The Wandering Disciple

Orlando, Florida: Part marine life habitat and part theme park, Sea World Orlando is a world class zoological park that combines thrills with education to make a world class venue. The park is home to many species of marine life including their trademark resident, Shamu the Killer Whale. Opened in 1973, Sea World Orlando has grown into one the most visited theme parks in the country. Last year the park the park entertained over 5.8 million guests, making it the seventh most visited park in the country. The designers of the park do a great job of getting the most out of the 200 acres that the park sits on. They manage to combine ten thrilling amusement rides within the world class animal habitats that Sea World has been known for. The most popular attraction of the park is the parks icon, Shamu. Daily shows take place in the massive Shamu Stadium. Here guests can watch the current show, Believe. During the evening, the show is replaced with Shamu Rocks, a mix of Shamu acrobatics with R...

Tampa, Florida: Busch Gardens Tampa is a 335 acre theme park where wild rides meets wildlife. The African themed park has four roller coasters featured on Amusement Today’s Top 50 Coaster list; Montu (3), Kumba (7), SheiKra (13) and Gwazi (38). It is also home to a wide variety of Africa wildlife. Opened in 1959, Busch Gardens was started as an admission free park to compliment the hospitality house for the Anheuser-Busch brewery. The park featured the Bird Gardens, a walk through aviary where guests come in contact with exotic birds species. In 1965 the park expanded to include the Serengeti Plain. The plain was a free roaming home to African wildlife including Zebra, Giraffes and more. The plain quickly became the largest free-roaming habitat outside of Africa. A monorail and railway was added to give guests a closer look at the animals. Then in 1974, the Skyride was added, giving riders a bird’s eye view of the Serengeti Plain. Busch Gardens introduced thrill rides to the pa...

Tierra Verde, Florida: At the mouth of the Tampa Bay lies a barrier island known as Mullet Key. Mullet Key has been a prominent site of Tampa Bay history and is the current home of Fort DeSoto Park, a 1,136 acre park built around the site of the historic fort. Like much of Florida, the first inhabitant to the island were Native Americans. The Tocobaga Indians resided on the island from 1000 to 1500. The location at the mouth of the bay was ideal to the Tocobaga lifestyle. The waters provided an abundance of shellfish and fish provided plenty of food for the tribe as well as a means to trade with other tribes and eventually the Spanish conquistadors. The first Spanish explorer to reach the island was Panfilo de Narvaez in April 1528. Narvaez landed in the region and began searching for riches. As the confrontation with the local tribes became more violent, Narvaez and his group of explorers headed further north. The next major explorer to reach the region was possibly the most p...

Boca Grande, Florida: Known for its quaint village, sandy beaches and world class fishing, Boca Grande an island oasis on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Located on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte and Lee counties, it is short drive from the larger cities but years away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. As with much of Florida, the island was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The Charlotte Harbour region was controlled by the Calusa tribes and Gasparilla Island was no different. The Calusa were drawn to the area by the rich fishing of the area. The area’s first settlers arrived in the area in the late 1800’s and they too settled to the island for its fishing. They established fishing villages on the island as they caught the fish and then packaged them for shipment. In 1885 the economy of the island increased with the discovery of phosphate along the nearby Peace River. As the mining began, there was a great need for a port to ship the phosphate. So the island stepped up ...

Cincinnati, Ohio: Comair is a subsidiary airline operated by Delta Airlines as a Delta Connections service. Based in Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, they provide over 400 flights a day to over 70 destinations. Comair started in 1977 as a small airline, operating two Piper Navajo aircraft. They went public in 1981 and became a Delta Connection in 1984. Delta purchased almost a quarter of Comair stock in 1986 before purchasing the entire operation in 1999. Comair operates a fleet of 74 aircraft. They include the Bombardier CRJ-100ER, Bombardier CRJ-200ER, Bombardier CRJ-700ER and the Bombardier CRJ-900ER. Their fleet is anticipated to reduce in the coming months as they retire the aging CRJ-100 ER’s. Comair flies to 70 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. In addition to their main base at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, Comair also operates a hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Click on the photo a...

