When Tescha Hawley received her breast cancer diagnosis at age 46, she was raising two young children on her own and working full time for the federal government.

She and her family lived on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana where she grew up. The lifesaving treatment she needed several times a month was at a hospital more than 200 miles away – a three-hour drive.

Hawley, a member of the Gros Ventre tribe, has two master’s degrees, one in social work and the other in health administration. Yet the challenges she had to navigate to receive the care she needed were daunting.

“You get caught up in the emotions and are not thinking logically,” Hawley said. “The only thing that I could think of was, “Am I going to die?”

Native Americans in the United States have the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of death in many categories of preventable illness.

“As American Indian people, we represent the highest (rates) of everything – diabetes, heart disease, cancer – and we receive the poorest health care,” Hawley said.

After her experience, Hawley was inspired to help other cancer patients and their families living on the reservation. She founded the Day Eagle Hope Project in 2017, and her nonprofit has since expanded to address many other needs of Native Americans in her community.

Navigating hurdles for lifesaving cancer care

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is tasked with providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. But Hawley says the agency is underfunded, services are inconsistent, and equipment can be dated.

In Hawley’s case, she says she experienced delays in treatment while dealing with a complicated system of healthcare providers, insurance, and approvals. She also had to drive more than 400 miles roundtrip to and from Billings, Montana, for chemo and radiation treatment that she spent a year receiving.

“The cost of hotel, food, and gas is huge, and it’s a financial burden for everybody,” Hawley said. “We’ve seen the wind chills get below 50-below, and we had 10-foot drifts in some areas. For me, a few times after receiving treatment, we would get halfway home and have to turn around because it was blizzard conditions.”

As a single mother, Hawley ultimately took leave without pay to complete her treatment. She says she had $250 dollars in her checking account when she finished treatment and was grateful to family and friends who supported her through the process. She knew others on her reservation battling cancer who didn’t have that kind of support.

“I had been in remission for two months and I pulled out my computer and that’s when Day Eagle Hope Project was started,” said Hawley, whose daughter was 9 at the time. “Her Cree name in English translates to Day Eagle Woman. This was formed in honor of her and all of our young women, so they will be strong and help our people in a good way.”

In the beginning, Hawley’s family loaned their time and vehicles for transportation. Hawley and her aunt drove cancer patients to and from treatment, and Hawley provided gift cards for gas, food, and hotels for those in need on her reservation, where many live below the poverty level and lack transportation and cell phone service. She also offered support workshops to connect anyone with medical hardships to available services.

“Cancer affects every one of us,” she said. “Cancer affects your mental health, it affects your spiritual well-being, it affects your entire family. We take great pride in being able to help everybody, not just tribal people, but also non-Indian people.”

Sustaining families, lifting spirits

As she focused on patient navigation, Hawley says she saw a need to address food insecurity as well. Residents in her community are living in a food desert and access to fresh and healthy food is scarce.

“We have so many grandparents raising grandchildren, and many generations of families are living in one household unit. It’s not uncommon for three and four families to be residing in one dwelling,” Hawley said.

Hawley began doing fresh food deliveries, acquiring organic foods from local farmers to distribute across the reservation, which encompasses 650,000 acres of the plains and grasslands of north-central Montana.

In addition to lean organic beef and fruits and vegetables, she’s also incorporated a program to provide fresh buffalo meat to the community. Done in a culturally respectful way, veterans are given the honor of harvesting the buffalo.

“Our ancestors prayed that our buffalo would sustain us. And that’s exactly what’s happening today with our non-profit work,” Hawley said. “We’ve joined in collaboration with our tribe to give back to our community.”

After each harvest, thousands of pounds of organic, lean meat are distributed to communities across the reservation, feeding hundreds of families who are often struggling.

Hawley also runs programs to address crisis and chemical addiction and offers equine therapy to at-risk youth as a suicide prevention effort. In the winter, with temperatures dipping into the negative 50’s with wind chill, Hawley brings firewood to Native elders.

Hawley estimates she’s helped about 3,000 people not only on her reservation but from neighboring tribes as well.

“Prior to my diagnosis of cancer, I thought my life was based on my professional career and my education,” Hawley said. “I still strongly believe education is our key out of poverty, but now I know that this is my calling.”

Want to get involved? Check out the Day Eagle Hope Project website and see how to help

To donate to the Day Eagle Hope Project via GoFundMe, click here

Novak Djokovic won his first singles match on American soil since 2021 as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire during their second-round contest at the Western & Southern Open.

Djokovic had taken the first set 6-4 on Wednesday when Davidovich Fokina, who had taken a medical timeout in the first set, retired with a back injury.

He will now face another 36-year-old – Frenchman Gaël Monfils – in the third round in Cincinnati as he steps up his preparation for the US Open.

“He’s playing as good as ever. He’s a year older than me,” Djokovic said about Thursday’s match against Monfils, who turns 37 on September 1.

“Everybody talks about my age, but what about him?! He’s doing amazing, so it’s going to be a duel of the veterans tomorrow, I guess.”

The Serbian is unvaccinated against Covid-19 and has been unable to enter the US for the past two years.

However, the country’s vaccine requirements for non-US travelers were lifted earlier this year, enabling Djokovic to compete in Cincinnati.

His last singles match in the United States prior to Wednesday’s victory was at the 2021 US Open when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Asked about his absence from US tournaments since then, Djokovic told reporters on August 13: “The reason why I was not here for two years, I have zero regret on that. I’m just glad to be back.”

He broke Davidovich Fokina at 3-4 after the Spaniard had returned from his medical timeout, only to be broken back the following game.

But Djokovic wrapped up the set soon after, whipping a forehand past the Iberian while his opponent was stranded at the net.

Two points into the second set, the world No. 23 pulled up in pain and swiped his racket in frustration before retiring from the match.

