Floridian Stay pt. 3

Warm greetings from the ever-so-tropical Lake Worth! It’s been quite a ride the past few days. I hope you find some of my recent travels interesting and take away some of the dos-and-don’ts of Florida. 

Day 3: Breakfast, Sea Animals, and Sightseeing

           Today began with brunch on the pier with my grandparents and mom. We headed to the restaurant Benny’s on the Beach seeing as Mummi kept mentioning (in her sweet, slightly-accented voice) “Oh, but that breakfast at that Benny’s is just so good!” After our experience, I would have to say that my lovely mummi has sound judgement! After ordering coffee and water all around, my mom and I ordered a vegetarian omelet and some berry granola French toast to split in half and share with each other. This turned out to be an excellent call since the dishes were GINORMOUS. Although they tasted amazing, I couldn’t help thinking that I wouldn’t have been able to eat that huge a plateful of the same thing! Do: Share different dishes if you are traveling with anyone. It’s so much more fun to be able to try as many new flavors as possible! Once our bellies were completely full, we practically rolled out of the restaurant. (This is when we decided that skipping lunch might not be such a bad idea.) On to the next thing!

We moved on to head to the end of the pier to catch some ocean views. Beware to the broke student: you must hand over a dollar to walk to the end of the pier! I don’t know if this is because they had to rebuild it not too many years ago after it was completely destroyed by a hurricane, but nevertheless, have some coins on hand. Luckily, Mummi decided to pay (she wouldn’t let us intervene). Ah, I love my grandparents! The sights were actually quite wonderful. You could see long stretches of beach on either side, birds flying in the air, and people from pint size to old and weathered fishing from the pier. Much to my jaw-dropping surprise, there were also some photogenic pelicans perching along the edges! Do: soak in the scene around you. You may be surprised by all that is going on! We found signs along the pier giving instructions on how to save a sea turtle if you accidentally hook one, which I thought was quite wonderful. I’m all for protecting marine life! There was also emergency equipment for keeping the turtles alive until help arrived. I guess this is a new program to Lake Worth, and I feel that it is a wonderful addition in spreading awareness for sea life protection. As a side note, here comes a don’t. Don’t: Endanger the sea life! Make sure to throw your trash away. Hint: The ocean is NOT a trash can. Also pay attention to boating signs, as they often demand slow speeds due to marine life below. Boats often harm marine animals, which is totally preventable!

 

After exploring the pier, we visited the Loggerhead Marine Life Center, coined the sea turtle hospital. This place asks for a five dollar donation, so I advise you to just give what you can. There’s a learning exhibit inside the welcome building/gift shop with a lot of information about sea turtles and a few tanks full of fish, a live conch shell, and other interesting critters. Take a moment to read some of the info; it’s actually quite interesting! Do: Educate yourself about anything unique to the area. You’ll find yourself more interested in your stay if you know something about the place. We then headed outside to see the recovering sea turtles at home within their own personal tubs. They are absolutely adorable! We were able to look through a glass window in the larger tubs to see the turtles up close, and they are truly gorgeous creatures. Their shells are a kaleidoscope of colors, light, and water reflections, making them incredible to look at. Next to each tub is a little sign telling of each turtle’s story of injury and recovery. A hospital building sits alongside the recovering turtles where the vets (I suppose they are called vets, but I’m not sure what you would call a turtle doctor) were treating injured and sick turtles. There were two large sea turtles sedated and strapped to a gurney for treatment. It’s amazing to me how this little hospital does what it can to help this endangered species. It’s important to keep the ecosystem’s diversity alive and thriving! After purchasing a small token from the gift shop (i.e. a necklace consisting of wooden beads and a turtle charm strung along a cord), we continued on our way.

As Pappa was giving us the grand tour of the Floridian cities and towns around us, Mummi, Mom, and I noticed a manatee sanctuary and quickly screeched out a “Turn around! Turn around! Let’s check it out! No, it’s on that corner. THAT one!” With a considerable amount of backseat driving going on, Pappa drove around the block until we made it back to the sanctuary, where we hopped out and meandered in to see what it was all about. Basically, the sanctuary consisted of an information building, a gift shop, and a lagoon-like area outside where manatees could come for warmer water during the winter. The power plant nearby the sanctuary is responsible for warming up the water by depositing the heat through some pipe or other. Seeing as it’s now summer weather, there were no manatees present (much to our disappointment), but we contented ourselves with learning about the mammals from the information center. It’s a pretty interesting place to visit, but I would suggest coming during the winter if you want to see the creatures in person. Do: Allow yourself to explore anything interesting you come across. You never know what you may find!

We left after filling our heads full of sea life information and continued our tour. (You may drive past one of Donald Trump’s houses…!I mean castles!... as you pass Palm Beach.) As driving through the towns in West Palm Beach, we went through the CUTEST area full of shops and coffee stops. Mom pointed out a gorgeous, modern Swedish coffee shop called Johan’s Joe, and poor Pappa had to listen to us insisting we stop once AGAIN. Mom and I ended up running into the place quickly to see what it was all about. We are obsessed with Finnish and Swedish coffee houses since we visited both countries last summer and fell in love with their coffee. We threw open the reindeer-handled doors of the café and were instantly transported back to Sweden. Swedish architecture, Swedish food, Swedish candy, and, best of all, delectable coffee. I’m sure everyone in the place was looking at us like we were crazy as we gaped around (“Look, Lidia, those tables…just like Sweden!” –camera flashes- “Oh, and look how cute! Swedish horses, Swedish candy…” –more camera clicks). We ordered some coffee and picked out some candy to go, and it was delicious! Do: Stop at unique coffee shops! They have so much interesting variety to offer. We quickly headed back to the car and moved on back to Mummi and Pappa’s condo. We ate a delicious salad there and ended the day with walking around the local neighborhood, relaxing, and visiting.