Fri, 12/11/09

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL: Really cloudy this morning. We drove to Big Pine Key and did the laundry. The Laundromat there has been redone and it’s beautiful. Even has two flat screen HD TVs. Back home and put everything away and I started my new book, “The Hemmingway Patrols”. Apparently during WWII while living in Cuba Hemmingway took his 38-ft. fishing boat, Pilar, out looking for German U-boats in the waters north of Cuba. Should be a good read. Clouds cleared off in the afternoon. Humidity has dropped quite a bit. Think it hit 80 today. Rented “Public Enemies” and watched after dinner. Pretty entertaining.

Lighthouse near The Hammocks on Marathon

Thu, 12/10/09

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL: This morning we drove to Marathon to meet Sandy and Dan. On their last day we planned on going to Pigeon Key and the Turtle Hospital. Went to the Stuffed Pig for breakfast again. Then we drove back to Knights Key to get the boat over to Pigeon Key. A perfect day for a boat ride. No wind, so the water was flat. Our route took us under both the new seven-mile bridge and the old seven-mile bridge. Pigeon Key is very historic since it housed the workers for the overseas railroad and then the overseas highway after the railroad was wiped out with the ’37 hurricane. After our tour we headed back to the dock to get on the boat and saw two rays. Back to Knights Key and then drove back to the Hammocks where Sandy and Dan are staying. Had to make it to the Turtle Hospital by 4:00 for our tour. Sandy and I walked since it’s only .5 mile and Mike drove. An interesting tour of this facility. They have a regular ambulance to go pick up these injured turtles and then they have an operating theater and an x-ray facility. They can perform laser surgery and endoscopic procedures. After touring the hospital we went back to see the turtles. The sicker ones are kept in small, individual tanks which are totally emptied, cleaned, and refilled every day. The healthier ones—but which can never be released—are kept in larger tanks which are fed by the water from the bay that runs through a filtering system. These turtles are so lucky to be getting this kind of care. After the tour Sandy and I walked back and we had drinks at the tiki bar and then had sandwiches for dinner. A really fun day—albeit really warm and humid. We played spades one last time and then we drove back. Saw three key deer on Big Pine Key—right along the road. The speed limit is 35 on that Key at night because of all the Key Deer.

Pigeon Key

Loggerhead Turtle

This guy was hit by a boat propellor