First Visit to Fort Matanzas National Monument

This monument is a 1740 Spanish Fort located in Saint Augustine, Florida. We live at least 2 hours from here. Our first visit was on a Thursday, less crowded so; it was fun and exciting. We arrived at noon time. The ferry ride was free of charge and it was a smooth ride.

They said that the Fort is busiest on a weekend so; hubby and I were glad that we came here on weekdays. May is hot and humid so; if you plan to visit the Fort, bring a sunscreen and a hat. The Fort has a wooden ladder and stairs so; shoes is the right footwear to wear.

While waiting for the Ferry to comeback from the Fort, I was already excited after reading the Anatomy of the Fort. I can't wait to reach the tower. To reach the lookout area, one will have to climb a ladder, single only. Hubby did not do it. I was at the rooftop and the view was gorgeous.

The Fort was built by the Spanish to guard Matanzas Inlet, the southern mouth of the Matanzas River, which could be used as a rear entrance to the city of St. Augustine. A captain of the ferry narrated the history of the Fort.
We stayed for about two hours just taking pictures. Here are some of the photos in Fort Matanzas.

Check out some photos in this link too : Miniature Display.

This is the information board at the entrance of the Visitor's Area of Fort Matanzas.
 
This is an interesting place and I truly recommend that you should visit Fort Matanzas.

Here's hubby waiting for the ferry on the dock.

So near yet so far. I would love to visit this place one last time before we head back to Mississippi for good.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Walt Disney's Barn in Marceline Missouri

The moment I saw this barn, I just can't believe that this is the childhood playground of Walt Disney. Yep, the iconic Philanthropist and the major figure in American Animation Industry once lived in Marceline, a town surrounded with farmlands. This barn stood still beyond time and just few yards away is Walt's dreaming tree where he spent hours dreaming the ultimate dream of his life.

Inside the barn is just ordinary and nothing much to see but, this barn is Walt's Happy Place. As we are enjoying the amazing Disney Magic in movies and the great sights and attractions in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, those can be traced back down the memory lane in Marceline. As the young Walt made his first entertaining prowess inside this barn using animals in costume. Well, his audience was not happy about it so; his mom had him return the money to the audience. LOL.

 

Okay, I left my footprint in this barn, I mean, I did left my signature and message inside this barn. If you are going to visit Disney's Barn and his Dreaming Tree in Marceline, Missouri , please bring a sign pen with you. There is no CVS or Walgreens in this area. Yep, no store in this area. The nearest WalMart is about 15 minutes away.

This is the only sign that you have to look to reach this area. Parking space is probably less than 5 but, it's plenty for you. Not so many visitors came here to visit.

Disney loves this barn that is why; he recreated this barn in his home in California and used it as his workshop.

At the front of the barn. This looks like the farmland of my uncle back in the Philippines , (wink) .
 

Have you seen the movie So Dear To My Heart? If you don't , I found the video and added it below.

I have pictures inside the barn, I will be posting it here next time.

Thanks for stopping by.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker by the Bird Bath

Today is a rainy Thursday down here in the Space Coast. It is a bit muggy and as I checked out, look what I found hanging on the bird bath, a red-bellied woodpecker. Actually, this woodpecker is a frequent visitor in the yard. Mostly, it stayed on the electrical post at the back yard. It is very noisy and many times, it has the ability to wake me up in the morning by using its bill and drilling loudly into the post foraging in the hope of finding insects.

I still don't know the name of this tree but, when winter comes, it will look like this and pretty soon, it will become bare completely. I can't keep up mulching the leaves that is why; I don't like this tree at all. It gives too much of a  hassle. In summer time, it provides the shed so; pretty much the reason why; we keep it.
Anyway, I have been trying to capture a video of the birds swimming in the bird bath. Yes, they are really swimming right after I filled it with water. They look cute and they don't fight. They take turns considering they are different species. Aside from woodpeckers, there are cardinals and doves too.
We don't feed the birds because the squirrels  are watching on the tree. Despite of that, the birds love to hang out in our yard. In the afternoon, they are noisy by the fence and on the electrical wires nearby. What animals that hang out in your area? I hope not a snake LOL.

