Travelog for: Ebba

Today we visit some animals at a place called Farm Sanctuary.  It is a shelter for rescued farm animals.  It is very beautiful and the animals look really happy there.  It must be like heaven for them, after their sad early lives.

Behind us is the visit center and some log cabins where visitors can stay for a few nights.



Inside is a souvenir shop.



and a place for brochures if you want to learn more about the abuse of farm animals.



We first visit Miss Moo.  She says that she has seen bunnies but none like me! 



We see some sheeps but they are really shy.  They walk away when we try to get closer.



Then we say hi to Mr Goatee.  He had injury on one of his legs so they have to put a prosthetic on.  But he brags that he can still run very fast.



We meet Mr. Turkey.  He invites us back to dinner at Thanksgiving.  He tells us there will be a lot of corn to munch on.  I wonder if he has carrots too?



There are some chickens too.  They invite us for lunch but I don't feel like eating worms.



I want to say hi to the ducks but they seem to have a big quarrel, all the quackings get so noisy they can't hear me!





This is a lovely place indeed.  I wonder if they will take in one more bunny?

This is the Taughannock Falls, located 8 miles north of Ithaca.  The cataract has a drop of 215 feet (66 meters), one of the highest east of the Rocky Mountains, slightly higher even (25 ft., 8 m) than Niagara, although the water volume is much smaller.  The name  originates either from that of the Delaware Indian chief Taughannock or from the Delaware word taghkanic ("great fall in the woods"). 



We walk along a trail to get a closer look at the bottom of the fall.  The mist is giving me a gentle shower!

Today we visit the Watkins Glen State Park.  It is reputedly the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. Here we are at the entrance.



We can see the stream down there!  It's beautiful isn't it?



Here we get a bit closer.



Another gorgeous view.



Look, we have to go under the waterfall!



We did it!!  A bit wet but it was exciting!!



Oh this place is really beautiful.





Sometimes we will notice this "joint" on the rocks.  It's kind of like a fault except that there is no earthquake.









This is really one of the most spellbounding places I've been to. 

Today is our last day at the Finger Lakes Region.  We will visit some more vineyards, this time on the west bank of Seneca Lake.

The first one we visit is Hermann Wiemer Vineyard which is a small vineyard but famous for its reisling.





We can see lots of barrels in the tasting room inside the barn.



Next we go to Glenora Wine Cellars which is one of the earliest wineries in the region.  They even have a restaurant and a hotel, which as you can see, have spectaucular views.



Okay, where is the picnic basket?  We want our wine and cheese!



This is a very big wine barrel!  Can you even see me?



We can see the vineyard and Seneca Lake behind us.





Look, this are the grapes for making wine!



And some bugs who can't wait to for the grapes to ferment into wine.



Oh what beautiful days.  It's sad to leave ad I must say it has been a very nice trip.

Yay today I finally make it to visit the famous Miami Beach!



First stop is Ocean Drive, where the art deco style buildings are featured in many movies and magazines.



The place to see and be seen!



This is the Versace Mansion, you can see the front door steps where the famous designer was murdered one morning years ago.  Give me the creeps!



We will go and see the beach.



A lot of palm trees.



I think I can hear the ocean!



Oh this is the beach!



This is the Atlantic!





I wish they have toy sized T shirts for us.



Next we go to the South Pointe Park, which is at the southern tip of Miami Beach.





Behind us is the private community of Fisher Island.  It is a man made island and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fisher Island has the highest per capita income of any place in the United States.  Boris Becker, Oprah Winfrey, and Mel Brooks are among the celebrities with homes on the island.  You have to pass through security to take the ferry to get on the island.

Today we go to Chibi Pa, an anime convention.

Sure there are a lot of people around!  A lot of them in cosplay.







First we go and visit the booths to see what nice stuff they are selling.



I want a chicken hat!



Our host decides to have a geisha glamour shot.  Here are the makeup tools, wig and accessories.



The makeup lady whips together the white foundation.  It's so thick it can make me into a white bunny! 



Wow I can hardly recognise my host! 



