Feb 13 2013

Visiting our Nation’s Capital

  • Wednesday, February 13, 2013

IMG_20130209_095100So I’m just getting back in to town after a fun boys weekend with my best friends Jason and David visiting Washington, DC. We totally lucked out and just missed the massive snowstorm the hit just north of DC the day we arrived. The weather for the trip was pretty cool but, at least there wasn’t any snow. We had a full schedule with hitting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the National Archives right off the bat on day one. OUr second day started early in the morning with a visit to The White House where we got to take a tour inside of it and then off to the Old Ebbitt Grill for a great brunch.

After lunch we continued a nice walk over to the International Spy Museum which not only had the cool history of spy gadgets but, also included a great exhibit on 50 years of Bond Villains with props and gadgets from the films. This was far worth the cost of admission.  After the Spy Museum, it was off to the National Air and Space Museum to start our two day adventure in to the history of flight. After the museum, it was time for a quick nap and then off to dinner with my cousin LIsa and then drinks with my buddy Chris and his girlfriend Nicky before calling it a night. Talk about a long day!

IMG_20130210_120817Sunday was probably one the highlights of the trip, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Air and Space Museum. This place is simply massive! I don’t know how else to explain it. There are so many amazingly cool planes and aircraft to see from the SR-71 BlackBird to the Concorde and the Space Shuttle Discovery. I don’t think it can be any more breath taking when you see these beautiful planes almost with in touching distance from you. standing under Discovery was truly an awe-inspiring moment. Thanks to my buddy Chris for the drive out there. I can write enough about how amazing this place is. It is definitely worth the visit to. After several hours of visiting the museum, we took a late lunch in Fairfax with Chris before returning back to the city for a nap and then dinner with Jason’s cousins and my friend Wes.

IMG_20130211_134620Our last day proved to be just a busy with a morning tour of the US Capital and then an afternoon visit to the National Botanical Gardens before heading to grab a bite to eat at one of my all time favorite places from living in England, Pret A Manger before heading the final tour of the weekend, the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress was actually pretty neat and I couldn’t help but think of where the President’s Book of Secrets might be thanks to National Treasure. We had planned to visit the Air and Space Museum again before hitting the airport but, due to flight changes, we ended up having to rush back to the hotel and hit the airport much quicker and earlier than we had planned to.

Overall, it was a very fun, yet tiering, weekend with some great fiends to a great city that is loaded with exciting treasures to discover and see. Glad we were able to get up to Washington for a visit and for those the follow my blog regularly, I think I have proved that I don’t always take cruise vacations 🙂

Here are the photos from my latest trip:

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/02/visiting-our-nations-capital/

Jan 29 2013

Discovering New Destinations in 2013

  • Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Disney_Wonder2013 has started off with a blast this year and I am just returning from my first adventure of the new year. Last week my friend and I went down to Miami for a day and enjoyed the night life in Miami Beach before boarding the Disney Wonder on a 4-Night Bahamian cruise that took us to Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay. It was a great trip and experiencing Miami Beach and Key West for the first time really made the trip. It was also fun to experience the cruise with a first time cruiser and a group of international friends. The only downfall of the cruise was twisting my ankle on the first night on the stairs, and no, alcohol was not involved but, seeing old friends and making some new ones onboard made up for the downfall.

4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami, FL
Bahamas_4Night

Trip Photos

Home for a few days now and catching up on laundry and house work before heading to Naples, FL to visit the family for the weekend and then back for a few days to Orlando and then off to Washington, DC for a weekend with the boys. Yes, I know I am lucky to be able to do the trips I do. It keeps me going and excited to discover new things and visit new and exciting places.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/01/discovering-new-destinations-in-2013/

Jan 06 2013

Bedroom Update Complete!

  • Sunday, January 06, 2013

Well, it’s the new year and what I feel is finally the completion of my bedroom. After five years, I finally decided to paint the bedroom late last year and now, after almost 10 years of living with IKEA, I finally join the big boy world as I like to say and have a real bedroom set and finally back to larger bed. My bedroom feels totally new again. I like it!

