Thursday, August 6

KEEEVVVVVVVIIIIIIIN!

I arrived at the shop at 8:00AM and my day was ROCKING awesome! I walked in and started my first official day at Low Key Watersports. I love it! They are some cool cats and have a fantastic dive operation. I switched into my suit (the official uniform is my bathing suit, of course), slurped down the last few drops of my coffee, and got to work! I will fill out all the necessary paperwork and other forms today. I had a group of certified divers and helped two other folks refresh some of their knowledge and skills. The boat headed off on fairly calm seas and we dropped down on Gringo, halfway between Grass Cay and Mingo Cay. The ledge reef hit sand around 50 feet as we swam along relaxing and enjoying the beautiful sea life. We turned around after about 20-30 minutes of going against the current and made our way back to the boat, choosing slightly higher ground to alternate the scenery. I saw a pile of three conch almost fully out of their shells. They could have been mating or just having a G-rated party, I can't be sure. I saw some eel, more fish, a schoolbushfish (which I got guff about, because apparently, the choolbus fish is not a well-known fish...). I will have to reopen the reef fish guide book and prove that the fish really exists, else I will have folks tease me about the fish they think I've fabricated. The second dive was abundant and explosive with viewings of amazing creatures and fish. I saw a spotted eel completely out in the open, swirling around along soft and hard corals. There was the obligatory HUGE lobster, many arrowhead (I went to pick one up and a large eel came after my finger-tips!). As soon as I saw the eel, during my attempt to pick up a shrimp, I retracted my arm as if it were spring loaded. No shrimp for me, thanks. I found another arrowhead later, which wasn't too hard, since they generally cover the reefs here, and shared it with the group. I also found sand dollars of various shapes and sizes. There was also the usual sighting of a trumpet fish, grouper (hard to find grouper, but easy if you know where to look), tarpon, barracuda (at least one per dive today), squirrel fish, trunk fish, all the ones that make me ooh and aahh through my regulator. After two amazing dives, we hopped back on board and returned to the shop. After helping with the regular duties, including emptying and refilling the boat with tanks, I had the delightful surprise of having Keith come fetch me from the shop to take me back up through town to the office. Fantastic that I did not have to walk the 20-40 minutes while carrying all my gear!

In the office, I recapped the dive with Christy and also recounted the Tailgate session I held this morning at 7:00am at the maintenance yard. I am quite proud of what I've accomplished with the internship so far, and the tailgate is no exception. We kept it short and sweet, and simple. I love the island, the culture, the people, the park staff, everything. I do definitely want to keep them all safe, as much as possible. It's easy to stand there for a few minutes, no more than five or ten, each morning before the start of the day and just talk about a few things that might help prevent another accident or avoid exposing someone to unnecessary risks or hazards. The maintenance division received me well and we quickly wrapped up the session and everyone was able to split their different ways to do their duties of the day. It felt great to see everyone talking about their activities and actions they could perform to stay a little safer. I am looking forward to seeing the sessions become a daily habit and doing something that will really positively impact everyone on the team. I don't know if I will sound silly or nostalgic or funny, but I seriously see the park as big organ, or a family; I believe in helping each other stay happy, with a high quality of living, keeping each other smiling and successful. Hopefully, these sessions will entertain those goals and facilitate many more years of happy smiling faces.

Kevin is due in today. I am very much excited to have a great friend visit the island and to share with him all the amazing things here on St. John. In just five or six days, it's not possible to take it all in or see everything, but I will definitely do my best to make sure his visit is full of awesome and has plenty of deliciousness. I think I may show him my favorite beer tonight, the Tropical Mango from the St. John Brewery, or maybe a bushwhacker, or perhaps a painkiller. We shall see!

Kevin was off the ferry-boat by 5:30pm. We dropped off the suitcases in the car and met up with Keith and Breslin. At the Tap Room, we all enjoyed a round of drinks before a few more people showed up to make our group even larger. Eventually we all uprooted ourselves from the bar stools and made way for some dinner. There was a trip to another bar first, and then the only Chinese-food place on the island, which was closed, a little early. A few other places that could have offered nourishment weren't open or were closing soon, so Kevin and I headed back to the home front for some food. I made a nice meal of lime coconut basmati rice, Indian madras lentils and cheese, and curried mixed vegetables. There's not much to do once it's dark out and dinner's done, if you're at home. We turned in for the night and tried to get some shut-eye.

Update: I must be dyslexic.... I kept saying school bus fish, but I meant schoolmaster... which is a real fish! Oops! A few days later, Mike kept telling me he saw a Corvette fish.... ha ha.