At Talley Your Adventure, we don’t just plan luxury and culturally rich travel experiences—we live and breathe them. Our blog, travelingtalleys.blog, is where we share the real stories behind our adventures: kayaking alongside glaciers in Alaska, exploring temples in Japan, chasing waterfalls in Iceland, and wandering through storybook towns in Germany. If it’s unforgettable, chances are we’ve done it—or we’re planning it next.
Nicolette brings deep experience in travel and heritage. With a Master’s in Public History, she’s worked as a Supervisory Park Ranger, Revenue Manager, and Program Analyst across multiple national parks for over a decade. Her career has taken her from managing interpretive boat tours in Alaska’s wild backcountry to overseeing large-scale visitor service projects with million-dollar budgets. And yes—she’s also a licensed 100-Ton Inland Master Boat Captain who’s led cultural and ecological tours from riverboats to remote beaches.
Clinton’s travel roots run just as deep. He’s worked in logistics and operations for the National Park Service and was a key member of the hospitality team aboard National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions. From managing guest services on remote international voyages to coordinating facility software systems stateside, he knows what it takes to deliver seamless, high-end travel experiences—even in the most unpredictable places.
Together, we created Talley Your Adventure to bring our experience, passion, and attention to detail to your travel planning. Whether it’s a fully curated group trip or a personalized vacation built just for you, we combine expert-level service with insider know-how—so you can focus on the magic of the journey.
Want us to help you on your next adventure? Head over to www.talleyyouradventure.com!
— Talley Your Adventure – Dream Vacations (@TTalleys) July 14, 2025
Talley Your Adventure has over 25 years of travel experience – we've been to over 30 countries, all 50 states, and four continents. We know our stuff! Contact us today before scheduling your next travel adventure. #adventuretravel#travel#dreamvacationspic.twitter.com/wMJOvO1sle
— Talley Your Adventure – Dream Vacations (@TTalleys) July 25, 2025
While Kiraly was never able to make it to Florida, there are still plenty of unique experiences we need to discuss about the state if you are visiting with your dog! For starters, as much as everyone makes fun of it – there really are alligators in most bodies of water! Don’t walk your dog near ponds or stagnant bodies of water such as lakes. Many pools are fenced in not just for safety of little children but also to keep out the alligators that like to roam around some small towns! It isn’t just a bunch of alligators everywhere, though! Just make sure to read signs and if they say to keep out of the water, keep out of the water! If you ARE looking for gators – head to Gatorland! I promise you will enjoy the adventure…but leave the dogs at home.
Traffic in Florida is notoriously long and rough, and when you have a dog it can be an even higher stress. I always keep my dogs buckled in their seatbelts when we are in the vehicle and they remain in a walking harness so that the seatbelts have a better advantage. Remember that dogs do love long drives, but don’t forget that they can’t get their own food and water like you are able to with your hands! Make sure to take extra time and stop so they can stretch their legs (I usually stop every 1.5 – 2 hours during a trip) and give them water! I know that Kiraly could not eat and then travel, so we would alter their feeding schedule for a day or two while we were on the road to make sure she didn’t have an accident. They don’t want to travel in their own filth as much as you don’t want to clean it up after!
When in Florida, also be aware of the smaller reptiles – lizards! Kyzer was able to visit Florida for a couple weeks early in his life and by the time this blog posts, we will be living in the area and he absolutely loves chasing lizards! I do try to stop him from actually hurting a lizard, though now that he is almost 13 he is much slower. Lizards will lose their tail so that they can escape prey, but it still isn’t great for them. Make sure to keep your pup from decimating the reptile population but also let them have a good time outdoors while in Florida.
Florida, as my birth state, is near and dear to my heart but I will selfishly admit that most of my life experiences have been through Central Florida. I was born in Orlando and went to college at the University of South Florida in Tampa. I got married in Cocoa Beach. Central Florida is just part of my normal life! Florida is full of complexities, oddities, and characters but nothing defines Florida more than Disney World! Growing up we always had year passes and now that we live in Florida again, we will be sure to get all the Florida resident discounts that we are able while also trying to pass these discounts off to our clients! There is so much more to Florida than Disney, however, and I’m happy to explain some of those places here in this blog!
Lake Eola is in downtown Orlando and is worth a stroll along the walkway that stretches around the entire lake. There are restaurants and shopping available, but the best is watching the swans swim effortlessly across the lake while sitting in the shade. The surrounding downtown Orlando area always seems to be changing and is constantly busy with events. One of my favorites is the Walt Disney Amphitheater (we locals call it the Bandshell), a huge venue that allows excellent amplification for concerts, demonstrations, and parties take place right next to the lake. Another recommendation is to go just outside Orlando, to the smaller city of Winter Park. The downtown area is quaint, with cobblestone streets and themed music coming from joyously decorated restaurants and shopping areas as you walk along the sidewalk. I love joining my girlfriends for dinner and drinks in the ritzy restaurants. And if strolling, walking, or leisurely living isn’t your think while visiting Orlando – try watching an Orlando Magic (basketball) game at the Kia Center or the Orlando City Soccer Club. Orlando is rich with Hispanic/Latina/Latino vibes so look out for festivals and restaurants leaning more this direction. It is one of the things I love about this amazing city – the flair, the festivity, the attitude.
