Key Largo, Florida

FYI: I put a ton of detail in these posts (read: they are super duper long) because I like to read back on them - sorry if you get bored!  Ok - ready to "dive" in?  

Jordan and I went on a much-needed vacation during his summer break for the first week of July.  Much-needed because starting on Monday, I'm not going to be seeing a whole lot of Jordan.  He's going to be busy with the Psychiatric Institute and his second year of medical school, which will be WAY more intense than the first year.  I amazingly got over a week off for vacation, and we left for Miami via plane on July 3.  I got about 4 hours of sleep but was so excited and happy when I woke up at 4 AM because this is the very first vacation that Jordan and I have paid for by ourselves!  I know, we tend to mooch off our families - no longer.  Now that I'm earning a steady income, I am glad to say that we can actually pay for things ourselves.  Haha!  

Day One: We flew from Richmond at 7:00 AM to Charlotte, then from Charlotte to Miami.  The flights were uneventful and easy.  We got in around 12 noon, and went immediately to our rental car agency.  I was so glad that I had done almost all of our booking online.  It made transactions smooth!  One note about Miami - almost all the freeways are toll roads, which DON'T take cash or credit/debit.  You have to buy a SunPass or EPass to pay the tolls.  We drove our little red Chevy to Target so Jordan could buy some decent flip-flops and then we went to Burger King for lunch.  Experienced a bit of the Miami traffic.  Lets just say that Miami drivers have won the "Meanest Drivers in the Country" contest three years in a row!  People were insane, cutting you off, running red lights, honking their horns like crazy.  Nothing like the pleasant, laid back drivers of Virginia.  We drove down Highway 1 for about an hour through the Everglades and then onto the scenic strip of land/highway connecting all the Florida Keys to the mainland!  It was beautiful.

We stayed at the Dove Creek Lodge, a small hotel with only about 12 bedrooms.  It was right on the water, with it’s own marina.  Even though it was small, it was beautiful, quiet, and well-maintained.  They served fresh fruit with breakfast every morning, and had a hammock (which someone broke halfway through our stay) pool, cushioned swinging seat, and multiple beach chairs.  There wasn’t really a beach because of the rocky nature of the coast and the mangroves growing along the edge, but we were able to enjoy the outdoors nonetheless.

We decided to just relax when we got to the hotel.  Took about a 2 hour nap :) and then went to get some dinner.  We watched “Up” that night and went to sleep to gear up for the 4^th of July.

Day Two: We woke up pretty early to get ready to go SCUBA DIVING!!!  I was so pumped.  This was the thing I was most anticipating the whole trip.  Now, for those who don’t know me, I am very scared of deep water.  The reason I wanted to go scuba diving was to prove that I could overcome my fear.  Unfortunately, we didn’t buy a waterproof camera, so no pictures.  The company we went through is called Scuba Do Dive Company.  They were awesome; very patient and knowledgeable about all the ins and outs!  We had a pool session where we learned to use all the equipment and how to communicate underwater.  The pool session was great.  I was sure I could do this. 

We had a little break so we relaxed at the hotel and then drove through the awful, 10 feet per minute traffic that occurred after the 4^th of July Parade.  Once through, we got some delicious, delicious lunch at a place called Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen.  Seriously, if you go to Key Largo, you NEED to eat here.  They have the most amazing Key Lime Pie ever. :P

Then we met our instructor and ship crew at the dock.  We only had eight people diving total, including the instructor.  This was great, because we would have individualized attention. 

Short story: we got massively seasick.  I was sad. :(

Long story!!: They drove the ship about 5 miles out from the coast.  On the way there, the instructor asked Jordan and I if we ever get seasick.  I thought, “Psh!  No, never!”  I consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach, because of all the boating my family did when I was little at Lake Powell and how I’m able to handle the craziest roller-coasters.  Jordan told him that he didn’t get seasick either.  Then the instructor told us that if we feel the need to throw up, to throw up into the regulator (the thing that you breathe with).  Sick, sick, sick.  At this point, the sea was a bit choppy with 4-5 foot waves, and we stopped at our first dive site in Molasses Reef.  Time to put our gear on! 

I think I was the most freaked out diver there, but I just kept reminding myself to breathe.  Dive tanks hold about 3000 PSI of oxygen.  Usually, you just breathe normally like up above the ocean, but I was hyperventilating the whole time, so I only had about 400 PSI of oxygen left.  The dive was cool.  We saw lots of fish, some neat brain coral, a nurse shark, and tall coral.  I felt so stupid sometimes down there because I kept getting water in my mask and I kept floating up to the surface!  I couldn’t get down near the bottom to save my life!  Then the instructor took pity on me and deflated my vest a little bit so I could sink.  He couldn’t help me with the mask though.  Now, I wear hard contacts, and I’ve always been really freaked out by stuff touching my eyes, water included.  I had to blow the water out of my mask every couple minutes.  I think water kept leaking in because of my nose, to be honest.  My nose is weirdly shaped, so I think I didn’t have a great seal on my mask because of that, hence the water leaking in.  We were in 20 feet deep water, and I kept forgetting to pop them or couldn’t pop them.  They really hurt!  Toward the end of the dive, I was ready to get back on the ship.  Jordan, unfortunately, felt nauseated at the very end, and had to throw up three times in his regulator L  I felt so bad for him. 

Once back on the ship, we all got situated and Jordan and I were both feeling sick.  I was dumbfounded.  I never get seasick!  The captain then drove us to our second dive site and I was definitely feeling more comfortable on the boat than in the water, although still nauseated.  Everyone else went for the dive except us and the two captains.  Basically, Jordan got sick several more times and I got sick as well.  It was not fun.  We were essentially nauseated until we stepped off the boat and hit the concrete!  We went back to the hotel and took some serious naps! 

I was so excited for dinner.  We went to Sundowners on the Bay, a great restaurant in Key Largo known for their “catch of the day” fish and the awesome view of the bay where they do fireworks every year!  We were literally sitting right in front of the fireworks!  It was incredible :) The only downside was that we had to wait for our food for a long time (because they were PACKED to the brim with people) and the fireworks didn’t start until 10 PM.  It was worth the wait though.  As you can see in this picture, there were hundreds of boats (seriously) in the bay, waiting to watch the fireworks!

The next morning we just relaxed, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, and drove up to Miami!  Now you get to hear from Jordan, and stop from my incessant details.  I know you love me :)