During our first 2012 visit to Disney World we visited Epcot and took in all of the must-sees that Nicole remembered from her childhood visits. Which of course meant a stop by Imagination! where Eric Idle in his role as the chairman of the Imagination Institution greets you for a tour of the facility before everyone’s favorite fictitious dragon Figment hijacks the visit. Located on the western side of the Future World area, the pavilion was originally opened back in 1982 and over the years has undergone three significant evolutions. …

While all the focus in recent months has been upon the Mars Curiosity Rover, another of NASA’s creations has reached a milestone as we enter the New Year and the Mars Opportunity Rover’s ninth year of service gathering data on the red planet. Touching down on January 3, 2004 – joined three weeks later by Mars Spirit Rover – the two were originally sent on a 90-day mission to search for signs of historical water activity on the Red Planet, but would instead go on to surpass their designers’ and …

Given we’d previously talked about how our plans for my 2010 birthday were curtailed as Hurricane Paula rolled through the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast of Florida, I thought we should extend our thanks to the staff and crew of Carnival’s Imagination for the efficiency with which they handled our sudden change of itinerary, and the comfort with which they transported us around the edge of the storm. Given it was a short four night cruise out of Miami, it was pretty impressive, and while it meant I …

During my 2010 birthday we took a short cruise out of Miami but ended up with a different itinerary thanks to the diversion we had to make as Hurricane Paula rolled in to the region. With only a few hours in Key West we opted to squeeze in a tour of famed writer Hemingway’s house and the cat sanctuary that now resides there, though we did wish we had a little more time there. However for the hour or so we had there we did manage to put together a …

During my 2010 birthday we took a short cruise out of Miami. Despite a hurricane that drove us off course, we still had a great time. Unfortunately due to some early celebrations we ended up only having a couple of hours in Key West. Though we did manage to squeeze in a tour of famed writer Hemingway’s house now turned cat sanctuary, we do wish we had more time to look around the Keys. Which we learned actually has a $500 fine for harming the island’s chicken population. Here’s some …

For my 2010 birthday we decided to take a short cruise out of Miami. Deciding to indulge in my enjoyment of eating my way across the world, we decided to go with a food themed itinerary for the trip and ended up opting for a galley tour and seating at the Head Chef’s table. Chef Ajit was even kind enough to do a short baking demo and showed us how they make the much coveted Carnival Molten Chocolate Cake. You can make out most of what he says, but those …

For my 2010 birthday we decided to take a short cruise out of a Miami. Having done a Bahamian cruise a few years earlier with Nicole’s parents, we decided on a Mexican itinerary. Unfortunately Hurricane Paula had other plans, and we instead ended up in Nassau. Join us for our short tour, and more of Nicole’s house shopping while we’re traveling abroad (runs just under 3 1/2 minutes).

We were lucky to get on one of the two buses sponsored by Torontoist, on a road trip down to Washington, D.C. for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity (and/or Fear) back in October 2010. Here’s a short video of our time at the rally (runs just over 4 minutes long).

Every year we end up debating where to spend our Canada Day. But as some of our relatives live out by Ottawa, the Capitol often tops the list.

There certainly is something to being in the capitol as Canadians of all backgrounds converge on Parliament Hill.

And of course an appearance by the Snowbirds.

However when this celebration also includes a state visit by the Queen of England, the crowds can get especially large.

And if you look closely, you can even make out that the bridges between the buildings are packed full of …

Nic will probably be one of the first to tell you that I often complain about how little seems to happen in Canada’s history – making for some very boring study material.
But that’s not a very fair criticism, after all we’re neighbours to the Americans, and those guys can’t seem to go five years without getting into it with someone.
In fact, if you were to go back 197 years today on August 24, 1814, Washington D.C. was set ablaze by British troops in retaliation for the burning and looting …