Category Archives: Vacation

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

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Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel trip, decisions,  decisions,  decisions! The gift shop was between the Visitor Center and the beach. They had signs out for the afternoon trips. The seas must have calmed down. Time to check out my options. 

Snorkel the Reef?Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel

When I entered the shop a couple were talking to the Snorkel sales person. She was really pushing the Dramamine. The seas were still running 2-3 ft and it was quite rough. She didn’t think they’d get to the Christ Statue today but that it would be up to the captain to decide when he got out there. She did assure them that they could bring children. I don’t think I’d take kids snorkeling on 2-3 foot swells but maybe that’s just me. I prefer my snorkeling in calm sheltered waters. If it’s rough give me a regulator and scuba any day. Much easier. Having overheard that I moved on to the Glass Bottom Boat desk.

The Glass Bottom Boat

The sales rep at the Glass Bottom Boat desk was also encouraging the use of Dramamine. The reefs are located between 3 and 8 miles offshore off the coast of the Florida Keys so exploring them on your own is out of the question unless you have a boat. The “Christ of the Deep” statue is located at Key Largo Dry Rocks reef. No glass bottom boat tours go to see the statue; the area is too shallow. After some personal soul searching I decided on the glass bottom boat. I really wasn’t up for hard snorkeling and swimming yet and my scuba certification is still in limbo. The Glass Bottom Boat would give me a chance to check out the conditions. How rough was it really? How clear is the water? 

Glass Bottom Boat3 pm Boarding time

It was almost 2:30 so with a 3 pm boarding time I opted to turn in my gear and wait at the marina. I didn’t want to take a chance on losing track of time and  literally  “missing the boat”. The Glass Bottom Boat is the “Journey”. I settled on a bench in the Gazebo to wait for it’s return.Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

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Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

Back to the Park

The whole purpose of my trip to Key Largo was to see the reef at John Pennekamp Park so it was only reasonable to go back to the park after lunch. My receipt got me right in. I still had all my snorkel gear. When you rent it you rent it for the day so I thought about an afternoon snorkel. My feet were still hurting from the morning adventure on the coral so I decided I’d check out the visitor center first.Back to the Park

Environmental Education and Visitor Center

The Visitor center was refreshingly cool. As I walked in I saw a theater that was running a continuous loop of film. One of the other visitors was just leaving and he told me I had perfect timing. The loop was just starting again. That was good enough for me. I popped into the theater and made myself comfortable.The underwater photography was beautiful but the message was a serious one. The movie was about an hour long and it was about the conservation of the seas. It followed the life cycles of the tiniest creatures  ending with the mammals. It was very worthwhile. Throughout the movie people came and went. Too bad they didn’t sit through to the end.

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park30,000 Gallon Saltwater Aquarium

The main feature of the visitor center was the 30,000 gal aquarium.  The aquarium was filled with native fish. Kind of a sneak preview of what you could see on the reef.  Smaller aquariums featured different reef animals including my lunch, the Florida (spiny) lobster.

Back to the Park

 

If you go

The park is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until sunset but parking can fill up early. All park buildings including the Concession Building and Visitor Center are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

All visitors are required to pay an entrance fee:
$8.00* per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
$2.00* Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.
$4.00* Single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle.
*Plus $.50 per person Monroe County Surcharge.

 

Last Vacation of 2018

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Last Chance Vacation

Before my hip surgery I planned on a last fling. After all, I had no idea how long I’d be laid up after the hip replacement. So it was off to Virginia to visit Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. I was joined on this last excursion by my sister Sandy and my friend Joe from Florida. We settled in at Historic Powhatan Resort. 

The accommodations were excellent, well appointed and comfortable. We even had a gas fireplace.

Ambiance with the push of a button!

The First Order of Business- Food!

The first day is always a travel day. Arrive get settled and find a grocery store or restaurant. We were lucky this time. There was a wonderful little grill right on the grounds. We wasted no time in checking out the food selections.

The Powhatan Bar & Grill is a cozy little restaurant geared to casual dining. Typical pub food fills the menu. The staff were so much fun we found ourselves returning regularly throughout our trip as much for the friendly waitstaff as for the food. 

