Crazy Tarpon

The highlight of the day today was definitely feeding tarpon! 

For those of you unsure of what exactly a tarpon is, here’s a little photo of one in action: 

Tarpon!

They’re basically ginormous fish that are apparently very hungry. 

Late this morning, my mom, dad, sister and I headed to Robbie’s of Islamorada, a neat little place with a market, restaurant and dock where visitors can feed the tarpon. (Unfortunately Ryan wasn’t able to join us because he was still feeling under the weather. 😦 ) 

Robbie's

We had fun looking at all the different trinkets and souvenirs. 

My sister really liked the coconut heads because they reminded all of us of a coconut head that we always thought was super creepy at my grandma’s house. 

Crazy for Coconuts

Souvenirs

After browsing around for a bit, my dad purchased a bucket of fish for us to feed the tarpon, and we headed to the end of the dock to entice them with our smelly bait. 

Me and the Bait

They were ready and waiting for the goods. 

Schools of Tarpon

Feedin' the Fish

The Fam

Daddy's Girls

These fish were absolutely nuts. They would jump out of the water to try to get the bait. We screamed quite a few times! 

Inside the shed where they sold the bait they had several displays of things people have dropped in the water while feeding the tarpon, which was quite amusing. 

Dropped Cameras

Dropped Phones

Lunch 

Once we were finished feeding the fish, we headed to Marathon, Florida for lunch at Fish Tails, a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and fish market. 

Mama & Leslie

Me & Dad

Lunch began with conch chowder that was chock-full of veggies and shellfish. 

Conch Chowder

I ordered half of a pound of peel-and-eat shrimp with cocktail sauce for my main course. 

Shrimp

Fresh seafood is the BEST. If I could eat fresh seafood everyday, I gladly would. Steamed clams, mussels, crab, lobster… gimme it all! 😀 

Since we’re in the Keys, we couldn’t leave the restaurant without enjoying a slice of key lime pie. 

Key Lime Pie

This may upset people who are die-hard key lime pie fans, but my favorite part of key lime pie is always the buttery graham cracker crust. 😉 It’s crumbly, sweet, and oh-so-decadent 

With full bellies, we headed out to the beach for some snorkeling! 

Though we didn’t see very many fish, my dad did manage to find 11 cents! 😀 

We came back to the condo to find Ryan watching the World Cup. He slept for four hours while we were out and is still feeling a little sick. 😦 I made him some chicken noodle soup late this afternoon that he kept down, which we’re taking as a good sign. 

Ryan thinks he’s feeling up to enjoying dinner with us outside, so we’re heading out to grill up some hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner by the pool. 

I’m hoping the rest of this holiday weekend goes by niiiice and slow, because it’s flyin’ by!

As Promised

As promised, here are some pictures from our day at sea yesterday… that concluded prematurely due to a serious bout with sea sickness.

Let’s begin with pre-nausea pictures, shall we?

Gearin' Up

Early in the Mornin'

The first stop (Dad, Steve & Ryan explore the Bibb, a sunken ship):

Intense Men

 Dive stop number two (Dad, me & my sister explore the Duane, another sunken ship):

Dad & Daughters

And then, the nausea set in.

Sick Duo

But my sister and my dad felt fine!

Happy Sailors

After being dropped off on land, I felt a million times better and was able to help everyone unload the boat when they returned a couple hours later.

Finally Feeling Better...

All Smiles

Unfortunately Ryan felt really sick through the rest of the day. 😦 He’s feeling better today, but is still taking it easy with some toast for breakfast.

My breakfast was a simple one.

Cheerios with lots of blueberries and milk (x2):

Cereal, Berries, Milk

Now I’m off to hang with the family and figure out what we want to do for the day! Let’s hope nausea and sea sickness stay away. 😀

Hope you’re enjoying this holiday weekend so far!