While visiting Big Cypress National Preserve I got lost in the woods. Figuratively. I found out about Big Cypress while at Biscayne National Park and decided I had to visit before I headed back to Orlando. It was going to be a quick visit, so I decided to drive the 24-mile loop road, stopping just at places of interest. Two hours later, I wasn’t even half way. There was too many things to stop and see! I got lost in the woods! One of my first stops I was the only vehicle in site either direction. Stepping from the car,…

What is it about water that draws a man? (Man meaning human.) I once created a book ruminating on that question for my mother-in-law who lived on a lake. It is a question with as many unique answers as there are humans. For me, the answer is simple: freedom, sustenance and support. There is a freedom I feel when in the water, freedom of movement, and freedom from stress. And the whole body gentle pressure seems to align everything. Then there is the sustenance, not only for the physical need of water, but also the power of its beauty and…

I never imagined I would end up having lunch with horses. I mean, I didn’t get up that morning thinking I would be eating with them. Packing my backpack to catch the ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore I was hoping to see them, but who would have thought? I had been trying to visit Cumberland Island for the last couple of months, but during the government shutdown in November the ferry to the island, as well as the visitor center, was shut down. I finally made it the weekend after Christmas. The fog and mist formed an envelope around…

Traveling and learning about other places, here and abroad, is fascinating to me. It’s like I am a sponge soaking up the history, the uniqueness and the beauty of my surroundings. I don’t have the capacity to remember it all any more, but I sure do love learning. I recently had the opportunity to visit Puerto Plata for the first time, and the history around the Dominican Republic and Haiti sharing the same island is something on which I had no information. Working at Feed My Starving Children for several years, I was aware of the border between the two,…

Walking along a sugar white sand beach with cool clear teal waves rolling toward me, blanketing my feet, was itself a gift. So was wandering along the sandy paths through woods around a lake and marsh. I was feeling truly blessed by the opportunities that surrounded me on my visit to Panama City Beach. Then, little surprises made my day! I should back up a moment. Last Friday, I drove to Panama City Beach to take my grandson out to dinner to celebrate his upcoming 18th birthday. I really enjoyed his company as we ate fish tacos with an incredible…

For those of you who don’t know me well, being outside, especially in the woods, is food for my soul. I know that sounds like a cliché, and it is to some degree. It’s hard to describe how it affects me, the way it calms me, relaxes me, and slows me down. There is a quiet joy, a seed buried by the earth of daily decisions, that grows into a full blossom of gratefulness. A smile of praise erases the mask on my face before I even realize it is there. I’m sure people think I’m crazy because I start…