Day 6: Parasailing

5/23/2011: It only lasted 7-8 minutes, but it was the higlight of our day. We decided to allow a boat to pull us around above the bay with a parachute behind us. The rope is 600 feet long, which puts us maybe 400 or more feet up in the air. It felt like a lot more!

Carl was a lot more relaxed than his dad. He was flapping his wings, leaning back, and having a jolly time. His dad was enjoying the view, but a little more reserved. Not scared, mind you, just cautious!!!

We came home for some reading and relaxing by the pool, played some ping pong, and then went out for a run of 2-3 miles in the afternoon heat. It was cloudy when we started, but the sun came out part way through the run to cause a real sweat! We swam, showered, and went shopping for an hour or so.

Dinner was at the "Tower of Pizza." The evening was a time for relaxing, reading, watching basketball, and mentally preparing for the trip home.

Day 5: Key West

5/24/2011: The Florida Keys are a little over a hundred miles long and our goal to day was to drive to the far west end and visit Key West. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed west from our hotel, which is at mile marker 99 on Highway 1.

We didn't have any specific agenda, other than to make it to mile marker zero. We made a few stops on the way - one at a nature center that was not open until noon, and the other at the seven mile bridge to look at the beaches and bridge and watch some people fishing off the bridge. We had been at this same spot four years ago on a family trip and took some memorable pictures by a pair of palm trees. Much to our surprise, only one of the trees remains. The other must have died, because it was cut off.

On the trip we saw medical establishments for everything! A turtle hospital, a fisherman's hospital, a moped hospital (what?), a pirate's wellness center, and a bird hospital. It seems that a human can't get medical care unless he/she is a fisherman or a pirate!

Key West is a very interesting place! It has a small town charm and though it is a tourist trap, there isn't that gaudy touristy feeling. We visited a landmark - the southernmost point in the continental US. We had to stand in line for 15 minutes to take our pictures there!

We also bought a couple coconuts for drinking. The street vendor drilled a hole in them and we drank the "milk" with a straw. It was tasty! It's also supposed to be a very healthy drink.

We visited the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. It is a fortress that was used from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s to protect our borders. It was a pretty impressive structure with some very large canons.

The trip home was uneventful, and we munched on sardines and crackers for a snack as we drove. Lunch was peanut butter and jelly.

After a dip in the pool and some time lounging around, we went for another evening tennis match under the lights. No names will be mentioned, but let it be said that the person who won all the previous sets convincingly was in danger of losing the set tonight, but it was called early due to a broken string. The broken string was a handy excuse for the extremely close score and we will never know how that set would have ended up.

Day 4: Our Last Dives

5/22/2011: Day 4 started just like the others. Sunny, warm (lows in the mid 70s), and humid. After breakfast, Dad took a run - a few laps around a park close by, and Carl spent some time in the pool. Then we played a set of tennis. Our dive was scheduled for noon.

Speaking of time, everyone down here has a different concept of time. Nobody is in a hurry and there's no such thing as being late. For example, there is a Walgreens across the street with a "One Hour Photo" sign. In Duluth, that would mean that you drop of your film and your pictures are ready in an hour. Here, it means that you stand at the counter for an hour before somebody serves you to tell you that the film machine is broken! It can be frustrating for us impatient Minnesotans, but hey, we're on vacation!

Our dive was scheduled for noon, so we arrive about 12:15 and waited a half hour for everyone else to show up. It was worth the wait, though! Our first dive was at North North Dry Rocks. The North North part is because it's North of North Dry Rocks. The Dry Rocks part is because when the tide is low, the rocks (coral) get exposed to the air and dry out.

We had a great dive! Before we dive, the captain gives us instructions about where to go and what to expect to see. Once we get underwater, we both completely lose our sense of direction within five minutes. So, when our air is about half gone, we surface and spot the boat. We then begin our leisurely return to the ship.

On this dive we saw a monstrous Grouper! They typically hide out under the coral and scoot out to get something to eat. I recall when we were down here four hours ago that we were cautioned that if you have your arms hanging out, a Grouper could come out and inhale your arm. But no worry, they will realize it's not food and release the arm. They must not have sharp teeth. They look kind of like a giant bass, so maybe they have bass-like teeth that are for gripping, not for cutting.

