The ocean is so very interesting.
There was life everywhere you looked in the waters.
Hermit Crabs
Walking into the ocean, I noticed all of the shells moved. Hermit Crabs were everywhere!
They can't make their own shells, so they find an empty shell, crawl into it and call it home.
You can see these shells roam around on the beach. When you pick them up, they snap back into the shell.
Sometimes they'll come out, as if to say, "What The Hell Is Going On Out Here?". They're so funny.
I found this one that was homeless, sitting on a cement block. He couldn't find an unoccupied empty shell, so I scoured around and found him one. They are picky. It has to be just the right size inside.
Horseshoe Crabs
Standing in the warm ocean waters, I noted the sand kept moving under my feet.
So, I eventually bent over to dig up whatever was causing the sand to shift.. It was horseshoe crab.
These guys are about 5 inches long, prejurassic looking, and ugly, but, they are very animated.
Jelly Fish
I kept finding these purple and pink, geometrically shaped blobs on the beach.
I picked one up and it felt like old jello, then it moved on its own. It was a stranded jelly fish.
Albino Lizards
I went to use the bathroom around 10pm. It was very dark.
Coming up to the bathroom, the building was COVERED with albino lizards.
Cute little fellows! I think they like to hang out around the building because bugs are attracted to the lights.
Blue Crab
Sometime at night, when Becky and I were looking at the ocean while sitting on the tailgate of the truck, I spotted a shadow moving across the beach. I got up and investigated. It was a Blue Crab that was about a foot wide.
I played with the little fellow. He'd get all flustered and stand up raising his big right claw.
Eventually I quit toying with him, and he ran up into the trees.
Possums
Sometime during the AM hours, I saw one scooting across the beach, running along at about 8mph.
Sea Gulls.
I did my little bird training thing, where I toss up a piece of bread and a sea gull catches it in mid air. About 40 sea gulls came around, but only 3 of them got how to play the game. They would go out in a large circular path, then fly by and hover for their chunk of bread. They were the fat ones, har har.
I discovered why the ocean appears light blue in areas.
It's not the clouds like I'd thought. Where the ocean is light blue, the water is only a foot deep.
That means, in these areas, you can walk for miles out into the ocean without getting so much as your knees wet.
What happens after a hurricane hits an area.
People clean house from the floods,and place their junk on the side of the road.
Also, boats wash up to the roadside. The owners either don't want to mess with them or can't afford to have them relocated back into the water, so they become property of Key West. They are free (clear title and all) to whoever wants to haul them away. If a person wanted free boats, cars, or antique furniture, this is the place to go.
I explored a 40' sail boat that was beached.
It had an eight cylinder engine, the sails and most of it was intact. You could tell somebody lived in it, but probably couldn't afford to get it placed back into the water. It was nasty inside. Imagine how a travel trailer would look if it had been turned upside down. Thats what it looked like. It would be a fun to fix something like this up.