“I hope Alejandro bounces back to the court quickly [and] recovers from his lower back injury – that’s what he told me at the net,” said Djokovic.

“It’s never the way you like to win, I think for the crowd as well. Coming in, they expect to see a battle, they expect to see a match. Of course, it’s great for me to be able to come back to the court and win a match. Obviously, mixed emotions with the way it finished.”

Djokovic is looking to win his third title at the Western & Southern Open, his last coming in 2020 when the tournament was held in New York City amid the pandemic.

The atmosphere was buzzing for Stefanos Tsitsipas’ second-round match at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati – though more in an annoying way for the Greek tennis star.

Tsitsipas said that he was antagonized by a “person imitating a bee” in the seats behind him during his match against American Ben Shelton on Wednesday.

“It’s a buzz right before I serve,” Tsitsipas told the umpire after abandoning a serve mid-action.

The world No. 4 then went to have a word with the spectator himself before returning to speak with the umpire.

“It’s never happened in my career,” he said. “I know they’re supporting the other [player] … It’s the lady over there, I want her out.”

Tsitsipas, to his credit, managed to stay calm throughout the various exchanges and went on to defeat the 20-year-old Shelton 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

However, he then lost 6-3 6-4 against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the third round on Thursday, ending his bid to win a first title in Cincinnati having reached the final last year.

The Western & Southern Open is staged each year ahead of the US Open, which gets underway on August 28 and runs until September 9.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland and defensive lineman Moro Ojomo both have “movement in all extremities,” the team announced Thursday after both suffered neck injuries on separate plays.

The incident occurred during the Eagles’ NFL preseason home game against the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland fell hard on his head and neck area after hauling in a catch from quarterback Tanner McKee in the third quarter.

Cleveland remained on his stomach for several minutes after the play while being attended to by the team’s medical staff.

The Eagles medical personnel proceeded to place Cleveland on a stretcher, and he was carted off the field.

Players from both teams could be seen gathering around the cart as it took Cleveland off the field.

In a statement on social media, the Eagles ruled Cleveland out with a neck injury but said he had “movement in all of his extremities.”

In the fourth quarter, Ojomo was also taken off the field on a stretcher after being struck in the neck area by teammate Tristin McCollum while the duo attempted to tackle Browns quarterback Kellen Mond.

Ojomo, who was drafted in the seventh-round by the Eagles in this year’s draft, gave a thumbs-up and waved as he was being carted off the field.

The Eagles also ruled out Ojomo with a neck injury and said he too had “movement in all of his extremities.”

The game ended in an 18-18 tie.

The yips: two words that strike fear into the hearts of every golfer.

For Lucas Glover, it was a terror that tormented him for years.

An involuntary muscle tension in the wrist, the yips are not exclusive to golf, but the term – popularized by legendary Scotsman Tommy Armour in the 1920s – has become synonymous with a spasm that can cripple the swing of even the game’s biggest stars.

Ernie Els, Danielle Kang, Bernhard Langer and Georgia Hall are just four major winners who have battled the yips – also referred to as “the staggers” or “whiskey fingers” – which is primarily associated with putting issues.

In 2009, Glover was crowned US Open champion and became the world’s 15th best-ranked golfer. Six years and a case of the yips later, the American had plummeted to world No. 634.

“The closer you get to the hole, the worse it becomes.”

Help

Glover steadily rebounded, climbing back to within touching distance of the top-100 by the start of 2023, but his green statistics continued to make for eye-watering reading.

Despite being among the best golfers in approach play, Glover sat at 189th for putting strokes gained (-.568) and 187th for putts per round (29.83) in the 2021/22 PGA Tour season. It was time to call in help, and that support arrived in the shape of former Navy SEAL Jason Kuhn.

An NCAA Division 1 baseball player, Kuhn had harbored dreams of playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) before the yips struck, leading him to throw six wild pitches in one inning, close to an NCAA record. Hopes of the MLB faded, with Kuhn joining the Navy shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Today, he is a mental skills and team culture coach, working with business leaders and athletes, including those battling the yips. His clientbase included MLB pitcher Tyler Matzek, who Kuhn helped to conquer a catastrophic yips issue to win a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

Having first met with Kuhn in May, Glover began to work with the ex-Navy SEAL shortly after. It brought about a change in equipment – the 43-year-old switched to a long, broom-style putter – and a change in mindset.

“He walked me through a process about how to attack it instead of being scared of it,” Glover said.

“It freed my brain, my mind and my stroke up … it’s actually become fun again to go practice, to go play, to actually putt instead of being fearful. It’s been a life-changer for me so far.

“I never lost too much faith and always thought if I could just figure out a way to beat this putting thing that I’d be back where I could be.”

Faith

The results were immediate and extraordinary.

Having missed the cut at five of his first six PGA Tour events to open the year, Glover has finished inside the top-six on all but one of his last six starts, including back-to-back wins at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Suddenly, he’s a six-time PGA Tour winner and, at world No. 30, racing towards his career-best position, targeting a remarkable hat-trick at the BMW Championship in Illinois this week.

A golfer once scared to putt is now the game’s most in-form player. For some in his position, that might have seemed like a pipe dream, but for the “mentally stubborn” Glover, a renaissance was always on the cards.

“I told myself a long time ago when I started, if I ever lost faith in myself and my ability, that’d be the time to retire or just quit,” said Glover, who is still working with Kuhn.

“Never lose faith, never lose hope … it’s up to us as individuals to be happy and we can control that ourselves. It doesn’t depend on anybody else to make us happy or to tell us we can do something.”

Ryder Cup calling

If he keeps up the momentum, Glover is hoping to play himself into the thoughts of US Ryder Cup captain – and close friend – Zach Johnson.

