What a way to start Spring!
With only a handful of sunny days this past winter, this nice stretch of bright, warm days is a true gift! Can you tell I’m already in a better mood? I fully understand the need for all types of weather, but boy do I appreciate a pretty day!
I’m also a bit more upbeat because I just returned from spring break vacation last week. I took my 3 youngest boys down to see my oldest son who’s in college in Florida. While there we went deep sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. About 20 miles offshore, we caught over 100 fish and 8 different species including hogfish, grey snappers and a huge triple tail. We spotted him hugging a deep sea buoy and about 5 seconds after putting the bait in the water, he swam right over!
Here’s a picture of us (prior to my upset stomach which kicked in after 4 hours bobbing in the ocean).
Believe it or not, that wasn’t even the highlight of our trip! We did the weirdest, coolest thing ever on vacation.
So you know those big aquariums inside some restaurants? Well there’s one in Clearwater Beach called The Rumfish Grill. While making dinner reservations (3 months in advance), we signed up for an educational tour of all the tanks, followed by snorkeling in the main tank inside the restaurant.
That’s right we swam inside a gigantic salt water tank complete with an enormous stingray named Sandy and a blind Moray eel named Frankie. Two of my sons (Andrew refused) and I got all geared up and for 15 minutes swam with the fishes. Literally. It was scary at first I won’t lie. Especially since Sandy still has her barb. And eels look a bit too much like snakes which is my biggest fear on earth. But once in the water, it was peaceful and beautiful. Just a little strange.
The only snag on the trip was something called The Red Tide. This toxic algae cut our time at the beach by a day because levels were too high. About 10 minutes of being near the water our eyes started to burn and we all had dry coughs.
Red Tide usually affects the west coast of Florida starting in August. But an early arrival did hinder some spring break plans from Tampa to Naples and beyond. In fact if you’re planning a trip to Florida in the next few months, you’ll definitely want to check this site first.
Coming next week: Can you spare a square? A look at how our use of toilet paper is destroying our forests
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Until next time,
- Kim Adams, 4Warn Weather (Email me here if you have a question or want to say hello)