Blooms Inside the Tinker Bell's Butterfly Garden

Our visit to EPCOT in Disney World was just done in few hours. We wanted to stick to the plan: take three rides, stay in Future World and take photos in few areas there and the entrance. I tell you what, we were roaming about 30% in Future World areas. Yes, there is so much to see around but, since we have a pass holder, we are not in a hurry. We can comeback anytime. I already posted few photos of the topiary display in EPCOT as well as the fairy houses display. I still have more photo's to share though and for now, these are the flowers found in Tinker Bell's Butterfly garden.

This is one of my favorites. The blooms just explode.

I am not sure if this belongs to sunflower family.

Here's another color.

I like this too, it's like a scepter.

This is pretty too in fact, I got this one in my garden one time.

Here is Tinker Bell standing at the side exit/entrance of the garden.

This flower is my most favorite.

Very Pretty

This flower is nice too.

I think this flower is called Everlasting.

This is another color of everlasting flower.

That's all for now. What do you think?

#ButterflyTopiary : International Flower and Garden Festival in EPCOT

My husband and I were at EPCOT in #DisneyWorld last Thursday to see the #InternationalFlowerandGardenFestival which is presented by #HGTV. My goodness, fun is in bloom indeed. We love taking the monorail because it is really cool to see part of EPCOT up above the monorail tracks. The first blooms that I saw was the garden near the Tinker Bell's Butterfly Garden. It was so colorful and the Disney Character topiaries are gigantic so it was beautiful and visible up above.

We decided to stay in Future World and take 3 rides. I already reserved my fast pass online but, since hubby can't get his fast pass, we took the standby. We won't be long anyway coz we get tired from walking around so; I  told hubby that we will stay in Future World and take the photos of Topiaries and the garden display at the entrance. We will be back next time before the festival ends.

As we were walking towards the Tinker Bells's Butterfly Garden, this giant Butterfly Topiary caught my eyes. Such a gorgeous display don't you think? There are over a 100 topiary displays in Epcot. Some topiaries are favorite Disney Characters and some are seasonal topiaries so; every year is truly different. We did not go to World Showcase.

It is spring break so; it is super crowded in Disney World.  All the rides have 30 to 80 minutes stand by , crazy right? If you plan to visit Disney World, get your ticket ahead of time and reserve your fast pass online or on your cellphone.  You save time and your energy will not be wasted with the queue. With our case, it is alright because we have a yearly pass and we can visit anytime on weekdays and in any parks. We can take the standby of 30 max. When we went to Soarin' Attraction, the wait time is 80 minutes LOL. We did not go. We took the Land instead and it was pretty interesting.

The Amazing topiary displays are in the World Showcase area. I will take photos of the topiaries in that area on our next visit. I really wanted to go there alone though LOL. My husband hates to walk from pavilion to pavilion. Goodness! LOL!

Yep, for now , I am sharing this butterfly display.  I took more photos inside the Tinker Bell's butterfly garden. If you love flowers, I use the zoom feature of my camera phone and take photos to some blooms and the flowers are all pretty.

I hope you enjoyed viewing the butterfly display. Do you think you can you make this art work in your garden? Thanks for stopping by. Come back tomorrow for another exciting and interesting photos. have a great day!

NASA's Kennedy Space Center : Ticket Area

Pretty soon, we will be leaving Florida and move back to the Gulf Coast. Our property was already sold and we are just waiting for the closing schedule. The buyer was so happy to know that the #KennedySpaceCenter is just 15 minutes away from the house. I told them to purchase the annual pass so that they can come here anytime they want.

This is the express ticket area where guests will be able purchase tickets with just a push of the button. The prices are displayed with complete information on what's included in the ticket. A team member is also assigned in the area to assists the guests who are buying the tickets.

Other guests prefer to purchase their ticket in the adjacent ticket area. The queue is not bad at all and it's moving fast. There was an event inside and look at the crowd in here, not bad at all compared to Disney World huh?

If you are wondering about the ticket prices, here it is. Ours is the annual pass and we can visit the Kennedy Space Center anytime and any day for the whole year. This price is really affordable don't you think?

I saw a lot of Filipinos buying tickets too because Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal is just 16 minutes away from here. If you have been cruising, you already know that a great number of Filipinos work on cruise ship industry. If the Port of call is Port Canaveral, cruise ship workers take their free time right here than in Disney World which is an hour drive from the port. The #KSC is an easy place to check out on their free time..

