Tag: travel

My amazing Florida vacation 2026

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! In January I went on a very fun family vacation to Florida. I crossed off two bucket list items while I was on vacation and I’m so excited to tell you all about it . I had a lot of fun during my first vacation on 2026 so let’s get to it

January 25th – This was the day that my vacation began! It took two planes to get to Florida but I was very happy to be there. We stayed at Disney’s Old Key West hotel. This hotel is huge! I went to the gift shop and I got a magnet with the hotel’s name on it. After getting to our room we went out to dinner. While we were on our way to dinner I saw a bunch of gift shops. After dinner we went to the mermaid gift shop. This gift shop was so much fun to explore. There were so many souvenirs to choose from. I got a hat, a shirt, keychains and more! This day was a good start to a great vacation.

January 26th – Today was the day we went to Epcot. I enjoyed going on some of my favorite rides here including living with the land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros, and Test track. I also enjoyed exploring the world showcase. I loved collecting the free post cards. It was also the festival of the arts I liked seeing the decorations and I also had fun doing a paint by numbers activity. Two other highlights of the day were getting a fun coffee drink and eating at the space 220 restaurant. I’m glad I got to visit Epcot again.

January 27th – On this day I crossed an item off my bucket list by visiting another Crayola Experience location. I had been to the Crayola Experience location in the Mall of America back in 2018. I loved it so much that I put visiting another Crayola Experience location on my bucket list. I had a fun time visiting the Orlando location. I had a great time making art with melted wax, making my own crayon label, making coloring pages with my picture on it and making other fun projects. I even got my picture sketched by a robot! Oh and there was this area where you could draw with chalk on the walls and I wrote Let’s go Mets more than once. They had a photo booth and I took some fun pictures there. Included with my ticket I got a free scribble scrubby toy. There were so many coloring pages and projects here. I took some with me so I could use them later. The gift shop here was beyond amazing there were so many Crayola products that you could buy. I got so many fun souvenirs including a shirt, another scribble scrubby toy, a coloring book, an ornament and a pack of markers. I highly recommend going to the Crayola experience I could write a whole blog post about everything I did here. Some other quick highlights are the pressed penny machine , getting soda in a Crayola cup , the silly putty claw machine and doing rubbings with crayons. The Crayola Experience is located in a mall so after I wrapped up my time there, I went to the American girl store. It had been I long time since I had gone to an American Girl store and I was so happy to have the chance to go to one again. I had a good time looking at all the displays and seeing some of the new items that are available. I bought the American Girl sticker book that I had been wanting I also got a shirt with the old American Girl logo on it and a chocolate bar with and American Girl wrapper. I also went to Claire’s .There was a great clearance sale going on and I was able to get a lot of fun items for a great price. This mall actually had two Claire’s locations at I got to go to them both. Later that day I went to the Rainforest Cafe in Disney Springs. I love this cafe so much but we don’t have one where I live. After eating I went to the Rainforest Cafe gift shop where I got a mug and a ball. I love that they have items on clearance here. After dinner I got coffee it was a great vacation day.

January 28th – On this day we went on a day trip to St. Augustine. We went on a tour where we got to see a lot of different places around St. Augustine. We also did a tour of an old jail. My favorite part of our St. Augustine adventure was the Fountain of Youth. It was fun drinking from the fountain but my favorite part was seeing the peacocks and getting to feed them. They are truly beautiful birds. I just loved taking pictures of them. We only had a short amount of time in St. Augustine it would be fun to go back sometime to have more adventures. On the way back that night we stopped at one of my favorite places. For the 2nd time in my life I got to got to Bucee’s. I had so much fun shopping here there we even some Valentine’s day items. Some of the items I got where a stationary set, a magnet, a hairbow, a coloring book, a tin of mints, and a rubber duck. Shopping here was the perfect end to this fun day.

