TERRA CEIA BAY, Fla. — There are places you can’t get to in Florida unless you’ve got a boat and a fantastic sense of navigation. 

At the opening of Tampa Bay, in sight of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Captain D of Day Trippin Boat Tours takes visitors through the mangroves, onto sandbars and into Terra Ceia Bay, along with husband and fellow Captain Ricky Gullet.

The commercial anglers are using their deep knowledge of these waters to wow visitors, like by navigating the old mosquito control ditches inside Rattlesnake Key.

“This like our own little area over here,” Gullett said.

And throughout the trip, there are opportunities to put names and facts to birds and marine mammals.

“It’s such an amazing thing to share the beauty of what we have out here,” said Dea Gullet, who helps operate the charter as Captain D. “You have civilization just a stone’s throw away, but you also have untouched, beautiful, pristine land.”

The couple’s hope is to build up love and wonder for these wild places that might help to keep them that way.

“It’s awesome. I mean, it’s beautiful here,” said Gullett.