The Top 5 Things to Try in the Florida Keys (In my Opinion)

Date: June 15^th, 2016

Location: West Deptford, NJ

Written By: Morgan Gilligan

As I lay in my bed and reminisce about the past week I thought about how many new things I tried. Out of all of the new things I tried here are what I believe to be the top five things you have to do when in the Florida Keys.

5: Trying alligator

To me this was an odd item to find on a menu but it ended up being served at almost every place where we ate. I have never eaten alligator so I was a little nervous at first. When I ate the alligator bite it was a little chewy but wasn’t that bad. It tasted mostly like chicken but after two bites I was satisfied.

4: Key lime Pie

I have never tried key lime pie. I thought it would be super sour almost like a lemon but the key lime pie at Mrs. Macs had an equal amount of sweet and sour. The graham cracker crust was soft and had a nice crumbly consistency too which made it so much better. Although this pie was very delicious Mrs. Mac’s peanut butter mouse pie was to die for (Insert heart eyes).  

3: Ocean Kayaking

I have kayaked only one other time and it was in a river with fast currents. I really enjoyed ocean kayaking because it was more relaxing. I liked how shallow it was and you could see the seagrass beds as well as the corals. When we parked the kayaks on a shore a little ways down, there was so much life to see. There were hermit crabs, land crabs, and tons of seagrass.

2: Key West

Key West was a trip. There was so much to do and see. There were bars, chickens, artwork, and great places to eat. There was also the southernmost point of the United States where you could stand in line to get a photo.

1: Diving/Shark tagging  

Diving in a quarry is nothing compared to the ocean. I enjoyed all the dives because there was so much to see from corals to seagrass, and fish. I have never tagged sharks before but I have to say it was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. Not only was it exciting but it really made me realize how powerful they are.

This trip as a whole was amazing and will be something I remember for the rest of my life. To learn more about the Florida Keys and how to book your trip click here. To make the best Key lime pie ever click here.

Man vs. Wild: 5 Tips on How to Survive the TA!

Im sure you've all read tons of posts of everything we have been doing throughout the week and all of the fun everyone has been having and all of the new adventures we have all taken, but has anyone mentioned the TA? Stefan was our TA for this trip and throughout the past week he's been nothing but helpful to all of us and occasionally we would make fun of him for some of the quirky things he does. Here are your 5 tips to survive a week with Stefan:

This isn't weird at all.... I swear. 

Even the Rock likes to eat!

1) If you have any food, keep it hidden. Stefan loves to eat, at ALL times of the day. He's like a scavenger, always looking for food and if you have any leftovers forget about it! He won't actually take your food off of your plate but if you offer him your food before you give it back to the waiter then he will take it without a question and eat it. But that's good because then nothing goes to waste, right? So lets talk about the oranges. He LOVES oranges. Every dive that we were on he was always eating all of the oranges (before we dove). If you looked out into the ocean by the time he was done with the oranges it looked like a sad orange peel graveyard.

How all of our phones felt in phone jail...

2) Phone Jail! The first meal on the first day of our trip Stefan stole all of our phones and made us put them into phone jail. Phone jail was a plastic box that had "tropical osprey phone jail" written on it. The entire trip everyone would try and get in a picture pf the food or tag the location of the restaurant we were at on FB before he could take our phones but it never worked. Everyone always gave him crap for phone jail but it turns out that it wasn't even his idea!! It was Dr. Z's idea but stefan was in charge of phone jail, who knew! So get used to not having your phone during the trip because its either pouring rain, your underwater or in water, or your phone is in phone jail so theres really no time to use your phone throughout the trip unless you want to be really risky. 

                                                

3) He's a terrible DJ.... Sorry. When he would play music from his phone everyone in the van would look around at each other with a wtf look on their faces wondering what was going on and when this torture would end for us. my suggestion to you is to bring a pair of headphones to drowned out his music or a nice fluffy pillow so you can take a nap instead!

4) Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, hide yo stickers! He has a sticker obsession too. Everywhere we stopped he would buy stickers. No one really knows what he was doing with all of those stickers that he bought, but hopefully it was something really cool and crafty. My tip to you is to buy him lots of stickers to get on his good side, no one from our class did that so i think that explains a lot about how he felt about our group... Just kidding! 

