The Wandering Disciple

Orlando, Florida: Since opening day in 1973, Sea World Orlando has been dedicated to the conservation and education of marine life. This effort is evident through the many animal exhibits that are carefully designed to resemble the animals original habitats. The 200 acres of park is home to hundreds of different species of marine life. The icon of the park is the family of Orcas known commonly as Shamu. The park is home to seven of the famous killer whales. Katina, Tilikum, Kayla, Trua, Nalani, Malia and the newest edition born in October 2010. The breeding program at Sea World Orlando has resulted in sixteen births in its history. When this collection of whales are not performing in front of thousands in Shamu Stadium, they can be viewed from the observation window in the rear of the stadium. One of the most plentiful mammals that live here are the dolphins. Sea World in home to over 40 various breeds of dolphins. The dolphins can be found performing in the shows at the Whale...

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds wrapped up the four game series against the Brevard County Manatees with an 8-6 win on Saturday night at Ed Smith Stadium. Both clubs exchanged runs but when the dust settled, the Reds squeezed out a victory. The Manatees jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second. But the Reds answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to lead 2-1. Brevard County battled back to tie the game 2-2 an inning later. The Reds pushed across three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to retake the lead. The big inning gave them a 5-2 lead. The Manatees strung together a big inning of their own in the top of the fifth. They struck for 4 runs to take a 6-5 lead. But the Reds offense pushed another offensive charge in the bottom of the sixth. The Reds pushed across three more runs to take the lead once and for all, 8-6. The bullpens combined to keep further runs off the scoreboard and the Reds walked away with a 8-6 victory to t...

Viera, Florida: The Brevard County Manatees are currently the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They play in the Northern Division of the Florida State League of professional baseball. The Manatees began play in the Florida State League in 1994 as an affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The remained with the Marlins until 2001 when their affiliation switched to the Montreal Expos. The player development contract with the Expos only lasted two years. Then in 2005, the Brewers took over the franchise and has a contract with the Manatees through the 2012 season. The Manatees have one league championship and three division championships in their collection. They shared the league championship in 2001 when the finals were cancelled due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The won the division title in 1994, 2001 and 2007. In 2009, the Manatees picked up the 1,000 franchise win over the Dunedin Blue Jays on August 12. The Manatees play their home schedule at the 8,100 seat...

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds dominated Saturday’s doubleheader against the Palm Beach Cardinals. After the rainout on Friday, both clubs met under sunny skies for the twilight doubleheader. The Florida heat wasn’t the only thing hot in the first game, the Reds offense was on fire as they walked away with a huge 17-5 win. Game two was just the opposite as the Reds held off to win a 1-0 pitcher duel in the conclusion of the doubleheaders. Click on the photo above for the Reds/Cardinals photo gallery.

Jupiter, Florida: The Palm Beach Cardinals are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are in the South Division of the Florida State League. They have been a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinal since 2003. During this time, many players have passed through Palm Beach on the path to the pros. Chris Duncan, Jaime Garcia, Jason Motte, Anthony Reyes and Brendan Ryan are a few of the former Palm Beach Cardinals that have made the big leagues. The Cardinals play their home games at Roger Dean Stadium. This world class stadium is shared between the Cardinals and the Jupiter Hammerheads for the minor league regular season. The Cardinals have one league championship in their trophy case. This came in 2005 when the Cardinals defeated the Lakeland Tigers in the best of five championship series to win their first and only FSL trophy. Click on the photo above to view my Palm Beach Cardinals photo gallery. Here you can see game and player phot...

Tampa, Florida: Nairobi is one of the largest themed lands of Busch Gardens Tampa and is home to more wild life than thrill rides. With Rhino Rally being the only ride here, much of the focus is on the animals. Rhino Rally, Nairobi’s only ride attraction, opened in 2001. Here guests board Land Rovers and head out on the Serengeti Plain for an off-road race. It isn’t long before the ride gets lost and the ride vehicle is swept down a flooded river. Rhino Rally combines a ride attraction with an animal attraction as zebras, elephants, flamingos and crocodiles call the ride home. Many animals call Nairobi home. Here is where you can find the elephant, camel, rhino, crocodile and tortoise exhibits. This is also the access point to a few of the animal attractions; Myombe Reserve (gorillas/chimps), Curiosity Caverns (reptiles) and Nairobi Field Station (babies). Nairobi is also one of the stops on the Serengeti Express train system. The Nairobi Station is the stop on the system right...

Vero Beach, Florida: For over 25 years, Vero Beach has been represented in the Florida State League. Their most recent club to call the city home is the Vero Beach Devil Rays, the Class A-Advanced Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. A few famous alumni to make the major leagues from the Vero Beach D-Rays include Rocco Baldelli and David Price. The franchise entered the Florida State League in 1980 as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Vero Beach Dodgers remained a part of the league until the end of the 2006 season when the Los Angeles Dodgers moved their franchise to the California League. After the Dodgers moved, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays stepped in and moved their minor league team from California to replace the departing Dodgers. The Vero Beach Devil Rays play their 70 game home schedule at historic Holman Stadium. The Vero Beach Devil Rays will play just two seasons in Vero Beach before being sold and relocated across the state to Port Charlotte, the spring training ho...