- 3 days ago
Across 5 iconic Keys' locations, travel with Bru through incredible parks and excursions to give you a sample of what the Florida Keys and Key West is all about before you book your own trip.
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00:00It is The Brew Show, broadcasting live from Reef House Resort and Marina in Key Largo.
00:05My new friend Elena is here from the place I was this morning, which was an absolute blast.
00:10John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.
00:13I got to do the snorkel boat tour. Have you ever done that?
00:17Oh yes, I go every week between May and November. I love it.
00:21Yeah, I mean, what's your favorite thing you've seen from one of those tours?
00:26Because I'll tell you mine after.
00:27It's my favorite. I like lots of things, but I especially like when I get to see a sea turtle or a shark.
00:33Oh my gosh. See, I asked about the sharks and they're like, don't worry.
00:37They're like small. They're not aggressive, but I was kind of rooting for it the way they explained it.
00:41We saw a giant, is it either stingray? I think that's what they would be.
00:46Spotted eagle ray? It might have been a stingray, a southern stingray.
00:49They were throwing so many names, I couldn't keep track of them all, but it was huge.
00:53We got to follow her for 10 minutes. I knew it was female and it was so cool.
00:57But if you go slow over the reef, you see a lot more. There's tiny little things to enjoy.
01:02Oh my gosh, absolutely. The sea, I can never get the name right, but unbelievable.
01:07So I think they told us this on the boat. The keys are the most visited place for snorkeling in the world.
01:13Right, because where else can you drive to get to the reef?
01:17Wow. That just blew my mind. You're so right.
01:20You have to fly other places.
01:22Oh my gosh.
01:22We have a road that reverses the keys.
01:26Yeah, absolutely.
01:27And then when it comes to, like, I was learning so much about how they can't dock off there,
01:32or at least with an anchor to mess up with the reef or anything.
01:35Could you tell me more about the preservation of what goes into, you know,
01:38making sure it remains a place that people can go and snorkel for years to come?
01:41Well, with the Florida Park Service, our biggest part is that we provide resource-based recreation
01:49while preserving, interpreting, and restoring the resources, the natural and cultural resources.
01:57So there's different things that go on with that.
02:00I'm not a specialist in that area, but we have buoys so people don't throw their anchors over the side.
02:06And there's other things that people do, obviously not throwing trash in the ocean.
02:11Of course.
02:13I'm just going to move this one more time, if that's okay.
02:15So it's facing you this way, the way you talk.
02:17Okay.
02:18Sorry, it just gets a little lost.
02:18That's a good idea.
02:19That makes sense.
02:20Yeah, absolutely.
02:21That should be perfect.
02:22Amazing.
02:24Okay, so the park as a whole, what do you think makes it so special as a whole and people come and visit?
02:28Well, one of the things you brought up was that it's a place that you can drive to,
02:34so that opportunity is afforded many more people than otherwise would be able to enjoy the resource.
02:39But, of course, the coral reef is the main reason people come.
02:43But we also have uplands, so we have nature trails.
02:46We have a 30,000-gallon aquarium in our visitor center.
02:49Wow.
02:49So if you don't want to go on a boat, you can see a lot of the creatures you would see at the reef.
02:53And we have, on the walking trails, we have three trails, so they show you different parts.
03:01Mangroves, a lot of people don't even know what mangroves are, but they are the start of many islands.
03:06And then the sand gets around the roots and the island grows.
03:10And then you have these wild, tropical hardwood hammocks, which are forests.
03:17And it's a beautiful blend, and you can see all of these things at the park.
03:21We also have a campground with 47 campsites.
03:24We have picnic areas.
03:27There's lots to do.
03:28Absolutely.
03:28You could stay here for more than one day.
03:30Absolutely.
03:31And I hope they do.
03:32That's our goal.
03:33We're broadcasting from here.
03:34We're going to give away a trip for someone to all the different places we visit, all the way down the Keys.
03:37Oh, how cool.
03:38I know, it's so fun.
03:39This is one of our favorite things we get to do.
03:41You know, our boat tours are more than just one thing, too.
03:44Of course.
03:45So you went on the snorkeling.
03:46Yeah.
03:47And that's a great thing, because you can get wet and be up close and personal.
03:52The water's so warm.
03:53I'm from California, so it is like, I braced myself when I jumped in, but it was pleasantly so warm.
03:59Right, yes.
04:01But if you don't want to get wet, we have a glass-bottom boat with viewing wells and an interpreter who's telling you what you're seeing at the reef.
04:08Yeah.
04:08That's really cool.
04:09And we also have scuba.
04:13You can learn to scuba dive here with our dive shop, and you can also go out on a scuba boat tour, which is, all of these things are separate.
