Scuba Day

IMG_0364, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Why interrupt a tradition on my blog?

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday Bill Paxton
Happy birthday to you!

James Lileks is vacation blogging, too; his entries are about his family's trip to DisneyWorld. I see he gets the same feelings I get whenever I encounter the House of Mouse: cynicism at war with the inner 5-year old who is genuinely getting a kick out of everything. Me, I can't wait to take Brenden.

Trip Report: May 6,7 Cinnamon Bay and Low-Key
We went to Cinnamon Bay again, except this time we did it right and left the condo early. Brenden felt more comfortable with the ocean and I felt more comfortable snorkeling. I sat in the water with B and we 'dug for treasure' - there's a line of coarser material about 2 feet into the water that includes small bits of broken coral, shells, and rocks. I'd dump some of this into B's toy sieve and pan through it in the water until the big stuff remained. Brenden was fascinated by the little bits and pieces left over; occasionally we'd find a larger shell that way.



The next day was the big day - we were going to go scuba diving. I had called a place recommended on various message boards. By the way, how can you trust info you get from a message board? Leave a message with the word "1337" in it and see how many responses you get that say "what the hell does that mean?" The more confusion, the more trustworthy the source.



Anyway, I called Christy's of St. John, and they recommended a babysitter. Tamisha is a very nice young lady who was shy with us but she and Brenden got along just fine. She watched him for the morning while Jon and I loaded up for some scuba diving with Low-Key Watersports, a company we have dived with both times we have been to St. John. I had wanted to try a company that dealt with smaller groups, but Jon wanted to stay with Low-Key. Overall, the dives were nice, but it was somewhat of a cattle boat. I hope next time we can try the other company.



Still, the first dive at Calf Rock was rough - I hadn't dived since Costa Rica and it took me a while to get used to the environment again. The second dive at Little St. James was much better although when I got out of the water I was shivering. The water temp was 82 and I only wore my rash guard over my bathing suit. Next time I'll wear a shorty, and I won't let 2 1/2 years go by before I dive again.



I did have a good time. I saw all kinds of nifty creatures, including an eel, pretty fish, a big honking barracuda, several rays, and the spider-thingy above. Our dive guide pulled it out of a hole and put it on my hand. I'm glad I don't have bug phobias. I still wonder what it is (I have identification books. I'll need to peruse them).

I also got to see one of my favorite types of little fishies: I looked them up once but I can't remember their official name. I call them "disco fish". These pretty, shy little fellas live in holes in the ocean bottom. They never go far from their holes, and the effort it takes to stay near their holes makes them look like their dancing. This photo doesn't do their coloring justice: their hues are almost neon. Hence the 'disco'.



Both days ended with trips to the pool. Brenden could never get enough of the pool.