This is a nice little park located along the Alabama River, which flows through Montgomery. Great place for a picnic lunch. In summer there are tourist paddleboats out on the river. Some photos.

Yeh, I like zoos, and try to visit any in whatever area I pass through. This one doesn’t have the budget of big-city zoos like San Diego or Columbus, but they do very well with that they have, and although they have a lot of wire mesh enclosures (which are hell for photographers) they also … More Montgomery Zoo

Some photos from Montgomery AL. The city has two very powerful museums: the Legacy Museum and the Rosa Parks Museum. Alas, both are “no photos”.   😦 So here are some other photos from a day spent walking around in Montgomery.

[NOTE: I’ve blogged all these how-to posts before, but am gonna re-run them on occasion, since folks may have missed them, and many of them have been updated or expanded since they were first posted.] Without a doubt, the most difficult task in all of vandwelling is keeping cool in areas where the weather is … More Life in the Van: Insulation and Hot Weather

When Disney built its resort park in Florida back in the 70s, it was legally obligated to replace the wetland habitat it destroyed with an equal amount somewhere else. To meet that obligation, the company bought a 9,000-acre tract of wetland near Lake Russell and donated it to the Nature Conservancy. Now it is a … More Disney/Nature Conservancy Wilderness Preserve

Disney Springs is a way for folks to get their mouse ears without paying the silly high entrance to Disney World or standing in the stupidly long lines.  🙂 It consists mostly of high-end shops, restaurants and gift shops. But it’s a nice place to just walk around for an afternoon, and it’s free (if … More Disney Springs

Okay, everybody who knows me knows that I like snakes. So here’s a place that is full of them. The Serpentarium in St Cloud raises venomous snakes for the manufacture of antivenoms for hospitals. There is a venom-milking demonstration twice a day, and an exhibit of venomous snakes from around the world. I was like … More Reptile World Serpentarium

[NOTE: I’ve blogged all these how-to posts before, but am gonna re-run them on occasion, since folks may have missed them, and many of them have been updated or expanded since they were first posted.] Fortunately, modern technology has invented a device that uses energy to pump the heat out of an enclosed area and … More Life in the Van: Ice Fans and Swamp Coolers

Many of the local Florida waterbirds like to nest in the gator pond at Gatorland in Orlando each year. The gators prevent predators like Raccoons from reaching the nests, and as payment the Gators get to snarf up any unfortunate hatchlings that fall into the water. It’s a bit late in the nesting season now, … More Bird Rookery at Gatorland

This has always been one of my favorite places to walk around, and I visit it every time I am in Orlando. On weekdays there are always lots of birdies to see here, and on weekends there are vendors and street performers. Some photos.