Exclusive for Forever Angels Only

Okay, I really don't pay attention to most of my emails but, when I saw this ad and read the special offer details, I say why not! If you are a Forever Angel like me (VS black card), you will get this cute coin purse for FREE and no purchase necessary. Check out your nearest VS store and ask the associate about this freebie. As for me, I will bring my email to make sure they know what I am talking about.

If you plan to shop for early Christmas at VS and your purchase sums up to $65, you will get this Pink blanket for FREE. Don't forget to avail it! As for me, I will just claim my two freebies. A spray and this purse, no purchase required. Isn't it great? Oh, I love freebies!

Heated Mattress Pad

How's the weather in your place today? I know that up North is snowing but down here in the South, we have a fair weather. That is the reason I love winter time in Florida. It's going to be cool as if the AC has been turned on outside but, no snow at all. 

Sometimes, it is freezing here too that is why we have a heated mattress pad. We seldom use it but, each rooms in the house have it in the closet if in case we need it. If you live up North, you should have a heated mattress pad to achieve that comfy and sweet sounding sleep each night.

Coin : Electronic Wallet

I am one of the many people who doesn't carry cash. ( I don't have cash anyway LOL ) Kidding aside, it is convenient for me to use my debit and credit  card so; if you want cash from me, I can't give you any. Awhile ago, I just saw this in the business news and I was wondering if anyone of you have heard about it. Coin. Yes, the black card below is called coin. This is an interesting innovation because with Coin, you can add all your credit cards, debit cards and gift cards into it. Basically, when you go out shopping and do the grocery, you only bring the coin and pay using the coin.

Here is the video that I found in YouTube to better explain what Coin is all about. Tell me, would you use coin?

If you asked me, I will use it with gift cards but with bank account, I may have to delay it for a year and see if people using it finds coin convenient or a big hassle. After watching the video, what do you think?

When Planning a Wedding

Planning for a wedding is not easy. From the selection of the wedding entourage down to finding the wedding reception can be stressful and takes a lot of time. Take off that stress! That is the reason why some people hire a reputable wedding planner who has the expertise to make a dream wedding a reality. An experience wedding planner can master overtime and because they plan weddings so many times, they can handle the stress. Wedding Planners handle the stress level out from the burden of the couple so that they can prepare themselves for their wedding day.

I am sure that schedules for practice are systematic. The food selection has not been forgotten and the communication with the entourage has been taking care of ensuring that they can come on time. I am quiet confident that the wedding planner has been looking for a wedding dj that can lighten up and can make the wedding fun, memorable and entertaining according to the newly weds requests.

Roll Clouds : Nature's Beauty

I saw this on the news by Brian William's on NBC channel last November 13, 2013. There was a pretty display of roll cloud seen in the skies of Texas. It was captured by Bonnie, a truck driver. This is such a fascinating nature's beauty.

All photos below are not mine. When I Googled the word roll cloud to see the images, these are a few of what I gathered.

Clouds like these are low and horizontal. Would you agree that roll cloud displays an amazing beauty in the sky? I don't remember seeing a roll cloud right here where I live. Even when we live by the Gulf Coast, I don't remember ever taking a picture of it. Roll clouds are low formation cloud.

According to apod.nasa.gov, "These may form near advancing cold fronts. In particular, a downdraft from an advancing storm front can cause moist warm air to rise, cool below its dew point, and so form a cloud. Roll clouds may actually have air circulating along the long horizontal axis of the cloud. A roll cloud is not thought to be able to morph into a tornado." Therefore, nothing to worry if I ever see a roll cloud.

The photo above was taken by Daniela Mirner Eberl in Uruguay.

