Disney Geography

Every month National Geographic sends me an email with highlights of their articles and images. I usually check them out but rarely post about them. Well this time they had images of Disney's more famous attractions next to the real-life locations they are based on. For example, the real-life Matterhorn and the Disney roller coaster ride.

"Which is the real Matterhorn? Robbed of scale, it's difficult to tell. Disneyland's roller coaster ride is built at 1/100th scale of the Matterhorn peak in the Pennine Alps between Switzerland and Italy. The 4,478 metre (14,692 foot) Matterhorn is on the left. the 45 metre (147 foot) Matterhorn is on the right." To check out the whole article (and the remaining images) go here.

Sweety’s Birthday

Today is Dave’s 25th Birthday. Don’t quite know what we are doing to celebrate other than the Eddie Izzard show later this week and the fact that we just got back from the cottage, but I hope he has a fantastic day. I love you sweety.

Evil Kitties

 

 

 

           

The above kitties are my brother and sister-in-law’s cats. They are adorable yes, but they’re evil. Evil Kitty #1 is Nibbles. He was the first kitten they got when they lived in Kingston. Evil Kitty #2 is Gizmo. They got him to keep Nibbles company because he was getting lonely during the day when Tyler and Lynn were at work.
Dave and I have been watching them for the last week while Tyler and Lynn were in Florida (Disney to be precise). Though I haven’t even really noticed going to their place to feed them every day, I have noticed the significant increase in cuts and scratches on my arms and legs (hence the name Evil Kitties).

Myakka State Park

We arrived at Myakka State Park after a pretty long drive, but boy was it worth it. It was also worth the $6/car admission price. I was really looking forward to this place as it was supposed to be really beautiful, have a canopy walk and wild alligators (not like those zoo ones that were everywhere). This also turned out to be the nicest day in terms of weather.
The canopy trail was where we headed first. Turns out, it was pretty high and like, and in similar fashion to St. Paul’s Cathedral I got a little nervous climbing up (though this height was nothing when compared to the Cathedral). This time it was because the wooden structure moved with not only the wind, but the movement of the people walking around as well. To be honest, the walkway itself wasn’t too bad as long as the others on it were not being mean (like Dave was). What got me the most was the tower that was connected to the walkway. At 74’ tall, it was quite intimidating when it was so windy and younger children were jumping around. It was also a pretty tight space up there for five or six adults (The Konings, Dave, myself and two other tourists). I did however, manage to take a bunch of photos including a really nice panoramic of the view from on top of the tower.
We then walked back to the car and drove to the next parking area. We had lunch in a little eating area and then walked around that area of the park. We saw some wild alligators (we also saw some on the drive in) and also some turkey vultures. John walked down a culvert which was designated as not for public use (he was scolded by Pat upon returning to our group).Upon leaving we had one of the only treats of the trip (well, while we were with the Konings that is) – chocolate bars, so yummy.
(photo of Dave and I on walkway was taken by John Koning and the technical drawing of the canopy walkway and tower were obtained from the Myakka State Park website, linked at the beginning of this post).

Fort DeSoto Park

Fort De Soto is in Pinellas County and has been named the America’s Top Beach for the past two years. We, however, did not get to enjoy those beaches very much during our trip as it was a bit on the cold side. The park itself consists of 1136 acres made of five interconnected islands.
It may not have been the greatest weather for the beaches, it was really nice weather for walking around the Fort for which the area is named. The fort is deserted of all furniture, equipment, etc with the exception of two British breech loading, rapid-fire rifles of 1890 vintage (installed in 1982) and four 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars (the last four remaining in  North America and original to this location – others are located in the Philippines). 

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The eight 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars, manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, New York, were breech-loading and rifled. The weapon had built-in safety features, such as a device which kept the mortars from being fired until the breech locks were secured, and the weapons were elevated to the minimum 45 degrees. Each gun had a 12-man crew to manually load and aim it. The crew would choose an 800-, 824- or 1,046-pound projectile, along with a powder charge in a silk bag weighing 54 to 67 pounds. After the powder bag was put in the mortar, the sergeant would hang a fuse containing 1.25 pounds of black powder on the breech end of the powder bag. The fuse was ignited by the electrical primer, which fired the powder bag charge. The minimum range of the mortar was 1.25 miles at 70 degrees and a maximum range of 6.8 miles at 45 degrees

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” – Fort De Soto historic guide.
Once we had walked around the Fort a bit, I found a tree that was really neat looking, though pretty typical to Florida. I went and got Dave and we took some portraits in it. I even allowed him to take some photos of me.We then walked along the pier for a bit. We saw some wild dolphins, but they were unfortunately too far away (and too quick) for me to take any photos of them.
We weren’t able to stay at Fort De Soto very long as we had a very full day in the area, but it was really nice to visit. I would like to go back, perhaps when the weather is a little warmer and actually get a chance to experience America’s Top Beach the way it is meant to be experienced.

