The Wandering Disciple

Sarasota, Florida: As the brisk breeze drops the temperatures and it begins to feel like autumn, its time to hit the annual Pumpkin Festival at Fruitville Groves. From hay rides to pony rides and many other attractions in between, the festival has been a hit for over 18 years. The grove is open all year round as a fresh produce stand but it is the fall festival that attracts the most visitors. There are rides for the children, live entertainment, great food and yes plenty of pumpkins to choose from. The event runs each weekend through October and admission is free.

Sarasota, Florida: The Gulfcoast Wonder and Imagination Zone or G-Wiz for short, has been thrilling visitors of all ages with hands-on attractions on science and attraction. What started as just a few exhibits, quickly expanded to a world-class facility on the banks of Sarasota Bay. The Gulf Coast World of Science opened in October 1991 as a 1,000 square foot museum containing only ten hands-on exhibits. Since then the museum had grown to over 33,000 square feet and was renamed the Gulfcoast Wonder and Imagination Zone in reflection to the museums hands on exhibits geared towards science and imagination. Today the two story museum features several zones that consist of different exhibits. The zones are: Body Zone: featuring exhibits that focus on the physical performance of the human body. Explora Zone: featuring exhibits that focus on electricity, magnetism, light and sound. Habitat: an exhibit that features a few Florida native species. Tech Zone: feature exhibits that allow the vis...

Tampa, Florida: Egypt is one of Busch Garden’s newest land and home to one of its wildest rides, the Montu. Themed to look like an Egyptian marketplace, the region is one of the smallest in the park, second to Crown Colony. Opened in 1996, Egypt contains only one ride attraction, Montu. The 150 foot high inverted roller coaster takes riders through seven inversions at more than 60 miles per hour. Montu features more inversion than any other inverted coaster and was ranked as high as third for the Best Steel Coaster. Montu is named after the Egyptian God of War. Egypt is also home to King Tut’s Tomb. Here you will find a re-creation Howard Clark’s excavation of the tomb. Travel through several rooms of the tomb and see replicas of the riches that were uncovered in the tomb. Sifting Sands is located across the way and provides a great place to take the younger kids not old enough for Montu. Here kids can dig through the Egyptian desert sands in an attempt to uncover missing tre...

Sarasota, Florida: With the best of three divisional series tied 1-1, all eyes were focused on the Ed Smith Stadium when the Sarasota Reds faced off with the Clearwater Threshers. Despite a hard fought contest, the Reds faltered in the late innings and lost 4-3. The Threshers jumped out to an early lead in the third inning, posting two runs on the scoreboard. The Reds bounced back in the bottom half of the third, tying the game 2-2. The Threshers offense mounted a rally in the sixth inning. A bases loaded jam results in two runs and Clearwater taking a 4-2 lead. The Reds pushed across another run in the ninth inning but it wasn’t enough as they fell 4-3, putting an end to a great season by the Sarasota Reds. Clearwater advanced to the Florida State League Championship Series to face the Brevard County Manatees. Click on the photo above to visit my Game Three Reds/Threshers photo gallery.

Clearwater, Florida: The Clearwater Threshers are the Class A-Advanced affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Threshers play in the North Division of the Florida State League. The Clearwater franchise was established in 1985 as the Clearwater Phillies. The club was rebranded as the Threshers in 2004 in conjunction with their move to a new ballpark. Many major league stars have passed through Clearwater on their way to the big leagues. This list of stars includes Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and more. They were even managed by a Phillies great and hall of famer, Mike Schmidt during the 2004 season. The franchise has just one league title in their possession. In 2007, the Threshers defeated the Brevard County Manatees to win their lone title. The Threshers play their 70 game home schedule at Brighthouse Networks Field. The 7,000 seat stadium is one of the best in the Florida State League. Click on the photo above to visit my Clearwater Threshers photo gallery. He...

Tampa, Florida: The Crown Colony region of Busch Gardens is the smallest portion of the park. Nestled between Nairobi and Egypt, the Crown Colony is home to the only table service restaurant in the park. It is also home to the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Opened in 1966, Crown Colony opened with the introduction of the monorail. The monorail provided a half mile ride through the Serengeti Plain. Due to mechanical problems, the monorail was closed for good in The Skyride was added to the park in 1974. Here guests ride in a gondola thirty feet over the safari, giving riders a birds eye view of the Serengeti. The Skyride is a one way trip from Crown Colony to Stanleyville or vice versa. During the thirtieth anniversary of the park, Busch Gardens opened the Clydesdale Hamlet. Here you can get an up close look at the signature Budweiser Clydesdales. The Hamlet also includes a museum of pictures looking back on the history of the Clydesdale. Most recently added to the Hamle...

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds regular season came to an end in nail biting fashion as they fell to the Tampa Yankees 5-4. The Sunday afternoon season finale was a great warm up for postseason play. Despite the loss, the Reds head to the Florida State League playoffs, facing Clearwater in round one. Click on the photo to view the Reds/Yankees game gallery.