January 29th – This was the day I went on a solo adventure to Magic Kingdom. I had not been here since 2021 and I was excited to go on the Tron roller coaster. My first ride of the day was the people mover. I love this ride it was the perfect way to start the day. My next ride was Tron I had a pass for it so I didn’t have to wait in the long line. I loved this ride it was very thrilling and I wish I could have ridden it twice. It seemed like it was a somewhat busy day at the park but I still got to go ride the rides that I wanted to the most Including Winnie The Pooh , It’s a small world, the carousal, jungle cruise, and the barnstormer plus more. I also did some shopping of course. My favorite thing that I bought was a Winnie the pooh bead kit. The Winnie the Pooh ride is my favorite. I had a great day here but I was so tired at the end of my adventured filled day.

January 30th – On this day I crossed off a bucket list item but before I did that I went to Disney Springs. I went to the Coca cola store and I got some fun items including some polar bear items. I also got coffee. Then it was time to cross off a bucket list item. I took the bus to Fort Wilderness. I had put exploring Fort Wilderness on my bucket list because one of my favorite sing a long videos was filmed there. I remember watching it a lot as a kid. This place is huge so I did not get to explore all of it but I did enjoy walking around. It was a nice day and I’m glad I went on this adventure. I walked to a store where I got a snack. It would be so fun to stay here sometime. There were also horses here. There was an outdoor theater that was really cool . I’m glad I crossed this item off off my list. That night we went out for ice cream it was a great way to say goodbye to this great vacation.

January 31st – This was the day I came back home from a wonderful vacation. At the airport I got a very cute bear that had different locations in Florida on it. I’m so happy I got that bear I’m also happy I got to go on this Wonderful vacation.

Thank you for reading love, Christina Epperly

Oxnard road road trip August 2025

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I’m excited to share another post about my summer adventures with you. In early August I went on a road trip to Oxnard to go to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. I also went on other adventures during my road trip so with all that being said let’s get to it.

August 3rd 2025 – This was the day that our road trip started . We made a stop in Solvang on the way to our hotel. We ate here and did a little bit of shopping. It is super cute town and I would love to go back sometime to explore it more.

August 4th 2025 – On this day we to the Ronald Reagan presidential library. It is on my bucket list to visit every presidential library and this was the 2nd one that I got to visit. While we were there was an exhibit on the dead see scrolls and it was truly amazing . I got to see some of the scrolls including part of the book of Psalms. After seeing the exhibit on the dead sea scrolls. We went to see the presidential library. I had so much fun looking around the library. My favorite part was getting to explore the airplane . I also enjoyed taking pictures here. There were so many great displays I recommend going here if you ever the chance. This was not our only adventure on the day we also did some exploring in Ventura , went shopping at Hobby Lobby and went to the beach. That night I went swimming in the hotel pool it was the perfect way to end this day of vacation.

August 5th – This was the day that we went to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. my mom and I were in a VIP area where we got a good view of the practice . I liked shopping at the store they have there. I got a set of stickers and a pin. There were snacks and drinks in the VIP area so that was really nice. There was even sugar free soda. I enjoyed watching practice and I’m glad I got to got this year.

August 6th – On this day we drove back home. I was sad that my vacation was over but I was happy to see my cat.

Thank you for reading about this road trip adventure.

Love, Christina Epperly

A party for no reason and the Bay Area Travel show

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends, I’m excited to tell you about two fun things I did last weekend. I know that I still have not crossed off any list items this year , yet this summer will be a different story . With all that being said, now let’s get to it.

3/15/ 2025

A party for no reason – Part of me likes working on Saturdays because that means I get to have a weekday off and I like having weekdays off because things are less crowed and and its easier to do what I need to do on the weekdays. However, on the 15th, I felt like my coworkers and I could use a party since we were having to work on a day that most people had off. Even though most of us who were there work every Saturday. I just felt like we needed a party. I ordered pizza and cake to be delivered. I also ordered some stickers and a bath bomb for myself. Oh, and I got these super cute bunny plates. I had a great time having a party for no reason with my coworkers. I hope I get the urge to do this again sometime.