Though lacking the points to qualify as an automatic pick, Glover could see his dreams of playing a first ever Ryder Cup realized if Johnson selects him as one of six captain’s picks for Rome in September.

“Ever since I’ve turned pro, it was one of my goals and I’ve never achieved it,” Glover said.

“This is the closest I’ve been to being in the mix for a pick or even making it outright for about 10, 12 years.

“I’m excited about the opportunity and it’s in my hands – I’ve got two weeks to keep proving myself and make the decision easy … It doesn’t mean I necessarily have to win, but just show the consistency, the grit, and just keep putting my name up there.”

Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay have already stamped their tickets for Italy, with the remaining three automatic places – currently held by Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Max Homa – to be confirmed after the BMW Championship.

On August 29, all attention will turn to the home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas, where Johnson will announce the six picks chosen to help Team USA try to win on European soil for the first time in 20 years.

Glover has a perfect record at the Presidents Cup, triumphing in 2007 and 2009, with Johnson his teammate at both tournaments. The Presidents Cup is a biennial competition between Americans and an international team open to players outside the United States and Europe.

“Making a team representing your country as an athlete is the highest honor,” Glover said.

“Not being a part of it [the Ryder Cup] always kind of urged me on a little bit, to be honest. I would love to do it.”

Editor’s Note: Read our coverage of Hurricane Hilary for Friday here.

Hurricane Hilary is rapidly intensifying in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Mexico on Thursday and is on track to deliver potentially significant rain and flooding to parts of the Southwest as a weaker system starting this weekend.

Hilary strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Thursday evening with sustained winds of 120 mph and even stronger gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm will likely reach Category 4 hurricane strength on Friday with winds of at least 130 mph, the center warned.

The hurricane was about 445 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Thursday evening.

There remains a wide range of outcomes for the heaviest rain and strongest winds in the US as the storm moves north over the next couple of days along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Small deviations in the hurricane’s track could change the forecast for the most intense rain and wind.

Hilary’s rainfall could arrive as early as Saturday in parts of the Southwest, with the worst of its impacts set to arrive in California early Monday.

Shifts in the forecast track will also affect which areas of northwestern Mexico will face the worst of Hilary’s winds, which will be strong enough to snap trees, down power lines and cause significant damage to property closest to the storm’s center.

Mudslides and flash flooding are possible from a general 3 to 6 inches of rain across Mexico’s Baja Peninsula from Thursday to early Monday, with greater amounts possible in the higher terrain.

Significant flood potential

Hilary is expected to weaken significantly before it reaches Southern California and parts of the Southwest, but there’s an increasing chance of significant impacts to these areas in the form of heavy rain and flooding.

Southern California could receive some of Hilary’s heaviest rainfall. Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches may fall there and in southern Nevada from Saturday through Monday. The heaviest rainfall is expected mainly Sunday and Monday. Locally higher amounts up to 6 inches are possible in areas impacted by the heaviest deluges.

Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are possible for parts of Arizona, Central California and northern Nevada.

Multiple days of heavy rainfall will give the ground little opportunity to absorb moisture and can progressively worsen the flood threat.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, said Wednesday that “multiple years’ worth of precipitation” could potentially fall in some of California’s driest areas.

One of those places is Death Valley, California, the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley typically receives about 2 inches of rain across an entire year, according to NWS data. Moisture from Hilary could unleash enough rain to give Death Valley at least a year’s worth of rainfall in a single day.

Rainfall this exceptional proved destructive in Death Valley last year. Around 1,000 people became stranded in Death Valley National Park last August when 1.46 inches of rain fell in 24 hours and unleashed flash flooding that washed away roads and entombed cars in floodwater-swept debris.

Dramatic weather changes for suffering Southwest

Despite the flooding danger, the rainfall would help combat drought and recharge groundwater across parched portions of the Southwest. Drought conditions expanded in New Mexico and remained steady in California and Arizona this week, the US Drought Monitor reported Thursday.

The seasonal monsoon that supplies the region with a large percentage of its yearly rainfall has been missing for much of the summer, and cities like Phoenix are still waiting for measurable rainfall.

The combination of rainfall and increased cloud cover across the Southwest is expected to bring a significant cooldown over the weekend. Temperatures that have been in the upper 90s to 110s could drop by as much as 20 degrees.

Phoenix may not reach a high temperature in the triple digits over the weekend for the first time since the middle of June.

Hilary may accomplish rare feat

Hilary is more likely to make landfall in Mexico and cross into California. But if the storm makes landfall in California as a tropical storm, it would be the first to do so in nearly 84 years, and only the third tropical storm or stronger to do so on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The most recent was an unnamed tropical storm in 1939, NOAA records show.

Before that, the San Diego Hurricane made landfall in October 1858 – California’s only hurricane landfall on record, research shows.

1997’s Nora was the last and only other tropical storm to maintain its status after crossing into California.

The current forecast also calls for Hilary to maintain its tropical status as it heads into Nevada, something that has never happened on record.

Hurricane Hilary has intensified into a Category 4 storm as it nears Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, yet is expected to weaken over the weekend as it brings rain and the threat of flooding to parts of the Southwest US.

Hilary was churning about 425 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, early Friday morning with sustained winds of 140 mph with stronger gusts, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane Thursday evening and could further intensify Friday morning. Hilary is forecast to remain at Category 4 strength going into Saturday and then begin to weaken throughout the day as it enters much colder waters to the west of the peninsula.

Hilary’s center is on track to approach the peninsula on Friday and over the weekend, prompting Mexican officials to issue a hurricane watch and tropical storm watches and warnings for parts of Baja California Sur, the hurricane center said.

There remains a wide range of outcomes for the heaviest rain and strongest winds in the US as the storm moves north over the next couple of days. Small deviations in the hurricane’s track could change the forecast for the most intense rain and wind.

