...or get off the pot.

So.. pretty much from the second I moved here... Jeff told me we were gonna go here someday because he had never been and it was something I'd like to do as well.......... Two years later we made it to Bok Tower // Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower (two years and a few nudge-nudge-jokes)

Random filler text stolen from Wiki - Bok Tower Gardens (also known as Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower) is a botanical garden and bird sanctuary, located north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It consists of a 250-acre (1 k2) garden, the 205-foot (62 m) tall Singing Tower with its carillon  bells, Pine Ridge Trail, Pinewood Estate, and a visitor center. The tower is built upon Iron Mountain, one of the highest points of peninsular Florida, estimated to be 295 feet (90 m) above sea level.  It is a National Historic Landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. - Yup, now I don't need to fill in the back story...

So here we go... Bok Tower Gardens

Little model thing that shows whats inside the tower... America's Taj Mahal apparently.

 Little map of other 'singing towers' (Woo, New England!)

Yup, we just drove like an hour from Orlando to look at flowers....

 Oh hey, and to hear this tower sing

And to see the lovely view from one of the highest points in Florida. (haha)

 Holy crap, Lilly-Pads!

 And a big scary Spider...

And a kitty with one eye.

AND A SQUIRREL!!!

Oh yeah, and like.. gardens and stuff. Pretty eh?

 Heh, what a loser......... 

Someday I'll have a dragon headed fence around my house too, just you wait...

(Neat, eh?)

But I really do wanna try something like this with Tillandsia at my house.

(Eww, they're related to the pineapple!)

So yeah, that's about it.. Bok Tower is cool.. But its kinda far from Orlando. Once Legoland opens down the road maybe it'll be worth a revisit, although that's not to say it wasn't worth a visit in the first place, it was. And it was one more thing to mark down as 'Real Florida' on my ever-growing list.... 

(and thanks Jeff for a fun filled day)

Then I'm walking in Memphis, oh wait.

Memphis, Atlanta? Uh, ok.
So all good things must come to and end eh? After visiting Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas for the first time (and revisiting Missouri) hitting parks like Worlds of Fun, Adventureland, and Fun Plex... Annddd going to Zoo's, Waterfalls, and sketchy motels all over.... It was time to head back to DES and fly home to Orlando, by way of Memphis. But first! One last zoo, the state house, and uh.. a sleepy red panda? Ok, lets do this.

Des Moines, Iowa... Capital City and most populated in Iowa, very exciting. Since the Zoo didn't open till 10 I took some time to explore downtown.

Hippo checks out the State House. Thrilling (hey mom! Hippo could use a new vest :P )

And here we are.. Blank Park Zoo (that's Zoo #3 if you're counting..)

There's a lot of construction activity around the zoo with 2 new areas being built, sadly I missed the Australian area by just a few days.... :(

Across the Zoo (and kinda splitting it in two during construction..) is the new Sea Lions pool area. The Zoo is having this crazzzzy contest where the winner will get a chance.. TO SWIM... in the pools! (kinda bad ass if you ask me)

Oh wow! a Chance C.P. Huntington Train...

I had to ride it... And it had a tunnel!
Oh yeah, and it is a zoo after all... so lets see some animals...

Awww, BABBY Swans :D

A Hippo! (well, kinda..)

Fish, inside the neat little 'Discovery Center' at the main entrance.

Sleepy...red...panda! :D

Annddd a sleepy Snow Leopard too!

And... a not so sleepy Tiger, doing his thing.

Another day another Giraffeosaurus-Rex...

 Speaking of Rex's... they had this awful DINOSAURS thing... in the back (I wonder if this is the same crap Kings Island got)

Yeah.... moving on.

From fake Dino's to fake Cows!

And real Penguins :) (having lunch!)

Awwwwwwwwwww! Serval!!!
 After contemplating smuggling it out in my backpack..  it was time to leave and make the short two mile drive to the airport.

Ah, DES... To MEM I go..... how silly of me for thinking that.

So much for Memphis... ATLANTA.... But I got to go to Great Wraps.
(and wait hours upon hours for my connection to Orlando)

Ahh, back home in Orlando. Everyone is starting their vacations here.. And I'm ending mine.
Sorry this update took so long. Having gotten home so late I just kinda passed out.. And then I had car issues..and then photobucket had issues... and then I had work.. So yeah, sorry.