5) Try not to annoy him too much! Stefan was very helpful even at 6 in the morning. If you forgot your water bottle in the cooler or you needed your dive gear and he had it he would make sure you had all of your stuff before we left! He was a volunteer. Stefan had to deal with all of us for about two and a half weeks and he chose to do this all on his own! So, try to not annoy him too much, im sure he likes to sleep in too. 

Stefan, on behalf of all of the Tropical Ospreys thank you for coming on this trip with us and spending weeks away from home to be annoyed by college students all day and night. We may have made fun of you for your horrible taste in music and love of all kinds of food but the trip wouldnt have run as smoothly or been as fun without you to help us out along the way. I dont know about group 1 but i know group 2 was a struggle bus and you never once complained about how annoying or obnoxious we all were. So thanks stefan, we apericate you! 

To find out what a TA does click here. 

To buy your very own phone jail click here.

There's a First Time for Everything!

This past week has been one of the most amazing and memorable trips I've ever been on. I got to experience what it might be like to work in the field and it was really something special. I also realized that this trip had a lot of "firsts" for me. Everyday I got to experience something new, and I am so thankful for that. Here's a quick rundown of my firsts!

It was my first time...

1) Being on a plane! Well technically my second, but my first time was when I was eight years old and I don't remember it very fondly. This time around I was definitely nervous, but was happy that I wasn't alone. Luckily, I got the window seat so I didn't get bored the entire flight!

2) Eating Alligator! I am the pickiest of eaters and never try anything new. When I heard that Dr. Z had ordered alligator bites I was pretty grossed out. Yet everyone was trying it and said that it was fine so I trusted them and had a tiny bite. They weren't bad at all! Now I can go around telling people I had tried alligator and get to see their reaction to it.



3) Seeing and touching a shark in the wild! This was absolutely crazy and I loved every second of it. Shark tagging was probably my favorite part of the trip. All of the sharks we caught were so beautiful and I was very lucky to have been a hand in their research! Plus I got a pretty cool picture out of it too.

4) Snorkeling! I'm a marine science major going into my senior year and it was my first time snorkeling ever. I know. I had a blast both days we went out and could see all the marine life very clearly! I really didn't want to leave the water once we got in, but alas, we had time limits. I'm also very thankful I wasn't the only one snorkeling! Shout out to Colleen, Justin, and Cailin for making snorkeling a great experience!

5) Kayaking in the ocean! It wasn't my first time kayaking overall but it was my first time in the ocean. We claimed an island and named it, got kicked off and moved to another one, and even got to see some dolphins!






6) Feeding tarpon! This was probably the first time any of us have done this and it was pretty funny. The tarpon were so much larger than I had originally thought and feeding them really got my heart racing. Holding the bait over the water, you didn't know when the fish was going to bite. I might have screamed a little and I think a few of us had the pleasure of getting our fingers nibbled at.






Overall, I had the time of my life down in the Florida Keys. It's been full of incredible "firsts" and I'm so glad to have shared it with everyone who went! I have some amazing memories, pictures, and stories to tell and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us!

Want to feed a tarpon? Check out Robbie's!
Want to eat alligator too? Here's some nutritional facts.

As we go on we remember..All the times we had together

This morning I woke up in a confused daze, for a split second I didn’t know where I was. This wasn’t the comfy hotel room I spent the past week in. Not to mention it was way past 12 o’clock in the afternoon and not the usually early morning that we had become accustomed to. I had also woken up to an empty house, where were my friends? No adventures to new places today, just unpacking and settling back to reality (oh, there goes gravity). As happy as I am to be home, I'm starting to miss that good ol' Florida weather (the humidity..not so much). As I sit in my bed writing this and nursing my self back to health (I've caught the airplane plague), I'd like to reflect on this past week.

This trip was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve done! I got to meet and befriend people that I’ve seen and had classes with but now feel closer to. I got to see a new side of my advisor/professor and have fun outside of a classroom setting! I got explore an area that I had never been to before and instantly fell in love with it. From the Everglades to Key West, Florida is a magical place full of gorgeous landscapes and incredible animals. Scuba diving, kayaking and shark tagging were some of my favorite activities we did this week! I got to dive on four different reefs, completing five more dives on my certification. Seeing the fish, plants and invertebrates we learned about in class, in real life was truly breath taking. Kayaking in the ocean was something I'd never done before and it was so cool! Swimming in the crystal clear waters and the time we spent our own little island was relaxing and refreshing. I never thought that I would get to work with sharks face to face. It was so surreal seeing three different species of shark in person. I also can't believe that I was brave enough to stick my hand in the mouth of a shark (for DNA retrieval purposes of course)! I also cannot believe that I got to see an alligator in real life! I'm just so happy that I was able to go on this trip, I love marine science and this experience definitely made me feel more confident about going into this field.

A few people I’d like to thank:

If you look close enough you can see the tears in our eyes

The friends I’ve made: Thank you guys for making this trip so much fun! We all got along pretty well and shared some great memories together #blessed! We have to get together again soon! Florida Keys Part 2 anyone? :P

To Dr. Z: Thank you for being a great professor and planning such an awesome trip and giving us the opportunity to do some great activities that we may never get the chance to do again such as the shark tagging! Thank you for taking us to a place that you love and sharing its beauty with us. And for supporting great local restaurants and not taking us to any chains!

To T.A. Stefan: Thank you for helping us and dealing with our craziness and eating all of our leftovers!

yes that is the taj mahal photoshopped in the background

And lastly to my parents (and other family members): Thank you for allowing me to go on this trip and helping pay for it! I don’t know what I would do without you two! You've always been there for me and telling me to get out there and try something new! And thank you for supporting my dreams and pushing me in pursuing what I love!

P.S. I'd also like to thank the creator of key lime pie 10/10 would recommend

To learn more about the keys and book a trip of your own click here

If anyone else is sick here are some remedies!

How To: Cope With Post Florida Keys Blues

Date: June 14^th, 2016

Location: Ft. Lauderdale International Airport

Written By: Colleen Beck

The time has come, the bags are packed, the car is loaded up and the plane is ready for take-off. You are so full of new experiences but you feel so empty without the Florida sun. How do you cope with leaving such a great week full of fun behind? Here are some helpful tips on how to cope with the post Florida Keys blues.

-          Pack BEFORE the day you leave for the airport. I suggest packing the night before, unless you have two reflections and a blog to write, then the packing can wait.

-          Sleep on the plane. Dream about all of the activities and experiences that you did over the entire week. If you can’t sleep on planes, try filling out the Sudoku, the maze, the crossword puzzle or the word search located on your boarding pass to keep your mind busy. You don’t want to cry on the plane, do you?

-          Review all of the wonderful pictures you took when you finally get home. You can relive your week in the keys when looking through the pictures and remember all the fun times you had shark tagging, snorkeling and diving.

-          Hold in those tears! If you do start to cry, hide your tears behind the big cookie that you bought at the airport. Tears add flavor. And who in the world is sad while eating a cookie? No one.

-          Hug your pets (if you have any) as soon as you get home. I’m sure they missed you just as much as you missed them. Hugging a furry animal can cure any blues in the world. If one hug doesn’t solve your blues, keep hugging!

-          Catch up on your sleep. Finally, you don’t have to set an alarm before the sun rises. Take this time to sleep in as much as possible. Your body will thank you.

-          If none of these suggestions work, just remember that you no longer have to write everything down in a notebook that’s going to get graded at the end of the trip. You don’t have any more work to do! Rejoice!

How did you cope with post keys trip blues? Leave your experiences in the comments! 

Already antsy to get back to the keys? Plan your trip to the keys here
Can't afford the expensive cookies at the airport? No worries! Bake your own cookies!

Full week of fun and now its time to leave!!

Date: June 14, 2016

So this week was full of amazing adventures that I thought I would never get to do because I didn't think i would have the time nor the money to go. But somehow I manged to get everything together and make it to the Florida Keys for the first time in my life. When we first got down here I was a dream come true to experience the everglades, shark tagging, scuba diving, and different trails and parks along the way. As the week came to an end we all started to get very tired and worn out but we still wanted to go on whatever Dr. Z had planned for the rest of the days in the sunshine state. Today is the day that we all woke up and realized this was the last couple of hours before we headed to the terminal. But, first Dr. Z had a  "sweet" surprise for us. We went to a place called Robert is Here. Since we didn't get to go to Jaxson's for dinner, she took us here to get us fresh fruit milkshakes and walk around a petting zoo for our last day. It was very sweet of her. Now we are back at the hotel and we finished packing our bags to load in the van one more time it was actually time to leave for good from the travelodge in Florida city to the Fort Lauderdale airport to wait to go back to New Jersey :(.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to major in in college and when I finally chose to stick with Marine Biology I new this was my calling, and after this week I am 100% sure that this is what I want to do with my life I just have to get in the door. This was definitely  worth every penny spent because without our amazing teacher and her T.A Stefan this never would have been possible to actually see a lot of the Florida Keys in one week.

To find out more about the Florida Keys
Top 10 things to do in the Keys

Nighttime at Sea

Being out at sea when the sun is setting and starting to get dark is an experience that you would want to have. Watching the sky change colors on land is beautiful, but watching the sun setting at sea is breath taking and stunning. There was some chaos with the divers getting their gear ready to dive down but everything was still calm. Once the divers were down in the dark sea everything was calm. The water was calm and there was no breeze and all there was, was silence. Silence that made you not want to say anything. It was serene and peaceful and you just wanted to look out into the distance. The water was so calm with no wave in sight and that added to the serenity in that moment.

As I sit on the boat looking out into the distance I start to think what happens out there once the sun goes down and when there are no boats or humans on the ocean surface. Does marine wildlife come to life at night? Do the dolphins peak the surface and continue to travel where the currents may take them? What about the turtles? Are they a little bit more safe during the night for them to travel and not get hit by a boat? So many questions run through my mind. 

 As the sky got darker in the distance there was a storm starting on land. The thunder was loud and the lightning was bright. I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen lightning the way I did in New Jersey and it was scary but yet beautiful. Sometimes seeing the most beautiful thing in nature is at sea when there are no streetlights or electricity. The lightning strikes through the sky and the lightning bolts are visible. Trying to take a picture of the lightning was a tough thing to do when you aren't sure when it will strike again. It's something that you cannot time and each time it strikes they are different sizes and colors. I've experienced night time at sea while on a cruise but a cruise ship is loud and when you are sitting silently it is completely different and you can't compare it to anything else. Nature was truly at its finest on Sunday night.

I would love to experience that again, with the calm seas and the sun setting with the thunderstorm on land, but with nature nothing is ever the same and is always changing and showing herself in different forms all of the time. This was an experience of a life time and I truly enjoyed what nature has to offer.

Thunder and lightning are truly amazing things and if you want to learn more click here
If you want to learn more about waves check out NOAA

An Interview with Divemaster Patrick

For this past week, we have had the pleasure to dive and snorkel with Captain Slate's Scuba Adventures. The staff of Captain Slate's was excellent in helping all the divers with their gear along with getting in and out of the water. The staff was friendly, helpful, and even provided us with snakcs for after our adventures in the water. One staff member, Patrick, accompanied us on both our dive and snorkel days. He helped everyone our and even cut up some delicious oranges for us and always made sure we had enough. Patrick was kind enough to let me ask him a few questions about himself and the job. Here is the brief interview. NOTE: These are not Patrick's exact words. I had to fill in some holes, but these are the main points of what he was saying.

Where did you go to school? Did you go to school in Florida?

No, I didn't. I went to Ball State University in Indiana. I went there for four years and got my degree in Biology.

Patrick and I right after the interview

How did you get into Scuba diving?

I've always been interested in marine science and I originally wanted to go to school for marine biology but the school didn't have the major. I got dive certified my junior year, then got my open water certification, then my advanced, and finally became a dive master.

How did you get started at Captain Slate's?

I got my certification under Tom Leaird who is a really amazing instructor and is very well known. He actually knows Captain Slate and that's how I heard about it. When I applied here Captain Slate said that I was trained by the best and that I got the job. This is actually only my second week here. I was just volunteering at Bimini SharkLab for two weeks and only got to go free diving twice which was kind of unfortunate. But I highly recommend this place to anyone who's interested in sharks. It's great.

What's your favorite part about the job?

Can I tell you my least favorite part instead? That's easier than trying to pick a favorite. Cleaning out the head. But there are so many perks to the job. I just love diving and getting to help and watch others dive. I especially like helping people when they're nervous about a dive. If someone's nervous and I help them out and they come back happy about their dive I can say, "Oh, I helped them with that, I had a hand in their success".

Where is the most interesting place you've done a dive?

Bonaire. Definitely. 

Captain Slate's

What is your favorite thing you've seen on a dive?

That's a hard one. Each dive stands out in different ways, like if I go on a shark dive and see lots of sharks, that's always really neat. But there was this one dive I went on with my dad  and this huge tuna with yellow stripes came out of nowhere. It stayed but us for a little bit and then darted off. That was pretty cool and something I'll never forget. 

What types of sharks have you seen on your dives?

Nurse sharks, Caribbean reef, Black tips, lemon sharks, and I saw a 3.8m Tiger shark. I wasn't in the water when I saw the Tiger, but it was beautiful.

What does the future hold for yourself in the marine science field?

I would absolutely love to do something with shark research, but it's a very competitive field. We'll see. 

Thank you Patrick, for letting me interview you, making our school trip much more successful, and always making sure we had a fresh supply of oranges. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get to research sharks someday.

Want to learn more about where Patrick works? Check out Captain Slate's Scuba Adventures

Interested to learn from the best of the best? Here's a link to Tom Leaird's Scuba instruction.

Top ten thing that go through your mind during a 3 dive day.

10 Gifs to explain how you feel on a 3 dive day.

1) IT'S DIVE DAY!!!.

Getting excited about getting under water and seeing the world fathoms below. the excitement of gathering all of your dive equipment. just thinking about all the fish, coral and other organisms gets you ready to get in that water and have a blast. you open your eyes with no trouble and hop out of bed to get ready

2) Can we leave yet?

Even a simple task like eating a bowl of cereal or eating biscuits and gravy become a roadblock stopping you from seeing a little statue of Buddha  28 feet below the ocean surface. You stuff your face as fast as you can so you can get to the dive shop to get on that boat ASAP.

3) Are we there yet?

Sitting in the car driving to the dive shop there are a couple thoughts that pop into your head,"How can I do three dives today?", "Wait, do I have my fins?", "I grabbed my log book right?", "Yup, definitely have my fins." "Can't this smelly van go any faster?" It's just a small car ride standing in between you and the fishes.

4) Come at me bro!

Getting to the docks and getting onto the boat, you start gathering all your gear into position and connecting your air tank to your buoyancy control device like clockwork. You are more than ready to get to the reef and hop in!

5) First Dive?: COMPLETED

You came, you saw, and you dove for about 45 minutes! The feeling of being underwater again and assessing the different types of life on a tropical reef is feeling better than the first scoop out of a new peanut butter jar. You're a little tired, but you know you have about 20 minutes till the next reef site to do the same thing all over so its time to switch over to a new air tank, quickly transfer the species list into your field notebook, and get situated for another reef and another dive. 

6) Second Dive?: I'm starting to feel it. 

Since it was the first thing you saw when you reached the ocean bottom, that Buddha statue gave you that burst of energy you needed to get over to that reef and start recording the different species you can find and their environment.  When you surface after your dive and start to unassemble your equipment you begin to realize how hungry and tired you are from swimming around with all that gear on your person. At this point you're ready for a small nap and a huge dinner

7) FOOD, FOOD, WHERE ARE YOU FOOD?

There's nothing you want more than a nice nap and some food, but that nap is gonna have to wait because you still have one last dive to do at night. Once you get back to dry land you leave the boat and head down the road to a mock new jersey boardwalk style pizzeria and stuff your face. Once you eat about 5 slices of pepperoni pizza the "Itis" begins to kick in and on the ride back to the docks you close your eyes for a quick power nap before your night time dive. 

8) Okay, but like this is my first night dive....

You quickly put your tiredness behind you and get yourself ready for your first ever night time dive. Frantically making sure your regulation is attached properly and that you have the best flashlight in the world and away you go... into the dark depths. After a good 40 minutes full of seeing lobsters, stone crabs, and the amazing luminescence from phytoplankton, It's time to resurface through the darkness and get on that boat. Thats when the relief and relaxation sets in 

9) Wow, what a day.

You did it, you did three dives today. One being your first ever night dive AND YOU DIDN'T DIE OR GET LOST IN THE BLACKNESS OF THE SEA. Instead you saw some of the coolest sights of a tropical reef at night with animals not normally seen throughout the day and some that can only be seen at night. You log those dives in your log book and start the journey back towards shore while exchanging diving stories with the dive masters on the bow. 

10) ...... I need my bed....now

Like a zombie you quickly rinse your dive gear off, stay your goodbyes to your new diving friends, and trudge back to the car to head home. A freshly made bed by Norma, The Travelodge cleaning lady, sounds so close to heaven at the moment. It was a wonderful day of biological assessments, dive experience, and seeing some creatures you never thought you would see. you can't even make it back home to that freshly made bed, you start to fall asleep on the car ride back. When you get back to the hotel you realize that your 21st birthday is tomorrow so of course you stay up until midnight but as soon as it's 12:01...... your head is on that pillow and you are out like a light. 

For more info about captain slate dive adventures: http://www.captainslate.com/

For more info about jersey boardwalk pizza: http://www.jerseyboardwalkpizza.com/

Our own private island...or not

Today we ventured out to Bahia Honda State Park, it was our day for kayaking and it sure was a beautiful day. Our group, with four double kayaks and two single kayaks, the lucky winners of the scavenger hunt, went out into the ocean and paddled our way staying quite close to shore (who wants to get lost in the middle of the ocean? Not me!). We paddled for about forty minutes and decided that we wanted to go for a swim, we were just getting too hot to handle! Eventually we found a patch of land that we thought was a good place to leave the kayaks and go for a much needed dip in the water. We left our boats in the sand and hopped in the water. We decided to name our area Osprey Island.

Osprey Island

We were enjoying each other's company, laughing, relaxing and having a great time when suddenly, we were interrupted! A man on a golf cart came shooting down the road that was opposite us and began shouting at us to move our kayaks! Apparently Osprey Island was an actual important bird nesting area...oops. Immediately we vacated the area and headed to a sand bar that was not too far from the former Osprey Island. We called this stretch of land Mermaid's Bathtub. The water was so clear and warm. We were enjoying our first and last true moments of relaxation and luckily we were not violating any rules!

Mermaid's Bathtub

 There we saw tons of merman's shaving brush, a couple of fish swimming around us and even a pod of small dolphins! They got incredibly close to us but all we could see were their small fins peeking through the surface. It was still great to see them and watch them for a bit before they disappeared. Dom was the only one snorkeling this time around while the rest of us sat in the sand and talked about our the trip, just enjoying each other's company. Eventually Dom came back over to us with a glass bottle in hand. It was in perfect condition except for a few creatures attached to it. As you can see from the photo the message "please don't litter" was embossed on the bottle.

Message on a bottle

Most bottles I've seen either say don't litter, please recycle or have the picture that shows a little man putting a bottle in a recycling bin. At least this bottle was trying to be polite! Clearly someone wasn't paying attention to their trash and this bottle ended in the ocean. I'm glad Dom found it before it possibly caused harm to any animals! We left our little resting area at about 2:00 pm, taking the bottle with us and made our way back to the place we got the kayaks. The bottle found a new home in the recycling bin and all was well! Overall we had a good experience kayaking in the ocean, something many of us had never done before! I hope I can do it again one day!
To learn more about Bahia Honda check this out
To find out more about Florida's bird species and where they like to nest click here

Man vs Wild: How to survive falling out of a kayak

Date: June 6th, 2016
Location: Bahia Honda State Park

Today the Tropical Ospreys adventured out into the ocean, but this time not to scuba dive or snorkel but to kayak! We went to Bahia Honda State Park and after a short plant scavenger hunt we went off to get lunch from the concession stands (where they call hoagies a submarine....) and then we were off to go kayaking. Everyone was excited to go out for the adventure even the people who's first time it was. Today was also Cailin's first time kayaking, so I interviewed her to see how it went and this is what she had to say about her adventure...

1.) Getting into a kayak is hard enough, but staying in one is even harder. One small motion too far left or right, or even an unexpected wave and you can find yourself underwater in seconds. Cailin sadly had this happen to her today, but she got right back up and kept on going, determined to try out this new adventure with her fellow Tropical Ospreys. 

2.) If you dont have upper body strength, just dont go kayaking. It's hard enough to drag the kayak into the water from the top of the beach but to paddle the entire time is too much work. After 5 minutes out there you're ready to turn around because your arms are tired but if you stop paddling you wont go anywhere, unless you drift out to sea, and no one needs that. 

3.) It's very uncomfortable. The kayaks arent very big, especially the two person ones, and if your tall, forget it. Your legs start to hurt because they are cramped up inside of this tiny ocean vessel and theres not a real seat to rest in. You try to lean back and realize if you go too far you'll be laying down because theres no back support, so then your back starts to hurt and every position you try and sit in seems to be even more uncomfortable then the last. 

4.) The wind, currents, and the boats. Getting to learn how to kayak for the first time is hard enough but when you have to deal with changing currents, wind directions and boats speeding by it becomes a hassle. You finally get into the groove of how to kayak and all of a sudden your kayak is turning sideways and you dont know why and you try for 5 minutes to correct the wrong direction youre going in but nothing works. When you're on the brink of giving up, you FINALLY get the kayak going in the right direction again. Then the process all starts over agian.

5.) A plus side to kayaking is seeing wildlife. We parked our kayaks on a little sandbar and we looked at all of the different algaes we learned about in class and found ones we didnt learn about. As we were kayaking back Cailin noticed a pod of dolphins were right n front of her! We were all able to see them and follow them down the beach and we were kayaking. The whole group was excited to see all of the animals up close and personal today without having to dive underwater to look at them.

Even with some setbacks and sore body parts Cailin made it through the day and had a (sorta) fun time doing it! Who knows if she will ever try and kayak again but at least she can say that she tried and succeeded at her first time kayaking! We all knew you could do it. Stay tuned for the last and final installment of man vs wild, this one will be the best one yet...

To find out more about Bahia Honda State park click here.
To learn how to kayak click here.

Top five reasons why everyone should eat oranges in Florida.

1.  There's an orange on the license plate

Oranges are a great fruit, not only are they tasty, but they have a pulpy, and sensationally citrusy sentiment they bring to the table.  Floridians recognized this and loved it so much that they placed it on their license plates!  Turns out Florida oranges are not eating oranges; instead they use all of their oranges for juice making. In fact, California is where most of your eating oranges come from, nevertheless get in the florida spirit and suck on this vitamin c-filled sack of goodness.



2.  If you dive or snorkel, you'll understand

Florida is filled with a plethora of opportunities for divers and snorkelers to experience in one of the best clear-water, reef filled, biodiverse regions of the country.   Diving and snorkeling is exciting and tiring, so there's nothing better than grabbing an orange slice and hunkering down your meaty jowls on one of these bad boys once you hop back on the boat.  The strong citrus eliminates that salty, fishy taste that accumulates in your mouth when being in the ocean.  It also replenishes essential vitamins and minerals that get depleted in your sweat under the hot Florida sun.

3.  It's a primal thing.

Sometimes there's nothing better than being reconnected with your primal instincts; and eating oranges helps bring out this savage primordial beast lying within you.  Imagine walking into a continental breakfast, early in the morning, tired, simply looking for nourishment.  You spot a beautiful display of oranges in between the coffee and refrigerator.  The adrenaline kicks in.  Disregard all social norms.  Hunch over to the fruit and grab one.  It's yours.  Look around to make sure nobody is trying to take what is yours.  Rip open the rind and toss it aside.  We're in.  The pre-divided bulbous mass of citrus entices your senses in more than one way and you can't resist the primal rage but to stab your freshly brushed teeth into the meat.  You don't care.  The juice drips down your chin and pupils dilate as sugars, salts, and fluids rush down your throat shortly to be digested.  As you finish, you toss away the nasty pulp that is scattered about your wrists and hands and your start your day because you don't give a f*** about looking like a repulsive savage in front of the Johnson family on their vacation.  Go, you.  You beautiful monster.

