Afternoon: HOTEL CHECK-IN: Available from 4:00pm.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar desk in the lobby to pick up your arrival packet containing your name tag, the up-to-date schedule, and to confirm the time of the orientation session. Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: Dinner will be served in the hotel.

Evening: ORIENTATION : We'll review the schedule and any changes; discuss responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures; and answer any questions you may have. You'll also have an opportunity to meet the program staff and your fellow participants.

Lodging: Thunderbird Beach Resort Hotel

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the hotel

Morning: Kayaking: Miami, Biscayne Bay, Coconut Grove

Push off from the shoreline into a world of exquisite beauty. Our kayak journey takes us along the coastline of what the first adventurers called “Chequescha Bay”. The richness born of the confluence of fresh and salt waters in what is today called Biscayne Bay drew many peoples to this place - from the Tequesta Indians, Spanish explorers, privateers and pirates to modern day pioneers. Reflect on how they used the resources for their livelihood and how perspectives of the settlers have changed over time. Hear the story of how a magnificent Italian villa came to life on the bay and get to see it in a way no one else can encounter it.

As you paddle past mangroves teeming with life as well as historical and modern mansions, you will see what dramatic changes the shoreline has experienced. You will encounter breathtaking views of the open bay and learn of the close connection of the waters lapping at your kayak’s hull with the struggle for Cuban freedom. Hear about the preservation of these shallow waters and why they are so important to wildlife as well as humans.

You will explore the ecology and history of this unique bay the same way most humans have witnessed it over thousands of years – or as some locals say: “We all came by water.”

Lunch: Lunch in a local restaurant.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Coconut Grove Walking Excursion

Pure experience is a most exciting way to learn. Stroll with us through the quaint, colorful, bohemian settlement of Coconut Grove for a peek behind the angled roads, charming shops and graceful canopies of storm-tempered trees that characterize the area today. Step into the past where an erroneously labeled post office turns a dense hardwood hammock into the semi-tropical paradisiacal town of Cocoanut Grove. See the historic site of the first hotel in the area - “The Peacock Inn.” Hear the inspiring story of Ralph Munroe while touring his unusual home, “The Barnacle,” the oldest house in Miami-Dade County still in its original location. Recount the tales of hardship and success as experienced by former slaves and Bahamian immigrants who founded the area now known as the “Black Grove” As you envision the punishing battles with mosquitoes, swamp-lands, and hurricanes, it will not be hard to empathize with the pioneer women who created the “House Keepers Club” in order to make a place of their own in this once foreboding wilderness. This walking tour celebrates, in grand style, one of Florida’s most beloved and eclectic communities.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: LECTURE: Waterways of Southeast Florida

Lodging: Thunderbird Beach Resort Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the hotel.

Morning: KAYAKING: Graynolds – Oleta River

Greynolds is one of the few remaining hardwood hammocks and mangrove forests in northern Miami-Dade County. Paddle to the past under old railroad supports transporting you from the bustling city to the old quarry. The waters are clear and cool. Giant iguanas populate the tree-lined trail up the Oleta River, a perfect stop for a picnic lunch on the river bank. Greynolds has the third largest rookery in Miami-Dade County. Ibis, osprey, juvenile great blue herons, red-shoulder hawks, and owls are common sights in this area. Enjoy nature and old Florida before returning to civilization

Lunch: Boxed Lunch

Afternoon: LECTURE: Ft. Lauderdale – The Venice of the Americas

Dinner: Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant

Evening: EVENING KAYAKING : Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park

The Anne Kolb nature center is a 1,501-acre coastal mangrove wetland with five boat trails accessible by paddle craft only. Paddle your way through mangrove tunnels, creeks, while surrounded by a wide variety of plants and animals, including some threatened and endangered species. Nature thrives on West Lake, manatee, hawks, and fish prosper and mangroves hide the surrounding city. .

Lodging: Thunderbird Beach Resort Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the hotel.

Morning: KAYAKING: For Lauderdale’s Canals

Miles of canals lined by opulent multi-million dollar homes, cruise ships, mega-yachts and more, welcome to Fort Lauderdale. Shaped by the waters and aquatic life, Fort Lauderdale boasts of some of the most stunning sights in South Florida.

Lunch: Lunch in a local restaurant

Afternoon: Continue Kayaking through Fort Lauderdale.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: LECTURE: South Florida - Turtles and Ecology.

Lodging: Thunderbird Beach Resort Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the hotel.

Morning: KAYAKING: Loxahatchee River, Wild and Scenic

Venture into the pristine, subtropical realm of one of the world’s most beautiful and unspoiled waterways, Florida's first federally designated "Wild and Scenic River” - the Loxahatchee. Its narrow winding channels are canopied for most of the river by majestic cypress trees offering the traveler a challenging and fascinating experience.

Let our knowledgeable guides help you discover the extraordinary history of a place once known only to coastal Indians and lonely pioneers. Unlike many other rivers that have been forced into channels by development, this river remains virtually unchanged. Paddle this reminder to the Old Florida and explore flora, fauna and history unique to these meandering shorelines.

Lunch: Boxed Lunch

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Continue kayaking through the Loxahatchee.

Dinner: Farewell Dinner

Lodging: Thunderbird Beach Resort Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the hotel.

Morning: Time to say your good-byes and reflect on the week!

Meals Included: Breakfast