Renewing a Love for Wildlife - Why Travel Still Impacts Me
Renewing a Love for Wildlife - Why Travel Still Impacts Me
I just got back from a work trip to the Florida Keys and now we're heading to Wyoming. The wildlife really has impacted me; here's why.
Good morning! Today I wanted to both give a little recap of our trip to the Florida Keys last week and share about how travels like this still impact me as an adult. So often we’re going someplace or doing an activity because it’s a part of a job we’re on or somebody has asked us to do it, and it’s great, but this last week in the Florida Keys I had an ah-ha moment where I realized how much adventures like this still have an impact on me.
I had another ah-ha moment down in the Keys relating to Pride and living in Florida. I know I talk about being a Florida resident a lot, but it’s because it’s such a torn place to live right now. It’s gorgeous and diverse, and yet there are visible actions of the most divisive nature happening, so our state is often at the forefront of my mind when I’m writing. We’ll get to that though.
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Why the Florida Keys Has Impacted Me
We’ve been down to the Florida Keys lots of times and each visit is different. This most recent trip down was a project with the tourism board, so the goal was to dig in and have as many wildlife experiences as possible. A lot of people think of the Keys as a place to go and check into a resort and chill, or maybe as a fishing destination. While that’s true, what this trip reset my view of the Keys and refreshed my attitude towards them.
The Florida Keys is one huge wildlife refuge/sanctuary, both officially protected and not. When you visit with the purpose of seeing ALL the wildlife and actively spend your time trying to observe animals, wow, it really brings the interconnectedness of nature to light.
I love what I do, and I hope to always be very clear about that, but it also is very draining and there are times when it’s tough (I know, whaa whaa). Being down there and free diving a shipwreck that has been taken over by wildlife, and then birdwatching in the mangrove tangles of the Keys, it’s all a bit overwhelming. Between the fun elements of the activities and the inspiring aspect of seeing so much healthy nature, it had a big impact on me.
We spend a lot of time in towns and cities and see both wonderful things humans are capable of AND the sad side of humanity. Spending so many days immersed in nature, it was kind of a hard-reset for how I look at what I do, both for work and as a parent. I want to be sure that my kids can see this wildlife and these environments and to share them with their kids someday. This means that I need to be thoughtful about how I share on the blogs and social media, encouraging responsible tourism (but NOT gatekeeping). With that, it also means that we need to talk with the kids about the activities we do and how we impact the world around us.
I know that might seem all preachy or you might think “Gaw, just enjoy your trips with your kids” but I think it’s really important to keep topics like this in our family conversations. It’s our parenting style I think it’ll do good for the little dudes as they get older.
Favorite Wildlife Experiences in the Keys
So here’s what I’m really excited to share in case anyone is heading down to the Florida Keys in the near future: our favorite wildlife tours! We’ve done lots of them over the years, so I’ve got a running list with our favorites, why we like them and where they visit. It’s tough to know who you want to spend your money with, so I’ve decided that I’ll just keep adding to this article with each visit. Check out our Favorite Wildlife Tours in the Florida Keys!
Without question, my favorite wildlife tour we did last week was the sailing/kayaking combo trip into the Key West National Wildlife Refuge with Key West Eco Tours. It was exceptional, from the naturalist guide to the wildlife, the beautifully still waters to swimming with gorgeous fishies. I would happily recommend this tour to anyone that has ANY interest in wildlife, being on the water, or doesn’t care about any of that and just wants to relax. If you want to book the exact tour we did, book it here!
The other wildlife tour we did that really stood out was a last minute addition to our itinerary. Like, we were just chatting and decided let’s just book one more adventure and it was AMAZING. We hopped aboard the Starfish catamaran at the southwest end of Marathon and headed out to the Sombrero Reef National Marine Sanctuary. The seas were rough so the ride out to the reef was an adventure in itself.
Once on the reef, it was the healthiest, most colorful, most populous reef I’ve ever been to. There were corals of every type, parrot fish, trumpet fish, giant porcupine fish… If you’re into free diving, there were some canyons and banks to explore (about 25’+ depth). It was so beautiful and of all the snorkeling tours we’ve done, I’ve never had so much time in the water. Really awesome and I completely recommend this tour.
Upcoming Wildlife Adventures
On Thursday we head to Wyoming! This is going to be so different from all of our other trips to Wyoming. This time, we’re focusing on history and culture, from dinosaur fossils to indigenous American Indian events. We’ve got a lot of time in Cody where we’ll be riding horses, learning about the old west and exploring hot springs outside of Yellowstone.
Don’t worry, we’re going to Yellowstone National Park too. I can’t physically step into Wyoming without visiting Yellowstone, so it’ll only be for a day, but that’s enough time to say hello to our favorite National Park and (safely) commune with bison for the afternoon. It’s going to be awesome!
We’re also going to be in Washington this month. It’s high time we pay a visit to our friends and family in the Pacific Northwest, so that’s going to be nice. Hopefully it’ll be beautiful, and not rainy or smokey. Fingers crossed. The wildlife we’ll be looking for on this trip will be rabid Seattle Mariners fans cuz we’ve got tickets to a game and it’s going to be a blast.
In July we have one more trip down to the Florida Keys planned. This is for actual vacation (not a work trip) and I’m sure we’ll be back on the water looking for more wildlife again. I am determined to capture photos of white footed boobies, so hopefully this will be the trip for it!
Pride in Key West
The last thing I wanted to share this week is about Key West Pride. We don’t do a lot of Pride events because we have busy lives and just haven’t made it a priority. I think that’s going to change though. I talk a lot about how Pride all through the year is important, and that looks different for everyone. For us, it’s being out in the world and visible. We don’t need to be colorful and loud, but you know what, being colorful and loud is powerful and moving.
When we were in the Keys last week, Kelly (bff/assistant) and I were in Key West for Pride weekend and it was remarkable. It really brought to light how white-bread our world is. We live in a very Conservative part of Florida and being in Key West opened my eyes to what we DON’T have in St Augustine. Key West is so diverse, from a very visible LGBTQ+ community to people who’ve immigrated from other countries and call it home. Pride celebrated everyone and everything.
I felt so at ease and excited to be around different people. Pride isn’t all about hedonism, as a lot of news and social media will have you think. Pride in Key West was a continue flow of colors and positivity. We did a Pride sailing with Honest Eco on the Blu Q and got to hang out with OUR community and watch the sunset. We mingled with locals and shared our stories. That’s what I love about Pride celebrations, and that’s why we’re going to be actively participating wherever we can in 2024.
PS: yes, we had a Pride celebration in St Augustine this last weekend and I totally didn’t know about it until I saw friends posting pictures. So bad on me for not actively seeking out our community in our own town. Lesson learned.
I think that’s it for now. We have packing to do for our Wyoming trip and need to clean up our yard from the storms we’ve had for the last few days. Hopefully when we’re home from this next trip we’ll have some exciting updates to share in the vacation rental sale department (still in the process of selling our bungalow).
Thank you for following along. I’d love to see people engage with us on Instagram in the next week as we’re in Wyoming. I think it’s going to be fun and show a different side of our travels.
Have a great week!