A Week Away: Florida Edition

After a whirlwind week away in Florida, I feel refreshed, energized, and a little bit tanner. :)

BF & I got to head right to the beach when we got there- here we are at Bahia Honda National Park.  Got in some snorkeling and sun right away!

We went diving out of Islamorada (south of Key Largo) with my amazing friend Tony.  It was BF's first time diving after 15 years, but he was a champ getting back in the water right away!

I think the weirdest thing for me when diving in Florida is that I didn't have to wear an addition 20 pounds of drysuit.  All you do is hook your BC up to a tank and a regulator and you're off!  It made my checks feel incomplete.  The water was so warm, in fact, that I didn't even have to wear a wetsuit for some of my dives!  Just a long-sleeve and cutoffs to protect against the crazy sun!  No wonder everyone likes diving in Florida so much...

My friend Tony took us out fishing on his boat between dive trips!  I caught quite a few fish, and even though we didn't keep any, it was still a ton of fun!  It was great to get the "locals" tour from him, from fishing to boating to food.

Our second day of diving included a 100-ft dive to a wreck called the "Eagle".  My mind was blown by the amount of wildlife we saw around the wreck!  It was covered in coral, and the number of fish hanging out and swimming around was incredible!

We definitely made sure to get in some beach time as well- it is Florida, after all!

Lots of waves, boogie boarding, and relaxing to be had.  Being on the beach was an amazing way to relax, unwind, and be able to let go of my crazy and (slightly) stressful year.

It was also great to be able to spend a bunch of time with my parents!  I haven't been able to really hang out with them for an extended period of time since my cousin got married before Christmas, so we made sure to pack in the bike rides, games, and laughs.

One thing I have to relinquish is that Pictionary got rather stressful and competitive at times...

All in all it was an amazing week of fun, and I'm so happy that I went down to visit!  Pretty cool that BF decided to tag along on the ride... though really, can you blame him? ;)