After the terrible tragedy of the death of a two year old boy, Lane Graves, getting taken and drowned by an alligator at a Disney Resort, I decided to write this post to share what I know about vacationing in Florida. My heart is broken for the family and reminds me of what our family was like several years ago with their little ones and like us, a Catholic family. This is a wound only God can heal and they are in our prayers.
I’m not originally from Florida. I currently reside in Sarasota, FL with my husband and five young children. We’ve lived here for nearly eight years and it’s been a great place to raise our family. With that said, there were plenty of things I noticed along the way that I thought about long and hard as a way to live here safely.
Overall, Florida is a great place to be. It’s also a growing force within the Real Food movement. The beaches are gorgeous, the produce is fresh and Real Food is easily found. These are all wins in my book!
What I did notice within a few weeks of being here is that there’s a large amount of wildlife that has the potential to be dangerous and no, there aren’t signs and warnings up all over the place. In the years here, I’ve personally warned people from out-of-state and foreigners of the dangers. It isn’t something to be feared; it just takes awareness.
I had my first gator run-in a few months after living here. It was during the housing crisis and most homes for sale were abandoned and were short sales or foreclosures. I went to a lovely home and walked around to the back while holding the real estate info in my hand and thought I saw a log floating in a drainage pond. The “log” rapidly moved towards me and started growling. It growled like an aggressive dog would growl. I dropped the listing paper and took off running.
So, let’s talk about staying safe in Florida, shall we?
Wildlife:
If there’s fresh or brackish water, there’s a really good chance there’s alligators around. This includes: rivers, lakes, ponds, drainage ponds, drainage ditches and even neighborhood fountains at times. I see them all.the.time. I see them multiple times a week. If there’s water, there’s gators. I personally keep myself, children and dog at least 20 ft away from any freshwater sources as alligators can lunge and jump rapidly and powerfully. Also, they can climb fences, so fencing in bodies of water doesn’t keep them out, if anything it keeps children from falling in.
Florida houses various varieties of rattlesnakes, copperheads in the Northern areas of the state and coral snakes. Walking through long grass, bushes, landscaping or reaching for a ball or whatever else in bushes isn’t a good idea. Knock it out with a rake or something long. FL also has water moccasins. They’re venomous as well. If there’s fresh or brackish water, there’s a good chance there’s water moccasins around.
We have black bears, Florida panthers and various smaller wildcats. Most avoid people, but don’t leave children out by themselves and pay attention.
While I like to wade very close to shore at the beach, swim at your own risk, due to sharks. I personally save my swimming for swimming pools and I prefer the kind that are kept clean with UV technology or saltwater pools.
Do not feed the wildlife of any kind!
Pools:
Never leave a child unattended no matter how strong of a swimmer they are.
If you have a vacation rental home with a pool, be sure it has a secure child gate around it.
Check the pool drain to be sure it fits the new guideline of curving out instead of one of the old, flat drains. The older ones have a history of sucking children onto the drain and drowning them and this is everywhere, not just Florida. There’s plenty of pools open to the public that are illegally operating due to not changing out their drains. Just because a place looks nice and luxurious doesn’t mean they are operating safely.
Check the Crime Stats:
Nearly every county and city has crime stats that can be pulled up by zip code or address. They can be found through the local websites for the sheriff’s office and the local police department.
Unfortunately, thieves, pedophiles and unsavory characters don’t care if you’re on vacation and relaxing. They’re looking for you to not be paying close attention or to let your children wander around without keeping a close eye on them. Tis life and this happens EVERYWHERE, not just Florida.
Vacation doesn’t mean safety rules go out of the window. If you’re traveling with little ones, which is exhausting (ask me how I know!?!?), I recommend bringing along a trusted grandparent or aunt or sitter to be an extra set of eyes and hands and to give you some reprieve from parenting, so you can actually relax some as well.
Heed Weather Warnings and Beach Signs:
Florida weather can go from normal to crazy pretty quickly. Weather warnings save lives and property.
Beach signs and warnings save lives as well. If there’s rip currents or bad storms in the area, stay out of the water.
If you rent a boat for your vacation, be sure to have taken a boat safety class beforehand and have it properly stocked with life jackets and emergency gear.
I hope this helps! I hope you continue to enjoy all of the amenities Florida has to offer. It’s a beautiful place that is meant to be enjoyed! I wouldn’t live here if it wasn’t. You can check out how we traveled from one FL coast to the other while enjoying only Real Food here:
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