The Wandering Disciple

Punta Gorda, Florida:  The skies over Punta Gorda roared to life for the 2018 Florida International Air Show at Punta Gorda Airport.  The annual event brings together some of the biggest names in aviation for a good cause benefiting local charities. For over thirty seven years, the show has brought aerial excitement to the Charlotte Harbor region. The evening show returned for the second year, kicking off the air show weekend with the Friday night nighttime spectacular.   The performers lit up the skies as the sun set over the airfield culminating in a fireworks show that closed the night.  The performers returned for the full show on Saturday and Sunday, giving spectators a thrilling show. This year's performers included the SOCOM Paratroopers, Don Stamp's Warbird Review, the Red Tail Squadron, Vampire Airshows, Dash Aerosports, Randy Ball and the MiG-17 and many more acts in the air and statics on the ground. The 2018 show was a success and continues ...

Sitting high in a tree, the red panda looks down at zoo guests at the National Zoo in Washington DC.  A native of the Himalayas and southwestern China, the red panda is a bamboo eating mammal that can be found hanging out in the trees eating at night and sleeping during the day.  Although it is shares the panda name, the red panda looks more like a large domestic cat than a giant panda.  The red panda is listed as an endangered species due to habitat loss and poaching.  You can get close with this little tree huggers at zoos like the National Zoo. (Photo: February 13, 2009)

Stretching from the Anacostia River to Georgetown,  Pennsylvania Avenue can easily be called America's Main Street.  It is on this stretch of road that some of the nation's most important building can be found.  In fact two of the three branches of government are located here; the legislative branch (US Capitol) and the Executive Branch (The White House).  In addition to the important buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue, the stretch between the White House and the Capitol is home to many of DC's official parades, including the inauguration day parade.  (Photo: February 16, 2009)

This door serves not only as an entrance to the Willard Intercontinental but also as a window to the past and as well as a gateway to the present.  For over one hundred years, this historic hotel in our nation's capital has had a front row seat to history.  From Abraham Lincoln seeking safety from assassins prior to inauguration, Ulysses Grant having evening meetings with lobbyists, Julia Ward Howe writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Martin Luther King Jr penning his famous I Have a Dream speech from his hotel room and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd giving his resignation speech from the Douglas Room, this hotel has seen its fair share of history. In fact every president since Franklin Pierce has stayed or done business at the Willard giving it the nickname "Residence of Presidents".  Today guests staying at the Willard can walk through the same revolving door that has brought influential people of American history into the iconic hotel.  (Photo: Febr...

They say a mile of highway can take you a mile but a mile of runway can take you anywhere.  So beyond this window lies your access to the world.  Through this window sits an entire airfield of opportunities, grab a seat and begin your next adventure.  (Photo: February 16,2009)

Hutan holds her baby tight as they love on each other after they finished playing with dad. The baby Siamang was born at Zoo Tampa back in April and is one of the many new babies that can be seen at the zoo.  Baby fever is in full swing at the zoo this year as they welcomed baby orangutan, colobus monkey, okapi, pygmy hippo, red wolves, white rhino and more to the zoo family. You can see the baby Siamang and all the other babies at the zoo, be sure to pick up a zoo baby map to help find them all. (Photo: October 7, 2018)

While on the way back from ZooTampa, we stopped for dinner at McAllister's Deli over by Tampa International Airport.  While there, I decided to look at the incoming flights for TPA.  I was surprised to see Edelweiss on the arrival list so after dinner I headed over to try and catch it. The winds favored Runway 1 so rather than heading to the parking garage, I went to Cypress Point Park at the base of Runway 1L. We were not here long but here is look at what we caught in about 15 minutes of spotting. Airbus A319 - N819AW Boeing 737-800 - N863NN Airbus A330 - HB-JHR Boeing 757-200 - N660DL Embraer 190 - N279JB