Final countdown...

Day one

Day sixty

Things that I've missed:

Robin, and my son, Michael;

Sunday calls to my parents;
Wednesday lunches with Ken;

My pillows, my sheets, my bed;

Carpeting and comforters;

Socks and comfortable shoes;

Being dry;

A fire;

Good BBQ, bad BBQ, my BBQ;

Rita's, Luzmilla's, Carmela's, Rico's, and the guy with the taco truck;

The Grill and all my Grillions;

Hole in the Wall muffalettas and hot pastrami;

The gym...OK, not the gym;

Rotary;
Driving my car or my motorcycles, or any mode of transportation that doesn't involve walking;

Down time.

Things that I WILL miss when I leave:

Diving every day;

Most of the people that I have met;

The taste of a breakfast baleada;

Wearing shorts, flip-flops, and no shirt;

Sand under my feet;

Warm breezes that smell like flowers and sea air.

Things that I WONT miss when I leave:

Being wet all day, everyday;

Some of the people I have met;

The feeling after a breakfast baleada;

 Having my skin exposed to every flying, biting insect;

Sand between my toes;

Warm breezes that smell like human waste and rotting sea creatures.

For those unfortunate to have never dived, I hope the following photos will spark some interest. 

This activity is the most challenging and rewarding effort a body can make.  It is, at the same time, both thrilling and calming.  The creatures and textures are unlike any you have encountered on land.  And the colors are indescribable and uncapturable on film.

This is actually the tail of a sleeping nurse shark.

The life underwater is extraordinary.  It is as small as a pinky nail or as large as a bus.  It is delicate or deadly, and possibly both.  I am in awe every dive and I look forward each time I dive because I know that there will be something new, something cute, something awesome, something scary, something challenging, and something beautiful waiting for me.

Just to let you know; yes, a lion fish sting hurts like hell. And the swelling lasts for days, and days...