Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World in Florida

This was the view from our balcony every morning. Pretty awesome, huh? On one of our last days, there were five giraffes outside of our balcony at sunrise.

This photo almost never happened. As always, the days leading up to the trip were hectic. And, as a result, I put very little effort into making sure I had packed everything I needed. Last year when we went to Disney World, I forgot to take my camera battery charger (and no, I’m not yet sophisticated enough to have a backup battery). Fortunately, the battery life with my Nikon is incredible. This year, I remembered my battery charger, which I again didn’t need. And, I remembered to take my tripod; however, the tripod does little good if the quick release plate is back at home over 500 miles away. After unsuccessfully searching my BlackBerry for local places selling quick release plates that would match my tripod model, it was off to the closest Wal-Mart to purchase a cheap, and I do mean cheap, temporary solution. Not to worry though, I kept the receipt…and I got this photo.