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From San Diego to South Dakota

SD to SD

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve done any kind of blogging, or even social media-ing. But I have good reason, promise.

I’m sure as you see from the title there was a big move on my part. From San Diego to South Dakota, this born and raised So-Cal girl made the big move to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Why South Dakota you may ask? (Random is what I get from most people) Well, I got a job opportunity at their local news station in Sioux Falls!

And that is some serious big news, BIG dreamer news.

I graduated college about two years ago and I studied Broadcast Journalism for a solid 3 ½ years. I did everything from interning at news stations in San Diego, wrote for a local newspaper in town, produced my own 30-minute live newscast, and reported on so many amazing news stories.

Instead of pursing my degree right out of college, I decided to take on the full-time office job that could pay my bills and give me more work experience. While my last job gave me such great opportunities and I worked with some amazing people there, I was never fully satisfied.

It was time to face the fears of leaving family and friends and go into the mysterious world of Broadcast news. I took that scary leap and reached out to news stations and I got the job offer for a news station in South Dakota.

I won’t be reporting on camera just yet, but that won’t stop me from one day getting back into what I loved so much when I went to school.

My amazing boyfriend Alex was accepted to South Dakota State University and has made the move along with me and I couldn’t be happier. The transition was made that much smoother.

All I want to say is to honestly never give up on your dreams. I have been out of the broadcast news business for over two years, but that didn’t stop me from pursuing my dreams and making this my time to shine.

I’ve been scared, I’ve been rejected, but it all becomes worth it when you feel your life falling into place and when you feel like your dreams are fully coming true. I’m feeling at home, I feel like I belong. And I couldn’t be happier.

I do miss all my friends and family in California and the wind chill can really knock you down here in the mid-west, but when you are finally seeing that you’re on the right path to greatness everything just feels right.

My dreamer mentality will never fade and I will keep on reaching for the stars. And I hope you all keep dreaming and striving for the best because you can really surprise yourself and you too can make all your dreams come true.

Sioux Falls

Reporting from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Keep dreaming my family, friends and fellow travelers. Thanks for all the support and love <3

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St. Maarten, Philipsburg – Island #2

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To continue on with my Eastern Caribbean Cruise Getaway, our next stop is going to make you wish you were in that warm beach now.

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My next island adventure was at St. Maarten, Philipsburg. (And if you don’t remember, my last island adventure was at Puerto Rico).

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St. Maarten is a beautiful beach city. But it also has some fickle weather where it can rain one minute and have the sun shining high the next. But we were lucky to catch mostly the sun.

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Here you can see the clouds slightly forming into rain clouds.
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From our port we had to take a little boat to get to the main city. Once at the city it was shops, restaurants, and the most beautiful sandy white beach I had ever seen in my life at that point.

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We decided to walk around the city before going out by the beach. We found a little church and went inside. It was small, but dainty and had so much character to it.

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We went into shops and I ended up buying some souvenirs for my family here. One of them was a cute little green dress for my goddaughter.

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Around noon we decided to try some local food. And what’s more local than some jerk chicken and what the drink the Caribbean is known for: Rum.

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We saw this cute outside restaurant that had a grill going in both the front and the back and a bartender all right next to the beach. Safe to say, it was absolutely delicious and I ate that chicken right up. Oh how I wish I can go back and eat that chicken once again.

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After a few rounds of blended rum, it was time to hit the beach. This day we were actually able to relax by the beach and enjoy the sun and water. And of course that is exactly what I did. We rented out two chairs and an umbrella and I set out for the water.

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San Juan, Puerto Rico – My First Island Adventure

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Remember my Eastern Caribbean Diary series video? If you don’t, check it out here!

Well it’s time to start up that Getaway. Quite a few of you may be experiencing some extreme weather that has rain, snow and gloomy days, especially for those in the East Coast with your snow blizzard. I decided to bring some island fun to brighten those days!

Welcome to the first stop on my Eastern Caribbean Getaway!

Island #1: Puerto Rico.

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The first island we hit was San Juan, Puerto Rico and it is a beautiful island. And it is even more gorgeous when it’s the first piece of land you see after being on a cruise ship for 3 days straight.

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The island we were docking to was San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. We had no real agenda for this day (or any of the island days really). So with such little time in the town we opted to just explore the city near the port station, which is known as Old San Juan.

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As soon as we got off the ship we were smacked with humidity, hot sticky humidity. My undone hair got frizzy within a second. But that didn’t stop me from seeing the beauty that San Juan had to offer.

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Old San Juan had such beautiful Spanish architecture as well as narrow cobblestone streets and then it is also surrounded by massive defensive stone walls and forts. It is a sight to behold.

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Many of the fort buildings were turned into government buildings as tourism started to boom. Like the building called the La Princessa used to be a municipal jail, but it has now become Puerto Rico Tourism Company building.

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And along the walkway of where the La Princessa stands, their Spanish markets are lined up for snacks of wonderful Puerto Rican delicacies.

