Stars

Last night I laid out under the stars with my sweetie, and got a lovely startan...which is infinitely superior to a suntan for a blanca like me.

Today we went on a snorkeling trip out at Coffin Island. The sea was very rough, and we were feeling the effects of the choppy ride out (combined with diesel fuel exhaust from the boat engine) when we anchored and hopped in at our first destination. Thankfully no one actually got sick.
Bunch and Gator have both snorkeled before, but the water during those times was pretty much optimal for snorkeling. Doc and I have snorkeled all over the place, and if we'd been on our own today it might have been livable. But I have to admit that even for a Snorkel Girl like me, the conditions today were probably the worst I've ever been in. The current was strong, waves were big, visibility pretty poor. I could tell that the reef was lovely, and in calmer seas I know it would have been an awesome snorkel spot. But today it wasn't to be.

As an added bonus, I had the pleasure of buddying up with my darling Gator, who is a novice swimmer on his 2nd snorkel adventure ever. He was having a hard time of it. Even with my efforts to keep him away from the reef, he got smashed into some coral and cut his leg a bit. It was rough. After about 15 minutes of frustration, pain and tears, Gator announced that "this isn't fun. I want to go back now".

This was actually the consensus of all (there was another couple on the trip), so we swam back to the boat and pulled up anchor. Captain Dave headed to another spot a few minutes away from that area, and we found some nice, calm clear water to try again. There wasn't much to see (no reef'll do that), but we had a good experience. I was really impressed with the way the kids both perked back up and gave ocean snorkeling another shot. It ended up being a really great afternoon.

Back at our fancy hotel, the four of us played in the lovely swimming pool for a couple hours together. It's been so nice just hanging out with each other. Here is a shot of my stars, and a couple other bonus stars, too.

Buenos noches!
♥