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/01/bedroom-update-complete/

Jan 01 2013

Here’s to 2013

  • Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Well, 2012 has come and gone with what seems like record time. It was a pretty busy year for me and one filled so many wonderful opportunities. I’ll share some of the content from the holiday letter I sent out to friends and family this year:

Work is keeping me bust with the the grand opening of New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom® Park and Cars Land at Disney California Adventure® Park along with helping to provide subject mater expertise to several exciting new projects at our various Disney Parks around the globe. Another exciting aspect of work this year is that after nearly two years, I am no longer considered temporary and am now marked as permanent in my role. Something else that was exciting earlier this year was being offered an officer role onboard the Disney Magic with Disney Cruise Line. I decided against making the jump to the sea since I really do love what I do with my current job.

As much as I am loving the exciting new projects that are coming my way, as most of you know I do enjoy my travel and exploring our wonderful world. This year I took several amazing trips including an amazing 7-night Los Angeles to Vancouver voyage onboard the Disney Wonder. I tied this trip in with a visit to the Disneyland® Resort before boarding and got to spend some great time in both San Francisco and Vancouver, both cities I would really love to get back to and explore again. Moving to the East coast, I recently returned from a trip that took me to Belize and Cozumel for the first time where I was able to see some really cool Mayan ruins and race an America’s Cup yacht! In addition to cruising  I got to experience Philadelphia with the family and celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

Back in Orlando, I have continued to live a healthy lifestyle by becoming more involved with the YMCA of Central Florida and have made several great improvements. I have also been volunteering to help out with several swim meets and have been able to meet several Olympic Athletes which is a cool added bonus. I’m finally feeling fully settled in to my place after 5 years and have really enjoyed getting more involved in the community here. It’s been a great year filled with lots of great memories from friends and family.

As you can see, 2012 has been a busy year. Aside from all of the fun, we also did have to say goodbye to a wonderful family pal, Camper. 2013 is already starting off to be a busy one with several more vacations with friends planned or in the planning stages and some more updates to things around the house. Here’s to 2013 and hoping that is another great year to all of us and to all of my friends and family around the globe.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/01/heres-to-2013/

Nov 15 2012

Back on Dry Land, Again

  • Thursday, November 15, 2012

Well, I am just returning from my most recent trip, a 5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise onboard Royal Caribbean‘s  Liberty of the Seas. This was the first time I tried Royal Caribbean and I must say that while I think I will be sticking with Disney Cruise Line, I still had a great time with my best mate David. Here is what our trip looked like.

5-Night Western Caribbean Itinerary:

 

Day Date Port Ashore Onboard
Saturday 10-Nov-2012 FORT LAUDERDALE
Sunday 11-Nov-2012 AT SEA
Monday 12-Nov-2012 BELIZE CITY 9:00 AM 5:30 PM
Tuesday 13-Nov-2012 COZUMEL 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Wednesday 14-Nov-2012 AT SEA
Thursday 15-Nov-2012 FORT LAUDERDALE  09:00 AM

We got to do some pretty cool things while on this trip like visit the Altun Ha Mayan Site

And even raced some America’s Cup 21-Metre’s

Overall, it was a great trip! Check out below for more pictures:

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/11/back-on-dry-land-again/

Sep 30 2012

Operation: Paint Bedroom is Complete

  • Sunday, September 30, 2012

Well, my first major home improvement project is done. My bedroom is now officially painted after 5 years! I finally found the perfect blue-grey color to fit my taste.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/09/operation-paint-bedroom-is-complete/

Sep 17 2012

Where Were you One Year Ago?

  • Monday, September 17, 2012

So one year ago I was cruising along in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the Disney Magic. It’s hard to believe that an adventure of a lifetime was only a year ago. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced many great travels and look forward to doing many more in the years that come. For those that want to relive my Transatlantic Voyage, click on tag Transatlantic to the right. Enjoy a few pictures from down memory lane.

