-year-old-self,

Last week was the first day of my senior year of college. Fresh textbooks filled new backpacks. Groups gossiped about their summers. Syllabi were passed out on crisp bleached paper.

The only issue is, I never showed up.

You graduate high school, you get into college, you graduate in four years, you get a job. The curriculum was laid out, the expectations were clear. I, however, have never been one to follow rules.

Who dictates that we should graduate in four square years? When I started my freshman year, I used to plan out my classes for hours, trying to see if I could graduate in three years. You'll show them, I would tell myself, as if this was all a competition.

The question is not "How fast can I graduate college?"

The question should be "Who the hell cares how long it takes me to graduate college?"

I log onto Facebook. My friends are graduating, getting married, and having children. I can feel the anxiety boiling up, urging me to get out there and check all my boxes.

And then I have to remind myself that I'm twenty-one years old. I shouldn't feel rushed to do these things. I have no dependents. I have no mortgage. I have a disposable income.

I finally had to sit myself down and have a heart to heart.

"What do you want to do most in the world?"

Easy. "Travel."

 

So as university students eagerly made their last minute schedule changes on August 9th, I dropped all of my classes and bought a plane ticket. If I have a passion, and the means to live it out, why should another year of school stand in my way?

Sorry, class of 2016. I'm sure you won't miss me too much. Enjoy your exams and papers, I'll get my share of that next year.

Why should a four-year timestamp be placed on my education? No thank you, American educational system. I think I'd rather see the Bahamas, and Scotland, and Iceland, and England, and Germany, and Thailand, and wherever else the wind takes me because Lord knows I have yet to buy a plane ticket home yet.

Nowhere

I am a month overdue on uploading those spring break pictures. Attempt number one failed after Facebook deleted the album I spent two hours uploading. I will try again soon, I promise! And a blog post will accompany the upload!

In the meantime, I have been trying to enjoy non-school life. Which, as it turns out, simply means I can work 12 hours a day instead of 8. Lovely! And I have two weeks to pack for Florida (by the way, I'm moving to Florida for the summer. Forgot to mention that. For a full recap of my acceptance to the summer alumni program at Walt Disney World, visit my other blog HERE). And I fly out to Seattle tomorrow. I should probably start packing for that, too... But as you can see, I am more busy post-finals than when I was right in the midst of all the exams.

In other news, I have been pondering the word "nowhere" as of late. Although some may say that my blog title, All Roads Lead To Nowhere, is grammatically incorrect, I say otherwise. Nowhere, I would tell them, is not simply a state of inexistence, but a destination. For example, you see your roommate dressed up and walking out the front door.

"Where are you going?" you ask.
"Oh, nowhere," they reply, oftentimes with an anxious grin on their face.

Of course, they are going somewhere. But perhaps they are completely unaware of their final destination. Maybe that is the whole point of going "nowhere." You are not bound to a single plan, but are leaving your fate completely up to chance. Oh, the possibilities! Oh, the adventure!

This is why that is my final destination. It is the place that all the roads, at least the ones that matter most, lead.

Nowhere.

Thrifty Thursday | Shopkick

One of the number one issues among college students, or anyone for that matter, is money. No matter how hard we work, there never seems to be enough of it. Between rent, tuition, student loans, textbooks, car payments, and more, college students' paychecks get drained pretty quickly. Luck for you all, I am slowly learning the tips and tricks to making your money go farther!

To kick off this Thrifty Thursday tradition, I will begin with the app that I use on a daily basis: Shopkick. A dear friend introduced me to this app back in April and I couldn't be more grateful, as it has helped me to earn $125 in gift cards since then!


Shopkick Homepage

The idea is that you get points, or "kicks", for walking into various stores. Additionally, there are certain items within the store you can scan to get additional kicks. For example, you can look in the app to see that you can get 50 kicks by walking into Macy's. Using GPS, it locates when you entered the store and awards you points. You can then see that you can scan an item's barcode for an additional 50 points. Bam! 100 points, just like that. Once you reach 6,250 points, which takes me about a month to a month and a half to do, you can choose from a variety of $25 gift cards. If you so choose, you can also redeem a smaller amount of points for a smaller gift card if you aren't as patient.

