Let me know how you like it.  I've done both Capt. Don's and Buddy's,
and enjoyed Buddy's more but a week of that saggy mattress helped me
throw out my back on our last day there while rinsing and hanging up
gear.  I've only seen Sand Dollar from the road and from the ocean,
but it looks nice from those perspectives.

I think we're going to Den Laman next time, foregoing the big complex
for a more intimate experience, and hopefully much better mattresses.
The condos there look great from the pics, I've heard good reviews,
and best of all: they're fully air-conditioned.

We had such a great time on our last visit that I wouldn't consider
any other place in the Caribbean - we only decided on Grand Cayman
this time because it's a lot easier to fit the flights into my work
schedule (can't do Thursday-Thursday to Bonaire with Continental's
once-a-week redeye) and I'm mainly going for a tech class with
DiveTech.  (Walt Starker teaches tech classes out of Capt. Don's, but
it was a pain having to drag everything over there).

Of course now that I've found out my new housing will be ready before
we go, I almost feel like blowing off the class in favor of playing
with the camera all day every day.  It's going to suck having to limit
myself to shooting pics on sunset and night shore dives after class,
losing all the good day light, but I doubt the tech instructor would
appreciate me task loading myself with a new camera while trying to do
the drills.  I have one day of boat diving after the 5-day class, so
I'll at least get to use that to the fullest.

Other than cold, how is it? <snicker>

I'm headed to SoFL... Stopped in Pensacola for the night...

Before I say a word about the operators, let me say that I had a great time,
enjoyed meeting Kaitlyn, Grace, Dan, Pat and Arnold for the first time and
enjoyed seeing Grumman again. Special thanks to Dan and Pat for inviting me
to stay with them and for being such wonderful company. I enjoyed every
minute of every dive, with everyone one.  Operator issues did not, in any
way, keep me from enjoying myself.  The following addresses my observations
of the operators only and does not, in any way, reflect on the people I dove
with. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We used Quiescence in Key Largo. I don't often choose an operator in the
upper Keys. I usually go with whoever the visiting divers select or take one
of my own boats. This time, I was asked to book for myself and others, so I
chose Quiescence. Everything I ever heard about them was good.  Our trip
confirmed the reports. I can now recommend them from personal experience
rather than hearsay. The shop personnel were efficient and very pleasant to
deal with. There was minimal fuss or administrative overhead. We filled out
our forms, paid for our trip and were on our way to the boat. The dock is
directly behind the shop, a plus not found with most Keys operators. Our
afternoon trip left an hour late thanks to people that failed to show up on
time for the morning trip. I consider it a significant plus that they would
wait on their AM divers and that they gave them their full share of full
length dives even though the divers, themselves, caused the boat to leave
late. It was even more of a plus that I those in the shop were asked if
anyone was OK with a late departure.  I volunteered us because two of our
group had not yet arrived. The late departure was by choice, not forced on
us.  We got our fair share of dives too, another plus. The captain and mate
were professional and helpful. In my opinion, they earned a tip. Not all
crews do. There was enough room to set up and we were not rushed in or out
of the water at all. We were asked to return an hour after we entered the
water rather than at a specific time. That's always good for me since my
Citizen HyperAqualand watch displays dive time once the dive starts. I also
appreciated the option to enter the water as we pleased, back roll from the
side or giant stride off the back. No lines at the entry point. Tanks were
brought to us at which ever entry point we chose which made things a bit
easier for everyone. Tanks were switched for us by the crew, something I
don't normally prefer. This time, the crew was clearly paying attention to
what they were doing. I use a DIN setup DIR style, a little less usual in
the Keys, with my primary running down to the right and everything else
configured accordingly. They got it right including running the LP inflator
hose under the two keepers. They left me nothing to complain about, so I
didn't complain. This is the first boat I can recall where I didn't mind
somebody else setting up my equipment. I don't recall that anyone on the
Quiescence boat asked for a tip. I might be wrong. Regardless, they didn't
have to ask me, I gave them one because they deserved it.