We are shown different kimonos, and we vote on this pink one with flowers.  Isn't it pretty?



Wow, this is quite a bit of transformation!



Next we watch a taiko drum performance.



This is a pinball machine from Japan called Pachinko.



We watch the "live" video game.  The characters line up, and the audience yells out which characters they want in the game.



Then the two characters fight.  Very entertaining!

We get a new TV visitor, her name is Baby Lican.  She tells us that her mission is to visit beaches so we take her to Miami Beach.  I am the guide since I just visited a few weeks ago with Dottie Grace!

We park our car and start walking along the broadwalk to South Pointe Park.  We pass by a marina; it's a place where people park their yachts when they are not using them.



All the yachts are so beautiful.  I think it will be fun to travel in one?



Here I am at South Pointe Park again.



I see Fisher Island again, but today weather is nicer. 



We decide to walk further this time.  We find a nice piece of grass to rest on.  It would be perfect if we had a picnic basket.



Does this picture make it look like I am at a safari?

As Miami is the closest major U.S. city from Cuba, there is a substantial Cuban immigration population here, and therefore a lot of Cuban restaurants.

Today we go to a place called El Rey de Las Fritas, which means The King of Fries, to try the Cuban hamburger.  I wonder how it is different from McDonald's? 



Let's look at the menu!



We order a guarapo, and a fruta bomba.  Guess what they are?  Sugar cane juice and papaya shake!



This is a Cuban hamburger, a Frita.  Instead of the French fries on the side, looks like they put it inside the hamburger!!  How weird!



Hmmm...  it's actually tastier than it sounds!



After the meal, we finish with a cup of cordadito.  It's espresso coffee with milk and sugar.



After lunch, we go by to visit a friend of our host.  She is having a garage sale so we go to help out.  Garage sale means putting everything she doesn't need out in the front yard for people to stop by and buy.  In America, it's a popular way to get rid of unwanted stuff and get some cash from it, and there are professionals who go around to hunt for good bargains, hoping to find some antique or collectibles that people may sell for a few dollars. 





We see some toys and go over to say hi.  Our host wants to adopt some to be a TV but she decides they are too big to travel.  I do wish they can find a good home nonetheless.  Good luck!

Our host received some Harry Potter coloring book through a BookCrossing, where she is a member.  It's a bookring, which means that the book goes around to different members, who read it and pass it on, till the last participant sends it back to the person who started the ring.  For this coloring book ring, instead of reading a book, we pick a fe pages to color.  Of course we are happy to help our host.



Hmm, it's hard to decide which pages to color.



Yuck! Who wants to color Umbridge?  I want to tear out the page or paint her really ugly but I think it's not a polite thing to do.



We decide to color this page.  I will give Hermione's jeans a very nice blue.





We also want to color Dumbledore and Snape, because they are two greatest headmasters of Hogswart.



That's a lot of trees to color!



It takes a long time but I think it looks nice.



I like to color the girls too, and give them pretty clothes.

Today is the Mid Autumn Festival in China.  It is a night when the moon is supposedly the roundest and brightest in the year, and a day for families to gather together and celebrate.  We all go outside to admire the moon but I am not sure not it compares to the other time of the year.



Baby-Lican is from Hong Kong, so she is feeling rather homesick.  To cheer her up, our host offers us a little moon cake party.  First we pick the tea, for mooncake goes very well with a cup of hot tea.  There are a veriety of flavors and sizes of moon cakes!



This mooncake is made with lotus seed.  All the mooncakes have an egg yolk in it, the round yolk representing the moon.  They say that during the Mongolian invasion, rebels hid messages inside the cakes and passed them around, thus succeeding in overthrowing the Mongolian rulers.


 
Yum yum... it is interesting. I haven't tasted something like this before.  It's sweet and smooth.

Today we help Baby Lican fulfill her dream, to visit some real pelicans.

Where can we find some pelicans?  Pelican Harbor sounds promising.



They have a bird sanctuary here. 



Here we arrive!  The Seabird Station is a non profit group to rescue and rehabilate animals, especially sea birds.



