A Photo Safari Halloween Solo Trip for Oct'13: Trip Report Started!

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Let me just say that iPhone's aren't the only ones that aren't waterproof.

I actually have a Samsung now. I wanted that new "rugged" version, but stupid AT&T has a monopoly on it.

Didn't realize ATT has exclusive rights to the weather/child proof version of Samsung's phones. It took forever for the iphones to become available to our Sprint carrier.

 

[afwdwfan]

Didn't realize ATT has exclusive rights to the weather/child proof version of Samsung's phones. It took forever for the iphones to become available to our Sprint carrier.

I don't know if they'll become available elsewhere later or not, but for right now it is all AT&T, which kind of surprised me. I'm with Verizon, and usually they're pretty good about getting first shot at most of the Android devices.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We spent DD's birthday at Baltimore Inner Harbor. DW's sister's family was also visiting us this past weekend. The kids had a great time with their cousins who are about the same ages as our children. We tried putting together a birthday party for DD at our house but we learned that trying to do one in the middle of summer vacation is not easy as most of her friends were out of town. Next year, we may decide to have her party a month early before school lets out so that her classmates can come. Regardless, DD had a great time!

We love visiting the Inner Harbor of Baltimore which has tons of things to do. It's only about a 50 minute drive from our home so very manageable as a day trip.

Our first stop was Baltimore's National Aquarium which I think rivals with some of the best out there. If you ever get a chance to visit, my advice is ropedrop! The crowds are much more manageable at opening which for us was 8:30am. The aquarium sells tickets by timed entries so make sure to book ahead! It had been about 6 months since our last visit during which a major renovation project was underway in converting the old stingray tank into a reef. They pretty much completed the renovation and the new Black Tip Reef is now open for viewing. They are still in the process of introducing more fish and sharks into the tank so what we saw this day was only about half of the final count.

Hmmm, hoping those things on the ceiling are still work in progress? Because they don't look quite finished. This is the entry into the main exhibit area

IMG_4860 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

First thing you see on entry is the new reef exhibit with a view from top. The view significantly improves near the end of the exhibit path.

IMG_4861 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

So the structure of the main exhibit area is 5 floors. The exhibit path takes you up one floor at a time. Each floor has various tank exhibits demonstrating the differing aquatic habitats and biological characteristics of water creatures.

One floor higher

IMG_4866 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Example of one of the exhibits - this one recreating a coastal beach habitat

IMG_4878 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Seahorse!!

IMG_4890 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Tank of amemo....anemo.....amenomies

IMG_4891 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

What a habitat would look like around an old shipwreck

IMG_4895 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Can't remember which tank these guys are from

IMG_4905 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4907 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Pretty sure this habitat is called "Sea of Nemo and Dori"

IMG_4916 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

This is from a very extensive tank exhibit of the Amazon River. I assure you that the turtle does indeed have a head. Just a bad angle

IMG_4921 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The very top and last floor takes you out into an atrium that recreates a rainforest. There are birds, tortoises, and tamarins roaming freely about in this exhibit.

IMG_4923 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4924 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4925 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4935 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Some animals were in glass housed exhibits for good reason.

IMG_4938 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4939 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Nothing good could ever come out of a meeting of the minds with these frogs.

IMG_4941 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Continued in Next Post

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

** Continued from Previous Post

The highlight of this aquarium is the exhibits that come after the Amazon Rainforest when you begin to make your trek back down from the top floor. You start at the top and in the center of a cylinder tank. The walking path winds its way down the middle of the cylinder and you are 360 degrees surrounded by sea animals. The cylinder is divided into two tanks. The top half is the Atlantic Reef I believe. The bottom half is the shark tank which carries at least a dozen if not more sharks. I lost count.

Spotted Flotsam in the top half of the tank. Or is it Jetsam?

IMG_4952 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

BRUUUUUUCE!!!

IMG_4964 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4965 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Fish are friends! Seriously, is it even possible any more to go to an aquarium and not make any Nemo references?

IMG_4970 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

At the bottom of the cylinder is the viewing area for the Black Tip Reef that we saw at the beginning of the exhibit path. I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like because they already have a decent amount of fish in there!


IMG_4976 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4977 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4981 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4986 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

We toured the aquarium a bit more before heading out around 11am for lunch. Along the Inner Harbor there are a lot of restaurants to choose from. Many are chain eateries although there are some decent local places sprinkled here and there. We decided to try out the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co which we never tried. It was pretty good but nothing mind shattering.