3/16/2025 – On this day, my mom and I went to the Bay Area Travel show. I had a great time when I went last year. I even got to ask the host of the Amazing Race a question. This year, I did not know any of the speakers. We spent our time at the travel show exploring the different booths. I plan to add some more items to my list next month, and the booths at the Travel Show provided some great inspiration. The booth at the Travel show handed out different items such as stickers, lip balm, and pens. One booth even had shoe charms. We ate lunch at the show, and we got to see some dancers perform. One more highlight of the show was that I got to see a giant bunny. He was so cute and soft! I had a good time at this show, and I hope to go back next year.

Thank you for reading

Love, Christina Epperly

Shopping at an LA target and getting all dressed up

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! In November, I went on a quick trip to LA. It was more of a business trip than a vacation, but I did get to go shopping at a really nice Target store, and I actually put make-up on.

11/14 – This was the day I left for LA, and It was also red cup day at Starbucks. I got my free Starbucks cup at my usual Starbucks location before going to the airport. I arrived in LA that evening.

11/ 15 – This was the day that I went to Target . The Christmas items were out, and I was very excited about that. I got two of the Christmas birds, and I’m really glad that I did because they are sold out at my local Targets now. I’m also glad that I got some Christmas craft kits. Some of the other things that I got were a box of air head that came with stickers, Christmas bath bombs with prizes inside, a Target dog Pez dispenser, a cup that has gingerbread men on it and a cute straw, two different surprise toys, and some Joy Ride candy! After Target I went to Ross I don’t normally go to Ross but I needed to get a dress. While I was at ross, I got an art kit, a Barbie school supplies set, and a hair bow. I also got the perfect dress. The prices at Ross are really good and I want to go to a ross again sometime.

11/16 – This was the day I got dressed up. Getting dressed up is not something I do often, but I was pretty happy with how I looked. Actually, I take that back. I was very happy with the way that I looked. I even made one of the photos of me in that dress my profile picture on social media. Maybe I should dress up more often.

11/17 – This was the day I went back home. I did some shopping at the airport before going home. I do like LA, and I hope to go back sometime.

Thanks for reading !

Love, Christina Epperly

One more trip to Idaho before the year ends

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket friends! At the end of October, I went to Idaho to visit family one more time before the year ends. It was good to see people that I don’t normally get the chance to see. I can’t wait to tell you more about it, so let’s get to it!

October 30th – This was the day I arrived in Idaho after a short flight. This day was pretty uneventful, but that is a good thing. It was good to see my grandparents and to get this visit to Idaho started. I stayed up late on this night writing about why Christians should not celebrate Halloween. ( You can read it HERE )

October 31st – I started this day by getting coffee and going shopping at Walmart. I was excited to see that there were some Christmas items available. One thing I’ve learned from working in retail is that you have to buy seasonal items as soon as they are available because they can go quickly, and they do not always get restocked. I got some Christmas Squishmallow window stickers. I also got post cards, stickers , a pack of stencils, Squishmallow hair clips, bath bombs, and candy cane toothpaste. After that we went to a restaurant for my grandpa’s birthday. later that night, I took a bath with bath bombs.

November 1st – I started off by doing one of my favorite activities, and that activity is thrift shopping. I went to my favorite Goodwill location in Idaho. I got some fun items during my thrift shopping trip including some little Christmas squishmallows, a Beanie Buddy butterfly, a bag of hair bows, a craft kit, a Hello Kitty binder, a cup with lamas on it, and more! I also went to visit more family members that day. Some of my family members have a farm, and I love going because I love animals. I really like seeing this one very sweet horse. We took some cute selfies together. Later that night, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant

November 2nd – This was our last full day in Idaho before going home. The big highlights from this day other than spending time with family were going to Olive Garden for lunch and going to Walmart. I got so many great things at Walmart. I was excited to see that there were some more Christmas items available. I got some Christmas stickers, some hello kitty soap, candy canes, beads, a surprise toy, and more. My trips to Idaho always go by so fast, and this one was no different. I don’t know when I will be able to go back. I’m already looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading!

My great Tennessee adventure part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I am excited to bring you the blog post about the third and final part of my Tennessee vacation. While on vacation, I welcomed a new month, and that is where this post starts on July first.

