Miami Zoo Wallpapers

Back in early January 2013 I took a little trip to Miami. On my previous visit I had not been able to visit the Zoo there like I wanted, so this time I was sure to make time to do so.

First, view outside of my hotel. It was in the town of Miami Beach, right on the beach. Unfortunately I didn’t get a beach front room, but the view from the west side was still quite interesting.

Miami Zoo Wallpapers

So the drive to the Zoo was actually a pretty long one, and involved a few toll roads – something in all my travels I still haven’t really gotten used too. Thankfully most toll companies allow you to pay the original toll online with minimal fuss these days.

Miami Zoo Wallpapers
It seems that a lot of Zoos like to have Continue reading “Miami Zoo Wallpapers”

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

An early fall trip to Disneyland in Los Angeles is starting to be somewhat of a tradition in my family. Once again we drove down from the Portland area along the I-5 corridor. The return trip always includes a stop over in San Francisco. This was the same trip where we stayed only a couple of blocks away from Venice Beach.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
We always go to the right, to enter into “Tomorrowland” first. I’m still up in the air about the 1990’s refurbishment, and I really miss the “People Mover” for some reason.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The Astro Orbiter is the first ride in this part of the park. It replaces the older Star Jet Ride that opened in 1974. Geared towards younger children, the ride orbits around a fake orrery showing an unknown Solar System.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures Here you can just barely see the top of Cinderella’s castle through the trees.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
One of the cool parts of Tomorrowland is the Star Wars themes. Kids can learn to be Padwans and “fight” both Darth Vader and Darth Maul with their own lightsabers.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The “Moonliner” looks to be the rocket part of the original Star Ride. It remains forlorn as decorations.

If find Tomorrowland fascinating in general because it was a glimpse of the future when it was built. “Tomorrow” held a lot of promise for many people. Now it’s Tomorrow, and it’s interesting to see how much everything not only diverged from that imagination, but also didn’t really change. How practicality trumped wishful thinking, and how certain technologies just never came to be.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The Cymbal monkey is a statue in the “pet cemetery” of one of my favorite rides, the Haunted Mansion. Most of the statues have a pun or funny little saying on them. Most of them are also a bit boring after reading the 100th time though, although I still get a thrill out of the ride and will ride it at least five times during a three day visit.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
And of course, the Sailing Ship Columbia that occasionally circles Tom Sawyer’s Island, and plays host to an epic battle between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Most of the time it just sits there as a huge prop, never moving, and frequently inaccessible.