IMG_5016 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

After lunch, it was time for some paddle boating! So for the past three years or so, every time I bring DD to the Inner Harbor she has always asked to go on one of these paddle boats shaped like dragons. I usually bring the kids up to the harbor by myself whenever DW is working a weekend. With DS being so young, I didn't think I could handle paddling a boat with my feet and keeping an eye on both kids. Each time DD asked I kept telling her next time when there's two grown ups. Well, this time we didn't have any more excuses. So we went on for a ride to the delight of DD!


IMG_5030 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

What you don't see in this picture is me huffing and puffing away with my legs cycling the boat paddle for 30 minutes. Seriously, this is no different than going to a gym. Which I don't. At least you get a decent view of the harbor

IMG_5049 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Once we got off our boats, my brother in law wanted to check out the USS Constellation one of handful of ships that have been converted into museums and anchored in the harbor. Our kids had already seen this in a previous trip so they sat this one out at a ice cream shop next to it with DW. Some pictures.


IMG_5082 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_5060 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_5062 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_5063 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_5066 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The Captain's quarters - otherwise known as Deluxe Resort

IMG_5069 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The Value Resort on the other end of the ship.

IMG_5075 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

We rejoined DW and the kids who were sitting outside at a table on the sidewalk enjoying some ice cream with a nice view.

IMG_5078 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

We had planned on trying to go to the science museum on the other end of the harbor but it was already 2:00pm and we were all tired. So we decided to head home. Once we got home, we let the kids loose on an inflatable pool in our backyard followed by dinner and birthday cupcakes!

 

[abbybeth]

Late in the afternoon, I took the kids to the swimming pool for a couple of hours until sunset. I walked around a little bit afterwards to take some pictures of the sky.


IMG_4498 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
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This picture is beyond stunning! It's something that I would frame and hang in my home - WOW!

and it felt like my heart just stopped reading what happened at the beach. I can't imagine what that was like, but so glad everyone wound up safe in the end. So, so very scary

As a happier side note, if camping always involved eating lobster, I'd be much, much more interested!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

This picture is beyond stunning! It's something that I would frame and hang in my home - WOW!

Thanks!

As a happier side note, if camping always involved eating lobster, I'd be much, much more interested!

I wholeheartedly agree! More lobsters, less mosquitoes and I'm in!

 

[afwdwfan]

Looks like it was a nice way to celebrate your DD's birthday, even if the plan of having a party didn't exactly work out. I have to say, the aquarium looks pretty awesome.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Looks like it was a nice way to celebrate your DD's birthday, even if the plan of having a party didn't exactly work out. I have to say, the aquarium looks pretty awesome.

I like the Baltimore aquarium. There are maybe a couple of aquariums I like better in California but I don't think I've seen a shark tank that's as well done as this one. Plus, it's nice to have a good one so close by.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

South Korea Kiosk at the Food and Wine Festival

Now that I've finished the TR from Korea, it's time to get back to tending the Safari list! This will be the first time I'll be at Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival. Since my body has a very low tolerance level for alcohol, I wasn't really planning on spending too much time exploring the FW festivities. (Seriously, a glass of wine is all I can take and it would be a sad sight indeed if I over did it while touring solo! ) But looking through the finalized menu for all of the different kiosks available has me thinking twice. Because I LOVE food! And there are so many different kiosks to choose from including South Korea. I also want to try Hawaii, Scotland, Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Morocco, Argentina and Poland!

My original plan was to arrive at Epcot right after lunch. I also made an ADR for the Flying Fish Cafe before returning to Epcot to catch Illuminations. But now I'm thinking I should cancel Flying Fish (although I reeeeeally wanted to try it this time) and not eat lunch prior to entering Epcot. Then I can spend my time in WS going from one kiosk to another and feeding myself pretty much continuously all afternoon and evening! Decisions, decisions.

 

[afwdwfan]

I definitely think it is a great idea to just cancel your ADR and take advantage of the kiosks.

 

[abbybeth]

South Korea Kiosk at the Food and Wine Festival


My original plan was to arrive at Epcot right after lunch. I also made an ADR for the Flying Fish Cafe before returning to Epcot to catch Illuminations. But now I'm thinking I should cancel Flying Fish (although I reeeeeally wanted to try it this time) and not eat lunch prior to entering Epcot. Then I can spend my time in WS going from one kiosk to another and feeding myself pretty much continuously all afternoon and evening! Decisions, decisions.