“The threat of significant wind impacts continues to increase for northern portions of the Baja California Peninsula and the Southwestern United States, especially in areas of mountainous terrain,” the hurricane center said Thursday night.

Flash flooding and mudslides may also be triggered by downpours in parts of the peninsula from late Friday into Sunday.

Hilary is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches, with isolated maximum amounts up to 10 inches, across portions of the Baja California peninsula through Sunday night. In addition, a storm surge could produce coastal flooding along the western part of the peninsula and will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

Southwest braces for possible flooding

Hilary is expected to substantially weaken before reaching Southern California and parts of the Southwest but there’s an increasing chance the regions will be significantly impacted by heavy rain and flooding.

Heavy rainfall is expected to begin impacting the Southwest on Friday and through early next week, with the most intense downpours likely on Sunday and Monday, according to forecasters.

Southern swaths of California and Nevada could see 3 to 5 inches of rain with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches. Smaller amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected across central parts of those states as well as across western Arizona and southwest Utah.

Prolonged rain may oversaturate the ground and overwhelm waterways, potentially worsening the flood threat.

Weekend flood watches have been issued across southern California stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles as residents brace for potential deluges.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has also warned of the potential for dangerously high surf, rip currents and coastal flooding.

If Hilary makes landfall in California as a tropical storm, it will be a rare occurrence – the first such storm there in nearly 84 years and would be only the third tropical storm or stronger to do so on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Parched Southwest may see brief relief

As the rainfall passes through the Southwest, it may help combat prolonged drought and recharge depleted groundwater.

Drought conditions persisted in California and Arizona this week and expanded in New Mexico, the US Drought Monitor reported Thursday.

Thanks to Hilary, “multiple years’ worth of precipitation could potentially fall in some of the driest parts of California,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, said Wednesday.

Among those spots is Death Valley, California, the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley typically receives about 2 inches of rain across an entire year, according to NWS data. Moisture from Hilary could unleash enough rain to give Death Valley at least a year’s worth of rainfall in a single day.

But the deluge could also prove dangerous. Around 1,000 people became stranded in Death Valley National Park last August when 1.46 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, triggering flash flooding that wiped out roads and entombed cars in floodwater-swept debris.

The region has also suffered from the absence of a seasonal monsoon that supplies a large percentage of its yearly rainfall, leaving cities like Phoenix desperate for more rainfall as they endure weeks of sweltering temperatures.

Now, the region is expected to get some relief from the extreme heat as the combined rainfall and increased cloud cover could lower triple-digit temperatures by as much as 20 degrees. The cooling may even help Phoenix break its dangerous heat streak by bringing temperatures below 100 degrees for the first time since mid-June.

If you’ve been looking for some peace and quiet in the great outdoors, the marquee names in the US National Park Service might not be the place to do it.

They’re continuing to pull in mammoth summer crowds, making them sometimes feel more like an urban excursion complete with traffic jams. Take Yellowstone National Park, for instance.

The crown jewel of the National Park system hosted a whopping 969,692 recreation visits in July 2023, according to the NPS in a news release. That’s roughly the equivalent of the entire city of Austin, Texas, paying a call in the span of a month.

The NPS said that this is a 63% increase from July 2022 (with 596,562 recreational visits) and a 4% increase from July 2019 (with 936,062 recreation visits).

So far in 2023 through July, Yellowstone has seen 2,463,202 recreation visits. That’s up 33% from the same time frame in 2022 (with 1,855,396 recreation visits) and up 7% from 2019 (with 2,294,691 recreation visits).

Visitation numbers to Yellowstone were suppressed in 2022 because of early summer flooding, the NPS said. And 2019 is often used as a benchmark for comparing attendance figures because that was the last full year before the pandemic disrupted travel in the United States and worldwide.

Parks with fewer crowds

If you’re looking for a little more elbow room, you do have some options.

One alternative is to go to the least-visited national parks. Granted, some of them are very isolated (looking at you, Alaska and American Samoa). But others are closer to population centers, such as Congaree National Park in South Carolina, and they are relatively undiscovered compared with the big names.

You also might fare better with state parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and the like, which offer many of the same stunning features as their more famous cousins. However, some of these places are also seeing bigger crowds, so it pays to check ahead with the specific place you wish to visit.

As those of us in the Northern Hemisphere enjoy these last days of summer, many families are flocking to theme parks both in the US and abroad to squeeze in a few more moments of fun.

That includes a series of new parks that have opened around the world in the last two years, keeping things fresh with surprisingly understated natural surroundings or just the opposite – jaw-dropping, hair-raising, all-consuming attractions.

From the super subtle and surreal, like Ghibli Park in Japan, to a tidal wave of fun at Columbia Pictures Aquaverse in Thailand, here’s a look at a few of the most noteworthy new theme parks for those unforgettable family memories.

Katmandu Park, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Experience the hidden realms of the Himalayas in the middle of the Caribbean at Katmandu Park in Punta Cana.

Opened in March 2023 on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, the park is full of mystery and lore.

According to legend, explorer Kilgore Goode was on an adventure through Nepal when he stumbled upon the “Desirata” jewel, protected by a ferocious yeti. But the discovery turned everything upside down.

Immersing guests in this magical world, Katmandu Punta Cana skips more classic boomerang and twister coasters, instead specializing in tech-savvy, interactive indoor rides.

For instance, the 4D dark ride, “Legend of the Desirata,” chronicles the brand’s origin story – all brought to life by sensory, lighting and projection effects.

Another key attraction is EtherQuest, an interactive walk-through experience where guests use blasters and props to defeat an army of evil mages in the “upside-down house” amid immersive projection technology.

Not to be outdone is the “Challenge of the Mad Mage,” which enables every guest to partake in a blaster duel during a surreal chess match while wind, vibration and mist sensations enhance the experience.

