The Wandering Disciple

A pair of tigers prepare to take a dip in the water to beat the heat at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Busch Gardens brings the thrill of theme park rides with wild animals for a one of a kind experience. (Photo: March 20, 2004)

Vintage cars sit outside Mel’s Drive-In at Universal Studios Florida. The diner transports guests back to the time when long skirts and American Muscle were popular. (Photo: September 20, 2003)

Dale Earnhardt’s famous #3 NASCAR race car sits on display outside the NASCAR Café at Universal Orlando’s City Walk. Nicknamed the Intimidator, the seven time Champion was a dominating force in the series until losing his life in a tragic crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. (Photo: September 20, 2003)

A colorful wizard poses for a picture at Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando.  (Photo: July 18, 2003)

Osprey, Florida: For the third straight year, we went to Historic Spanish Point for their annual Ghost Hunting Tour. Life at Spanish Point dates back over 5,000 years and in turn has plenty of opportunities to have paranormal experiences. A little but of procrastination combined with a busy schedule almost caused us to miss this year’s event. But we managed to get booked on the 7pm tour. While I was a little worried that it would be a little too bright still at the beginning of the tour, it turned out to be dark at just the right time. Shortly after seven, our group led by our tour guide Kara set off on a journey through the haunted history of Historic Spanish Point. For much of the night, our paranormal phone app was relatively quiet which is unusual for Spanish Point. In the past, our app would be going off like crazy but tonight it seemed to not be as active. Even the stop at the Guptil House did not provide any hits on the app like in other visits. It wasn’t until...

Sarasota, Florida: Following a hard fought victory in the first round of Sunday’s tournament, the Sarasota Shock were back on the field to face their rival, the Sarasota Vipers in the semi-finals of the 2015 Suncoast Fall State Tournament. The Shock took the lead early, scoring two runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. But the lead didn’t last long as the Vipers answered with four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead. Both teams exchanged a run in the second to make it 5-3. The Shock scored a run in the third to pull within a run of the lead in the third. However the Vipers added a pair of runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 7-4. In the fifth, each team added a run to make it 8-5. The Shock staged a rally in the top of the sixth as they pushed across a run but failed to tie the game as they fell 8-6 and were eliminated from the tournament. Click on the photo to view my Shock/Vipers photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: After finishing Friday’s pool play with a 1-1, the Sarasota Shock entered Sunday’s Suncoast Fall State Tournament as the #3 seed in the tournament. The Shock opened up the tournament against the PBC Playmakers. Both teams battled back and forth in this close contest. The Playmakers took the lead in the second inning by scoring three runs. Then the Shock answered by posting three runs of their on in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game. The Playmakers regained the lead, scoring four runs in the top of the third to take a 7-3 lead. The Shock fought back in the bottom of the third, scoring three and pulling within a run of the lead 7-6. The Shock tied the game in the fourth after scoring a run to make it a 7-7 game. It took until the bottom of the fifth before the Shock pushed across a run to earn a 8-7 walk-off win and advance into the tournament semi-finals. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Playmakers photo gallery .