Swimming with the Fishes

As I alluded to in my other post, the trip to Ft. Lauderdale was absolutely wonderful. Jamie and I got to enjoy each other's company....and for the first time in nearly 6 visits, he didn't have to study. That meant I got all of his attention.....and he had a chance to really relax. Since we were going to be apart on Valentine's Day, we had decided that my visit would be our celebration. Jamie took it a step further by pampering --- quite a bit. The highlight of the visit was going snorkeling off of Key Largo.

I'm scardey cat....I hate taking chances, stepping out of my comfort zone. But the promise of getting to swim with exotic sea life (and Jamie's persistent grin) were enough to have me agreeing to try it. The first attempt was a complete failure - I sputtered, gasped, swore I couldn't breathe, swam in circles, and finally caught a cramp so bad that I wound up back in the boat. Jamie didn't give up on me. It took him a few tries, and several more smiles, but he managed to coax me back into the water. On my second time in the water, Jamie held my hand and pulled me along the reef, pointing out all the sights. It was truly amazing!

After we came back to land, we had a very large lunch at a quaint restaurant on Marathon Key, and then drove down to Key West. Parking on Duvall Street was fun, it took quite awhile to find a place, then we realized neither of us had much changes for the meter. We had to buy sodas and snacks at the Circle K, coffee at Denny's and souvenirs before we managed to scrape enough change to buy two hours on the meter. Then we just browsed the various shops taking in the sights and sounds that are unique to Key West.

We finally made it back to Jamie's apartment around 11:30 or so. After very hot showers, we snuggled into bed and drifted off to sleep. It was the best Valentine's Day ever.....even if it was a few days ahead of schedule.