Most of the guests came from Orlando and other places in the country. They were on Disney buses and chartered buses and the #KSC has enough parking space to accommodate all these buses.

The photo below is the new entrance to the KSC's Visitor Complex and I like this entrance better than the old one. It looks spacious, grand and the contemporary design is gorgeous.

See the orange sticking up behind the building? That's where the incredible and breathtaking Atlantis attraction is located. It's newly constructed and it is my most favorite attraction in KSC. Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction has more than 60 interactive exhibits with high tech simulators. Awesome right?

Anyway, check out this beautiful view from the entrance. The American flag is swaying gallantly.

Here are some of the chartered buses and motorhomes parked at KSC parking lot.

KSC has a huge parking lot and each area has the name of the astronauts. When you come and visit KSC, you should remember the name of the Astronauts where you park your car. It will be terrible if you forget this simple detail. You will have a hard time locating your car if that happens.

Remember the number and the name of the Astronaut just like the photo below. Now, Malcolm Scott Carpenter is an astronaut. He was the second American to orbit the earth and the fourth American in Space. He was selected for NASA's Project Mercury. He died last year in October 10, 2013 at the age of 88.

If you are forgetful in remembering names and details, take a picture of where you park your car. Believe me, it will save you time and energy because I saw people who forgot this stuff. They were excited to see the attraction so; when they comeback, they were lost in the middle of thousand of cars LOL. It could ruin your happy day and that's not an ideal to end a vacation right?

That's all for now and thanks for visiting my blog. Now you know that the price is affordable, visit KSC for this spring vacation. Bye and comeback next time.

Ready For #Cruising

It's #RandomThoughts #Thursday in #BeyondPhotography so; I was checking my folder once again to pick a random photo that I love. I choose this picture which was taken in Bahamas. That's The Atlantis in Paradise Island on the background. When the Norwegian Cruise Ship dock in Nassau, hubby and I decided to roam inside the famous Atlantis World Class resort.

This place is truly awesome! If I am rich, I would love to spend my vacation every month ... right here. That's quiet expensive huh? I know and that's the reason I said "IF" ... Hubby and I are so ready to do another cruising so; I need to renew my passport. Gosh! It will be exciting. How about you? How many times did you do cruising?

Atlas V Launch Alert

March 25,2014 is supposed to be the Atlas V rocket launch schedule but, when I check the KSC site, TBD was added. There was a delay of the launch due to technical difficulties. The launch will be re-scheduled soon. We will be busy on Tuesday so; I doubt if we can drive by the Indian River and watch it.

We will probably see the launch in our backyard. I will not even attempt to take pictures using my DSLR. I will just use my fon so; the photos will not look like the ones above. Anyway, I will be posting in FB the live telecast of the rocket launch. Watch out for it.

Helping Your Child Make the Transition to College

For most incoming college students, it’s the first time they’ve lived away from home, and the change can be overwhelming. There are many new responsibilities that they now have to take care of—both with their academic and personal lives. You can visit University Villages West in Clemsonto see what their life will be like on campus and learn how you can help make the adjustment easier on your child.

Choosing a Career Path

One of the major responsibilities a student has to deal with during their time at college is choosing a major and a career path. Obviously, this can have a weighty impact on their entire future, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Encourage your student to sit down with you or with a school counselor to talk about their options and make a plan to fit in all the necessary classes and other requirements. It doesn’t hurt to remind them, at the same time, that many people change their major partway through college, and it isn’t the end of the world if they change their mind.

Taking on Financial Responsibilities

College is a good time to let your child learn how to handle their own money if they haven’t already started to do so. Even if you’re paying for their tuition, you might want to make them responsible for items like clothes and music. It’s a good idea for them to get a bank account and even a credit card. Using a credit card responsibly and paying it off on time every month will help them to start establishing a good credit history, which will be invaluable in the future.

Adjusting to Independent Living

A third major adjustment for your child will be living away from home for the first time. They will be responsible for doing their own laundry, tidying their room or apartment, and possibly even making meals. If you help teach your child these skills while they’re young, it will make the move a lot easier on them, and you’ll never have to worry that they can’t take care of themselves. You can also visit University Villages West in Clemson before the semester starts so you know what furniture or other belongings your child will need as he or she starts their new life away from home.

