South for the Summer...?

(Note: Click on the links to see more pictures of what I am talking about) It has been a while since I took the time to launch the details of my life into cyberspace. I suppose I could blame it on the mundaneness I feel within the confines of my own life, but I seriously busted out of those a few weeks ago, so a post is certainly in order. This is not because Whitney told me she would flog me mercilessly if I did not write a post about my trip. Ok, maybe its partially because of that. She is stronger that she looks.

This story starts in the early 90's when people still had yet to let go of the big hair from the 80's, namely my Dad's great quasi-mullet, and people only assumed Paula Abdul was crazy. My Dad and some of his colleagues from the CSL (Comparative Sedimentology Lab) at the University of Miami started taking students on field trips to the Bahamas to study the unique aspects of sand and subsequent island formation that happens there. My Dad was specially qualified to help on these trips because he did his dissertation studying ooid (a particular type of sand grain) formation and such in a place in the Bahamas called Joulter's Cay. The fact that he used to enjoyed bouncing around the Bahamas in a speedo was just icing on the cake (key words in sentence: used to).

So when I felt grown up enough to ask (I think I was about 15), I started harassing my Dad to take me on one of his field trips. After only 12 years of bugging him, he relented. Maybe I needed those extra 12 years to grow up a little more. Although I would like to make it clear that I still have a very juvenile sense of humor. In fact, bodily functions are funnier now than they were when I was 15 because no one gets mad at me for laughing anymore (MAGGIE!). And so I accompanied a bunch of rock nerds on their week long exploration of the Great Bahama Bank.

I flew to Miami on June 14th and met up with my Dad. We spent that night and the following day and night in Miami. The field trip officially started on the 15th with a day of lectures. I sat through a majority of them, but I didn't really get all of the discussion. Either way, it was fun to see my Dad lecture in front of some students. It was enlightening. I say this because he does so many things I do when I lecture. Like father, like son I suppose. And the students on the trip were from all over the world. Don't believe me? Here is a list of the countries represented by the eleven students: USA, Venezuela, Brazil, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan, Algeria, and Indonesia. So I may not have been the only one that didn't fully understand the lectures.

The morning of the 16th we flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini, which is a little island right off the east coast of Florida. There we met up with our boat Captain, Captain John (one of my new favorite people) and jumped on the research vessel Coral Reef 2. It is an 80 foot boat owned by the University of Chicago that they use to catch fish for the Shedd Aquarium. We got onto our home for the next 5 days and headed off into the great blue. Seriously, the color of the water was unbelievable.

Starting that Tuesday through Friday, we traveled from Bimini to New Providence Island (where Nassau is located). We went across the Great Bahama Bank and snorkeled all around looking at the sand and other rocks. We walked along sections of the isolated coast lines on Andros Island and at Joulter's Cay. We swam all over the place and walked in places where nobody else walks. It was fantastic. We also swam around some beautiful patch reefs and the Andros barrier reef, which is the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world. I encountered fish of all kinds, beautiful rays including 2 spotted eagle rays, and a handful of sharks (my dive buddy and I were approached by 3 black tip sharks and we also saw a Caribbean reef shark and a nurse shark). The diving was astounding. It was 4 days at sea, living, eating (lots of this due to the chef onboard), and sleeping on the boat. I tried my best to soak up as much of it as I could and wish I would have had more time on the boat to eat even more of it up.

Although the surroundings were breathtaking and the marine life was extraordinary, my favorite part of the trip was spending that time with my Dad. At the chance of sounding sappy, I really felt like I became good friends with him. Maybe it has been because of physical distance or because of a lack of time spent in circumstances like these, but I grew to see and respect my Dad in new ways. I am not sure if he feels the same way (note: see the comment about my 14 year old sense of humor), but I hope this trip can serve as a strength to our relationship for the rest of our lives.

After the field trip ended, we stayed in Nassau for a few days to help scour the island for more rocks to help a master's student at the CSL with his thesis and then we made a quick trip to Wierton, WV to visit my Dad's family. Both of these legs of the trip were great too, but I would be lying if I didn't say they paled in comparison to the week spent at sea. I will always remember this trip and hope I can bug my Dad to take me again. And if I play my cards right, maybe it won't take another 12 years.