Aside from immersive rides, guests can also check out the Himalaya-inspired mini golf course, a sky-high ropes course, climbing walls and a whimsical carousel for younger adventurers.

Katmandu Park, Punta Cana. Av. Alemania, Punta Cana 23000, Dominican Republic. Tickets from $120 for adults; $85 for children for a one-use pass. 

Super Nintendo World, California

Oh yeah! Mario time! Just over a year after opening at Universal Studios Japan in 2021, Super Nintendo World touched down at Universal Studios Hollywood in February 2023.

Guests enter the Mushroom Kingdom via the game’s iconic green pipe. Once inside, visitors will discover a world of fun experiences, from meeting their favorite characters to dining on “Piranha Plant” caprese, Chef Toad’s short rib special and “? Block” tiramisu at Toadstool Cafe.

Fans of the game will appreciate the impressive grounds, featuring recreations of familiar game scenes like Princess Peach’s Castle, Bowser’s Castle and Mount Beanpole, designed to look like the game’s 16-bit graphics.

But the marquee attraction is “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.”

A cross between a video game and a roller coaster, the tech-savvy ride takes passengers through a multi-sensory world where they’ll use augmented reality (AR) to navigate different race courses and try to defeat Team Bowser.

Guests who purchase a Power-Up Band (an add-on wristband that syncs with the park’s app) can also use AR to play mini-games and “Key Challenges” throughout the park to unlock a final boss battle with Bowser Jr.

Super Nintendo World. Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA, US, 91608. Tickets from $109. 

Ghibli Park, Japan

If you love Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli animated films, like the Academy Award-winning “Spirited Away” or “My Neighbor Totoro,” this new park is for you.

Located outside of Nagoya, Japan, Ghibli Park opened in late 2022. Within the 17.5 forested ground of the Expo 2005, guests will find five areas that recreate several animated famous scenes with all the whimsy, artistry and attention to detail the studio is known for

There aren’t any hair-raising rides, but you can count on charming interactive exhibitions.

Guests can check out a recreation of the Catbus featured in “Totoro,” explore the antique shop featured in “Whisper of the Heart,” or head up to the top of the “Castle in the Sky” tower for scenic views.

There’s also a cinema screening short films, a couple of cafes, and several family-friendly activities, like a Totoro-themed playground and a monorail.

Two more areas, Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches, are expected to open later in 2023.

Ghibli Park, Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, 1533-1 Ibaragabasama, Nagakute, Aichi. Tickets from $15 for adults; $7.50 for children. 

Legoland Korea Resort, South Korea

On the heels of LEGOLAND New York Resort’s debut in 2021, LEGOLAND Korea Resort opened in May 2022.

Like its sister parks, this playful wonderland in Chuncheon, about 1.5 hours east of Seoul, is devoted to all things LEGO, with more than 40 rides and attractions across seven thematic zones.

In the aptly named Bricktopia area, guests can hop on family-friendly rides, visit LEGOLAND Lookout for great park views, and get hands-on with creative workshops and a built-and-test car-racing zone.

The park is designed for 2- to 12-year-olds, so there aren’t too many high-octane rides, but the Dragon coaster in the LEGO Castle zone should test your mettle.

Meanwhile, young children will love the wave racers, LEGO planes, spinners, rock climbing and pirate experiences.

For the ultimate experience, stay overnight in a LEGO-themed hotel room where you’ll be immersed in castle, pirate or ninja decor. Hotel guests also enjoy exclusive play areas and fast-track park access.

LEGOLAND Korea Resort, 128 Hajungdo-gil, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, 24240, Korea. Tickets from $38 for adults; $30 for children. 

Columbia Pictures Aquaverse, Thailand

In Asia, one of the most exciting openings of 2022 was Thailand’s Columbia Pictures Aquaverse.

Located along the coast near Pattaya, about two hours south of Bangkok by car, the movie-themed water park revolves around rides and experiences inspired by popular films, such as “Jumanji,” “Ghostbusters” and “Zombieland.”

As its name suggests, Aquaverse focuses on water-based fun – splashing, soaking, slipping, sliding, you name it.

You can expect everything from rainbow-hued slides to the world’s first water dome ride, surfing machines, and the “Hotel Transylvania” area, with nine slides and over 100 splash-tastic features for kids.

For landlubbers, there’s also go-karting, “The Emoji Movie” mini golf course and several themed cafes.

In addition to rides and games, the park hosts performances at its Mega Wave Pool, where guests can hang out in the pool while enjoying movie screenings, DJ sets and concerts.

Columbia Pictures Aquaverse, 888 Sukhumvit Road, Tambon Na Chom Thian, Amphoe Sattahip, Chang Wat Chon Buri 20250, Thailand. Tickets from $41. 

Lotte World Adventure Busan, South Korea

About three decades after opening its flagship park in Seoul, Lotte World expanded in March 2022 with a second location, Lotte World Adventure Busan, on the country’s southeastern coast.

Embodying a colorful fairytale atmosphere, the park showcases tasteful  European-inspired gardens, wide-open plazas and handsome fountains, and an array of thrilling rides, games and attractions peppered across six themed zones.

In “River Village of Tinker Falls”, much like a central plaza, visitors can make a splash on the Orge’s Flume ride or meet the park’s many characters, including a giant talking tree and adorable woodland creatures.

From there, they can explore the Lorry Castle in “Queen Lorry’s Royal Garden” or get their adrenaline pumping on the Giant Swing (which soars nearly 150 feet high) and the Giant Digger (which reaches speeds of up to 65 mph) in “Underland”.

The park is also home to low-key children’s rides in “Little Farm Land” and Korea’s first “roller coaster” restaurant. Dubbed the Food Drop, the restaurant serves steak, burgers and pasta via a twisting-turning rail system overhead.