Nice Ferry Ride to Fort Matanzas National Monument

These photos are my entry for Flashback Wednesday. We live only few hours to Saint Augustine but, it has been a long while since we visited this place. On this particular visit, we arrived in Fort Matanzas at noontime and there were few people waiting for the Ferry. The schedule for the ride was every hour so; we need to wait for another hour.

We were reading the fascinating facts about Fort Matanzas and how important this Fort in protecting Florida from the enemy. When the ferry came, we grow in numbers but, there were enough seats for all of us. The ferry ride is always free of charge and it's a short ride to the Fort. The captain started to talk about the history of Matanzas and he was a great story-teller. Everyone enjoyed listening to him.

I think most of us were tourists and first-timer in the Fort. The captain asked us and almost all of us raised our hands confirming that it's our first visit.

The ride was smooth and the weather was great! We applauded the captain for the good information he shared to us. We stayed inside the Fort for more than an hour. The Captain is knowledgeable about Fort Matanzas and we were listening attentively.

He gave us enough time to explore the Fort. Some people in our group asked a question about the things inside and he had the answer. He was really cool and very friendly too.

My husband and I were planning to comeback here. That will be happening before we move to Mississippi. I am hoping that we can squeeze a time for Saint Augustine trip soon.

If you plan to visit Fort Matanzas in Florida, make sure you plan ahead. You should know that it is crowded on a weekend and holidays. The ferry ride is free but, you need to get the boarding pass at the Visitor Center.

Wear cap or a hat if necessary to protect your face from the heat of the sun. Do not wear high heels!  Do not forget your sunglasses and use sunblock too. Bring a camera with extra batteries and enjoy your visit.

#StarTours in Hollywood Studios

When we plan to visit Disney, we usually stay for few hours. 4 hours max and we come late in the afternoon. We select 3 to 4 attractions, dine in and that's about it. We have a yearly pass so; we are not in a hurry to check out all attractions at once. On this particular day, we braved ourselves to ride the flight simutor. At the entrance, right beside the fast pass machines, characters of the Star Wars were waiting to greet the fans.

Well, there's few minutes left before take off to outer space so; we had no time to meet the characters. We move along and went towards the gate of Star Tours.

Here I was, just topping by to check out some souvenir items.

It's a long walk towards the flight simulator area so; the robot attendants were the ones who gave the directions. It was like going inside the airport and pass to a security area, LOL. The picture below is R2-D2 (standing on top of the starspeeder1000), an Astromech Droid giving directions to us.

Welcoming us in another area is C-3PO, the Protocol Droid which by the way fluent "supposedly" in over six million forms of communication. I was entertained and seemed to forget the long walk already.

I blame the long walk to the zigzag way hehehe. This is how they do it to kill the time especially when it's crowded. I really don't mind at all. The attraction is thrilling and exciting!

Check out R2-D2 on top and giving us instructions which way to go.

Here's another robot who gave us the last minute reminders.

The queue is long but, it was moving fast and besides, the robots keep us company.

I was reading the signs everywhere to make sure that this Flight Simulator is okay for me to ride. I hate adrenalin-rush rides. I said to myself, I will just close my eyes and scream if I'm scared LOL.

Actually, closing my eyes when the ride was too scary to handle, works! The bad part was when it was over, I felt dizzy and almost get sick. After a short walk along the Streets of America, I recovered my strength! That's the reason why; the Star Tour is always the last attraction that we want to visit before we head home. I don't want to ruin my day if I get sick.

By the way, on this particular day, there was a family of 8. The kids were quiet but, excited! The daddy was LOUD! As in LOUD! My goodness, it seemed he was screaming already. He keeps telling the kids to just relax because this ride is not scary according to the reminder posted on the wall. When we were seated and ready to take off, everyone around must be annoyed of his loud voice. Someone hushed him. He still talked loud and ignoring the hush. When the Flight Simulator started, he became silent. Even when it was time to scream, he was silent! When it was over and the door swung open, we were looking at his direction and he was like "pale-and-sickly" looking. Someone yelled, "the amazing ride GOT HIM good huh"? Everyone were laughing LOL. He was still quiet and went to a bathroom. Toink!