I have redeemed multiple gift cards for Macy's, Target, and Marshalls, and there are many others that you can choose from. And if you get three friends to join, that's a bonus 2,000! (So if you're interested and know me personally, let me know and I'll shoot you a text with the information, eh? Haha.).


My Shopkick Profile

Bonus tip: If you go to the home page and look at the recent mini product ads that read "new", those contain bonus kicks! I have earned hundreds of kicks just by looking through these product ads. 

Revamp

Creating this blog, I never really had a persona in mind. College blog? Food blog? Fashion? Travel? Lifestyle? I just wrote what was running through my head at the moment, like a public journal.

Over the last two years, All Roads Lead to Nowhere has evolved, and I think it's about time to organize it based on what it has evolved into. Now, I'm not sure exactly what that is, but for now I'm going to go with "college lifestyle & travel blog". Accurate?

With that taken care of, let's get a new weekly schedule up and running! Now, I won't post every single day of the week, but when I do, I will try to theme it to these subjects:

Travel Tuesday: My exciting adventures
Thrifty Thursday: Money-saving tips & tricks
Food Friday: Need I say more?

Any ideas for the rest of the week?

Hawaii Part II

It's been almost two months since I was in Hawaii, and boy do I miss the fresh mangoes. Each day, we would pull one off of the tree in the back yard, cut it up, and eat it as a snack. It was incredibly delicious, and probably the freshest fruit I've ever had!

After a fun day full of para sailing, I was absolutely exhausted. I spent the next couple days relaxing on the deck, laying on the beach, or nursing my scorched skin with the fresh aloe leaves from the backyard. Warning: Snorkeling causes your lower back to burn. A lot. Try wearing a rash guard or a ton of sunscreen. At one point when I was laying out on the beach one morning, a man and his two dogs came running down the beach and into the crashing waves. The smaller dog decided he didn't like the waves and came to sit next to me the entire time. It was pretty adorable.

Later in the week, I went out with my dad to go snorkeling in the reefs. Baby beach, where my sister had taken me earlier, was about 4 feet deep, murky, and nearly fishless. The beach my dad took me to couldn't have been more different. The water must have been fifty feet deep in some areas, and it was crystal clear all the way to the ocean floor. The fish were so beautiful and colorful - red, yellow, blue, silver, and everything in between. I even saw a rainbow fish and an eel! At this point, my GoPro wasn't charged so I don't have any pictures of this particular snorkeling trip, which I totally regret!

Though the ocean water is lovely and warm, I sure miss a dose of chlorine in my life every now and again. One day when everyone else was at work, my dad and I took off to the row of hotels that line the beachfront. For two or three hours, we swam in about five or six different pools at these resorts, judging which one we liked the best. There were water slides, bridges, lazy rivers, volleyball, and more. In case you were wondering, if I remember correctly, my favorite pool was the Sheraton Resort & Spa.

My sister and I also made some time to walk down Front Street, which is located right off of the shore and is lined with shops and restaurants. I bought a couple souveniers, took a stroll through the art galleries, and even sat at the Forrest Gump bench! (Note the missing foot in the picture, haha!).

Only a couple days left, and so much on my to-do list to check off!

Hawaii Part I

Hawaii Part III

Thoughtful Thursday | 10,000 Views!

I just want to thank everyone who has made a contribution to this blog. Whether you've commented, shared it online, or simply read my rants and raves, you are awesome! Three days ago was the two year anniversary of All Roads Lead To Nowhere, and just a day after that it hit 10,000 views. This is incredible to me!

Two years ago, I started this blog, purely out of boredom and a need to exercise my writing abilities, as a freshman at BYU. In my very first post, "Roma Capitale", I said, "It's understandable to not know where you are going in life. As long as you know where you are right now, you might as well take in the beautiful scenery and simply conclude that today, all roads lead to nowhere." 

Even today, this still holds true. Over the course of two years, I have changed my path so many times and still don't have a clear idea of where I am going. But this blog has taught me to simply enjoy now. This small advice to myself has resulted in the best two years of my life. Though I still don't know where my road is taking me, I have been able to travel this country and enjoy every minute of the ride.

