Sea Base, June 2007

Mike and Michael went to the Boy Scout High Adventure Sea Base camp on June 20 - 27. Sea Base is located on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. We traveled with a contingent of scouts from Boy Scout Troop 109. There were three adult leaders and seven scouts. We made nine dives, including our first night dive, and visited Key West during this time.

To prepare for the trip, we earned our NAUI Open Water SCUBA Certification at the Kissimmee Professional Dive Center during our Christmas visit in 2006.

Ready to leave for Sea Base.

We spent the night at the Day's Inn in Canton, near the airport. In the morning, we had breakfast and drove to the Detroit Airport.

We flew from Detroit to Miami on Northwest Airlines.

This is the barracks we stayed in at Sea Base. We were on the top floor.

We did a scuba skills review before our first dive.

Mike steps into the pool. This is our divemaster, Laura.

Before meals, we gathered at the flag pole before the barracks and said the Keys' Blessing. Our troop is in the yellow shirts.

Keys' Blessing.

Most mornings we would go to the Scuba area and assemble our dive gear after breakfast.

We carried our gear to the marina and boarded one of the boats.

Mike on one of the dive boats - a Dusky.

Riding to a dive site.

Giant step into the ocean.

Back roll into the ocean from a Dusky.

Into the ocean.

Ready to dive.

Scouts diving.

Mike and me.

Yes, we saw sharks!

Getting back on the boat.

Swimming with cormorants.

We ate lunch on the boat after two morning dives.

We would normally return after two dives.

Docking the boat.

Dinner at Sea Base.

Evenings were spent relaxing.

The scouts did a clean-up project at Sea Base.

The Brinton Environmental Center is a second Sea Base facility.

We stopped for lunch there on our way to Key West. We returned there later for our dive on Looe Key Reef.

We visited Key West. Our first stop was Pirate Soul, a pirate museum.

We also visited the Key West Aquarium.

The Key West Shipwreck Historeum and Museum was fascinating.

It has a tall tower from which you can see the whole island.

The basement is below sea level.

Mike enjoyed visiting the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum.

The Vortex Tunnel was very disorienting!.

Chickens roam the streets in Key West.

Mike found a chicken nest in a bush.

We had seafood at Crabby Dick's.

We didn't get to stay long at the sunset celebration because the bus came at 8:30.

There was a luau in the palm grove on our last day.

Mike in disguise for the luau.

Fish and chicken at the luau.

Under the limbo stick.

Singing at the luau.

Singing the turtle song at the luau.

There is a small sub at Sea Base, but it doesn't go to sea.

Waiting for the bus to take us to the Miami Airport.

Sunset in the Keys