Over the weekend, we went to the Everglades and then drove to Key West.  When we first started planning the trip, I found out about this Sea Turtle Center in the Keys and I knew we had to go.  My nine year old loves all things turtle and wants to help turtles when he grows up.

To see the turtles, you must go on the guided tour.  It is a little costly ($22/adult, $11/kid), but it goes towards running the center (which is now a non-profit).  The tour is about 90 minutes and we thought it was worth the cost.  Their goal is to help the turtles get better and then release the them back into the wild.  Turtles that can’t be released are re-homed to zoos or aquariums although they do have five permanent residents.

Turtles are found because they are floating.  Floating turtle = sick turtle = easy prey.

Some of them have been bitten by sharks.

 

Sometimes when a boat hits a turtle it forms an air pocket under the shell.  This is called bubble-butt because the turtle gets a bubble on the back of his shell and it causes him to float with his butt in the air.  There is no way to fix this so the turtle becomes a permanent resident because he can’t dive for food.  They put weights on the scutes to help him dive, but when the scutes are shed, the weights come off too.

 

Sometimes turtles develop FP tumors (Fibropapilloma) that can cover their eyes, flippers, and even form inside.  Normally after they’re removed, they don’t come back, but the turtle becomes a resident for a year just to make sure.

When the turtles are released, they are tagged so the facility knows if a turtle is a return visitor.  The tour guide was very informative and you get to see a lot of their facilities.  They also have a small gift shop and some informative displays about turtles.

 

 

 

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One of the books we read this year as part of our Florida history is A Land Remembered Volume 1 and Volume 2.  I knew that the town of Punta Rassa was real, but didn’t realize that it is relatively close to us.  So, since we were going to be heading in that direction today, I decided we would take a side trip to see if we could find it.  A little research showed that Punta Rassa is basically a ghost town.

We took a wrong turn (actually my phone gps lead us astray) and ended up at the entrance to a gated community.  I explained to the guy at the gate that we were looking for Punta Rassa.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  He did let me through so that I could turn around.  Just down the road I found what we were looking for (makes me think the guy at the gate wasn’t a local).

There is a fishing dock and some high-rise apartments there, but nothing like it must’ve been in the 1800’s!  I was hoping to see the remains of the old buildings, but the only parking I could find looked like it would cost $10 to park.  I wasn’t willing to pay that.  There wasn’t really any parking along the road either.  We found what we think is the remaining part of the old telegraph building nestled among the high rise buildings.

We were bummed that there wasn’t more to see.  We were really hoping to be able to get out and walk around and make it more of an educational experience for the kids.  I think they were looking forward to seeing the place the book was about.

When we got home, I decided to take a trip on google maps.  I should’ve done that first!!  We were so close to the old ferry boat office!  I’m too easily deterred by signs that something is private and only residents and their visitors can enter.  If I’d looked on the other side of the road, I would’ve seen what we were looking for.  Now I’m contemplating going back at some point in the near future.

Have you read A Land Remembered?  Have you ever planned a trip based on a book and not had it go the way you thought it would?

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