July 1st

On this day, my mom and I went on an adventure to Fall Creek Falls State Park. We went on a nice hike, and we got to see a great view of the water fall. The water fall was not flowing very much because it was summer. However, it was still worth seeing. There was also a pretty awesome bridge that we got to walk on. Oh, and there was a playground by the parking lot, and I went on the slide, and there is a nice visitor center here as well. That night, we went back into Nashville for some food and shopping. I got some fun souvenirs, including a cute plush bear and a puzzle. This was our last full day of vacation, and it was an enjoyable day.

July 2nd

This was the day that we flew home, but our flight was not until later in the day, so we had some time before we needed to be at the airport. We went to Starbucks, the Goodwill, and went got ice cream. I got a few things at Goodwill, including books, trivia cards, and pencils. The ice cream shop that we went to was really good. It was a good way to end our vacation, but it was so hard to say goodbye to Tennessee. At the airport I got a few more souvenirs before saying goodbye to the state We had a layover in Denver, and our flight got delayed, so we spent more time in the airport than we had planned on. I was actually not upset about the delay because that meant my vacation could last just a little bit longer.

Thank you for reading

Love, Christina Epperly

Travel and Adventure show 2024

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! On Saturday I went to the travel and adventure show. It was at a local convention center that I had never been to before. I was excited to go to an event that I had never been to before. However, I was most excited to see Phil Keoghan, who is the host of The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race is one of my favorite TV shows. When my mom and I arrived at the show, we went to where Phil would be speaking. I was happy that we got seats with a good view. It was so cool to be that close to someone that I had seen on TV for years! When his amazing speech was over. The audience got a chance to ask questions. If you asked a question, you got two free shirts. Of course, I had to ask a question. I was not sure what I was gonna ask at first. I had come up with a question in my head while I was waiting for my turn. However, when I got up to the microphone, I decided to ask another question. You can see the video of me asking my question on my Instagram (summerrockstar) or on X (mallstar). The question that I ended up asking was, “What is an item on your bucket list that you have not crossed off yet that you are looking forward to?” Phil said that he wanted to go to space, but he went into detail about how he would say it for the Amazing Race. It was great! After seeing Phil, my mom and I explored the rest of the travel show. There was so much to see. There were many booths. I got so much free stuff, including pens, stickers, and a candle. I also got to learn about places that I had not thought about going to before. Another thing I did was that I got to met some very cute dogs that help to protect our agriculture. If you get a chance to go to a travel show, I highly recommend going.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend ! Love – Christina Epperly

My Death Valley adventure

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Death Valley National Park. It was my first time going there, and I highly recommend going if you get the chance.

Death Valley Day one – My mom and I started our vacation with an eight hour drive. On the way there, we stopped in this small town called Trona. They had a really good gas station store with good prices. That is where I got my first souvenirs of this vacation. When we arrived in the park, we made a stop at the sand dunes. The dunes were like being in an endless sandbox with hills. It was an interesting place to explore. After exploring the sand dunes, we went to the visitor center. The visitor center is on the smaller size, but it has a good selection of items for sale as well as some informative displays. After the sand dunes and the visitor center we got to our hotel. We stayed at the ranch in Death Valley. I loved staying there. They have a lot of things to do at the ranch. They have a cute general store, a huge pool , and an outdoor museum, just to name a few. The first night that we were there, I walked to the general store, and I got some postcards. It was a great first day of vacation.

Death Valley day two – Our first adventure of day two was going to Golden Canyon. This is a very beautiful hike, and the canyon is something I think everyone should see if they get the chance. This place is similar to what someone may picture a different planet would look like. This is a great spot for pictures. After that, we went to a spot known as artists Palette. This is also a great place to take pictures. The view here is beautiful. Another place we went to on this day was Harmony Borax works. We learned a lot about the borax industry here, but my favorite part was walking on the crunchy salt. Our last big adventure of this day was going to see Ubehebe crater. It was so windy it was hard to stand up straight, but the crater was truly amazing to see. We didn’t stay long due to the wind but I’m glad we went to see it.