We cannot talk about Florida without taking a moment to talk about the many natural springs that are within the state. With the highest point around 300ft, Florida has lots of access to water in and around the state! One of my favorite things to do is visit a natural spring – such as Blue Springs State Park! Not only can you see these adorable swimming cows in their natural environment during the winter months (Nov – March) , but you can rent a boat that will safely take you through the area. The Springs stay a constant 72 degrees year-round, so it is also a nice place to visit during the summer months when it is hot and humid all around the state. Take some time when you visit Florida and make sure to get out into the wilderness!
Speaking of Latin flare, lets switch over to the other coast and talk more about Tampa! Home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the University of South Florida, Tampa has a much faster pace than Orlando, I have to admit! Heading right next door to St. Petersburg, you can visit both the Salvador Dali Museum and the Florida Holocaust Museum. The cultural tour can continue in Ybor, where you can learn to roll your own cigars while enjoying an amazing Cuban meal at the El Reloj Cigar Factory.
The beaches on the west coast are going to be still and less active because it is part of the Gulf as opposed to the Atlantic Ocean. If you want to surf, go to Cocoa Beach! If you want to relax in the water without too much fear of being pummeled by waves, head to beaches like Clearwater. This is also the best place to look for Sand Dollars! Remember that they are living creatures, so put them back in the ocean after admiring them. Tampa and St. Pete beaches are known for their drifting sand bars during certain tides, so don’t be too afraid to venture out a bit and see if you can still touch the bottom!
Heading back over to the other side of the state, Cocoa Beach is completely different. It will not have the Sand Dollars as much as they have Sting Rays, so make sure to do the ‘Sting Ray Shuffle”! This is simple where you shuffle your feet in the sand instead of picking them up and putting them back in the water to step. Shuffling allows you to feel the side fin of a ray, who will scurry along the bottom out of the way. If you come in from the top, you might get stung! Make sure on any beach that you pay attention to the warnings, if there are any, and the lifeguards. They are there to help you, but they also don’t want you to get yourself in a situation of danger. If there is a riptide or a strong current and they ask you to leave the ocean – don’t argue that you are a world class swimmer. They will have to be the ones to rescue you when you are proven wrong, and no one wants the psychological damage of having to tell that I told you so to a dead body. That might be harsh but come on! Be respectful of the safety that is provided for you and we all will have fun on the beach!
Cocoa Beach is home to a world-wide surf annual surf competition and the atmosphere in the area definitely reflects it! The Cocoa Beach Surf Company and Ron Jon’s Surf Shop all call Cocoa Beach their original home and have since branched out too many other beaches along the Florida coast.
Beaches all around the Florida coast are heavily visited year-round but there are many different beaches to visit, so there are chances you will find a less populated beach than another close by. For instance, everyone knows about Daytona Beach. I don’t personally like it too much, mostly because they allow driving on the sand. I like Cocoa Beach, which is less visited but you cannot drive right up to your spot in the sand. I like that sacrifice because it is less busy but I need to lug my stuff further and walk over hot sand. If you want any advice about which beach to visit based on your preferences, make sure to give Talley Your Adventure a call and we will help you out!
There are other amazing places to visit in Florida besides Central Florida, and I will be sure to write another blog about North and South Florida this year as we continue to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary! Florida was not part of the original 13 colonies, but they still hold the title of the site for the countries oldest fort in St. Augustine and some of the best beaches and tourist destinations in the world. Keep here to read more about the states in our awesome country as we continue through the year!
Unmarried and pregnant did not stop Claudette Colvin from refusing to move from her seat on a segregated bus on March 2, 1955. She was only 15 and was arrested immediately after the ‘incident’ – which happened to take place nine months before Rosa Parks similarly remained seated on a similar Montgomery, Alabama bus – sparking the bus boycotts. Though Claudette was not part of the early Civil Rights movement story because of her situation as an unwed, young mother (and all the stresses that brings without having to shoulder the beginnings of a movement!), Claudette did eventually enter the conversation by the late 1970s.
On February 1, 1956, Claudette was one of four plaintiffs for Browder v. Gayle, challenging the bus segregation in the city of Montgomery, Alabama. On June 13, the Civil Rights Movement scored a massive victory when the judged determined that bus segregation in Alabama was unconstitutional. The case eventually made its way to the US Supreme Court, where the initial ruling was upheld and the state of Alabama was required to end bus segregation. On December 20, Dr. King officially called off the bus boycott, claiming a major victory with the state declaring all buses to begin integration.
Claudette’s story is an important part of the Civil Right Movement because it calls into question many decisions – as understandable as they were for the time period – on why Claudette was not seen as desirable as Rosa Parks while also making sure to highlight as much of her own accomplishments as possible. Claudette did refuse to move when a white woman demanded her seat. We can all emphasize with a young 15-year-old girl who just wants to sit down, get off her feet, for a simple ride down the street. Why does she have to move? Why can’t this woman – this stranger – find another seat? The answer is discrimination and segregation. Refusing to move, getting arrested, and then testifying in defense of integration were all important steps in the Civil Right Movement – that is why Rosa Parks would do similar nine months later.
Claudette Colvin has received many awards over the course of her life, but one we should reflect on is the simple act of standing up for her own rights. She, just as much as any other young girl regardless of skin color, can sit wherever they want on a bus.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was in effect from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956 and is only one small part of the entire Civil Rights Movement as a whole. Beginning the Monday after Rosa Parks was arrested until Dr. King announced the end of the boycott because the Supreme Court has deemed buses to begin integration – the success of the boycott was instrumental in later actions Dr. King would take in defense of Civil Rights. The Civil Rights Movement was from 1954 – 1968, and arguable is still ongoing today.
“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” – Rosa Parks
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