3/06/2009 ~ Crane Point S.P. & Dolphin Research Center, FL Keys
Our final day in the Keys was met by sunshine and warming temps in the low 70's. We headed west to Marathon Key where we visited Crane Point State Park and Nature Center. This is a beautiful and secluded park leading through a mangrove trail, a butterfly garden, and past a wild bird rehabilitation center to the Gulf. We saw less than a handful of people there the two hours we toured it, but certainly more cool spiders and insects than sands on the beach! A fantastic Keys-style lunch at the Wreck and Galley Grill put us right next door to our final destination: the Dolphin Research Center. There we had the experience of a lifetime by actually taking a Dolphin Dip where we stood chest high in the cool water interacting and playing with our own designated dolphins, Cayo and Gypsy, a pair of 2-year old females. Inasmuch as my birthday was only two days away, I considered this my birthday treat to myself and braved the water despite not being a swimmer to have a lifelong dream fulfilled: playing with Flipper! And that's not so far from the truth, as several of the dolphins on site are progeny from dolphins who actually did the athletic scenes for my favorite TV star growing up! It was with much ambivalence that we left the Keys late that afternoon for the long drive back to Manasota Key, only to pack and ready ourselves for our flight home the following day.
