The Wandering Disciple

"Give me liberty or give me death!" It is here at the House of Burgess where Patrick Henry exclaimed those famous words in defiance of the crown. History comes alive at Colonial Williamsburg as actors relive the events leading to our independence from British rule. While the capitol standing here today is not the original, restoration crews went through great lengths to ensure the replica matched the original building. The original capitol was built in 1705 and burned down in 1747. It was then rebuilt and later dismantled shortly after the Battle of Yorktown as it fell into disrepair. Then in the early 20th century, an effort to restore these historically vital sites began and the capitol was later restored to its glory.

At just over 90 miles from Cuba, the island of Key West is the Southernmost Point in the Continental United States. In 1983, the City of Key West built a concrete buoy to mark the most southern public portion of the island. Since then it has become one of the most visited spots in Key West. (Photo: April 20, 2010)

Punta Gorda, Florida: At the end of August, the quiet town on Charlotte Harbor transforms into a quaint village with a pirate problem as the pirates invade Punta Gorda for the annual Fishermen’s Village Pirate Fest. The third annual event features a full weekend of pirate themed adventures. In addition to great food, entertainment and shopping the festival also features several unique events. The headline events include the Pirate’s Ball, Pirate Parade, Pirate Flotilla, Pub Crawl, Fire Show and much more fun for the whole family. The event is held at Fisherman’s Village on the south bank of Charlotte Harbor in Punta Gorda. The village is home to many unique shops as well as waterfront dining, all of which is open to enjoy during the Pirate Fest. We visited the fest today, one of the biggest days of the event. We browsed the many vendor exhibits before taking part in the Flotilla and Invasion. From the west docks of Fisherman’s Village, the parade of ships pass by the ...

Bird Gardens at Busch Gardens in Tampa is home to many species of birds like this flamingo pictured here. (Photo: January 2, 2009)

The tall masts of historic ships disappear amongst the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan here at the South Street Seaport in New York City. The popular maritime history museum was founded in 1967 and was designated by Congress as part of America's National Maritime Museum. It features several ships to tour as well as a museum, shops and restaurants. The seaport is part of the much larger South Street Seaport Historic District which is home to 41 acres of historic buildings. (Photo: August 27, 2005)

A honeybee going to work in a flower outside the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. (Photo: December 25, 2005)

The white tiger pictured here is just one of the many animals that you can see at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The 335 acre adventure park in Tampa, Florida is home to over 2,700 wild animals as well as 24 pulse pounding rides. (Photo: March 20, 2004)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Stone Crabs went into Saturday, hoping to play a doubleheader. But Mother Nature had a different schedule in mind, dropping heavy rain over the area just prior to game time. But after a 2 hour rain delay, the twin bill was nixed in lieu of a single nine inning game. Albert Suarez made his highly anticipated debut as the Stone Crabs beat the Fort Myers Miracle 6-2. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the second inning. Matt Hall doubled to center with one out to put a runner in scoring position. Omar Luna doubled home Hall with an RBI double to left that gave the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs added to their lead in third inning. Brett Nommensen reached on a single to put a runner on the bases. Then Mark Thomas struck his twelfth homer of the season, tying Henry Wrigley for the franchise lead in home runs and giving the Stone Crabs a 3-0 lead. The Stone Crabs offense continued to roll as they scored three more runs in the fourth inning. Luna ...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays suffered a 5-0 shut-out at the hands of the GCL Orioles on Friday afternoon at Twin Lakes Park. It didn’t take long for the Rays to find themselves in a hole, giving up a run in the first inning. Pedro Rodriguez led off the inning with a single to short. Rodriguez later scored on a ground out by Moises Ciriaco to give them a 1-0 lead. Both club put up matching zeroes on the scoreboard until the fifth inning when the Orioles struck for three more runs. Manuel Hernandez led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. Two more runs came later on a two run double by Ciriaco to extend the lead to 4-0. The Orioles picked up one more run in the seventh on an RBI double by Cameron Edman to give the Rays a 5-0 loss. Click on the photo above to view my Rays/Orioles photo gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Stone Crabs were shut-out by the St. Lucie Mets 4-0 in the series finale on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park. The offense failed to get going, finishing the evening with just three hits and a walk. St. Lucie jumped took the lead in the second inning Travis Ozga doubled to right to get things going. Then later in the inning, Rylan Sandoval struck a double into center field to score Ozga and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets got another run in the sixth inning. Gilbert Gomez singled to right to lead off the inning. Gomez later scored on an RBI single by Wilmer Flores to extend the lead to 2-0. The Mets doubled their lead in the top of the ninth inning. Stefan Welch doubled to right to lead off the inning. Welch then scored on a double by Francisco Pena. Pena scored later in the inning on an RBI single by Juan Centeno to give the Mets the 4-0 win. CJ Riefenhauser was on the hook for the loss. Armando Rodriguez picked up the win for St. Lucie with ...

