Well, summer break is winding down. The kids are probably tired of going swimming. All the camps are over, and school is just around the proverbial corner.

The young track and field athlete, son of sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves, stood with his feet at the line, ready for his first competition in the long jump. He was in Nazi-ruled Berlin, Germany. It was 1936. He was an African-American surrounded by a sea of Caucasian faces.

Once they’ve been to Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, many people think, “Ok, been there, I’ve done that, I’ve been to The Bahamas.” While, about five decades ago, I was a part of this category of people, once I discovered the “Out-Islands,” also known as “The Family Islands,” I fell in love with an entirely new and unique aspect of true Bahamian island life.

We spent Easter weekend on 6150 acres in Gulf Shores known as the Gulf State Park. I could walk on the beach and see nothing but water and sand for miles, which is quite rare in the condo-dense Gulf front strip from Gulf Shores to Perdido Key.

Just about four hours’ drive from the Fairhope area will find you transported to what Old Florida used to be like. The port town which borders Scipio Creek and Apalachicola Bay is a distinct 180-degree difference from the bustling and crowded cities of Palm Beach, Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. 

Anyone who is friends with Stephen “Andy” Anderson knows he has two really strong passions, music and photography. For most of his life, he’s managed to combine them in ways that make lots of others sit up and take notice.

It was the gentle hum of the plane’s engines that signaled the beginning of my adventure to Puerto Rico, a place I’d heard about for years but had never set foot in. As the plane descended toward San Juan, the island’s vibrant colors—lush greens, deep blues, and warm sands—appeared beneath the clouds, a stunning contrast to the gray of the city I had just left behind.

Known as “The Venice of America,” the Sunshine State’s own city of Fort Lauderdale has numerous ways in which to get around. Although many of its citizens and visitors move about the city by auto or bicycle, a large number of people navigate the city by boat.