Busch Gardens

When I went to Florida with my family 18 years ago, we spent a day in Busch Gardens. To be honest, it is one of the parts of the trip that I remember completely on my own (in other words, without the assistance of photos). This is because my Mom exposed the film to the sun when trying to swap it for a new one and all the photos were ruined- including the ones of the koalas that were there on a special exhibit (and no Chris, there were no koalas at Busch Gardens, unfortunately they just cost way too much in upkeep for most zoos).
Dave and I went to Busch Gardens during our recent trip to Florida as well and it was awesome. First things first, we got adults tickets at the price of children’s tickets because we got them through CAA/AAA. If you plan on going anywhere for vacation in Canada or the States you should definitely check out their website to see if they have discounted tickets.
Secondly, we went on a Wednesday and there were very few people there. School groups normally wait until Fridays and families wait until the weekends. The locals have to go on the weekends because they work during the day. It was an excellent idea, and the weather helped too. It was sunny and quite nice, but a little chilly and I think it rained in the area before we got there because some things looked like they were just finishing drying up when we arrived.
One of the first things we did was a ride – oh yes that is right people you heard right, I went on a few rides while in Florida. At Busch Gardens on went on the Gwazi Tiger (the lion which runs along with it, was closed). It was a wooden roller coaster and had no flips or anything like that, but I still didn’t like it.
Next we went into the bird enclosure (which I insist are obligatory in any Florida zoo park). Dave bought some nectar for 5 dollars and few the birds which was really neat. There was only one other person doing it, a small girl, and since Dave was so much larger than her, the majority of the birds went to him (they did go to the girl once Dave’s nectar was all gone, so don’t feel bad for her). We then walked around the park looking at all the animals. Every once in a while Dave would go on a ride that I was completely uninterested in. He went on some crazy ones that went upside-down or dropped you straight down into a cave.

My favourite thing about the park though are the animals. They are well looked after (well they seem that way). Unlike some parks, you can actually see the animals in their exhibit and the park has a rail system and a sky tram that move you about the park nicely and enable you to see the animals really well.
Speaking of the sky tram, Dave and I loved that thing. It went from the top of the park to the bottom and back. It was the easiest way to move about the park, there was never a line, it was quiet and provided a nice view of the park.

And of course there was the obligatory self-taken photo of Dave and I while we were on the sky tram. This was actually take on our last trip on the tram as we headed out of the park after we got off this time.

Quotable Thursday #22

"My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law" - Jerry Seinfield.

Family Day

Today is Family Day here in Ottawa and I therefore did not have to work. It was a really nice treat seeing as how last week, our first week back form vacation, was incredibly stressful and not all that pleasant seeing as how we actually had to work.
I don't have a recent photo of the Beach family, or the entire Koning family, but I do however, have a photo of the Dave with his parents from Myakka State Park in Florida.

