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Nov

2013

New Zealand by Campervan

Once in a great while even the most experienced traveler experiences something that is truly phenomenal in terms of having a great vacation. Sometimes it’s the unique experience that most people can’t or won’t do, or it’s the high adventure of doing something that’s on the very edge of reasonable. Sometimes it’s just visiting a great place to spend time. New Zealand, for us, was one of those places that ended up being a great place to spend time. And if we had been looking for high adventure too, we certainly could have found it in the land of the Kiwi. With all the national parks and public lands available, we certainly had the opportunity to be outside and on the edge as much as anywhere else. Instead, we chose to give ourselves an overview of this incredible country and just see as much as we could in the short amount of time we had. Continue reading →

Nov

2013

Homosassa State Park

The Real Florida. That’s what they call the Florida State Park system. Whether you agree is up to you, but when you venture out and away from the theme parks of Orlando, you certainly see a different side of Florida. Yesterday we traveled over to the west coast of Florida near the town of Silver River to a great little state park called Homosassa Springs State Park. Our purpose was to visit the wildlife exhibit. This park has a great exhibit of animals indigenous to Florida, including the Florida Panther, bobcats, deer, and many dozens of species of birds, including the endangered Whooping Crane. There are also several alligators and manatees here. Continue reading →

Oct

2013

Halloween At Fort Wilderness Campground

There are so many facets of the Walt Disney World resort that it’s sometimes hard to keep it in perspective. It’s almost a world of its own. Every year, for example, beginning around Halloween, folks staying in the Fort Wilderness Campground go crazy setting up decorations. Continue reading →

Oct

2013

Three Broomsticks – Universal Orlando Theme Parks

We went to Universal Orlando for a quick lap around the parks a couple of days ago, and ended up having lunch at The Three Broomsticks, in Hogsmeade. As theme park fast food goes, this dine-in restaurant is in a class that we’d call “pretty good food”. Continue reading →

Sep

2013

Disney’s International Food Festival is Here.

Disney’s International Food and Wine Festival, 2013 is underway from September 27th until November 11th.

We’re not food bloggers or critics, but it’s still a fun time for us when the International Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT starts. This year appears to be no exception. Being the first day of the festival, we made our way over to EPCOT when World Showcase opened up at 11:00 and walked the circle to see what was there. Today was recon only, so our only sampling was a milk chocolate square at Ghirardelli’s. Hard to pass that up. Continue reading →

Sep

2013

Crossing the Atlantic – Is it Right for You?

If you talk to ten people about cruising, you’ll no doubt get ten different answers about its attractiveness. Some people love it, while others absolutely hate the idea. One particular kind of cruise seems to evoke controversy over its merits, and that is the crossing, or repositioning cruise.

As the seasons change each year, cruise lines generally move their ships to different markets. A ship that cruises the Alaskan market in the summer months might move to the Pacific coast of Mexico, or even transfer to Australia and New Zealand. A ship that normally cruises the Caribbean in the winter might go to Europe.

When the cruise lines make these transitions, they of course don’t want to take an empty, non-revenue generating ship across the ocean, so they’ll sell the cruises. Continue reading →

Sep

2013

Food and Wine Festival Almost Here

Cast members training for the 2013 International Food and Wine Festival

At 4:44 PM EDT this afternoon it will be officially fall in Orlando. We’ve been back from our summer trip for about two weeks and while it’s not getting any cooler in central Florida, things are definitely changing. We’re reminded as we walked through EPCOT today that it’s less than a week until the International Food and Wine Festival begins. And while the Food and Wine Festival may not be the most important event in the year for us, it certainly is an activity that’s worth visiting at Disney, at least a few times.

Last year we enjoyed sampling the meals from several countries, but it was no surprise that our favorites were the steaks from Canada and the pumpkin mousse from America. We understand that the pumpkin mousse will be not be featured this year, but there’s sure to be something else. there always is, right? In addition to some great wine and food, we’re looking forward to the “Eat to the Beat” concert series. Each day during the Festival, a band plays at the America Gardens Theater. They usually do a short, 30 minute show three times a day starting in the late afternoon. This year the theme will be sounds from the 70s, 80s, and 90s with over a dozen bands attending.

So if you’re interest is wine, great food, or both, and if you’re a local or will happen to be in Florida in the next few weeks, this is a great time to come to EPCOT. More images from around EPCOT are here. More on the Food and Wine Festival here.

Sep

2013

Halloween Arrives at Magic Kingdom

We’re back from our summer camping trip and we’re hard at work setting up our images for the stock agencies and working on articles about the places we visited. We were at Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes in B.C., Custer State Park and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, among others. It was a great trip and we came home with lots of good material, both as images and as potential travel articles about the area. As we return to central Florida, it’s still hot, but the season is changing. Continue reading →

Blog

New Zealand by Campervan

Homosassa State Park

Halloween At Fort Wilderness Campground

Three Broomsticks – Universal Orlando Theme Parks

Disney’s International Food Festival is Here.

Crossing the Atlantic – Is it Right for You?

Food and Wine Festival Almost Here

Halloween Arrives at Magic Kingdom

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