Hurricane Charley made landfall in Charlotte County as a category four hurricane on August 13, 2004. The storm was bearing down on the Tampa Bay region when at the last minute, the storm veered right into Charlotte Harbor and up the Peace River. Florida reported 29 deaths associated with the storm as well as over $13 billion in damage in Florida alone. It took several years for the region to recover from the storm and scars still remain in some areas of Charlotte County, reminding residents of the risks of living in the sunshine state. Pictured here is the remnants of the True Value Hardware Store in Port Charlotte. (Photo: August 14, 2004)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The GCL Rays were unable to match the offense of the GCL Red Sox as they fell 7-3 in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader. The Red Sox took the first lead of the game in the second inning. Aneury Tavarez singled to lead off the inning. He then scored on an RBI double by Oscar Perez to put the Red Sox in front 1-0. The Rays battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the second. Ariel Soriano led off the inning with a double to center field. Cesar Perez later drove home the run with a sac fly to score Soriano and tie the game 1-1. The Rays took their first lead of the game in the fourth inning. Soriano tripled to center to put a runner in scoring position. Omar Narvaez plated the runner with a sac fly to center to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. The Red Sox regained the lead in the fifth inning. Jose Colorado struck a two run triple to score Nick Moore and Kendrick Perkins. Colorado then scored on a throwing error to give them a 4-2 lead. The Rays cut...

British scientist James Smithson donated $500,000 to the United States of America to create an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. As a result of the gift, the United States Congress created the Smithsonian Institution on August 10, 1846. That $500,000 gift has grown to a vast museum operation that has an operating budget of over $797 million. Today the Smithsonian Institute is a collection of 19 museums, a zoo and nine research facilities. The Smithsonian Castle pictured here is the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institute. (Photo: February 15, 2009)

On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon became the only United States President to resign from office. The wax image of President Nixon one of the many figures in the collection of Madame Tussauds Washington DC museum. Here you can come face to face with life-size replicas of all 44 US Presidents as well as many other prominent figures. (Photo: February 15, 2009)

Under the iconic dome roof of Washington DC' Metro system lies the nation's second busiest transit system. The system serves the DC metro area through 86 stations with over 200 million passengers passing through the turnstiles yearly. The domed architecture of the stations were designed by Harry Weese and are listed among America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Pictured here is the Metro Center station. (Photo: February 13, 2009)

On the 200th Anniversary of President Washington enacting the Lighthouse Act of 1789, the United States Congress enacted a resolution to declare August 7th "National Lighthouse Day". The joint resolution commemorated the commissioning of the first federal lighthouse and called for all lighthouses, were feasible, to be opened to the public on the holiday to help educate the people on the importance that lighthouses played on our maritime history. Shown here is the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse at the southern tip of Boca Grande. The lighthouse and museum is open to the public daily. (Photo: January 25, 2009)

The smallest island to be divided into two separate nations, St Maarten is part Dutch and part French. It was the Treaty of Concordia that divided the island in 1648, but the folklore is much more interesting. The story goes that to divide the island, both countries chose a walker, they started back to back and began walking in opposite directions. When they met again, that line between the two points would be the border. The monument showed here marks the border and commemorates the peaceful coexistence of both nations. (Photo: October 25, 2006)

The Port Orleans Riverside Resort at Walt Disney World is a little bit of the Cajun backcountry of Louisiana dropped into the heart of Central Florida. Not a detail was spared to make the resort look and feel like Louisiana. From the rustic lodges of the swamps the Antebellum mansions along the river, it is all found here. The photo here is the Alligator Bayou Building at the resort. (Photo: January 4, 2008)

A typical sight along the coast of Florida, a group of sailboats are anchored along a waterway in Boca Grande, Florida. The small island of Boca Grande on the west coast of Florida is known for its marine activities that include boating and world class fishing. (Photo: March 5, 2006)

Another busy day at the port as cruise ships line the docks of Prince George Wharf in Nassau. The port is one of the busiest in the Caribbean and can accommodate the largest ship on the water, Royal Caribbean's Oasis class. This photo shows Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Norwegian Sky and Voyager of the Seas docked at the port while a storm closes in from the Atlantic. (Photo: April 21, 2010)