Come evening, the park illuminates its various attractions and fountains, then puts on a dazzling light, music and dance show.

Lotte World Adventure Busan. 42 Dongbusangwangwang-ro, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea. Tickets from $35 for adults; $25 for children. 

Peppa Pig Theme Park, Florida

The world’s first Peppa Pig Theme Park opened last year in Winter Haven, Florida, and has been delighting children with wholesome fun ever since.

Dedicated to the classic British animated TV show, where little Peppa has everyday adventures with her friends and family, the 4.5-acre park welcomes pint-sized guests with well-designed, multi-sensory activities across six playscapes.

Kids will love “Peppa’s Pedal Bike Tour” around a camping-inspired trail, the action-packed Muddy Puddles Splash Pad and interactive shows at Mr. Potato’s Showtime Arena.

For those ready for their first roller coaster, the Daddy Pig ride takes families on a windy road in the show’s red car.

They can also sail on Grandad Dog’s pirate boat, enjoy a dinosaur ride, see what Grandpa Pig is growing in the greenhouse or play games at the Fun Fair fairground.

And since the park is located next door to LEGOLAND Florida Theme Park and LEGOLAND Water Park, guests can easily combine visits to all three for a fun-filled family getaway.

Look out for another Peppa Pig Theme Park, opening in Dallas, Texas, next year.

Peppa Pig Theme Park. 1 LEGOLAND Way, Wynter Haven, Florida, US, 33884. Tickets from $34. 

Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park, Malaysia

Located within Resorts World Genting, about an hour’s drive from Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park opened in February 2022.

Across the 26-acre park, which cost $800 million and took nearly 10 years to create, visitors will find 26 attractions across nine areas inspired by movies and explorations, from Rio and Central Park to Andromeda Base and Robots Rivet Town, among others.

The journey begins at Studio Plaza, an art deco-styled building channeling old-world Hollywood, which ushers guests into the park.

There are many attractions for thrill-seekers including a coaster bike ride through the twisting, turning peaks of Eagle Mountain, a 3D “Invasion of the Planet of the Apes” adventure in Liberty Lane, and the space-themed “Independence Day: Defiance” ride in Central Park.

For younger guests, “Ice Age: Expedition Thin Ice” offers a leisurely journey through frozen caverns and “Bigweld’s Zeppelins” invites families to soar in slow motion.

A dedicated app enables guests to check ride wait times, reserve ride time slots and access personalized suggestions for things to do.

In addition to the outdoor park, an indoor area called Skytropolis is home to a cinema, bowling, virtual reality experiences, an arcade, and seven hotels within the integrated resort.

Genting SkyWorlds. Genting Highlands, 69000 Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. Tickets from $34 for adults; $29 for children. 

When Larissa Santos opened her front door and saw Rachel Bush for the first time, she was immediately flooded with emotions.

Larissa felt “pulled” to Rachel, who was standing expectantly on Larissa’s doorstep. Larissa also suddenly felt “very, very nervous” as she introduced herself to the stranger on her steps.

It was February 2021. Larissa was 27 and one month into a year she’d planned to spend totally single.

“I had been with someone prior for 10 years. So I wanted to take some time for myself,” Larissa recalls.

Rachel and Larissa moved in the same circles – sort of, they had a friend in common – but until the day Rachel turned up on Larissa’s doorstep, they’d never met. Plus, Rachel lived in Kentucky, Larissa lived an hour away in Tennessee.

Back then, Rachel was 26. Like Larissa, she’d just come out of a long term relationship and had sworn herself to singledom, vowing to put all her time and energy into work.

Rachel was a wedding photographer and, in February 2021, her work had just started up again following a Covid-induced pause. It felt like the perfect time to knuckle down on her career.

The day Rachel ended up on Larissa’s Nashville doorstep, she was supposed to be on a plane to California for work.

An intense snowstorm had canceled her original flight out of Nashville several days earlier.

“Oh, no big deal, we’ll just push it back a day,” thought Rachel when she heard the news.

Then, for five consecutive mornings, Rachel woke up to the same notification. Today’s flights: canceled. Today’s forecast: more snow. There was no sign of her flight departing anytime soon.

By the fifth day, Rachel was ready to give up. She was booked for two weeks of work, and she’d already missed almost all of the first week.

“I was over it,” she says today.

Rachel was debating what to do when she saw on Instagram that a Nashville resident she vaguely knew – a woman called Katie – was offering lifts to anyone stranded by the snow.

“She was like, ‘Thank God for a four-wheel drive, just got my new car,” Rachel recalls.

Rachel had met Katie only once – she’d taken her picture – and since then they’d kept up on social media here and there, but had never gotten round to meeting up again.

Rachel briefly wondered if it was appropriate to reach out to this not-quite-stranger for a lift. But she was getting desperate, so she swiped the uncertainty from her mind and dropped Katie a message.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I know that we don’t know each other – we’ve only hung out one time – but could you potentially pick me up and can I stay at your house and can you drive me to the airport tomorrow?’” recalls Rachel. She promised to buy Katie dinner in return.

Katie messaged her back right away. Rachel was welcome, and Katie had a spare bed waiting.

“So I went to her house,” recalls Rachel. “And then when I got there, I was just so stressed out.”

Rachel’s acquaintance-turned-snow-savior quickly prescribed a remedy.

“Let’s go out,” Katie said. “We can go to this place me and my friend always go to, it’s a jazz club. And we can pick her up on the way.”

Rachel said this sounded perfect: “I need a drink,” she said.

So the two women got back in Katie’s car and headed into the city center, swinging by Katie’s friend’s house first.

That’s how Rachel ended up on the doorstep of Larissa’s house.

First impressions

Rachel’s first impression of Larissa was her warm, welcoming smile. Then, Rachel remembers Larissa’s arms around her – right away, Larissa enveloped her in a “big, bear hug.”

