diving for scallops on summer sundays in florida

woke up yesterday at 430a and got dressed in my swimsuit and boating shoes, packed my lunch and drove to land o lakes to meet up with friends and family. then we drove two hours out to homosassa, florida and rented a boat for the day. this is the second year we have gone out in search for scallops. we went mid season this year, the water was choppy and difficult to swim in and mostly we were diving in basic snorkeling gear in waters 10 feet deep or more. this was difficult on the ears as it is difficult to move the body quickly enough, at least for me it is, with those damn big flippers, but a friend had a pair of short fins and those were awesome. 

i am probably not such a well trained snorkler. being born and raised in florida, i have been a strong swimmer since i've been small, and i feel very confident in the water with just my arms, legs and eyes. but add masks and mouth pieces and flippers and i feel a little jumbled. the weight of the sack of scallops does not even bother me, mostly it is the gear. 


we dove in deeper water consistently because it is so warm this time of year, the warmer waters did not have so much sea grass that the scallops could hide within.

i got a killer tan and ate fruit and drank beer all day on a boat with my friends and family. pretty stellar time and in a few weeks we will all get together to make this delicious, rich french dishes with the scallops we caught. 


i love florida so so so much.