The photo above is called Morning Glory, a type of roll cloud and this beauty was captured by a glider pilot in Burketown, Australia. This type of cloud can be stretched to more than 600 miles. According to the people in the area, Morning Glory appears when humidity is high.

I really don't know if seeing an arcus cloud / roll cloud like the photo above would be fascinating to me. It looks scary. It seems like a warning that big storm is coming.

Nature's beauty and phenomena are overwhelming and beautiful ...yet sometimes, they bring signs of destruction and terror.

Stay Strong Philippines

I was monitoring the news about the Philippines online. We have GMA Pinoy TV and TFC ABS-CBN channels in our cable but, they're not live. It's late for few hours.

From time to time, all major TV stations in the US like Fox News, CNN, and Weather Channel are showing the latest update regarding the aftermath of the #SuperTyphoon #Haiyan #Yolanda.

As of now, according to the news, the unconfirmed death toll reached 1,200 and feared to rise once the road is passable and the electricity and phone lines restored.

Please take note of the strength of Haiyan/Yolanda Typhoon and the difference between ten minute sustained winds and one minute sustained winds. According to Wikipedia:

"Around 1200 UTC on November 7,

Haiyan attained its peak intensity with

ten-minute sustained winds of 235 km/h (145 mph)

and a barometric pressure of 895 mbar (hPa; 26.43 inHg).

 Six hours later, the JTWC estimated Haiyan to have attained

one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (195 mph) and gusts up to 378 km/h (235 mph)."
 

Haiyan is unofficially ranks as the strongest tropical cyclone on the record according to Wikipedia.

With this magnitude of  destruction, it would take months or even years to restore these places. Stay Strong Philippines! We can do it, we always will! God bless the Philippines.

My Curling Wand Has Finally Arrived

One of the great blessings in blogging is receiving an awesome item such as this one. This product arrived few days ago and I already tried it twice and my review will be ready any day this week. This curling wand is perfect to tame my wavy hair. I am so happy that advertisers trusted me to deliver an unbiased reviews on their products. Thank you so much and yes, more please :-)

Great Sounding Amps

The sound system is very important in every social events such as wedding reception, birthday party, alumni homecoming, anniversary celebration and the list will be endless to mention. Events could be in ruined and programs will not turn out the way it should be if you use a second rate sound system and amps. I read the reviews of ampeg amps at musicians friend and majority gave a positive feedback.

If you are looking for a great amps which are very light to carry to all your gigs, events and activities, you should check this out first. Do not spoil an event. Get the great amps that deliver the result!

The Spider on the Car

This is one of the spooky sights that I saw on Halloween. If a person with arachnophobia saw this, they will faint to death probably.  I also saw a house decorated with giant spiders. Imagine the whole house with giant spiders crawling from the top down to the front yard. Perhaps not a good sight huh?

We were in Merritt Island when we saw this car. Everyone around us started staring at this car and grinning. The driver of this car is really creative, inspired by Halloween celebration. I remember last year, I saw a bloody hand hanging underneath the car. I had to look at twice to see if it's real or not.

 
I wonder if the spider will still be there if he park his car in a parking lot for more than an hour. Do you think someone will be interested to steal it?

Shooting at LAX Terminal 3

After a great celebration for Halloween, here comes a devastating news, the shooting at LAX Terminal 3. What's going on in our world today? Why can't everybody just be happy and enjoy life? The incident left one TSA agent dead and there are multiple victims shot too. As of this time, the shooter was apprehended, injured and under custody.

I am currently watching the news and the press conference headed by Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles. For those who do not know yet, there was a gunman who pulled an assault rifle from his bag and start shooting. He shot his way to the screening area towards the food court and still shooting randomly. He was engaged by an officer and was taken down. It was chaotic in Terminal 3 according to the witnesses interviewed.

Anyway, today is the first day of November and what a sad day to start a month! My prayers goes to the family of the TSA agent who was shot dead. May God bless them the strength they need.