And for a quick recap... I was in Florida, Illinois, Iowa*, South Dakota*, Nebraska*, Missouri, Kansas*, and Georgia.. Drove over 1000 miles in less than a week.. Visited 3 Zoos, 3 Amusement Parks, 2 Arcades with a coaster, 1 Family Fun Center, and a Water Fall... I wonder where my next vacation will take me?

Oh what an Adventure

and now its coming to an end.. But not just yet, anyways.... Adventureland. The whole reason I planed this trip in the first place. It was worth it. I'd even go as far as saying... saved the best for last. Adventureland would have been worth the trip even if it had been the only thing I did. In a nutshell, Adventureland is the perfect park. It has something for everyone.. Coasters, Flats, a water park..... everything.

Adventureland

Hmm, looks like its gonna be a busy day....

Aww, they wanna be like Disney. You walk up and just see the train station and then you walk under it.. to find this 'Main Street' area. I just wish there were less people in this photo, damn crowds.

The first (and last) ride of the day was on the parks S&S Space Shot.. named..... Space Shot, I must have ridden the thing 10 times.

After that I made my way over to The Underground. A pretty little known ride coaster?

I'd been very interested in the ride as there really is so little out there about it.. I came off kinda...confused but wanting more, four rides later.. I have to admit... I'm a fan of this odd little ride.

 Well isnt that just fantastic.

After that I made my way to the log flume, kinda short, but fun. Felt nice to get cooled off. I kept on my way and hit up the Rotor, this time I was able to ride it.. Unlike yesterday... After that I found myself upon the first real coaster of the day..

Tornado! The parks oldest coaster and amazingly good for a Cobb woodie. Fast, smooth, full of air, and just an all around fun ride! Way to go Adventureland.

GIANT PIG!

Ohhh no, Dragon. I wasn't sure what to think getting into this.. a rare Hopkins Looper and the only one they ever put OTSR's on (and I may have heard a horror story or two)

Outside of the 'pre-life' part of the ride.. I found an incredibly fast, POWERFUL coaster that made me gray-out during the loops during multiple rides.

A hippo! moving on....

Oh hey, look! They also have this semi-new waterpark thing. it looked fun and it was hot out.. But I forgot my towel.. So I didn't get to enjoy it :( (maybe next time.. I happen to be in Iowa?)

:O A Moser Sidewinder?! I haven't seen one of you in a few years :D ...It ran well, but never did a directional change so it didn't get a reride.

Although.......

THIS did! Outlaw! The most 'GCI'..CCI built, and amazingly fun for such a little ride. fast, smooth, airtime... Way to go Adeventureland!

With all my credits gotten and most major rides done, I went around and did the remaining water rides the park has to offer, and as it was no less than 250*'s out.. the latter of the two was quite refreshing.

Saw Mill Splash, what I believe was WhiteWaters first spinning raft ride, while smaller than the ones they built after (SFNE, SFA..) it was still fun but just like the others.. not to wet..tning.... unlike..

Raging River! The only real line I had to wait in all day, but it was fun and got me wet.. So it was worth the line. Not sure what the deal is here.. But most of the parks on this trip had dyed water for their water rides... Does green water make a ride more fun? (But I guess the same can be said about red hair...)

:O! A duck!... :O with babby ducks!!

So over the winter.. the park suffered a fire on its main street area... With the rebuild and new arcade, the park decided to move their Huss Rodeo/BD4 inside... and not like 'in the dark with lights' and stuff.. inside.. they just kinda.. put the ride inside the arcade.

So here it is... inside the arcade. How odd. (but fun)

BAH, Stupid Chance Giant Wheel with its no single riders rule!

MOSER Maverick... so, so good. FAST, powerful... But for a ride called SPLASHOVER and signs warning you'll get wet.... I kinda wish... it did, you know, the fact that it was 250*'s... water would have been nice... (it also would have been nice if the ride didn't have awkward mid-ride pauses... But it was still good)

Zamp Galleon, meh. Would have skipped this had it not been a walk on... but I've kinda been on a flatride rampage and wanted to rack then up.

FINALLY! A Chance C.P. Huntington Train! My trip can now be complete.

Ok, that's enough Adventure for one day.. So back to the hotel I went. Time to pack up and get ready for fly back home to Orlando tomorrow afternoon (By way of Memphis, TN).... But there still might be time for one last little adventure in Iowa..... :)