“The easiest thing to see at night is alligators. Their eyes look like two red flashlights,” Eric Hansen from Viking Ecotours tells us as we adjust the footrests on our pedal kayaks. Unlike traditional kayaks, these vessels are powered by our legs, leaving our hands free to take pictures.

Alligators? This isn’t what I signed up for; I was looking for glowing animals of a different kind. My husband and I were heading out on a bioluminescent nighttime kayaking tour in New Smyrna Beach, about 50 miles north of Orlando on Florida’s east coast. 

KAYAKING IN MOSQUITO LAGOON

My desire to see glowing jellyfish outweighed my fear of alligators, so I stepped into my kayak and let Hansen push my boat into the inky lagoon. My body tensed against the darkness until my eyes slowly acclimated. 

“In general, fall and winter are the best times of year for stargazing and seeing the glowing jellyfish,” Hansen says, leading our group into the open water. Cooler air and lower humidity make being on the water pleasant.

I finally relax enough to stir the water with my net, creating a glowing, swirling blue pattern. Agitating the microscopic algae causes them to emit light through a chemical reaction.

I’m still marveling at my new magic trick when Hansen reaches out with an oval-shaped, wriggly, clear comb jelly lined with bright blue stripes. 

“Want to hold it?” 

I cup the gelatinous creature in my hands for a few seconds before it slips away. I wish for a longer visit, but respect the comb jelly’s need to return to the water. We navigate through Mosquito Lagoon, which thankfully does not live up to its name. Located in Canaveral National Seashore, it’s one of the most popular spots for bioluminescence in the continental US. 

“This is a great activity for families. It’s not extractive, like fishing,” says Hansen, who suggests planning your visit during a new moon to provide dark skies and the best viewing conditions.

I hear a sound like someone blowing their nose, and trace it to the dolphins arcing in and out of the water to breathe. I’m comforted as these playful creatures accompany me through the darkness.

We drift quietly, and I lean back in my kayak, listening to the dolphins squeak and searching above for constellations. A shooting star streaks across the sky, and I contemplate spending the night, soaking in the beauty. Unfortunately, our time ends and we pedal back to shore.

SMYRNA DUNES PARK

More from this section

Doomed spacecraft to crash on Earth with 1-in-2,100 risk of harm

I study polling failures – this time, pollsters were mostly right, if not precise

Traveling With a Disability? A Guided Tour Could Make the Difference

As an Orlando resident, I’ve been to  New Smyrna Beach 15 or 20 times; it’s where locals go. Our family’s beach days followed a rhythm: put up the shade tent, swim, toss the football for a while, grab an ice cream and go home.

Now that we’re empty nesters, my husband and I have the freedom to explore. When we arrived in the afternoon before the kayaking tour, we headed to Smyrna Dunes Park.

“How come we never came here before?” my husband asks as we stroll the 2-mile elevated boardwalk lined with purple beautyberry bushes and Saw Palmetto trees. We pause to greet a gopher tortoise poking its head out of a burrow, and take in views of the Atlantic. 

If you arrive in the afternoon, visit Smyrna Dunes Park at sunset, have dinner at Norwood’s (ask to sit in the treehouse) and book the nighttime kayaking tour. Try the seafood pot pie: Norwood’s family recipe of shrimp, scallops and local fish tucked in flaky puff pastry.

CANAL STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT 

Visiting in fall gave us time to explore downtown Canal Street without the heat and summer crowds. This historic, palm tree-lined street dates from the 1700s, and many buildings retain brick facades and Spanish Revival Architecture. 

At The HUB Arts Collective, I expected to see artists at work and browse the galleries. I was blown away by the depth of this community-centered outreach organization. Programs include Guitars for Vets, fashion design for teens and hands-on art kits for hospital patients. I am glad I didn’t miss the Steps of Strength, a collaborative symbol of resilience created by cancer patients.

Also on Canal Street, I visited  Wild Oats & Billy Goats, a quirky boutique with locally made artisan gifts, and Highwaymen Gallery. The Florida Highwaymen were self-taught African American artists barred from white-owned galleries in the 1950s. They sold their landscape paintings from the trunks of their cars as they drove along Florida’s highways. The gallery has a large collection of their work. 

It’s also worth a quick stop at the New Smyrna Museum of History for tapestries woven by local women during the Great Depression as part of a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project. Also noteworthy is the East Coast surfing exhibit.

THE SWEET SEASON IN NEW SMYRNA BEACH

It’s the time I wait for every year in Florida, when the humidity drops, the air hints at change and I savor being outside. This is the sweet season, when I remember what I love about living here.

Go in the off season while the jellyfish light up the lagoon and turtles poke their heads out of their nests. Visit in fall and winter, before the heat returns, bringing spring breakers and beach crowds.