And now, the conclusion of a journey that started here. I used to work with a feller who had lived in St. Louis for some years, and I remembered him raving about the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), so I decided to check it out as … Continue reading Missouri, part three (June 2018)
Once upon a time, way back in the 1990’s, my college roommates and I were watching Jeopardy together. One of them came up with the brilliant idea that I, Cedric, should try to become a Jeopardy contestant. Not to win money, but to act the … Continue reading This Is (Not) Jeopardy!
It’s that time of the week! Throwback Thursday – when I finally get around to sharing photos from not-too-recent trips. This week it’s part 2 of my June 2018 trip to Missouri (here’s a link to part one, in case you missed last week). Part … Continue reading Missouri, part two (June 2018)
I’m not a normal tourist. (I’m not a normal ANYTHING, but humor me here.) Most tourists bring home souvenirs from their travels. Not me. I normally just take pictures and blog about my experiences. I haven’t purchased a souvenir since I got that “South Dakota … Continue reading My Favorite Souvenir
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, ThrowBack Thursdays have returned! This week, we wander back to June of 2018, when I had a most excellent vacation in Missouri. Many of my east coast acquaintances asked me at the time why anyone would want to spend … Continue reading Missouri, part one (June 2018)
The Florida trip that I just completed was to be the “proof of concept” for this here Parkinson’s / Travel Blog. So, has the concept been proven? Some reflections:
My insomnia provided me with plenty of time to do my blogging during the early morning hours. And for the first few days, I did just that. After those first few days, I never felt like writing during the wee-soaked hours. I just kept coming up with one excuse after another – couldn’t type due to tremors, needed to plan the coming day’s activity in more detail (e.g., learn the names and details of each roller coaster at the park I’d be visiting), etc. And even when I did get around to writing, it seems I had less and less to say as the trip progressed. My post for Day One was huge (887 words), and I had a couple more topics that I could have written about but chose to leave out. My write-ups for the last three days of the trip were much less verbose (averaging 225 words per day).
Ultimately, I got some likes and some comments that indicated there were people actually reading this stuff as I posted it, so I think I’ll keep at it. My next trip is not much more than a month away, when I will be in east Texas. In the meantime, ThrowBack Thursdays will resume. Next stop: Missouri in June, 2018.
…and on the 11th day, Cedric rested…and tried the new nachos at Chili’s…and he saw that they were good. After seeing loads of wildlife inside amusement parks, I decided it was time to see wildlife in the wild. So on Day Twelve, I made the … Continue reading Florida Trip Report (the final four days)
Let me just start by saying, this trip has had the worst traffic of any vacation I’ve ever been on. During my previous trip to Florida, where I went all the way down the Atlantic coast and out to Key West, traffic was hardly a concern at all. But central and southwestern Florida have been a COMPLETELY different story. From Orlando down through Tampa to Sarasota: Massive traffic jams somewhere along my route EVERY DAY so far. So today, when I had planned to leave early enough to get to Sea World at opening time…I didn’t leave nearly early enough. But that’s OK; I didn’t stay all day, anyway.
I found Sea World to be similar to Busch Gardens, and not just because they’re the same company. They both have animal displays scattered amongst thrill rides. The difference being that Busch Gardens seems to be a little more about the rides, while Sea World is a little more about the animals…which seems to make sense. Officially, I came here for the coasters, but I quickly converted to the marine life side of things. I only rode three coasters (one of them twice). They were good, especially Mako, which felt like a cross between Intimidator and Fury 325 (both of which are at my home park, Carowinds). But I spent much more time at the shows and the walk-through animal exhibits.
I went to the orca show, the sea lion / otter / walrus show, and the dolphin show. Due to the show times, I did them all back-to-back-to-back, which led to my afternoon dose of Parkinson’s meds being taken an hour late, right before the dolphin show. So I headed into the dolphin show feeling tired and weak, and thinking that I would leave the park right after the show. But the meds kicked in during the show, re-energizing me. I stayed for another couple hours, and considered staying even longer. But it was dark by then, and I was ready to find some dinner. Some dinner that wasn’t worth blogging about.
I leave you with a quick video of a ride I didn’t fully notice until just before I left Sea World. In all my amusement park travels, I have seen and ridden many a river rafting ride and many a flume ride, but this is the first time I’ve seen the two concepts merged into a single ride…
Do you remember the Ringling Brothers? Of course not, you never met ’em! But do you remember the NAME Ringling Brothers? In 1870, five brothers from McGregor, Iowa founded what later became the biggest circus in history. John Ringling lived until 1936; by then, he … Continue reading Florida Trip Report (Days 8 and 9)
Way back in 1990, I started to build a list of Must Ride roller coasters. This list has waxed and waned since then, but I’ve always kept it short enough that it could be maintained in my noggin; never has it been written down. I … Continue reading Florida Trip Report (Day 7)
Voyages with Parkinson's 