Today we were signed up for an action packed day of fun in the sun! The previous day we had signed our lives away, along with all our legal rights to sue, so that we could spend the day out on the water on a 65 ft. sailing catamaran! This of course was only the tip of the iceberg, but we shall save all the details as the day unfolds. We had to wake up relatively early because we had to be at the docks by 9:30 a.m. to check in. By the time we tore down camp, both showered, and found a free parking spot to park the van for the day, we were all set for our day on the water... or so we thought. Katie, in her ernest, forgot to grab her drivers license from the car, which was a good 15 minute walk away from the dock. Of course she did not realize this until we were done filling out all of our paperwork and were preparing to board the ship. Needless to say, she ran back to the car to grab it while I anxiously waited, hoping and praying she could find her way there and back without taking too many detours. Right as the captain called for everyone to board the boat, Katie strolled up, panting a little, but license in hand. We boarded the boat and set sail toward the Gulf of Mexico. We had about an hour ride to our first destination. During the time the crew served up a decent breakfast consisting mostly of things which normally fill up the lobby at the local Holiday Inn. After about 45 minutes of soaking up the sun on the boats top deck, the captain began to brief us for our first activity: snorkeling. We went through the usual motions about how to use your mask and a few emergency signals and before we knew it we were anchored and ready to get into the water. Katie and I were the first ones to jump in out of the 83 guests on the boat that day and as it turned out we were the last to get back on. Even before we jumped in, we could see from the side of the boat, schools of yellowtail snapper swimming under and around the boat. This of course excited us and we could not wait to swim closer to the third largest reef in the world and see what it had to offer. The reef structure has giant fingers of coral that jut out into the ocean. In between the fingers the water is about 10 to 20 feet deep while on top of the coral it is only about 1 to 2 feet deep. Because of this, the basic idea when navigating the coral for both our safety and the coral's is to swim up and down the edges where you can see all the wildlife but still have water underneath you to swim. Katie and I being the first ones to get into the water had nothing but blue ocean in front of us as we headed for the reef. The water was so intensely bright blue and the sand so white that until we got closer to the reef it felt and looked like we were floating in an endless blue abyss. As we approached the coral, shapes started to appear out of the nothingness. They were blue, almost undetectable except for the sheen that reflected from their silver sides, that and their large, dark eyes. Katie and I had swam right into a school of barracuda! Before I knew it, we were surrounded, not that the barracuda were moving, quite the opposite. Their stillness and camouflage had allowed us to swim amongst them without even realizing it. Our eyes had been strained toward the elusive ocean floor trying to detect some kind of life, but now we had unexpectedly found it, and it was not at all what we were looking for. Luckily Katie had no idea what kind of fish they were so she was not the least bit worried. I on the other hand though outwardly keeping calm, suspecting correctly that Katie did not understand the situation, was freaking out in my head. One of the last things the captain said before we got into the water was that we would see fish that bite, but as long as we didn't bite them, we would be fine. Though at the time I took this for simple workday humor from our captain who did this everyday, now I did everything I could to keep my swimming from looking like an aggressive attack. As I mentioned, we were literally surrounded, and narrowly escaped their nets, having to swim within a couple feet of them to get out. With these predators behind us we could now see the reef ahead. As we swam closer to the living structure we saw one exotic fish after another, the colors and species too bountiful and extraordinary to recount them all here. It is not something that the mind can believe through the description of words but must be experienced first hand by the senses. As we swam about in the paradise the barracuda were always looming on the outskirts of the reef and every once in a while when we would follow some fascinating fish a little too far, we would again see them on the edge of sight. It was after one such encounter that as Katie and I were retreating from the realm of the barracuda back towards the reef that a 12 ft. shark swam right underneath us! We were both more excited by this newcomer than frightened by it. It was swimming at a much faster pace than we were and within moments it was beyond our sight. We popped up to the surface to talk about seeing the shark both extremely excited about the situation. On the top of the water we saw that many of the people snorkeling were merely wading on top of the water, not even looking under it. The ladies near us who were spending their time away from their husbands gossiping in the water were more than a little flustered to overhear Katie and I talking about the shark we had just seen and quickly began to make their way back to the boat. We spent the rest of our hour out in the water amid the splendors of the sea, though we did not see anything more exciting than the barracuda and the shark, we were