04:21So the people who do scuba go on a scuba boat.
04:23The people who snorkel go on the snorkel boat.
04:25The people who don't want to get in the water, go on a glass-bottom boat.
04:30Yeah.
04:30But the undersea park, is that what is considered that, too?
04:34Getting to scuba dive and everything, or is that something separate?
04:38Oh, you're enjoying the underwater park and all of these boat tours.
04:41Oh, gotcha.
04:42Okay.
04:42Yeah, it's all 72 square nautical miles.
04:45Wow.
04:46And before we had a land base, which gives you that access, we were just water.
04:51Yeah.
04:51When we were created, we were just water.
04:53Gosh, it's so amazing.
04:54There's so much to explore.
04:56So we talked about the snorkeling, the glass-bottom tours.
04:59You got trails and beaches, too, that you mentioned.
05:02Gosh, there's just so many things people can do.
05:04What's your favorite thing about the park, if you had to guess one?
05:07I know we talked about snorkeling, but there's so many.
05:09And how long have you been here?
05:11How long have you been working?
05:12Well, for the Florida Park Service, almost 30 years, but at Penny Camp 25, which is where
05:17I really wanted to be.
05:18I had to figure out how I was going to get to this.
05:20I feel like that's tough.
05:21This has got to be a coveted one.
05:22I used to be a scuba instructor.
05:24Oh, really?
05:25Yes.
05:26I love what the park has to offer.
05:29Yeah.
05:29Where are you from originally?
05:30Actually, I was born and raised in North Carolina.
05:33Wow.
05:33Made your way down the coast?
05:34Just kept on driving?
05:35This is where I wanted to be.
05:37And the conversation, or the conservation and recreation coming together, we talked about
05:43how what we can do is our part of keeping it clean, but what about as the park as a whole
05:48and what you guys are doing to make sure it stays a place for people to come?
05:52The biggest part that we do is educating people.
05:55The more people who get to experience this unique environment, the more they're going to
06:01care about it, the more they're going to want to do things that help preserve what the
06:05park has to offer.
06:07I mean, it's our natural environment.
06:09Yeah.
06:10We're part of it, and that's a very important message to get across to people.
06:14For sure.
06:15So we do that in many different ways.
06:18Of course, there's the visitor center.
06:20When you go on the boat tour, they talked a little bit about the reef, the glass bottom.
06:24They definitely talked more about what you're seeing, what we do to preserve it.
06:29They told you how your behavior would affect things at the reef.
06:32And so these are the main things that we do.
06:37Of course, people love park rangers.
06:40Oh, yeah.
06:41So it's always great when a visitor sees you out there, whether you're picking up trash
06:45or trimming a tree or just out there giving a nature walk, then they will ask you questions.
06:51And that is ideal.
06:53We have lots of volunteers who help with that.
06:56We have a friends group.
06:57We have friends of John Pennekamp and Dagny Johnson State Parks, and they are raising funds
07:01for lots of special projects in the park.
07:04Amazing.
07:05Yeah.
07:05And most of it is geared towards education.
07:08Yeah.
07:09You know, I used to be a park ranger.
07:10Oh, I didn't know that.
07:12Cool.
07:12Where were you?
07:13The War of 1812, ring a bell.
07:15I was up at the battlefield.
07:18It was like more of an internship, but I got to have the outfit and the hat and everything
07:21and did it for a few summers.
07:23I was also the mascot for it.
07:24It was the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, Monroe, Michigan.
07:28My plan was to do what you did.
07:29I was going to work my way down, end up in a place like this.
07:32Didn't work, but now I'm on the radio.
07:35You still have time.
07:36I know.
07:36You're so right.
07:37That was so fun, though.
07:38I know.
07:38I love just educating people and getting to be that bridge for people that come to tour
07:44your city.
07:44Obviously, they're a little more excited when they come here than maybe Monroe, Michigan,
07:48but either way, you do such great work.
07:50Park rangers are of all ages.
07:51We have young people and we have older people.
07:54Lots of people do that as a second career in their life.
07:57That's so true.
07:58That's so true.
07:59I know my dad would love to do that.
08:00He's looking for a side gig right now.
08:03All right.
08:03So for anyone who maybe hasn't been to the Keys before, not a misconception, but what's
08:10one thing we wouldn't know if you have never been to the Keys that you'd want them to know?
08:14Well, again, I'm going to refer to the fact that you can drive to the Keys.
08:18Yeah.
08:19And that makes it accessible.
08:21That means you get a lot more people than a regular island would get visiting.
08:25So that's a great thing.
08:27I love people, but you have to be prepared for crowds, especially at certain times of
08:31the year.
08:31For sure.
08:32And it's so cool.
08:33I mean, that's what our broadcast is doing.
