I can’t take full credit for this idea – I saw a similar image in magazine (a recent issue of Outdoor Photographer, I think) and have been wanting to try to recreate the effect. I used a neutral density filter to get a long shutter speed, and I just moved my camera in tiny circles as I pressed the shutter button. The effect is sort of Monet, no?
When Chris and I booked a long holiday weekend in Florida, the original plan was to spend two whole days at Universal Studios parks. Well, after we spent Sunday checking out the new Diagon Alley while also melting from the extreme heat, we were sort of done with the park. If I’m going to be outside when it’s in the mid-90s, I need to be by a pool or the ocean. They do have some great water rides at Universal, but with the crazy crowds that weekend, we didn’t want to wait in line for our opportunity to cool off. Plus, our flight home was scheduled for the evening and we didn’t want to sit in sweaty clothes on the plane (and I’m sure our seatmates appreciated the thought). So instead we decided to spend some air-conditioned time indoors before heading to the airport. Orlando offers a few options, but we thought the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium sounded pretty interesting.
Don’t adjust your screens or blame my photography skills – the building really is tilted to one side!
The museum holds a mixture of art, interactive stations, puzzles, historic artifacts and things that are just…odd. You won’t see displays like these anywhere else! One of my favorite features is their huge collection of mixed media artwork. For example, this portrait of Beyoncé made entirely out of candy and a Mona Lisa composed from toast!
There are tons of hands-on interactive areas that focus on science, math, and history, so this is a perfect spot for inquisitive minds of all ages (and for hand sanitizer – bring some). You’ll also find plenty of silly photo opportunities that we obviously took advantage of with no shame. Photography is not only allowed – it’s encouraged!
Our tour ended with this trippy hallway that rotates a cylinder of neon lights around you as you walk (or stumble) through. The effect is surprisingly mind-bending and perhaps not a great idea if you just ate lunch or if you’re already a little tipsy. (We were not.) If you’re sensitive to motion-sickness, there’s an alternate hallway you can use to skip this crazy feature.
The museum is located right in Orlando, and tickets are about $20 per adult (and $13 per child). You can save a few bucks if you buy tickets online. We spent a little over an hour in the museum, but you can easily spend a bit longer if you visit each station, watch all of the videos, and read all of the materials. I definitely recommend this as a rainy-day (or a super hot I-need-to-be-in-air-conditioned-place day) alternative activity! And they’re actually open every day of the year until Midnight, so it could even be squeezed into your post-Disney day schedule if you happen to have some energy left. Go see some odd stuff!
Happy Halloween! And in the spirit of the holiday, here’s the closest thing I have to a photo of Chris and me in costumes. It was a test image from our photobooth at a wedding we photographed. While I’m a big ham and I looove dressing up, it’s really not Chris’s favorite thing for some reason. I’m not even sure if he’ll let me post this photo on the blog. So here it is for now, and let’s see if he tells me to take it down!
Not too long ago, I started a new tradition of creating a “snapshot” post from our travels with a list of superlatives to sum up our bigger trips. It’s a fun way to me to reflect back on specific moments, so to continue that tradition here is my Iceland snapshot!
Ah, right off the bat this is the toughest choice to make, but I think I was the most elated when we received the phone call from the hotel front desk at 1:30am to see the Northern Lights in Borgarnes. It’s just not something I expected to get to see and it was a wonderful surprise.
The trip started off on the wrong foot when our original flight was canceled and we lost an entire day of our itinerary. We sat at the gate for hours past our departure time before Icelandair announced that they needed to cancel due to mechanical issues. This might also be a candidate for the “Best Moment” category though because not getting on a broken plane is a very very good thing indeed. I’m grateful.
This might get filed under “you had to be there,” but one of the funniest moments of the week was a cocktail sauce incident on our third night. We stopped into a random restaurant on the way to Höfn where we decided to order a couple of burgers. The server/owner didn’t speak much English, and we had a bit of a funny miscommunication. I asked if the burger came with mayonnaise on it and his answer was no, to which I replied, “great! That is perfect since I don’t want any mayonnaise.” (Mayo is the One Thing that I just can’t eat, not even if you paid me. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.) After he dropped off our food and left us to enjoy the meal, we discovered that the burgers were completely covered on both sides with a copious amount of pink sauce oozing from the edges. Upon his return to the table, I asked what was on the burger and he explained that it was a house cocktail sauce made from…ketchup mixed with mayonnaise. He left, and Chris and I just dissolved into quiet hysterics. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I didn’t return the burger, but I couldn’t stop giggling for the rest of the meal (that I didn’t eat).
Chris and I both agree that our best meal was, oddly, a pizza that we split at Hotel Höfn. We popped into the hotel restaurant right after we checked in. We had just finished a long, active day and it was 9:30pm so it may just be that we were starving, but man it was delicious and so satisfying. And interestingly enough, it didn’t make me feel terrible like pizza does here at home. I wonder if they use different (better?) ingredients in Iceland. I didn’t get to take a picture of the pie on account of how fast we inhaled it, but I do have pictures of my second and third runner-up favorite meals. Oh, and on the left? That’s fish and chips…served with “cocktail sauce!” When I didn’t touch it, our server asked if I didn’t like cocktail sauce. I politely explained that the rest of the meal was so wonderful but that cocktail sauce isn’t my favorite, and then spent the rest of the afternoon giggling some more.
Our Iceland trip taught us a bevy of new facts! (But not the word bevy – I already knew that one.) I’m most proud of learning how to correctly pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, but we also learned a lot about Icelandic history and about geology including volcanoes, geysers, and fumaroles.
The first several days would have been miserable without our waterproof layers. I wore my waterproof jacket and shoes every single day actually. For more details, see my post on packing for Iceland in the summer.
I didn’t end up needing a heavier coat – I was worried about whether or not a waterproof jacket was going to be enough even in August, but it was perfect. Any other time of year I think you’d do well to bring a warmer coat.
I’m writing this post over a month later and I honestly can’t remember anything I regret about our trip. We loved every minute of it. Of course, I would have liked to spend more time in Iceland – I think another week would have been perfect to take our time on the Ring Road and to include some sights along the western coast.
Puffins! We didn’t get to see a puffin and I’d love to see/photograph those cute little guys.
Chris’s favorite photo from the trip is one that I took (the waterfall photo below), and my favorite photo other than the Northern Lights is one of his (the chunk of ice from Jökulsárlón).
And with that, my Iceland trip series is complete! Until we go back someday, of course. 🙂 I hope the information has been interesting, entertaining, and/or helpful to anyone planning a future trip to the land of fire and ice! (Definitely let me know if you have any questions – I’m happy to help!)
A random fun fact about me: I love the look of pumpkins (they’re so cute and cheerful), but I’m not a fan of the taste and I’m definitely not a fan of the smell! I’ve never liked pumpkin pie – I think it’s a texture thing. So when everyone is going crazy around this time of year for pumpkin-flavored everything, I’m not likely to indulge in any of the treats. Which is odd, because I’m someone who normally does love treats. I’m still happy to see fall displays and carved pumpkins though!
