Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, Florida (Jupiter)
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men. (This includes following speed limits. 😊 ) ~ I Peter 2:13
Blaine and I took about 45 minutes to get some exercise riding the paved trails around Johnathan Dickinson this morning.
I don’t remember what we did during the four intermediate hours before we arrived at Sandy’s, but once there, she suggested we pay a visit to the free-admission Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
Over 30 years ago, long-time Juno Beach resident Eleanor Fletcher started what is now Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Eleanor and her husband Robert had a real estate business in Juno Beach. Eleanor began to notice the abundance of sea turtles nesting on our shore in spring and summer. She was curious about why so many hatchlings headed landward after hatching, rather than back to sea, and as a result, began some of the earliest research on sea turtles in our area. Juno Beach is now recognized as one of the most active nesting beaches in the world! Eleanor became known as “The Turtle Lady” throughout the area.
As Eleanor Fletcher learned more and more about the sea turtles, she began to see that the turtles were threatened by the encroachment of man as he moved and built closer and closer to the shoreline. She decided that educating children about the sea turtles and the need for conservation and protection was the best hope for the sea turtles to survive over the long term. She began giving classes, first in her home, then above the real estate office as more and more children enjoyed her programs.
In 1983 the Children’s Museum of Juno Beach was incorporated, moving into what had been an old home in Loggerhead Park, thanks to the County’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Reflecting an expanded mission, the name was changed to The Marinelife Center of Juno Beach in 1990.
The center now hosts thousands of school children each year through field trips, outreach programs, summer camp and other educational experiences. In addition, more than 350,000 visitors come to the center each year to see the exhibits and the sea turtle hospital – the only sea turtle hospital between Orlando and the Florida Keys!
In April 2007, the organization relocated to a new 12,000 square foot certified “green” facility and changed its name to Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art full service veterinary hospital, exhibit hall, outdoor classroom, research lab, and resource center. A visit is not complete without a stop in the marine-themed gift store, featuring an excellent selection of children’s educational books and unique gift and craft items. Park amenities include a guarded beach, nature trail, playground and picnic pavilions.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit education and ocean conservation facility located on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach County, Florida. The facility houses a variety of exhibits, live sea turtles and other coastal creatures. Exhibits include a massive prehistoric Archelon sea turtle replica, salt water aquaria and displays of local wildlife, as well as educational displays about South Florida’s marine environment.
Mm hum. . . : )
Once we were done outside, we went in to see the small aquarium and check out the gift shop. None of us found anything we wanted to purchase.
We arrived back to Sandy’s to discover that Eric was home early because he wasn’t feeling up to snuff. ☹ But he recovered enough to greet us after dinner and talk to Adam and Jessica who were fixin’ to make an offer on a new house!
Tonight’s scrumptious dinner was comprised of stuffed mushrooms, ranch beans, and half-eaten burgers. 😊
