The Florida Aquarium, Tampa Bay

I have never been to an aquarium that impressed me, until this one.  I have been to the Dallas aquarium, Camden aquarium and the Montreal aquarium and they were exactly what you would expect from an aquarium.  Lots of fish, some birds, sometimes other random animals that have no relation to anything aquatic, but basically nothing spectacular.  I think it is difficult to make fish exciting for adults.   But this aquarium is an experience, one that will give me a different perspective on sea-life!

The spectacular Florida aquarium is situated near downtown Tampa.  Not too far from the convention center, and actually right near where the vacation cruise liners dock.  There are a lot of things to do in this area, the American Victory ship is docked nearby, as well as other short sight seeing boat tours that you can do.  This is an area with several wholesome family attractions.  I presumed that because these attractions are right near where the cruise liners dock, that they would not put any effort into impressing the clientele, since they have a constant stream of tourists passing through.  But perhaps, that is why I was all the more surprised when it turned out to be so wonderful. This aquarium is a unique experience that I almost, *almost* do not want to write about because then it wouldn't be such a hidden gem.

Florida Aquarium Webpage

A Dolphin Cruise near the aquarium

The first display you will see, are the local wetland wildlife in Florida.  Better then see, just try to stop your kids from touching it!  NO really watch your kids closely:

Graceland Memphis TN

This year I finally had a chance to visit my sister who lives in Tennessee. Of course, you have to go see Graceland if you are anywhere near Memphis, it is REQUIRED! I am not an Elvis expert, but I have always greatly enjoyed his music, this song being one of my favorites as well as my parents wedding song:

Elvis: Can't help falling in love

This is another sweet love song I love

Busch Gardens Tampa Florida

Well it has been awhile since I have posted anything here.  Mainly that is because I haven't been anywhere truly inspiring.  This last two years I was focused on finishing my PhD in physics and having a baby.  Try doing both of those at the same time!  Now that my defense is done and my daughter is at a very enjoyable age (almost 1) it is time to start living it up again and exploring new places!  At least until I find a full time job;).

Busch Gardens Tampa Florida

The trip to Busch Gardens was a wondrous day.  We managed to get a special deal where we got very discounted tickets and off we went with baby in tow.  I remember going to a Busch Gardens years ago in the North East area of the states.  It was crowded, too hot, had lots of long lines and over priced food which made you feel queasy after consumption.  This park, resembled nothing like I had expected.  First, it has a zoo.  Not just any zoo, it is an African themed-park with only the most interesting and rarest of animals which are worth seeing.  They have restaurants, some of which are air conditioned!  They have a kids park area with small water pools and rope climbing rides.  They have stores with items that are not all unreasonably priced!  But best of all it was not over crowded!

For this blog entry, I am going to focus on the zoo part of the park (which is the part that our family enjoyed the most that day). The first animals we saw were the gorillas.  Wow.  Most zoos will charge you extra to see a special Gorilla exhibit.  I know The Bronx zoo does.  Not here at Busch Gardens, this is all included, so feast your eyes as much as you like on the Gorillas within their huge containment area:

Camp Taccoa, Georgia (Currahee!)

As a student of the United States Army Airborne School, located in Fort Benning, Georgia, it was almost an unspoken rule to make the trip out to Camp Taccoa. This was the original site for the Army jump training during the early 1940's which was made famous by Stephen Ambrose's book, "The Band of Brothers" which later become an HBO miniseries. The story begins in 1942 where Echo Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, arrives in Camp Toccoa for their basic airborne training and follows the unit through various campaigns throughout the European conflict until the end of WWII.

The remnants of Camp Toccoa are just a few signs and a memorial commemorating the combat jumps of the 506th, 501st, 511th, and 517th Infantry Regiments in the shape of a parachute. There are initiatives in place to rebuild the site to commemorate the Camp.

The location was a little difficult to find; the memorial located just off the intersection of West Currahee Street and Ayersville Road. When I went, there was no real place to park; I ended up driving into Ayersville Road and parked on the south side of the street, on the opposite side of the street from where the memorial is located.

Here are some of the signs I was mentioning, plus a good indication that you are at the correct location.

COL Robert Sink Memorial Trail is named after the former 506th Infantry Regiment Commander. The trail follows the 6 mile run to the top Currahee.

The memorial is located at the original entrance to Camp Toccoa. The black marble stone structure is at the base of the parachute which can be seen in the picture below. 

6 miles in 45 minutes, the standard for the aspiring paratroopers in the 1940's, does not seem that challenging for a relatively healthy young adult; but this was by far the worst run I have ever done. If I were to let my ego speak, I would blame the humidity of the Georgia weather in the month of January which I was not accustomed too, since I came down from the north east where the temperature was about 30 degrees colder and the air much drier.

The top of the hill is not very well marked and I thought I had reached the top when I came to a graffiti covered rock-face. The picture below is the view looking down on the trail from the top of that rock formation. Don't stop, but keep running for another 200 or so meters.

Once you get to the actual top of Currahee, you will find a saucer plate sized plaque in the ground which is the official reference maker.

 It is really not that noticeable as it is flat on the ground, in-between numerous telecommunications buildings.

Minus the mishap of finding the top of Currahee and spending a few minutes reflecting upon the history of this site, I did the round-trip run in about 43 minutes.

As you can tell, I wasn't feeling that great once I got back to the start of the trail.

In the time that I had completed the "3 miles up and 3 miles down," someone had left a red rose at the base of the statues commemorating the sacrifices of the paratroopers that came before me. Currahee! Airborne!