Key West, Day 1

Ooooohhhh...my aching tummy....

Day 1 found us bobbing on a boat out at the reef. It was about 2-3 foot seas and, well, I was chumming for the fishes after a bit. I started off the day ok but did get just a bit queasy on the ride out to the reef. It was the jelly fish sting that put me over the edge. Seems like the moon jellies are spawning early this year (lucky lucky me) and I got nailed, right across my legs. Hurt like a big dog...So, I think the toxins from the sting got into my system and oooooohhhhh...

Now, for most people, vomiting is not pleasant but it's a necessary part of life periodically. Not me. I am a champion non-vomiter and will go to about any cost to hold it down. It's been at least 10 years since my last episode. But, well, I lost the battle today. And, to top it off, my boat mates were laughing at me - that is until Tom turned green. Turns out he's a sympathetic vomiter. This really sent the others into peals of laughter. Nice friends...

We forgot to take any snorkeling gear so I had to rely on my new underwater camera to snap some pictures. Here they are - it takes pretty nice shots. I had hoped to get some 3D pictures or some underwater panoramic shots but, after my episode, I just wasn't up for it. I was lucky to get a few shots of these pretty fish, I love the below picture - looks to me like the fish on the right has somewhere to be...

After I got stung and was clamboring aboard, Bobbi, in her rush to escape a certain sting, tore up her knees on the ladder. So, here we were - a floating hospital ward. Tom's back was killing him from the ride out so we ended up coming back and setting him and Debbie free. Should have taken the hint. So, off Bobbi, John and I were again - over to a Thai restaurant where they proceeded to get beers and I proceeded to not. Ooooooohhhh..

We were supposed to meet up tonight at 9:30 at Better Than Sex, the most exquisite dessert restaurant I've ever experienced. The wine is served in chocolate rimmed glasses, the desserts are magnificent. I had every intention of celebrating Bobbi's 50th with her tonight but, well, my stomach told me differently. So, here I am in Key West, sitting in bed and blogging while they're out having a great time. Shoot.

Last night was a blast. After a day of hitting the streets, John and I came back to the hotel and laid down for a 'nap.' We finally arose and decided that it must have been like 1:30 am or so - just the right time to go over to Angelina's for pizza. We left the room in a hurry as didn't want to miss out and we were afraid it was close to closing time. There weren't a lot of people in the streets so that strengthened our conviction that it was late. I finally asked a man what time it was - 8:45. Yep, it was a quarter to 9! We laughed like hell at the idiots we were. So, off to Angelina's we went and then over to the Bull and Whistle for a beer. We met up with some of the most fun people I think I've ever seen here - one guy was toasted and had his shorts pulled up all the way to his nipples. One leg was rolled up and he was flirting with all the girls. What a stitch. His buddy proceeded to tell us that they had been lobster fishing yesterday and the buddy almost drowned 3 times. When diving for lobsters, the rule is two on the boat to watch the diver and one man in the water. Well, it was this guy's first time diving and he was unfamiliar with the equipment - there's a tank on the top of the boat that makes oxygen, the diver puts a regulator in his mouth and breathes. He also wears a weight belt to get down the 15 to 20 feet to where the lobsters are. So, this guy jumps in, heads straight to the bottom and realizes that he's wearing a snorkel and not the regulator. He said that he was sitting on the bottom of the ocean, trying to figure out how to get back up without losing the weights (a $30 deposit). He said he sat there awhile but decided he's better beat feet and get the hell up for air so he dropped the belt. When he finally surfaced, his two friends were sitting back with a cold one. So, that was try #1. A near death experience.

Try #2 - the guy puts the regulator in his mouth, jumps in the water, heads to the bottom and...the air isn't turned on. This time he's sort of pissed. He surfaced, his two friends are sitting back with a cold one.

At this point, we were laughing so hard that I couldn't concentrate on try #3 but I'm sure it was hilarious.

So, after they left, John and I were heading back to the room when we spotted Bobbi making her way up the street. More merriment occurred at Hogs Breath and then over to the Schooner Warf Bar. It was after midnight so it was officially Bobbi's 50th birthday. The bartender didn't do me any favor though by giving us boatloads of shots. Oooooooohhhh....

Finally came back to the room around 1:30 for a few hours of sleep until we were up and at it again. John and I got coffee and swam out to the Hyatts floating dock where we, well, floated the morning away.

So, that was Day #1. I'm hoping Day #2 goes smoother. More later....ooooohhhhhhh....