Monday, November 10, 2014

Florida 2013: Part 8: breakfast on the beach and lighthouse

Bub wasn’t feeling great the night before, so the boys and I left the hotel at the crack of dawn. We walked off the property and immediately onto the beach. We had hotel towels, a cooler with milk and fruit, and a box of cereal. Breakfast on the beach, baby!

Even better were the turtle trails! I noticed this the day before while on my run. There were lots of squared marked on the beach with 3-foot high sticks, cautionary ribbon, and signs. These squares are turtle nest sites! We were visiting during the height of egg-laying season. How exciting! Volunteers comb the beach during the night and keep an eye out for female sea turtles coming ashore. After she lays her eggs and goes back to the beach, the volunteers will mark the area. Everyone knows not to mess with the area. I was happy to see that people actually respected these sites.

See those scoop-y looking indentations with the smoother section in the middle just to the side of Meatball? That’s the path that Mrs. Turtle took back to the sea after laying little Timmy Turtle in his nest to hatch. It was quite an educational morning. Plus, how often do us land lubbers get to have breakfast on the beach?

The last time we were in Florida (in this exact same area), I was the only one to climb the Ponce De Leon light tower. The boys were too little to care, and Bub was having none of it. This time was different. The boys were actually interested in the displays – especially the lens exhibit – and we spent the afternoon on the grounds. It was so much fun.

See that bathtub and sink? These are exactly the same as the tub/sink that are still in the house where I grew up.

Then, we climbed to the top of the lighthouse. We = me and the boys. Bub was, again, having none of it. There were about 300 steps, and we counted every one. The view from the top was beautiful.

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