(Sorting) Hats Off to Universal

Being a Disney Family, the parks are etched in our minds. The sight of Cinderella's Castle, the twisted rails at the peak of Expedition Everest, "now paging Mr. Tom Morrow," the haunting 40's music entering in the Hollywood Tower of Terror.  These sights and sounds - and smells - are as familiar to us as going to grandma's house as a kid.  However, we are a little Disney'd out lately and the opportunity presented itself to go to Universal Studios for the first time in over ten years. In that time they have built, with no missed detail, the World of Harry Potter and nailed it.  

First, the thrill rides that we wanted to go on, Velocicoaster, King Kong - Skull Island, and Rip Rock It Roller Coaster were fantastic. I love a good roller coaster and several, especially Velocicoaster and Hagrid's Motorbikes, were amazing. They were perfect for a 14 and 11 year old who are not afraid of rolls, dives, or inversions. Luckily, everyone, including Lisa, were up for it.  Universal relies heavily on projections and 3D, and some of that needs a 4k upgrade, but they surpass Disney for adrenaline.   

Leading up to the visit the boys read the Harry Potter books, watched the movies, or listened to audio books to learn all about the Boy Who Lived and his world.  Rounding the corner into Hogsmeade Village, it was clear that Universal set a high bar on attention to detail. While I might not be a fan of the books or the movies, I do enjoy being transported to another place with some carefully placed forced perspective and a lot of attention to detail. 

Hogwart's School was as massive as it was impressive. The first day we were there the ride it houses was not operating but the "school" was open for tours - meaning you walked through the queue and out a side exit.  Universal's "magic" rivaled Disney's.  The portrait gallery, Dumbledor's office, the vaulted ceilings; around every corner was something even more interesting to see.  

I will reiterate that I truly suspended disbelief and took in this "real" place. Lisa - a Harry Potter fan - knew every place. She knew every shop in the village because they were places in the books. Add to this spectacle were children of all ages who, after forking over $60, used there own wand to cast spells in front of the windows of the shops. The items in the widows would react to the spell and would react to the young (and old) magicians. The world just pulled you into it.  

We took the Hogwart's Express out of Hogsmeade Station. The train was real. The movement from one park to the other was real. The scene unfolding outside the train car was not. With the movement of the cars, the images outside the "window" showed us leaving one station, passing through the woods and country and eventually coming into London.  We exited the train into King's Cross Station at platform 9 3/4. By now I was truly impressed.

Exiting the station we passed through a broken brick wall into Diagon Alley, a side street in London know only to wizards and witches. It all looked real. Right down to the fire breathing dragon sitting on top of Gringott's Bank.  

Lisa and the boys pointed out places that were in the books and movies; stores, alleys, buses, creatures, and more.  I walked through without a solid frame of reference but still with that suspended disbelief and a nod to how amazingly real the place appeared.  

Crazy muggle.

Wedding Day Joy

A great moment in the family passed last week.  The first wedding of the next generation of the Brown family lineage took place down in Orlando, FL. My niece, Alyssa, was married to Ricardo at a lovely outdoor ceremony on a warm, bright February sunset.  The bride looked lovely and not at all flustered – she clearly owned the moment. The groom looked proud and confident as he waited at the altar.  

Alyssa grandparents are all passed. I could not watch her and the family without thinking about how excited my mom would have been and how my dad would have beamed.  This year mom would be 80 and dad would be 89.  So strange how so much life has happened in our family since their deaths. It is still hard to be without them – fifteen years on now.  I was honored to bring pictures of them with me for display at the reception. 

My brother did a great job as the Father of the Bride. He gave a good, impromptu toast to the bride and groom, and generally kept it together considering all of the potential-for-drama in the room.  It was very sweet seeing him dance with his daughter.  

The boys were not into the reception at all.  I really thought they would get out there and dance up a storm.  I really thought they would get into the spirit of the moment. Mostly, they kept their heads down and sat at the table, not once getting up to be silly. TJ did not look around at the twenty-somethings who wore low cut or high slit, glittery dresses – even when I called them out to him.  I was an embarrassed teenager too but next year his reaction might be a different story. 

