photoldweiler » Places

Magic Kingdom

Matthew — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:53:18 +0000

Who can forget their first visit to Disney World? Certainly not our kiddos who woke up one Saturday morning to find their bags packed and plane tickets ready. The ’surprise’ trip was truly a magical time, and we enjoyed one of our best vacations ever.

Matthew — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:32:15 +0000

For our 10 year anniversary, Jen and I headed out to San Francisco, CA. One of the highlights of an extremely busy trip was a visit to Napa Valley for a tour of the wineries. One of the stops along the tour was at Andretti Wines, owned by the famous race car driver Mario Andretti. While we were tasting the wines, we wandered off into the vineyard and snapped this pic.

Matthew — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:19:07 +0000

During our honeymoon in Italy Jen and I were lucky enough to tour the grounds at Pisa – and take in the sights in and around the ‘leaning tower’. Although it is a tad commercial nowadays, it was still great to be able to take the tour and learn the history behind the tower. And since this photo is over 10 years old, I decided to goof around with it in Photoshop and make it look a tad more ‘aged’.

Matthew — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:33:55 +0000

So…pretty much everyone born before 1990 knows who Mr. Rogers is. Yet how many of us have actually seen the house he grew old in? I have to tell you, I have been to Nantucket island a number of times – and been on a dozen or so ‘tours’ of the place – and this is by far my favorite spot on the island.
On an island that is seven miles long at it’s widest point, it took 30+ minutes to get to this house. It’s as secluded as secluded can be. It’s also fascinating to think of one of the most influential figures in children’s programming growing old in such an archaic building. Honestly, it’s called ‘The Crooked House’ because it’s literally crooked! What a fascinating journey it was to see this wonderful home, and it’s one I will never forget!

Matthew — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:38:17 +0000

So one of our favorite places to take visitors to Colorado is Eldorado Springs. It’s only about 25 minutes from Denver but it is absolutely gorgeous. The roads are easy to navigate, and within a few minutes you are in the middle of the foothills and surrounded by aspens, pine trees, rivers and trails winding up and down the hillside.
This picture was taken during one of my mother’s visits from out East. The kids had a blast running around, throwing sticks, etc. Also of interest is that the river pictured above is used in making Eldorado Springs bottled water. The manufacturing plant sits just a few miles down the road. So if you find yourself in Colorado with a few hours to spare, head on up and enjoy the beauty!

Matthew — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:47:51 +0000

The temperature at home is 24 degrees…it’s snowing…and it’s supposed to get colder!!?? So we do what would seem completely illogical, and we head out for a drive to the mountains. Fortunately, the drive was okay, and we ended up having a nice day in Estes Park with our family. On the way out of town, we made a brief stop at the uber-creepy Stanely Hotel, which served as Steven King’s inspiration for his novel The Shining. After a little bit of work in Photoshop, I felt this picture was worthy of a quick share.

Matthew — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:05:17 +0000

This picture was taken during our visit to Disney World in the Fall of 2009. This particular shot was taken at Animal Kingdom, and it shows the centerpiece of the entire park: the ‘Tree of Life’
I tried really hard to ensure there were no people in the picture, but now I almost wish there were for scale factors alone. This tree stands hundreds of feet tall and is a breathtaking site in person. The entire trunk is a gigantic sculpture of various animals, and inside/under the tree is the ‘It’s Tough to be a Bug’ 3D movie/ride.
For more pictures of our visit to the land o’ Mickey, wander over to our Flickr page here.

Matthew — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:47:28 +0000

This is a detail shot of the geodesic dome of the Epcot Center ‘ball’ in Orlando, FL. Inside this dome is the Spaceship Earth ride which presents a history of communication – from the dawn of time all the way through today. The ball itself is a fascinating achievement in architecture and can be seen from miles around. For some fun facts and info…hit up the wiki site here.

Matthew — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:50:51 +0000

In 2009 we decided to ease in to the camping season at a relatively close camping site that offered both scenery as well as activities. We chose Carter Lake just outside of Loveland, and it ended up being a wonderful place to kick off the camping season. While it offered little in the way of privacy, our camp site was gigantic, and provided the kiddos ample room to run and play. And when we woke up on Saturday morning, it took less than an hour to drive/hike to this gorgeous view pictured above. Just looking at this picture makes me want to go camping!!

Matthew — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:55:17 +0000

Sitting on the lower deck at our cottage with a glass of wine, I have to say I lucked out with this one…gorgeous sunset + sailboat + line of seagulls = AWESOME PIC.