Joe and Kathy Childs finally got around to paying us a visit, their first to
the Ft. Lauderdale area.  They got in Friday, just after noon and will be
headed out tomorrow afternoon.  Things did not look good for a diver's visit
to Florida, but the gods that look after all of us apparently took pity.

On Saturday AM, we were scheduled to go out on the Deeper out of Boynton
Beach.  We woke to strong winds, rain and lightening, all apparently fueled
by the weather that was then approaching Cozumel.  A call to the shop
confirmed our worst fears.  The seas were rough and the 35 mile trip to
Boynton Beach would be wasted.  While we were trying to figure out what to
do with our time together, the skies cleared, the wind died and things began
to look pretty good.  By then, we had called Lady Cyana in Islamorada and
Jim Wyatt down around Big Pine Key to confirm that conditions were good
enough for us to make an afternoon dive.  Both shops were planning wreck
dives in the afternoon.  Another call to Boynton got us space on the boat in
the afternoon.  Since Joe and Kathy were primarily interested in reef
diving, Boynton was our choice.

We left earlier than necessary to Boynton, figuring on checking in, getting
my tanks filled and just looking around before the boat departed.
Unfortunately, the shop and the boat weren't communicating that day.   One
boat was going through some regular maintenance and the other was booked for
a student group.  By this time, it was too late for the Keys.  On the off
chance that things would work out, I gave Brownies a call as we headed back
for the Ft. Lauderdale area.  Luckily for us, Brownies was going out and had
room.  Jayna and Cathy opted for a trip out to Holiday Park for an airboat
ride out to the Seminole village, alligator wrestling, etc. while Joe and I
did a couple of dives.  Surprisingly, the seas were not as bad as I expected
and the visibility was actually better than average.  We dove one of the
Tenneco Towers.  These are old oil rigs that were donated and sunk by
Tenneco quite a few years ago.  They are litererally covered with growth and
home to thousands of fish, some in schools so think that it's impossible to
see through them.  Our second dive was on Mine Car Reef.  Mine Car is in
exceptionally bad shape.  Red algae was everywhere and what corals there
were were in less than stellar health.  Still, one good dive out of two, on
a day when we thought we'd be skunked completely, wasn't too bad.

Sunday, we headed back to Boynton.  Again, conditions were not as bad as we
expected.  The trip out the cut, however, was just a tad exciting.  There
was a strong ground swell coming in from the east and some serious breakers
at the exit to the inlet.  Once past, them, however, the rollers were quite
modest.

Visibility was as good as I can remember seeing on the Boynton reefs.  We
did the inside of the Boynton third reef first.  There was almost no current
at all, a situation not normal to the Boynton area.  Lobster season is still
open.  Joe, Cathy and Jayna proved to be excellent lobster spotters.   Too
bad I'm not as good a lobster catcher.  Still, it was a very nice dive.  The
second dive, known as the Catacombs, is one of the more spectacular reefs in
the area.  Lots of high profile, undercut reef with nooks and cranys for all
the ocean's less gregarious citizens.  The lobster were not quite as wary as
they were on the previous dive either.  I came back with two, the exact
number I needed to supplement the supply already on hand for a home made
surf and turf dinner.

Dinner was just as spectacular as I'd hoped.  Filet Magnon and Lobster is a
tough act to follow.  Jayna, who has to work tomorrow, headed for bed early,
saying her goodbyes on the way.  She's got to be up early and will probably
be gone before the rest of us awake.  Joe and Cathy retired just a little
while ago, freeing me to jump in and post this message.

Seeing friends is always nice and particularly great when they're diving
friends.  It's been a wonderful three days that will somehow make going back
to work on Tuesday just a bit easier.  We started the weekend as friends and
ended it as much better friends.  All of life should be this good.

Lee