Weekend in Springfield...I mean, Orlando.

Ah, Orlando. Home of Sea World, and Disney, and Putt-Putt Golfing. We tend to visit at least once per year to see David's family and let Paul ride the latest roller coasters in the theme parks. We hadn't been down in a while, and with cheap gas prices and great off-season hotel deals, we planned a three day weekend escape. This trip we visited David's Uncle Joe, went to Universal Studios, stopped by Blue Springs to see the manatees and drove home the long way via St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

Despite very chilly temperatures (the coldest morning of the year in Orlando... 33*F), we started bright and early and went to Universal Studios at 9AM on Friday morning. Getting there just before opening is a great way to beat the crowds! In the first hour we got in several rides with basically no wait. We did manage to get stuck on the new Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's ride when it broke down. Luckily this worked out in our favor, because they gave us an exit pass to ride again... but we used the pass on the other Harry Potter ride later in the day to avoid a 90 minute line. When it started to warm up a bit (into the mid 50s) we met up with David's Uncle Joe and Brad and continued to enjoy the park. We were really impressed with the Springfield section. It was like being transported to the world of the Simpsons!

Welcome to Universal Orlando.

Diagon Alley is really cool. Notice there are no crowds yet at 9:05AM.

Chandelier at Gringott's... Sia would be swinging from that for sure!

Paul is endorsed by 8 out of 10 elves. Also, he's drinking hot butterbeer!

Hogsmead, on the Islands of Adventure side of the park. Yeah, the crowds aren't so light anymore....

Harry Potter, Schmarry Plotter...this was the best part of Universal!

Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield.

What? It's a perfectly cromulent word.

Krustyland Theme Park!

Kang and Kodos Twirl 'n Hurl (basically Disney's Dumbo but cooler).

Breakfast of Champions!

Duff beer for you! Duff beer for me! I'll have a Duff, you have one too!

Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff!

Moe's! They had flaming Moe's, but it was non-alcoholic so we passed.

Paul loved the name of this shop the best.

Lots of fun details that you'd recognize if you're a fan of the Simpsons!

Mmmmm... Krusty Burger.  "Think smaller, and more legs."

Mall kiosk version of KB.

The old Back to the Future ride was re-purposed and Simpsonized! It's hilarious.

Paul's made a new friend! Everything's coming up Milhouse!

Yeah, dingus, answer the phone!

Not everything at Universal is amazing...*shudder*

On Saturday we slept in after the long day at Universal Studios. We had no real plans so we just bounced around Orlando a bit (including Lake Eola, hipstery East End Market, and beer-friendly Gnarly Barley) before picking up Joe and driving up to Blue Springs to check out the manatees. Manatees congregate in the spring whenever the water in the St. John's river gets a little too cold. The spring is a constant 72*F year round.

Paul's got his vacation priorities straight, and his beers in a row!

Lake Eola in downtown Orlando.

The manatee-shaped counter got us excited for lots of sea cows... 361 of them!

Manatees in Blue Springs.

So many manatees... OK, at least one of these is a rock.

This little guy's a loner!

David's childhood home in Deltona...it's seen better days :(

David's mother planted this palmetto and it was about 2 feet tall when they moved.

On Sunday we left Orlando early and  drove to St. Augustine and Jacksonville, taking the scenic route back to Atlanta. This day ended up being tons of driving, but we saw some cool stuff along the way and Paul got another roller coaster credit (a Wacky Worm, of course) at a small park in Jacksonville Beach.

Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine. The oldest brick fort in the US.

Looking out over the bay from the Castillo.

Castillo de San Marcus Interior.

Intricate cannon at the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.

Another cannon.

St. Augustine has some pretty old buildings. This is Ponce de Leon Hall, part of Flagler College.

St. Augustine is the oldest city in America.

The interior dome of the Ponce de Leon Hall.

We stopped by Adventure Landing in Jacksonville Beach on the way home. 

Who looks wackier? Paul or the worm?

A credit's a credit!

Bye for now, Florida. See you again soon!

Weekend in Baltimore

Baltimore. What comes to mind when you hear the word? The musical Hairspray and racial tension? Crime and the TV show "The Wire"? The city tends to get a bad rap. But Baltimore is an under-rated city, and a great place to visit. It has neighborhood after neighborhood full of charming brick row houses. The harborfront is a bustling tourist centerpiece that should make other cities jealous. The downtown and surrounding neighborhoods are compact and walkable, and there's a free circulator bus system and water taxis. The city is loaded with historic sites, including Fort McHenry (where the
Star Spangled Banner was inspired during the Battle of Baltimore). Not to mention, Baltimore has a burgeoning beer scene. Sure, the city has its share of blight and crime, but overall there's a lot of energy and a strong sense of a city on the rise.

Our friends Pat and Ber live in Baltimore and David had never visited, so it was about time we spent a long weekend in the Charm City.

Walking in the Federal Hill neighborhood. Much of Baltimore looks like this.

Block after block of historic brick rowhouses

Fort McHenry National Monument

The star-spangled banner

Paul got put in revolutionary jail

The harbor at Fort McHenry

Historic church in downtown

See, the greatest city in America! It says it on a bench! And why would a bench lie to a person?

Local beer

Downtown Baltimore

The viewing deck of the Baltimore world trade center

Baltimore harborfront

Hanging out with Spongebob outside the National Aquarium

Another beer at Max's taproom

The Ukrainian church

Nature trail in Patterson Park

We went "Duckpin" bowling. It's a Baltimore tradition.

The bowling balls and pins are smaller than regular bowling

There's even a local Duckpin beer!

Baltimore at night from Federal Hill Park 

On our final day, we made a quick trip up to Pennsylvania before flying back to Atlanta. We rode some coasters at Hersheypark, and visited the state capitol building and had some beer in Harrisburg. We've been to quite a few state capitol buildings, and the Pennsylvania capitol is one of the most impressive we've seen.

Yes, Paul rode this kiddie coaster. It's chocolate themed - the "Cocoa Cruiser"!

The Wildcat

He ate the whole thing!

This cow sang to us about chocolate

The Pennsylvania state capitol

It's historic!

Carved mahogany figures  

Paul is the new governor. First action: the "flags for orphans" bill.

Inside the capitol rotunda

The ornate dome interior

The senate

Beautiful stained glass windows

The amazing dome of the supreme court

Paintings in the supreme court. This was a very impressive room.

The congressional chamber

Looking out over Harrisburg from the capitol steps

We stopped for some beer at Appalachian brewing company

Baltimore has a lot going for it. It's also close to a lot of things (an easy drive to Hersheypark, for example). We definitely enjoyed our trip and hope to visit again soon!