Day 3: Turtle Time!!!

Today was the big day, we finally got to start getting our hands dirty at the Sea Turtle Hospital! We arrived around 7:20, and joined in on a fun meeting with the volunteers about the upcoming the Mountains to the Sea event, which takes place this Friday. We discussed the various appetizers we  will help prepare, as well as any other setting up that is required.

Around 9:00 am, Judy came in to give us an informative orientation about volunteer expectations, and got assigned into groups afterwards. At first, most of us helped with sweeping, mopping, and other everyday maintenance tasks, and later became more involved with the cleaning of tanks, and water changes. Deena and I (Joyce) were lucky enough to volunteer in Sick Bay today, which was extremely rewarding and exciting, as we got to get very close to the sea turtles and rinse them off! I couldn't help but notice the amount of care and love that every volunteer gave each turtle, no matter how much they were flailing around (which was a lot). About half of us formed an assembly line, in which the tubs were emptied, cleaned, dried off, and replaced in a timely matter.

After spending our morning in the hospital, we quickly ate lunch and got into the car for our day trip to the North Carolina Aquarium. This trip also happened to be Christine's first ever to an aquarium, so there was a lot of excitement in the air. We spent a few hours there, getting to see a variety of aquatic beings and taking lots of pictures to document what we saw. The highlight of the trip was the activities announcement the aquarium put out for the feeding of the TERRAPINS (It made our Maryland hearts very happy). On the drive back, we stopped at the beach in order to enjoy the weather and the view of the ocean (we will never tire of it). At the moment, we are anxiously waiting for Bebe and Alvin's curry, especially since we know it's going to be AMAZING!

Signing off,
Joyce and Anindita