I did a 4 day weekend trip with girlfriends a couple years ago, and with limited F & W time, our biggest mistake was having a sit down ADR in Epcot. Even with efforts for restraint at the booths, we were still on the almost-too-full-for-dinner side going into the ADR and were so stuff we couldn't hit any additional kiosks after. If you have a bunch of countries you want to sample (how could you not? the list is amazing) I'd recommend cancelling your ADR and plan on meeting your food needs at F & W. I've found that the samples are generous and you can easily fill up!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I definitely think it is a great idea to just cancel your ADR and take advantage of the kiosks.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I like that idea. Flying Fish should still be there for many more trips to come. But this may be the only time I'll be at WDW during FW until the kids are out of school.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I did a 4 day weekend trip with girlfriends a couple years ago, and with limited F & W time, our biggest mistake was having a sit down ADR in Epcot. Even with efforts for restraint at the booths, we were still on the almost-too-full-for-dinner side going into the ADR and were so stuff we couldn't hit any additional kiosks after. If you have a bunch of countries you want to sample (how could you not? the list is amazing) I'd recommend cancelling your ADR and plan on meeting your food needs at F & W. I've found that the samples are generous and you can easily fill up!

We must have been posting at the same time! You're right. That way I can sample the food as much as I can. Plus trying to waddle out of Epcot after all that food alllll the way to the Boardwalk just doesn't sound appealing.

 

[abbybeth]

We must have been posting at the same time! You're right. That way I can sample the food as much as I can. Plus trying to waddle out of Epcot after all that food alllll the way to the Boardwalk just doesn't sound appealing.

yeeeaaahhhhh .... as much as I love Rose & Crown, I was so uncomfortably full that night that I vowed to never double up sit-downs and heavy F & W snacking again.

And if South Africa has what they've had the last few years, add it to your must-do list: short ribs with mashed sweet potatoes. I've been wistfully pining away for it since the last time I had it in 2009!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

yeeeaaahhhhh .... as much as I love Rose & Crown, I was so uncomfortably full that night that I vowed to never double up sit-downs and heavy F & W snacking again.

And if South Africa has what they've had the last few years, add it to your must-do list: short ribs with mashed sweet potatoes. I've been wistfully pining away for it since the last time I had it in 2009!

Darn, don't see South Africa on the menu list. (http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/inte...festival-marketplace-kiosks-now-available.htm) What you described did sound good too because you can never go wrong with short ribs in my book!

 

[abbybeth]

Darn, don't see South Africa on the menu list. (http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/inte...festival-marketplace-kiosks-now-available.htm) What you described did sound good too because you can never go wrong with short ribs in my book!

ugh, boooo .... that was such a standout dish for me! But thanks for the menu link. Time to start mapping out my must trys!

I'm a little weirded out by Scotland's vegetarian haggis - that makes me pretty sad too! The rest of the Scotland menu sounds delicious, but I do rather like haggis and can't imagine it as a vegetarian option.

seems like we do our morning DISing at the same time!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

ugh, boooo .... that was such a standout dish for me! But thanks for the menu link. Time to start mapping out my must trys!

I'm a little weirded out by Scotland's vegetarian haggis - that makes me pretty sad too! The rest of the Scotland menu sounds delicious, but I do rather like haggis and can't imagine it as a vegetarian option.

seems like we do our morning DISing at the same time!

Yes, the terms vegetarian and haggis seems contradictory.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Gearing up my computer to be ready for 6 am tomorrow when our ADR 180 day window opens up tomorrow for my family's January trip! Of course, DD throws a new request tonight that required another round of ADR reshuffling.

 

[SAT887]

Good luck on your ADRs! Apparently free dining is being announced so hopefully you don't need to call!!

 

[SAT887]

Just caught on up on your DDs birthday! We just were at the New England Aquarium in Boston a few weeks ago - the trip sounds awfully similar! We too did Rope Drop, got lunch but we too exhausted to go to the Children's Museum Also, we hadn't gone in a while due to a lengthy renovation to the aquarium.... It's sounds like you had a great day though. We always try to do something special/different on our kiddos birthdays. I also liked your Nemo comments hehe, because that's exactly what I was thinking!