more than content by the time the captain sounded the horn and we were forced to get back on the boat. After all the excitement in the water and our beautiful morning out at sea, we both felt like we had gotten our money's worth, even though we weren't even halfway through the day. Next on our mapped out agenda was another hour long boat ride back into the Atlantic Ocean where we would be spending the rest of our day. Of course, along the way they again broke out the food and drink and served us lunch as we headed back. The whole time we were in transit the speakers blared out island tunes making us truly appreciate the music the way it was meant to be enjoyed. After another hour of sailing we pulled into our second, and last stop, a barge anchored out in the middle of the ocean, about 3 miles off shore from Key West. Tied to the barge were 3 giant inflatable water toys: a trampoline, a rock climbing wall, and a huge ball with a ring around it appropriately called Saturn. For the next 4 hours we not only got to play in the water with all these fun ocean novelties, but also had free reign of ocean kayak's, jet ski's, parasailing, and lets not forget, an open bar. By the luck of the draw, we were forced to explore the water toys first while we waited for the jet ski's and parasailing boats to free up. We immediately jumped in the crystal clear water and swam toward the trampoline. It was pretty hard to pull yourself up out of the water onto the trampoline and since the best part of having a trampoline in the middle of the ocean is jumping off, this proved to be a tiring process. Katie especially was not a fan and soon we moved on to the rock wall, which of course, would prove no better for Katie. After I climbed to the top a few times and jumped off, we headed back to the barge to wait on our parasailing boat. One soon came and we hopped in a boat with about 10 people and before we knew it we were strapped in and ready to fly. I had parasailed once before when my family took a cruise when I was younger, and I knew that it wasn't as scary as your own fears can make it, but Katie, having never done it before, was a little nervous. I told the driver to be sure to dunk us in the water a few times, then the parachute was loosed and we were flung back off the boat. We bobbed in and out of the water a few times and then suddenly took to the sky with considerable speed. While serenely hanging in our lofty position, admiring the tropic paradise below us, I noticed that one of the anklets that Katie had made for me while we still lived in Chicago had broken and was only still on my leg because it was wrapped around a similar anklet. Appreciating the good luck that is inherent with bracelets falling off of their own accord, I decided to take this opportunity to part with this charm and let if fall into the ocean. Soon we were drawn in to the boat and our time in the sky was at its end. Next on the agenda was the jet ski's. I was more than comfortable on these since I grew up riding one at our cottage in Canada. Again, it was a first for Katie, who was doubtful that I could be trusted in control of an object that I could fling her into the water with at any moment. It took a few minutes for Katie to be comfortable and lean with me into the turns but she got the hang of it quick enough. Soon I was able to attempt 360's without much success and much to the dismay of Katie who would scream in my ear each time I tried. Our 20 minutes of jet skiing was over before we knew it and we were back on the boat where the music was blaring loudly and drinks were being served free of charge as we headed slowly back to shore. As we docked the crew filled our glasses to the brim, not a concern since Key West is yet another delightful city where you can drink on the streets. After walking back to the car to change into our evening attire, we decided to grab a snack while we waited for our evening trip to begin. Luckily, right near the dock, there was a restaurant with an amazing open air bar that suited our needs nicely. While we dined on an appetizer an waited for our Sunset Cruise to commence, I took the opportunity to call some friends up north in Chicago and Detroit to tell them about our amazing day in the splendid sun of Key West while they simultaneously were enduring day 5 of continuous snowfall. The time understandably flew by and before we knew it, it was time to board our ship again. The drinks were still flowing like the water around us, dinner appetizers were now set at the table, and a live band had set up shop at the front of the boat. We sailed for about a half hour as the sun steadily approached the horizon. Once we were far enough away from shore and the other boats, we dropped anchor and sat in the bay until the sun melted into the sea. The band stopped playing and everyone crowded on the bow of the boat to get a better view. The silence set the stage, and in true story book fashion, a sail boat crossed the path of the setting sun just as it hit the water; a perfect ending to a perfect day. The sun now gone, the darkness of the night began to take over. The band hit the stage with renewed energy and we dance for what seemed like hours out in the ocean. Eventually we set sail again and headed into port. Katie and I bid farewell to the captain and crew that had served us so well and stopped for a proper meal at a Thai restaurant on the way back to the van. In the wee hours of the night we unceremoniously left key by key behind us as we headed back to the Florida mainland were we again spent the night under the comforting glow of the Homestead Walmart's buzzing sign.
