Collab with Meg’s Magical Musings! Summer Vacation Plans and Dreams!!

Heyyy there all my lovely readers?? How are you doing this wondrous day? 

Today I have a super fun post for you all it is…. Drum roll ….. 

A COLLAB POST!!! 

Although you probably guessed that from the title of the post. 

Anyway, today I’ve teamed up with the lovely Meg from Meg’s Magical Musings to do a post on our plans for summer vacation, as well as our dreams for summer vacation. If you don’t follow her already, do go check out her blog here! So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this blog post!!

My plans for the summer holiday 

Soooo my plans for summer have been changing quite rapidly as the world descends into the third wave of this delightful pandemic. Originally, I was going to head back to the UK at the beginning of July, move into my new flat in Durham, then head for an amazing work opportunity at a summer camp programme. Unfortunately, covid has meant that the programme is no longer going ahead which means… yup you guessed it! I’m out of a job and a month and a half of my summer has been thrown out the window. 

Given that the primary part of my summer plan fell apart, it means I’ve had to re-engineer my plans just a smidge. Now, I’m hopefully going to head back to the UK in August. Until then, I plan to… 

• Spend time with my boyfriend 
• Do an unhealthy amount of baking 
• Finish editing one of the books I’m working on (sadly not my own book, one I’m editing for my boss) 
• Hopefully start my own novel project again 
• Have a movie marathon with my best friend 
• Celebrate my 4 year anniversary with my boyfriend (OMG I really can’t believe it’s been this long!!) 
• Cuddle with my cat, binge watch movies and read books 
• Do some writing for my university Creative writing anthology 
• Host my Summer Fun Blogging Competition (By the way just remember you can still submit up until Saturday so be sure to check it out here and send in your entries for the chance to win a prize!!)

Once I’m back in the UK, I’m really hoping to spend some time moving into my new flat and sorting out all the furniture and decor so it’s all spruced up before the next academic year starts. Plus, if the third wave isn’t too bad, I’m hoping to spend some time with my mates exploring Durham, maybe travelling around the UK a little and hopefully ticking off a few things on our bucket list that we’ve had to delay since the start of term one … a cafe/tea room crawl being at the top of that list (thank goodness I can walk everywhere there because if not, my waistline is going to be a heartbreaking thing to deal with afterwards). 

My dream summer vacation 

Trying to cook up what my dream summer holiday would look like is really tough because I’m not sure whether I should be vaguely realistic, or take the ‘dream’ part literally and spare no expense. Because I’m feeling whimsical, I’m skipping the realism because why not?? 

My dream summer holiday would definitely include a trip to Orlando Florida so I can visit the theme parks. As many of you know, I’m a bit of a geek in multiple fandoms, Disney, marvel and Harry Potter included and the Orlando theme parks have all of that and more so woohooo!! I would love to spend a week or two frolicking through the Disney parks and Universal parks, riding all the rides, taking pictures with the characters, hopefully forcing my boyfriend to take pictures with me, eating loads of ice cream and other themed theme park food, buying so much merch I put myself in debt for a few decades and essentially riding a high of pixie dust, sugar and sparkly childhood magic the whole time. 

Seeing as I’d already be in Florida, something that has been on my bucket list for many years is to go to Clearwater so I can visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and hospital because yes I’m cliched and would love to meet Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tale, but also because I’m really interested in wildlife conservation and there is a great marine biology conservation programme there.

I would add to my dream summer vacation a road trip across the USA with my boyfriend (which is something we’ve been talking about since we first started dating). Not only would it be super fun to see different parts of the country, but my boyfriend loves driving and I don’t get car sick which means I could read half the time so win-win!! 

Another of my more whimsical, far-fetched dreams would be to do a Disney World/Warner Bros Studio world tour. You know exactly what I’m saying … travelling the globe and visiting every Disney theme park and Warner Bros Studio. All of them are different and have something unique to offer, and what can I say I’m a mega fan of their work so it would be pretty cool to say I’ve been to every one in the world huh? 

Lastly, not to sound corny, I would really love to finally complete my summer counsellor job, including the wildlife volunteering I was going to do afterwards. I know that sounds super lame, but this job is something I’ve been excited about doing for the last two summers and covid has messed it up both times. On top of that, after my month and a bit of working, I had planned to go to the Carribean to volunteer at a turtle and dolphin rescue sanctuary where you help with the turtle hatching, tagging, beach cleanups, support in the clinic and educating the community. Again, I know it’s not something everyone dreams of doing during their summer holiday but these are things I’ve been passionate or excited about doing for quite a while and I would love to actually do them one day. 

Okay I know I went into probably waaaayyyy too much detail with my idea of a dream summer vacation so sorry about that. Now, because this is a collab post, here are Meg’s plans for summer, and her dream summer

Meg’s Summer Plans

In June, I went to Ponte Vedra, Florida. My family spent time at the beach, Town Center (an outdoor mall), and went to CAPS, which is on the Intercostal Waterway. At the condo, I spent most of the time reading and some of the time puzzling. 

On the last of June, my family went to visit my Grandfather, my dad’s dad, for his 90th birthday. 

Obviously over the summer, I am reading. In many ways, it is a mythological summer. That is because over the summer I am reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Circe, and Heroes of Olympus. I already finished Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is a reread. 

My last summer plan is in August, which is the Vincent Van Gogh Immersive Experience. Based on previews, it looks like you are basically part of the paintings.

Meg’s Dream summer vacation

I am thinking of it being in the mountains somewhere- to have time to hike. The mountains would have a local theater nearby- so, I would have time to see musicals as well. Due to being in the mountains, it would be an incredible place to read both physical and kindle books.

Well I don’t know about all of you but it definitely sounds like Meg has had/will have a great summer with all of those fun things (I totally get the puzzling – I adore puzzles too) so Meg thanks so much for sharing that. Also, I absolutely love your idea of mixing being outside in the mountains and spending loads of time in the theatre watching musicals because musicals are just so amazing. 

Right, that brings me to the end of this summer-filled post of plans and potentials (that was a lot of alliteration I wasn’t actually thinking of writing it that way until it came out and it was super satisfying so I’m keeping it). Thank you all so much for reading, and thank you Meg for doing this collab with me it was great fun! 

What are your plans for the summer? Have you managed to make some fun plans despite covid?? Also what’s on your list for a dream summer vacation?! The more whimsical the better! Let’s chat in the comments section. 

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx