Your friendly guide to national parks, road trips, and all things outdoors
The only thing we knew we really wanted to do in Tallahassee was visit the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I knew I wanted to go in the morning for the best lighting and the first day it rained so we decided to go for the next morning. We went early but not too early.…
Continue reading ➞ Baby Gator Haven At St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
A couple of years ago I got to visit Lovers Key State Park and found all kinds of fun shells. Then I left them in the bag for like a year and a half without being cleaned and couldn't get rid of the stink so I had to sacrifice them. I knew I wanted to…
Continue reading ➞ Lovers Key: A Shelling And White Sand Paradise In South Florida
Back in January of 2020 when I visited south Florida, I really wanted to visit Delnor-Wiggins Pass to go shelling but didn't make it that trip so when I was planning this trip with my parents, I knew we had to go. I had pretty high expectations for no real reason and was a little…
Continue reading ➞ Delnor-Wiggins Pass Shelling: A Pretty OK Shelling Day In Florida
As I've already mentioned, when my parents came to visit, we had a shelling packed trip planned. Our first stop was Clearwater Beach after meeting up in Tallahassee and we did a lot of shelling here. Not super great shelling but shelling. I feel like we saw more sea specimens here than good shells (like…
Continue reading ➞ Caladesi Island State Park: Shelling And White Sand Beach Paradise In Florida
Shelling on Sanibel is a bucket list topper for anyone that loves collecting sea shells. It's one of, if not the, best places in the world to go shelling and I finally got to visit this winter! When my parents came to visit Florida in March we had a big shelling focused trip planned and…
Continue reading ➞ The Great Sanibel Shelling Showdown: Lighthouse Beach Vs Blind Pass Beach
Chances are, when you think Florida, you think Orlando. Or at least Disney. But there's so much more to Orlando than Disney. There's Universal, too. I'm kidding, today isn't about either of those. It's all about Orlando day trips. While there are so many amazing things to do in Orlando, there are just as many…
Continue reading ➞ 8 Perfect Day Trips From Orlando To Get You Out Of The Theme Parks
I love Everglades City. I don't know where I want to live forever, but Everglades City is one of the contenders so far (along with Moab and the Asheville area, if you were curious.) Every January we make a trip down there and do the same things but also manage to find new things to…
Continue reading ➞ 24 Things To Do In Everglades City: Hiking Trails, Biking, Paddling, And More
I love visiting wildlife refuges and one we knew we wanted to visit when my parents were here was the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel. It's a tiny little refuge on the bay side of Sanibel. The first time they came to visit, we went to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge and…
Continue reading ➞ Get Your Bird On At The Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge On Sanibel
One of the things I knew I would be doing when my parents came to visit Florida this year was seeing the Alfred B. Maclay Garden State Park which just happened to be during the blooming season! This was the first thing we did on a sort of cloudy day. We didn't really know what…
I can't believe it took me three trips to Everglades City before I hiked the Marsh Trail. Even more shocking, it was three visits before I even knew this trail existed, how wild is that? And we usually stay for 7-10 days which makes it even more surprising! Well, in 2021 I managed to hike…
Continue reading ➞ Birding Paradise In Florida: Hike The Marsh Trail In Ten Thousand Islands
On our January 2020 trip to Big Cypress we hiked the swampy part of the Fire Prairie Trail. Then this year, 2021, we hiked a little further out into the prairie part of it, still on the trail though. I still haven't hiked the entire Fire Prairie Trail, but I really enjoyed the part we…
Continue reading ➞ Experience The Fire Prairie Trail In Big Cypress National Preserve
On this year's Big Cypress trip we ended up extending it by like four or five days because we were loving it so much. It was also a year of new hikes here, which was exciting! I was also able to cross off biking Shark Valley off my national park bucket list! One day I…
Continue reading ➞ Biking Shark Valley: One Of The Best Things To Do In Everglades National Park
Biscayne national park is an underwater gem of a national park just outside of Miami, Florida, not far from it's neighbor, Everglades National Park. While they're close to each other, Biscayne receives far fewer visitors and is a totally different experience. Most people skip Biscayne because it is a mostly water park, but today I'm…
Continue reading ➞ 7 Reasons Biscayne National Park Is Worth It
One area of Florida I want to explore even more than I have is the west side, specifically the southwest. I've still gotten to see quite a bit over there, though and am sharing some great day trips from Fort Myers with you today! These are all great additions to any Florida road trip. Everything…
Continue reading ➞ 8 Day Trips From Fort Myers To Experience The Beaches And Swamps Of Florida