Things I Hated about the Trip

1) Losing my way to NASA - Lost an hour here, going in the wrong direction. Google Maps to blame for showing the wrong address.

2) Losing my way to Miami - The Gramin GPS is good in destinations but not great in directions. Was missing my TomTom, which at-least had the directions right but screwed up the destination. Gramin maps were a total disaster, half the roads were missing. Lost 2 hours there going around in circles around the Florida Turnpike south and paying the same toll again and again.

3) Hectic drive schedule - In the last 3 days, i had almost had less than 8 hours of sleep. Saturday it was an hour and a half, Sunday was 4 hours and Monday Sleepless. And in this state now i am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight at 4:40 AM in the morning and writing this in my notebook at 3:30. The trip meter of my car shows 1265.5 Miles Gosh...only if i get a cozy bed now.

4) The Party Hot South Beach - Skimpy dressed Chicas, A Line up of restaurants, Booze flowing around, Dances and Night clubs blaring with music, People waiting to get in, there was one hell of a party on Saturday Night at South beach. But Contrary to the popular opinion, not my type of a vacation. I know this statement will be contended by a lot of folks who know me.

5) The Dive - Even though the dive was wonderful, certain things could have been better. One I was sea-sick, and almost felt like throwing up but it was due due to the rough sea and the rocking boat. Two, I was not allowed to take photographs under-water. I have spent almost 20-30 bucks for buying a waterproof camera and a water proof Dicapac case. There is no evidence that i actually did the dive, nor i can share the beauty of the reef from my eyes.

6) The Dive again - Learnt a lesson, that SCUBA is not child's play. Was real tough but it was all worth it. For starters once inside the water, the pressure hits you from all directions and to equalize the pressure in the ear and to keep it from hurting, you gotta keep exhaling by holding your nose to release the pressure in your ears. Like blowing your nose. If you do it a little hard there is a chance the ear-drum may break.

If Water gets inside the mask you gotta blow your nose with the Mask on (Nasty), The Mask was almost hurting me since it was of the wrong size.

You gotta keep checking the depth and the amount of Oxygen left in the cylinder. Gotta keep inhaling and exhaling hard, to keep your lungs from collapsing under the pressure. Gotta inflate and deflate, the dive suit to keep it steady and you gotta always watch out for the rough seas, when you come to the surface.

And there is more risk of hurting oneself while you get on to the boat. And you gotta concentrate and be alert since that is not our world and we are not even supposed to be there.

But in all this mess, there is only a very little time for one to actually enjoy the dive, but that little time whatever it was was truly worth the effort.

Also the swimming rules don't apply for diving, in-fact diving is the opposite of swimming. You Gotta keep yourself hydrated by drinking a lot of water. Eat Cookies to keep the salt water off your mouth, and doing both these made me squeamish, almost felt like throwing up on the deck.

My eyes are still burning with Salt water and my iron bracelet is totally rusty now.

7) Hell Lot of unnecessary expenses - That were not a part of the plan, like anywhere you have to park, you gotta pay. Spent $100 for parking alone... Spent $30 on the tolls, spent $30 more for all the wrong directions i took. Spent almost $200 on food, which was very expensive and not planned for. Spent a $80 for the taxi, spent another $100 for the delayed return of my rented car, spent $30 on the waterproof camera which i didn't use. The food at Whale Harbor in Islamorada made me feel like i gotta puke...And for that spent another useless $30.

8) Missing the Flight - Didn't know that Orlando had 3 airports all starting with the word "Orlando". Went to Sanford 30 mins before the flight rushing to realize that i am in the wrong airport. The right Airport was 45 mins away in the same direction i came from...But didn't lose money here since i got another flight with no cost....but lost one more night's sleep. As i am writing this sitting in the airport waiting for my flight...Its almost time to leave...It is 4:00 AM and the flight is at 4:40, the security check queue is getting longer...Gotta go now.

Florida Trip

Waiting Waiting and Waiting at the airport. It was a crazy trip and can't wait to return home after the hectic schedule i have put myself through. Last 3 days were the least to say complete crazy.

10 Things i Enjoyed in the trip

1) One Single Brain - I Mean there was no-one else in the trip with me. So it was pretty easy for me to follow my schedule, however taxing it was for me. Sure had i had any other sane brain with my crazy one, i would not have covered half the things which i did cover.