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: We left Delaware in the morning to head back to Pennsylvania. We were going to spend a little more time with family in Lebanon before heading to the airport in Harrisburg. We suffered our only glitch of the trip when we were trying to leave Harrisburg. It began when we tried to make it through security. My mom gave us an anniversary clock for our one year wedding anniversary we celebrated while on the trip on the 26th. To avoid having it broken in our checked baggage, we kept it in our carry on. Well it alarmed the TSA screener and we were taken aside into secondary screening while the examined the clock to make sure it wasn’t a bomb. Then once they cleared the clock and returned it to us, we made it to the gate only to find out the plane was grossly overweight. The Comair representative said that since we were going to encounter heavy weather on the flight into Atlanta, they needed to take on more fuel. They asked four people to voluntarily give up ...

Ocean City, Maryland: Located on the Delmarva peninsula, Ocean City is one of the popular Mid-Atlantic Eastern Shore destinations. The famous boardwalk and attractions combined with the off-shore sport fishing makes this stop popular with residents and tourists alike. The concept of a beach resort began in 1869 when Issac Coffin opened a beach cottage. Soon after other boarding houses followed and the area quickly became popular with businessmen from nearby metropolitan cities. In 1875 the first major hotel opened, the Atlantic Hotel provided 400 guest rooms with billiard and dancing rooms to entertain its visitors. Throughout the years, the community continued to grow to meet the needs of the tourism industry. The 1970’s were the busiest developmental times as more then 10,000 condo units were being created to stay ahead of the boom. The major attraction of the city is the world famous Ocean City Boardwalk. Extending three miles in length along the Atlantic Ocean, the boardwal...

Ocean City, Maryland: We spend the morning spending time with family and waiting for my dad to get off work. Then we headed south to Ocean City, Maryland. We had dinner at Phillips Seafood, featuring an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. Then we parked the truck and took a walk down the boardwalk, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Atlantic boardwalk. We stopped by the gaming area and tried our luck with some of the games of skill and rode some of the fair rides that are a mainstay of the Ocean City boardwalk. As the sunset in Ocean City, our vacation was coming to an end. For more photos from day eight, visit my Ocean City photo gallery.

Washington, DC: This city on the banks of the Potomac River nestled between Virginia and Maryland is the most powerful place in the United States. Washington DC, the nations capital, is home to the top of the US government and home to many of the foreign embassies. DC is also one of the top tourist destinations in the country, visitors come to see government in action and also tour the many museums and monuments that the city has to offer. The development of a capital city began by James Madison in 1788, declaring that the capital needed to be separate from the states. The United States Constitution gave the authority to establish a federal capital however it did not specify where the capital shall be located. The Residence Act of 1790 specified that the capital be placed on the Potomac and President Washington chose the location. The ten mile square city was surveyed and the capital began to take shape. The newly created capital city was named Washington in honor of President ...

Arlington, Virginia: The 624 acres of Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for over 300,000 men and women of our armed forces serving the United States from the Civil War through today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The land that is occupied by the cemetery was initially purchased in 1802 for the construction of the Arlington House. The estate was eventually passed down to Robert E. Lee. Lee declined the offer by President Lincoln to lead the Union troops and became the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. After Lee’s surrender at McLean House, Union officers decided to make Lee’s estate a graveyard for Union soldiers as a penalty for his disloyalty to the Union. As the United States Soldier’s National Cemetery began to fill up, the need to expand was evident. In 1864, General Montgomery Meigs declared 200 acres of the Lee estate be used as a cemetery. By the early 1900’s the cemetery continued to grow. In 1913, Congress authorized t...

Washington, DC: We hit the road before sunrise, this time enroute to Washington, DC. We were planning on spending a day in the nation’s capitol, just a highlights tour since we were only making a daytrip. To make the most of the day, we used Tourmobile to tour the city. We parked at West Potomac Park and joined the tour by the FDR Memorial. The tour took us into Arlington National Cemetery where we transferred to a tram to tour the cemetery. The tram made several stops inside the cemetery, we got off at the Tomb of the Unknowns. There we watched a wreath presentation ceremony before boarding the tram to head back to the bus stop. Once back on the bus, we headed back into the city to resume the tour. The next stop in which we got off the bus was at the White House. We walked the short two blocks over to the south lawn of the White House to have a good view. Then we went back and toured the White House Visitor’s Center before boarding the bus. The tour continued through the rest...

