Shark dive in Jupiter, Florida

Andrea wanted to go on a shark dive. She had been on a shark dive before, but she wanted to go on one that was in a less controlled environment and actually scary.

Andrea makes great new year’s resolutions, and this was one of them. I jumped at the change to go with her – just like we jumped out of a plane last year!

Day one

The timing all worked out that on the way there we went to Dining in the Dark in Detroit with Julie, Kate, and Suzie. At this, you are blindfolded and eat a secret four-course meal, where you guess what you’re eating. It was held at the Detroit Club, which was beautiful. The entire event was funny and fun – it’s not easy to eat when you’re blindfolded, and we all eventually had to use our hands. We laughed a lot.  

Day two

This day was a comedy of errors. First, our flight was delayed. No big deal, we got a little later start.

When we go to the Fort Lauderdale airport, we got in a long line for the shuttle to the rental car location. No big deal. When we got there, we had to get another shuttle to the actual car rental place.

This is where the trouble started. A group of people stood in no particular order, waiting for separate shuttles.

We waited for a shuttle on a sidewalk. There was no actual line…different shuttles for different rental car companies arrived, and people would jockey for position. The shuttles stopped at different places on the sidewalk, so sometimes the people who had just arrived would get on, not realizing people standing farther down the sidewalk had been waiting. Our shuttle didn't come for a long time, and we watched shuttle drivers and people get mad at each other. It was hot and we were sweating. We were happy for the cloud cover, because there was also no shelter.

Finally, our shuttle came and we rode to our rental...U Save. Andrea booked this because it was inexpensive. There was no one working there when we got there, and when the woman working there arrived, she pointed to a yellowing document framed on the desk that said Andrea had to have a $2000 deposit on her credit card...or we had to buy their insurance...and she asked to see some 'document of certification' that Andrea had to show she had insurance in the first place. Suddenly it seemed like a hostage situation and we said - whatever. We don't know what happened or what kind of scam this was, but Andrea just said she’s never using an off-brand rental again.

We got into our (nice, no problems) car, and it promptly started downpouring. So! Andrea was driving an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place and she couldn’t see. She immediately got a phone call. It was a serious work call, and she pulled over to talk. She had to wait for a phone call back, and she said she just wanted to be parked when it happened so she could concentrate. I found a restaurant three miles from where we were, and we took off. Unfortunately, it started pouring even harder, traffic was awful, and Andrea got the call before we were there. A perfect combo!

I left her to talk in the car and thought I could go in and order food for her because we were both hungry. But they didn’t serve food until 5:00 p.m. She finished her call, and we drove to Tarpon Brewing. It had a great beach shack vibe inside a large building. We sat and chatted and Andrea said, “We should order.” I said, “We already ordered.” She said, “Did we?” I said, “Did we? I think so.” Then the server came and asked for our order. Was I delirious from hunger? Perhaps. Our food was great.

The drive from the airport to Jupiter was an hour when we had looked it up...with the rain and traffic, GPS told us it was two hours. We walked across the street to get a cup of coffee for the road. They had closed two minutes earlier. Okay! No caffeine then!

It was heavy traffic and poured most of our drive. It was a little stressful.

We made it to Jupiter and noted that we had been traveling for TWELVE HOURS. We walked with excitement into our tiny house Airbnb which was a boat on land.

We walked in and...we could not stop laughing. In the pictures it appeared there were two beds. And there was One. Tiny. Bed. Smaller than a single bed. A triangle. The foot of it was the front of the boat. It was shorter than my 5'7 frame. We couldn't stand up in the boat because...it was a boat built in 1915. We could barely move inside.

After we finished laughing, Andrea suggested we walk across the street to get ice cream. (Another one of her new year resolutions is to eat 52 different kinds of ice cream. I mean, wonderful.)

We got ice cream at Cones and Coffee and walked to DuBois Park to see the ocean. It was really pretty. It got dark pretty fast and started raining again.

When we returned home, I hit my head once a little, and then I hit it really hard. Takes some getting used to being a ship captain.

We got ready in our tiny, tiny house and crawled into our tiny, tiny bed.

Kris called, and Andrea and I talked to him and laughed and laughed, telling him about our day. We went to sleep looking at the rain on the skylight.

Day three

We woke up to blue sky and sun. It was a beautiful day which meant...we might be able to shark dive! The email the night before told us it was a game-time decision with the weather, but we were hopeful!

Honestly, the bed was not bad! Andrea and I both never move while sleeping, and the mattress was soft.

We ate breakfast at Bagel Bistro, which was really good.

We parked at U Tiki and met up with our guide and other people shark diving at the gazebo. We used the company Florida Shark Diving.

“Is it happening?” I asked as we signed waivers we didn’t read.

“It sure is!” Our guide Sophia said. “It’s a little swelly on the way out, but it’s beautiful!”

I was so incredibly excited. Swimming with sharks made me a little nervous, but seemed generally safe. It’s America, so legally it couldn't be crazy dangerous.

We went on a boat with a captain Brandon, guide Sophia, and a family of a dad, mom, and 2 preteen boys.

