Damned Paparazzi

Okay, who told them where we would be?

Just teasing but kinda not. See, Mr. Pop went to north Florida to update the volunteer turtle patrol on any new or different procedures. These are people who go out on the beach very early each morning during the turtle nesting season to keep track of which species of sea turtle nested where.

Also, while we were there tropical storm Andrea did a number on the local beaches with the unusually high tides and giant waves. There may have been a heavy loss of this seasons preexisting sea turtle nests due to these conditions and the overwash of the nests.

The Orlando TV station discovered that Mr. Pop was in a nearby coastal town and called him to talk to about the beach erosion and how it would effect the turtle nests. They asked if he would meet them on the beach for an interview. As you can see by the second picture, he obliged their request. We don’t know if this interview actually aired because while it was being conducted, only a couple of miles up the beach, sadly, a surfer met his death. The waves were just too strong for the surfer to escape their power.

With the heavy smoke from all the forest fires hanging in the air, the winds from the storm ripping up the surf and the sand, and then the tragic death of the surfer, it wasn’t the trip we had envisioned.

***
Oh, the beach picture I posted on Tuesday, was a picture of the beach just a couple of miles from my home and it was taken last Sunday. Maybe what they say is true, there really is no place like home.