Green Turtles Released

This afternoon we heard they were releasing a few rehabilitated green sea turtles back to the sea, so we drove down to Beach Street and joined the cheering crowd that watched some now healthy sea turtles make their journey back into the ocean waters.

Ginkgo and two other sea turtle friends were driven up to the shore, and one by one paraded by the celebrating crowd.  We've seen a release before, with some larger turtles.  These three were younger, and therefore a bit smaller.  But there was still a great deal of excitement about their release.  

These were carried by the lines of people along the sides, and then together in the back, they got in formation, the flying sea turtles.  The three of them lined up, carried by their volunteer.  And just like that, slowly they made their approach to the sea.  Handlers got so far out into the waves, and then simply put them down into the surf, where each turtle swam off, presumably to a big sea turtle party later on that night in the Sargasso Sea.  

It was nice, and oddly enough our first time touching sand this trip.  We were here this afternoon, and slept in.  And then we sat about reading books and playing games with the balcony window open, the sound of ocean waves in our ears.  One of the games we played was Minions LIFE, which Madison was quite insistent we bring along.  We played that five times this afternoon!

We were all doing a bit of reading, too.  Madison was once again reading "Wonder," which we ordered for her last week as a reward for getting another honor roll.  

     Daddy was finishing up his latest read, "David the Great," by Dr. Mark Rutland.  It's actually a really good book, collecting everything written about David in the Bible and putting it together chronologically, and done in a way that is quite easy to understand.  Some of these books throw quite a bit of vocabulary at you, and if you've ever heard Dr. Mark Rutland before, you know he has quite an arsenal.  But in this case, he's brought it down to a level that anyone can read, and as a result, this book is a page-turner that spells out the complicated life of one the Old Testament's greatest heroes.  You'll definitely learn a thing or two along the way - anyway, this book is a definite recommendation.

Today was Taco Tuesday, so there were tacos galore this afternoon.  Even in Florida, this important occasion must be honored.  Taco Tuesday knows no state lines or boundaries.  Deep in space, astronauts will no doubt have Taco Tuesday on their way to Mars.

And speaking of which, another tradition that cannot be passed over is the pilgrimage to Cow Licks, the ice cream place down the street.  All of us went there this time - Madison tried the raspberry ice cream.  Daddy did maple walnut and Mommy tried the pralines and cream.  Nana and Ba-Ba were more conservative with their vanilla and chocolate choices, but all agreed:  it was good ice cream.  It's funny, because the place is filled with cows and 80's glam rock.  I don't think Madison has ever been exposed to so much glam rock in her life, but over the course of this ice cream sitting, she heard Mötley Crüe's "Dr. Feelgood," along Van Halen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and more.  I think Madison was oblivious, as it probably was just noise.  We've come a long way musically, but obviously someone still loves this material!  Daddy was always a fan of Aerosmith, but some of these other bands were a bit gimmicky.  

ANYWAY, it was a a relaxing day.  Daddy started writing his skit for Sunday down here, and Madison was even doing a bit of homework.  Mommy was studying ancestry, and as the sun was going down, we were relaxing on the balcony overlooking the ocean.

Before closing up, here's a box turtle that Daddy saw on the way to the shore to see the turtle release. It was a turtle on the way to see turtles, a big one alongside the sidewalk.  We love turtles here!