Homosassa State Park

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa Springs, Florida. It is home to 6 female manatees who cannot be re-introduced to the wild but have become a large tourist attraction. It is also home to many other animals such as a hippo named Lu, alligators, a bobcat and several species of birds.
When we first arrived at the park we waited in line for a boat to take us across a bit of water. After watching the first boat fill up, we realized that it would likely be faster to drive around the water and park on the other side than wait for the next one. So that is exactly what we did. I am writing this so that if you visit yourself, you just drive to the second entrance.
The first thing we did was watch the manatee program. A woman told us about manatees and specifically the six in the park and then they fed them entire heads of lettuce. You could also view the manatees from under the water, though the longer they ate and swam around, the dirtier the water got and therefore the harder it was to view them.
Once the manatee program was done, we toured the park and viewed the other animals. It happened to be Lu the Hippo's 50th birthday and he received a cake to eat and a tire to play with. For that reason he spent most of the day on the bottom of his pond playing with and chewing on his new tire. He came up for air once in a while, but he really didn't care about the tourists that day, and he was therefore not very photogenic.
Alligators on the other hand are incredibly photogenic as they really just sit in one spot, rarely moving an inch. I learned later on in the trip that alligators are at every park in Florida as you can pretty much just open the gates and they will come in. The same can be said about most wild birds.This crane for example was not a resident of the park, just a daily visitor during feeding time. He did, however, still act like it was his territory and puffed up as the other birds got close to him and his food spot.We watched the bird get fed as well, though this was a far smellier event - and louder too. The typical Florida shorebirds were there: ibis, cranes, pelicans, flamingos, etc, all just waiting to have their photo taken. The only thing that hindered this trip was the weather. It didn't rain but it was fairly chilly and walking in the shady woods was a little uncomfortable. That being said, it was still a really nice park and another great example of the rehabilitation efforts going on in this state.

Suncoast Sea Bird Sanctuary

The Suncoast Sea Bird Sanctuary is located in Indian Shores, Florida. It is apparently world renowned for its rehabilitation techniques and is home to many, many injured and stranded Florida birds including various pelicans, cormorants, owls, raptors (birds of prey), ibis, herons/cranes, and others whose names I have unfortunately forgotten. We walked around the facility and watched the birds interact with each other and later saw them get fed. It was interesting because there were many wild birds sitting on the net-caging. I couldn't determine if they wanted in or if they just wanted to mock the birds at the sanctuary.The sanctuary also happens to be right on the beach and when we walked out there we saw several wild pelicans and cranes. I slowly walked up to them and took some shots and as I got closer it became evident that they were quite used to humans and it took a fair bit of effort by Dave to get them to fly off (in order to try and get some flying shots - though they didn't really turn out as nice as I was hoping they would). It was a nice end to a very pleasant day and though admission is free, Dave and I donated a few dollars to try and help the centre because any place that helps that many animals is worth my money.

Clearwater Aquarium

As its name suggests, the Clearwater Aquarium is located in Clearwater, Florida. It is a home for rescued dolphins, sea turtles and otters. It is also home to various fish, stingray and nurse sharks. The most famous resident is Winter, who is a female dolphin who got tangled in a fishing net so badly that her tail eventually fell off. She learned how to swim without using a side-to-side motion similar to a shark rather than the up and down motion normal to dolphins, but as the muscle use was so different, a prosthetic tail was made for her. It is put on her a few hours a day but she uses the shark-motion otherwise.While we were there we saw the feeding of a sea turtle who had air in her shell and could therefore not dive under the water. There were also sea turtles at the aquarium who were missing fins mostly from motor boats, but also from sharks and other predators.We waited a little bit for the dolphin show which was really awesome. They told us about the four dolphins that live at the aquarium (for various reasons) and the methods in place to help return dolphins to the wild when they are injured or beached. They also had the dolphins perform for us which was really neat.The aquarium is about $13 to enter (for adults). I thought the entertainment alone was worth the money, let alone the rescue efforts they perform on a regular basis. I really like it despite its small size.
(Winter and her prosthetic tail image found through Google as she wasn't in a posing mode when we visited the aquarium.)

Strange House in Safety Harbour

Near Clearwater, Florida is Safety Harbour. Inside this area is not only a lot of cute shops and cafes and a really great pier from which one could see manatees (we didn't see any when we went unfortunately) but also a really interesting house.On the corner of 12th and 3rd Avenue there is a really neat, but weird looking house I am affectionately calling the Strange House. The Konings had been here before with some friends who winter in Florida as well and knew that Dave and I would love it. We arrived early in the day and got a ton of really great shots that I am just starting to go through. I have included a couple in this post, but I am sure many more will be posted on my Photography blog (as well as my Flickr account).Around the perimeter of the property were painted bowling balls, which were incredibly photogenic. There was so many things to see here that one could make a million trips here and still see something new. There were creatures and objects in every nook and cranny. The following two guys were my favourite (that I saw while I was there) quite possibly because of the frog-like creature on top with his little camera.It doesn't take too long to get to the house, nor does it take very long to take a few shots here. The hard part is leaving because as you walk out you are bound to see something you want to shoot and then something else immediately after that. The Konings must have been sitting in their car for nearly 15 minutes waiting for me to walk out of the yard. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.

