Week 28: Timmy the Baby Sea Turtle and Flying to see to a Boy (October 10-16)

When I arrived at school one morning this week, my 3rd grade partner-in-crime shared that there had been a new nest of baby sea turtles that were hatching and headed the wrong way. We decided to head up and see if there were any little turtles that still needed saving. As we got up to the beach, a couple of students were carrying a little guy towards the beach. I asked if I could hold the little guy and was given the go ahead. WOW!! I was as giddy as a little kid holding while holding this little guy (A friend named him Timmy). He kept squirming and was definitely a fighter. The students took him to the edge of the surf and let him go; I was just amazed at the determination and fight that this little guy had as he used all his might to make his way towards the big deep blue. I know that he has statistics and a slew of ocean obstacles in front of him, but I can't help but think that he might be the 1 in 4,000 that will make it to adulthood.

Timmy and I right before he was released into the ocean.

I also had another new experience this week. I flew to see a boy. It was a little surreal to hop on a plane with the sole purpose of going to see a guy that I am interested in. I am still taking it one day at a time, but so far I think things are going pretty good. I get a smile on my face when I think about him and feel very comfortable and content to just be in his presence. After an 6.5 year dating hiatus, I am still adjusting the idea of dating someone and know that I need to work constantly on communicating effectively.

Week 26: Half Century Dive (Sept 26-Oct 2)

It has taken over two years and I wondered if I would ever make it to dive number 50, but I made it!!! My 50th dive was at a place called Troy's Coral Head in the middle of the Kwaj Lagoon. Troy's is known for having an abundance of sharks in a variety of species. On this particular day the sharks only numbered about 8, but there were gray reef, white tip, and a nurse shark. The white tips were resting in the sand and just chillin' like some villains.

The best part of the dive was a beautiful medium-sized sea turtle just snacking away on some coral. We were able to get just a couple feet away and watched him for about 10 minutes as he kept munching and every so often he would look up and check us out. I was in awe of his beauty and just couldn't take me eyes off him. What a spectacular sight it was!?! I feel so blessed to have been able to witness this creature in his natural habitat.

I have tried not to post too many dive posts, but already know that next week will be another dive related experience. On Sunday, I will be diving on Roi-Namur and seeing my first airplane (hopefully many) ever at the Airplane Graveyard up there. Thrilled can't describe how I feel about my dives this coming weekend.

This past week I also hit 30.5 years of life. I didn't celebrate my half birthday, but had quite an enjoyable night nonetheless. My 30th year of life is proving to be quite an amazing year and I am loving every minute of it. If 30 is this great, I can't wait to see what 31 brings!