Campus Trail and Field trip

         On a rainy yet hot and muggy day we had a mini class exploration to the campus trail.  Although I am not a huge fan of hiking and being in the woods, it was interesting; at least for half of it.  I enjoy the peacefullness that nature brings and the serenity however sometimes that can be disrupted.  Halfway through the trail was a muddy mess.  I wore rainboots and even those had water overflowing into them causing my feet and pants to get soaked.  It wasnt that bad however lightening started in the distance which had me a little nervous, I dont like to get in the way of mother nature.  On the trail mostly what we saw were different species of plants and one main one pointed out was the "leaves of three let it be" (poison ivy) which actually I had never encountered before.  The other interesting thing on the campus trail was the hardwood hammock.  This was the most interesting part of the trail although we saw it towards the end of class so everyone was eager to leave therefore it was only briefly touched on. I ended up going back to the hardwood hammock so see for myself.  I brought homework out there and just decided to enjoy the breeze and see what nature really did have to offer.  I noticed a sense of peace in which allowed me to sit with my own thoughts and reflect.  Overall I thought the the trail walk was necessary.  Going to a University that is huge on sustainability and has so much to offer it would be crazy to graduate from Florida Gulf Coast without experiencing all it has to offer and to educate myself on how I could better the world. 
          The next class we took a field trip to Fort Myers beach to visit the cottage and learn about matanzas pass.  I thought this field trip was very interesting and the lecture before hand about the history of the cottage with intriguing.  The walk down the boardwalk was one that I had never experienced.  Walking through what we mostly talked about was the mangroves that took over each side of the boardwalk as we walked towards the overlook to see the water.  This was beautiful and enlightening.  We also took a walk down to the beach in order to show us both sides.  The beach is something that I am very familiar with growing up in south Florida and therefore is always a good time.