643. Upstanding

643. Upstanding
Definition: (adj) honest; respectable
Location Placed: Dak Lak, West Long Branch, New Jersey
Date Placed: 3/11/15 at 1:41pm





This seems like a relatively new place with a good atmosphere. The fellow behind the counter was very knowledgeable. Unfortunately their iced tea selection was quite a bit lacking. I imagine this is definitely more of a place for coffee drinkers and fresh juice lovers. I definitely do appreciate their vibe and free wifi!

642. Supreme

642. Supreme
Definition: (adj) superior to all others
Location Placed: Rook Coffee, Long Branch, New Jersey
Date Placed: 3/11/15 at 1:33pm





I decided to pop out during my lunch break to get a little bite to eat, and to sit near a lovely little park to enjoy the nice weather we've been having the last couple of days. The lake in the middle of the park was still half frozen, seagulls perched on the frozen half while some other birds paddled in the thawed bit. It was nice to have my windows open and enjoy the breeze. After the snowy and cold winter we've had, I am definitely ready to welcome spring at this point in time!

641. Progress

641. Progress
Definition: (n) forward movement toward a destination
Location Placed: Little Rook Coffee, Oakhurst, New Jersey
Date Placed: 3/9/15 at 1:40pm





I'm really pleased with the progress I am making with my crane project. I am so glad to have kept up with it and not given it up. It's been 4.5 really fun years and I've heard back from so many wonderfully interesting people. I am excited to see where the next cranes are place as I'll be doing a decent amount of traveling for work. Maybe I'll be able to check off some new cities and states on my little crane journey!

640. Morale

640. Morale
Definition: (n) the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time
Location Placed: Big Rook Coffee, Oakhurst, New Jersey
Date Placed: 3/9/15 at 1:30pm




(Little blurry because I was feeling pretty out in the open with my placing!)

I decided to go out during my lunch break to Rook to see if they still had the tea I remembered liking last September. To my unhappy surprise, they don't carry the tea year round! But I was happy to find out that they will be bringing it back for the summer, so I'll definitely make sure I pop around to one of the new locations when they are open for some iced tea goodness.

639. Initiative

639. Initiative
Definition: (n) the ability to assess and start things independently
Location Placed: Starbucks, Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 3/1/15 at 6:25pm





I am so happy that I was able to take a long weekend down in the Orlando area. We had been talking about doing it, but hadn't gotten around to it. Although I definitely wish it would've been longer (so many more rides to ride, so many more meals to have eaten), I feel like it was a good length of trip to escape the cold and snowy/icy winter we've been having here. I certainly hope we've experienced the last of it. If not, well, I know there's always a place for me back in Florida.

638. Constructive

638. Constructive
Definition: (adj) serving a useful purpose
Location Placed: Sid Cahuenga's Antiques and Curios Store, Hollywood Studios, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 3/1/15 at 2:35pm





We had a pretty brief trip to Hollywood Studios as the lines without fast passes for the major rides happen to be 1.5 hours or more. So we took a quick tour, Star Tour, did a few other smaller rides and headed out. Although I always remember a building being at the entrance, I don't remember actually looking at Sid's in the times I've been there. I'm not sure how long it's been there, but I know I've never gone in. And I've not gotten much further as we were headed back to the Magic Kingdom, where we had been able to score fast passes for the "mountain" rides.

637. Passionate

637. Passionate
Definition: (adj) showing or caused by strong feelings or beliefs
Location Placed: Hogwarts, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Date Placed: 2/28/15 at 4:49pm





It was really pretty neat to see the Hogwarts Castle from the book set in real life. Although I'm really a new convert to the books, I feel like they really did a good job on bringing the books to life in the park. While I've not seen the movies, I feel like the representations were pretty accurate to the books. I would've liked a few more rides in the Harry Potter World areas, but I think the ones that are there were done quite well.

