Tonight we walked out the main gate to the Tanabata Matsuri. Tanabata is, according to Wikipedia: Tanabata (七夕, meaning “Evening of the seventh”) is a Japanese star festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the M... read more

When we heard that my family was planning a trip to Universal studios to visit the Wizarding World, we had to tag along! We are big fans of all things HP, and were thrilled to see how they pulled this off. Arriving at Universal Studios a half hour before opening time, we were armed with snacks, stroller et al. Making it past the horde surrounding the gates we gave the parts of the park we passed through cursory glances and little more. Hogsmeade and Hogwarts awaited, and what could possibly be more interesting? On the way, we saw a few true fanatics dressed in robes & cloaks. It made me feel a little better, and well, more normal. Approaching the gates to Hogsmeade, Universal staff were shouting that only a limited number of people were being ... read more