Lewes, Delaware: Located on the site of a former military base, Cape Henlopen is a state park located on the Atlantic Ocean. At over 5,000 acres, the park features beaches, camping, nature trail and much more. The public park aspect of Cape Henlopen began in 1682 when William Penn declared the beaches to be the publics beach making it the first public lands. The cape was an important military stronghold through the World Wars. It was in operation during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War and both World Wars. The cape was fortified more during World War II with the construction of Fort Miles. The park is also home to two lighthouses that help aid ships through the Delaware Bay. The Harbor of Refuge Light and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light located just offshore help guide the ship traffic through the waters. The state park was founded in 1964 by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. It offers visitors miles of ocean and bay fr...

Lewes, Delaware: Today was a rest day. After no breaks through the first half of the trip, we decided to lay low and recuperate a bit. We took a short drive into Lewes, Delaware and spent some time at Cape Henelopen State Park. We then went back to the house, hung around watching movies and going through pictures from the first half of the trip. Not a very exciting day, but a necessary break. We then went to bed early since we were hitting the road again early tomorrow morning.

New York, New York: We woke up to sunshine over NYC. We resumed our touring, this time heading towards Lower Manhattan. We boarded our bus in Times Square and headed south. We traveled through the Garment District, Tribeca, SoHo and finally disembarked the bus at the Battery Park station and went on foot to the World Trade Center site. Then it was back on foot to Battery Park, this time with a new mission, purse shopping. After my wife and mother picked up their purses from the street vendors, we boarded the bus and resumed the bus tour. The tour continued past the South Street Seaport and United Nations before concluding in Times Square. Then we walked back to the hotel to check-out and drive back to the parents house in Delaware. For more pictures from day five, visit my New York City photo page.

New York, New York: Towering over the Midtown Manhattan sky, the iconic Empire State Building has been an symbol of New York City for over seventy five years. At 102 stories, it is the third largest building in the United States and fifteenth in the world. Construction of the William Lamb designed tower began in January of 1930. Thousands of workers aided in the quick construction of the building, with an average of four and a half floors a week added to the rising structure. The building officially opened on May 1, 1931 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and President Herbert Hoover officially turning on the lights. The Empire State Building was in a race with the nearby Chrysler Tower to be the world’s tallest building. Upon completion of the project at 1,454 feet tall, the Empire State Building remained the world’s tallest structure until 1967. It still remained the tallest building in the city until the completion of the World Trade Center in 1973. Upon the collapse of the Wor...

New York, New York: Looking for a way to visit all those tourist destinations in New York City without the hassle of learning the subway system or paying high cab fares, Gray Line New York has the answer for the NYC tourist. The All loops tour gives the rider an overview of the city, with great narration and plenty of stops at all the destinations. The tour is valid for forty eight hours and gives the rider unlimited hop-on hop-off access on four separate loops, Uptown Loop, Downtown Loop, Brooklyn Loop and Night Tour (closed loop/no hop on/off). Each loop takes over two hours to complete and hits most of the major tourist attractions in the city. The double decker buses provide open air seating on top and climate controlled seating underneath along with a knowledgeable tour guide to give you facts of the city while you take in the sights. The Downtown Loop includes the following stops: • Stop 1: Times Square • Stop 2: Broadway, Theater District • Stop 3: Macy’s, Madison Square Ga...