From 14-Night Transatlantic Cruise – September 2011
From 14-Night Transatlantic Cruise – September 2011

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/09/where-were-you-one-year-ago/

Aug 04 2012

5 Stages of Travel Interactive Infographic

  • Saturday, August 04, 2012

Explore the five stages of travel and find out how travelers move from dreaming to sharing.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/08/5-stages-of-travel-interactive-infographic/

Jun 06 2012

Goodbye Camper

  • Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Goodbye Camper. You will always be loved and missed.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/06/goodbye-camper/

May 26 2012

Sea Days and Canada

  • Saturday, May 26, 2012

So I think that I am finally caught up on sleep and getting back to my normal routine after a great vacation last week. Since I have already posted blogs from Disneyland® and San Francisco, I won’t repeat all of the details on those days of my vacation. After leaving San Francisco, we enjoyed a relaxing two days at sea as we steamed north towards Victoria, Canada. Now, unlike the Caribbean cruises that I am used to doing, I totally misjudged the weather and temperatures outside and ended up breaking down to buy a sweatshirt on the ship. So exactly how bad was the weather? Well, as you can see from the below photos, it was sunny and clear but, we had find and 18 foot seas. Anyone for surfing in the pool?

So with it being almost too cold and too rough to really sit at the pool, what does one do while at sea? Read of course. I think I saw more copies of The Hunger Games and more Kindles/Nooks than I have ever seen in the past and people seemed to find almost any spot on the ship to just curl up. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and taking in what ever world they were transported off to while reading. I managed to read the first to Harry Potter books for the first time and I can now honestly say they are quite good and much better than the movies.

Now even with the seas, it was still a nice time to catch up with my friends ont he ship and explore more of the life below the waterline and life in general on the high seas. I even took the time to treat myself to a nice 75-minute hat bamboo deep tissue massage. I had been eying this one for several cruises and with the right offer this trip, I decided to do it. Let me just say, you can’t get any more relaxed than I felt after this one. Well worth the money.

Our first stop in Canada was Victoria, British Columbia. I’d been to Victoria twice before with the family and now going back on my own and on the best weather day of the trip, I fell in love with this town. I can’t explain in words just how beautiful this down is. It’s modern yet has an old English town feel. It’s just a great place to visit if you have the chance. Also, while in port, Efrain was able to arrange for me to have a special tour on the ship, the Bridge. I feel honored that I was able to see this special part of the ship and with a little encouragement from the Captain, I think I might have found a new calling. What do you all think?

After a perfect day in Victoria, it was time for a nice and slow journey to Vancouver. Vancouver is one of those cities that I have heard so much about and have always wanted to visit and in fact, was one of the main reasons why I booked this cruise. We pulled in at 7am on Sunday morning and were in port for a full 24-hours to explore this amazing city. I decided it was best to book an excursion to start off with from the ship which took us around town, to Stanley Park and then to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This by far was worth the cost of the excursion. Such amazing views and trails in this park to explore and a really cool walkway along the cliffs to boot! If you don’t like heights, you might not want to do this one but, the views were worth it.

After the morning exploring the forests and town, it was back to the ship to meet up with Efrain after he got off work where we then went back in to town to have a great meal with some of his friends. After dinner, it was back to the ship to finish packing and enjoy one last night aboard the Disney Wonder before returning back to Florida on Monday.

Overall, I am really glad I booked and did this cruise, even if I was traveling alone. I had an amazing time on this trip and mark it down as one of the best cruises I have taken thus far with Disney Cruise Line. I especially want to thank Jason for taking the day and taking me around San Francisco and Efrain for going above and beyond on the ship to really give me the greatest experience and allowing me to see in to his life at sea. I also want to thank the many other Disney Wonder crew members that went out of their way to get to know me and show me a good time, Daniel, Justin, Robin, Steven, Jilly, Lance, thank you all again for a great cruise. Until next time.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/05/sea-days-and-canada/