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Sunday, April 11, 2021
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Meander With Us

The Travel Adventures of a Family of Six

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Wildlife

Wildlife 

Bird-watching on St. George Island

December 18, 2020December 19, 2020 Chantal 2 Comments birds, nature, Wildlife

Have you ever tried to photograph songbirds? It is no easy task. Let me just say I have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the birders who actually manage to capture clear crisp images of these little guys.

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Destinations Wildlife 

Dodging Ostriches at Lion Country Safari

February 3, 2020February 6, 2020 Chantal 1 Comment Wildlife

  Our trip to Lion Country Safari has got to be one of THE most talked-about family camping memories of

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Wildlife 

How to See a Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nest Excavation and Release

July 10, 2017 Chantal 0 Comments conservation, sea turtles, Wildlife

  One of the amazing creatures we are so fortunate to have visit our shores is the sea turtle. Did

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Destinations 

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

March 28, 2017July 14, 2017 Chantal 2 Comments audubon, boardwalk, Wildlife

  Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is beautiful! I love boardwalks through natural areas and this place has a great one. Unfortunately,

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Florida State Parks 

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

March 28, 2017July 20, 2020 Chantal 3 Comments Florida State Parks, Wildlife

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park had been on our go-to list for three seasons before we finally got to make

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Wildlife 

The Brown Water Snake

March 24, 2017June 29, 2017 Chantal 2 Comments Wildlife

My boys spotted this very cool creature at O’Leno State Park as it basked on a branch poking out of the Santa Fe

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Hi, I’m Chantal!

Welcome to our blog! We’re a family of six based in sunny Florida. We hope you’ll Meander With Us as we share our love of travel, camping, nature, and more.

Here’s to many happy adventures!

I write about:

  • Destinations
  • Florida State Parks
  • National Parks
  • Travel Tales, Tips & Stuff We Love
  • Wildlife

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Lovely morning at @mixonfruitfarms seeing how they Lovely morning at @mixonfruitfarms seeing how they make their delicious fresh juice, taking the tram tour, learning about the animals in the care of @wildlife_inc and, of course, enjoying the best orange swirl soft serve ever! 🍊🍦🦝🐢 We LOVE our manatee county #publiclibrary and that we can check out FREE passes to some of our best local tourist sites! How cool is that?! #mixonfruitfarm #wildlifeinc #leucistic #raccoon #tortoise #koipond #manateepubliclibrary #visitbradenton #freshjuice
It was fun to finally check out #stpetepier with m It was fun to finally check out #stpetepier with my girl! Gorgeous day for a walk and to check out the amazing #glazerfamilyplayground and stop in at the #tbwdiscoverycenter and, of course, enjoy an ice cream! 🐡🌴🌞🍦
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#stpete #tampa #exPIERience #florida #getoutside #tampabay
The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St Petersburg is beautiful! The wildlife paintings and Native American sculptures were just amazing. Learned some interesting things from our docent-led tour and was reminded of some sad chapters in the history of this country. I’m in awe of some of these artists, so much skill and talent. #thejamesmuseum #wildlifeart #goartfullywild
Such a fun day out at ZooTampa! We got to see a ba Such a fun day out at ZooTampa! We got to see a baby white rhino, a napping tiger, hungry lorikeets, patients at the Manatee Hospital, and  so much more. 
#ZooTampa #NatGeoWild #SecretsoftheZoo #VisitTampa #LowryPark #Florida #Nikon #orangutan #rhino
Happy National Bird Day! What’s your favorite bi Happy National Bird Day! What’s your favorite bird?

The beautiful Roseate Spoonbill is one of my favorites and I got to see this one at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. It’s getting oil from the uropygial (or preen) gland at the base of its tail to carefully preen each feather - this is essential to maintaining and straightening each feather they depend on to fly. The Roseate Spoonbill is 1 of 6 species of spoonbills in the world and the only one found in the Americas. How lucky are we to be able to see this bird pretty regularly in Florida?

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#nationalbirdday
#nationalbirdday2021
#birdlover 
#birdwatching
#roseatespoonbill 
#birdnerd
#homosassasprings 
#floridastateparks
Kayaking with my 7yo on #silverlake in the #withla Kayaking with my 7yo on #silverlake in the #withlacoocheestateforest #therealflorida #centralflorida #cypressglen #pelicankayak #meanderwithus #drone #dronephotography #djispark #dronestagram
Beautiful day at #boktowergardens to see the gorge Beautiful day at #boktowergardens to see the gorgeous Christmas trees and decorations at #pinewoodestate and stroll through the gardens. The children’s garden is always a favorite! Lovely creative spaces in nature there. .
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#boktower #singingtower #carillon #makeyoutheworldabitbetter #centralflorida #roamflorida #nationalhistoriclandmark #edwardbok #watersnake #pureflorida
A view of the St. John’s River at Blue Spring St A view of the St. John’s River at Blue Spring State Park. Such a great park: we observed manatees from our canoe, saw 5 snakes from the beautiful boardwalks (we were looking for them!) and loved seeing all the fish and gar in the crystal clear blue waters of the spring. We’ll be back!
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#bluespringstatepark #flstateparks #camping #glamping
We love to foster kittens for our local #animalres We love to foster kittens for our local #animalrescue Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye though! That was the case with this last litter of kittens. Our favorite was a little #orangetabby who we named Pumpkin. This little guy purrs if you just walk into the room. Here he is sleep-purring next to my boy when my boy had a fever. We are so happy to learn that he is with a wonderful new loving family and that he has his very own Instagram account!!! Check it out and follow along the wonderful adventures of sweet @purrpumpkin !
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#fosterkittens #pumpkin #catsofinstagram #adoptapet #toocute #purrfect #thattonguethough #sillykitten
Rescued #bromeliad is rewarding me with #beautiful Rescued #bromeliad is rewarding me with #beautifulblooms today!
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