New York, New York: Located at the corner of 32nd and Broadway, the Martinique on Broadway has been providing accommodations to visitors of the Big Apple for decades. The nineteen story building is in close proximity to many of midtown Manhattans major landmarks making it the ideal spot for the NYC tourist. Designed by famous designer Henry Hardenbergh, the Hotel Martinique was built in three phases beginning in 1897 with final phase being completed in 1911. The building had multiple uses during its history including apartments, businesses, homeless shelter and most recently luxury hotel. The Hotel Martinique remained a happening spot in Midtown through the 1960’s. By 1970 the ownership began renting rooms to the City of New York and it began life as an homeless shelter and welfare hotel. It remained in that capacity until 1989 when the last resident moved out. At that time, ownership transferred to the Holiday Inn and work began to renovate the building back into tourist accom...

New York, New York: With over eight million people living within the city, New York City is the most populous city in the United States as well as a world leader in commerce, finance, media, fashion and much more. Millions more visit the city annually to take it its history and rich culture that can not be found anywhere else but in the Big Apple. Founded in 1614 by the Dutch, the new colony became known as New Amsterdam. The island was purchased from the Lenape Indians by Peter Minuit for the sum of 60 guilders or roughly $1,000 today It was a trading post for the Dutch fur trade for almost fifty years. The island was then overtaken in 1664 by an English and renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York. Many advancements occurred in the city under British rule including the founding of Columbia University in 1754. Civil unrest began to become prevalent in the late 1700’s. The Sons of Liberty clashed with British troops within the city as a precursor to the Revolutionary War....

New York, New York: Another day, another road trip. This time we are heading to the Big Apple, New York City. We hit rain and clouds in New Jersey, concealing the skyline of the city as we approached the Lincoln Tunnel. But once we came out of the tunnel into Manhattan, it was clear we had reached our destination. We dropped off the truck at the parking garage and checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Martinique. Located on the same block as the Empire State Building and across the street from Macy’s, we found its location to be ideal. After dropping off our suitcases in the hotel room, we began the walk uptown to Times Square. From there we picked up the tickets for our tour on Grey Line Tours. We chose the 48-hour All Loops tour package, giving us unlimited boarding and unboarding on its double decker buses with four routes to choose from. Despite the rain continuing to fall, we began our tour through Uptown Manhattan. Because of the weather, we decided to just ride and t...

Williamsburg, Virginia: During the American independence from Great Britain, Williamsburg was the forefront of the efforts. Though careful historical research, much of the area has been preserved and operates as it would have during the 1770’s. Today the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates a living museum where the past comes to life, allowing visitors an insight to life during the revolution. Following the European’s settlements in Jamestown, they settlers began to move further north resulting in the colonization of Williamsburg area in 1638. It became known as Middle Plantation. During Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 the capitol in Jamestown was burnt down, so leaders decided to temporarily relocate the House of Burgesses to the Middle Plantation. After the Jamestown capitol was destroyed for a second time in 1698, the House of Burgess decided to permanently relocate the capitol to Middle Plantation and the village was renamed Williamsburg in honor to King William III. The col...

Williamsburg, Virginia: Today we spent the day touring Colonial Williamsburg. We began our tour at the visitor’s center. We chose the Governor’s Key to the City Pass, which allowed us access to all the historic buildings along with a tour of the Governor’s Palace. We hopped on a bus to the historic district and began our tour of the city on foot. With the passes, we took inside tours of the Governor’s Mansion, Wythe House, Capitol, Courthouse, Jail and more. In addition to the inside tours, we also toured many of the building from the exterior. The historic district really comes to life with the history interpreters on staff. They act as if it was April 25, 1775 rather than present day. All talk and acting from the staff is recreations of events that occurred during that time. After a while you forget that you are in the present day. After a long day with lots of walking. We boarded the truck and headed back to Delaware. There we will get some rest before hitting the road a...

Jamestown, Virginia: Over a decade before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, the first European settlers landed on the banks of the James Rivers in Virginia. In 1607, a group of English settlers established Jamestown and the Virginia Colony. In commemoration to the original settlers, the Commonwealth of Virginia opened a living museum that recreated life in the early village. Opened in 1957, the Jamestown Festival Park was opened just in time for the 350th anniversary of the settlement. The museum was later renamed the Jamestown Settlement. The site is divided into three sections that covers life in the region during the settlement period. After leaving the visitor’s center, guests first enter the Powhatan Village. The village re-creation shows the life of the Powhatan tribe that resided in the region prior to the English arrival in 1607. A walk closer to the river brings us to the settlers arrival to the New World. Here you can tour re-creations of the settler’s ships. The ...

