Another Hike

While I was busy slaving away at work today, Nick went for a hike and these are some of the creatures he encountered.

Time for another game of spot the gator.

I thought this duck looked like a decoy.

The fish is not in the bird's mouth, it's speared on it's beak.  Nick said another, larger bird swooped down after this and stole the fish off of the other bird's beak.

A Bewitching Place

I'm a Disney boy through and through.  I've only visited Universal's two Orlando parks a couple of times each since they've been open.  I recently visited Islands of Adventure for the first time since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened and all I can say is WOW!  I know I'm a bit behind the times on this and everyone has raved about it since its opening but still I kept my expectations in check.  They were completely blown away.  I can't remember the last time I stepped into a themed atmosphere and felt so transported.  One of the things that amazed me most was the scale and perspective of the area.  The buildings of Hogsmeade manage to be quaint and at the same time loom over the area.  In the distance Hogwarts stands high on the cliffside.  Even up close Hogwarts' forced perspective still works most of the time.  My only real problem with the area was at the edges of the Hogwarts show building where there were several places where the theming stopped too early and regular ugly building was visible, quite noticably in a couple of instances. 

It's Snowing At Tara!

Atlanta, February 2010.