So for all of you who are reading my blog for the first time, or for those who have persevered for my frequent extended leave of absences, thank you!

Food Friday | Pasta Alfredo & Kielbasa

I haven't done a Food Friday in an awfully long time, mostly due to the fact that I have once again moved across the country and have yet to get settled in. But I decided that I will start making an effort to redeem myself, starting with one of the tastiest dishes I have ever made. It's simple, foolproof, and delicious - perfect for those of us living on a budget or short on culinary expertise. I happen to be both!

Ingredients:

1 box of your favorite pasta (I like tortellini or shell)
1 can Alfredo pasta sauce
1 kielbasa (I usually wait until this item goes on sale to make this dish)

1. Cook pasta in boiling water for 7-10 minutes.
(Note: the best way to tell if its cooked all the way is to taste it!)
2. Strain pasta, stir in Alfredo sauce, and put on low heat.
3. Cut up kielbasa into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut these slices into fourths.
4. In a separate pan, fry kielbasa on medium heat.
5. Stir kielbasa into the pasta and enjoy!

Bucket List 2014

I wish I could say that this summer will be more eventful than last. However, now that I have transferred to a much more expensive school, I may have to get a little creative in order to save as much money as possible. Student loans are in my future, yet I don't want that to stop me from making this summer an adventure. I mean, you're only 20 once, right? I better make it worthwhile.

Skydiving last summer

I find that I accomplish more when I have goals written on paper. Thus, I will be making another bucket list this summer! If you would like to view all the bucket list items I completed last year, click HERE, or click the "Bucket List 2013" tab above. This list includes everything from skydiving to bridge jumping, to hiking to Walt Disney World! As a college student, I completely understand how it feels to have to survive on one meal a day in order to make ends meet, and I have learned to cherish leftovers. So follow me on this journey into the unknown, and hopefully on a manageable budget! Where will we end up? Who knows, because all roads lead to nowhere. There is no certainty. There is only adventure.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Last Friday, I took a friend to the Cincinnati airport. What was supposed to be a three-hour-round-trip-then-go-to-work day, turned into a one hour in the wrong direction, turn around, drive two hours, become in awe with the city and call off work and spend the day in Cincinnati day. Impulsive, but worth it.

Cincinnati, Ohio is like the small version of NYC, with a touch of a vintage, old-town feel. We roamed the city, got breakfast at a local bagel shop, and got lost numerous times. The waterfront was beautiful, and we headed just across the river to the Newport Aquarium (which is technically in Kentucky, but we still had a great view of Ohio from just outside). We watched the shark rays, which are a combination of a shark and a sting ray, get fed. This is the only aquarium in the world that has a thriving group of shark rays, which I thought was pretty cool! I also got to pet a shark!

After the aquarium, we headed across the boardwalk to a quaint seafood restaurant called Mitchell's Fish Market. The bacon wrapped barbeque shrimp was to die for, and my fish and chips were delectable. It all pooled together to be a fun impromptu trip that I will never forget!

21-Day Challenge | Week 3

Boy do I have some explaining to do... Remember when I ran that five miles last Sunday? Well I haven't exercised since then. But you can't blame me, I'm right in the midst of finals week, and you know how grueling that can be. However, I did stick to eating well all last week, which was a plus! However, seeing as I have four exams ahead of me, I have allotted myself four days to splurge, because when I'm stressed and need ice cream, I'm willing to indulge if it means I can calm down and continue studying. Today is the last reading day where we don't have classes, and tomorrow is the first day of finals.

Only one of my finals are actually scheduled, and it's tomorrow at 8 am... Wonderful. The rest of my exams are a free for all. The way BYU organizes final exams is that you have a week to take them. When you're ready, you line up at the testing center anywhere from 7 am to 9 pm to go in and take your test. I love this because this allows me to take all four of my exams by Saturday night so that I can fly home sooner. My flight for Seattle leaves early Sunday morning, and I am so excited to be able to spend a week there before heading off to my internship!

Once finals are over, I can promise you that I will start working out and eating better again! But for now, bring on the ice cream, root beer, better cheddar's, and easy cheese.