There were only a few things I would have liked to have seen done better. I
would have liked to see between dive fruit provided, something Halls did.
It's nice for the divers, and, if we had been doing deeper dives, would have
been a good idea from a hydration standpoint as well. I also like to see
some kind of cookies or crackers on board dive boats. Food that soaks up
liquids tend to help those who are prone to seasickness. It's a good idea
for any dive boat, but not as common as it once was. Personally, I prefer
animal crackers. Next time I dive with Quiescence, I'll take them some.
Perhaps they'll keep the plastic cookie jar full after that. The only real
negative happened after the dive. I was using my HP 100 cubic foot tanks on
dives with a combined average depth of 20 feet over a 2 hour period. Neither
of my tanks was even a third empty. I was charged $23 for topping off the
two tanks with banked 30%. That's more than a little high for the market,
particularly for customer just getting off a paid dive trip. This normally
would not bother me much since I don't often do multiday dives with Keys
charters. I normally get my tanks filled, and refilled closer to home, at
Fill Express in Pompano, where they charge by the cubic foot rather than by
the tank and do all nitrox fills between 21% and 50% from banked supplies.

The good far exceeded the very few less desirable elements.  I liked
everyone involved and will use Quiescence for my Key Largo diving until I
find someone better. None I've used in the past are as good. In the future,
however, I will make other arrangements for getting my tanks filled.

We used Halls in Marathon for the second day of diving. They were OK to deal
with, gave us our money's worth, and provided fresh fruit between dives.
There was nothing in particular to recommend against them or for them except
for one thing. Like all the other dives this weekend, we stayed shallow. My
tanks were still nearly full at the end of the day.  Bob, at the shop,
topped them off for me with nitrox quality air at no charge.  One stabilized
at the full 3,500 psi I expect in my HP 100s, the other was around 3,250. I
would have complained about the short fill had I been paying for it, but for
free, it was just fine, particularly since I knew I would be staying shallow
again the following day.  Points to Bob for being so nice.  It's people like
him that bring customers like me back.  I won't hesitate to use Halls again,
but other shops in the same area have also been recommended by others.

We used Looe Key Reef Resort on Ramrod Key for our third day of diving.  I
will not choose Looe Key Reef Resort again and will recommend against them
if asked in the future. I absolutely did not care for the people in the
shop, the crowded conditions on the boat, the $86 cost, the lack of discount
for those that brought their own tanks and weights and particularly did not
like the $1 per hot dog or bottled water charge on top of everything else.
Neither the DM nor the Captain seemed particularly helpful, but that didn't
stop them from openly asking for tips. I had two of my own tanks and planned
to use one of theirs. They had no DIN tanks and did not appear to even know
there was such a thing. That was confirmed later. I had an adapter, but
given how shallow the dives were, I was able to one of my tanks, the one
Halls filled to rated capacity, for two dives and did the third dive on my
less full one. I could have done all three on one tank, but there wasn't
much point in trying. As Grumman already pointed out, they set a "be on the
boat" time one hour from the briefing, less than an hour for all divers. I
was consistently one of the first divers in the water and still didn't
manage anything over 50 minutes. I didn't mind the slightly short dives as
much as I did that they were imposed on  us. When we returned to the dock,
they agreed to refill my tanks without charge. Had I know what would happen
next, I would not have let them. The individual that did the fills had never
even seen a DIN valve.  He hooked an A clamp fill whip up to my DIN valves
without an adapter. Lucky for him, I was standing there when he did. I had
him disconnect them, put the adapter slugs in the valves and we started
over. Neither of the tanks were filled to the normal 3,500. One was at
3,000, the other only slightly higher. Given that I had paid for three tanks
and gas I did not use, this was not exactly free and was not OK. Given that
there didn't seem to be any option, I let it go and chalked it up to
experience.  I'll have the tanks topped off at Fill Express later this week.

Looe Key Resort is a true cattle boat operation in the worst Keys tradition.
They cater to the inexperienced and to tourists, packing them on as tightly
as possible and soaking them for every available dollar. The least
experienced diver in our group, Grumman's brand new certified daughter, was
a better diver than almost everyone not part of our group. There's a place
in the Keys for operations like this, and Looe Key Reef Resort fits the need
perfectly. They reduce the number of divers too inexperienced to know better
that we have to put up with on the boats favored by the rest of us. Should
someone I want to meet and dive with select them in the future, I'd tolerate
the conditions again, but I would not recommend this operator or,
personally, choose them in the future.

Lee