The Wandering Disciple

As we celebrate Halloween today let's take a look back at one of our Halloween traditions, the Jack O' Latern. The yearly practice of carving the pumpkin actually began over in Europe. Around Halloween, they would carve laterns from vegtables, mainly turnips. As they immigrated over to the United States, the vegtable carving tradition came over with them but they began to carve larger and more readily available pumpkins. Since then, the practice of carving pumpkins has grown to become a symbol of Halloween. (Photo: October 29, 2011)

Another year has come and gone, its amazing how quickly time flies. Around the World in Pictures has put the finishing touches on its second year of bringing you great photos and stories from our travels. The past year saw some changes to the site in an attempt to keep things new and fresh. I added a photo of the day and a cruise deal feature to the site to keep things exciting when I do not have new travels to write about. The photo of the day feature is a random photo chosen out of my photo archive along with a brief story about the subject of the photo. The cruise deal feature is courtesy of Dick Gothner of Skyscraper Tours and features great cruise deals. The addition of these two features will hopefully fill the gap between new content. This year we switched our annual passes from Universal Orlando to Walt Disney World and made a few trips up to the house of the mouse. However with the sluggish economy, the travel budget has not been there so we did not have a real vacati...

The Ecto-1 from the 1984 Ghostbusters film is just one of many Hollywood movie cars on display at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Ecto-1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor and was used in the original Ghostbuster movies. It can be seen along with cars from the Blues Brothers, Mummy, Jurassic Park and more at the theme park where movies come to life. (Photo: September 21, 2003)

For the past twenty years, the Seminole-Gulf Railways have transported passanger on leisure trips up and down Southwest Florida. Over a half million passangers have climbed aboard their trains and embarked on day excursions, murder mystery dinner trains and many more special events. The railway has been in operation since 1987 when they purchased a section of freight tracks from CSX. In 1991, they expanded their opertions to include dinner trains and eventually sightseeing trains. Today guests hop aboard four vintage railcars to embark on a journey through the area as they are transported back to the time when rail travel was the life of luxury. (Photo: March 29, 2008)

Conch shells and other native crafts line the tables of the Straw Market in CocoCay. The market is the only shopping venue on the private island. CocoCay is a small private island owned by Royal Caribbean International. It is located in the Berry Island chain of the Bahamas. (Photo: April 22, 2010)

Fort Myers, Florida: A highway for wildlife, the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve provides a safe corridor for wildlife to travel from northern Lee County to the safe haven of the Estero Bay Preserve. The preserve is home to many wildlife and plant species. The preserve actually got its start thanks to hard work of a group of students. In 1976, he students were working on a project when they learned how quickly natural habitats and ecosystems were diminishing due to development. The group petitioned to preserve some of this natural landscape and won the support of Lee County residents. The result of their hard work saved the slough from development and led to the nature preserve opening to the public in 1991. Today, thousands of visitors come to the preserve to catch a glimpse of wildlife along the one mile boardwalk. The boardwalk meanders through 80 acres of the 2,500 acre preserve, allowing visitors to learn about the different ecosystems within the preserve as well as view the ani...

A white peacock butterfly resting on a blade of grass in North Port, Florida. This white peacock butterfly can be found in warm, tropical climates with a range extending from Argentina in South America to as far north as South Carolina. (Photo: October 22, 2011)

Busch Gardens in Tampa has announced an excellent deal for Florida Residents. From now until December 15, 2011 any Florida Resident that purchases a single day admission to Busch Gardens will receive a free Serengeti Safari Tour, a $33.95 value. The safari is a 30 minute up-close adventure on the Serengeti Plain where you will come face to face with giraffes, zebra, antelope and more. Hop aboard the safari truck and head out to the plain to feed the resident animals of the plain. We had the opportunity to take the safari several years ago and it was an awesome experience. Our tour guide was great and we had the opportunity to hand feed antelope and giraffes. Combine the free Serengeti Safari with the thrills and excitement of Busch Gardens and you have a great day of fun for the entire family. Visit Busch Gardens website to learn more about the deal or click on the photo above to view some of my photos from Busch Gardens .

Located at the end of the famous Ocean City Boardwalk lies a museum dedicated to the history of the U.S. Life Saving Service. Created by the Treasury department in 1848, the U.S. Life Saving Service was the early predecessor to the U.S. Coast Guard. The service provided marine aid to vessels in distress along the Atlantic Coast. The Ocean City Station opened in 1891 and remained in service until closed by the Coast Guard in 1964. During its operation, the station responded to seven major shipwrecks. The station was later relocated to the inlet side of the boardwalk and reopened as a museum in 1978. (Photo: April 30, 2004)

Delta Flight 1425 readies for flight at the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. The Boeing 767 was preparing for a flight from Atlanta to New-York LaGuardia. Delta Airlines operates over 4,000 flights a day and its main hub in Atlanta is the world's busiest airport. (Photo: August 26, 2005)

