Recently I joined a Whale and Dolphin healing course and it made me think of all the travel I’ve enjoyed in my life and how I’d really like to do more travelling now! The teacher holding the course holds retreats in Bimini Bahamas and Moorea, Tahiti. I plan to attend!
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t travelled since the end of 2019, before the pandemic. Although I would have liked to travel, here in Canada, there were a lot of travel challenges that made it unappealing to try, such as cancelled flights, lost luggage and travel restrictions based on health status.
I’ve decided in lieu of travel for now I’ll just write about my travel experiences so I have some inspiration and motivation to get back to travelling as soon as possible!
Over the course of my life, I have made a few trips to England because my mom was British, so we visited her family and then visiting friends there and also getting my master’s degree from Cambridge meant I travelled there four times over the degree span. I have also been to Paris, briefly, at the end of a trip to England.
I’ve also been fortunate to travel to Hawaii twice, Florida a number of times, Turks and Caicos five times and many other tropical destinations over my life and now I can say with certainty, the beach and ocean are my preferred travel destination. I’m sure this has to do with me being a Pisces. I’ve always loved water. So, my interest in the Whale and Dolphin healing course is really a way to return to the beach and ocean, even if only in my mind.
If you are an ocean lover and prefer travelling to hot, tropical locations, I hope you will enjoy my posts. If you’re travel aspiration or inspiration is not the beach or ocean, I’m sorry, you won’t find much here for you.
Today, I thought I’d start with Florida. I’ve been to Florida several times since my teens, including St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Disney World in Orlando in addition to Delray Beach, Singer Island, Fort Meyers and Marco Island but I will only include the places I’ve been that inspired me and really made me want to return.
First among them is Panama City Beach (PCB), Florida, in the panhandle. I’ve only been to PCB twice, both occasions were to compete in the Ironman early in the month of November.
On the first occasion, I stayed in a condo that I’d rented from VRBO that overlooked the start of the swim which was perfect. In Florida, I enjoy staying in a condo because there are so many grocery stores and conveniences available everywhere. At the condo in PCB there was a Walgreens right across the road and a Waffle House nearby (we don’t have IHOP or Waffle House in Canada so this was a source of happiness for me lol). The water in PCB is calm, clear and beautiful and there are rays that swim along the coastline. The beach is white and soft with lots of shells to collect.
The second time I visited PCB, I also stayed at a condo as part of a resort complex. On this occasion, there had been a hurricane a day or two before my arrival and the water was full of jelly fish that had all been blown in from the hurricane. The swim for the Ironman was like a jelly fish obstacle course with the tiniest little jelly fish and bigger ones floating along with every swim stroke. Fortunately I love all sea creatures and swimming in the ocean so it wasn’t a problem for me, although I did get stung once or twice on the arm.
While staying in PCB, I enjoyed a dolphin boat tour and was delighted to have dolphins visit the boat while we were out. I’d like to return to PCB and also travel around the Emerald Coast area to see more of the beaches and ocean. The beaches and ocean of the Emerald Coast look fabulous, so clear and aqua coloured. Have you been there? I’d love to hear about your favourite places to stay.
The other place in Florida that I’d return to any time is Naples. When I was last there in 2019, I stayed at the Naples Grand. The hotel was nice and had a great pool with a water slide and a few restaurant options, however, to get to the beach it was a 10-15 minute walk along a boardwalk through a wetland. There was also a golf cart travelling back and forth along the boardwalk for those who didn’t want to walk.
The proximity of the hotel to restaurants and places to shop and visit was also great. I enjoyed going for dinner on a few occasions in downtown Naples and enjoyed walking along the main street. I was there over the end of December so there were lots of holiday displays to take photos with and holiday lights displays.
Do you have a favourite place to visit in Florida? I’d love to hear about your experience. I will admit that I prefer the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida to the Atlantic side. The Atlantic side has been cold when I’ve visited (mostly over the winter holidays or for March break), the water seems rough and there was a lot of ocean detritus on the beach which leads me to believe there would also be a lot in the water.
I hope you enjoyed this post! It was a very brief overview of my trips to PCB and Naples. If I can answer any questions or provide more details about my time there, I’m happy to share! If you’d like to connect with me to learn more about how to work with me, set up a call!