Page 93 of Changing Tides

It’s not a small jaunt. The distance from the tip of the island to the first pier is just over six miles. I’ll allow her to walk as long as she can, but I made sure to make room in the wagon for her to sit at some point.

She’s a trooper, happily keeping up with me, stopping only to gather her sea treasures.

Approximately four miles into our excursion, I spot a set of tracks. I grab my tablet to record the location and drop a pin on the map in my phone as a backup. Then, I measure the nest and carefully stake and tape it off before covering it with a screen.

“There’re eggs in there?” Leia asks as she crouches by the nest.

“There sure are. The mommy turtle used her back flippers to dig a deep hole, and then she settles into it and lays her eggs before covering them up,” I explain.

“How many are in there?”

“Probably about a hundred.”

Her eyes go wide. “She made a hundred babies?” she asks.

“She sure did. And now, we have to watch over them and keep them safe until they boil.”

“We’re going to boil them?” she shrieks.

“No, when the nest is boiling, that means the eggs are about to hatch, and the babies will dig their way to the top.”

She nods her head as if it all makes perfect sense.

By the time we make it to the pier, the coffee shop has opened, so I park the wagon at the bottom, grab the tablet, and lead her up the steps.

The Rest Ashore Café is a small coffee and tea shop that sits on the pier beside the Feelin’ Tip-Sea Bait and Beverage Center, and it’s one of my favorite places on the island.

The aroma of the freshly roasted beans makes my mouth water as I pull the door open.

A young man stands behind the wooden counter.

“What can I get you?” he asks.

“I’ll have a tall iced macchiato with coconut milk and two blueberry scones, please,” I order.

He taps on the screen in front of him and looks over the counter and down at Leia. “And what about you, ma’am?”

“I’ll have a tall iced chocolate milk, please,” she replies.

“You want that with coconut milk?” he asks.

She wrinkles her nose. “Do coconuts come in chocolate?” she asks.

He scratches his temple. “That’s a good question. I think they come in all flavors if you want them to,” he says.

Leia looks at me skeptically.

“You can make chocolate milk with coconut milk and chocolate syrup or with regular milk and chocolate syrup,” I explain.

She takes a moment to consider the options.

“I’ll take a regular chocolate milk and make it a really tall one,” she decides.

“Good choice,” he tells her.

We wait for our order at the high-top table tucked in the corner, and I call Kimball to let her know about our find. She and Leslie are on the east side of the island, working their way to the second pier near the old lighthouse and have identified two more nests.

That’s a total of seven so far this season.

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