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"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in ideways, champagne in one hand--strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "Woo-Hoo,What a Ride !" " -- Unknown

286--Florida: Swiming with Giants in the Deep @ CherieSpotting     Apr 14 2005 - 19:09 PST cherie writes: Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (0) | write comment| views: 4767    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   Massive Jewfish are common around the Dry Tortugas, a group of islands 70 miles from Key West, Florida. I snapped this shot of the mammoth grouper swimming with Greg. He's at least twice as big as me! I think you did something to make him mad. Greg tries to hide behind the grouper, but I can still see his fin! The one that got away. That's a hook trailing from the lip of this old fish. It's hard to imagine how big these grouper are without a person in the shot for perspective. Greg swims by and gets "erffed" at by the grouper. Who can stay down longer? A Jewfish, a giant sea bass, can grow up 8-ft and reach 700 pounds. Greg tickles the little baby grouper. Greg gets ready for another underwater voyage. Landing the dinghy on Garden Key. A view of Scirocco from Ft. Jefferson. This beach was the creation of a recent hurricane that tore through Florida. Honey, we need to talk. This beach is just too crowded. I was looking for something a bit more isolated. Cherie and Greg at Ft. Jefferson. Are those brains washed up on the beach? Seaweed is good for your brain. It also looks like your brain. I found a sand-dollar! That's like money in the bank! Detail of coral. It's alive! It's alive! The slow moving sea slug. Does it leave a slimy trail in the water? No one will see me here. Coral and worms add a just a splash of underground color to the reef. This yellowhead jawfish is digging a hole. The peaceful colors of coral. Who would ever think that this "bug" would taste so good. From this view, the lobster looks like a creepy spider. This porkfish doesn't really like swine. A wave from Cherie. A great barracuda comes to check us out. School's in session. The scrawled filefish is better known as the "funky fish." Crab fight--everyone stay back. Cherie gets a closer look. Smooth trunkfish. What did the fish say when it ran into concrete? Damn. Excuse me, where is the runway? Sure you can land your plane in the ancorage; just watch out for the masts. Greg finds an old anchor. Cherie by the old Spanish wreck. Greg by the crusty underwater canons. Cherie free-diving on the 18th century wreck. Typical...even underwater, I'm smiling. Maybe we're not the first to find this wreck? The Dry Tortugas is a place where snorkelers have the sea all to themselves. Can you find the people in this photo? Cute little eel. That's either a sign of great affection, or someone (not me!) pissed him off.