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.

 

Amazing Dog Subculture...and New Hampshire Seafarers Arrive

Maggie eyes the ball her new pal Hershey the Chocolate Lab has at Sunset Park's morning play group.


 


Yesterday morning we got Maggie duded up in her best leash and headed for the 9 AM dog play group at Monroe County’s Sunset Park—the one on Sunset Street (nearly everything on the Florida Bay side of the Keys has “sunset” woven into its name). What did we find? 10-12 dogs running and jumping—all giggles and grins!  The owners were wandering about throwing balls and Frisbees or sitting and chatting in a neat circle of portable chairs under a fabulous spreading tree (mangrove…oak?  Don’t know yet.)

We’d barely closed the car door and a friendly fellow came to greet us. We introduced him to Maggie and he invited us to come and meet everyone. In a nanosecond Maggie was running with the other dogs—never looked back! Soon we were in the loop about all the dog-friendly parks and off-leash play groups in the upper/middle Keys and turned on to the best dog-friendly restaurants—there are lots! I’ll do reviews as we go along.

Steve called from his cell to give their ETA on the run down the Intracoastal from Fort  Lauderdale to Islamorada and, amazingly, we spotted their boat from our deck! Now we know the Intracoastal stretches along in front of the house, though it’s a ways out.

After they got settled in their slip for the month, we had to go back to Snapper’s for Happy Hour—awesome faux margaritas (tequila sours with salt) for $2.50.

Bud had 40 lb. Maggie on one line and Steve's 40' Carver cabin cruiser on the other--what a guy!

When we picked Steve and Noreen up we noticed another nearby dog park and decided to try it this morning.  It was the same thing!  Owners sitting around chatting and having coffee while their dogs played—like the other park, most were regulars, but all very welcoming and more tips on restaurants and beaches were flying around along with the dogs. Poop-baggies are apparently provided at most parks (though we carry our own, of course) and I can say that the parks are spotless! There seems to be a very active and wonderfully friendly canine subculture down here—makes me wish New Hampshire could get in the groove.

For everyone out there who is NOT gaga about dogs, I’ll be writing about other stuff.  Steve and Noreen’s being here will surely give me more material. Tonight we have a hot game of dominoes scheduled!

Rasta Poodle or Afghan Hound?

Maggie retrieving a stick at Cocoa Plum Beach, Marathon---Rasta Dog?



After a bath, pelican watching on our dock.

Our first full day was a bit of frustration—still no internet or phone at the house—but also instructive and fun. We haven’t gotten to relaxing yet!

 We wanted to get Maggie (and ourselves) into a routine of exercise and were hoping to find a long beach for walking and running.  But when we had checked into the hotel in Daytona Beach the receptionist warned us that walking a dog on a posted public beach in Florida is an “arrest-able offense.” So we needed to proceed with caution. Luckily a friendly local bartender (and dog owner) told us about a dog park on Sunset Street here in Tavernier, less than a mile from our house.  We were a little late yesterday--apparently the park is full of dogs and owners from 8-10 AM. But a nice woman across the street popped over to give us details and point us towards Cocoa Plum Beach down in Marathon, where dogs can swim and run. As we were talking the mailman drove up and stuck his head out to admire our “beautiful Afghan Hound.”  Ha!

We found Cocoa Plum Beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of Marathon Key.  It has a beautiful long sugar-sand beach and wonderful posters of all the different kinds of sea turtles--and dogs are allowed. Maggie loved it and turned into an insane Rasta dog, diving underwater to find a stick Bud was throwing for and then running it up onto the sand.  Great fun, but she needed a full bath and combing when we got home. Afterwards we all hung out on the dock until sunset.  Our first, and a real beauty. Maggie had fun watching the pelicans—luckily she was not inclined to dive in after them.

Tomorrow we’ll start at the dog park, take along walk and get ready to greet friends Steve and Noreen who arrive by sea later in the day.

Margaritas and Maggie!

Our dock at dusk

Maggie meets Ouzo, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at Happy Hour on the water

We’re here in the Keys!  Our last day of travel was great—sunny and 79 degrees. We rolled up to our rental home for the next month right on time. Checking the speedometer, we found that MapQuest figured the distance within 1 mile—amazing. Gasbuddy.com also figured our fill-up stops right to the town.  Other helpful travel aids: the GPS which always let us know distance to and time of arrival for each stop and Bud’s iPod, which kept us amused with audio books. We finished Hiasson’s Skinny Dip and moved on to Stephen King’s Duma Key.

The rental is fabulous. The driveway is looong and feels like you’re entering the scene in Duma Key where the main character stumbles into a strangler fig grove—other-worldly!  Our private beach is sandy, the water is clear and the new dock is snazzier than some we’ve seen at yacht clubs. The house is on stilts (hurricane design) and clearly is someone’s home—not just a rental. The kitchen is big enough for several cooks.  There’s a ton of storage and lots of indoor/outdoor “hanging out” space.

Once we got settled and made a grocery run, we found a dog-friendly (true!) Happy Hour at a local waterfront bar down the way a bit. Maggie made instant friends with a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Ouzo while we had margaritas and peel-and-eat shrimp. By the time we had supper (great lobster reuben and fried tilapia sandwiches) and got home, it was dusk and the dock lights were on.

This morning we are off to find the dog-friendly beach for a good run. It’s our first full day of faux retirement!

Downpours, Pet Toilets and Palm Trees

Rain woke us up early this morning in NC, so we got up and hit the road by 5:30 AM--blowing off the free waffles, fruit and hot coffee at the hotel. I was looking forward to seeing the changes at the uber-tacky "South of the Border" mega-concession just over the border in South Carolina--having last been there about 40 years ago. It is now much more than a fireworks and hot dog stand--in fact they have huge billboard announcing a Pet Stop, with Pet Toilets. We stopped and sure enough they have a fenced in area so dogs can run free while attending to business. It has little mini-golf-like amusements and lots of cold water. Maggie agreed to pose briefly, but wasn't happy about it.

We pulled into Daytona Beach, the Comfort Suites right on the beach, around 5 this afternoon.  Glad  to get here.  The driving was very tough in spots all through South Carolina and Georgia...downpours like you don't see up north, and very heavy traffic. So many big RV rigs and cars with New York license plates!

But we are in the home stretch now--a leisurely 5 hours or so down to Tavernier Key tomorrow. The sun came out as we pulled into the hotel and (unlike the last hotel) the slider/windows open so we can hear the surf. It's 77degrees. There are palm trees everywhere.  We're definitely not in New Hampshire anymore!