Why I don't like going to Pride events (and why they're so needed)

I want to share my experience at the Pride parade here in St Augustine yesterday, because it was a hard reminder of what's happening at this very moment. I have awesome stuff to share too though...

Jun 16, 2024

Yesterday was the St Augustine FL Pride parade. Our town is small and yes, it’s Florida. And yes, as the saying goes “the further north you go the further south you go” and it’s true. There are days when things are all happy and rainbows and just normal, like nobody gives us a second look, and then there are days when people just stare or, even better, stand in front of you yelling awful things. And that’s what happens at Pride.

Thank you for listening as I share about all this. It’s something that I often think about and rarely does reality strike us enough that it’s worth discussing, but that’s not the case today. I’ll share about what’s happening this week and our Alaska itinerary, and I have June 2025 plans to share already!

Pride: here’s why it’s a struggle to participate

I love what Pride events have become around the world, with parades and speeches and happiness. That’s kind of what we had here in St Augustine, FL yesterday, but on a small scale of hundreds vs thousands of celebrants. There were rainbows everywhere and so many people excited that we could all celebrate Pride here in our small town in Florida. With that though comes the hate.

Yes, there were far more people celebrating and being joyful than trolls, but the haters are still strong. Sure, yell that were sinners and that “God hates Pride” and all that, cuz that doesn’t matter, particularly if you don’t believe in a god. What is hard though is when people walk directly towards you and start yelling that you’re a p*doph*le over and over as you sit their with your kids. No matter how unfounded peoples’ ideas or mindset are, it really is deeply upsetting that somebody would feel the need and the strength to stand there and yell horrible, disparaging things at our family.

Yes, this happens in other cities at their Pride celebrations too, as people everywhere think that their beliefs (even when not even in line with the doctrine they say they follow) should be forced on everyone. What makes it so difficult though is when something like this happens in your hometown while you’re standing in the sunshine with your community and your kids and you just have to pretend like it’s not in your face and beating through your ear drums.

While I know that these people have literally no idea what they’re talking about and that they are just spewing hate because they think it’s their duty, it still eats me and leaves me feeling bruised. I know that’s their goal, or at least part of their goal. BUT that’s why we have to keep on showing up and being out and Proud. Everything the stank yellers were chanting and saying yesterday was absolute crap and all we can do is show them and the world how wrong they are. Anyways, happy Pride month to all and I hope we’re all shining the light of goodness, particularly when the baddies are trying hard to put it out.

EVERYTHING Glacier National Park for YOU

After an amazing week with the kids in Glacier National Park I’ve been hard at work writing up everything that I think is helpful for anyone else planning a trip. We’ve been to Glacier many times (twice in the last nine months) and have been in every season except the dead of winter, so have lots of stories, done countless hikes, met all the moose personally and have stayed in some cool places. WITH THAT…

I want to encourage everyone to visit Glacier Country this year, and if you want to wait until autumn, that’s fine. Glacier in fall is beautiful! Just make sure you get there by the second week of October, otherwise you’ll likely miss out on Logan Pass and a lot of the fall colors. Here are the articles I’ve written that are helpful for planning and having a wonderful trip, so please read up and know that I’m happy to answer any and all questions!

Glacier National Park itinerary
Things to do in Glacier / EVERYTHING About the East Side of Glacier NP
Hotel picks: the Belton Chalet (West Glacier) and Glacier Park Lodge (East Glacier)
Centralized and amazing vacation to Glacier: Glacier Guides Montana Raft
BONUS: visit Waterton National Park in AB (loved the Prince of Wales Hotel)

PS: Glacier Country has been a wonderful partner to work with over the years, and even though they aren’t sponsoring any of our work this Pride Month, Glacier MT has been one of our biggest and most consistent supporters/allies for YEARS and as a community is one of the most welcoming destinations in the USA for families like ours. Show them some love and pay them a visit!

ALASKA: here we come! UnCruise time!!!!

It’s finally here! This week we fly to Alaska to set sail with UnCruise Adventures for another amazing week of nature and fun. We’ve gotten to serve as ambassadors for UnCruise for the last year and it’s been so much fun. This next adventure really focuses on families and getting kids into nature. We’ll be exploring Glacier Bay National Park, kayaking (maybe with orcas), snorkeling, hiking and more all through the Inside Passage.

And just like Glacier Country, UnCruise has been a wonderful support of our LGBTQ community all through the year, and not just in Pride Month. Offering inclusive, safe-space experiences to individuals, couples and families is something often overlooked by big business. UnCruise is a small business (despite growing to many ships now) and they’ve done an amazing job at creating a type of travel that’s welcoming, bespoke and unforgettable. Thank you for supporting us, UnCruise fam!!!

Our Alaska Itinerary

So, here’s what we’ve got going on for Alaska, and I’m pretty stoked. I use to live in AK and worked as a drive guide and horseman, so getting to bring my family back to the Last Frontier is very exciting. We’ll be sailing from Juneau on our UnCruise, the Wild, Wooly & WOW itinerary, and then we head to Anchorage. After we do laundry in ANC we’ll head down to the Kenai Peninsula (my stomping grounds!) to do all the things I miss about living on the Kenai.

We’ll be staying at the Seward Windsong Lodge (same management group as the Belton and Glacier Park Lodge!) and exploring Kenai Fjords National Park by boat, doing some hikes that I love, and hopefully seeing all my moose friends that used to rub their noses on my apartment window. I’m bummed we don’t get to ride horses with my old outfitter, Alaska Horsemen Trail Adventures, as the owner just sold the business. We may hike the old trail routes instead…

From the Kenai we’ll head back to Anchorage and then up to Talkeetna. There’ll be hiking, sightseeing, good food and a safari on the Susitna River. Add to this some hiking in Denali State Park and other favorite stops on the Parks Highway and then we’re at Denali. Working at Denali National Park is one of my favorite memories from my whole life thus far. It was beyond magical and I can’t believe I get to bring MY family to the tundra. From hiking to touring to meeting sled dogs, it’s going to be unforgettable.

Once we’re back I’ll write about EVERYTHING: our UnCruise sailing, our time in Juneau, our land tour on the Kenai and Denali… It’s going to be awesome.

That’s it for this week. There won’t be a newsletter again until July as we’ll be traveling and I’m not bringing my computer. Three weeks without a computer!! Wow, we’ll see how this goes.

Thank you for following along, and remember that the easiest things you can do are to BE KIND and OFFER A SMILE - these simple actions go a long way, and since we don’t all know what we’re all going through at any given time, stick with these and you’ll only make somebody else’s moment or day a little brighter. :)