Sea turtle Sunday

Yesterday morning hubby and I woke at the butt-crack of dawn because we couldn't stand one more half marathon training run on the dreadmill. At 6am it was blissfully cool outside: 72 degrees and lower-than-normal humidity. (Of course it was. It was still DARK.) The run felt almost... good. Not fast, yet. But not turtle slow, either. And it felt so good to be outside.

We logged our miles, and then decided to treat ourselves to a mostly lazy day followed by an evening stroll on the beach. So we strolled, sugary cocktails in hand. Hydration is imperative after a long run! (Side note: One thing to love about the Gulf Coast is the cocktail culture. No beach booze ban here! But I digress...)

The point is that we had a glorious Sunday that felt like a vacation day. (Yes. We do wake up insanely early to run while on vacation. There are worse habits to have.)

During our vacation-like stroll, we came across this sign:

I took a picture to make sure I wasn't having post-run or post-margarita halucinations. The sign does indeed show that the area is roped off to protect a sea turtle nest.

Cool!

I have yet to see a sea turtle in the wild, but I am pleased to have them as neighbors. They are definitely more cuddly than their reptile cousins: the alligators. I could do without the alligators. (Mostly I fear that I cannot outrun a hungry alligator. Hopefully I'll never find out.)

So Florida scores a win for beach cocktails. And another win for sea turtles. Not so much for the gators.