Misty Zaugg's Blog - Posts Tagged "universal-studios"

Hi friends,

I'm typing up this update while sitting in the Orlando airport waiting for my granddaughter and family to arrive, so we can start our vacation together.

Check out the gorgeous sunrise from my flight here:



(I'll be alternating between my tips and writing updates from now on to make my newsletters shorter and more readable. Let me know what you think!)

We have plans to stay at an airbnb located a bit east of Orlando. We don't have a lot of plans, but let me share our tentative list down below and see what you think. We'd love some suggestions!
Our tentative plans for Florida:

First, as we all come from landlocked states (if you don't count the Michigan lakes), all of us are excited to visit the beach!

I'm reminding myself to reapply lots of sunscreen and stay hydrated! There are sand castles and a grandbaby destroying them in my future. :D

Second, we bought 2-day tickets to visit "Harry Potter Land" as my kids call it, or Universal Studios as it is officially called.

As I've gotten older, my tolerance for roller coasters has completely disappeared and now they just leave me feeling nauseated. So, I'm happy to take on grandbaby duty while my son and his wife enjoy being flung all over the place on coasters.

For any of you who know Florida, please share suggestions of other things we should see in the area east of Orlando.

I met the nicest flight attendant on the way here who recommended the following:
• NASA
• Port Canaveral
• Cocoa Beach

And finally, for my writing update: I got here this morning, and my family isn't arriving until early evening, which left me with time to write this email and another fun past time of authors:

People-watching!

Here are a few stories I made up based on people I'm watching right now:

A quiet, Hispanic woman stands in line with furtive glances around her, noticing everyone moving in her immediate area, and I wonder if she's got someone dangerous in her life.

A grandbaby flops his head on his grandmother's shoulder after eating while the adult daughter cleans up the food. This three generation family is obviously close, and I wonder what troubles they've weathered together and how they did it.

A young man with stars in his eyes treats his girlfriend like a princess, making me hope their new love will protect them both through life's challenges.

This is the perfect place to people watch. We humans are truly a diverse group with so many different situations and motivations. It only takes a few minutes to glean inspiration from the people around me.

So, be careful next time you're in an airport food court. A writer like me might just be adding you to their next story. :)

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website

Hi friends,

This week was such an awesome one for our family! Lots of smiles and tears. :)

First, I had an amazing time with my son's family in Florida and got so much precious play and snuggle time with my granddaughter.

The beach was gorgeous (and HOT!). Plus, we visited Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and our church's Orlando temple. Thanks for everyone's suggestions! There wasn't enough time to get to everything, and we definitely have a great list for our next trip.



The other amazing event this week is the return of my adult daughter who has spent the last year and a half on a mission trip for our church!

The other kids spent the days before making signs, and the 7-year-old picked out balloons, a plastic lei and carried a bouquet of flowers to the airport.

When the day came, we rushed to the airport when the app said the flight was arriving fifteen minutes early.

After standing near the security exit for twenty minutes and watching every person who came around the corner, I checked the app again to find that the plane was now listed at it's original arrival time. (Apparently, it had to wait in line to taxi to the gate for a while)

Despite being eager to see her arrive, it was pretty fun to watch the other travelers' responses to our group with our big signs and smiles. We got a lot of encouragement and thumbs ups. One older war veteran in a wheelchair even shouted out his name and asked where his signs were. We gave him a welcome, too. :)

When my daughter finally walked around the corner at the airport, she saw us and started running, towing her carry-on behind her. As soon as she passed the "Do Not Enter" security line, my 7-year-old shrieked and raced to wrap herself around her big sister.

The carry-on got dropped to the side, and I got to hug her for the first time in forever. Her little sister wouldn't budge, so you can see the top of her head and an arm holding the lei squished between us. :)



It is such an amazing thing as a parent to see your children grow up into adults you admire and respect, doing hard things and finding success in the world on their own.

She is an amazing woman and we're all so excited to have her home . . . until she leaves for the fall semester of college. We'll miss her again. (Though I'll get her to do the paperback covers for my virus series before she goes. She's an amazing artist!)

And since this newsletter is supposed to update you on my writing . . . I didn't do any. LOL.

I took the advice of some of you readers and took a break from writing to spend time with family instead. Thanks!

I think the break and fun time with family will help me come back to writing refreshed and energized.

All the best and thanks so much for your support!

— Misty :)
Misty Zaugg Website