Week 1 - Task #1 - Choose Your Vacation

[Prof. Alexander Brighton]

You get off the train at Platform 9 and 3 quarters, but you realise that you don’t even have a destination yet. So you start brainstorming ideas of places that you have always dreamt of going or places that you’ve been to before, but would like to go back.

Where would you like to go? You can choose anywhere in the Wizarding world or the muggle world (with 1 exception, no choosing Hogwarts because that’s what you’re trying to get away from).

Write at least 100 words telling about your choice and why you chose it. Please post below by May 31st. This will be worth 10 beans. You can earn a bonus of 20 beans if you send in at least half of the tasks by the due date and you can earn a bonus of 40 beans if you send in all tasks.

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

One place I've always wanted to go back to was Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I went once when I was a kid and I'd love to go back. I didn't go onto any of the rides at the time because I wasn't that keen on coasters when I was younger, so I'd love the chance to go on them. I also really enjoyed the train ride that is an actual steam engine train. I love train rides so much.

Dollywood also has different sections that have a different theme and there's one that is all about Dolly's music and film works. That was very fun to walk through and see all the things she's accomplished so far in her life.

Walking and exploring Dollywood again will be a lot of fun.

[Lex Green]

I've decided to go to New York City for my vanishing vacation. As a huge musical theatre nerd, but one from the UK, I'd love the chance to visit Broadway, and maybe even see a musical or two whilst I'm there. Also, there's so many things to do in New York as a tourist, and so many landmarks to see and explore. I have been there once previously, but I was young enough that I don't remember it very much, and I'd love to go back and see all the sights again, but be able to make solid memories this time.

[Prof. Felicia Hartwick]

My vacation would have to be anywhere that has a place I can set up my beach blanket and chair, a fully stocked cooled of ice tea, and of course a beach umbrella... gotta be careful of those UV rays! So for me, I'm heading to the little town of Pass-A-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida. If I'm going on vacation I just want to chill and relax and this little town is the perfect spot. There are restaurants and little shops and really not much more there, but it's the beach that draws me to it. White sand, shells scattered all over the beach (can't go bare footed... at least I wouldn't) and the ocean breeze is all I would need. I would check on renting a house for the month, yes a month, though that might make it a bit hard for me to get back to Hogwarts!

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Someplace I've always wanted to go to is Eilean Donan. More specifically, I want to go to Eilean Donan castle. Oddly, this wouldn't be very far from Hogwarts, at least not in distance, but it is a great distance away from it in feel, I think. Muggles have used it for their movie making; one very famous movie featuring Eilean Donan castle is Highlander.

Eilean Donan is a small island which sits where three sea lochs join together. It's in the Western Highlands of Scotland and fairly close to the village of Dornie. There's a gorgeous bridge which crosses the distance from the road to the castle -- it's needed because of the tidal action of the sea lochs, which make the land under the bridge go from possibly walkable (ie dry enough to skip from boulder to boulder) to decidedly wet and deep.

The first castle is estimated to have been built around the 13th century but it's been built and rebuilt as the tumultuous history of Scotland and the peoples there unfolded.

[Aquaria Sandalwood]

One place I have always wanted to go is London. As someone who is from the United States, a lot of the literature and media that I have enjoyed throughout my life has been based in or around London, as well as there being quite a bit of history and English culture to experience. My parents got to go to London once several years ago, but I did not get to go with them. They had a lot to say about their trip, and it only made me want to go more! I would love to visit a lot of different things in London, but I would also like to use it as a jumping off point to explore more of the UK as well, particularly Scotland. Hopefully I will be able to go one day!