Day Two- Scooter Rental

Recognizing my mobility issues I’d made advance reservations to have an electric scooter delivered to the resort. It was brought out and dropped off with no problems. I was given a thorough briefing on how to use it and how to charge the battery each night. It was small enough to fit in the back of the rental SUV so I figured we were all set. Joe had joined us by now so we were ready to begin exploring. First on our list was Busch Gardens. They were boasting a light display to beat or at least rival Disney World in Orlando. Since Joe works at Disney we had a solid reason to check it out.

Cold Night Ahead

Even though we were south of Massachusetts the weather was cold and to see the lights we would be out after dark. We bundled up but it was much colder than we expected! I was told to expect a lot of hills but if this were a novel that comment would be called foreshadowing of what was to come!

 

 

One Last Chance

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One Last Chance

My hip surgery was scheduled for December 13. I had no idea how it would go. Would I wake up pain free and ready to climb tall mountains or would I continue to be little more than a cripple. It’s a big surgery and a lot of unknowns. I just had time for one more vacation before the BIG DAY. My sister and I set off to Colonial Williamsburgh.  My friend Joe was taking a bus up from Florida  to join us and we also planned a day with my brother and his wife. It would be a full week.

Historic Powhatan Resort

It was an easy drive from the Richmond airport to the Historic Powhatan Resort. Of course being a  “Yankee” I had to be educated on how to pronounce Powhatan. Bet I could stump the locals with some Massachusetts towns….Worcester, Gloucester, Peabody …but I digress. Sandy & I had one two bedroom unit and I reserved a one bedroom for Joe so he could have some privacy. Turns out they gave him a 2 bedroom too so he had his choice of beds!

 

 

Accommodations

Sandy and I arrived before Joe so we went through the check in process and got settled in our little home away from home. We had  a fireplaced living room, a 3 season porch, a patio area , dining area, full galley kitchen, two bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. Plenty of room. We didn’t expect to spend much time in the resort anyway. We wanted to see Busch Garden with it’s 10 million lights and Colonial Williamsburgh, maybe Jamestown. There’s lots of history here.

 

The Restaurant and Grill

Its nice when there is a restaurant on site.A lot of these resorts do not have restaurants. You have to drive to a town to grab a bite to eat. This resort had a nice little restaurant. The staff were fun and friendly and the food very good. We found ourselves eating there quite often during our stay. So far I was very pleased with what we were seeing.

Rockin’ the Park

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Rock The Park

There’s a Saturday morning children’s show called Rock The Park that I just love. I’m just a kid at heart anyway. In this show Jack & Colton travel to different places and share their adventures. Most of the time the adventures are in a National Park. I love shows that either feature someplace I’ve been or someplace I want to go. I caught a double header the other day. The first episode was Yellowstone National Park and the 2nd episode was about The Big Island of Hawaii.

 

Akaka FallsAkaka Falls

The Hawaii Show caught my attention when I heard the stars mention Akaka Falls. I’ve been there on multiple trips. It is one of my favorite waterfalls. To reach the falls you have to either hike a loop trail or take the stairs.  The trail is only about .5 miles and takes you past 300 ft Kahuna Falls before ending at 442 ft Akaka falls. You can also take the stairs directly to Akaka Falls.This is one of the most beautiful Hawaiian waterfalls that I’ve seen and the easiest to see. 

Diving with Manta Rays

After visiting the falls Jack & Colton went on a night  scuba diving adventure  with Manta Rays. I am no longer certified so I haven’t been scuba diving but I did go on a night snorkel with Manta Rays on my last trip. That was pretty brave of me or maybe stupid because my left hip was pretty much useless but aside from the safety factor this was a pretty awesome experience. We took a boat out to about 40 ft of water. There the Captain launched a lighted raft to attract plankton. Once it began to work its  magic we entered the water.

Manta Ray

Just Floating with the Rays

Once in the water we held on to the raft and did a “dead man’s float”. It wasn’t long before graceful manta rays were approaching from the dark. They circled and swooped. One even swam up my body and flipped on its back. It was like being a part of a water ballet. The whole experience lasted about 45 minutes and then it was time to leave. That was when my hip became a liability. I was struggling to climb the ladder to get back on the boat. Our Captain rescued me. He simply reached down and gave me a tug. I popped out of the water and onto the deck in one easy pull. This was an amazing experience. One I highly recommend. My only regret is that I didn’t have a camera or “go-Pro” to capture the moments.