Putting a Little “SPYce” in Your Visit to Washington DC

What do you think of when you think of Washington DC?  Do you think of stuffy museums and boring monuments?  Or do you think of glamorous cocktails and high-paced espionage a la James Bond?  Well, by including a trip to the International Spy Museum you can turn an otherwise stuffy stopover in the nation’s capital into an adventure that you will not soon forget.

The International Spy Museum is an interactive museum dedicated to the art and craft of espionage.  From the brave women who smuggled medicines and messages across the front lines during the civil war to the spy games of the cold war to the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and today’s war on terrorism, every aspect of the spy’s life -at every time in history – is covered in detail.

From the highly detailed exhibits on the history of espionage Read the rest of this entry »

Secrets of the Smithsonian

If you find yourself in the nation’s capitol, chances are that you think you’re destined either to pay an arm and a leg to find some fun, or to settle for boring museums and touring monuments that all start to look the same after a while.  Well, you couldn’t be more wrong!

The Smithsonian Institute is not only the nation’s largest collection of museums (19 museums, 17 of which are located in DC and 11 of which are within walking distance of each other on the National Mall), there are also dozens of action packed adventures just waiting to be taken, many of them for free!

Let’s start with Forensic Fridays.  If you head over to the Natural History Museum on Friday’s, you’ll discover real live forensic scientists who are dating and cataloguing new cases of artifacts; everything from dinosaur bones to human artifacts from ancient camps and civilizations.  Just knowing that you are in the same Read the rest of this entry »

Fun Things to Do at the Smithsonian

If you are under the impression that the Smithsonian is nothing more than a single stuffy museum where only dust-covered PhD’s go on their days off, then man oh man have you got another thing coming!

1 Fun Things to Do at the Smithsonian

Hi guys, it’s Shelby again, and I’m here in Washington DC, capitol of the United States and probably one of the most fun places to be in North America.  Don’t believe me?  Well, let’s just take a bit of a closer look at the Smithsonian so that you understand where I’m coming from.

The Smithsonian Institute consists of 19 museums (and the National Zoo), 17 of which are located in DC itself, and 11 of which can be found within walking distance of each other right on the National Mall in the heart of DC.  And before you get your knickers in a twist at the thought of spending time at museums, consider the fact that these museums cover subjects as far reaching as aviation (the Air and Space Museum), Natural History (the Natural History museum where “Night at the Museum II” was filmed) Seven different art museums, Read the rest of this entry »

Fun Things to do in Washington DC

Where on earth is there so much fun stuff to do than in Washington DC?  I kid you not folks, whether you like jazzy nightlife or history, gorgeous art, neo classical architecture, awesomely beautiful gardens or just feeling like you are in the dead center of everything that is going on, Washington DC is definitely the place to be!

1 Fun Things to do in Washington DC

Hi guys, it’s me again, Shelby, and when I found out that I was coming to the Nation’s capital I was thoroughly prepared for boredom and stuffiness.  I mean, come on, when most people think of DC they think of the president and congress and guys in black suits and big square office buildings where government workers slave away to collect their taxpayer-generated paycheck.  Well, they’re right.  You do find all of that in DC.  But the thing is, they don’t tell you about all of the other stuff that makes this one of the most awesome places to visit and things to do – and all in a 61 square mile square – and yes, DC is, quite literally, a square.  Well, okay, so it’s more of a rectangle than a square, but it’s definitely square-ish.

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Christchurch… a moment of silence

There is a time for fun and then there is a time for a moment of silence, and when I stood in the middle of Christchurch New Zealand for the first time since the devastating February 2011 quake I couldn’t help but be astounded and appalled.  What was once a thriving city

New.Zealand.Earthquake Christchurch... a moment of silence

with quaint shops, cafes and tourist attractions is now a ruin?  However, even a shattering event like the earthquake that ripped

through Christchurch on the 22nd of February last year can’t keep the Kiwis down.  The gateway to the South Island is still alive and the spirit of adventure and independence that has always marked the city is as strong as ever.

Hello folks, it’s Shelby again, heading down to the more wild sections of the South Island brought me through Christchurch and while I honestly didn’t expect to be able to write about

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Fun things to do in Auckland

Australia may have been mega awesome, but there is only one word that can accurately describe New Zealand, and that is “enchanting.”  From the rolling green hills surrounding Auckland to the breathtaking ruggedness

Auckland.aquarium Fun things to do in Auckland

of the South Island, New Zealand is definitely an eye-opener, and you’ll find Auckland to be one of the best examples of how so many

Take the Auckland Aquarium for example.  This is an awesome underwater experience that actually enables you to view the underwater creatures in their natural habitat with its awesome underwater viewing tube.  This reinforced Plexiglas pipeline moves patrons in a huge horseshoe shape via a moving walkway that lets you get an up-close personal view of the underwater habitat.  I was in absolute awe, and wasn’t disappointed by the rest of the exhibits either. different possibilities can co-exist in one place at one time.

Hi again folks, it’s me, Shelby, and I must say that Auckland has stolen my heart.  Just driving from the airport to the city proper I found myself grinning madly.  Well, who wouldn’t with so many

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Fun Things to Do in Hobart, Tasmania

Who would ever have thought that there would be fun things to do in Hobart, Tasmania?  This is Shelby you’re talking too don’t you know.  I can find fun things to do anywhere!

Hobart, Tasmania is probably one of the most laid back places on the planet.  Well, unless you want to count Bali, in which case it’s probably the second most laid back place on the planet, or at least in the Southern Hemisphere.  Actually, don’t quote me on that.  Let’s just put it this way, it seems laid back compared to a lot of other places!

Did you know that Hobart actually began as a penal colony?  Seriously, well so did Sydney for that matter, but it’s now the chief financial and administrative city in Tasmania.  It was founded on the banks of the Derwent River and behind the city Mount Wellington stands guard like some sort of geological titan making sure that the wilds of Tasmania don’t intrude into this Idyllic city center.

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Fun Things to Do in Cairns, Australia

Unless you have friends or family here, there is really just one reason that people come to Cairns, Australia, and that is because it is the jumping off point for The Great Barrier Reef.

G’day mates! This is Shelby again, and I have to tell you, I have never seen anything like the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve included a few pictures here, but you really have to see it to believe it. With water this crystal clear you can almost see all the way to the bottom. I took a glass-bottom boat tour that had me so enthralled that I didn’t realize just how badly I’d been sunburned until I got back to the hotel. Can you say lobster? That’s what I get for being a red-head I guess!

There is so much to see just on the reef itself that I could probably spend all my time talking about it. I mean, you can go sailing, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving; the list is endless. But in spite of everything there is to do out on the water (and the awesomeness of the underwater scenery) Cairns itself deserves some credit as well.
Founded in 1976 this city was originally established to service the miners who worked at the Hodgkinson river goldfield. Later it became a major railway center and port for exporting things like the gold from the gold fields and sugar cane from the interior plantations which grow sugar cane in abundance (Cairns is tropical in case you couldn’t guess). Which brings us to all of the awesome stuff there is to do here!

Imagine spending your morning lazing around on one of the majorly beautiful beaches like Palm Cove or Trinity Beach (or any one of half a dozen others in the area) then spending the afternoon exploring Chillagoe Caves or swimming with Dwarfe Minke Whales.

 

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