Thoughtful Thursday | Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

With finals week fast approaching for those of us college students on the semester schedule, it is easy to stress about every single issue that life throws in our direction. Just last night I nearly had a meltdown because I broke my healthy eating routine and had Wendy's. I beat myself up all day, and then solved the issue by eating a doughnut. I see a vicious cycle forming here... But the point of the matter is, who cares if I have a doughnut every now and again? And, of course, there is a deeper metaphor at work here.

Will your life fall apart if you get a B+ in that class instead of an A-? I promise you, this will not ruin your life. And furthermore, don't let the stresses that school causes on its students effect your everyday life outside of the classroom. Try your best, and that's all you can do.

I've been freaking out because I might get a B- in one of my classes and a B in another. I kept telling myself that these grades were going to bring down my GPA significantly. However, once I took a step back and took into account the other three A's that I would be receiving this semester, I realized that even with these low grades, my GPA would still go up slightly. So if you're freaking out about something that is going to have an extremely minimal effect on your life as a whole, just take a step back and don't sweat the small stuff. 

21-Day Challenge

Wow, April is almost here already! With summer fast approaching, I quickly realized that I should start getting swimsuit-ready (I may have realized this a little late, haha). Every year, I have the goal to look great in a swimsuit, to get a flat stomach, blah blah blah. But this year I'm approaching the situation from a different angle.

My goal is to become confident in my body, and to treat it well. I've been trying to eat natural foods and exercise more, but sometimes "trying" simply isn't a big enough motivation. With the help of Fitness Magazine, I have committed to their "21-Day Total-Body Makeover Workout." In a nutshell, it is not intended to push you to your absolute limits or go on a crash diet. The goal is to help get you into the habit of exercising five days a week, have a good mindset, and form a healthy lifestyle. Want to join me on this challenge? Why not, it's only three weeks of your time!

WEEK 1
Mind: Dedicate five minutes a day to keeping an exercise journal, noting how you stay active. Seeing yourself achieve daily goals builds momentum.
Body: Do 2 sets of 8-12 reps per move twice a week on nonconsecutive days and 25-35 minutes of cardio five days a week.

http://www.pinterest.com/marielleeeee/fitness/

WEEK 2
Mind: Plan ahead. Rather than wait for a break in your day to exercise, schedule it the night before.
Body: Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps per move three times a week and 35-45 minutes of cardio five days a week.

WEEK 3
Mind: Find solutions, not excuses. If you don't have time for a full session, break it into 10-minute bits. Once you've started, it's easier to keep going than it is to quit.
Body: Do three sets of 15-20 reps per move 3 times a week and 45-55 minutes of cardio five days a week.

Click HERE to view the full article, as well as a list of exercises to do for the weightlifting segments of the body portion of the challenge. If you don't have free weights or a medicine ball, the site is full of weight-free exercises that you could try instead.

Three weeks. Twenty-one days. That's it. No excuses. What's stopping you from finally being fit, healthy, and happy? I'll check up with you all every week until we've finished this. Ready, GO!

Food Friday | Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

For my second installment of Food Friday, I have actually cooked food! These creamy, cheesy chicken enchiladas were heavenly. This was the first time I had made enchiladas completely from scratch, and I was surprised how simple it was.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 2 cups (8 oz.) pre-shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1 2/3 cups plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/3 cups butter, melted
• 1/4 cups chopped onion*
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic**
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (10-12 oz.) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained*
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup (2 oz.) finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions*

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and chili powder. Grill or bake until done. 
3. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. 
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working with one tortilla at a time, brush oil over both sides of tortilla. Add tortilla to pan; cook 5 seconds on each side or until toasted and soft. 
5. Remove from pan; arrange 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla.
6. Roll jelly-roll style. Place filled tortilla, seam side down, in a 13x19 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 7 tortillas. Use remaining chicken mixture (about 1 cup) to spread over enchiladas. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese and green onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts. ***

*Note that I don't particularly like these ingredients, so I replaced the chopped onion with onion powder and the green chilies with chili powder. You do you.

