The snorkeling dream – a trip to Florida part 2

"O Hum Dum" BANG BANG, " O Hum Dum Suniyore" blared the Rahman's tunes from the surround speakers of the Ford focus car, as it cruised along at a comfortable 70 miles (I am tired of multiplying by 1.6 X-( ) an hour, on the straight road, which stretched out to miles without even a small bend. The surroundings had great visuals, with intermittent ranches in between the grasslands. The ambience was just electric.
And inside the car we were ...... rocking??? err.....

Well, let's be practical guys. With five hours of sleep, Sandy had not been able to resist stealing a nap at the rear seats. Shiva was the only one with the insurance, and hence had to keep himself awake to drive. I was torn in a dilemma* which guys experience later in life. The straight road was leaving no stones unturned to make me drowsy, but, I had deemed it my 'duty' to stay awake to morally support my friend at the wheel.
Now, why is it a dilemma for guys later in life??? Well, haven't you heard the phrase, "Ma'an, I wanted to sleep, but she would not let me...." pleease people, this is a decent blog. Don't jump into conclusions!!! Let me complete the phrase " ...until I wash the dishes."

A drive which started at 10:45 am from Fort Lauderdale, took us to Key Largo (some distance towards the south), by 1:45 afternoon. After driving to and fro, we stopped at a shop by the state highway, where they were offering 'snorkeling trips'.
"Our last departure is at 1pm," the huge American in a casual shirt, told us. "But, if you would go straight ahead for three miles, on the right side you can get the 'snorkeling trips' which would start at 3 pm. Believe me, do not try anywhere else, just go there, as most of the trips would have left by 1pm," he volunteered information, with a lot of empathy, and gestures.

"People here are so accurate in communicating, isn't it?" I noted. "Yes, he so accurately pointed the direction, full gestures and all," Shiva added. "First of all, we must appreciate that he volunteered information, and just not ended the conversation by saying that he cannot help us," I became more appreciative. The silent Sandy did not speak.
Driving for three miles, we drove for three more miles. And then we drove on for three miles more.
No sign of any trip services.
THE FOOL HAD GIVEN US WRONG DIRECTIONS!!!
The silent Sandy enjoyed a feeling of victory. He had not joined us in appreciating the fatty!!!

We drove back for some distance.
And finally we were able to enter the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
As we parked the vehicle and came to the ticket counter, I was overwhelmed by the numerous men and women in skimpy swimwear. Something, that I had only experienced when I had seen the Infy building for the first time ;-)
Standing at the ticket counter, we talked to the ticket vendor about the price, which was 28$ per head, size irrespective. But, there was one glitch.
One must know swimming to go snorkeling.
Shiva and me were certainly not as good swimmers as those sculpted bodied men of Baywatch, who dove to rescue cute victims time and again. But, we could manage.
Sandy declared that he could not swim!!!
Was he trying to practice in the last minute in the bath tub this morning??? Is that why he took the maximum time at the bath room??? It is still a mystery.....
The snorkeling dream had drowned !!!

The rest of the late afternoon was spent on the alternative glass bottomed boat, through which we were supposed to spot the corals, and fishes in awkward angles. After a little while of watching the green structures (because the glass bottom had a green tint ) , I dozed off. We were supposed to have witnessed the second largest coral structures of the world, running upto 22 miles. Some guys did manage to click pictures, but I did not try as I knew Webshots ;-).

We did manage to spot some interesting water birds on the way back to the land.

Some of these services included parasailing, and other water adventure activities, but we were late for anything. Hence, we decided that we would try to drive till Key West, the southern most tip of the US (at approximate latitude of New Delhi).

Amidst all the spiritual talks of 'What's the worth of money in life?' to the entertainment talks about 'Who amongst us is going to get married first?', we had some spirited discussions about 'Career Goals' too. The discussions had a lot of persuasive statements by Shiva for us to get married before this year-end, so that he could get married by the next year-end.
The logic still stupefies me. Anyway, since Shiva joined the Testing job he has lost track of logic, I smirked.

We stopped at a scenic place to take some pictures, especially the one with Sandy looking over the ocean. We could immediately guess the purpose of this picture, and who is getting married first amongst all of us ;-)

Further, we drove on till the Sun set, took another nice picture from a bridge.

A long drive back to Fort Lauderdale, and but we had grabbed the Subway dinner on the way. (Subway dinner has a type of 6 inch bread, with a lot of salads in between , and salad dressing, also some sauce. Yes, something even the impoverished would not want for a routine in our swades :-( ....... not the movie!!! )

Next day: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, ORLANDO!!! Mummies..... Demons..... Valiant Heroes.... Adorable Heroines... And more......

Till Monday,

Have a great weekend!!!

With warm regards,
Teju