Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014 - Day 2

Date of Visit: September 26, 2014

On our second and last day at Disney World this trip, we headed back to the Food & Wine Festival and went around to the left insides of the right like the first day.

Our fist stop was for Roasted Verlasso salmon with quinoa salad and arugula chimichurri at the Patagonia booth.

At the Australia marketplace we tried the Garlic shrimp with roasted tomatoes, lemon myrtle and rapini.

Next Dad got a Lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney from New Zealand, which Mik ended up mostly eating because he loved it when he tried it.

From Poland we got the Kielbasa and potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream. Good pierogis, but they did seem odd to me so mini.

Mik most looked forward to trying the waffles in Belgium, which he had skipped the day before because we had waffles from Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom for breakfast that day. He had the chocolate one and like the Belgium style waffles. He tried my berry one, but didn't particularly like it because it was mostly blueberry.

Lastly we had Brazilian cheese bread, which Mik didn't really like, but was my favorite thing we tried.

Destination Info:

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014

Date of Visit: September 25, 2014

The main purpose of this Disney World trip was to check out the Mickey's Halloween Party before our Disney cruise. Mik did not want us to ever go to the Food & Wine Festival before he was 21, especially since it is only one more year. However, since we ended up at Disney World when it was going on this year and it was not specifically for the festival, he decided it was still worth going to for the food.

He started at the Hawaii marketplace with a Kālua pork slider with sweet and sour Dole® Pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise. He enjoyed the pork, but didn't really like the sauce.

Next we shared the Kerrygold cheese selection (Reserve cheddar, Dubliner with Irish Stout and Skellig) from the Ireland marketplace.

He was excited to try escargot with the Escargot tart with garlic, spinach, bacon and parmesan at the France marketplace; but he ended up not liking it at all because of the spinach.

Dad and I shared the Regal Springs premium tilapia with coconut lime sauce and steamed rice from the Brazil marketplace.

I got the Apple Maple Spice Latte iced in the American Adventure area. Mik tried it and thought it was pretty good considering he doesn't like coffee drinks.

Mik found nothing that really stood out as great of what he tried today. Thus, his favorite thing about the festival was visiting the miniature Romantic Road, which we almost missed, but went back to when he pointed out we missed his favorite thing to see at Epcot. He loves miniatures and it is also fun to see how they change it up depending on the time of year, such as the square currently having Food & Wine Festival banners.


Destination Info:



Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Lake Buena Vista, FL

National Air & Space Museum: Hawaii by Air Exhibit

Date of Visit: September 17, 2014

Hawaii by Air is a small temporary exhibit on the west end of first floor right outside the ride simulators. While small, it does provide a good overview to aviation history as it relates to Hawaii with particular focus on early flights from the mainland and the establishment of inter-island service.

I thought it was interesting how at several points it gave info on where to see examples of aircrafts elsewhere in the museum or other related artifacts at other Smithsonian museums such as a Hawaiian boat over at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Mik's favorite part was the diagrams that showed the layouts of the luxury passenger planes, such as Pan Am's clippers.

Accessibility Notes

• The museum's exterior is currently under renovation and the ramp entrance is on the west end of the building on Jefferson Drive (National Mall side of building).
• Check out the museum's Visitors with Disabilities page on their website for info on available accommodations and how to request accommodations if needed.
• Closest Metro stop is L'Enfant Plaza, which is served by the Blue, Orange, Silver, Yellow, and Green. Elevator/escalator outage info can be found here.

Destination Info:

National Air & Space Museum
Independence Ave & 6th St SW
Washington, DC

Once There Were Billions exhibit at National Museum of Natural History

 Date of Visit: September 5, 2014

"Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America" is an exhibit about some of the birds that have gone extinct from North America including the great auk and passenger pigeons. Mik found it interesting; but he ended up more impressed by the Birds of D.C. exhibit on the way to the elevators and he was impressed to see the different birds that can be seen around here. I had seen it before; but I forgot he has never been to this museum other than the IMAX and also hasn't been to the Field Museum.

