Lots of things about what we do are cool. These animals have definite personalities, and seeing the look of wonder and amazement on the faces of adults and children as our patients come up to greet them face-to-face never gets old. The excitement of our volunteers who never get tired of telling the stories of our recovering patients over and over again for hours on end never wanes. That’s pretty cool when you find you’re continually fascinated by the words coming out of your mouth. Actually seeing the look of gratitude in a turtle’s eyes for something as simple as a bowl of fish or some clean water - it just doesn’t get any cooler.

Photo: Think cool and take home one of our volunteer crafted ornaments.

And it’s really cool that our Director, Jean Beasley, has won so many prestigious awards and accolades, including 2007 Animal Planet’s Hero of the Year, the Albert Schweitzer Scholar’s Award and a place on the board of the International Sea Turtle Society (she’s just back from their annual conference.) That’s only the big stuff. We’re going to need an entire wall in our new hospital to display all the certificates she’s got tucked away recognizing her contributions to the sea turtle world.

It’s cool that our reputation spans the globe, and that a wildlife park in the UK entrusted us to ultimately take over the care of a little Kemp’s, "Willie" who remained stranded in England while the red tape to repatriate her became ever more tangled. And when Willie finally arrived at our hospital, with her own crew from the BBC, that’s truly whatever England’s version of "cool" is. Stay tuned because we’re getting another Kemp’s from across the ocean (Portugal) sometime in the spring (red tape, again.) Just how cool is that!

It’s cool that our visitors can buy merchandise exclusive to our hospital by shopping in person or on-line. We have to smile when our guests from up north leave the hospital with arm loads of long-sleeved T-s, hooded sweat shirts, fleece headbands and Christmas ornaments, in July and August. They’re literally thinking cool. And it’s really cool that, despite of the economy and the sacrifices that we’re all making our supporters continue to drop those $20 bills in the donations jar day after day. You guys are the best!

You’ve only got a few more days to visit one of the coolest places in eastern North Carolina before we shut our doors for the winter. We will be open the week prior to Labor Day, August 31sst thru Sept. 5th. Check back for possible additional days the week of Labor Day. We open daily, except Wednesday and Sunday, from 2-4 PM. The gift shop is also open during these hours. Lines can be long so come prepared with sunscreen and umbrellas for shade. Your minimum contribution of $2 per adult and $1 per child will help us reach that final $350,000 we need to build our new facility, and anything above and beyond is greatly appreciated. We’re behind the big blue water tank in Topsail Beach. And for those of you planning ahead, we’re planning ahead, too. We expect to have a limited opening during 

Autumn with Topsail, the weekend of October 17-18. Our phone number is: 910-328-3377.

Turtle Talks: All the talking at the Surf City Community Center is done for this year. Our last day was August 26th. Flipper hugs to everyone who came out to support us, in every way, especially financially.

Topsail Turtle Project
The nest monitoring ends on August 31, and we’re about a quarter of the way through our hatchings.

We get inquiries every day about the "when and where" of an impending hatch. Those hatchlings keep that information close to their carapace, so we couldn’t answer even if we wanted to. It’s just a matter of luck if you find yourself witnessing a hatch. Remember that our Topsail Turtle Project crew rules at a nest, but as long as you can sit quietly and follow their instructions you’ll be allowed to stay. All sea turtles are federally protected animals. Harassing or interfering with them or their nests in any way is punishable by a hefty fine and/or imprisonment. Please report any incidents of nesting, hatching, injury, stranding or harassment to our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at 910-470-2880 immediately.

Lobster Dinner and Auction
Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 24th.  Artists, craftspeople and business owners have been very generous with their donations over the years, but we know that there are a lot of people new to our coast who would love to use this opportunity to introduce us to their work. If you haven’t been part of our auction in the past please consider donating an item or service for this year’s event. We’ll give you more details in the next few weeks, but if you have an immediate question you can e-mail me (flippers@embarqmail.com) or Jean (loggrhead@aol.com) for information.

NO YARD SALE!
Please do not drop off anything at our hospital - our yard sale has been discontinued.

Questions, comments or suggestions for stories
Contact me at: flippers@embarqmail.com.