We had the opportunity to go with some good friends the Andersons on a House Boat Trip to the Florida Keys. In November (Wed-Sun) We had such a blast. It was absolutely amazing and everything we had hoped for. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets went fishing and saw lot of ocean life. Before we headed out to sea we were able to see and touch a Manati. They love fresh water and we gave him the hose to drink from. On the First day we also saw some Dolphins swimming by our boat and they followed us. It was so fun to see the Animals in their natural habitat. The kids got to jump off the top off the boat, even Gabe worked up the courage to jump, but only if Dad was in the water waiting. After his first jump, he went several more times. On the Second day we were fortunate to see both Nurse sharks and Hammer Head Sharks. They looked small but were neat to look at. While Josh was fishing, he even managed to hook one of the Hammer Heads, but of course the line broke and he was unable to bring it in. For bait, we used both squid and Shrimp, it worked really well, and we discovered that Gabe really, really, really likes to fish. It was seldom that we didn't see him with a pole in his hand patiently looking over the side of the boat, waiting for his next catch. He was able to catch a couple blow fish, and a few Gar, as well as several fish I can't name. It was so cool stand on top of the boat and watch the Hamm er Head Sharks swim around us, at one point there were four of them. We watched them all evening until it was too dark to see. The third day we went to a local hangout called Ocean View, otherwise known as the OV. We anchored our boat just off shore and shutteled in with the motor boat. The OV is a very quaint and carribean stylehangout. We ate Dolphin Fingers and swam in their pool. Over all it was just extremely relaxing. Where the boat was anchored was the same place we saw the Hammer Head sharks. Just as we were tying our motorboat up to the houseboat, Bella decided it was a good time to spit her pacifier out and it landed in the ocean. David without thinking about it jumped in to rescue the pacifier, as it was our only one. It was only after, that he realized that he was in the exact area as the sharks. So although there werent any present just then, he still likes to claim that he swam with the sharks. That night, we stayed up late, laying on the top of the boat, watching stars. The children all sang primary songs and hymns, as we were able to look up in amazement at the heavens. The final day was Sunday, so we finished our trip and headed back home to attend church. We had such a wonderful time, and grew to love the Andersons even more than we already did. We are so grateful to them for inviting us to participate in that activity with them, and we now look forward to this being an annual excursion. We love you Andersons.