Today we were signed up for an action packed day of fun in the sun! The previous day we had signed our lives away, along with all our legal rights to sue, so that we could spend the day out on the water on a 65 ft. sailing catamaran! This of course was only the tip of the iceberg, but we shall save all the details as the day unfolds. We had to wake up relatively early because we had to be at the docks by 9:30 a.m. to check in. By the time we tore down camp, both showered, and found a free parking spot to park the van for the day, we were all set for our day on the water... or so we thought. Katie, in her ernest, forgot to grab her drivers license from the car, which was a good 15 minute walk away from the dock. Of course she did not realize this until we were done filling out all of our paperwork and were preparing to board the ship. Needless to say, she ran back to the car to grab it while I anxiously waited, hoping and praying she could find her way there and back without taking too many detours. Right as the captain called for everyone to board the boat, Katie strolled up, panting a little, but license in hand. We boarded the boat and set sail toward the Gulf of Mexico. We had about an hour ride to our first destination. During the time the crew served up a decent breakfast consisting mostly of things which normally fill up the lobby at the local Holiday Inn. After about 45 minutes of soaking up the sun on the boats top deck, the captain began to brief us for our first activity: snorkeling. We went through the usual motions about how to use your mask and a few emergency signals and before we knew it we were anchored and ready to get into the water. Katie and I were the first ones to jump in out of the 83 guests on the boat that day and as it turned out we were the last to get back on. Even before we jumped in, we could see from the side of the boat, schools of yellowtail snapper swimming under and around the boat. This of course excited us and we could not wait to swim closer to the third largest reef in the world and see what it had to offer. The reef structure has giant fingers of coral that jut out into the ocean. In between the fingers the water is about 10 to 20 feet deep while on top of the coral it is only about 1 to 2 feet deep. Because of this, the basic idea when navigating the coral for both our safety and the coral's is to swim up and down the edges where you can see all the wildlife but still have water underneath you to swim. Katie and I being the first ones to get into the water had nothing but blue ocean in front of us as we headed for the reef. The water was so intensely bright blue and the sand so white that until we got closer to the reef it felt and looked like we were floating in an endless blue abyss. As we approached the coral, shapes started to appear out of the nothingness. They were blue, almost undetectable except for the sheen that reflected from their silver sides, that and their large, dark eyes. Katie and I had swam right into a school of barracuda! Before I knew it, we were surrounded, not that the barracuda were moving, quite the opposite. Their stillness and camouflage had allowed us to swim amongst them without even realizing it. Our eyes had been strained toward the elusive ocean floor trying to detect some kind of life, but now we had unexpectedly found it, and it was not at all what we were looking for. Luckily Katie had no idea what kind of fish they were so she was not the least bit worried. I on the other hand though outwardly keeping calm, suspecting correctly that Katie did not understand the situation, was freaking out in my head. One of the last things the captain said before we got into the water was that we would see fish that bite, but as long as we didn't bite them, we would be fine. Though at the time I took this for simple workday humor from our captain who did this everyday, now I did everything I could to keep my swimming from looking like an aggressive attack. As I mentioned, we were literally surrounded, and narrowly escaped their nets, having to swim within a couple feet of them to get out. With these predators behind us we could now see the reef ahead. As we swam closer to the living structure we saw one exotic fish after another, the colors and species too bountiful and extraordinary to recount them all here. It is not something that the mind can believe through the description of words but must be experienced first hand by the senses. As we swam about in the paradise the barracuda were always looming on the outskirts of the reef and every once in a while when we would follow some fascinating fish a little too far, we would again see them on the edge of sight. It was after one such encounter that as Katie and I were retreating from the realm of the barracuda back towards the reef that a 12 ft. shark swam right underneath us! We were both more excited by this newcomer than frightened by it. It was swimming at a much faster pace than we were and within moments it was beyond our sight. We popped up to the surface to talk about seeing the shark both extremely excited about the situation. On the top of the water we saw that many of the people snorkeling were merely wading on top of the water, not even looking under it. The ladies near us who were spending their time away from their husbands gossiping in the water were more than a little flustered to overhear Katie and I talking about the shark we had just seen and quickly began to make their way back to the boat. We spent the rest of our hour out in the water amid the splendors of the sea, though we did not see anything more exciting than the barracuda and the shark, we were more than content by the