The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
After spending time at the beach hunting for shells the kids and I needed to know what kind of treasure we'd found so we headed to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. Wow, was this place fascinating-an entire museum devoted to shells. We learned all about the different sea creatures that make shells, their life cycle, and what shells are used for after the creatures die, such as tools and artwork or even homes for … [Read more...]
I bet you didn't know that Sanibel Island is the shell capitol of the US. In fact, it is the third best place in the world for shells. Shell hunting is another thing my kids can do for hours and I think it's tied in with with the same thrill they get from gold panning and diamond digging, it's all about the treasure hunt. After checking into our hotel and getting into our beachcombing gear, we headed to the … [Read more...]
Besides and abundance of shells, Sanibel Island is also a great place to see bottlenose dolphin in their natural habitat. We found out that the best way to see them is on a boat, which was not only fun for us, but apparently fun for the dolphins as well. We booked a trip on the Sanibel Thriller, a high powered speedboat that cruises around looking for pods of dolphin and then cruises by encouraging the dolphin to … [Read more...]
As Americans so many of us take for granted all the awesome stuff we have right here in our own backyard. So many folks feel it's not a real travel adventure unless they're going somewhere exotic and far away like Europe, Asia or Australia (I admit, I too have a hankering to discover Australia). How refreshing it was for me to hear from the Richard family, who after trekking through all the Canadian provinces with … [Read more...]
As a single mom, I know how expensive it can get seeing and doing lots of activities on a road trip. All those great museums, national parks, and other awesome attractions can really add up fast. That's why it's especially amazing when we come across free activities which are most times as good if not better than most of the things we pay for. Here's our list of our top 10 most awesome free activities that we've … [Read more...]
How much do you know about the Sunshine State? Take our quiz and find out if your are up on your trivia when it comes to Florida. 1. One of Miami's largest immigrant communities hails from what Latin American Country? A) Argentina B) Chile C) The Dominican Republic D) Cuba E) Guatemala 2. What was the value of the treasure recovered from the shipwreck of Spanish Galleon named the Atocha … [Read more...]
Florida is a beautiful place full of magic and mystery and natural wonder. Our theme of oceans and everglades could be traced through lots of our activities from sampling Cuban food, learning about shipwrecks and hurricanes, searching for shells on the beach, and even exploring the everglades in a fan boat. The most meaningful message that I wanted my kids to take away from our adventure was the importance of acting … [Read more...]
There are quite a few places in the Keyes where you can see, and swim with dolphins but we chose to visit the Dolphin Research Center on the island of Marathon. We had read about this place in our guidebooks and it seemed to be more animal preserve oriented instead of "experience" oriented so we decided to check it out and learn more about the friendly water based mammal. After paying our admission (which in … [Read more...]
What a stark contrast—from the sleepy little town of Sanibel Island to the hustle and bustle and visual overload of Downtown Disney…It was like walking around in a huge outdoor mall with tons of shops and restaurants and of course tons of Mickey and Minnie gear in every direction so bring your walking shoes and a fat wallet. There are lots of eating options here, but we found out the hard way that … [Read more...]
How much do you know about The Sunshine State? Take our quiz and find out if your are up on your trivia when it comes to Florida. 1.One of Miami's largest immigrant communities hails from what Latin American Country? A) Argentina B) Chile C) The Dominican Republic D) Cuba E) Guatemala 2. What was the value of the treasure recovered from the shipwreck of Spanish Galleon … [Read more...]
