This oil spill is not just destroying a way of life for beach goers and condo owners right now (despite what many people seem to think), but it is affecting the tourism industry, the restaurant industry, the seafood industry, marine life…the list goes on. I am not going to pretend to know or understand all of the politics or the workings of this catastrophic event. Instead, I will share my sadness for all involved through these pictures. Please keep all those affected in your thoughts. If you are looking for ways to help, do a quick Internet search and locate a reputable organization.
This was then:
This is now:
Here is a video by pcolagregg of the beach covered in pools of oil:
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A few weeks ago we took a walk through the Yellow River Marsh State Park in Milton, Florida, which is home to hundreds of pitcher plants in bloom. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants. Like the Venus Fly Trap, they “eat” insects. You can read my review of Yellow River Marsh State Park at Pensacola with Kids. For today, Photo Friday, I wanted to share pictures of the pitcher plants.
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The World is Calling…Can You Hear It? What a name for a travel site! I have told my husband several times that I feel like the world is calling me. I love that The World is Calling has all sorts of travel categories: couple travel, packing, travel with kids, travel prep, traveling with grandparents. Recently they went on a trip to Jeruselum and I can’t wait to read all about it. Some of my favorite articles:
Today I am dreaming about appreciating what I have in front of me in my own hometown. This post was inspired by a recent post at Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish. Lucia posted a picture of her holding some of the teeny tiny shells that she found on an Italian beach. That picture called to me.
As I looked at those beautiful shells, I thought about all the times that we decided that we were too tired, too lazy, or too preoccupied to head out to the beach. I thought about all the times we walked right over the perfect shells and sand dollars as we tried to get a good spot on the beach. We love to travel (obviously!!! and we spend lots of time planning our trips and dreaming about the far away places that we want to visit. We do a pretty good job as a family to explore our hometown and surrounding areas, but we often forget to revisit some of our favorites.
Oil is beginning to wash ashore. I am so glad that last weekend, despite the pouring rain, we decided to head to the beach. We wiggled our toes in the sand (don’t be too jealous of the Florida flip flop tan!).
We ran around the sand soaking in the snow white color.
We stared at the rows of news trucks.
And of course, we hunted for shells. And of course I had to take that picture!
We have a couple of trips planned for this summer, but for now I am appreciating what I already have right in front of me. Thanks, Lucia.
Do you ever see a t-shirt on someone while traveling and think that you have got to get a picture of it?!? I just had to share this picture of an employee t-shirt at one of our favorite seafood restaurants on the beach. Shirts are available for purchase on Peg Leg Pete’s website!
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I discovered Carolina Nomad just this week and I am so excited to have found this website. As you can imagine from the name, the website concentrates on the Carolinas. Some of our favorite travel memories are from when we traveled through North Carolina. We will be traveling that way this summer and then I will be headed to Asheville for the Type A Mom conference in September. You better believe I will be heading to Carolina Nomad for some ideas! Some of my favorite articles:
Now that my kids are old enough to enjoy swimming but are still young enough to fear nothing (well, just about!), I would like to take a long weekend trip to Homosassa Springs to camp and swim with the manatees. These gigantic sea cows lumber around the river and it is something that I would really like to see.
What better place to camp than a place called Manatee Springs State Park! The Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is another state park where you can view the manatees from their observation areas. Even if we decide to skip the swim with the manatee tours, we can still support our state parks and see the manatees.
I wrote this Photo Friday post about the containment booms being put in the ocean in my hometown of Pensacola on April 29. Then I shared with you our experience helping with trash pickup at the beach in preparation for the oil spill on May 2. I am absolutely disgusted that it is now June 4 and that oil spill is still flowing and we are still waiting and watching for the oil storm to arrive. On top of that, June 1 marked the beginning of hurricane season which could make matters even worse should a hurricane make its appearance. This oil spill is affecting lives, jobs, and the environment. I am not going to turn this family travel blog into an “I hate BP” blog or the “Oil Spill” blog but this is a major issue in my community right now and I feel like I need to continue sharing what is happening.
Al Roker of the Today Show was on our beautiful beach yesterday morning. We often say how if Jim Cantore arrives in Pensacola, then we know it is time to batten down the hatches for the hurricane. Little did we know that other television stars mean doom and gloom as well. Many of the visitor centers have beach cams set up and are posting daily updates to their websites, twitter streams and facebook accounts. If you have a vacation planned on the Gulf Coast, consider coming anyway.Volunteer with the spill cleanup if it does beach on the areas you are visiting. Visit the other attractions in the area. We have plenty of other great activities up and down the Gulf Coast that do not involve the beach!
Instead of dwelling any more on the inevitable, I want to share some of our favorite beach photos.
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One of the things I love about reading different travel blogs is that it can take you to a place that you have never been.
Cascadia Kids is one of those blogs that I love to read because it is about an area that I have not been yet. Cascadia Kids is a blog that concentrates mostly on the Pacific-Northwest and British Columbia. It is a great place to get family friendly information about this area. Some of my favorite articles:
I have lived on the Gulf Coast for almost fifteen years but didn’t hear about this Gulf Coast phenomenon called the Jubilee until recently. Once I did a little research on it, it promptly moved up my list of things that I want to see while I live on the Gulf Coast.
The Jubilee is a natural phenomenon that usually occurs early in the morning before sunrise. The water loses its oxygen forcing the sealife to push its way to more oxygenated waters. They push their way shore and become lethargic making it easy for fishing for flounder, crab, shrimp, etc. Once the water begins to mix the oxygen will level out again and the bottom-dwellers will head back into the ocean.
Apparently it is a sight to see and those who have grown up in the Mobile area describe how they can sense a Jubilee is going to occur. There are a few things according to several articles I read that said that it usually occurs during a rising tide and will stop when the tide falls, the wind is usually coming from the east, and they usually occur in the summer (August and September being the most likely months according to one article).
I can only hope that the oil slick will not affect this and that maybe sometime this summer we should make reservations at a hotel on the Mobile Bay and take our chances to see a Jubilee in all its glory!
To see pictures of a Jubilee, visit this site. For more information about the Jubilee, see Wikipedia and this article in the Clanton advertiser. To read a wonderful narrative from a local who spent many summers on Mobile Bay, visit here.
and we spend lots of time planning our trips and dreaming about the far away places that we want to visit. We do a pretty good job as a family to explore our hometown and surrounding areas, but we often forget to revisit some of our favorites. 
