Wow, you guys were up late last night posting reports!!!! I was still exhausted from the weekend!! 
The driving, walking, diving then driving some more wore me out!! But I had a great time!!
Saturday:
The 1/2 mile walk 3 times at the Destin Jetties(once to get the key from Mat to retrieve my trans pac he graciously brought to me from Orange Beach and the other two going and coming with gear) was quite a feat!! Of course me and my big rig could not find a parking place and wound up at the very end of the parking area. After the two walks to finally make it to the jetties and gear up and go in with Mike as our guide, Andy and I finally got in the water. Bless his heart we were doing fine until we hit about 40 ft then Andy couldn't clear his ears. He had to abort the dive and didn't try another. Mike and I went back down and I enjoyed watching Mike turn rocks over and harrass some crabs out of their hiding places. I enjoyed the dive but felt bad for Andy who had to work so hard to get us there and back and didn't get to enjoy the dive. I am a "girl" and I don't travel lightly so it was quite a struggle to get all my "stuff" back to the vehicle. Unlike my buddies who gear up in the parking lot, I consider a few things that I can't take in the water with me essentials such as a towel, sunscreen, mask defog, bathing suit coverup, water to drink, etc, etc. We borrowed SeaYoda's cart the first round which helped but still didn't hold all our stuff so we had to carry some of it, so you can imagine on the way back with no cart what it was like. I just don't see how you can take that heat in that wetsuit on that hike to the water. I guess that is better than what I did to my arms, neck and shoulders though, lol. So I got one dive in and Andy part of one.
Kira had a wonderful setup for us at her house and the food was excellent. I really enjoyed meeting saltydawg and wsw, Mike, his wife and son. I also had a great time with Bugman and Hockeygirl who I had already met. Mat even got me to try some beer he had and I drank a couple (yuk...sorry Mat..still don't like beer) but then Kira sneaked into the liquor cabinet and brought out some gin. Now that I liked. Thanks Kira. I really appreciate you being such a great host.
Sunday:
Now St Andrews I loved. The diving there was excellent. Beautiful marine life all along the rock wall. The second dive Andy and I decided to try it on our own. I had bought a dive flag and we had always been with a group who had one so this was the first time Andy and I did this on our own. He held the dive flag while I used the reel for navigation. We did a great job and had a great dive. I even got a fin caught in some fishing line and was able to free myself while still manuevering the reel. We had only been on one shore dive prior to this so it was quite an experience for us.
I enjoyed the food and socialing afterwards at a local restaurant also. Thanks guys and gals for a wonderful time of diving, dining and socializing.
The driving, walking, diving then driving some more wore me out!! But I had a great time!!Saturday:
The 1/2 mile walk 3 times at the Destin Jetties(once to get the key from Mat to retrieve my trans pac he graciously brought to me from Orange Beach and the other two going and coming with gear) was quite a feat!! Of course me and my big rig could not find a parking place and wound up at the very end of the parking area. After the two walks to finally make it to the jetties and gear up and go in with Mike as our guide, Andy and I finally got in the water. Bless his heart we were doing fine until we hit about 40 ft then Andy couldn't clear his ears. He had to abort the dive and didn't try another. Mike and I went back down and I enjoyed watching Mike turn rocks over and harrass some crabs out of their hiding places. I enjoyed the dive but felt bad for Andy who had to work so hard to get us there and back and didn't get to enjoy the dive. I am a "girl" and I don't travel lightly so it was quite a struggle to get all my "stuff" back to the vehicle. Unlike my buddies who gear up in the parking lot, I consider a few things that I can't take in the water with me essentials such as a towel, sunscreen, mask defog, bathing suit coverup, water to drink, etc, etc.
We borrowed SeaYoda's cart the first round which helped but still didn't hold all our stuff so we had to carry some of it, so you can imagine on the way back with no cart what it was like. I just don't see how you can take that heat in that wetsuit on that hike to the water. I guess that is better than what I did to my arms, neck and shoulders though, lol. So I got one dive in and Andy part of one. Kira had a wonderful setup for us at her house and the food was excellent. I really enjoyed meeting saltydawg and wsw, Mike, his wife and son. I also had a great time with Bugman and Hockeygirl who I had already met. Mat even got me to try some beer he had and I drank a couple (yuk...sorry Mat..still don't like beer) but then Kira sneaked into the liquor cabinet and brought out some gin. Now that I liked. Thanks Kira. I really appreciate you being such a great host.
Sunday:
Now St Andrews I loved. The diving there was excellent. Beautiful marine life all along the rock wall. The second dive Andy and I decided to try it on our own. I had bought a dive flag and we had always been with a group who had one so this was the first time Andy and I did this on our own. He held the dive flag while I used the reel for navigation. We did a great job and had a great dive. I even got a fin caught in some fishing line and was able to free myself while still manuevering the reel. We had only been on one shore dive prior to this so it was quite an experience for us.
I enjoyed the food and socialing afterwards at a local restaurant also. Thanks guys and gals for a wonderful time of diving, dining and socializing.
