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Monday, October 23, 2006
ooooo, barracuda
9:46 PM
 you might be thinking a 3 day vacation with two 13 hour drives couldn't possibly be a fulfilling and restful adventure. it was...especially since arden loves to drive and i love to passenger. we are excellent traveling companions. we took arden's suzuki samurai as our own private covered wagon along hwy 27, parallel to the major interstate. as tallahassee fall kicked in, we pulled into key west at a stunningly comfortable and breezy 90 degrees. we were wind whipped but elated! our first stop, with some apprehension was the clothing optional pearl's. we were so pleased to find this homey compound at the quiet end of the famous partying duval street. it was inviting, charming and not a single nakkie person in sight. (i was actually a little disappointed)      after a little "freshening up" we took a stroll around town. and actually for about 10 minutes, we were the southern most gals in the continental u.s. which was documented by an innocent bystander who i accosted and proceeded to give extensive photo taking advice to. poor thing...  so the adventure really began when we rode the catamaran out to the coral reef for what the insiders like to call a bit of the ole snorkel-o. did you know that the reef off the coast of key west is the 3rd largest in the world behind belize and australia (sidenote).   anyway, we got lots of clear instructions from a 5 year old blond in a bikini who couldn't stop saying "alright guys?". the water was gorgeous and i was reeeeeaaady! we jumped from the side of the boat, arden in her flippers and me in my chacos because that's the way i always do it. did i mention that i purchased a 7$ under-water camera for 20$. the water was rough this day and i struggled in my shoes to steady myself and snap photos of arden diving down and all the cutie fish i saw. arden came up beside me and pointed to a fish while trying to communicate to me what it was when the fish swirled around to me and my poised and ready camera. i was snapping away and arden began to sort-of gurgle a yell at me...something completely indistinguishable through her snorkel, she was pulling me through the water a bit and i finally made out her words that translated to... you need to be afraid! "barracuda! back-up!!" and with that, chilly fear ran through me. i wasn't sure how bad this could be but all i could see in my head were scenes from piranha and of course jaws. i was truly terrified. i could hear myself breathing too fast through my snorkel and i didn't know what to do so i swam around and hid behind arden. she says what actually happened was a bit more like pulling her around in front of me, closer to the fish whose name translates to alllll teeth. i usually handle emergencies with an eerie calm but failed this test with hyperventilating terror! obviously we are fine, but that little fucker followed us all the way back to the boat where i climbed aboard and threw myself onto the asphalt coated deck. barracudas are not your friends!  overall, beautiful scenery. glad to be back on land. we finished our day off with a swim, a "nap", a yummy seafood dinner on a balcony overlooking duval and a visit to the goombay festivities. the streets were crowded with a smorgeshborg of folks, booths of "meat sticks" and other varieties of bizarre food and crafts. at the end of the street we detoured through the ghetto by mistake and decided we were ready for less thrill seeking behavior and went back to the little lesbo enclave of pearl's own party patio and pool (hey! say that 3 times fast)   our journey home began early sunday and we felt so fulfilled by our time in the keys, we didnt even complain much about leaving. the only glitch we encountered as we drove through the chain of islands was a larger than life lobster that nearly completely overpowered me. this island life is very dangerous.  the remaining hours were spent in a hypnotic state. arden zoning out to the 70's schlock that infests her ipod and i, lost in thought...planning, plotting, changing my own life, one thought at a time.  0 Comments |
