With the wind in your face, head down the gangplank, untie and disconnect from the mainland.

"The beauty is all natural beauty,” says Mike Thomas, a National Park Ranger at the Canaveral National Seashore.

After a 20 year career in the Air Force, Mike can now be found at home on the water.

"The feeling of coming home… there is nothing like coming home,” Mike believes.

The New Smyrna Beach native enjoys taking the helm and showcasing his backyard, all 57,000 acres of the Canaveral National Seashore.

"If you look at it on a satellite image at night, you'll see that this is about the only part on the east coast of Florida that's not lit with lights,” Mike says. “It's all dark."

Several times a week, Mike will join an educator for a tour where Volusia County flows into Brevard County on the Mosquito Lagoon. The program of the National Park Service tours the famed Turtle Mound, made of discarded oyster shells from the Timucua Indians.

"Turtle mound was built between 800-1400 AD,” says Joyce Dykes, an educator. She’s quick to point out wildlife along the way. Keep your eyes on the water. At any certain time, you may see a loggerhead turtle or dolphins.

Volunteer educators like Joyce will play to a full boat. To escape the winter cold, some tours will stop at “Seminole Rest.” Built atop a mound of oyster shells, the home is open on weekends.

Inside, an interactive touch screen tells the story of the Timucua Tribe who used to hunt and fish along these waters that Mike remembers so well.

"It's like old Florida, was and it remains old Florida, because the Department of the Interior chose to preserve it," Mike says. "We want them to leave with an appreciation of the natural part you don't see anymore."

Tankful on Television
You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday and Saturday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m. Classic Florida on a Tankful stories can be found each Friday and Sunday on Bay News 9 and News 13 at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m.

Tankful on Demand
Catch Florida on a Tankful with Scott Fais on your time, now on Bright House Local On Demand, Channel 999. Use your remote to scroll to the right to the TRAVEL category. Then SCROLL DOWN to TANKFUL.

Scott Fais joins Travel Monthly
Catch Scott Fais as the Florida Correspondent on the On Demand travel magazine, Travel Monthly. Each month, Scott joins other travel reporters from across the United States as they showcase a wide variety of attractions, diners, parks and landmarks from across America. See Travel Monthly nationally on Time Warner Cable channel 411 and at home in Florida on Bright House Local On Demand, Channel 999 in the TRAVEL category.