Sunday, July 19

Get Down!

The crust on my eyelids had barely formed by the time my alarm went off in the morning. I packed up the car and headed off for the dive shop! Mingo Cay and Congo Cay were the two dive destinations of the morning and I had a fantastic time! Dropping down below the boat and starting the dive with the divemaster, Forest, we started out right away with great viz and three small reef squid floating above a section of the reef. Reef Squid are on the verge of becoming my new favorite reef sighting. Undulating in the water column, they change colors and camouflage themselves with the surrounding area. At the end of the first dive, I practiced, after a short bit of instruction, blowing bubble rings. Sort of like smoke rings with cigarettes, you can blow bubble rings with scuba gear. At 11 feet, I sat on the bottom for a good five minutes trying my best to create a bubble ring. My first try, success! The tricky part is getting the bubbles to form concentric bubble rings. I will have to practice some more.

After the diving and hauling tanks, I set off with my newly purchased wallet (compliments of an awesome tip for the day). Keith's was the place to be once again. We all walked over to Cinnamon Bay and enjoyed a nice swim in the ocean. On the way back, we were slammed by an intense isolated thunderstorm. Lauran was walking across a rock as a gust of wind hit us. If I hadn't known any better, I would describe Lauran as trying to surf across the rocks. We snuck into the vegetation, hid from the storm, waited it out, and then went along the trail again once the storm quieted down for a little bit. By evening, I had a few traces of sunburn.

The evening included fresh coconut, a result of Breslin's hard work in cracking the coconut. There is nothing tastier than a coconut peeled apart by a good friend and mixed into a pina colada. Lauran and I enjoyed a few sips of the pina colada while watching The Dark Knight in blu-ray on Breslin's awesome flat screen. I had not yet seen the movie before today and... wow! What an amazing movie! Heath Ledger is fantastic as the Joker. After the movie, there was a delicious gourmet dinner of capanada, drunken marinara sauce over pasta, and garlic bread with freshly grated parmesean and peppers. It packed some heat and it was delicious. There's rumors of an eggplant pizza in the future.

Dessert: there are two “s” because I always want seconds. That's my mnemonic device. Ice cream and hot fudge. The ice cream here on the island is like nowhere else. Oh wait, never mind, it's like being in a microwave. Within ten minutes, it gets soupy. It's like waiting an hour, in ten minutes. It was a happy moment to have a big bowl of ice cream after a day of diving, the beach, dinner, and a great movie.

Next weekend, I am going on a sailboat! That's right! On Saturdays, in Coral Bay, they have a program for St. Johnian kids to learn how to sail. Volunteers are always needed. I'm excited to help out some kids with an amazing activity!

On Sunday (the 26th), it's time for a Beach Party!!!!! To celebrate my birthday, we're going to have a huge brunch and beach party. Should be fantastic- I can't wait for real breakfast food, mimosas, and Keith's strata!