We go and say hi to the pelican at the entrance,  he's very friendly.  I didn't know that pelicans are such big birds.  Fortunately, they eat only fish, not rabbits



These pelicans are inside the cage while they recover from injuries.  Most of these injuries are caused by entanglement with fishing lines, ingestion of plastic and other manmade garbage.



The volunteers explain that the birds outside the cages are visitors.  They probably come here to visit their injured friends in cage, and maybe hopefully get a bite of the fishes when there are leftovers. 



Here is a different kind of bird.  We don't know its name but it has beautiful blue eyes.



After the visit we wander around the harbor a bit.





Oh look, there is mother duck with her babies!!  They are so cute!







Oh no, there are some American black vultures.  I am not sure if they like rabbits but I am not waiting to find out!  We hurry away as soon as possible.

Today we head out for Central Florida.  That's where Disney is.  I am so excited!

It's four hours drive from Miami.  Halfway through we stop by a rest area.  We find a booth selling Florida grown citrus. 



Yum, they have some samples!



Here we are, at Downtown Disney!




This is Disney Quest, an indoor game center.



There are a lot of interesting stores to visit.



This is the Mary Poppins balloon ride that can take you up in the sky.



There is a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Downtown Disney.



There is some excitement on the water.  There is a dragon boat race going on!



Wow it's a big dinosaur!!  Or rather, it's skeleton.



It's a T Rex restaurant.  Let's go in and check it out!



You can make your own dinosaur here.



I see another dinosaur... and this one is not just bones.  It's moving around.  Very scary...



Hi Buzz, what's up!



Hello Mr Potato Head!



Let's go check out the toys!!



Wow true to its name, there are a lot of toys here!



You can get your own customized light sabre here.



You can also play with designing your own Mr. Potato.



None of the parts fit me though...



We get to say hi to Winnie the Pooh and his friends.  He shares some honey with us.



It's Halloween coming up so there are lots of Halloween stuff.



We got lost.  Donald Duck is kind of grumpy but Donna has been very nice.



Look, a Lego store!



Baby Lican tells us that this is how Hong Kong, her home, looks like.  Maybe I will get to visit Asia some day.



We meet Blinkey, the Lego dragon.



It's amazing how they can build all these with little lego bricks!



Well, we try, but I don't think we can.


Maybe I'll go in for some Christmas shopping!



Can you find me in the picture?



In the art gallery, an artist is there to do some demostration.  You can see his head hiding behind the drawboard.  There is a TV screen so you can see what he is drawing.



The gallery has a lot of beautiful artworks.







This is a very huge store that sells all things Disney.





Let's get a little penny souvenir!

Today we are heading home, but we will have breakfast first.



We arrive at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We are having an African buffet.  I have never tried African food before! 



Let's go get some food.



I get some POG (Pineapple Orange Guava) juice, some quinoa, some egg with curried meat, ham, grilled tomato and other stuff.  They also have an African fruit salad which is very delicious, and other more standard breakfast fare such as French toast, cereal, muffins, croissants and omelette. 



Even their restroom is nicely decorated with woven baskets.



This is where the guest rooms are at the lodge.

Wow we are travelling again!  Today we are flying in the airplane.  First, we arrive at the Miami airport.



Look!  A giraffe in the airport!  Oh, it's about the Miami Metro Zoo.  Geez, I was wondering how a giraffe can fit into an airport.



Okay, all buckle up and ready to take off!



We arrive at the Chicago O'Hare airport.





The weather looks rainy and gloomy.



We are not staying in Chicago but decide to check out the information anyway.  Maybe one day I will be really visiting for a few days.



Wow, a lot of apples!!  Dipped in caramel, chocolate and more...  They sure look delicious!

We arrive at our destination.  It's Kansas City!



We ride to the hotel.  Our host tells us that Kansas City is in two states.  The airport is in Missouri but our hotel is in Kansas.  Bally and I are especially excited as they both want to visit many states, though unfortunately Bally gets so tired from all the travelling and doses off when we cross the state line.