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah its time to board the log flume and head off on a wild ride as Br'er Rabbit tries to out smart Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, but watch out for that drop into the briar patch. Splash Mountain at the Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom was opened on October 2, 1992. The ten minute adventure takes guests through scenes from the Song of the South. Along the way you will follow the story of Br'er Fox before taking the 52 foot plunge. (Photo: March 28, 2007)

The straw industry in the Bahamas has been a major contributor to the Bahamian economy since the 1920's. In 1936, Albertha Brown opened the first straw stand near the wharf and the Straw Market was born. The market moved around from condemned locations until 1980 when a new $6 million dollar market was built adjacent to Prince George Wharf. The new market was a tourism hit, seeing over $51 million dollars a year spent on straw goods as well as other items. The market encountered another dark day in 2001 when the entire market was destroyed by fire. Since then the market has returned to business under a tent structure which was later damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Future plans call for the Straw Market to be moved into a permanent location on Bay Street in the Fall of 2011. (Photo: April 21, 2010)

President Barack Obama ordered flags to fly at half-staff today in honor of the National Firefighters Memorial. 72 names were added to the memorial today in honor of the brave men and women who were killed in the line of duty in 2010. They join the over 3,400 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice and are forever remember in the memorial. The memorial was dedicated in 1990 and is located at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The memorial ceremony occurs annually to close our National Fire Prevention week in early October. Pictured above are some of Sarasota's bravest performing a training demo during the Sarasota County Fire Prevention Open House that occurs during the same week. (Photo: October 6, 2007)

Fall has arrived and so have the pumpkins at Fruitville Groves. Pumpkins of all sizes are available to choose from during their annual pumpkin fest running weekends through the end of October. (Photo: October 8, 2011)

Sarasota, Florida: The men and women of the Sarasota County Fire Department invited the public to join them in honoring National Fire Prevention Week by hosting their annual Open House at Fire Station 5 in Sarasota. The annual event highlights the diverse services provided by the Sarasota County Fire Department. Over the course of the afternoon, the fire department put on a great show of skills as firefighter performed technical rescues, fire suppression activities, vehicle extrication, fire extinguisher demos and more in front of the crowd that gathered for the event. The apparatus were on display included fire engines, rescues, hazmat truck, Bayflite medical helicopter, Airport fire truck, law enforcement patrol cars and more. There was even a fire department and SWAT team obstacle course for the kids. In addition to the host department, the event included displays from various public safety agencies including Englewood Fire Department, Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department, Sarasot...

The usually calm waters of the Hillsborough River give way to a brief period of Class II Rapids inside Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa, Florida, The park features over seven miles of hiking trails, a swimming pool, camping as well as fishing, canoeing and kayaking opportunities provided by the Hillsborough River. On Saturday's, guests can tour historic Fort Foster located within the park. (Photo: January 24, 2009)

A black and yellow argiope spider spins a web along the hiking trail at the Alligator Creek Preserve in Punta Gorda. The preserve has six miles of hiking trails that take you through various ecosystems. (Photo: October 1, 2011)

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: October has arrived and the ghosts and goblins, pirates and princesses have converged on the Magic Kingdom for the annual Halloween event. On select nights in October, the little ones and the little ones at heart can enjoy themselves at the park for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. On these special nights, the Magic Kingdom closes early and then reopens for guests holding tickets for this event. Then the park comes alive with special Halloween treats for the whole family, everything family friendly of course. Disney does it right with special decorations, a special parade, shows and a Halloween fireworks show to top the night off. The highlights of the night include plenty of candy, Mickey's Boo to You Parade, Happy HalloWishes fireworks, Character Dance Parties, Villain's Dance Mix and Mingle stage show and your favorite Disney rides. This is a special ticket event and is not included in regular admission or annual passes. If you are ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: With cooler temperatures back in the sunshine state and the tourist crowd a little thinner, we decided to take a day trip to Walt Disney World. Being a Florida resident has its perks as we have the flexibility to visit the park when its not so crowded and Sunday was one of those days. This was our first trip back to the park since it started to get hot and full in May. We had originally planned to go up on Saturday, but the crowd of the 40th anniversary celebration pushed our trip back a day to Sunday. We hit the road early, destination Magic Kingdom. We arrived at the park about twenty minutes to park opening and the parking lot was not very full. We walked right onto the monorail. We did not encounter any large lines until we reached the bag check area at the entrance. The bag check is the biggest waste of time in my opinion. For starters, the security guard barely even check the bags and people with strollers and electric wheelchairs manage to get ...

"We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun - together." These are the words etched in brass below the "Partners" statue in the central hub of the Magic Kingdom park. It's this ideology that has kept Walt Disney World ahead of the competition when it comes to family theme parks. Today World Disney World celebrates its 40th Anniversary. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort has grown to four theme parks, two water parks and twenty three hotels which welcome over 40 million visitors each year. (Photo: August 20, 2006)