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FRIDAY (aww - time to go home)

Well Friday came too quickly.  We were ready to go home and at the same time wanted to stay.  Our flight didn't leave until the afternoon so we thought we would walk around one more time before returning our rental car and heading for the airport.  So we headed for as many photo ops as we could find.

Another cruise ship moored by Mallory Square so we ventured over to see it.

Back through Mallory Square.

One last look at the Gulf of Mexico.

Walking down the boardwalk.

Heading down Duval to take our rental car back.

Lizard!

So we returned our car and boarded the shuttle back to the airport.  We chilled in the airport downloading games onto my PSP until our ride arrived.  Well our plane was delayed because of ligtning in the area, but it got there in time for us to catch our connection in Atlanta. 

Our ride home - below.

They had to park us on the tarmac at Atlanta because they had no open terminals (Great).  After walking 30 miles barefoot in the snow uphill we finally reached our gate (okay maybe they bussed us).

And we were on our way home - vacation over.

View from the plane.

Thursday! Jet Ski Day!

Thursday started off slowly as we were getting more in the habit of sleeping in and resting up from all of the walking we would do on the previous day.  Went to Wendys (One of only a few places to eat on the island with sane prices) in our rental car and nabbed some breakfast before the parking meter ran out on us.  We got around slowly and visited the jet ski charter located at our hotel and I signed myself up for the 2pm jet ski tour.  Well, 1:30 rolled around and it was almost time for my tour.  I layered on two coats plus a primer coat of SPF 1,000,000 sunblock and I was ready to go.  At the jet ski dock only one other jet ski was occupied so this was a smaller than normal group for the rental company.  I got suited up and went through orientation and one of those waivers that nobody reads but everybody signs anyway (I probably signed over the deed to my house or something). 

I headed out on my Yamaha jet ski and headed straight out into what I can describe best as a convoy of jet skis.  We were instructed to follow the ski in front of us at a certain distance and I can tell you, those things are fast!  The tour was to take me all the way around the island for about an hour and a half, spanning 26 miles.  As I headed out I drove directly into a gentle rain shower at about half throttle which I'm guessing was about 25mph (my jet skis speedometer was broken and always said zero so I am guessing based upon the approximate top speed of the jet ski which was reported to me to be about 46 mph).  The rain felt great considering it was still in the mid 90's outside with very little wind.  As I drove I felt the now familiar accumlation of salt on my body from the spray coming off of the jet ski.  Oh and just a side note, this was my first time to ever ride a jet ski (I know I have lead a sheltered life).  We stopped and grouped up to discuss some of the local wildlife and further review some safety guidelines.  The water was crystal clear down to about 7 to 10 feet I would guess.  We drove around the northwest corner of the island and came upon some shallow flats.  At this point our guide opened the throttle wide and we ripped across the water, following the bubble trail of the jet ski in front of us.  Man what a rush!  We stopped again for some further information regarding some of the islands which actually were not islands, they were just clusters of trees growing upon each other, which looked really neat.  Now we were off again to go to the submarine pits.  The submarine pits were dug out of part of the island to house submarines during the Cuban missile crisis.  They are very deep and calm since it is so isolated.  From there we crossed over to the dark side!  We were going into the deep water of the Atlantic Ocean and I'm telling you, for a novice jet ski rider, the chop of the waves in the Atlantic tested me.  I clenched every muscle in my body trying to hold on to that jet ski.  We snaked our way around to a sand bar and stopped for a rest before the really hard part!  The sand bar was so shallow we could stand and be about stomach deep in the water as we held our jet skis.  The sand and water felt good and it was a welcomed and needed break. 

INTERMISSION! (Go get your popcorn and come back for more!)

Ok, so now it was time for the really rough part of the trip, several miles of rough Atlantic waves.  I discovered that I could manage the waves better if I stood up on my jet ski, so I did.  Before you knew it we were going wide open on the throttle and ripping across those waves.  I got my jet ski airborne at least 3 times that I can remember and wow was it hard to hold on!  By the way, getting a jet ski airborne has to rank right up there with one of the coolest things I've ever done.  Well, we made our way the the southeast corner of the island which is home to the southern most point of the US.  We stopped and discussed it and I layed down on my jet ski out of sheer exhaustion!  Time for the end of our tour, and we headed back across the southern tip of the island and made our way back to port.  During this portion of the trip I was trying my hardest to get airborne again, but just couldn't get it all the way out of the water, but hey, trying was fun too.  And then we pulled back in to the dock!

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE HOTEL!!!! (To be sung like that Ray Stevens song Shriners Convention)

My wife decided to take some opportunistic photos of, well you'll see.

The I arrived back and we went for a walk to find some grub (HOORAY for $5 foot longs!).

The we went back to our room for a few games of cards as a gentle rain poured outside of our room.  Thankfully our balcony was not getting rained on so that was where we played.

She's a card shark I tell ya!

GO FISH!

Obviously we had fun!

Here are some shots from the balcony:

After the rain stopped we ran to the edge of the ocean to take a few more shots:

Ever wonder what happened to the Ninja Turtles?  Well here is photographic evidence that they gained wait and moved to the Florida Keys for retirement:

Watch out, he can still roundhouse kick you from that position.

NEXT! (Yeah it was a long day - but aren't they supposed to be on vacations)

We headed down to the pier for some more pictures.  Notice the mammoth waves on the water in the pier:

Ok, I may have exhaggerated about the waves.

Our day wasn't over yet.

Next we walked (Painfully for me by the way since riding the jet ski had killed my leg muscles) to go do some shopping at the Ron Jon Surf Shop:

Then over to Mallory Square again to shop for more gifts/souvenirs.

Oops we got sidetracked.

ON TO SHOPPING!

Inside one of the local shops.

Ok, so we are distracted easily.  LOOK HUN A WRECKED SHIP!

Back to Mallory Square for more sunset photos!

Wait no, Thursday wasn't done!  I was craving chips and salsa so we walked (YES MY LEGS STILL HURT) down to Salsa Loco and had some yummy chips and salsa, and I drank an entire pitcher of water.

And that is what happened on Thursday! Stay tuned for Friday, our final day on the island (weep).