More Scuba...

Sunday, June 15^th, 2008: We headed to Pompano at about 8:30 AM for our ocean dive. Being a Sunday we listened to Ravi Zacharias for "church". The trip was good and we got to the dock on time. We wolfed down some lunch from a cheesy Deli/Bait Shop. We then got our gear and found a spot in the shade on the boat. We had a full boat – 28 in all. We headed out Hillsborough Inlet and then south to the reef. We tied up to one of the many buoys, all in a line across the length of the reef.

When we finally got in the water the visibility was great – the water was warm but not hot – and the reef was teaming with fish of every size and color. We went down to 30 ft. Again, it was a remarkable experience! Weightless and so close to so many fish. Puffer fish, angel fish, coral formations - it was like swimming in a National Geographic special! My favorite part was watching Jonathan having so much fun looking, swimming, breathing underwater! We both came up after 40+ minutes so thrilled with the experience.

We then moved to the wreck of the S.S. Copenhagen, a cargo ship that wrecked in 1900. The visibility was not as good but we got closer to the reef this time, again staying down 40+ minutes. Jonathan even saw a guppy! We came up excited and exhausted.

When we got to the shore we rinsed and stowed our gear and made the trip home. We called GF & PC and Mom. When we got home Stephen shared his story and Jonathan shared ours. It was a great reunion!

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

We got up early and headed to Williston, Fl, to dive the Blue Grotto, a 100 ft deep spring-fed sinkhole. We were in the second group to dive so we sweated on the dock with all of our gear on. But when we hit the 72 degree water (backwards!) it was absolutely refreshing! We got our equilibrium on a submerged platform and went through our drills. We then descended to "peace rock" at 50' deep. The grotto was dark, but looking back at the sun shining through the blue water was beautiful. Jonathan was scared to go down in the crevices, but he "manned up" and did it.

Catching up – Scuba Redux

Thursday, June 12^th, 2008: Jonathan and I, having taken our scuba classroom sessions went to the YMCA aquatic center to do our first pool dive. The first time we breathed through the regulators underwater was an amazing experience. We went down to the bottom struggling to maintain balance – not too successfully! But there we were – breathing underwater! Our breaths were shallow and the regulators will take some getting used to – but still it was fantastic. We came home so exited – we told Nancy all about it – every bit. Our enthusiasm spilled out all over! We can't wait to go on.