One of the coolest things I’ve done in 2018

 One of the coolest things that I’ve done this year was for my 40th birthday I did something I’ve never done before but always wanted to! I went snorkeling at a reef in the Florida Keys- to see “Christ of the Abyss” statue 

It’s located in John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida 

http://pennekamppark.com/

I found out about it on Pinterest looking for ideas of things to do on our vacation and found tons of posts about the statue and decided that would be an amazing adventure! 

So- Brock and I went to a dive shop- bought some gear- nothing expensive- mask and snorkels and we rented out flippers - drove to the park-  

We looked around the park there were cannons reclaimed from some English ships(shipwrecks )from the 1700s 

We had stopped by the grocery store and got some things to make for a yummy picnic lunch 

And then we made friends with a friendly squirrel who wasn’t bashful in the least- I feel he was wanting to join in on the feast 

 was an hour boat ride out to the reef - we rode with about 50 other tourists- but it really wasn’t that bad- the tour guides gave a brief demo about how our vests worked and the rules and guidelines to follow for safety and to keep the reef as pristine and untouched  as possible  It was a little windy and choppy but I still found the experience very fun and enjoyable 

I took many pictures with my iPhone that had a plastic bag /pouche with a magnetic closure specifically for water sports - this worked beautifully for still shots- I found videos were a challenge ulitizing this method - we also used a go pro - 

Post dive we came back to our resort and cleaned up for an amazing dinner and beautiful sunset! Key sunsets are amazing ♥️

Another sunset shot from the gulf side- where our resort playa de largo was located 

 There was a manatee that would show up and swim with us everyday- we were careful to never touch him or give him fresh water etc- both are illegal did you know that? 


Us enjoying outside dining and watching the sun go down after an amazing day adventuring - this trip has made me definitely want to return to the keys to check out other dive locations and snorkel more- I’m

Completely happy I did something I had never done before- just went and did it- did I get boat sick?? Yes! But I didn’t hurl 😃