RVing With a Purpose

Sunday, January, 19, 2020

We almost hate to say it, but it was absolutely gorgeous in the Florida Keys today. We cooked breakfast for Barry and Donna and our selves and then we decided to walk over to the Dolphin Research Center which is about a block from Jolly Roger. We had reservations for the dolphin encounter on Tuesday but the weather is not going to be as nice so we were able to change the encounter to today at 12:00. This was amazing. We were in the water with the dolphins and able to give them commands to ask them to jump and spin or splash water. We could have them shake hands with us, and give us a kiss. We were able to rub their backs as they swam past and the big bucket list item, we swam with them and held on to their dorsal fin while they pulled us across the water. So cool!! Such beautiful animals and so very smart!

The tricks the dolphins are taught are not only to entertain the visitors, they also keep the dolphins in good physical condition.

The trainers trained us to interact with the dolphins with hand signals.

Of course, the highlight of the day was each of us being pulled through the water by a dolphin.

After our time in the water, we could go to the various other pools and educational areas to learn even more about the dolphins. Anne was able to talk to some of the trainers who worked with the dolphins medical issues. Today they were working with some of the dolphins on learning to us a nebulizer. Yes, like the giving yourself or your child a breathing treatment, nebulizer. The big difference with dolphins is that since they breath through their blow hole they have the big doughnut looking device that sits over the blow hole while they breath in the medication. Today they were just teaching them to do this while they are well with no medicine in the nebulizer so that if they were to ever need at treatment for a fungus or some other illness they would have the skill to use the nebulizer. Pretty amazing. We all four had a wonderful day at the Dolphin Research Center!

Of course a day of fun with Barry and Donna is never complete without ice cream. Late this afternoon we drove into Marathon to Sweet Savannah’s ice cream and cupcake shop. Key lime ice cream for Anne and Donna and salty caramel for Barry and Max. So good. We may have to go back Tuesday when the special is Boston Cream cup cakes. It was a very good day.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Today was our first day of Sabbath. We know we need to take breaks and after leading the last several weeks, it is time for a break. We purposely had nothing scheduled today. We did have things to do but no schedule. We did some laundry and cleaning and then headed back to Marathon for groceries. On the way we saw sign for Coco Plum Beach and decided to check it out. We found a nice public beach in an out of the way place and will take Barry and Donna back there. Should be a nice place to walk on the beach and maybe okay for sunsets. We also passed a sign for Curry Hammock State Park. Researched it and we will probably go there later in the week to rent some kayaks and tour the mangroves. After surviving a very crowded Publix we headed back to Jolly Roger to await the arrival of Barry and Donna. They arrived about 3:30 and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up. So good to spend time with our dear friends. We walked the park, went to the beach and just enjoyed ourselves. It was a very good day.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Wanda left last night and today was moving day for Karen and Greg and us. None of us had far to go so we didn’t leave until lunchtime. Karen and Greg were going only about one island away and we are now about 30 miles north of Big Pine on Grassy Key. Hard driving day. We are now settled in at Jolly Roger RV Resort for the next eight days. Our cousins, Donna and Barry should arrive tomorrow afternoon. Can’t wait to see them and we have fun planned for the next week. This afternoon we explored the park, watched people fishing – saw someone catch a shark about four feet long. We talked to various other people staying here. Everyone seems very friendly. So far we are pleased with our choice for our “off” week.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Today was our last day as team leaders on the disaster rebuild project in the Florida Keys. It has been a relatively easy project to lead because every week we had wonderfully mission minded NOMADS working with us. They have accomplished a lot for the people here.

We all returned to George’s house after devotion and continued to make progress towards getting the house ready to turn back over to the homeowner. At the end of the day the shower was installed and freezer board was installed on the bathroom walls, the painting was finished and the outside trim was installed around the windows and air conditioners.  Jim, the construction coordinator, is planning to have other volunteers working on the house over the weekend and NOMADS will return next week to put the finishing touches on. The agency plans to have a home dedication on Wednesday morning. We hope to attend it and present a Bible signed by all the NOMADS who worked on the house.

After work we went by to introduce Dan and Virgie to Dennis and show them what still needs to be done there.