Beach Chronicles 4

My husband made reservations yesterday for a "Dolphin Tour" today. And I complained bitterly because

a) I didn't want to disappoint the kids. They call it a "dolphin tour" like you're guaranteed to see dolphins and like you'll be taken on an actual tour when in actuality there's no dolphin guarantee, and you take the pontoon boat out yourself (which, I have to admit, I prefer over having to play nice with a guide). I have done the jet ski dolphin tour before, and we saw dolphins, but we had a guide who seemed to know where to find them.

b) I've been very cold down here, and the thought of being out on the open sea with the chilly air rattling my body gave me goose bumps.

c) He scheduled our "tour" for 9am. (See letter b.)

Well, as usual for once, I have to say my husband used good judgment. It turned out to be a lovely day and was warming up nicely--even at 9am. And the kids had a great time on our boat, which we took to Shell Island. Turns out on the way to Shell Island we actually did run (almost literally) into a lone dolphin. He was a little shy, though, and didn't even stick around long enough for us to photograph him; however, he did provide for us bragging rights just because he briefly popped up to greet us.

When we got t0 Shell Island, we had all 7 miles of the island to ourselves for about a half hour before one other boat showed up. And it wasn't until we were leaving that another boat beached itself. The kids had some great science lessons while on the island, most of which centered around hermit crabs as they were plentiful. Against our better judgment, we even let Michael take one of the hermit crabs home.

After an hour or so on our private island, we headed home and then enjoyed lunch at Treasure Ship.