We woke up at around 5:30 a.m. and headed out around 6:15 a.m. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Key Largo and we had to be at the snorkeling center by 8:30 a.m.
But, early as it was, it was nice. We got to see the sun rise.
Riding past the Everglades. We did those up Wednesday.
So we arrive in Key Largo (the "key" closest to the mainland) and got all checked in.
***Shit, I'm short.***
Then we made our way over to the water. We waited around for a few minutes with a couple of girls that were taking the trip too. And they happened to be German. How insane is that? Of all the people in the world. Ha. They were very nice (and took the pic below for us) but it kinda felt like WWII all over again.
One of the girls, however, admitted that she was prone to seasickness, even before we left. It was pretty brave of her to give it a go. I certainly wouldn't if I was got sick on boats. (And apparently, I do.)
I asked Ineke on the way out if she had ever been ... hadn't and neither had I. Of course, the boys have never been - we figured we were fine.
We first stopped at a location fairly close to the shore but the snorkeling coach told us the visibility was really low there. Instead, we hauled arse out to another site - the Molasses Reef - which is a really popular dive spot (and pretty friggin far out there).
We all enjoyed the ride (except for the German girl, who was already hanging over the side of the boat).
We stopped, put on our equipment and hopped on in the water. Immediately, Ineke and I were overcome by anxiety -and general terror. I mean there were fishes EVERYWHERE. Apparently the fish weren't given the same instructions that we were ... "do not touch anything." They were ALL over us. Ineke got freaked out (me too really) so the dive coach gave her a floaty to hang onto.
But once we got into it we calmed down a bit and were able to look around. I got Tijl and Ineke's underwater cam and started snapping pics (those aren't developed yet) but here's another pic of the reef.
It was really beautiful.
So we swam around and looked at the fish. The snorkeling instructor kept pointing out jelly fish that were nearby (I nearly had a panic attack every time he did that). Ineke started feeling claustrophobic so she got out. I inherited her floaty, dodging jelly fish all the time. I did see a turtle which was pretty sweet.
But then I started to feel a REALLY anxious myself then crawled back on board. (The German girl never got into the water).
This would be when Ineke and I were bitch slapped by le ocean. We were sitting there just bouncing up and down and up and down. And up ... and down.
This would be when Ineke and I were bitch slapped by le ocean. We were sitting there just bouncing up and down and up and down. And up ... and down.
I managed to keep it together until we started back toward the shore. That's when I leaned over the boat and fed the fish. Ugh. I was SO sick. But as soon as I let it fly ... I was fine. Ine didn't feel better until we were back on land. No fun.
The sick German girl is in the red on the right.
It was also on the way back that I learned an interesting tidbit about my swimsuit. The snorkeling coach sits down next to me and says "when we get back, you need to go buy a whole lot of lottery tickets." Why is that? Because "you're swimsuit is blue with white polka dots." True. "Do you know what else is blue with white polka dots." Um no. "A spotted eagle ray." And. "Spotted eagle rays are the favorite food of hammer head sharks." F-me-running. My blood turned to ice.
Cause now that you make the comparison ... I did look like JUST an ol' spotted ray aka shark noms. Sweet Jesus.
I took homeboy's advice. I bought all of us tickets. Sadly, we didn't win.
I guess I used up all my luck avoiding being a shark snack. That's cool. I will take not being eaten over money any day. We all got changed and drove up to Coconut Grove. We stopped at the CocoWalk to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
We ate some good food and caught this weirdo bitch smearing pieces of her meal all over the pages of a journal.
Like ... what. the. fuck, lady?
Then we walked over to Duffy's for drinks and to take in some awesome American football. College football, of course.
We left the Grove and went back to the apartment to chill. Josh took a nap and Tijl played on the iPad while Ine and I took in some girl hot tub time. Later, we went out to Brother Jimmy's for dinner. Cornbread, ribs, collards, black eyed peas, mac and cheese (yes, it's a vegetable). How does it get any better? Answer: It doesn't (well unless it was from the Good to Go, then it would have been THE BEST).
Watching MORE football!
It was a full day. And we had a blast, despite being sick and nearly eaten at sea.
Great night, though.
Up next: Their first NFL football game!
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