St Thomas is beautiful. Talli couldn't get over how much it looked so much like Okinawa Japan where she grew up. The gorgeous beach in front of the dive club was the backdrop for many a photo and had us all ooh-ing and aah-ing.
The staff at St Thomas Dive Club were more than patient with us as we figured out just what everyone needed and which people were doing what on the boat that we had at our disposal for the day. We had 2 certified divers, Jeff and me, and two taking Intro to Diving, Jason and Jeremy, and 5 snorkelers, and one just along for the ride.
When the cool chick behind the counter, Jenn Kerr told us she was going to be our dive master for the day we were thrilled.
She taught Jason and Jeremy the basics of Scuba Diving as the boat sped us off the coast line and out to a little out cropping of land a little ways out.
We all geared up and jumped into the gorgeous water.
Aaron
Aren't the masks the cutest? So flattering too... Ha!
(Talli, Jeremy, Jenn, and Jason)
Jenn had Jay and Jer do a few skills and made sure they were comfortable with their gear and then the five of us were ready to do some diving!
(Jen, Jay, Jeremy, and Jeff)
It is hard to explain how different scuba is from snorkeling. You feel like you are in a totally different world. It is calm and peaceful when you are deep in the ocean. Moving takes almost no effort. It must be a little similar to being in outer space in that way. I often roll over and look up at the people snorkeling above me and think,"they have no idea what they are missing out on down here!" I was so excited that Jason and Jeremy were going to experience this with us.
Jeff and Jason
Jason, Jeremy, and Jeff
Jenn was an incredible instructor and both of the guys were at ease as we explored the wreck site we were diving. It was pretty dang cool!
Jeremy and Jeff
Jeff
Jeff
We also saw some interesting little creatures down there. We even saw an octopus. Jeff tried to touch it and it inked him! Here is a picture of what his fingers still looked like a few hours later...
Jenn Kerr
Jeremy
Jeff
While we explored the wreck below our friends snorkeled above us and did a little exploring of their own.
Tara
Phil
Talli
Haley and Tara
By the time we had finished diving, all our snorkeling friends wished that they had taken the intro course with Jeremy and Jason. I can't wait for them to see what all the fuss is about!
When our time with St Thomas Diving Club was up we were ready for some lunch!
We found a great place called Jen's Cafe!
It was such a cute little place and the food was awesome!
After lunch we still had some time to wander around downtown and check out all the little shops.
We came across all kinds of goods for sale from Rolex watches to the incredibly bizarre. Talli and I ended up finding some really cute sun glasses.
It was almost comical how many times we had to fight off all the Taxi drivers offering to take us back to the ship. I am certain I can say without exaggeration that we were asked if we wanted a taxi a minimum of 50 times!
It was such a relief when we finally were ready to get on one that we would be left alone for a few minutes. Here we are in our "Taxi".
We watched from the ship as the sun set over another perfect day.
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