And my inner environmentalist sighs So Balu has this client who owns a $2 million house on Las Olas but lives in Virginia. He invited Balu to take his jetskis out for some "exercise." Balu and I both kinda eh'd at the idea; I'd never been on one but didn't have much of a desire to change that. Jetskis, like snowmobiles, are loud, obnoxious, and fuel wasters. Typically their riders are inconsiderate on the water and often well-deserving of the wrath they get from divers, sailors, and other boaters. Then Balu's client asked him, please, take them out. He'd pay for the gas. So Saturday evening we took them out for a test run. Sad to say, but I had fun! We took them out to the ocean, which was a bit too choppy, and down to the area off the beach where I work out. We both wished we had snorkel gear so we could go check out the water -- but next time!

The jetski I was using had a broken speedometer, so I have no idea what I got it up to. Probably not all that fast; I'd start to go fast, woo-wooing the whole way, but then would get a bit too fast for my liking. Once we hit the flat water in the port on our way back to the house, however, I floored it. It was awesome. And I saw a school of fish, apparently being chased, jumping out of the water in sync four or five times. It was awesome.So, sigh, they're pretty fun. But I doubt I'll ever have a spare $10k, so no worries on becoming someone who jetskis often..

Yesterday morning, Balu and I, with his friends Roy, Michelle, and Geoff, went out for a dive. The water was less than ideal, but the diver offered up its usual surprises: two soapfish sightings, the lookdowns, a baby porcupinefish, a school of pipefish (?), a school of jacks swimming over the reef and ducking into holes in perfect harmony.. It was a really nice time, better than I was expecting from the lack of viz and abundance of surge.. It was a fairly short excursion for us (an hour) before we decided to call it a dive, but I suppose there's no reason to stay out to use your air up if you've had your share of underwater fun. I felt bad, though, because Geoff & Michelle are fairly new divers.. well, Geoff dove a lot when he was younger but not so much anymore. Michelle was really new and it was probably less than ideal for her. Hopefully she'll give it another shot.

Shannon is visiting over the Fourth of July and I'm surprised to be looking forward to acting as tour guide for her. So far we're planning snorkeling, sailing, a trip to the Fruit & Spice Park for mangos and lychees, boot camp (ha - lucky her), beach time, aquarium-sized margaritas, fireworks, and Pilates. Should be a good time!

I'm happy to report that, after weeks and weeks of seeming to not lose any weight, today the pants I just bought a month or so ago are noticeably loose! So the workout/eating regimen is finally kicking in. Yay, results!  ¶ 4:16 PM