Death Valley day three – Our first adventure of this day was going to visit Bad Water basin. Bad Water Basin is known for having the lowest elevation in North America. The basin has changed due storms, and there is now a lake that is not usually there. This is an interesting place to visit, especially right now, and I’m glad I got to see it. On this day we also went on a tour where we went to see some places that our car could not drive to. One of the things that I saw on the tour that stood out to me was a big tear shaped hole in a rock formation. I got some good pictures of that. After the tour, we explored the outdoor museum at our hotel. I also got ice cream at the ice cream shop at our hotel, and it was amazing. This was the first night that we went swimming in the large pool at the hotel. It was another great day of vacation.

Death Valley day four – This was our last full day of vacation before we went back home. We went to another viewpoint and of course it was beautiful. Another person that was at the same spot took some pictures of my mom and I, and they look great! After that we went to the visitor center again. I got a pressed penny and a bookmark. We had lunch at our hotel and it was really good. later that day we went out again but this time I brought a friend with me my Squishmallow raven named Ronald. Ronald has his own instagram page. ( ronaldtheraven ) I took Ronald with us so that he could get some pictures for his instagram page. We went to some of the places that we had already visited, and Ronald loved taking pictures, and of course, the pictures turned out great. That night we went swimming again. It was the perfect way to wrap up our vacation.

Thanks for reading about this adventure! Love – Christina Epperly

My fabulous Las Vegas vacation part 1

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I crossed number 15 off my bucket list in July  by going Las Vegas. It was a pretty short trip but it was jammed packed with fun so I decided that it would be best to write two different post about this adventure. In my second post about this adventure I will talk about another bucket list item I crossed off. Without anymore introduction needed let’s get to part one of my Las Vegas adventure.

July 17th – This was the day that our adventure began. On this trip, I went with my mom and my friend. Our flight was in the evening. The flight went well, and after we landed, we checked in to our hotel. We stayed at New York New York. I wanted to stay at a classic Las Vegas hotel, and this one seemed like the perfect fit. I love how the room was decorated to fit the New York theme of our hotel. We had one activity planned for our first day, and that was to take a tour at the neon museum. The neon museum is full of old neon signs that used to be displayed around Las Vegas. My favorite sign was duck that I took a picture with. After the tour we went to the gift shop where I got some souvenirs  from our first adventure of the trip!

    July 18th – This day was packed full of adventure! We started out by getting Starbucks at our hotel, and then we went to the ABC store. I loved shopping there. I got some great Las Vegas souvenirs, including a much needed water bottle because Las Vegas is very hot in the summertime. Our first big activity of the day was going on the flyover ride. This ride is one of those rides that makes it feel like you are flying over some amazing places. I enjoyed going on this ride. They had a few different ride options we did the American West ride. I would like to do some of the other rides if I go back to Las Vegas. After the ride, I bought some souvenirs from the gift shop. Our second activity of the day was the Dino safari walk through adventure. I had a lot of fun walking through this attraction and taking pictures. There was a dinosaur slide that I got to go on. I also enjoyed getting to color a dinosaur coloring page. Our next activity, after that, turned out to be one of my favorite things that we did during this trip. We took a ride on the high roller observation wheel. The views from the wheel are amazing, and when it was announced that we got to the top, it was very exciting. I highly recommend going on the high roller observation wheel if you are in Las Vegas. After all of that adventure, it was time to stop for lunch. We ate at a really good Mexican restaurant. After lunch, we went to see the real flamingos that live at the Flamingo hotel. I love flamingos, and it was cool to see them in Las Vegas! The next activity I did was going to the selfie museum with my friend. I had a lot of fun taking pictures here. I especially enjoyed taking photos in the ball pit and the bathtub. After the selfie museum, I road the zip line with my mom. It was a quick ride, but it was definitely an adventure! We had already done a lot on this day, but we had another thing to do before we went back to the hotel. We went to the Eiffel Tower observation desk at the Paris hotel. It was a great way to view Las Vegas. After that, we went back to the hotel for some rest before going out again. My friend and I went to Hershey’s Chocolate World, which was located in our hotel. There were some fun things in there to take pictures with. I also bought a magnet and a chocolate bar there. After that, we all walked around a bit and looked for a cake vending machine. we didn’t find one that night, but I was determined to find one the next day.