**I just used garlic powder instead.

***If you are making food for multiple people, then ignore this note. If you are making food just for yourself, then hear ye, hear ye! After combining all the ingredients (when I cooked this, I halved the recipe), I used enough chicken mixture to fill up and coat only one tortilla. I stored the rest of the mixture in the fridge so I could make one enchilada at a time from then on. That way, it is fresh, for the most part, every time you cook one! Considering the fact that I halved the recipe, this chicken mixture lasted nearly a week - about 5 enchiladas! Also, I just put the single enchilada in a smaller baking dish when cooking it. 

Enjoy!

Food Friday: Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Welcome to the first ever Food Friday! I will be the first to admit: I am a terrible cook. Therefore, every week I will be posting a new, simple recipe that even I can cook with the hopes that I can begin to eat something other than bean burritos. Though, with the weather warming up, I thought I would start off this weekly tradition with a refreshing smoothie!

And isn't this single-serve Hamilton
Beach blender so handy?!

During my two years in college, I have learned that one of the hardest things to do is eat healthy and spend frugally. Fruit and vegetables can be so expensive, and sometimes it makes more sense to instead reach for the hot dogs and top ramen. However, I have set goals for myself to be healthier lately, so no more hot dogs for me. If you are pressed for time, money, and want to eat smarter, then try out this delicious smoothie!

Ingredients:

Note that I don’t measure anything, so these are rough estimates!

1 banana

½ cup fat free milk

1 raw egg* 

1 handful baby spinach* 

1 scoop Slim Fast chocolate powder (I use the cheap knock-off brand)

6 ice cubes

*Don't be afraid of these ingredients - you don't even taste them in the end!

Blend it all together and voilà, enjoy! 

Thoughtful Thursday | Expand Your Talents

“Hide not your talents, they for use were made,
What's a sundial in the shade?” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Everyone has a talent. The real challenge is figuring out what that talent is.

For example, my talent is writing – I have known this from about the age of nine. Eleven years later, I am writing for a university magazine. But over these years, I have made an effort to figure out what other talents I may have. Benjamin Franklin might say that my talent of writing is a sundial in the sunlight, while my other talents are hiding in the shade. So for many years, I have ventured into the shade to locate these hidden talents.

In my junior year of high school, I turned out for the cross country team. I told myself that if I could only get in shape, I may be able to be successful in this sport. However, I soon learned that I am easily distracted and running in circles for over three miles does nothing to entertain me. Not to mention I always came in second-to-last in all the races. So instead, I joined the dance team and found a sport that was both entertaining and fun!

When I was about twelve, I decided that I was the next Picasso. I asked for sketch books and pencils for Christmas, and went out to draw the world! It was extremely clear, even to me, that the best I could do were stick figures and robots. Instead, I picked up a camera at age eighteen and began snapping away. Now, I have no idea how skilled I actually am, but it is a talent that I enjoy. Just last week, my roommate and I journeyed out to a nearby park so that I could take a few pictures of her. Here are a few of my favorites:

And it’s nice because the camera always ends up in my subject’s curious hands, so I always get a few nice pictures of myself as well! 

New York, New York (Part III)

I descended down the stairs, leaving behind the bustling noises from pedestrians hurrying up and down Fifth Avenue. I pulled out my prepaid metro card, swiped it, and pushed through the turnstile. Now the real question was, how do I get where I need to go? I downloaded a subway map off the app store and began deducing which train I should board.

It was dirty, crowded, and uncomfortable. The train lurched forward and I held on to a pole for dear life as we sped south. I exited the train and got on a transfer. Don't ask me how I knew when to transfer or which train to get on, it just all seemed to work out. Luckily, the second train was clean and occupied by families.When we reached what I assumed to be the correct stop, I got off and walked up the stairs into the streets of the financial district in Lower Manhattan. As I wondered the streets, I accidentally stumbled upon Wall Street, and many interesting buildings. But as my phone was quickly dying, I attempted to resist these distractions and figure out where I was going.

After walking in many circles, asking for directions, and finally phoning a friend, I found my final destination: the 9/11 Memorial.

It was absolutely breathtaking! It was incredible to see where these two monumental buildings had once stood, as well as the efforts that were being made to reconstruct them. And in their exact places were two beautiful memorials. As the sun was setting, the fountains lit up and all was calm as passersby reminisced this awful destruction over 12 years ago.

