Turtles, Dolphins and Hog Heaven

A display at The Turtle Hospital showing how dangerous fishing nets are for sea turtles.

Steve and Noreen next to a life-size Leatherback turtle--immense!



Last night a very substantial wind blew in from the north, adding a bit of drama to what we thought would be quiet evening of cocktails in the hot tub and a tame game of dominoes. Gusts were in the 40 mph range (Bud’s estimate) and blew out several screens in the house. It reminded us a lot of the microburst we got caught in back in 1993 on our Key Largo houseboat vacation—though not as scary.  Being on dry land helps!

By this morning the wind had calmed down a lot, but it left a chill in the air.  Good weather for an explorative trip to Marathon Key. We packed up Maggie and picked up Steve and Noreen and headed for The Turtle Hospital, a “rescue, rehabilitation and release” facility.  It’s the only state-certified veterinary hospital in the world for sea turtles—today there were 29 patients with various injuries and illnesses. They offer 3 tours a day and if you’re lucky, you get to see actual surgeries.  Our timing wasn’t good today, so we’ll have to return—but it’s high on our list. They have a neat website at www.turtlehospital.org.

The Turtle Hospital's Ambulance

Staying with the theme of animal research, we stopped next at the Dolphin Research Center at Mile Marker 59 on Grassy Key. (the Overseas Highway—US Route 1—begins at 0 in Key west, and counts up to over 100 by the time you get to Key Largo.  The miles are marked off by Mile Markers, which people tend use almost more than actual addresses.) We were immediately impressed by signs that pets are welcome and found that, once again, our timing was poor.  They were about to close—but we’ll come back and spend time watching the training and meeting the dolphins and sea lions. We’d like to have a nice warm day and lots of time.  They also have a website at www.dolphins.org.

So we had to settle for another Happy Hour—this one at Hog Heaven, a sports bar on the ocean side where you can reserve tables next to the outdoor flat-screen TV’s and watch the football game of your choice. Not bad (and also dog-friendly) but quite a different atmosphere than Happy Hour at Snappers.