Williamsburg, Virginia: Located just outside the historic district of Williamsburg, the Days Inn Historic Williamsburg is just minutes away from the attractions of the historic triangle. Close proximity to all the tourist attractions makes this hotel a safe choice for those trying to maximize their time. The hotel features 120 guestrooms with a few suites and deluxe rooms. There is a heated swimming pool, fitness center and game room to keep everyone entertained while they are at the hotel. The key feature of the hotel is the lobby area. The lobby features a sitting area with a fireplace reminiscent of homesteads of the colonial era. The lounge also has fresh coffee, tea and cookies throughout the day. The hotel is a twelve time winner of the Chairman’s Award, however is definitely showing its age. It is a great stay for the value but a facelift is desperately needed. A renovation in 2008 added pillow top mattresses to all the rooms so hopefully they took the opportunity to cle...

Jamestown, Virginia: We hit the road early in the morning enroute to Williamsburg, Virginia. We hit the road early as we had a five hour drive in front of us. Along the way, we crossed through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. The twenty three mile structure features two tunnels that connects the eastern shore of Virginia with the mainland. Once we arrived in Williamsburg, we headed over to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. However we did not remain there long, actually never making it past the front gates. The number of people and large lines already at the gates combined with the unorganization of the staff sent us back to our truck looking for a new plan. We are season ticket holders for Busch Gardens Tampa and receive discounted admission to the other parks, however while trying to get our discounted passes, we were sent from line to line then to guest services and back into line several times without even getting tickets. So we left the park and headed to the hotel to check...

Strasburg, Pennsylvania: Located in the heart of Amish county in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the Amish Village takes a look into everyday Amish life. As you enter the village, you are quick to realize how life is for the Amish as they tackle the everyday chores of running a household without the modern day conveniences of electric power and technology. Because of their lifestyle, the Amish Village could be the closest that an outsider may get to seeing what life is like for the almost 25,000 Amish that live within the Lancaster County region. You begin your tour in the Amish homestead. Here your tour guide takes you through a replica of an Old Order Amish home. As you tour the house you see how they complete even the simplest household tasks without the aid of electricity. You will see the handmade quilts and antique furniture that is typical of the Amish home. Once you leave the homestead you can then tour the rest of the village. There is a barn with horses and mules, bl...

Atlanta, Georgia: With over 4,000 flights a day to six of the seven continents in the world, Delta Air Lines is the second largest airline in the world. Their fleet of 716 aircraft deliver passengers to 247 destinations worldwide. Delta got its start in 1924 as Huff Daland Duster, a crop dusting service in Macon, Georgia. In 1925, they became the largest privately owned airline fleet and relocated their headquarters to Monroe, Louisiana. The in the late 1920’s Huff Daland expanded operations into the passenger market and was renamed Delta Air Service. Delta Air Service continued to grow through the 1930’s, expanding both passenger and mail delivery services. The 1940’s saw major changes for Delta. They relocated their headquarters to their current location in Atlanta. They began to offer cargo service and they welcomed their one millionth passenger onboard. They also helped U.S. war efforts by training pilots and assisting in maintenance of aircraft for the allied forces...

Strasburg, Pennsylvania: We headed to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport to catch an early morning flight to begin our first travel to leave the state. Yeah we have traveled around Florida plenty of times, but this was our first trip together out of the state and my first visit back home to Pennsylvania since moving to Florida in 1998. The itinerary of the trip was a busy one. In one week we were planning on visiting family and seeing a bunch of stops along the way. We plan to visit Williamsburg, New York City and Washington DC while visiting with family in between the trips. The trip started with an early morning flight out of SRQ on Delta to Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport. This was the first flight for both me and my wife. Then in Atlanta, we transferred to a Comair Regional Jet to take us into Harrisburg International Airport. Both legs of the flight were uneventful, perfect for a first flight experience. Once we hit the ground in Pennsylvania, we were greete...