Category Archives: Family Life

GTM Environmental Education Center has the Right Stuff

Family Life, Travel Journal/Blog, , , , ,
View inside GTM Educational Center
View inside GTM Educational Center

Walk into the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Environmental Education Center and be greeted by a giant North Atlantic Right Whale.  That is, one hanging Calder style from the soaring atrium ceiling. Heads turn skyward to see the full-size mammal, her newborn calf, a dolphin, Hammerhead shark  and Giant Manta Ray.  The facility houses displays of coastal and estuarine ecosystems and the natural history of Northeast Florida.

While vacationing with my family at South Ponte Vedra Beach (a week known as Camp Lander),  I took one of my grand-daughters to the GTM Education Center.  Caroline is only three, but she loved the place.

The employee at the desk handed Caroline a clip board with a page of marine life drawings.  She was to go on a scavenger hunt to find and match the animals to the pictures.  We were instructed to look up, down and all around, as well as open specimen display cases in drawers.

Caroline took about ten minutes to locate all the sea creatures- a perfect time span for little ones.  She then proudly returned her form and was given a prize– a coloring book and book mark. She was delighted and returned home to tell the other family members.

Later, my 5 and 7-year-old grandchildren paid a visit to the center with their parents. Their activity was a little more demanding, but still age-appropriate. They loved the giant shark’s teeth display as they’d been finding smaller ones on the beach every day.

As a rainy day activity, this place has the right stuff at a bargain price.

Admission is only $2 for adults and $1 for children ages 10-17.  Those under 10 are free.
Hours are 9 am to 4 pm, except closed on Florida state holidays.

Location is south of Jacksonville,  off State Road A1A, 8 miles north of Vilano Beach and just a short drive from St. Augustine.

Guana Tolomato Matanzas (GTM) Environmental Education Center

505 Guana River Road
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL  32082
904 823 4500

Escape to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville, Florida

Family Life, Travel Journal/Blog, , , , , , ,
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Most visitors to Gainesville attend activities at the University of Florida, but I headed there to dig into nature.  I joined the Jacksonville Camera Club‘s trip to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens to practice outdoor photography.

The drive took approximately 90 minutes. Clearly marked signage directs drivers where to turn off a major highway and follow the access road to enter the lush 62-acre preserve.  The canopy of live oak trees and surrounding foliage makes one quickly forget Gainesville’s suburban sprawl of malls, chain stores and restaurants.

A Kanapaha experience begins and ends at the visitor center which includes an upscale gift shop and thankfully, cool, air-conditioned respite from summer Florida heat.  The main walkway (wheelchair friendly)  runs a mile and a half and branches like tree limbs into smaller side paths. These passages lead to hidden retreats, benches, waterfalls and fountains. I felt I was walking through the pages of The Secret Garden.

A variety of landscape themes capture your interest as you stroll the property.  You’ll find a labyrinth surrounded by blooming sunflowers,an herb patch and  might see a wedding in one of the gazebos. The water gardens bloom with Amazonian water lilies,  the biggest variety in the world. The state’s largest public bamboo gardens encircle a statue of a Buddha  and include a bamboo irrigation system.  A colorful butterfly garden presented me the opportunity to capture the delightful creatures.

Butterfly Garden
Butterfly Garden

The park makes an enchanted outing for babies, children, adults and those on Florida family holidays.  The facility is pet-friendly for dogs on leash and for picnics.  An escape to Kanapaha Botantical Gardens offers fertile grounds to anyone wanting to go green.

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
4700 SW 58th Dr, Gainesville, FL 32608

(352) 372-4981

www.kanapaha.org

  • Adults: $6
  • Children (ages 6-13): $3

The city of Gainesville is approximately 100 miles north of Orlando.

Bamboo Garden Irrigation
Bamboo Garden Irrigation

Camp Lander ~ A Family Vacation in Florida

Family Life, Travel Journal/Blog, , , , , , ,

Camp Lander Kids
Camp Lander Kids

Flights from Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore brought my grown children and grandchildren to Jacksonville for  family holidays Florida style. Cars were rented and driven to nearby Ponte Vedra Beach for the start of week-long Camp Lander: my ambitious plan to unite the group.

But, what happens when you move fourteen people into one house—including two one-year-olds and a three, five and seven year-old?

More squabbles and tears than I had anticipated. Oh yes, lots of fun, too.

Thankfully, the Sunshine State blessed us with clear skies most of the week. We applied countless layers of sunscreen as kids frolicked in the ocean, built and rebuilt sandcastles and chased after beach balls. Hunting for sharks’ teeth became a favorite activity with Poppa Jay setting the record of 47 in one day.  Giggles, hugs and irresistible smiles of delight beamed from the youthful faces.

The kitchen acted as the hub of activity where an amazing quantity of cooking and eating took place. Not surprisingly, we drank more than a few beers and bottles of wine. Thankfully only two trips to the Urgent Care clinic were needed for ear infections.

Camp Lander came to a close with the celebration of Independence Day, the Fourth of July. The family created their own brilliant flashes of light like the dancing fireworks in the sky. They burst on the scene, boomed and sparkled, faded and then dispersed leaving behind stillness and memories.