Our second dive was at Horseshoe reef. This dive his known for great coral structure. It was also easy to navigate, because the reef is right next to pure, flat sand. So we swim down the edge of the reef with sand on the right and swim back with sand on the left.

We swam through a couple of small caves and explored the canyons of coral. The captain told us to watch out for schools of minnows and to put our hands in the middle of the minnows. They will act like magnets that repel. They will form a perfect space around your hand and if you move your hand, they will move quickly enough so you never touch a minnow. Sure enough, we saw them and it worked!

At the end of this dive, we saw a scrawled cowfish. Here's what it looks like:

http://reefguide.org/pixhtml/scrawledcowfish5.html

Here's a sample of the kinds of fish that were common on every dive:

http://reefguide.org/carib/index1.html

Incredible!

After our dive, we dropped off our gear at the dive shop and made a quick grocery trip. We finished filling out our dive logs and headed to Senior Frijoles for dinner. There is a Music Festival going on this weekend with live music at several locations. The first musician where we ate wasn't very good. She had a pretty brash-sounding guitar and a so-so voice. Next, a group of three from Nashville played - two girls and a guy. They were much better, so we stayed for a while after finishing our meal of fajitas and enchiladas.

Another full day at the Keys! Now we are done diving and have two days for being tourists. We will likely take a drive to Key West on one of the days. We'd like to try para-sailing on the other.

Day 3: A Three Dive Day

5/21/2011: I guess this day officially started with the midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a good show - I won't spoil it for anyone by telling what happened. But we were up until 2:30 being among the first to watch it.

Friday morning was a lazy time of sleeping in, eating breakfast, sleeping some more, reading, and finally heading for the dock before noon. We stopped at a flea market and vegetable market and got to the dock on time. Unfortunately, nobody else was, and our group of about 15 left the dock quite late - maybe at 1:30 or so.

The first dive was at the same location that Dad, Emily, Abel, and Carl did their first certification dive - the City of Washington shipwreck on Elbow Reef. It's a fun dive among the ship debris (they blew it up after they realized it couldn't be retrieved from the water). The most interesting fish was a very large barracuda that had a fish hook in its mouth. The captain told us before the dive that the fish on this reef are used to being fed by humans, so they are quite tame. Carl and Dad had a face-to-face encounter with this hefty barracuda who we learned has a name: Psycho. Here's a link about the dive site:

http://www.florida-scubadiving.com/florida-scuba-diving-sites/key-largo-diving-sites/city-of-washington/

When the four of us did this dive as our first certification dive four years ago, we were immediately surrounded by sharks when we descended. They were harmless nurse sharks - bottom feeders - but it was very exciting and they were the only sharks I've ever seen on a dive.

Our second dive of the afternoon was on a reef called Key Largo Dry Rocks. This is where the famous Christ of the Abyss statue was placed years ago. The base of the statue weighs 20,000 pounds! We were also warned that the statue is covered with fire coral. Captain Bob warned us that if we touch the statue, we will likely be using the name Jesus in very loud ways. We visited the statue and cruised along the very impressive coral reef that is full of steep walls, canyons, and arches. We weren't disappointed with the marine life either, as we saw a moray eel near the statue, and a sea turtle swimming through one of the canyons. Here's more info about this location:

http://www.seadwellers.com/christstatue.htm

Because of the large group on our boat and the late start, we got back from the afternoon dive about 5:30 and had to be back at the dock at 7:00 for the night dive. So, it was a quick subway sandwich for dinner and a brief rest at the hotel before our night dive.

The night dive was another trip to the City of Washington wreck. Diving at night was a first for both of us, so we didn't quite know what to expect. The basic ideas are: 1) it is dark, 2) everyone has an underwater light, 3) learn a few signals with the light - it's actually easier to communicate with your partner using a light than it is during the day with hand signals, and 4) don't shine the light directly at anybody. We tagged along on the dive with a group that was taking a class, so the instructor pointed out some very interesting marine life - several moray eels, a few lobster, a very large crab, and a "lump fish" that looked exactly like a rock, except it had eyes.

Almost as good as the dive was the boat ride home. There are lots of phosphorescent forms of marine life - algae, coral, etc. There were greenish lights everywhere in the water. One of the instructors told us that in August when the coral are spawning, you almost don't need a light on a night dive.

