February 21-28 – Our last week of winter vacation was spent in Florida. Because neither of us had been south the Key West, we decided to do a three day trip to ‘the Keys’, which turned out to be most interesting. Accommodation is very expensive in this neck of the woods, so the first night in Marathon was spent in a budget motel…not our usual standard. It’s only redeeming feature was that the TV service included the golf channel! Lucy’s, next door, was a great place for breakfast and lunch.

A visit and tour of the Turtle Hospital was very interesting. Turtles throughout Florida have contracted the papilloma virus which causes ugly growths both internally and externally. If they can catch them early enough the external ones can be surgically removed with laser and the turtle can be rehabilitated. If not, the virus often spreads to the turtle’s internal organs which eventually causes death. Of course, there are many other dangers lurking for turtles including boat propellers and plastic fishing line. Some of the turtles have what they call “bubble butt” caused by an injury to their shell that results in air pockets under the shell. This prevents the turtle from being able to dive for food. These turtles can’t be rehabilitated since the only treatment is to velcro weights (back end of this turtle) to the shell to counteract the buoyancy caused by the bubble. The weights often have to be changed as the turtle grows.

Ship captain’s house

Key West is a delightful little place similar to Niagara on the Lake in the summer. It was absolutely buzzing with a cruise ship in port each day we were there, lots of street entertainers, a sundown celebration in Mallory Square each evening, and restaurants and pubs on every corner….and lots in between! It has the largest collection of wooden houses in North America, and while one would think that given it’s maritime climate, humidity would be a problem, they suggested on our tour that most of the wood was reclaimed from old sailing ships. Given that the builders were mariners, they built the houses without the use of nails so that rust and rot would not be a problem. The only concession, given a big fire in the late 1800s, is that every building in Key West must be metal…no shingles allowed.

Hemingway’s office

Truman’s Little White House

Our accommodation was in a B&B called the Pilot House and we highly recommend it as a reasonably priced option given that it is in walking distance of just about everything. During the two days we were there, we toured both Hemingway’s home and the Truman Little White House.

The last three days of our vacation were spent at Lantana, a nondescript town wedged between upscale Boca Raton, Del Mar and West Palm Springs. Our only reason for staying there was that it was a reasonable driving distance to the Honda Classic PGA tournament that we attended on the Thursday. Friday was spent running last minute errands, including checking out why my computer had died and trying out the bank machine to ensure funds were available from our new US – US$ account. The latter effort was a follow-up to one of the most difficult, time-consuming banking transactions we’ve ever participated in!

Arrived home safely to find two elves (J&S) visiting for the night – thinking that we weren’t returning until the next day. Should always read mom’s emails Jenn!