4.  It's litter free

Florida is a beautiful state and in order for it to stay beautiful, mankind has to acknowledge their obligations it has towards the preservation of the natural world.  One problem is that mankind has snacks. Yes, snacks.  Whether it's the bag of cookies your mother packed you in a ziplock bag or the taquito you bought at the gas station, your snack usually has packaging or some sort of waste associated with it.  Most of this waste is not good for the environment and causes major ecological problems; however the Orange (and basically all other fruit) navigates around this problem.  Not only has mother nature made a tough case for the delicious fruit inside, but said case is biodegradable and can be a food source to animals and fungi on the ground.  Don't worry about throwing away your orange peels in a trash can, toss it overboard or in the woods where some happy squirrel or fish will nibble at it for the next day.

5.  They're healthy?

Yeah, they're good and they taste good so, eat em.  Oranges are full of pulp which contains dietary fiber necessary for regular bowel movements.  Everyone loves waking up in the morning and clearing the pipes before a long day in the Florida keys or shopping in Miami.  As said before, oranges contain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are lost during sweating which happens frequently in this hot, humid monument to humanity's arrogance they call a state.



Click here to learn more about the nutritional value of oranges
Another dude wrote a blog post about the difference between california and florida oranges

The dive of deep: The night version

Date: June 12, 2016

Location: Tavernier (Davis Reef)

So today was our night to do a night dive at the Davis reef. We previously dove this a few hours ago so we had an idea of what the reef looked like already and what type of fish there were during the day verse the night. This was my first ever night dive so i was a little bit worried as to what the experience would be like and how scary it would be down under in the dark. It was quite the experience although it was not that dark when we went down and we could still see things in front of us, it was still easier to see with a flashlight. As the night went on it got darker in the water and creepy because you didn't know what was lurking in the dark spots of the reef that had no flashlights shined on them. It wasn't to bad, however there were way to many people diving at one time which made it chaotic and hard to see things because there were so many lights everywhere, but we did see some cool creatures lurking like a spiny lobster, a school of bar jack and yellowtail snapper swimming in a circle in a big group above our heads and a Nassau grouper. Also, when someone would point something out everyone would try and crowd around that area and it would scare the fish or whatever creature was lurking away. 

Here are some tips for night diving if you want a good experience:

Tip one: Make sure it is a small group because if there are too many people it makes it very hard to see what is going on because there are way too many people and too many lights all in one area.

Tip two: Always locate your buddy because it gets very dark in the seas of the deep and it becomes hard to see a foot in front of you. Plus if there are too many people it makes it hard to see who is who if your buddy gets too far away from you. 

Tip three: If there are a lot of people and you can't find your buddy stay with the group and hope and pray that when you rise to the surface with everyone else your buddy is at the surface to or on the boat. 

Find out more about night dives at Captain Slates Scuba Adventures

To Learn more tips about night diving click here

How to Survive a Tree Scramble Scavenger Hunt Tropical Osprey Style

Date: June 13, 2016

Location: Bahia Honda State Park

Blog Post by: Morgan Gilligan

  

Today started with a beautiful walk on a trail. Right? Wrong. It wasn’t just any walk on a trail it was a tree scramble scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts really take a toll on every piece of your body. You need to have a clever mind and all four limbs of your body. Here are some helpful steps to get you through the hunt!

Step 1: Apply a hefty amount of sunscreen and bug spray.

This step is crucial because of the massive mosquitos on the trail and the exposure to harmful sun rays. Unless you want to look like a puffy lobster, apply these items every hour. Set yourself up for success.

Step 2: Go through and find all the answers as quickly as possible.

Try to maintain a quick walking pace to get to each place smoothly and swiftly. Sometimes the trails are rocky and uneven so be careful!

Step 3: When you’ve found all the answers go back to Dr. Z and see if they are correct.

While you are going back, start to unscramble the words. If you can’t figure out the word you’re probably wrong so just wait and see what she says.

Step 4: Run around frantically because you only have one wrong answer.

When Dr. Z says you're missing one answer

This step is suspenseful because by this time almost everyone has only one wrong answer. So it is a fight for the finish. On the bright side you’ll get your exercise in for the day. Try all the trees you think might be the answer. As you sit and think about what tree it could be check out the land crabs in their homes or the occasional butterfly flying by. They are so pretty.

I hope these steps help you in your next tree scramble scavenger hunt. To find out more about Bahia Honda state park click here. To help get your jog on here are some cool kicks to help you out for your next hunt.