Dark Sky Festival

Lisa — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:57:40 +0000

When we went to Arizona last year on vacation, we learned a lot about light pollution. It was the first place we had every been in a long time that at night it was truly dark out. When you live as close to Chicago as we, you forget that people can actually see the stars in other parts of the country (actually, in other parts of the state they can see the stars — just not where I live). When Bill’s friends came to Green Bay for my wedding, they were in awe that you could actually see the stars from my parent’s driveway. I’ll be honest, it makes me sad that my kids won’t see the stars as I did when I was kid.

This is the purpose of the Dark Sky Festival in Harmony, Florida – to expose the general public to the marvels of the night sky. We forget what we can’t see. We forget that for astronomy you need a dark sky — the darker the better. Wildlife needs the dark just to survive. We also forget that poor outdoor lighting design wastes $10 billion in energy a year.

This event is on April 25th from 6 PM – 11PM and is FREE. Yes, free — free admission and free parking. They do encourage you to bring blankets and chairs for lawn use in the amphitheatre area, so you can be comfortable.

I hope more communities take a stand and offer great events like this one.

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Travel To Kissimmee

Lisa — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:29:18 +0000

I’ll be writing shortly about our trip to Disney (we spent most of it in the hospital with Madison, so it’ll be a short bunch of posts). However, we are talking about heading to FL again. Next time, we will most likely be staying in Kissimmee. I am pretty sure that is where we stayed when I was a kid when we went to Florida. There is just so many things to do in Kissimmee. The great thing is that not everything costs you an arm and leg either. I personally would love to check out the Reptile World Serpentarium. It is an exhibit showing 60 different species of snakes, including cobras, mambas, rattlesnakes, alligators, iguanas and more. Now, Bill is afraid of snakes, so I am not sure how keen he would be to go there. I have already been to Gatorland, but I do think the kids and Bill would love to go there. I still remember watching them make the alligators jump to grab chicken to eat. There’s snakes here too (but I just wouldn’t tell Bill that). Kissimmee is also close to all the theme parks (SeaWorld, Disney, Universal, etc) which makes it a great place to stay.

I know this sounds like a place I’d love to stay again. How about you? If you are looking for a great giveaway, the prices are great here. They are offering a contest right now that you have to enter. Kissimmee is giving away three (3) weekend getaways (3 days/2 nights) for two (2); and two (2) weeklong vacations for four (4). Drawings will be held on or around 4/15/09 and 5/21/09.

Good luck, and I hope you plan a trip to Florida!

Lisa's Travels » Florida

Dark Sky Festival

Travel To Kissimmee