Trip: Florida Keys – Day 2
Attractions: The Turtle Hospital, Sombrero Beach, Florida Keys Brewery, Islamorada Fish Co.
Date: February 15th, 2021

I woke up a bit early and everyone was still asleep, so I decided to check out the dock to see if there were any manatees or dolphins swimming about. No such luck, but there was a large school of fish that I watched for a bit. When I got back to our condo, we all decided that we wanted to find a nice beach for snorkeling. According to the research we did, Sombrero Beach was a good choice so we packed up our gear and headed southwest.

A few minutes into the ride, Jill remembered that the Turtle Hospital was also in Marathon and before we left for Florida, that was a place we talked about going since we knew the kids would love it. I called them up and made a reservation for right about the time we would be arriving.

The drive along The Keys was very nice. It was a beautiful sunny day and we really enjoyed the ocean views and looking at all the nice homes. Many of the mailboxes along the drive were concrete dolphins or manatees. We even saw a few flamingo mailboxes and one that looked like an octopus.

We arrived at The Turtle Hospital right as the tour was beginning. Our guide was a spunky young gal that was quick with a joke, but clearly cared deeply about the turtles she showed us too. After a short presentation about the facility and the different turtles that they help at the hospital, we started the tour. They showed us the x-ray room and the operating room and we asked questions making the most of our experience. We then headed outside into the heat and humidity, which wasn’t made any more comfortable with our faces covered with masks. But the tanks the turtles were in were covered with netting and the shade helped keep us cool as we watch the different turtles in their rehabilitative habitat.

We learned there are 5 types of turtles that are found in Florida and the day we were there, 4 different species were staying at the hospital. We saw Green Sea Turtles, Loggerhead Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles, and Kemp’s Ridley Turtles. The largest turtle that is found in the seas around Florida is the Leatherback, but they recently released one and no others were at the hospital at that time. These suckers can get up to 2000 pounds!

We walked around to several different tanks admiring the different turtles, learning their names and why they were there. The individual that finds the turtle gets to name them, so they had some pretty interesting names. Not all turtles were in a tank. There was a large area that was more natural but still enclosed to protect the turtles from predators but allow the staff to help them when needed. We were each given a bit of turtle food to throw in and got to watch them wrestle over the food we gave them for a bit. Once the tour was over, we stopped at the gift shop for a few souvenirs and then climbed back in to our steamy car to head to the beach.

We read that Sombrero Beach had plenty of parking, so we were surprised when we were unable to find a spot. It didn’t dawn on us until later that it was Presidents’ Day and that we were fighting the crowds of people off from work and school. Once we found a spot on a back road, we grabbed our snorkel gear, cooler, and snack basket and headed to the beach for lunch. We feasted on PB&J sandwiches and chips under the shade of a shelter. After lunch we grabbed our gear and hit the soft white sand. The kids and I put on our snorkel gear and headed out into the water. The entry was a little rough because of the rocks, but it wasn’t long before we were walking on sand. Charlie wasn’t really feeling it so she turned back to find mom. She didn’t miss anything. The visibility was about 2 feet because the sand was churned up from all the people in the water. Snorkeling was a bust. I grabbed all the snorkel gear and took it back to the car so we didn’t have to worry about it being stolen.

Plan B: Go swimming. The beach was nice and we enjoyed cooling off in the water. We stood in the waves for quite a while picking up different rocks/coral that we found when we stepped on them. A couple were pretty cool and we kept them. We laid in the sun, enjoying every minute, knowing that back home they were dealing with negative temperatures. Mattix found some kids to build a sand castle with and Jill and I cracked a couple of adult beverages, making the day just a bit sweeter.

After we rinsed off the sand at the beach showers, we jumped in the car and set our sites on a local brewery that we saw on the way down. There was quite the line to get a beer at Florida Keys Brewing Company, but the wait was worth it. The beer was tasty and they had some live music out in the beer garden. There was a food truck out front, so I grabbed a couple of Mexican sodas for the kids (Pineapple and Mango) and ordered them a cheese quesadilla for an appetizer. Mattix found these little egg sized coconut looking things and cracked it open to reveal dozens of helicopter seeds. After a bit of research, I discovered they were Mahogany seeds.

While enjoying our beers and live music, we searched online for a place to eat. We knew we wanted good seafood, and found a highly rated place just up the block. The Islamorada Fish Company was really cool. We were shocked to find chickens walking on peoples’ cars as we looked for a place to park. We tried to shoo them away, but it didn’t really work. The sun was setting while we waited for our table and even though we were separated because I was getting a drink while the sunset peaked, I took a few pictures and the family did too.

As we were walking to our table, we notice the monstrous fish beneath. There were several tarpon swimming around, waiting for people to share their dinner with them. Our waitress was a delight and helped us order hogfish, shrimp tacos, a bacon burger and mahi mahi fish sticks. We all loved our meals and were plenty full, but when you’re in The Keys you kind of have to get key lime pie. The kids and I really liked it, but Jill, not so much. It reminded us all of cheesecake, which she’s not a huge fan of.

We paid our bill, messed with the roosting chickens a bit before we left, and then headed back to the condo and went straight to bed.

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