time the captain sounded the horn and we were forced to get back on the boat. After all the excitement in the water and our beautiful morning out at sea, we both felt like we had gotten our money's worth, even though we weren't even halfway through the day. Next on our mapped out agenda was another hour long boat ride back into the Atlantic Ocean where we would be spending the rest of our day. Of course, along the way they again broke out the food and drink and served us lunch as we headed back. The whole time we were in transit the speakers blared out island tunes making us truly appreciate the music the way it was meant to be enjoyed. After another hour of sailing we pulled into our second, and last stop, a barge anchored out in the middle of the ocean, about 3 miles off shore from Key West. Tied to the barge were 3 giant inflatable water toys: a trampoline, a rock climbing wall, and a huge ball with a ring around it appropriately called Saturn. For the next 4 hours we not only got to play in the water with all these fun ocean novelties, but also had free reign of ocean kayak's, jet ski's, parasailing, and lets not forget, an open bar. By the luck of the draw, we were forced to explore the water toys first while we waited for the jet ski's and parasailing boats to free up. We immediately jumped in the crystal clear water and swam toward the trampoline. It was pretty hard to pull yourself up out of the water onto the trampoline and since the best part of having a trampoline in the middle of the ocean is jumping off, this proved to be a tiring process. Katie especially was not a fan and soon we moved on to the rock wall, which of course, would prove no better for Katie. After I climbed to the top a few times and jumped off, we headed back to the barge to wait on our parasailing boat. One soon came and we hopped in a boat with about 10 people and before we knew it we were strapped in and ready to fly. I had parasailed once before when my family took a cruise when I was younger, and I knew that it wasn't as scary as your own fears can make it, but Katie, having never done it before, was a little nervous. I told the driver to be sure to dunk us in the water a few times, then the parachute was loosed and we were flung back off the boat. We bobbed in and out of the water a few times and then suddenly took to the sky with considerable speed. While serenely hanging in our lofty position, admiring the tropic paradise below us, I noticed that one of the anklets that Katie had made for me while we still lived in Chicago had broken and was only still on my leg because it was wrapped around a similar anklet. Appreciating the good luck that is inherent with bracelets falling off of their own accord, I decided to take this opportunity to part with this charm and let if fall into the ocean. Soon we were drawn in to the boat and our time in the sky was at its end. Next on the agenda was the jet ski's. I was more than comfortable on these since I grew up riding one at our cottage in Canada. Again, it was a first for Katie, who was doubtful that I could be trusted in control of an object that I could fling her into the water with at any moment. It took a few minutes for Katie to be comfortable and lean with me into the turns but she got the hang of it quick enough. Soon I was able to attempt 360's without much success and much to the dismay of Katie who would scream in my ear each time I tried. Our 20 minutes of jet skiing was over before we knew it and we were back on the boat where the music was blaring loudly and drinks were being served free of charge as we headed slowly back to shore. As we docked the crew filled our glasses to the brim, not a concern since Key West is yet another delightful city where you can drink on the streets. After walking back to the car to change into our evening attire, we decided to grab a snack while we waited for our evening trip to begin. Luckily, right near the dock, there was a restaurant with an amazing open air bar that suited our needs nicely. While we dined on an appetizer an waited for our Sunset Cruise to commence, I took the opportunity to call some friends up north in Chicago and Detroit to tell them about our amazing day in the splendid sun of Key West while they simultaneously were enduring day 5 of continuous snowfall. The time understandably flew by and before we knew it, it was time to board our ship again. The drinks were still flowing like the water around us, dinner appetizers were now set at the table, and a live band had set up shop at the front of the boat. We sailed for about a half hour as the sun steadily approached the horizon. Once we were far enough away from shore and the other boats, we dropped anchor and sat in the bay until the sun melted into the sea. The band stopped playing and everyone crowded on the bow of the boat to get a better view. The silence set the stage, and in true story book fashion, a sail boat crossed the path of the setting sun just as it hit the water; a perfect ending to a perfect day. The sun now gone, the darkness of the night began to take over. The band hit the stage with renewed energy and we dance for what seemed like hours out in the ocean. Eventually we set sail again and headed into port. Katie and I bid farewell to the captain and crew that had served us so well and stopped for a proper meal at a Thai restaurant on the way back to the van. In the wee hours of the night we unceremoniously left key by key behind us as we headed back to the Florida mainland were we again spent the night under the comforting glow of the Homestead Walmart's buzzing sign.
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