Today we did a deep sea fishing trip with Mr. Z (Craig and Steve). We had so much luck with them last year, we thought we would try it again. We actually had the best day out on the water - catching 7 or 8 dolphin. Mitchell caught the first fish of the day, since he had never caught a dolphin before. He got it all the way up to the boat, but it got off. Josh boated the first fish on the boat today, and after that, we had all 5 of us with a rod in hand at one [View Full Entry]

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At long last, I am only another week from home! This contract has not been my longest, but it has certainly felt that way! My replacement arrives in another 2 days for our handover, so this is my final cruise on my own. Excellent. Because of the swine flu, our itinerary that would normally take us to Cozumel was changed at the start of the month. I certainly miss going to Cozumel, but the great upside is that our time in Key West is seriously extended with the altered itinerary. A couple weeks ago, when the itinerary was first swapped around, [View Full Entry]

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Today was truly a highlight of the trip. After breakfast at the famous Pepe's, we decided to take the sailboat out to go snorkeling at the reef. The first stop was Western Dry Rocks, just a few miles west of Sand Key Lighthouse. The water was perfectly clear and it was a beautiful day for snorkeling. We spent about 90 minutes snorkeling around the reef and enjoying the afternoon. We saw some huge tarpon in schools, as well as some of the most beautiful parrot fish. After exploring, we decided to scoot over a few miles toward the lighthouse, and we [View Full Entry]

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Today, we decided to be land bound for a little while and play tourist all around Key West. We hit Harpoon Harry's diner for breakfast and then headed over to the Pirate Museum. At Pirate Soul we learned all about the life of being a pirate. We saw all of the cool swords and treasures, as well as learned about some of the most famous pirates in history. We went to the Wrecking Museum next, to learn all about salvaging the ships that would wreck along the reef. The business of wrecking actually made Key West one of the richest cities [View Full Entry]

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After the long sail yesterday, we dropped anchor just off the Barracuda Keys around midnight. We woke to the beautiful sunrise and a gorgeous beach. We hopped in the dingy and we rode over to the beach for a dip. There is a gorgeous limestone rock up the pass and we decided to dingy over and snorkel around it. There were a few grouper hanging around the rocks. Caroline found a Starfish and the boys found some Conch. We headed back to the boat around lunchtime, and after taking a break for some tacos, we decided to float around the sailboat [View Full Entry]

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I guess it is finally time to enter this last blog. I purposely delayed writing this last entry because my time in Russia was a significant and historical part of my life. Each of you taught me so much about the Russian people and culture, but just as importantly, you taught me to know myself and the US people and our culture. It is hard to explain in words; but at times, I felt more at home than I do in my own country while at the same time so alone and far from home. These were the times I reached [View Full Entry]

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Fun in the Sun - Key West, FL After living in Florida for several years, one begins to master the bargains of the "off season". Florida generally has two main tourist seasons. The first, and probably most notable due to the influx of "Snowbirds", is from December through Easter. The second tourist season typically runs from June through mid-August when kids are out of school and parents are on a mission to experience that perfect family summer vacation (those were the days....) As for the weeks and months between those seasons....Sun-sational deals! Hotel: [View Full Entry]

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I had to get a very early bus this morning, 0650hrs! A tour bus collected me from my hotel and took me on a tour to the Key West, which was about 3 hours drive south. As lucky as I continuously seem to be on this holiday, I managed to get the front seat behind the driver, therefore having a really good view enabling me to get lots of great photos. The Key West is very picturesque, with the blue ocean either side of you, it is certainly heaven. Everyone seems to be very laid back; there is no need to [View Full Entry]

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All over the news these days is the swine flu outbreak. This past week the CDC put out a travel advisory for travel to Mexico which of course effects us on ships. I’m not in a position to comment into detail about the company’s approach to the entire thing - if you’re interested you can find out through proper channels like the company’s website, or chat with me on a personal level. But I can say that our regular itinerary has changed. Which cause some chaos on a planning and organizational level a couple days back. But now that the cruise [View Full Entry]

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We left the Tampa area on a 6 day trip to Key West. Neither of us had ever been out there. It is getting kind of warm and sticky in this part of the world about now. First we drove the motorhome to Fort Lauderdale as a base of operations and there were a few things to do in this area. Then from here we drove the pick up truck out to Key West. We could have taken the motor home the entire way, but instead we stayed at two different Inns right in the heart of Old Town so it [View Full Entry]

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