2) Getting some space - After an hectic drive which took me to the wrong destination and made me to lose an hour on the schedule, finally i was in NASA learning a little bit more about programmes which once we would have thought impossible. We in the sense i mean Human Race.

3) The Lunar Section - of NASA was the best the story of the astronauts and the sheer courage of the men who came up with the concept of sending a man to the moon was awe-inspiring. Neil Armstrong would have become the first person to die on the moon if not for his timely decision making skills will give the fake corporate decision makers, like me, a run for the money.

4) Touched the Moon Rock - Did no feel a thing about the moon rock, was like touching any other stone. But the sheer magnitude of doing such a thing was wonderful at the back of my mind.

5) Standing in between four magnificent Rockets - In the Rocket Garden of NASA, makes one feel small. Yes, Rocket science is much simpler than the so called Consulting and its variations.

6) Getting ready to go Under Sea - The Rainbow Reef divers, were a wonderful set of people. They made my trip. It was exciting getting ready for my first dive in the sea. Just hanging around the Rainbow reef office in Key Largos, with the fellow divers, clicking the pics of a bunch of pelicans gobbling the catch of the day from the fisher folks, getting trained in the pool of Marriott hotel on SCUBA, just lazing around watching the Pelicans, Fishermen, Great looking Yachts. This was the only time i had for relaxation in the entire trip. And yes there was a Hot pool...where i was just lazing around.

7) The Dive - It was miles into the sea, in the Pennekamp, oops, Lord Pennekamp Marine Sanctuary that we took the dive. Thanks to Mike and Tammy, my instructors. Thanks to the wonderful team members of the crew who helped me with the suit and the cylinders. Getting the gear on was tough. This was an moment i would remember for the rest of my life.

I was carrying enough weight on me that it was tough to even walk without any support, but once inside the water i started feeling very light. The ocean was restless, there was a strong wind and the boat was almost rocking like hell, that it would make anyone sea-sick.

The 2 seconds before you step into the sea, with your weight on, cylinders on, barely able to walk carrying all this, webbed feet making it even more difficult to walk, looking straight, not holding anything for support, One hand on your mask, One hand on your weight belt, standing on the edge of the boat with your finned heels and stepping right leg forward as if it is solid ground, only to find it is not and falling head down into the sea. A moment which i cannot forget.

8) Inside the seas - Once you are in, it is a different world. Felt like being in a big aquarium. And i had this strange feeling that all the fishes, big or small, were looking at me. I felt like a fish myself. A big fish in a big pond. If talking of colors, this will be the most colorful spot in the world. Even though my stupid mind was thinking two-dimensional in the seas all dimensions open up.

It took some time for me to realize i can swim in any direction, even upside down, than just going straight.

Saw a huge ray fish waiting in the sand for its prey, some really huge fishes which i don't know the name of, a huge green Murray Eel of the size of my arm, A Barracuda swimming past me, A Lobster which Mike was trying to catch just to show us, A Parrot fish, A school of bright blue colored fishes surrounding me, the Corals which responded to the clicking noise, sea shells which were actually moving in the deep, Crabs, Dead Crabs indicating the presence of an Octopus, it felt like i was in a fucking paradise to swim around the coral reef.

The tough part being to take care that we don't step on the reef, for they feel pain like the way we do and when we step on them they feel like someone is ripping their skin off.

Did the dive in two places, One in French Pass and the second one i don't remember as i was too sea sick to listen to what the Captain was saying.

9) The South Beach - This i would rate as one of the lowest points in the trip, since i was rushing for time and was not able to take a dip in the cool waters of South beach. Not even a bit of time to relax. Where Topless sun-bathing is the norm, there i was not even having the time to put the swimsuit on. :-) . Not even in a Beachwear, and the worst of all fully clothed ;-). But the Beach was beautiful in all aspects...Ahem. Beauty does not lie in the eyes of the beholder, it lies in South Beach, Miami.

10) Key West - After the dive sitting in the Conch Republic, with blackened snapper in my plate, A Mojito to drink, listening to a Spanish band, this was a cool place to relax. It was the only worthy sea-food which i ever had in the whole trip after trying the disastrous Lobster Crepes and Flash fried Calamari at the Whale Harbor in Islamorada.