Greg left me and so that was the end of the Dive with Greg portion of my
trip.  I was eagerly awaiting the meeting with another 'old' friend, Al
Wells and his wonderful Cindy.

They got in quite late due to a series of problems the likes of which would
have left me thinking 'cancel' but as evidence of the kind of people they
are, they persevered and made the trip down anyway.

The next morning, I got up at 4 am after tossing and turning all night . . .
by then I was beyond exhausted.  Already an insomniac, I'd had quite a bit
less sleep even than usual since the night before I'd set off from Canada.

I got my gear organized, and called down for a cab to take me out to Fill
Express.  They assured me there was a cab already waiting for me at the
front.

When I got down there, I saw no taxi but was assured that the fellow taking
me to the large dark van, was indeed a cab driver and his van was indeed a
cab.  When I climbed in, I said "but there's no meter".  And the driver said
that's right.  So I said "Well, how much is it to 1/2 a mile south of Copan
on the Dixie Hwy?"  And he said $45, whereupon I shook my head and started
to get out of the van.  He said "OK, $40", whereupon I kept shaking my head
and getting out of the van.  So then he said "$30".  And I said "Oh,
alright".  And off we went.  It's still very dark out and we drove and drove
and drove, it seemed to me.

Eventually, we got to the Fill Express.  Al and Cindy weren't there yet.  I
opened my wallet and handed the guy two $20s.  He says thank you.  And I
said "Unh unh, I want my change" cuz I was pissed.  He didn't have any.  I
said then you've got a problem we'll have to work out some other way.  We
noticed that the lights had just come on in Fill Express.  He goes over and
knocks on the door.  The guy wouldn't respond.  So I go over and knock on
the door until he looks up and sees my face and my gear.  Only then will he
come over and open the door.  I get change for a $20, give the driver a $10
to go with one $20 and send him on his way.  Try and cheat me, will ya . . .
Well, I oughta . . .

Shortly after that, Al and Cindy showed up.  So I hugged some stuffings out
of Al and was introduced to Cindy.  We then met one of the dumbest guys I'd
encountered on this trip and that would have been the guy that let me in.  I
don't know what his problem was.  I decided to give him the benefit of the
doubt, well, heck, maybe it's too early in the morning for him too but he
was still none too bright later in the day.

We hauled up to Boynton, probably with me chattering all the way because I
don't remember much of the trip and I rarely listen to myself.  We met up
with Mike and set off on the Starfish.  I thought it was a nice dive boat
too though not quite as nice as the boat we'd gone out on with Dave or the
Splashdown.  I liked the DM.

The four of us had a couple of nice dives drifting a bit with the current,
some nice encounters with wildlife including a couple of nurse sharks and
one lobster thief.  Other than the lobster thief, it was a beautiful day
with good people.  We followed up with a mellow lunch at the dock and then
we said our so-longs to Mike.

The three of us headed back to Fill Express.  This is when I noticed that it
was a long way back.  When I remarked to Al, that I hadn't been on that
particular road before, he pointed out that I'd been on it that morning on
the way up.  Doh.

Al was good enough to drive me all the way back to my hotel, even though he
was so tired.  We all meant to catch a little nap but I don't think it
worked out for any of us.  And later, Al and Cindy joined me for dinner.  At
their suggestion, I'd had the concierge point us in the direction of a Thai
restaurant.  It was just a couple of blocks from the hotel and was it ever
good.  I wish I'd had the opportunity to eat there a time or two more.  Good
call, Al.  Most enjoyable company too, but we were all pretty weary and so
weren't the most lively table in the place.

The next morning, I jumped into a metered cab to meet up with Al and Cindy
at Adolphus Park for our dives on the Miss Conduct with Conrad.  There were
only 5 divers that morning.  The other two wanted to dive a wreck.  Our
group wasn't that enthused but we didn't make too much of a fuss.  Al had
the flag for our threesome and tied it off on the deck.

Now keep in mind that I'm so used to diving by myself, that I'm not much of
a buddy.  After screwing around with my beanie cap and my mask for a while,
I decided that if I had to be on this wreck, I'd go over and look into some
holds and rooms and things.  I didn't see anything significant through the
doorway and so decided to back out . . . hmm, I thought I knew how to go
backwards.  Guess I need some practice.  Then since I prefer wall dives, I
set out over the side of the wreck, descended almost to the sand and slowly
made my way around the ship.  About a quarter of the way around, I looked
back and there were Cindy and Al, dutifully babysitting me.  I felt bad.
One trip around and we went back up on deck and looked at fishies and such.
Somewhere along this point, in a heartbeat, my computer had gone from 3
minutes at this depth to 0 minutes at this depth.  Ooops.  I ascended to 70'
and was hanging out around the top of the wheel house.  Cindy came and got
me.  I thought she was trying to get me to come down and show me something.
But all she was trying to do was remind me that I must come up with the
flag.  Ooops.  OK,  I get it now.  :^)

I don't know how many of you guys have been diving with Conrad on the Miss
Conduct, but if you haven't been, I seriously suggest you go with him at
least once.  This guy is a bona fide character.  He pretty much kept me in
stitches.

For our second dive, the other two on our boat wanted to dive the inner
reef.  Yawn. We wanted to dive the third reef.  They were starting to get a
bit insistent.  I was starting to get annoyed.  Fortunately, Al's gentle
ways and his rapport with Conrad managed to get us where we wanted to go. .
. the third reef.  This was also a very, very nice dive with a little drift.
Cindy was taking all kinds of pictures again.  She found a large spotted
eel, which might have been a golden.  It was nicely opening and closing its
mouth for her and popping a bit out of its hole.  We watched it and she shot
it for a while but it began to get more aggressive and we decided we'd
better leave it alone before the pictures got anymore exciting.

I managed to find two mature spotted drums hanging out together under a
little ledge.  I hope Cindy got some good pictures of those two; Spotted
drums being one of my favorites, especially the juveniles.  Then I started
to see all kinds of spotted drums and so kept my eyes peeled for a juvenile.
Suddenly I spied an intermediate and I cruised past to take a look, oops . .
.sorry about ruining your shot Cindy.  I was too busy looking at the reef
and hadn't noticed you there.

We cut the dive a bit short to be in keeping with Conrad's afternoon
schedule and upon docking Al and Cindy hightailed it for home.  Too short a
time for me with these lovely people.  Al, you know I think you are great
but that is one awesome woman you've got.  She handled everything that came
down the pike with perfect equanimity and a sense of humor.  Lost gear,
broken down truck, 8 hour drives, late fills, dead computer battery, flooded
computer, tiredness, meeting new people, bozo's making keycards . . .amazing
woman.   She and I still need to get together to practice some shimmies
though.  Next time.

Thanks so much for everything, you two.  It was great!!

After they left, I was alone . . .

That doesn't mean it was the end of my adventures.  Of course, there's quite
a bit more to the story of the rest of my time in Ft. Lauderdale . . .but
you guys know me.  Use your imaginations and you will probably be close
enough.

By the way Dan Bracuk, the weather was awesome.