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Lastly, we went full tourist by visiting the restaurant Señor Frog. But with such little time in Puerto Rico, it just meant for me visit it at another time with more time to actually explore and enjoy the town and go to an actual beach.

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Knott’s Scary Farm 2014 Review– Theme Parkaholics (Halloween edition)

Knott's Scary Farm
Boo!

Happy October my fellow theme park lovers and travelers. For those not following me on Instagram or Twitter, October is quite a busy month for me. And an awesome month, if I must say so myself. (EUROPE NEXT WEEK EEKKK)

October has always been my favorite month of the year, and it’s not just because my birthday is on October 14 (oh my, that’s tomorrow!). But because Halloween and all things spooky come out this time of the year!

With that being said, I went to my second Knotts Scary Farm Halloween Haunt event. It’s in its 42nd year, for those who would like to know! Last year, my boyfriend took us on our first date to Knotts Scary Farm and as a rookie, I didn’t know what to expect and how freaky it was going to be!

So this year, being a veteran and all, I decided to give you a review of all things awesome and all things scary at Knott’s Scary Farm 2014.

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Just feeling like a badass at Knotts Scary Farm.

During this Halloween haunt, Knott’s Scary Farm added three new mazes: Voodoo, the Tooth fairy and the new interactive maze, Special OPS: Infected.

And yes, we did all three. We started our night by getting tickets to Special Ops: Infected first before starting any rides or mazes. That is after we took our picture together by their photographers (we had an awkward kiss on the hair first date mishap last year). And in this year’s haunt, there are a lot more scare-actors in the front trying to freak out haunt goers as they first walk in.

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Just taking a new less awkward picture together.

We got our Special Ops tickets for 11:45 pm and that’s even after we got to the park 10 minutes after 7 when the park opened. So as a side note: Get to the park at 7 and go straight to the Specials Ops to get your tickets, they will go quick. There is Special Ops: Alpha right by the front gates at the start of Camp Snoopy and Special Ops: Beta near the end of Camp Snoopy by the western gates! GO TO SPECIALS OPS FIRST IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE AWESOMENESS IT HAS TO OFFER!

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These tickets were like the golden ticket, gotta keep them safe.

Since we went on a Thursday during the second week that it ran it was much less crowded and we are basically able to go through all the mazes before our 11:45 meeting with Zombies.

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Ready for zombie killing.

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Theme Parkaholics

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These posts are simple, it’s about theme parks. I simply love going to theme parks. I’m an adventure seeker and roller coasters, expensive food, and scary mazes help fill some void in my life.

I currently hold annual passes for Disneyland/California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood and Knotts Berry Farm/ Knotts Soak City. So at least once every month I’ll feature a theme park, ride or food found in a theme park and maybe even a tip or two and blog about it. I’ll post awesome pictures and some videos and show you how fun theme parks can be. I’ll probably even include zoos and fairs and things of the like.

I hope all you travelers enjoy my Theme Parkaholics posts because I know we’ve all been to a theme park at least once in our lives and whether you bring your children there now or still run around in a theme park with the child within you, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this.

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Do you have a favorite theme park that brings out the inner child in you? Comment below or tweet me @lostwithyvonne.

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About Me

Hi, I’m Yvonne

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I have a passion for travel and tend to get lost in thought a lot.
I was born and raised as a southern California, San Diego, girl and have lived there most of my life.
I recently lived that Midwestern life in South Dakota. And was once in the deserts of Arizona.
But now, I’m high up in the altitudes of Colorado.
I’ve had the privilege to travel to places like New York, Europe and the Caribbean. Just to name a few.
And I have a million other places on my list.

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I’m a writer, and have been writing since I was a young girl.
I love to write what’s on my mind (So be prepared to see random posts here and there)
My bookcase is filled with journals, notebooks, movies, and books.
So of course, I love to read, write, watch movies and make videos…. on the daily.

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I received my bachelor’s in Journalism with an emphasis on Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Radio, Television, and Film.
I currently work a lot and travel as much as I possibly can with my boyfriend, Alex.
So yes, I make full use of my weekends.
I want to uncover places no matter how big or small of a travel destination it is and make my mark there and show the world about it.
I also love to hear people’s story and write about them. Everyone has a unique adventure they go through and I believe in giving them a voice (It’s the journalist in me)

About me

I also love my dog, Koda.
And my kittens, Dolly and Dottie.
Friends is my go-to TV show to make me smile.
I love to work out and be active.
I also LOVE food (conflicts with my work out regime) and trying new things.
Disneyland really is one of the happiest places on earth. I love Disney related things (I’m sure you’ll get lots of Disney references throughout blog posts).
And Mulan is the most kick-ass Disney Princess out there.
Samantha Brown is my travel idol.
And I hope to one day step foot on every continent in the world.

About Me

I’m honestly just an (ir)regular girl with many dreams to travel the world. And as I live out my dreams, I want to capture it and share it with the wonderful world we live in. And maybe one day inspire people to get out of their comfort zone, get lost in the world and just enjoy the unfamiliar.

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