08:34We're going to be stopping at, do you call them each the Keys?
08:37Like each key, we'll be bopping into five different locations and all by car and then
08:42leaving from Key West, but also flying into Miami was amazing because you think when you
08:47land there, you're like, oh my gosh, I got to drive three hours to the Keys, but it's
08:50just like an hour and we're here.
08:52Right.
08:52It's amazing.
08:53Okay.
08:54So what do you hope people take away when they leave your park?
08:57What is your mission and your goal that they leave with?
09:00My goal is that they've had a good time.
09:02They've seen the beauty of nature that we are protecting by having this park and that
09:10their love of that and recognizing their role with the environment that they're a part of,
09:15they want to preserve it and protect it so that future generations can enjoy.
09:20I love that.
09:21What about when they're not in the water?
09:23Is there a certain food we should be trying?
09:25Is there a certain place we should go or activity that we should also look at?
09:28Because I feel like the Keys are known for the water and all the activities there, but
09:33what about when you're on land?
09:35When you're on land, well, the park has quite a few things to offer that we've mentioned,
09:40but in the Keys itself, I would talk to people who live locally in all the different Keys that
09:46you're going to to see there's lots of opportunities to enjoy food.
09:51And we even have a concessionaire at our park that has a wonderful Blue Heron Cafe.
09:56Oh, yeah.
09:58We're headed there.
09:58We're going to be going there, too.
10:01So we are giving away a trip to the Florida Keys and Key West.
10:04You can win it at odyssey.com slash Florida Keys Dream Vacation.
10:08We get to give away a trip to each spot we stay in.
10:10And today we're at Reef House Resort and Marina.
10:13And I've been joined by Elena, who's so sweet, from the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
10:17Thank you so much for sharing what makes this place special.
10:20And I would love anything else you have to share.
10:22Yes, I wanted to tell you more about the beaches because we don't really talk about that.
10:25How do we forget the beaches in Florida?
10:28All right, lay it on us.
10:29Okay, so although our beaches at the park, where people have access to, are human-made,
10:36there's still a place where you can enjoy what you would do at the beach.
10:39You know, lie in the sand.
10:40We have swimming areas that give you protection from boaters, if you're in those swimming areas.
10:46And at Cannon Beach, we have artifacts from the 1715 Spanish Plate shipwreck.
10:53It didn't wreck there, but it gives people 15 cannons and anchor and ballast stones that they can view underwater.
11:00Again, going slowly when you're in the water.
11:03You know, if you're snorkeling, if you're doing snorkeling right, it's the couch potatoes sport.
11:08But you're floating face down and go slowly, and you'll see lots of creatures in the Cannon Beach swimming area that are living in the sea grasses.
11:18You'll see some of the fish that you would see out at the coral reef, and you might see some sponges and things there too.
11:25But it's really a nice little beach that you can even prepare if you've never snorkeled before.
11:31Get your equipment, snorkel in the swimming area before you go out on the boat.
11:35Wow.
11:36I love that line, the couch potato sport, which I don't fully agree with because I was gassed after it today.
11:41You know, I was kicking so hard.
11:43You didn't do it slowly.
11:44You're so right.
11:45It's chasing a devil or a stingray.
11:47I was chasing him.
11:49It was so fun, though.
11:51And you're so right, though.
11:52And sunscreen is so important because the back of your legs, if you don't...
11:55Reefs save sunscreen.
11:57Yes, of course.
11:58The mineral, correct?
11:59The zinc, yeah.
12:00Okay, I love that.
12:01Well, thank you so much again.
12:02I appreciate your time coming down here.
12:04I hope I get to see you at the park when we come back.
12:07And yeah, we're on pop stations, by the way.
12:10So I don't know if you're a fan of...
12:12Who's your favorite artist right now, if you had to say?
12:17Who's in pop?
12:18Who's your favorite artist of all time?
12:19Forget pop.
12:20Okay, I listen to music all the time.
12:23And I go...
12:24We have a lot of music in Key Larkin.
12:26Oh, my gosh.
12:27Who's the main?
12:28Is it Jimmy Buffett?
12:29Well, that's what all the tourists ask for.
12:32And I love Jimmy Buffett, too.
12:33But it's...
12:34There's quite a variety.
12:36But lots of...
12:37We have rock.
12:38We have jazz.
12:39We have all sorts of different...
12:41I love steel drum, too.
12:42I was walking over here and heard it.
12:44It's just like...
12:45Takes you to a different place.
12:46You know?
12:46Sounds and smells and everything.
12:48And this place is amazing.
12:49So we're so happy to be here.
12:50And thank you so much for sharing some more info and knowledge about the parks.
12:53And so nice to meet you.
12:54Thank you so much.
12:55Appreciate you.
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