Get Outside

A few weeks ago my husband and I went on a trip up north to Old Town, Florida. We've stayed in all kinds of places all over the world and figured nothing could be worse than a $7.00 hostel in India so we decided to finally give Airbnb a try. We rented a cabin in the woods that was right on the Suwanee River and I'm happy to say that the experience exceeded our expectations.

We were on a mission for some peace and quiet. 


The cabin was located 3 miles down a dirt road and had no cell phone service, cable or internet. Mission accomplished. It was exactly what we were looking for. 

The lack of distractions gave me more time to create these little travel sketches.

On the second day of our trip, we went to Fanning Springs State Park. Entry is only $6 per car and it is one of the prettiest little State Parks I've ever visited with a canopy of enormous old live oak trees overhead and crystal clear freshwater springs for swimming or scuba diving.

We decided that no matter how cold it was, we would jump into any and all springs we came across. It was definitely brisk!

Fanning Springs State Park is located in the town of Fanning Springs. There is a canoe launch but it's down a steep hill and despite what their website says, we discovered that they do not have canoe or kayak rentals. They do offer hiking, swimming, scuba diving, camping, a boardwalk, and a boat launch. We had a great time hiking, swimming and wandering this beautiful little park.

We also spent a few days exploring Manatee Springs State Park. The entry fee was also only $6 per car which is an excellent price for a park that offers so many activities. The park is immaculately maintained by supervised state inmates and highly dedicated park rangers. Our first day there we brought our paddleboards which were a great way to spot manatees.

The park is home to one of Florida's largest freshwater springs and is a winter refuge for West Indian manatees. The springs are also very popular among scuba divers as their underground aquatic cave system is one of the longest in North America. Even though it was cold outside, we had to jump into this spring as well. Make sure to bring snorkel gear or at least goggles to see underwater. You will not be disappointed.

There is also a boardwalk that you can use to view the manatees if water sports are not your thing. Whether in the water or on the boardwalk, everyone was pleased. The manatees were everywhere. 

It was raining and cold on our second day at the park and not ideal for being on the water so we went for a hike. Their trail system has 8.5 miles of trails for walking or bicycling.

This was the largest magnolia tree I've ever seen!

Our last day at the park was spent kayaking. Visitors can rent kayaks, canoes or paddleboards from Anderson's Outdoor Adventures which is located in the park. Our kayak rental was only $25. My sketch (above) shows some of the wildlife we encountered when we were kayaking. 

If you own your own boat you can use the boat ramp to access the Suwanee River.


Manatee Springs is located in Chiefland, Florida and offers trails for bicycling and hiking, a boat launch, canoe launch, camping, snorkeling, swimming, scuba diving, wildlife viewing, and concessions. 




Mostly everything was closed on Thanksgiving except for the Nature Coast Trail. The Nature Coast Trail is a 31.7-mile paved trail for walking, biking, skating, horseback riding, and bird watching that spans Dixie, Gilchrist, and Levy counties. 
We found a trailhead near the cabin and went for a stroll. There is no fee to enter and it's open 7 days a week, 365 days a year from sunrise to sunset. 







On our last day, we finally strategized a way to get our very large and very heavy paddleboards off the steep and rickety dock at the cabin and into the Suwanee River. As you can see from my sketch (above) we had to get a ladder involved. I also provided photographic evidence to prove that, yes, this ridiculous plan was in fact undertaken but also accomplished.

For more detailed information about visiting Florida's State Parks, you can go to floridastateparks.org

On the Road in Wisconsin (part 1)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

I just spent the last week in Wisconsin. During the first half of the trip, I was in a city called Rothschild. With a population of 5,201, there wasn't much to do there. I tried reading the phone book but it was only 10 pages long. No kidding. This place had more cows than people. Thankfully, my hotel room came with a hot tub. This really helped with the boredom and the fact that it was a shocking 48 degrees outside after I just came from 80-degree weather in NY. I discovered there's a lot of things you can do while in the hot tub such as reading, watching TV, calling friends, text messaging, eating, sending emails, working on your laptop...blogging, etc...

So my travel tip for this week is: if you must travel, be sure to book a hotel room with a hot tub 3 feet from your bed. A flat-screen TV in the bathroom doesn't hurt either.

After my exciting trip to Rothschild, I drove back across the state (another 88 miles of corn) to Green Bay which is a relative metropolis compared to Rothschild. During this trip, my GPS and I got into our first fight. After an hour of driving, she led me back to where I started. Some harsh words were spoken but I realize it wasn't her fault and we've since made up. She didn't know there was highway construction and I know she would never intentionally lead me astray.

My first day there I went to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. It's a beautiful 700-acre urban wildlife refuge that receives over 3,000 injured, orphaned and sick animals each year. They rehabilitate as many animals as possible and release them back into the wild. Animals that can't survive in the wild remain at the Wildlife Sanctuary. The park, which is Green Bay's largest city park, also has 6.6 miles of hiking trails and is open year-round with no admission fee.

I went on a day where the weather was perfect for outdoor activities. The animals were extremely friendly and were not shy about coming up close to the visitors (probably because you're allowed to buy food to feed them). One of the things I really liked about the park was that it offered unique views of wildlife such as this viewing tower in the picture to the left. The park was really pretty and had many benches and picnic areas with beautiful views of ponds. It wasn't crowded at all and was actually very peaceful. I just picked up a map at the Nature Center and walked at my leisure through the trails. This was definitely a great daytime outdoor activity that I would recommend for all ages.

Also, right across the street is the Bay Beach Amusement park (open seasonally) which had rides, go carts and mini-golf with a view of the waterfront.

For more info about the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

call (920) 391-3671 or go to www.baybeachwildlife.com

Exhibit on Wheels

Over the summer I worked for a little bit at the New York Aquarium located in Coney Island. This year was the first time that the NY Aquarium had a float in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.  I had never been to the parade before but heard it was a lot of fun. When I found out the Aquarium needed puppeteers for their float I happily volunteered and I learned that it's way more fun to march in a parade than to just watch one pass by. The giant octopus float was created by the lovely and talented Katherine McLeod who builds and maintains the exhibits for the NY Aquarium. Many volunteers also helped Katherine build the float and march in the parade. I got to be an octopus tentacle (along with 7 other volunteers) and of course, we also had a mermaid.

The Octopus float brought new meaning to the words "traveling exhibit" as the Aquarium used the opportunity to get it's conservation message out and we even gave out free passes to the crowd so they could come to see the exhibits after the parade. 

Being an octopus tentacle was a lot of fun. I know myself, and all the other tentacles, can't wait to build a bigger and better float next year and march again.