The Survivor Tree

 

Soon after I left the memorial, my phone died as I searched for the correct subway to board. About four trains and an hour later, I finally made it back to midtown. It was a long day, so I stopped by a cafe to charge my phone and get a genuine New York coffee. It was the best vanilla late I have ever tasted! I will be sure to go back here when I visit again.

I finally met back up with my friends to go to the top of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, it was too foggy and they weren't letting anyone up because you wouldn't be able to see the city below you. Disappointed, we instead went into all the shops along Fifth Avenue, took pictures outside the city library, and walked around Times Square.

But all too soon, our last night in New York came to an end as we sadly retreated to our hotel to pick up our bags and load them into the car. We drove away, stopping once to take one last look at the skyline. Right then, I promised myself I'd be back.

Stay tuned for the last installment of my New York blog series... Philadelphia!

New York, New York (Part II)

The next morning, I woke up at 9 to shower and get ready. Once I was fully prepared for what the day had in store for me, I realized that everyone else was still sleeping. And being the introvert that I am, I surely did not turn down an opportunity for a bit of alone time. I decided that nothing could be better at this moment than a morning stroll through Central Park! I packed my wallet, camera, and winter gear, then happily headed downstairs to enjoy my first ever morning in New York City.

It was about a ten minute walk from my hotel to the south entrance of Central Park. Everywhere I looked, there were joggers, dog walkers, bikers, and groups of children running around. My goal was to explore every inch of the park! But little did I know, it is a lot bigger than what the movies make it out to be. I walked around the south half of the park for almost two hours, hoping to finally make it to the tourist locations in the north end. However, when I was looking at the ice skating rink for the third time, I realized that I was simply walking in circles. I wanted to blend in with the NY natives, but I finally caved and bought one of those $2 maps of Central Park from a street vendor. I told the man the main places I wanted to go, and he was very helpful in directing me!

As I started on my way, I heard someone call out to me, “Excuse me, ma’am?” I turned, not knowing what to expect. “You dropped your wallet.”

Sure enough, there it was lying on the ground. He bent over, picked it up, and handed it to me. I was baffled – weren't New Yorkers supposed to be selfish, rude, and pompous? I smiled at the man, mumbled a “thank you”, and then headed on my way.

These are the bathrooms in Central Park!

I walked around for hours, my camera in one hand and the map in the other. I saw the Belvedere Castle, Loeb Boathouse, Children’s Zoo, Bethesda Fountain, Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields with the Imagine mosaic, the mall (which isn’t actually a mall…), and much, much more!

Finally, I hit the most northern point of the park. From there, I exited to the east and walked the straight length of the park down Fifth Avenue. It was the best workout I could ever ask for! By the time I reached the golden Sherman statue and the glass Apple Store, my phone was completely dead. Lovely… Now, my main goal was to find an outlet. I headed into many stores and was repeatedly unsuccessful. I then trekked down a narrow street and into a bagel shop.

Now, I hear New York bagels are good, but they were all under exaggerating! As I sat down at a table, eating my bagels and charging my phone, I was experiencing pure food bliss. I have no idea what this bagel shop was called, but it was just south of the Museum of Modern Art, and west of Fifth Avenue. So delicious!

Next, I walked south down Fifth, looking at all the shops and clothes that I could probably never afford in my lifetime. I passed Trump Tower, Tiffany’s, Bergdorf, Dolce & Gabbana, NBC Studios, Radio City Music Hall, St Regis, and finally stumbled across Rockefeller Center. 

I saw the statue of that man holding the world, the ice rink, the flags, and even the Christmas tree! Although they were still in the process of decorating, so the tree was still covered…  But all I could think of was that scene from Elf when Buddy and Jovie have their first kiss on the ice. Perfect! Right there, I promised myself that I would have an ice skating date on that rink one day. Haha!

After taking enough pictures to satisfy any tourist, I decided to do the unthinkable. I headed down the stairs (after getting lost trying to find the right ones) and into the rumbling, rat-infested abyss. 

To be continued...