Destination Info:

National Museum of Natural History
10th St and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC

Accessibility Note: The accessible entrance to the museum is on the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The Smithsonian Metro is usually recommended for the museum; but we find Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange, Silver) and Archives (Yellow, Green) more convenient since the elevator exit for Smithsonian is on opposite side of the National Mall.

Wilderness Forever exhibit at National Museum of Natural History

Date of Visit: September 5, 2014

This was the exhibit we came to the museum to see today; and if we were not looking for it, we easily could of missed it because there is just a little sign pointing to it being down the hall past the gem gift shop.

"Wilderness Forever: 50 Years of Protecting America's Wild Places" features photos of American wilderness areas taken by professionals, amateurs, and students. The exhibit honors the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

Besides the photos, there are also interactive screens to learn more about the wilderness areas in the United States. Our favorite part, though, was the movie that gave some history on the Wilderness Act and those behind it.

Destination Info:

National Museum of Natural History
10th St and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC

Accessibility Note: The accessible entrance to the museum is on the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The Smithsonian Metro is usually recommended for the museum; but we find Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange, Silver) and Archives (Yellow, Green) more convenient since the elevator exit for Smithsonian is on opposite side of the National Mall.

Alexandria War of 1812 Bicentennial Signature Event at Waterfront Park

Date of Visit: August 31, 2014

The Alexandria War of 1812 Bicentennial Signature Event commemorated the surrender of Alexandria in 1814. It does seem kind of funny to "celebrate" the surrender, but they did save the much more historic city of Alexandria from having a similar fate as the relatively new city of Washington, D.C. that had just been burned by the British (and some intentionally by the Americans).

Today was like the first hot and humid day this summer, so we did not stay long. However, we did enjoy the booths and collecting some brochures for things we want to see as we further explore our new hometown. Mik also picked out a new book to read and add to his military history collection.

The event was held at the Waterfront Park. Most of the activities were in the grass area, which is raised up from the path that goes around the park. We found a way on to it through the tree area by the shipbuilder's statue; but Mik was glad he chose to use his manual chair today, as this route was mostly blocked by the kids activity tables and it was just easier to go down the curb when we were leaving.

Destination Info:

Waterfront Park
1A Prince Street
Alexandria, VA

Titan Missile Museum

Date of Visit: May 3, 2014

Despite living in Tucson for almost 20 years the Titan Missile Museum was one of the few places neither Mik or I had been to before.  Considering Mik's fascination with military history it is rather surprising we never even thought about visiting before.

We arrived a few minutes after the noon tour began and decided to join it and miss a few minutes of the movie rather than wait for the next tour at 1 p.m.  The movie is interesting about the history of the silo and launch center, but I don't feel we missed out on anything since you get some plus more info while touring the silo and the tour guides seem to be quite capable of fielding questions.

After the movie ended, the tour heads outside to go down to the launch center.  Before heading down we stopped to hear them sound the siren, which was not a regular thing.  It is very loud, but surprisingly Mik didn't freak out too much, although that was mainly because they gave a clear warning that it was happening.

There are 55 steps down to the entrance of the control center and for those that cannot do stairs they use what originally was more for freight use.  When going up and down the tour guide made sure we knew when the bell was going to sound for the closing and opening above the elevator shaft. The sound was really nothing after the siren, but still Mik can be sensitive to sound and really appreciated having warning.

The rest of the tour is all on the same level and involves going through the blast doors, doing a simulated launch in the control center, and going over to see the Titan II Missile in the silo.  We found the tour to be interesting.  The only part Mik did not really like was the bumpy metal ground in the hallway down to the missile silo, but his comment was just that he was glad he did not have that flooring in his house.

Back up top the tour ends, but you can then wander around up top before heading back out through the museum building.  Mik did not want to spend too much time wandering around in that he did not want us to stop in read every sign, which I agreed was unnecessary with the tour giving all that info already.  Walking over to the top of the silo and going up the platform they have built over it to allow you to look down at the missile was worthwhile.

Destination Info:
Titan Missile Museum
1580 W Duval Mine Rd
Sahuarita, Arizona