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.