After all the fun snorkeling trips, the kids have been itching to try scuba diving, so when we were in Florida this Easter, we decided to take a trip down to the Keys. Weather was great as we set off on our 3 hour drive to one of the Lower Keys. It really is a pretty drive going over all the bridges and little islands in between.
We finally arrived at the Looe Key Resort, "resort" is a stretch, it was more like an overpriced motel, but all the dive facilities were right there. You could literally get up, go out the back door and hop on the Cat which was anchored right at your door and go diving.
The next day started bright an early, a 7:30 a.m. check in for the "new divers", then on to a short classroom session to go over some of the basics, "don't hold your breath", "don't poke the sharks" etc. and then on to the shop to try out some gear...
... the pool was next for that first breath out of the regulator...
The session was quite short, the basics are covered, like clearing your mask, how to put air on your BC, a giant stride into the pool, and not much else. By 10:00 a.m. the kids were ready to join the rest of the divers on the boat for their first ocean dive.
Water temperature was about 79 degrees, a little cool for my taste. There were no full wetsuits for the kids, only shorties, so that had to do. They did have the smaller tanks for them so that was good. After a short ride to the reef, they were ready to jump in...
...go down the anchor line...
and enjoy this wonderful experience...
The kids had a blast, mom was a bit stressed out... chasing after, trying the new camera housing, trying to keep the little guys in check... but what a nice experience and thank God the maximum depth at this reef is only 27 feet!!!
Now they are ready to try out their full Junior Open Water Certification, which you can do from age 10, something to look forward to!
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