Having decided (finally) on Key West for my vacation this year, I am now planning how to spend my days (of course, I only have 2 full days, so that shouldn't really be too hard). Word on the Internet is that the beach that my hotel is on isn't very good. Of course, there are always voices of dissent, so there is really no way to know until I get there. The Internet people are unanimous, however in their praise of the beaches in the Dry Tortugas. Located about 70 miles west of Key West, they are accessible only by boat or seaplane. After much debate, I decided to spend one of my two days on the island trekking out to check them out. I have booked passage on the Fast Cat II for my second day in paradise and I will hope and pray that I don't get seasick. Thank heavens for Dramamine.

I have only been out on the ocean once before and I got extremely sick. Shane and I were on South Padre Island a few years ago and decided to go parasailing. He got up early and went across the island to get us some yummy McDonald's breakfast (mmmm... a Big Breakfast). After eating, we headed to the docks. We failed to consider the fact that it was fairly windy and the only company that was operating that morning was ours. We got on the boat with several other people and headed out onto the ocean. The extremely rough ocean. The captain seemed to be amused at the immediate nausea experienced by the people from the land-locked state. The parasailing itself was amazing (I highly recommend it and I am terrified of heights). However, after he reeled us back in, the seasickness returned. We made it back to shore feeling extremely worse-for-wear and looking decidedly green. We got into the rental car (Shane driving) and just sat there for a few minutes, waiting for the world to stop bobbing up and down. Eventually, Shane put the car in gear and backed out of the parking lot - that was all she wrote. My scrambled eggs reappeared in a heartbeat. We drove straight to a gas station and cleaned out the car (I just threw away my towel and t-shirt - it wasn't worth the effort to clean them up). Thus ended a vomit-free streak of nearly 20 years. It's worth noting that I haven't puked since. Aren't you glad I shared?

Fortunately, the catamaran that I'll be sailing on in Florida is (supposedly) motion-sickness free. Keep your fingers crossed!