Deb has Ray eating out of her hand.....

So today in an effort to blow off the stress of getting across the Gulf Stream we went to the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center on Hutchinson Island. It was a short drive from the marina in Stuart. Once on the island it offered us a chance to look out at the Atlantic / Gulf Stream to get a read on how things looked. It's not that we don't trust the forecasters. We just don't trust them. Upon reviewing the water we knew we were making a good decision to sit out the following day in anticipation of the day after which would have been Thursday 11/17.
 Anyway the center http://www.floridaocean.org/p/58/visit has a small air conditioned area with a few tanks of interest as well as a large outdoor pool containing several varieties of fish and a couple of different turtles. All in all it was an interesting stop that broke up the monotony of waiting out the weather that has refused to cooperate. The anticipation of happy hour only goes so far in that regard.
 Along with the pool there is an interesting walk around the facility that takes you through mangrove swamps and out to the lagoon side of the park. As we walked along the path we were constantly reminded of the fact that their are critters out here. Fish, tracks, and rustling sounds caught our attention all along the boardwalks and paths that took us through the swamps with the sulfuric smelling multi-colored waters fed by the decaying foliage. It wasn't offensive like the sulfur springs in Yellowstone Park. Just a hint of sulfur and fortunately there were no Golden Orb spiders hanging out above the path we were walking today. I hate walking into their webs.

 After finishing the trail and upon exiting the building towards the parking lot, we were again reminded of the fact that others inhabit the area. Florida with its warmer climate offers us a different set of living beings from those we are used to in the North East. As I walked down the steps leaving the park I was greeted by a snake that reared up as though it wanted to make a snack out of my foot. Deb elected to divert to an alternative set of stairs but I decided that moving forward was not much of a risk and as I did so, our new friend slithered off into the brush at the left of the stairs. Cheap entertainment and fun.
 And we can use that since we are going to be here an additional week. We originally thought that the Gulf Stream was going to be passable on 11/17 and yes that is the case but the Bahama Bank is going to be a mess Thursday evening into Friday and the following days. Even though the water on the bank is shallow, it still gets ugly and can turn a long day into a very wearing experience. Given the outlook we bailed out on a marginal crossing that would have left us stuck at West End for a week.
 Sometimes it's better to sit it out and we take some solace in the fact that there are others here of the same opine. Maybe next week.