I’m calling this The Ultimate Florida Quest…but really it’s just goals that I’m setting for myself to keep me on track and I’m hoping that it will inspire others to get out there to live their best lives. At the time of this writing I’m 35 years old. I’m not quite to the halfway point of my life (hopefully!), but I am getting there, and I still have a lot that I want to accomplish…so I figured I should write out what I want to do and to get going.
In many ways, this is a personal checklist that I’m sharing publicly. Enjoy!
THE ULTIMATE FLORIDA QUEST
The Great Outdoor Goals
Explore All 175 Florida State Parks – Set foot in all 175 FL State Parks and collect a stamp from each one in your FL State Park Passport book. Progress – 13/175
Explore All 35 Florida State Forests – Set foot in all 35 FL State Forests. Progress – 0/35
Explore All 3 National Parks In Florida – Set foot in the Everglades, Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, and Biscayne. Progress – 0/3 (I’m pretty sure I’ve been to the Everglades, but I don’t know if it was “officially” the Everglades, so I haven’t marked it off yet).
Explore All 3 National Forests In Florida – Set foot in Apalachicola, Ocala and Osceola National Forests. Progress – 1/3
Earn the elite “Trail Warrior” status – You must hike 1,000 miles in the Florida State Forest system’s Trailwalker Program. (I have a lot of miles to walk to earn the Trail Warrior title, especially since I don’t live near a State Forest…but I’ll have to make it work).
Hike The Entire Florida Trail – The Florida Trail is one of the National Scenic Trails and it stretches 1,300 miles. Progress – 3/1300 (I’m estimating that I’ve done about 3 miles of the trail so far. I’m still trying to figure out a strategy for holding down my full time job, taking care of my family and finding time to hike the trail…where there is a will there is a way).
Hike From The Southern Florida Trail Terminus to Key West’s Southern Most Point – It is a mere 184 miles from the Florida Trail’s Southern Terminus to Key West. If I’m gonna hike the entire Florida Trail, why not walk 184 miles more to hike the entre length of Florida? Progress 0/184)
Hike Around Lake Okeechobee – Hike the 109-mile trail around the 7th largest lake in the United States. Progress – 0/109. (Luckily, part of the Lake Okeechobee trail is also part of the Florida Trail…which means I get to double dip!)
Spot These Florida Animals In The Wild – Florida Panther, Florida Manatee, Alligator, Florida Scrub Jay, Black Bear, Key Deer, Diamondback Rattlesnake, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagle (I reserve the right to add more animals to his list).
Check Off All The Birds From My Bird Book – I have an amazing Florida bird book with a checklist in it and it is my goal to check off all the birds.
The Big Florida Read
Read The “100 Books Every Floridian Must Read” – Read the 100 Books Every Floridian Must Read. (I’m currently working on building this list, which is requiring me to read many, many FL books to narrow the list down to the top 100).
Read All Of The John D. MacDonald Books – John D. MacDonald is by far my favorite FL author. Without him we wouldn’t have the current crop of amazing FL authors either, as all of them have been deeply influenced by him. Progress 30 / 74
Read All Of The Carl Hiaasen Books – Carl Hiaasen has definitely been a pioneer in the “Florida Weird” genre and I have really been diggin’ his books to the point that I want to read all of them. Progress 10/30
Read All Of The Randy Wayne White Books – I haven’t read a single Randy Wayne White book, even though I know I am gonna love all of them. Sometimes you just know. I haven’t started reading because I don’t want to bite of more than I can chew, as far as reading goes–I have plenty to read as it is right now. Progress 0/55
Finish Writing My Guidebook Series – I am planning on writing 6 FL guidebooks for: Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, LEGOLAND, Universal and Islands of Adventure, Disney, and a Tampa Bay Daytrip book. Progress 1/6
Write 70+ Novels…But Let’s Start With One – That’s right–I want to write and follow in the footsteps of my FL author heroes by writing a boatload of FL fiction. I’m currently working on my first novel. Progress 0/1
Write Like A Madman For This Blog – Maybe this isn’t a S.M.A.R.T. Goal, but basically I plan to write and post like a madman for this blog. It is my ultimate goal to make this the #1 Florida Blog in the WORLD!!!
Florida Sports
Complete The Florida Ironman – Finish the Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 run) competition at Panama City Beach. Progress – NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Complete The Clearwater Marathon – I’ve been wanting to complete the Clearwater Marathon for years. One year I was all trained up and it got cancelled due to weather. I wanted to cry. Since then this has been on my “MUST GET DONE LIST.” Progress 0/1
See All The Major Florida Sports Teams – This one is pretty simple and relaxed and fun! Here is the lineup–Rays, Marlins, Heat, Magic, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Jaguars, Panthers, Lightning, Inter Miami, FC Orlando Progress 5/11
See All The Minor League Baseball Teams – Bradenton Marauders, Charlotte Stone Crabs, Clearwater Threshers, Daytona Tortugas, Dunedin Blue Jays, Florida Fire Frogs, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Jupiter Hammerheads, Lakeland Flying Tigers, Palm Beach Cardinals, St. Lucie Mets, Tampa Tarpons Progress- 2/12 (For a nice little article on these teams, click here).
Florida Film
Watch These Florida Shows In Their Entirety – Dexter, Burn Notice, Miami Vice, CSI: Miami, Bloodline, The Glades, The Finder – Progress 2/7 (I reserve the right to add more interesting shows to this list).
Make A Florida YouTube Channel – Yup, I want to make a FL Explorer YouTube Channel…it will happen someday, but unfortunately not anytime soon as I have enough on my plate as it is…but someday.
Create A Florida Movie – I have a dream of making my own Florida movie to be shot on nothing but I-Phones. Yes, I want to make a cheap FL movie!
Florida Theme Parks
Dominate The Theme Parks By Going To All Of Them – Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, LEGO Land, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Volcano Bay, SeaWorld, Aquatica, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach Progress 11/14
