Travelsmartplanet

Parrots enjoying themselves at Jungle Island near Miami. There are about 1,800 birds here, in addition to the tigers, vultures, flamingos, kangaroos, lemurs, hippos and a kookaburra. You can get very close to the animals, and you may even wind up with a parrot on your shoulder.

How many of you know that Henry Flagler of Standard Oil, who was a pioneer of tourism in Florida, appears on some US five dollar bills? His Flagler mansion, which was known as the Whitehall Hotel, appears on the back.

Ceiling detail in the entry hall of the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach. The carving was intricate, and the gold was real gold.

Here is the magnificent ballroom of the Flagler mansion, in its heyday and today. You can see carved moldings, electric chandeliers, arched doorways and windows and polished wooden floors.

Here is the magnificent ballroom of the Flagler mansion, in its heyday and today. You can see carved moldings, electric chandeliers, arched doorways and windows and polished wooden floors.

Here is Sandra riding one of the many strange cars we find along the road. This one was in Fort Lauderdale, FL at the Outdoor World shop.

It’s really hard to beat Shaq O’Neal at his own game, especially since he’s so tall (7 ft, 1 in). I tried this at the Sports Memorabilia Museum in Boca.

These are Cassius Clay’s original robes and a signed photo, at the Sports Memorabilia Museum in Boca.

Lou Gehrig played for 17 seasons as a first baseman for the NY Yankees, from 1923 to 1939, including 6 World Series, and won numerous awards for his achievements. He was forced to retire at age 36 because of ALS, now called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and died 2 years later.

On August 16, 1920, Ray Chapman, the Cleveland shortstop, was accidentally hit on the head by a ball pitched by New York’s Carl Mays, and he died the next day due to severe brain damage. This is the ball, which can be seen at the Sports Memorabilia Museum in Boca.