Marathon Key

We wanted to show the kids a bit more of the Florida Keys, but to drive all the way to Key West and back in a day would be a long time driving without getting to take in much along the way. So it was agreed we would just go as far as Marathon Key to visit the Turtle Hospital, Sombrero Beach and Crane Point.

But first, as always, we needed to stop for lunch.  Stephanie found The Wooden Spoon on Yelp and it sounded like a place with a lot of character, so that's where we stopped.  The Yelp review said to ask for the home made ketchup, so we did.

The owner proceeded to take a red bottle and behind the counter was mixing in the secret ingredients, which he shared with us and I was committing to memory.

He brought it over to the table and said I got to be the first to taste it as he squirted the bottled directly at my face.  It was a horrifying moment as I watched the red blob coming my way like a 3D movie and awaiting the wet messy splat sure to follow.  But it never came.  It was a fake bottle and we all had a great laugh.  Then the owner proceeded to entertain us with the history of the place and one joke after another.  Great pick Steph!

After lunch it was off to the Turtle Hospital, where we learned about the variety of sea turtles and things that can harm them, most of which are caused (no surprise) by man.

Those that are struck by boats often develop a buoyancy in their shell called Bubble Butt (I can relate to this!) which prevents them from being able to dive for food.  Weights are added to their shells to allow them the ability to dive again.

We were bummed to learn that while we were there, they were doing a release at Sombrero Beach and we were missing it.  Oh well.

Our next stop was Sombrero Beach for the kids and Steph and I went to the Crane Point Museum for a walk on the nature trails.

The map was awful and we were soon lost, but finally managed to get to the Adderly House.  For a while I thought we might be spending the night there, but then we got back on track again.

It was a nice hike until I started noticing all the golden orb spiders.  Ewwwwh.  They were huge and everywhere.

Steph was mugging it up with the palms.

I enjoyed being able to show Stephanie what a mangrove swamp looked like...and smelled like.

We knew the kids were going to be waiting for us, so didn't finish our trek out to Crane Point and I wish we had.  Another hiker told us they saw a human size iguana out there.  Now I'll never know if he was pulling our leg or if missed out on a fabulous photo op.


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