Recently I went to Florida with my friends Taylor, Marissa and Rachel for a little getaway as well to see the Dancing with the Stars tour. We could have gone to see the tour in a closer destination, but our favorite contestant, Harry Jowsey, from the previous season, was only going to the shows in other states, so we chose Florida.

The show was at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, so we decided it would be easiest to just stay at the hotel so we didn’t have to worry about Ubering to the show or leaving the property.

We arrived early the day before the show so we could make the most of the trip. We were lucky to get early check-in so we could drop our stuff off and get changed to hang by the pool. The weather was beautiful, and we were lucky enough to find four chairs in the sun. We couldn’t wait to soak up the sun and enjoy the warm weather. The bar was right across from us, so we decided to get these delicious rum drinks served inside a pineapple to enjoy while we laid out on our chairs and cooled off in the pool. The pool was huge, so we decided to explore a little and found a waterslide. Our little kid sides came out, and I think we went down the slide about 20 times.

Later, when it got chilly, we headed up to our room to get ready for our delicious dinner at The Council Oak. We split a seafood tour that was so fresh, and all ordered steaks. We decided to call it an early night so we could enjoy a full day of fun the following day.

We woke up on the later side and decided to head to one of the restaurants for a late breakfast before heading to the pool. When we sat down I decided to look around the restaurant and saw that Harry, the guy we came to see, was sitting two tables away from us. Even though we were so excited to see him and possibly meet him, we ultimately decided to wait to say anything to him until he was done eating and walking by our table. When he walked by, we said, “Hi” and told him we were so excited for the show and that we came to see him. He was shocked and was nice enough to take a selfie with us; this whole interaction made our trip 10 times better.

After another day by the pool, we got ready and headed to the show. We got our merchandise, drinks and snacks and headed to our seats. Once the show started, we were mesmerized by the beautiful dances the pros put together. The show had a good mix of slow and fast dances as well as some funny skits thrown in the mix. Harry Jowsey did amazing, and we were so happy we decided to go to one of his shows.

We had such a great trip, we didn’t want to leave. We are already trying to plan our next trip.

— Mary Melnick, social media & editorial coordinator