2026 Florida Keys: Day 2

Bullis students in Key Largo

Dear Bullis community,

Our day in the Florida sunshine was full of aquatic activity, as students steered kayaks through mangroves, swam with dolphins, and snorkeled off the beach at John Pennekamp State Park. The two groups united at a fishery for dinner, and you can hear the day's recap from the travel journalists themselves below:

"First, I woke up at 6:50 a.m. and was pretty tired from the day before, so I didn't get out of bed until 7:00. Once my roommate and I got dressed, we headed down to the pool for instructions. After instructions, we went to breakfast at a nice spot next to a massive pool. The breakfast was great; I had bacon, French toast, and cereal. After breakfast, we hopped on the big bus and went to John Pennekamp State Park, and it was super bright and windy outside. We got our snorkel gear and hopped into the cold water. After I did all of the tasks, I got out of the frigid water. After we finished snorkeling, we ate lunch. We had the option to eat lunch in the pavilion under the shade or eat on the sunny beach. Then we went to Dolphins Plus and got the opportunity for the dolphins to perform their tricks for us and to ride on them. The dolphins felt smooth, like you were rubbing a wet book cover. We had a lesson on why it’s important to train animals and how. After the lesson, we played a fun game to recap what we learned. On the bus ride to dinner, we sang a wonderful, happy birthday song to Mr. Kezmarsky. At dinner, we saw a lot of big mahi-mahi and a nurse shark. Then we returned to Dolphins Plus after dinner to learn about the anatomy of squids. When we went to the squid dissection area and we saw the employees prep the squids for us. When we saw the slimy squid on our plate, our first thoughts were why the tentacles were longer than others. We dissected the squid and got to write our names with the ink sack. In conclusion, the day was AWESOME."

- Chase V. '31

"Today is our second day in the Florida Keys!!! The highlight for me today was kayaking! Before kayaking, we learned about the three mangrove tree species native to Florida: the red, black, and white mangrove trees. After being educated about our current environment and surroundings, the fun happened! We did a race, which of course Amy and I won, we got to hold jellyfish and got to kayak through narrow passageways that were dense with mangrove trees. At one point, I put down my paddle and just started using the branches to steer and provide us with momentum (which was very efficient and I do recommend). After all of these constant activities, we ended the day with a sweet treat, ice cream! Can’t wait for tomorrow!!!"

- Elise de L. '31

More adventures to come tomorrow!

7th Grade Team






 

Location: Key Largo, Florida, USA

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