Boat Charter

We went with a great group of friends a few days ago on a snorkeling/diving adventure.

We left the kids with Tia and Cameron. We have been swapping date night babysitting for awhile. They are such a blessing to have here. It has been so nice to get to know them better and also to have some alone time with Rhett has been fantastic. They came over at 7:00 a.m. and watched the kids the entire day for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

We went over to the Ginowan Port to get everything on the boat. That's when Rhett noticed that he had read the email wrong. He had picked up a wetsuit from Kadena Marina, but thought that the boat provided all the extra gear for diving. Rhett was so bummed when he realized he may be snorkeling with me instead of diving. Thankfully, we had an awesome group and a few people said that they were only going to do 2 out of the 3 dives and would let Rhett use their equipment so he could dive.

We went over to the Keramus Islands and it was absolutely breathtaking. The boat ride was about an hour to get there and I had a blast sitting on the deck of the boat curled up with Rhett as the wind whipped through our hair.

We got to the first dive spot and all the divers headed out, including Rhett. We had 17 divers in our group and 7 snorkelers. I hopped in and snorkeled around and was amazed by all the beautiful fish. I even saw a sea turtle on the bottom just swimming around. :) The only down side to this first spot was that there were a TON a tiny jellyfish. I got stung twice. Once on my leg and once on my arm. It felt similar to between a mosquito bite and a bee sting. It was more irritating than anything and it freaked me out a little to see so many. I saw at least 30, but probably closer to 50 little jellyfish. It was hard to just relax and enjoy the fish when I was so concerned with dodging the jellyfish.

We then hopped back in the boat and headed to the next dive spot. It took about 30 minutes or so. We just sort of vegged out while we went. I was sort of a little nauseous from all the movement and it felt good to get a sandwich in my belly. It settled it quite a bit. They said Rhett could dive again, but he surprised me and said that he would like to snorkel with me this time. :)

We waited for the divers to team up and head in the water and then we took off. This was my all time favorite dive spot. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water a bright blue and so clear. They had the coolest reef and the coral was amazing. The way it stacked on top of each other was so cool. We saw tons of fish and had a blast holding hands and pointing out star fish for each other. I was so happy that Rhett was next to me. It was fun to see the same things and be able to share the experience with somebody that I love.

After that we ate again and everyone agreed that we wanted to go back down in the same area. It was completely awesome! We all took turns jumping off the top of the boat and just swimming around in the water. We did a 3rd dive and then it was time to head back home. Rhett and I sat on the deck again. I tend to get a little sick if I'm inside a hot boat without air blowing on my face. We snacked a little on the way home, but mostly I just visited with friends while Rhett slept. We got home about 6:30 that night and I'm sure Tia and Cameron were excited to see us. 6 kids 7 and under is a little difficult at times. They are great though and my kids adore them both.

It was a great day! My only regret is that when I was sunscreening myself I had shorts on. That means that the 5 hours we were snorkeling my butt was hanging out of the water without any protection on it. I noticed on the way home that is was hurting, but thought it was due to the hard boat deck. Nope! It was bright red. Sweet Rhett was so worried and took great care of my butt cheeks. He smothered them in aloe vera more times than I can count and even watched the kids and cleaned while I was up wishing for death. I can proudly say that I now can sit down without any intense pain. :) I'm sure in a day or two the only reminder I will have our our fun trip is the one picture I took and the constant peeling. :)