There are lots of stories out there about missed opportunities. This is not one of them.
Ever since Mrs. Goat was a little girl she’s always wanted to swim with sharks. Anyone who knows Mrs. Goat can unquestionably confirm this to be true.
We’ve talked about making the trip many times over the years but somehow life always got in the way. This year we decided we were simply going to make it happen.
We set out on a Saturday morning to catch a bus to the airport. What should have been a 2 hour drive became a 4 hour drive due to white out conditions from an impending snow storm. When we arrived at the bus station and walked into the terminal we were greeted by the final boarding call for our bus – we had just made it.
We got to the airport to find out our flight had been delayed due to the snow so we ended up landing in Orlando and getting to our room at about 1 am. We woke up early the following morning to make the ~2 hour drive to the marina to meet Captain Bryce and Bart of Florida Shark Diving.
It was quite the contrast going from blizzard conditions to tropical conditions overnight. However, the crew was great, the sun was hot, and the sharks were out.
Personally, I didn’t possess the desire to swim with sharks. It’s seems quite counter intuitive to my desire to carry on with life and all my limbs. Nevertheless, I did hop in the water with Mrs. Goat and float around with the sharks. It was an incredibly experience and though I’m not sure I’d do it again, I couldn’t be happier that we were able to share this together.
We got to mark an item off of our (her) bucket list. This was a meaningful trip for a number of reasons, but most importantly, she got to high five the little girl that’s always wanted to swim with sharks.
Whether it’s swimming with some of the worlds deadliest predators or hiking through the woods to climb a mountain, we’d like to sincerely wish you all happy trails.
Mr. and Mrs. Goat.