607 Inspirations: keep calm and dive on

in case you hadn't already figured it out: facebook is creepy. and the ads that pop up on the side bar are even creepier--especially when they read your mind and know you likes and habits. so when an ad for scuba diving in the national aquarium, i had to ask myself "how do they know" which was immediately followed by "i soooo want to go!!" haha so i took the plunge (pun intended) and signed up!

my parents (aka the paparazzi) came to visit so they could watch me (and take pictures)...

we started off in a classroom and learned about the aquarium and their preservation efforts. one of the turtles currently in the aquarium is a 450-lb was rescued off the coast of long island, caught in fishing nets and her fin had to be amputated.

more recently, rescuers try to rehabilitate amputees so they can be released back into the wild. (and unfortunately we did not get to see or dive with calypso as they are in the process of refurbishing her tank)

they encouraged us to use the resources provide by the monterey bay aquarium's seafood watch, when shopping for seafood. they have a handy app which tells you if the seafood is from a reputable source--fishers that make a concerted effort to prevent tangle-ups such as the one with calypso. i'm a veggie so this doesn't apply to me, but if i ate meat/fish, i'd definitely use this. we should all be more conscientious consumers. please download it--it's free! and be sure to spread the word!

well i'm sure you all enjoyed this little lesson, but let's get to the part you've all been waiting for: the dive!

we were in the atlantic coral reef tank which is o-shaped and spectators view the exhibit from the middle. so we basically swam in circles for 45 minutes. here's some of what we saw:

a moray eel!