Florida - Lili on the Loose

13 07, 2017

Lush Products for Travel Review

By Lili|July 13th, 2017|Categories: Product Review, Travel|Tags: 2015, 2017, Africa, Central America, conditioner, Costa Rica, Egypt, Florida, lip sugar scrub, lush, Miami, Middle East, North America, Panama, sea salt scrub, shampoo, soap, solid, solid conditioner, solid shampoo, solid toothpaste, toothpaste, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Years ago, I stumbled upon this post on solid shampoo by Alex in Wonderland. As I read a lot of travel blogs, it was just one article among a sea of others. But later in 2015, as I planned my trip to Egypt, I was trying to figure out how to limit the amount of liquids that I'd take to Egypt. On previous trips to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, I had either checked my main bag, or checked a smaller bag that only contained sunscreen. I didn't want to do that this time, so I started pouring through

8 07, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Nightmare Before Christmas

By Lili|July 8th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2016, Christmas, Disney, Disney World, Florida, Jack, Magical Weekend, Nightmare Before Christmas, North America, Orlando, Sally, USA, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

Happy Christmas in July! I wanted to share these two dolls I got in Orlando last year. There was a full size Sally, but she just looked weird and that bothered me. So I went with the smaller cartoon-like version of her instead. But the smaller cartoon-sized of Jack looked funny, so went with his more true skinny version. Both were found in the Christmas shop in Walt Disney World. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

24 06, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Villains Pins

By Lili|June 24th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2016, Disney, Disney Villains, Disney World, Florida, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, pins, Ursala, USA, Villains, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

I don't actually collect pins but this Villians set with their henchmen called out to me. I really like the Ursala pin. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

15 06, 2017

Costa Rica and Panama Trip Itinerary

By Lili|June 15th, 2017|Categories: Itinerary, Travel, Upcoming Travel|Tags: 2017, Almirante, Amador Causeway, Beach Hopping 2017, Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, Boquete, Casco Viejo, Central America, Changuinola, Coiba Island, Costa Rica, Denver, Florida, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Guabito, horseback riding, Miami, North America, Panama, Panama Canal, Panama City, Panama Viejo, Puerto Viejo, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Red Frog Beach, San Jose, Santa Catalina, Sixaola, snorkel, snorkeling, Starfish Beach, tour, USA|0 Comments

It's been almost 2 years since I went on an international trip. So I'm extremely excited to announce my next upcoming trip to Costa Rica and Panama! I've been to Costa Rica once before, so I won't spend that much time there this time. I'll be going on a bare-bones style trip, conducive to hanging out by the beach and hopefully a lot of snorkeling! Below is my projected Itinerary for my trip to Panama: Day 1 I'll head to Denver International Airport in the late hours. I was excited to try out my TSA Pre-Check, but now realize that lane will

27 05, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Olivanders Wands

By Lili|May 27th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, Birch, Diagon Alley, Florida, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, North America, Ollivanders, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Wand, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Every Harry Potter fan dreams of getting their first Ollivanders wand. I picked the above Birch wand for its natural look and good grip. I also picked up the Ginny Weasley character wand. It's a nice sleek wand with a grip that is both simple and ornate at the same time. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

22 05, 2017

Travel Missteps: Shop Till You Drop

By Lili|May 22nd, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, Diagon Alley, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hollywood Studios, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, shopping, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Walt Disney World, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Like most of my travel mistakes, this one is due to trying to do too much in too little time. Last year when I had a business trip in Disney World, I decided to try to do as much Disney and Universal in just 2 days. On Saturday, I did a whirlwind visit to Disney Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World until I could bearly walk. I also did a lot of shopping, and had it sent the next day to my hotel's store for pickup. The problem was, you could only pick it up when the hotel's store was

5 05, 2017

Battle of Endor

By Lili|May 5th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Geek, Travel|Tags: 2016, ATAT, Disney, Disney Hollywood Studios, Disney World, Endor, Florida, Magical Weekend, Orlando, Star Wars, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

An AT-AT at Disney's Hollywood Studios. May the Force be with you! Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

4 05, 2017

Seeking Star Wars at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

By Lili|May 4th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2016, C3-PO, Chewie, Darth Vader, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Droids, First Order, Florida, Hollywood Studios, Jawa, Kylo Ren, Magical Weekend, May the 4th be with You, North America, Orlando, Star Tours, Star Wars, Star Wars Day, Stromtroopers, Travel Thursday, USA, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

It's May the 4th Be With You! The unofficial Star Wars holiday. So I wanted to share some of my character interactions from the Star Wars Universe at Disney. First up is Captain Phasma and the First Order, which can be seen parading up and down the main street of Disney Hollywood Studios. In the Launch Bay you can see some great art and props from the movies while you wait to meet various characters. When I went it was Kylo Ren (who I said I was a fan of his Grandfather which he replied "Excellent") and below was Chewie, although

29 04, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Build Your Own Droids

By Lili|April 29th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2016, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Droids, Florida, Hollywood Studios, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, Star Tours, Star Wars, USA, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

Years ago, I made my own custom Lightsaber at Disneyland. So when I went to Disney World (Disney's Hollywood Studios to be exact) I debated on if I'd get another one. But instead, I was entrapped by this fun area where you could build your own Droids! I spent much longer than I care to admit looking for matching legs for these two droids (before realizing there was a larger station behind me.) But I liked how they turned out. Purple accents and funny hats really makes it my own. And for geekiness, if you are wondering what types of

27 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Personal Time with TSA

By Lili|February 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, Chemical Swab Test, Colorado, Denver, Disney, Disney World, EDS, ETD, Explosive Detection System, Explosive Trace Detection, false positive, Florida, full body scan, Global Entry, glycerin, Glycerine, Homeland Security, Magical Weekend, Nitrates, North America, Orlando, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, Trusted Traveler, TSA, TSA Pre-Check, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

I've talked about triggering the ETD system before, as well as getting the SSSS on almost every trip I fly. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In May 2016, after reading all those articles of massive lines at TSA checkpoints (which disappeared later on in the year) paid $100 to apply for Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check. I didn't quite know what to expect. After being on the SSSS list, I decided against going through the lengthy "Redress" process. So I worried that I might be auto-denied for Global Entry. I waited a few weeks and