Diving Florida Keys - June 3 - 6

06/03 - 06/04

My dive instructor Joe, Andy, Andy’s wife Kathy and I planned a dive trip to Florida Keys the first week of June. Andy and Kathy have an awesome RV so they drove down a few days before us to take their time and get things set up. I got picked up by Joe from my house at 8:45 am on Wed., June 2nd and got on the road soon after. We drove down 95 S. all the way to Boca Raton, Florida which took 15 hours! We did stop a few times along the way for gas, food and to stretch our legs, otherwise it was a fairly straight drive down 95. Hit minor traffic in N Carolina for a short bit and then a quick heavy rainstorm in S. Carolina. We decided to get a couple rooms at a hotel in Boca Raton just after 12am and finish the drive in the morning. Whew! We got up early, grabbed some continental breakfast then hit the road again. Along the way we stopped at Joe’s favorite landmark, Robert Is Here fruit and shake stand. It was a fruit store filled with all kinds of fresh fruits and they even made some delicious shakes and smoothies. I had the Banana Passion, it was soooo good! We finished our shakes along the way to Divers Direct in Key Largo where we met up with Andy and had drinks at Mrs. Mac‘s Kitchen. It was so nice to drink a cold beer!

After a drink we drove to Conch Republic Dive Shop to check in and schedule for some dives for the next three days then drove down to Marathon where Kathy was waiting at the RV lot. We were right on the water and we had a great view. After hanging out for a bit, going lizard hunting and getting some sun, we decided to get dinner at the Cracked Conch. I believe we all got the Conch Basket which was so yummy! Then drove back to the RV and hung out before getting a nice nights sleep…wake up was at 5:45am…ugh













So first time in a while I’ve woken up before the sun in a long time but so worth it! Andy made us bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast and then we got all our gear together and drove about an hour up to Key Largo to Conch Republic and set up our gear before heading out to sea. Our first stop was Snapper Reef. It was a nice shallow reef where we were scheduled to dive about one hour. I got to see huge schools of Snappers, tons of Lobsters, a few Eels, Flame Scallops and so many other pretty fish and coral. I got some pics and even a short video. After a nice hour dive we got back on board and headed to Conch Reef. This reef was covered with tons of Queen Conchs, more Lobsters, and spotted a couple Flounder camouflaged in the sand. Another nice hour long dive with half a tank of air left…so could have stayed in the water for another hour! After the dive we headed back to the shop to drop off some divers and pick up others then headed back out to the Spiegle Grove wreck dive. This was a deeper dive down to 130 feet but I only went down about 90 feet. Still much to see along the wreck and even had a Chromis hang along with me attacking my fins and even my fingers! It was so neat to see the flags still flying, even though they were covered in silt and some coral. We were scheduled to do two dives on the Spiegle Grove but my left ear was having trouble clearing so I decided to pass on the second dive and just layed out on the boat and got some much needed sun. I didn’t want to hurt my ear on my first day of diving when I had two more days of diving to do. So once the second divers were back on board and we got back to the dive shop, Joe, Andy and I hopped in the truck and drove back to the RV to get cleaned up for dinner. I was STARVING!

For dinner we went to ________. I enjoyed the blackened Wahoo with a side of Michelob Ultra…well a few sides J. It was a nice dinner with great conversation and great company. Then back to the RV lot and escaped the mosquitos, well almost escaped them, I got bit half a dozen times! I backed up my photos and showed them to Kathy since she doesn’t dive then we all decided to get some sleep…another early morning ahead of us.

Andy made us breakfast again then on the road for a couple morning dives along the Duane wreck. It was a nice double dip where we saw a few Nurse Sharks in the distant, a few Rays and some enormous Goliath Groupers! The wreck was covered with Sun Corals, oysters, Christmas Tree Worms, and sponges. Lots of beautiful fish were making the wreck their homes, it was a good two dives! We didn’t do any afternoon dives so went back to the RV, cleaned up and took a drive down the Key West. We walked around for a while, checked out some shops and landmarks then made our way to have some dinner and drinks…and man did we had some drinks! I had a couple yummy margaritas and then Andy, Joe and I had some coupons for free rum samplers. They were double shots of four different types of rum and they were strong! So we were feeling pretty good but continued to walk around for a bit after dinner then got in the car and drove to the Southern Most Point for some pics then back “home”. A long day of heat so we were all ready to relax with some TV then bed. The last day of diving was ahead of us.

The morning came too soon but we had another good day ahead of us. Unfortunately Andy was not able to join Joe and I on our last dives as he had hit his head on his RV and got a nice gash. Nothing serious but he didn’t want to risk infection…I wanted him to bait the water with his blood to attract the sharks but he wasn’t going for that :o) Joe and I arrived at Conch Republic Dive Shop and set up for a couple shallow reef dives. The first was a dive along Davis Crocker Reef. The sun was out again and it made for some great photos. Lots of beautiful fish swimming all around and even came across some Sergeant Major Damselfish spawning and protecting their egg patches. It was very cool but these damselfish are quite feisty for their size! We even came across a Volitan Lionfish. Too bad they are invasive to the Atlantic so we had to tell the crew where we spotted it so they could go back and either capture it or kill it. Unfortunate but it has to be done because they are becoming a real problem since they were introduced to an ocean they are not indigenous to. Well after a nice hour long dive we got back on the boat and headed out to our next site. It was nice to get a bit of sun before getting back in the water. Our next dive site was Davey Reef. Again a beautiful reef with tons of fish and even a few large Moray Eels. Got some nice photos of them. And again we came across not only one but two more Lionfish.

After the dives we got all our gear together, checked out then drove back to the RV to clean up and enjoy the rest of the day checking out some sites of Key Largo. We stopped at the Turtle Hospital and walked around a bit. We didn’t take the tour but got a lot of info on turtle rehabilitation and causes of turtle deaths. We continued on to the Dolphin Rehabilitation Center which again did not take a tour but walked around the gift and information shop. Then onto a sporting good store then dinner at Joe’s favorite place, Little Italy. I had the seafood lasagna which was so good! It was stuffed with scallops, fish, shrimp and lobster…mmm mmm good! After dinner we went back to the RV and Joe and I got all our stuff packed up. We were planning on leaving for the drive home at 7 am. So early but with a 17 hour drive ahead of us, we needed sleep.

Thanks Andy and Kathy for all your hospitality and company! I had a wonderful time, can’t wait to do it again sometime!

And thank you Joe for all the driving and being a great dive buddy! I always have fun diving with you!