The Florida Keys

We left Vero Beach and traveled south to Key Largo. We set up camp at

the John Pennecamp State Park. We spent the first day shopping for

snorkel equipment, doing laundry and finally trying out our new snorkel

gear. The next morning we discovered the beach we had swam at the day

before was closed due to high bacterial count, so we did not go

snorkeling there. We visited the Visitors Center and aquarium at the

state park. We then drove around Key Largo to try to find the Miami

Oolites and Key Largo limestone. We stopped at several locations,

including the entrance to a power plant. We then found a beach where we

could snorkel. We had a lesson at the beach on the different types of

seaweed that we found on and near the beaches. The following day we had

a lecture in the morning on carbonate producers. We then drove along

highway 1 and made several stops to observe the limestone present. We

stopped for lunch at Mangrove Mama's and had the greatest Key Lime pie.

We then continued south to Key West. We had dinner in Key West, and

then walked down to the Southernmost Point of the Continental U.S. The

next day we visited the Windley Key State Park quarry. The corals found

in this quarry are remarkable because they are all in place and give an

idea of the amount of time required to grow corals so large. It also

provides good evidence for the past conditions of the ocean that formed

the corals there. That night Dr. Hovan made a seafood dinner. We packed

up the following morning and headed north.