Thank you for reading part one of my Las Vegas adventure! – Christina Epperly

My Connecticut Vacation June 2023 part 1

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I went on a very fun vacation this month. I had a lot of fun exploring this beautiful state. I have a lot to tell you about, including the two bucket list items I crossed off, so here we go!

Tuesday, June 13th – This was the day that my mom and I flew to Connecticut. We stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before to help reduce the stress of travel. When we got through the check-in process and security. I was very excited to see that close to our gate was an Amy’s Drive thru restaurant. It was on my bucket list to eat here. Oh, and just to make things clear, drive thru is the name of the restaurant. Since it was inside of the airport, it was not an actual drive thru.  I had not planned on crossing off a bucket list item on this day, so it was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed eating here, and I’m really glad that I crossed off my first bucket list item of 2023. It took us two flights to get to Connecticut, and they both went well. When we arrived in Connecticut, I went to a store at the airport and bought some souvenirs. My favorite item that I got at that store was a magnet that said Connecticut in colorful letters. After that we got our luggage and our rental car. Then we headed to our hotel. after checking in to our hotel we went to get some food. The subway was closed, so we ended up getting food at a gas station store, and that was day one!

Wednesday, June 14th – This was our first full day in Connecticut. Our first activity of the day was going to the carousel museum.  This was something that I chose to do because I love carousels. When I walked into the main room of the museum, I was amazed. I was in a room full of beautiful carousel animals. There was so much to look at! Of course, there were plenty of horses, but there were also other animals such as a dog and a pig. I had a fun time taking pictures with the carousel animals. I truly loved exploring this museum. There was also a small gift shop by the entrance to the museum so on the way out I stopped there and bought a few things to help me remember my visit. If you ever get to the opportunity to visit the museum, I highly recommend it. Our second activity of the day was the day was going on a tour of Yale University. As part of the tour, we got stickers with a very cute bulldog on them. I learned that the bulldog’s name is Handsome Dan, and he lives on campus. I was hoping that we would get to see him, but we didn’t. The tour was very interesting and there was a lot to see. Our tour guide was great and I really enjoyed it. After the tour we went to the Yale book store and got some souvenirs. I did want a plush bulldog, but it was out of my price range but I did get a postcard with his picture on it. That evening we went to the beach. It was the perfect time to go to the beach because there was a beautiful sunset. I got some great pictures at the beach. It was the perfect activity to end the day with.

Thursday June 15th – On this day, I crossed another item off my bucket list with the first adventure we did that day. Our first adventure of the day was going to the Pez visitor’s center, and it was on my bucket list to go there. With your admission fee, you get a Pez lanyard and a discount at the store. The center is full of many different kinds of Pez dispensers. There are also activities you can do there like a bingo card scavenge hunt game. I started doing the game, but I decided not to. You can also see the Pez factory through a window in the visitor’s center. Another thing you can do there is to take a quiz on a computer and then you can print out a certificate. I did this, and as silly as it may sound, I’m proud of my certificate. I was excited to go shopping at the Pez visitor’s center store. I got several Pez dispensers, including one shaped like a truck that you can decorate. I also got an elephant and a bee Pez dispenser along with a Pez visitor center’s magnet and postcards. On the way out of the Pez visitor’s center, I used the pressed penny machine. I want to say thank you again to the person who gave me an extra quarter so I could get a PEZ visitor’s center pressed penny. Our second adventure of the day was going to Kent Falls State Park. At the park we went on a walk up to the waterfall. There are many places at the park where you can see the falls so you don’t have to walk very far if you are not able to. I took many pictures of the beautiful falls, including selfies. After the falls, we ended up stopping at a Goodwill store. I love going thrift shopping anytime but there is something special about going thrift shopping when you are traveling. At Goodwill, I got some fun things, including an American Girl travel games book and an art kit. However, my favorite thing that I got was a Hansom Dan plush! I was so happy when I found him because I had wanted to get one the day before. The last highlight of this day was going to the rooftop bar at our hotel. The views were truly beautiful it was a great way to end this day of our vacation.

Thank you for reading about part on of my Connecticut adventure! – Christina Epperly                              Â