Giant Jellies and Dolphins

September 10th, 2011

Today, I had a wonderful chance to catch a glimpse of one of the true wonders of the world. The crystal clear water of the Gulf nearly took my breath away! The sun was shining so bright, the temperature was just right, and the water felt so good.

On our way out to our destination, we began to notice some jelly fish in the water. Before I knew it, I was staring at literally millions of jellies as we flew past them in the water. They were clouding the water, all of them from just a few inches in diameter up to over a foot in diameter! I've never seen anything like it, but I know that it's not a rare thing for jelly fish. I feel so blessed to have been able to witness it, however. Millions of them. In Oregon, in the waters of the Pacific, I have never seen it this clear. The only jellies I've seen are the ones washed up in clear blobs on the beach. The water of the Pacific is not a crystal clear green either! I loved seeing all these interesting creatures in action. It's something I've only seen on the Discovery channel.

As we drove into deeper, open waters, it was clear that this was a perfect day for everyone to be out enjoying the weather. There were multiple sail boats, speed boats, and fishermen alike all out to take advantage. We drove right past them all. About fifteen minutes after setting out, we set anchor about a quarter mile off the beach in twelve foot deep water. Green, clear water. Soon as we could, our goggles were on, snorkels in hand. Tristen and I jumped into the water and began to take a look around.

It's a funny thing, trying to dive down to the ocean floor. If I had an oxygen tank I'm sure it would have been easier, but I don't hold oxygen very well for very long. I like to breathe ;) So because I didn't have the chance to descend slowly, I had to swim to the floor as fast as possible. The only problem is the pressure of the depth of the water mixed with the bouyancy of the salt water made it darn near impossible for me to get down to the bottom!

I get pretty tired after treading water for a while, I'm slightly ashamed to admit. I ended up back in the boat a few times, just to drink some more water, or relax and catch my breath. At one point, I wanted to reach the bottom so bad that I had my cousin Tristen stand on me in the water, just to push me down and give me a head start! I held my body like that of a sky diver in order to keep myself from flipping over; arms out but bent, legs bent at the knee and spread apart to keep my balance- I thought it was pretty nifty. My uncle and I actually had a contest to see who could get to the bottom and get the most sand in a water bottle. The real reason for this was my desire to have sand from my new home to put into little glass maple syrup bottles that I acquired from my place of work, along with sea shells I found while beach combing with my aunt back in February. I just want to send a neat piece of my new home to my old home. A personal piece of paradise :)

All throughout our stay just off the coast, several dolphins surfaced to say hello. None of them came close enough to have a visit. They were beautiful, dark bottlenose dolphins. I had the pleasure of seeing a few come out of the water, one of which lifted itself over half way out! The dolphins were playing and swimming all around us, but not close enough to play with. It was a blessing to witness it, either way! They are such beautiful creatures!

While I was lying out on the front of the boat, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my body, the rest of the family was in the water. Tristen and my uncle decided to attempt to swim out to meet the dolphins, but just then, my aunt screamed in fear because she felt something brush up against her leg! I scrambled up to see what the problem was, and I saw a large, single jelly fish about a foot in diameter, swimming around her! She alarmed Tristen, who (rightfully so) was a little worried about sharks. Tristen boogied back to the boat, along with my aunt. My uncle however was completely oblivious and still swimming out to the dolphins! He finally heard me scream at him to tell him about the potential danger, and he proceeded to swim back as well. He wasn't far away from the boat when he looked up and asked me to tell him where it was. I couldn't see it at first, but then I saw the jelly right behind him! I thought for sure he'd swim away, but instead he went under the water to take a closer look at it. I almost wish I could have done the same. How neat it would have been, and I'm slightly jealous of his experience. He's been on the ocean for 32 years though, with the coast guard, so I'd imagine he's much more fearless than I am.

At around 3:15 we lifted the anchor and set back out for home. About half way there, we spotted some more dolphins! They were much closer, and they actually got behind the boat to swim in the wake! It was such a beautiful sight!

The best part of the day, however, was picking Lucas up from Miss Barbara's beautiful home. I walked in the door and he was sitting on Ed's lap, just having a grand old time. He heard me calling to him, looked me in the eye as I walked across the room, and smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. He lit up my day brighter than the sun. I scooped him up into my arms and kissed him all over his face. What a beautiful son I have, and what a proud mother I am to have him! He is my joy, and the reason I have to walk in the light of the Lord. He makes me want to be better than I am at all times, so that I can be a great example to him. I have to take the place of two parents, and that makes me want to work harder to show him love and care, because I love him more than I could ever really express with words. Because actions speak much louder, that is what I will use to prove myself as a mother. He makes everything I do worth doing, because it all brings me closer to our wonderful, jealous, loving God who blessed me with this little joy!