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
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.
