The Wandering Disciple

Boca Grande, Florida: The Boca Grande Pier is located on an abandoned train trestle on the barrier island of Boca Grande in west Charlotte County. Its location on the northern end of the island has become a popular fishing spot for locals and tourists. The train trestles leading to Boca Grande were once the lifeline of the island. Aboard these tracks, trains loaded with phosphate would make their way from the mines to the awaiting freighters in Port Boca Grande. But when the rail shipping of phosphate had ended, the tracks were no longer used. Several years later, government officials from Charlotte County parks and recreation turned a section of the train trestles on the island into a fishing pier park. This section on Boca Grande provides excellent fishing along the Gasparilla Sound. In these waters live grouper, black drum, white grunt, sheepshead and more. There is no charge to use the facilities, however the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority charges a toll to cross the only brid...

This weeks cruise deals from Skyscraper Tours. Ever dream of sailing on the newest cruise ship to hit the waters? Royal Caribbean is offering a deal for the brand new Allure of the Seas for its second cruise that departs from Fort Lauderdale on 12/12/10. The ship visits Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten on this 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. Enjoy the new features this ship has to offer including Central Park, Boardwalk, Aqua Theater and all the other favorites Royal Caribbean is known for. Rates for this cruise start at just $729. If you need a break and only have a few days to spare, try the four night cruise on the Majesty of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. This four night cruise leaves Miami on 12/13/10 and visits Key West, Nassau and Cococay. Rates start at $159 per person. Royal Caribbean is also offering deals on Radiance of the Seas out of the Port of Tampa. This four night cruise leaves Tampa on 12/16/10 and travels to Cozumel and back. A balcony room on this sailing starts a...

Dick Gothner with Skyscraper Tours is no stranger to the cruising industry. A cruise specialist for over 12 years, his knowledge of cruising comes firsthand since he has been on over 100 cruises. He has sailed on many on all the major cruise lines, many of the ships in operation today and has been to most of the itineraries and ports of call that the industry offers. Dick puts this passion for cruising into each and every customer that he books for. Whether it be a first time cruise or a cruise veteran, they get the same great service each and every time. What makes Dick different than other specialists? It is the constant care that Dick puts into each and every booking. From the moment you begin shopping for the cruise, he goes to work looking for what you want combining the itineraries and amenities with the price you'd like to pay. Once the cruise is booked, he continues to monitor the cruise, looking for better rates or perks that will benefit you on your sailing. He a...

After traveling for the past few years, I have acquired a rather large collection of digital photos from the trips. I was storing the photos on my computer and emailing individual photos to friends and family. The process was a long and tedious process made sharing the memories a hassle. Then one day my wife came across an add for Shutterfly and we decided to give it a try. Their unlimited online storage makes storage problems a thing of the past. Plus since the photos are stored online, you can access or upload new photos to your albums wherever you are. Plus they have plenty of products that you or your audience can order with the prints and now they have partnered with Target, Walgreen and CVS to offer 1 hour photos. For the holidays, Shutterfly has rolled out new collections of holiday cards , Christmas photo cards or enjoy the photos all-year long with a desk calendar . So head on over and give Shutterfly a try. New users will get 50 free 4x6 prints for trying the servic...

To celebrate our nation's veterans, the Florida State Parks System is offering free admission to all of the state parks with the exception to the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier. The deal is valid only on Veteran's Day, November 11. For a list of state parks, visit the Florida State Parks website . Last year we took advantage of the offer and visited Homossassa Springs State Park. Where will you go? Click on the photo above to view my Florida State Park photo gallery.

Placida, Florida: Located at the point of the Cape Haze peninsula is Placida Rotary Centennial Park. Home to the popular annual seafood festival, it’s the park’s fishing pier attracts visitors all year round. The fishing pier is actually part of an abandoned train trestle. During the peak of the phosphate mining days, the railroad took the phosphate from the mines to the freighters at Port Boca Grande. Once the rail operations were shut-down, the train tracks were decommissioned and sat unused, quickly deteriorating in the Florida weather. The Charlotte County government stepped in to turn portions of the track into fishing piers. The Placida portion is located on the mainland side, just south of the Boca Grande causeway. It goes several hundred yards out into the Gasparilla Pass and provides great fishing opportunities. In these waters you can catch grouper, drums, snapper and much more. In addition to the pier, there are great fishing spots located under the SR-771 bridge. 1...

Its hard to believe that Halloween was the one year anniversary of starting the website Around the World in Pictures. During this time, through photos and stories, I have taken you along with me and my family on our travels. On the journey we have been on cruises, to theme parks and some sporting events just to name a few. In the past year, I have added almost 300 new stories to the site covering travels from the past seven years. The site has not taken off as quickly as I had hoped, but we have managed to attract 8,941 unique visitors since the site opened. The photo galleries have by far been the most popular portion of the site with almost a half of a million visitors. As of today, the total visitor traffic for the photo galleries has been 460,512 visitors since the galleries opened in 2007. Not too bad for an amateur with no professional talent or advertising. I thank the steady support of those who visit the site on a regular basis. The past year had also brought new opport...

Florida: The warm weather and multiple ecosystems make the state of Florida a haven for many different species of birds. From year round resident species to thousands of migratory birds, the area is one of the best in the world for observing birds. Just like the birds are attracted, so are the enthusiast that follow them and for them we have the Great Florida Birding Trail. To accommodate the growing desire for birding, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission developed the trail. With assistance from the Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Florida Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Audubon of Florida and Visit Florida, they designed a program to highlight the diversity of bird population in Florida. Modeled after a similar program in Texas, the first section of Great Florida Birding Trail opened in 2000. Today the trail has grown to 2,000 miles in length with over 400 individual sites throughout the state. The trail is segmented into four sections: East: opened in 2...