Florida Vacation Introduction

Like I said yesterday, Dave and I spent the last two weeks in Florida. We spent 4 night in Disney and the rest of the time in and around Clearwater, Florida. Below is a listing of the sites we took in while we were on vacation.

1. Safety Harbour
2. Clearwater Aquarium
3. Sea Bird Sanctuary
4. Homosassa Park
5. Busch Gardens
6. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadians Game
7. Fort de Soto Park
8. Myakka State Park
9. Disney
10. Cirque de Soleil show in Disney
11. Sunshine Skyway
12. Wagon Wheel Flea Market

We also ate at several well-known American Restaurants. We spent a fair bit of time lounging around the Koning's Clearwater condo and driving the roads to and from tourist sites.
It was a really great time and I would love to go and see the sites we missed and re-visit ones we didn't.
So much like after our trip to Montreal, I will spend the next little while posting about the different places we traveled to while in Florida - essentially February will be predominantly Florida month.

Back in Canada

Dave and I land back in Canada today. We were in Florida for the past two weeks and as I right this, a few days before we are planned to leave (scheduled posts are so wonderful), I know we are going to be tired upon arriving home, but also very relaxed.
Once I get back to my normal life, I will certainly be editing and uploading images on most of my blogs as well as my Flickr site - probably in a style similar to other vacations where I post about the specific locations we traveled to rather than days spent on vacation, etc. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get through all the images I certainly took while away, and I will be able to share my vacation with you all --- stay tuned.

One Minute Writer #48 and Vacation 2010 (#1)

What is the furthest you traveled from home as a child? Describe the experience.

My parents were not the traveling type. We went on a few vacations but never very far, usually just Toronto for the theme park or random places where ball tournaments were being held.

I remember when I was in grade 10 my best friend at the time and I went on a road trip with my Dad up north. We traveled up the Trans-Canada Highway to Cochrane and then took the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee. I had made the trip before when I was much younger with my family, but didn't remember much of it. This second trip was really great, except for the fact that I got terrible heat stroke when we were on Moose Factory Island.

When I was in grade 2, we went to Disney for Christmas and it was wonderful! We drove down, which took two days, and apparently I requested we stop at every state line to take a picture, but I don't remember this. You would think I could look at the pictures, but my mom opened up the back of the camera to change the film before rolling the previous one, so they were destroyed. Oops. We spent an entire week in Disney. We stayed in one of the hotels within the Disney property and rode the convenient bus into the park each morning. It was a really great trip, that I remember pieces of, but not entirely.

Since then, I haven't traveled too much, obviously there was my London trip and the annual Cottage trips, but other than those no real vacations to speak of. Dave and I have planned and have started booking a trip to Florida this upcoming February though. His parents have given us a very kingly gift of 4 days (3 nights) in Disney plus tickets to the permanent Cirque show within Disney (La Nouba). We are spending two weeks in Florida, so that we will have enough time to enjoy ourselves both in Disney and at his parents place down there as well. We have a few plans other than Disney like Busch Gardens and Sea World, but nothing too concrete. We want to relax and just be able to enjoy ourselves as much as possible. As we are using our vacation time so early in the year, I don't really know what it will mean in terms of any other 2010 vacations, but I am sure we will figure something out. I am really excited for this trip and can't wait for it to come. We have ordered our plan tickets and the Konings have already gotten the Cirque tickets and are currently getting the Disney stuff set up - it should be a really awesome vacation!!

Time to Relax

Dave and I went to Prescott for the weekend - it was such a nice relaxing time. Dad came and got us Friday and we sat around watching tv Friday night. Saturday we tried to find something to do in town seeing as how it was Harbour Days - unfortunately that wasn't any good. Brockville was pretty boring too. It was a nice drive around the two towns though. We ended up just sitting around the pool all day - during which time I got a nice burn on my shoulders. When it got dark we sat in the hot tub and watched the lightning bugs - it was really cool.
My brother Tyler and his girlfriend Lynn came on Sunday and showed us all the pictures they took when they went to Florida a couple weeks ago. Then Tyler and I went shopping around the house basically placing dibs on the different pieces of furniture that are up for grabs from Mom and Dad. I really enjoy going home - just long enough that you get to relax and whatnot but not long enough that you really get bored.