This moment sticks with Larissa too.

“As I came out of the hug, I just remember us for a second, we looked at each other again, and smiled,” she says.

As the two women stood on Larissa’s steps, both Larissa and Rachel felt as though something had happened, but they couldn’t put their finger on what exactly it was.

Breaking out of the moment, Larissa ushered Rachel and Katie out of the snow and into her house. She was still in her sports bra and sweatpants and needed to get ready for the evening out. But Katie was peppering her with questions.

“How did it go today?” she asked. “What happened?”

“It was all okay,” said Larissa. Then, she filled in the blanks for Rachel, explaining that earlier that day, she’d come out as bisexual to her parents.

Larissa’s previous, decade-long relationship had been with a man, so her parents hadn’t seen this revelation coming, but they’d been accepting.

Rachel saw parallels between herself and Larissa right away. She’d also been in a long term relationship with a man until recently. Rachel had mentioned to her mother that she was bisexual a few years previously, but wasn’t sure how seriously her mom had taken the news, given that Rachel was with a guy at the time.

The three women continued chatting as they got ready to go out for the evening. There was an instant level of comfort between Rachel and Larissa. They’d never met before, but they both felt easy and open in one another’s company.

“It just felt very safe immediately,” says Larissa. Looking back, she wonders if there was something about the randomness of the evening – the canceled flight, the stranger on the doorstep, the snow – that added to this feeling.

“The unexpected allowed us to just feel in the moment what was happening,” she says.

At the jazz bar, Larissa and Rachel continued to feel a growing connection. Without thinking, they sat close together, sharing the same small bar stool.

“My thigh was touching hers,” says Rachel. “And then we just kept talking and talking.”

Later on, Larissa turned to Rachel and asked if she could kiss her.

Rachel said yes.

For Rachel, the whole evening consisted of “so many things that were so not my personality.” She wasn’t usually spontaneous, but that evening she was “just going with the flow.”

The night went on. Rachel and Larissa danced together in the middle of the bar. Later, they twirled together in the snow, hand-in-hand.

They hung out together the next day too. Then, Rachel finally boarded the long-delayed flight to California.

Falling in love

Before she left, Rachel left things open-ended with Larissa. Neither woman asked for the other’s number. Looking back, Larissa says this was “so silly.”

But at the time, she remembered feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole evening, and just how perfect it had been.

“This is so weird,” Larissa recalls thinking. “I feel so attracted to this girl, I need to go home and just recenter myself and be at home.”

But when Rachel returned from California, she asked Katie for Larissa’s number. Then she reached out, telling Larissa she was planning on heading the hour into Nashville to have dinner with a friend. She asked Larissa if she’d like to join.

“I was like, ‘What is this? Is this a date? Is she just casually asking me to hang out with her and her friend?’” recalls Larissa. She couldn’t figure out the answer, so decided to bring along a friend too, to keep things even.

“And then we went to dinner and the other people there, it was just like they didn’t exist,” says Larissa. “It was just her and I, talking.”

“I don’t think they said three words,” says Rachel. “We’re just talking the entire time.”

After that, Larissa and Rachel were in touch all the time.

“We started talking pretty much every day, we would just send each other voice messages throughout the day,” says Rachel.

Their messages back and forth were long, deep and thoughtful. Rachel talked about her hatred of scary movies, which stemmed from a terrifying dream she used to have as a kid. She started describing the nightmare via voice note. Then, midway through her explanation, Larissa called her.

“I actually have chills right now,” said Larissa over the phone. “I had that exact same dream when I was a kid.”

“And she finished telling me the dream,” recalls Rachel today. “With all the details, the exact same one that I had.”

The two women were unnerved by this connection. It drew them closer still.

“I think after that we were like, ‘Okay, this is cosmic or something.’ There were so many synchronicities in our lives – that we had experienced similar things, or been at the same spot,” says Rachel. “It was just things that made no sense that drew us together.”

Within three days, Rachel texted Larissa: “I think I’m in love with you.”

“Me too,” wrote back Larissa. “I’m so in love with you.”

Rachel introduced Larissa to her childhood best friend, who’d been skeptical of all the people Rachel had dated. This time round, the friend agreed with Rachel – things with Larissa just seemed right.

Meanwhile, Larissa FaceTimed her sister to introduce her to Rachel. It felt like an important, ground-breaking moment.

“My family had not seen me with girls,” says Larissa.

Larissa’s sister was delighted.

“My sister’s like, ‘Awesome, love that for you,’” recalls Larissa.

A few days later, Larissa FaceTimed her parents. When she’d come out to them – right before she’d met Rachel – she’d told them that while she was bisexual, she thought she’d probably end up marrying a man.

On the call now, she had a different message to share.

“I just remember being like, ‘I’m in love with a woman,’” Larissa says. “It didn’t even take two weeks for me to let my parents know, ‘Actually, I am going to marry a girl. And this is her.’”

Rachel decided to introduce Larissa to her parents as a friend first. She wanted them to get to know Larissa before they learned they were dating, but her mother picked up on Rachel and Larissa’s connection right away.

“I was like, ‘Oh Mom, this is my friend Larissa from Nashville.’ And my mom was like, ‘Oh, cool,’ and she hugged her. Then she just kind of looked at her, and she looked between us. And then we both knew that she knew,” says Rachel, laughing.

A couple of days later, Rachel called her dad. She was having issues with her neck, and her dad’s a doctor, so she wanted to get his perspective.

Rachel’s father told her she’d be fine, but suggested she should get someone to stay round and help her do stuff around her house, so she didn’t strain her neck further.

“I was like, ‘Well, actually, my friend Larissa is going to come from Nashville, and she’s going to stay with me,’” recalls Rachel.

“And he just made a little face at me and said, ‘You should keep her around. She’s a good one.’ And that was him confirming that he knew also.”

