Key West has long been on my bucket list of places to visit after the 1993 TV show of the same name. When our friend Brian Rutland invited us to on a trip for his 40th birthday, I was very excited to join.

James and I went diving the next day after we arrived on two reef dives. The coral reef here is pretty cool. They have these aptly named giant "sea fans" that sway back and forth in the current. I was fascinated with this fish called the Longspine Squirrelfish which had these giant adorable eyes and as they swam, this big spine would pop up on their back like a Spinosaurus. And at the end of the dive, we also saw a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. I don't think I'd ever seen one of those since we usually see Green Sea Turtles in Hawaii. The Loggerhead had a thick neck and huge head like a wrestler who spent a lot of time at the gym. This particular turtle also looked like he had seen some stuff in his life.

On Saturday, we took a gay boat cruise out to the "lake" part of the keys. Even though it was December, we were all hoping it would have been a little warmer. There was a decent wind and the air temperature was a bit crisp so we started off in shorts and t-shirts but quickly put on a hoodie to stay warm. After the cruise, James and Brian both decided to take a nap so I took the opportunity to explore the island on my own. I walked to the famous Mallory Square to watch the sunset. This was a favorite spot of the late Jimmy Buffett and was mentioned in the song Tin Cup Chalice. After that, I walked past the Little White House, the island's original lighthouse, and down to the Southernmost Point, then over to White Street, past the City Hall. I stumbled upon a holiday parade going down Truman Avenue. Walked past the cemetary and then back to our hotel for a total of 3 miles.

On Sunday, I woke up early to dive The USNS Vandenberg ship wreck. This is the second largest artificial reef in the world! The ship was originally used in WWII for missle tracking and was sunk in 2009 to form the reef. I also celebrated my 100th dive! Diving tradition states that the 100th dive should be done naked, but given the water temperature, I opted to be naked under my 5mil full-length wetsuit instead. I went to 100 feet on my 100th dive with a total dive time of 40 minutes. I did this dive with Lost Reef Adventures which unfortunately didn't even provide a guide so I explored with three other advanced divers. It was a different experience but it was a big milestone for me celebrating 100 dives. In the afternoon, James and I went to the Waterfront Brewery for a late lunch then toured the Hemingway House. The lack of sleep caught up with me so I took a longer-than-expected nap before we ventured out for a late dinner at an irish pub.

Monday, woke up early again for another day of diving. This time, I went with Captain Hook's and we dove the Cayman Salvage Master ship wreck. This ship was originally a mine layer for the US Army and later a cargo ship. Unfortunately our dive got cut short since one of the diver's used up their air prematurely and I ended with a half-tank. It wasn't the most interesting dive anyway though so for our second dive of the day, we headed back towards shore for a reef dive. The visibility was better in the shallows and we saw plenty of fish, a conch, and porcupinefish. After the dive, we did the touristy things on the island with Brian, including going to the island's original lighthouse, the southernmost point of the US, and enjoyed a slice of Key Lime Pie.