It was quite an experience! So great, in fact, that we celebrated by purchasing a whole key lime pie (kind of the same color as the phosphorescent coral) on the way home and consuming half of it in the first half hour. The rest is for tomorrow! It's nice to have a fridge in the hotel room!

Now it's time for bed. Saturday is our last diving day, with an afternoon trip awaiting us.

Day 2: Our First Dive!

5/19/2011: We were up bright and early about 7am. After a quick continental breakfast, it was off to the dock to meet the dive boat. One gets the impression that not many folks around here are morning people. The hotel breakfast starts at 7:30, and I don't think anybody (except us two Minnesotans) was on time for the dive trip. But, that's OK! We are on vacation!

The dive trip started with a 45 minute boat ride to the Carysfort lighthouse. See below for information on this reef and lighthouse. It's supposed to be the most pristine reef in the Keys because it doesn't get a lot of diving pressure.

http://www.florida-scubadiving.com/florida-scuba-diving-sites/key-largo-diving-sites/carysfort-lighthouse/

The first dive was right by the lighthouse on Carysfort Reef. It was a shallow dive of about 20 feet. Beautiful coral, lots of fish, and a slight current. We didn't sight anything spectacular, but there are apparently sea turtles in the area right now as well as dolphins. The barracudas act like they are afraid of nothing, including us! It would be a little more reassuring if they would at least swim away when we approached! Apparently they can attack shiny jewlery, so it's best not to draw attention to oneself!

The second dive was a couple miles away at Carysfort South. This reef has much more structure. Huge domes of brain coral, canals and arches were common. When we first descended, we landed right on top (almost) of two spotted eagle rays. Fantastic creatures! We later saw one that must have been 12 feet long!

Carl must have had a faulty tank, because he ran out of air very early, so we snorkled for a while as we waited for the others to surface. Other than us, there were two couples on the boat, plus Captain Bob.

On the way back, we saw flying fish scooting through the air. Fantastic little fish! They can stay airborn for many yards, it seems. We wondered if they were fleeing predators, or just having fun.

After our dive, we stopped at the dive shop to get a replacement strap for Dad's fin and we got some groceries. Then it was off to Pennenkamp State Park to hike the Mangrove Trail, visit the visitor's center, and look over the beaches, marina, and dive shop. Mangroves are pretty amazing trees. They grow in saltwater and help to prevent erosion on the shores. They have a fantastic network of roots and branches and their seeds look like acorns with a bean sticking out of them. Three is supposed to be a Golden Silk Spider lurking about the mangrove trees, but we couldn't find any. I don't think Carl really wanted to!

We played two sets of tennis under the lights at the park. It was fun, but not real easy to see. At least that was Dad's excuse for not being able to return many of Carl's serves.

Day 1: Travel To The Keys

5/18/2011: Our mission is to dive in Key Largo in the Florida keys and return home safely. We will fly to Miami, rent a car, drive to the Keys, and stay for six nights.

This busy travel day started at 3:30 am. Carl asked about the alarm volume. He wanted to know if toning it down might be an option. He said he felt like he'd been accosted! And he was sleeping in the room next door!

We left the house at 4am after a quick breakfast. Carl drove his Neon so we would get decent gas mileage, and so his sleepy dad could snooze on the way. We made it to the Park-N-Go just in time to catch a shuttle to the airport for our flight. When we arrived at our gate, they were just finishing boarding the flight. Our timing couldn't have been better!

The 3.5 hour flight was uneventful. We both got some good reading in and were in Miami before we knew it. National Rental provided our car. Though we had reserved a compact, they were all out and gave us a nice Dodge Grand Caravan for our week's transportation.

After a few wrong turns, we found our way south to the Florida Keys. We stopped for Lunch in Florida City at an Olive Garden - all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks for 6.99. Much less than the same meal in Duluth!

When we got to Key Largo, we stopped at the dive shop and picked up our gear. The dive boat leaves at 8am on Thursday morning. Yay! We lounged around the hotel and took a walk to Walgreens across the street. There is a boat landing at the hotel and a very small man-made beach. This is on the bay side of the keys, not the ocean side. Hence the name, Bayside Inn.

When it cooled off, we went to play tennis. Fortunately, we have courts just a couple blocks away and they are lighted. They are in a very nice city park with baseball, volleyball, handball, and playground space. We played a set and then it was time to get home and hit the sack. Very hot and humid weather!