Toad Haven Homeschool
We had the fantastic opportunity to go on a dream vacation to the Florida Keys. It was wonderful!! My husband had to go to a conference in Florida and we got to tag along with him. Yippee!!!
We stayed at Hawk’s Cay. It was absolutely beautiful!!!
SHARK!!!!!
Whew! It was just a dolphin. :)
The resort is home to a wonderful dolphin research program and, in addition to conducting research, offer interactive programs for the guests to take part in. You can interact with the dolphins from the dock, get in the water with the dolphins, or be a trainer for a day. My husband and son chose to do the dockside program while my daughter and I chose to get in the water with them. It was awesome!!!!
The dockside program consisted of learning all about dolphins, getting to touch them, shaking hands with them, giving them the hand signals to perform some tricks, and feeding them fish.
In the swim with the dolphins program, we got to learn all about dolphins, feel them (he loved it when we rubbed his belly - he closed his eyes), see his scars from being caught in a fishing net (he was rescued and sent to this facility), shake hands with them, give them hand signs to perform tricks, receive a kiss from them, and hold them in a pose for a picture. It was so cool!!
Awesome!!!
We also enjoyed all the wonderful sea life at the docks at the resort. I now love pelicans just about as much as I love vultures. Fabulous birds! The fishermen would come into the docks at noon and 4pm to bring in their catches. They cut them up and threw the unwanted parts back into the water. All sorts of giant fish, nurse sharks and pelicans show up to join in the free feeding frenzy.
The Florida Keys and Hawk’s Cay
We had the fantastic opportunity to go on a dream vacation to the Florida Keys. It was wonderful!! My husband had to go to a conference in Florida and we got to tag along with him. Yippee!!!
We stayed at Hawk’s Cay. It was absolutely beautiful!!
SHARK!!!!!
Whew! It was just a dolphin. :)
The resort is home to a wonderful dolphin research program and, in addition to conducting research, offer interactive programs for the guests to take part in. You can interact with the dolphins from the dock, get in the water with the dolphins, or be a trainer for a day. My husband and son chose to do the dockside program while my daughter and I chose to get in the water with them. It was awesome!!!!
The dockside program consisted of learning all about dolphins, getting to touch them, shaking hands with them, giving them the hand signals to perform some tricks, and feeding them fish.
In the swim with the dolphins program, we got to learn all about dolphins, feel them (he loved it when we rubbed his belly - he closed his eyes), see his scars from being caught in a fishing net (he was rescued and sent to this facility), shake hands with them, give them hand signs to perform tricks, receive a kiss from them, and hold them in a pose for a picture. It was so cool!!
Awesome!!!
We also enjoyed all the wonderful sea life at the docks at the resort. I now love pelicans just about as much as I love vultures. Fabulous birds! The fishermen would come into the docks at noon and 4pm to bring in their catches. They cut them up and threw the unwanted parts back into the water. All sorts of giant fish, nurse sharks and pelicans show up to join in the free feeding frenzy.
Ethan really, really, really wanted to go ocean fishing so we rented him a rod and set out. He caught some really cool fish! Don’t worry...we released them all to continue on with their lives. The coolest ones were a sea robin and a pufferfish. The sea robin made loud croaking sounds like a frog! Weird!
The pufferfish was flat when Ethan caught him but then blew himself up big. We thought they were both SO, SO COOL!!!
The other totally cool fish he caught was a sea robin. He makes loud cries that sound like a croaking frog. We didn’t expect that! Sea robins have sharp spines on their gill plates and dorsal fins that inject a mild poison, causing slight pain for two to three days.
While walking on the dock, we found giant wild iguanas sunning themselves. Didn’t expect that at all. They are so intriguing to watch.
There were also great trees there with roots coming down from the branches.
The islands are rocky. They are actually exposed areas of an ancient reef. Neat!
The mailboxes on the island were funny, too. Most were either manatees, dolphins, or fish. We really loved the manatee dressed up as a pirate.
Also see our other Florida pages
Hawk’s Cay in the FL Keys
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
