On the day after Christmas, I left Tamu behind in the hotel again and headed to Key Largo, which is linked directly to the Florida mainland by Route 1. I have visited the Florida Keys before, spending a week further into the chain of islands, and was able to explore all the way to Key West already. On this visit, I was less ambitious, and just went over to Key Largo to snorkel at Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. It was my first time snorkeling, and I wondered what I have been waiting for as it seemed like a perfect combination of swimming and exploring–two things I love to do. Since I do not have underwater camera equipment, I have no photos of this, but did record that it was a happy and restful day playing in the ocean.
That evening, I joined up with Sweetie, her husband, and some friends who had booked a few days at a dive hotel so that they could see even more of life underwater. We overlapped there long enough to hang out a bit and enjoy the sunset. Then I headed back to Homestead to join Tamu for our last night of Christmas in southern Florida.