I took a short, last-minute cruise from Galveston, Texas, on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. On the eight-day cruise, we visited three ports. After driving into Galveston, about an hour's ride from Houston, we spent the night in the port before boarding our ship. A little history for Galveston. According to Encyclopedia Britannica and … Continue reading Operation Tulum: Texan Departure →

This summer when my family traveled to the opening week of Galaxy's Edge in Anaheim, I had one thing in particular I wanted to see: The Queen Mary. Permanently docked in Long Beach, the seaport due south of Los Angeles, this vessel had an impressive resume, starting life as an ocean liner, troop transport ship, … Continue reading Long Beach Side Trip: The Queen Mary →

The newest addition to Disneyland is a colossal, immersive zone known as Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, a massive expansion into their main park. This area, known as the Black Spire Outpost on the rocky planet of Batuu, is a huge place designed to feel isolated from the castle and the rest of the park. There … Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Galaxy’s Edge- Opening Week →

A secluded, hidden museum outside of downtown Fort Worth, the Christian Arts Museum is a nice diversion from the busy economic center of the city. Largely unknown and obscure, it's a quiet, charming little place to learn about the art of Christianity. The guide was very nice, and it was like having a private tour … Continue reading Fort Worth Side Trip: Christian Arts Museum →

Housed in an Art Deco museum with gaping, gleaming halls, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame is a great place to learn about the West's pioneering history and the women who helped create its legacy. There are two stories of memorabilia, fabrics, and plaques that demonstrate the taming of the frontier.   The lower level … Continue reading Fort Worth Side Trip: National Cowgirl Hall of Fame →

The Cattle Raisers Museum is inside of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, in the form of a special exhibit, however it could be a museum in its own right. While the rest of the museum has a more child-oriented vibe, the Cattle Raisers Museum provides a scholarly perspective into Texas' cowboy culture … Continue reading Fort Worth Side Trip: Cattle Raisers Museum →

Oak Alley, an hour's drive west of New Orleans, is the most famous of the river plantations along the Mississippi River. Opened in the early nineteenth century, Oak Alley was a thriving sugar plantation with a huge number of slaves who lived on the property. Oak Alley is an expansive plantation, with gardens, reconstructed slave … Continue reading Operation Yucatan: Oak Alley Plantation →

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is located outside of downtown Fort Worth, in its renowned cultural district. Here, you can tour collections full of American artworks from the Old West to the modern era. It has an impressive collection of Western memorabilia, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. I came … Continue reading Fort Worth Side Trip: Amon Carter Museum of American Art →

Not many people say they've spent Christmas fishing at Disney World, but somehow we managed to do it. Out of pressuring from my brother, we booked a guided fishing excursion out of Wilderness Lodge across the Bay Lake on Christmas Day to try my hand at bass fishing. Down at the hotel's marina, we waited … Continue reading Operation Waterfront: Christmas Fishing →

The outside of this museum literally has a dinosaur with a long neck sticking its head through the ceiling; the interiors are equally great. In the main atrium of the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the largest one in the world, is a massive multistory glass statue named "Fireworks of Glass." Four stories tall, it brims with … Continue reading Indianapolis Side Trip: Indianapolis Children’s Museum →