Our giant lobster can beat your giant lobster

We have a giant lobster where we live.  Imagine our suprise when we discovered Islamorada has one too.  This is Betsy the giant spiny lobster.

 


This is our giant lobster in Shediac.  It's a regular "American" (or Canadian) lobster, and I don't think it has a name like Betsy does.  But it's bigger, and would kick Betsy's tail fin if they came to life and got in a fight.

 

I went snorkeling, too

Just as much fun as scuba diving and considerably easier is snorkeling.  We took the a tour from Key West called the Snorkel and Sunset Sail Rum and Reggae Cruise.  It was amazing.  I saw a giant grouper, a great big barracuda, a whole school of blue Ellen Degeneres (Nemo) fish, and a slew of other neat fish.  It was magical.  Almost everyone went snorkeling, except Peter.  Peter can't swim, so he stayed on the boat and got hammered.  He seemed to have a pretty good time, too.

This is where they took us to snorkel, at Sand Key Light.  Under the water is the third largest coral barrier reef in the world.



The captain said you could either take the stairs into the water or do the rock star jump off the boat.  Feeling all confident from my scuba adventure, I chose the rock star move, even though I'm not a great swimmer.   Thank Christ I had a vest on or I would have drowned.  That's me with the pink snorkel.



I bought this snorkel set from LL Bean for the trip.  I had to have it.  It's so adorable and pink.  And I fully intend to use it again at home this summer.



Preparing to snorkel!  Those are our shadows.

I Saw Jesus in Key Largo

Christ of the Abyss, that is.  It's a sunken statue of Christ off Key Largo.  I went scuba diving for the first time ever and saw it.  It was totally cool, along with all the neat fish and other stuff.  It was cool until I went back up to the boat to find that a full half of the passengers were seasick and throwing up over the boat's railing.  The beautiful tropical fish I had been communing with underwater were swimming up and eating it. 



That's me in the actual water!






Here I am in the pool learning the basic scuba stuff from Matt, the smokin' hot 25 year-old dive instructor.  Scuba diving is awesome!

 

Florida Keys!

Had most awesome vacation.

2011: The highlights

 - Read 91 books.
 - Turned another page of adulthood when childhood home was finally sold.
 - Got spayed and became cancer survivor (sort of.)
 - Spent the night in three porn inns, Charlotte's Rose Inn in Charlottetown, the Marco Polo in Cavendish, and my beloved Mecklenburgh Inn in Chester, NS.
 - Saw gorillas, giraffes, beluga whales, a polar bear, and a ridiculous number of other animals from around the world in one week in Orlando.
 - Reconnected with an old friend and felt (and acted) like we were 19 again.
 - Saw Will and Kate!
 - Finished a couple of really nice quilts.

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I resolve ...

 - To blog more.  I can't remember a damn thing that happened this year without it.
 - To use a real mug at work and stop using styrofoam cups.  They make me feel guilty.
 - Ditto reusable shopping bags.
 - Remember to bring reusable bags in to store.
 - Should I even bother with 'eat less crap and exercise more'?  Sure, what the hell.
 - Use Kitchen Aid stand mixer more. 
 - Listen to music more.

 - Do all recipes in new Michael Smith cookbook, a la Julie and Julia.
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Another visit to the Mecklenburgh Inn. I just love this place!