Catching up with feelings

Larissa and Rachel had fallen for each other fast. In almost every way, it was perfect. The only difficulty was “catching up with everything that we were feeling,” as Larissa puts it.

Their connection had been deep and sudden. At times they both felt overcome. It was like they’d jumped head first into something that had started before they’d even met.

“With her and I, there was no beginning,” says Larissa. “It was what it was and that’s how it will be. There’s no beginning to us. There’s not a middle time, it was just everything all at once.”

“With her and I, there was no beginning. It was what it was and that’s how it will be. There’s no beginning to us. There’s not a middle time, it was just everything all at once.”

Larissa Santos

“It was very vulnerable,” says Rachel. “I just remember telling myself, ‘Yes, it’s scary. But it’s also so exciting. And so fun. So I’m just going to run at it.’”

They spoke about what it would mean if they consciously tried to slow things down. But they decided that felt forced.

“We both had a conversation where it was like, ‘Even if we were to pump the brakes, that would be against the grain of what feels natural,’” says Rachel.

From the outset, it was obvious that Larissa and Rachel were quite different personalities –  they describe themselves as “fire and water.”

“We’re completely opposite,” says Larissa.

But they approached life with a similar drive, vigor and romance.

“We have the same outlook on romanticizing life,” says Rachel.

Multiple engagements and two weddings

A month or so into their relationship, Larissa and Rachel realized they’d never formally decided to become girlfriend and girlfriend.

In the same conversation, Rachel also mentioned she’d never gone on a “proper date” – the kind where someone picked her up, brought flowers and took her out to dinner.

Larissa was shocked. And immediately decided that had to be rectified.

“You have 30 minutes to get ready,” she told Rachel. “I’ll be right back.”

Then, Larissa left her house, where they were both staying, and went out to get a bouquet of flowers. She also bought one of those signs on which you can switch out the letters and spell different words and phrases.

Then she paused, debating what to spell out on the sign.

‘It felt so stupid to ask her to be my girlfriend,” says Larissa – they’d been together for almost two months by then, so it felt a bit unnecessary.

So instead, Larissa decided, “I’m just going to ask her to marry me.”

She spelled out “Marry me forever” on the board. Then she drove home, knocked on her own front door, waited for Rachel to open it, and pointed to the sign.

“She hugs me, and she’s like, ‘What the heck?’” says Larissa. “And we kiss.”

In the car on the way to the restaurant, Rachel turned to Larissa.

“Do you mean this sign?” she asked.

“I 100% mean the sign,” said Larissa. “Unless you think it’s weird and creepy, then I don’t.”

After that, Larissa asking for Rachel’s hand in marriage became a bit of an in-joke between them.

“I asked her to marry me again and again – I asked many times,” says Larissa, laughing.

But as the months passed, the topic of marriage became less laughable.

In summer 2021, Rachel and Larissa sat down together and confirmed marriage was what they both wanted.

“We both ordered our bands, and we mutually decided that we were going to get engaged,” says Rachel.

The couple planned a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy, booking a room in a boutique hotel overlooking the ocean.

Privately, they each wrote each other letters, detailing how they felt and why they wanted to get married.

“Then, we both got down on our knees, kneeled in front of each other and read the letters,” says Rachel. “I asked her to marry me, and she asked me to marry her.”

“It was very romantic, very intimate, and mutual,” says Larissa of the engagement. “Most of our friends knew – and family knew – that we were going to get engaged.”

Six months later, in February 2022, Larissa and Rachel were married at a courthouse in Nashville. Their wedding day was almost a year to the day since they’d first met.

“That was very surreal to realize,” says Larissa. “We looked at each other, and I’m like, ‘It feels like years. It feels like we’ve been together for years.’”

On the day of the wedding, Rachel recalls feeling “peaceful” and “excited.”

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” she says. “It was so much fun.”

Afterwards, they went to France for their Honeymoon. They read vows to each other in Nice, France.

Almost a year later, in 2023, Rachel and Larissa brought their friends and family together for a big, celebratory wedding party, held at the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami, Florida.

Given her years working in the wedding industry, Rachel took the lead with planning. Larissa was happy to trust her wife’s judgment.

“Her and I have a very similar style,” she says. “So there was no doubt that I trusted her vision.”

The couple enjoyed how the gap between the two events made the party feel like a celebration both of their first year married as well as the years to come.

“It literally felt like we were celebrating our whole relationship,” says Rachel.

At the Miami celebration, the couple were introduced to their guests as Mrs and Mrs Santos, as Rachel took Larissa’s name after they got married.

In that moment, Larissa and Rachel both recall being “giddy.”

“Like two little kids about to, I don’t know, walk into an amusement park and there’s unlimited rides and the park is closed for just her and I. Such an excitement,” says Larissa. “I just remember looking at her, and I was like, ‘I love you so much.’”

Travel and gratitude

Larissa and Rachel always knew they had a canceled flight to thank for their coincidental meeting. It was a little while before they figured out Larissa was also supposed to be out of town the day they met. She’d also rearranged her plans due to the snow.

“The craziest part, to me, was we had no way of meeting if that exact series of events hadn’t have happened,” says Rachel “Her life would have never connected to my life where I was and where I was going.”

“Every time we travel, I always think about how we met,” says Larissa. Those reflections always leave her with an overwhelming feeling of “gratitude.”

“I feel so grateful that everything allowed us to meet,” she adds. “And then also, I think the most important part is that we were also willing. Because the universe can play things out for you. But are you willing to jump in?”

“Sometimes I think people resist so hard when gifts are given,” agrees Rachel. “I think sometimes going with the flow and letting those gifts come to you, and being open to connecting with someone, and letting your heart be open to being vulnerable would be my most important takeaways – let yourself fall in love.”