636. Action

636. Action
Definition: (n) the process of doing something to achieve a goal
Location Placed: Gringotts Bank, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Date Placed: 2/28/15 at 2:54pm





I noticed that in my visit to the area this time, so many of the rides were 3-D based ones. I think we wore 3-D glasses at least a half dozen times if not more during the course of our long weekend there. It seems that is the direction that rides are headed rather than actual movement rides. (Although the their credit, some of those 3-D rides were on coaster tracks. Many of them however just shifted.) I am interested to see what the rides are like in the area the next time I go in several years. It's pretty crazy to see how much technology can change things in just a few years.

635. Clear

635. Clear
Definition: (adj) easy to perceive, understand, or interpret
Location Placed: Ollivander's Wand Shop, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Date Placed: 2/28/15 at 1:06pm





This was my first experience with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To be honest I only read the first book in the series a few weeks back in order to get an idea of what it all was about. I definitely feel like I needed to have at least read the first book to get all the little in's and out's of everything. I probably should've read them all before going as there were a few things/characters I was confused about. But I definitely felt like I had a good knowledge base.

634. Logical

634. Logical
Definition: (adj) characterized by clear, sound reasoning
Location Placed: Starbucks, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Date Placed: 2/28/15 at 9:43am





I must not have remembered a thing about Universal Studios when I went as a kid because it looked COMPLETELY different. Aside from the large globe, not a single thing looked familiar. Granted it has been several decades since I've been to the park, so it's definitely to be expected. It was neat seeing all the different little areas, but I was a bit underwhelmed. I think it's just that I am much more used to Disney that some of the Universal things weren't expected. I did enjoy my time there, but I won't be hurrying back next time I am in the area.

633. Courteous

633. Courteous
Definition: (adj) polite, respectful, considerate
Location: Starbucks, Epcot, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 2/27/15 at 10:42pm





I definitely don't recall there being a Starbucks in all the Disney parks last time I was here, but that now seems to be the case. We all know I enjoy a nice warm beverage but I just wanted to stop in to see what the inside looked like. Definitely looked pretty futuristic compared to some of the other Starbucks' I've seen. I enjoyed popping in for a quick peek. We didn't stop in Animal Kingdom, but I'd be interested to see what the one there looks like if there is indeed one.

632. Dignified

632. Dignified
Definition: (adj) having or showing a composed manner that is worthy of respect
Location Placed: Morocco Pavilion, Epcot, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 2/27/15 at 10:19pm





We didn't really have a lot of time to explore after dinner in the Germany Pavilion. So I basically just did a whirlwind walk through the pavilion to look at the remaining open shop. Most of them had closed down at 10 or were in the process of closing. I had eaten at the pavilion back in 2009, but don't remember doing much exploring when we went that time. I definitely want to poke around a bit more next time I am in Epcot.

631. Team Spirit

631. Team Spirit
Definition: (n) feeling camaraderie among members of a group
Location: China Pavilion, Epcot, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 2/27/15 at 7:09pm





Sometimes I find myself really glossing over the pavilions in Epcot. But there are so many little nooks and crannies filled with lovely things! I definitely want to spend more time in Epcot just looking at all the little things each pavilion has to offer. The China pavilion had a whole little subsection that I didn't even know existed! It was really cool to see the Terracotta Warrior exhibit as well as lots of good information about it.

630. Reflective

630. Reflective
Definition: (adj) thoughtful
Location Placed: Mexico Pavilion, Epcot, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Date Placed: 2/27/15 at 6:45pm





We took a quick long weekend trip down to the Orlando area in order to hit up the Disney Parks, as well as Universal, which I hadn't been to since I was 9. We stopped in the Mexico Pavilion in order to see what sorts of goodies they had and look at the exhibit information they displayed. Had we a bit more time, we definitely would've went on the ride in the pavilion. I had completely forgotten it existed! They definitely had a lot of lovely and colorful things there. But I had my eye set on the origami paper in the Japanese Pavilion, so I held out.