I only took one lens on our turtle adventure, and probably picked the wrong one (I had the 70-200 and wish I had the 28-70). I was glad I had the longer lens, though, when I caught this shot of Renee as she took a call from Jake. He was heading to a haircut appointment and just wanted to catch up a bit with mom.

We had a chance to watch as they fed this turtle (I forget her name!). Initially, she wasn’t too interested in eating, intentionally moving away from the tongs with the squid every time the worker positioned it in front of her. This changed quickly once the worker placed it under her nose, though. The turtle perked up at that point, and had a few squid for dinner.

We found a nice little cafe for dinner tonight — The Hurricane Cafe. I love their logo. Palm trees in high winds (including hurricanes) fascinate me. They normally appear so delicate, a single upright trunk with a bulb of leaves at the top. An odd structure for a tree, really. But watch a palm tree in a windy storm and you’ll appreciate the genius of this simplicity. The fronds fold back and the trunk flexes and bends but rarely seems to break. It’s quite amazing.

The image of a palm tree in a hurricane has become somewhat of a symbol of the power of life to me. Hurricanes are probably one of the most powerful destructive forces we have on earth. Palm trees almost seem to enjoy the challenge.

They don’t always win, of course, but their simple design is quite effective at giving them a fighting chance.

Food was good, too. Renee had a salad and I had sweet potato encrusted grouper. And key lime pie.

Renee and I made the brief drive up the coast to visit the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. They had a handful of loggerhead sea turtles in hospital tanks recovering from various treatments, including shell treatments and flipper amputations. Seeing the turtles up close was truly amazing, and talking with the dedicated staff, whom I assume are volunteers, was inspiring. They were all very helpful and happy to talk about the center’s efforts. We had a great time.