Sun (Maybe), Sand and Sea Turtles

 My sister-in-law, Marina, is a flight attendant and she thought that it would be a grand adventure to leave the frozen tundra, fly down and spend a few days with me on the beach in sunny Navarre Florida. Remember that terrible cold that came through Texas? Well, Navarre didn't get the extreme cold, but it was chilly and the first day very very rainy. Not exactly beach weather. But Marina and I soldiered on.

Navarre is in between Pensacola and Panama City and sheltered from the Gulf itself by a long barrier island. Our RV park was on the sound but it was only a five minute drive over a bridge to the barrier island, part of which contained the Gulf Islands National Seashore. I thought it would be a perfect time to add the Gulf Island Junior Ranger badge to my collection but the Visitor Center was closed, so no luck. We did wander along a boardwalk on the National Seashore, but I guess I will have to come back to finish the Junior Ranger task.

We did find a white sand beach that had surfers, a pier and even a beach bar with a deck overlooking all that.

Marina left after a few days, but not before I introduced her to those incredible King Cakes. Mardi Gras is now over and I'll be trying to patiently wait until next year when I can get some more King Cake.

After Marina left, I went to the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC). NBSTCC is a working conservation and educational center with the emphasis on education. When you enter, you see the resident sea turtle, Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea had a rough life. She got tangled in fishing line which caused her back fin to atrophy. She got hit by a boat which took off part of her shell. Yup, luck was not on her side, that is until the NBSTCC found her. She is now in the lap of luxury with her very own 15,000 gallon tank. Sea Turtles are loners, so I guess swimming all alone in this tank was what suited her. They actually would do enrichment activities for her so she wouldn't get bored. There were also a few other displays – sea horses, terrapins and little Flip Flop, a tortoise, who wandered around the building all on his own.

Sweet Pea's Home

Sweet Pea Herself

Sweet Pea also had extensive damage to her throat and cannot eat solid foods. 
This is a picture of the of a sea turtle's throat turned inside out. Gross but oh,so cool.

Here is little Flip Flop

This is Peaches, the terrapin.  Isn't that face just precious?

Those Leatherbacks are one big sea turtle. 
Sweet Pea is a green turtle but was only about two feet long.