I’ve lived near the water my entire life. Summer days were spent running toes through the sand and jumping through endless waves. At university, I met a girl from Kansas and asked her what she did during the summer - many of our answers were different. I don’t think I appreciated the beauty of landlocked regions until much later in life. In my opinion, the sun rose and set on oceans and beaches - everything else was moot. Travel changed that. Interaction with others changed that.

Everglades National Park - there is truly no other place like it on earth. This is the largest subtropical reserve in the United States. Not surprisingly, its climate brings intense summer heat, rain and humidity. It is not a swamp, as it is often referred to be, but rather a slow-moving river that flows southwest just ¼ mile per day. Everglades National Park is an important wetland that has been named a World Heritage Site.