The next day we went to Coco Plum Beach to collect shells and then on to Sombrero Beach where Olivia and Laura braved the "cold" weather and cold water. Linda and I, of course, kept our sweatshirts on!!! Mark and the girls built a sandcastle. Here are some photos:
The next day we went to Big Pine Key to see the Key deer. Olivia spotted one grazing on someone's lawn. The Key deer are miniature deer with the adults only being the size of a german shepard dog! They are endangered and only found on a few Keys in the Middle Keys, mostly on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. There are only about 600 of them and the automobile is their only predator. :-( Here is a photo of one:
That afternoon we toured the Turtle Hospital here in Marathon. They rescue sick and injured sea turtles, treat them and then release them if they are able to return to the wild and take care of themselves. There are loggerhead turtles, green turtles, hawksbill turtles and Kemp Ridley turtles that live and breed in the Florida area and all are endangered species due to pollution, entanglement, and human development of the beaches where they lay their eggs. We all enjoyed seeing the turtles and learning about them.
The following day we went to The Theater of The Sea in Islamorada. It is the second oldest marine mammal park in the U.S. There were dolphin shows, a sea lion show, parrot show, crocodiles and alligators, animal and fish displays, nature walks, and a glass bottom boat ride in the lagoon. We all had a great time. Olivia was chosen to go up on the dock and get kissed by a dolphin!! And both girls got to hold a parrot at the parrot show.
Laura holding a parrot:
Olivia holding a parrot:
On Thursday we took Enchantress into the dock and picked them up to go sailing. We motored out of the harbor and put the sails up but the wind was very light so we mostly just had a motor boat ride. Here is a photo of the girls on the boat:
Here is a photo of Papa taking the girls ashore in the dinghy, playing "Mary Poppins" and using the golf umbrella as a sail. The girls thought that was great fun!
After that the girls went back to the condo for a swim in the pool.
On Friday we went down to Key West and toured the Eco-Museum, Fort Zachary Taylor, and went to the beach. It was a beautiful day. Mark, Amy, Laura, Olivia and Linda on top of the fort.
Olivia and Laura on one of the cannons at the fort:
The last two days of their vacation were a bit too cold by Keys standards!! So we all bundled up in layers, coats and sweatshirts and hiked nature trails, went to a beautiful beach at a state park, played miniature golf, and fed the tarpon at Robbie's Marina (fish are as big as Olivia and Laura!!).
We had lunch at the No Name Pub. The No Name Pub's slogan is "A nice place if you can find it!" It is famous for its pizza and for all of the ceiling and walls being covered with dollar bills on which customers write their names and when they were there. The girls, of course, had to decorate dollar bills and put them up on the wall and ceiling.
Despite some of the days being just a bit too cold, at least for Linda and I, we all had a great time and, as you can see, we saw a lot of different places and did a lot during the week they were here. We were sad to see them go back home to Connecticut!
After they left, our weather turned "FRIGID"!!!! We are in the middle of our annual two weeks of winter! The temperatures in the mornings have gotten down to 47 degrees and the highs only in the 50s!!! We got an electric heater that will run off the generator to use when we are watching a DVD movie, Linda is sewing, or we are using the generator anyway. Otherwise, we are using our "fireplace" which is a clay flower pot turned upside down on a gas burner to heat the boat. Hopefully, our more normal January temperatures of a high of 75 and a low of 64 will soon return!!!
1 comment:
Sounds and looks like you two had a wonderful visit with the family!!! Gotta love that!
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