At least Lisa and I got to dance.

The best part was that the boys dressed up in good clothes.  Good clothes that were measured, fitted, pressed, and worn well.   To my shock, it was Grant who really wore the outfit well. It may have been the shock of seeing him out of shorts and a t-shirt and dressed up but he looked so mature.  

The last wedding in the family was ours back in 2005. Lisa and reminisced about our special day and how that whole weekend unfolded.  They are still wonderful memories.  

 

 

  

Seven Paragraph Catch Up

Dear Reader – whoever you are – welcome back.  It has been a while since we have posted. You would think that there is nothing going on in the Brown Family but that is simply not true.  What is simply true is that life is pretty and good and we got lazy about posting.  And so, in a few paragraphs, let us bring you up to speed. 

The holidays came and went.  My brother invited himself up for Thanksgiving dinner.  That was a bit of a switch. Usually, we invite him and he declines. Except for last year when he said, “Yes,” and we fed him until he almost burst. I was a bit surprised to hear from him and I was initially a little reluctant to have him come up. He always seems to be on edge and has no idea how to relax. Of course, our tastes are different. He likes to watch sports and I like to watch Star Wars. He leans pro-Trump, anti-science, and White male. I lean common sense conservatism, science, and believe all live matter.  He likes to talk about a job that I have no interest in but because I did it twenty-plus years ago he thinks that police work is our common ground. 

On the positive side, the boys like him because he tells stories about our youth. Growing up as two brothers who could be almost feral in summer time definitely left us with some wild tales. After listening to some of the stories Grant’s favorite reply is, “How are you even alive right now?”  Their favorite story is about me jumping off the roof of my parent’s garage into a pile of burning leaves.  True story. Confirmed by Andy. TJ and Grant were incredulous.  

Christmas was spent without Samantha as she headed to New York to see her mom and Nana for the first time in a long while.  She also spent time with her boyfriend in NYC and promptly (and conveniently) got Covid on her way back home. This enabled/required her to stay in Tennessee with him for an additional week, much to the irritation of her boss.  Sam finally returned so we could close out Christmas and put everything up for the year.  And then shortly after that, Sam was gone, off to her first real Army school.  She really is off on her own now. I was about her age when I no longer relied on my parents for support. I was even younger when I left my parent’s home for good.  The difference is that when I left for good I didn’t realize it; just one day I realized I was never going back to Monroe. For Samantha, we had a specific date on the calendar.  

I really struggled with her leaving. I was agitated and anxious.  Not because I doubted her ability. Far from it, I expect her to succeed in whatever she does. I struggled because I enjoyed her around for the past four years while she was in North Carolina. Her increased presence in our lives was good for me and the boys.  For the last few months while she was living with us, Sam had her own car, her own money, a job, and friends nearby.  Nonetheless, she would still dutifully do the chores given to her and was a participating member of Team Brown. Not having her nearby anymore will be hard. On me. 

TJ completed Winter Track – running in two events for the season. Awkward and slow, he attempted the 60m hurdles. He never finished last, but he never was competitive for the podium either. The good news is that the coach also put TJ in the 1600m.  TJ continued to chip away at his time, setting PR after PR.  By the time he got to the Conference Finals he knocked out a 5:23 mile, finishing thirteenth overall by second out of the freshmen. He has true talent and if he decides to tap into it and really train he will break 5:00 in the next year.  In High School my fastest mile was 5:15.  I cannot wait to see him surpass me.    

Betty turned 90 this year.  It is an incredible milestone for any human being.  While she is slowing down ever so slightly and needs a hearing aide (desperately), she keeps trucking on.  I love the fact that she still drives, and gardens, and does her chores.  I also love how she will start out on one project and then get completely side tracked for the rest of the day and never get back to her original task.  Just ask her and she will tell you that she is too busy, all the time.  

The last few months had more than that, of course. We have had surly teenagers, new jobs, snow days – sledding!, visiting cousins, Dry January; all transpiring under our banner.  

This is the Brown Family.