I did something I never, ever thought I would have done in my entire life: My family and I went to St. Simons Island that is just off the coast of Georgia and my husband and I went scuba diving for the first time.
I was actually scared to go. Just the thought of being underwater for a long time, and having to depend on a tank of air to supply the air I would need, did not thrill me. But I went, because I had to. (I bet my husband that he wouldn't go, because I said he was a big, fat chicken. And guess what he said? You guessed it! I'll never call him a big, fat chicken again.)
Even though I was scared it was awesome! We went to a scuba diving tour operator on St. Simons. They actually had to teach us how to breathe through the scuba diving apparatus. It seems I had actually stopped breathing, because I didn't like that horrid breathing sound. But, I soon got over the trying to remember breathing part, when I saw my husband was having the same problem. It was so funny!
The guide took us out on a boat and we waved at the fishermen catching shrimp and crab that are plentiful here, thanks to the salt marshes. We all jumped into the water, not the real way but the backwards-falling way. I have to say once I got the breathing thing down, and I got used to swimming with the tank on my back I absolutely loved scuba diving. The water off of St. Simons Island is the Atlantic Ocean and it was really warm. It was truly an amazing experience. A nosy dolphin swam over and looked at us. He was probably trying to figure out what we were. I actually reached out and touched him, and he didn't mind at all!
The real reason we were scuba diving was to see a ship wreck that happened hundreds of years ago in one of the British-Scottish-Spanish battles for control of this beautiful island. (Bet you didn't know there were British-Scottish-Spanish battles!) It's about 75 feet off shore, where the water suddenly gets clearer and deeper. It was amazing to see the remains of this ship on the bottom of the ocean just resting there, like it was waiting for a pirate or someone to come and claim her. Of course, it had barnacles and seaweed and sand all over it, which made it seem even spookier and straight from a movie.
Fish of all kinds were swimming around the boat, and many different kinds of fish were swimming in and out of the holes on the boat. In fact while we were down there, several shark swam out of one of the bigger holes that used to be a window. They just glided along in the water, fins guiding them on their journey. I was really scared, but the guide looked back at us and shook his head back and forth, saying it was okay. He told us back on the boat that there are sharks in this water, but that they are too small and well fed to bother with us. Gee, that was comforting.
We had a great time at St. Simons Island in Georgia. It truly was an awesome experience going scuba diving and seeing all the marine life, including colorful fish, and dolphins, and even the sharks. The experience ranks right up there with our other life experiences. In fact, it is in the top ten!
This travelogue was brought to you by our St. Simons expert, Kate Johns.