When she said swelly, they meant wavy. It was really, really wavy. We went 30 minutes at top speed offshore while we stared at the shoreline. It was really bumpy, and I felt like people could fly out of the boat, which made sense that Brandon said if anyone falls out, let me know.

This is how it worked. We went to the middle of nowhere in the ocean. Brandon dropped a box of chum attached to a rope. Fish swam around it, and this all attracted the sharks.

Then he threw a rope attached to a floating buoy into the water. We were instructed to hold onto the rope and look the sharks. They said: Don’t kick, don’t splash, don’t make noise, don’t move, don’t talk, don’t put your head up to breathe, and definitely don’t touch them.

Cage? No. This was up close and personal.

Andrea went first into the water, and I was next.

Brandon outfitted me with a shirt, gloves, life jacket, fins, mask, and snorkel. He instructed me to sit on the back of the boat with my legs over the side, and then to grab the rope and move down it to Andrea.

Sitting on the back of the boat was similar to sitting on the edge before jumping out of a plane.

I was off! The water was really wavy, but once I put my face in, it was blue and silent and serene. I made my way down the rope until I felt Andrea's hand. And...there they were. Giant bull sharks. Bull sharks look exactly what you would draw if you were going to draw a picture of a shark. They have a pointy fin on their back. They have big sharp teeth. They're also huge - like bigger than I am.

(Note: I looked them up later and this is what it said - Bull sharks are large, highly aggressive, and dangerous predators known for living in warm coastal waters and swimming far up rivers. Typically 7–11+ feet long and weighing up to 500+ lbs, they are unique for their ability to thrive in both salt and freshwater. Considered one of the most dangerous shark species to humans, they are often responsible for attacks in shallow, murky water. At the time I knew none of this.)

There were five huge bull sharks swimming around the chum box, and lots of perhaps arowana and blue runners. Some fish were riding on the sharks' bodies.

The sharks would swim right toward you and look at you. They would swim right under you. They were within arm's reach, and I saw why they had to tell people not to touch them.

Being in the water with them went against all of my normal and rational self-preservation instincts. Everything in me said danger! Stay away! But here we were, hanging out and watching them.

When one swam right toward us, Andrea and I gripped hands out of excitement. This was happening! It was really happening!

After awhile everyone else went in, but we still had time, so I stayed in by myself. The guide was also hanging out by the chum and taking pictures.

When I have snorkeled in the past, my main concern was the fish touching me. When the rest of the people went in, the sharks got closer and closer to me. I kept letting go of the rope to slide down it to get farther away from them. We were so close. Too close. When they swam under me, I also couldn’t keep an eye on them, because my snorkel would go under water. So I would watch them as long as I could, but then they would swim too far below me and I couldn’t keep the danger in my view.

Then, a shark came so close to me that it brushed against my leg. I couldn’t see it since it was below and behind me, so I questioned if it was the shark. Was it the rope? It did NOT feel like the rope. Either way, I didn’t move. I thought of a comedian who made a joke about playing dead when a bear attacks you. He said how long do you play dead? Do you just play dead until you’re dead?

I went back to the boat and borrowed Andrea’s hair tie so my mask wouldn't slip down. I went back in the water and watched Sophia. She dove down under water with the sharks, kicking and swimming. She took pictures of them right in their faces . She reached out and briefly touched one.

Well...now I wasn’t as worried. I watched the sharks swim for about an hour, and then I got shivery. My jaw was sore from biting down on the snorkel, and it was time to go in.

One of the kids was asleep, the mom and other kid were holding their heads over the side, and the dad looked a little pale.

Brandon threw fish to the sharks, and Andrea and I watched them feed at the surface.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s tuna,” he said.

“Tuna like people eat?” I said.

“No,” he laughed. “This would taste just like you would imagine.”

Actually I think all seafood tastes like I imagine that tuna tasted, but fine.

We rode back, and Brandon artfully piloted the boat between swells.

“I saw you touched them!” I said to Sophia.

“Yes, they were so sweet,” she said.

Sophia took my email address and said she’d send us the pictures in about a week. A week?! Where is my immediate gratification?

Andrea and I took advantage of the beautiful hot weather and went to Carlin Park. The waves were huge, and we just dipped in and walked and hung out and called our families to tell them we lived.

We decided to eat at U Tiki so we could be on the water, so we put our name on their very long wait list. We went to wait at the bar, and a server came over to take our order.

“Oh – can we eat here?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s first come first serve!” she said.

Well our day is coming up roses, we decided. The exact opposite of yesterday!

We ate lunch while looking at the water, Andrea joyfully checked this off her new year's resolution list, then we went home to shower.

The shower...the day before our trip I checked to make sure this house boat had AC. When I looked at the amenities, I noticed it did not have hot water and only had an outdoor shower. I told Andrea, and she replied: “It will be an adventure!”

The shower was even more of an adventure than we thought. First of all, you walk through the shower to get to our house. Second, it has a cutesy sign that said “Showers $1 – To Watch $2.” Third, it is not really private. It has wooden doors and is very open, so I quickly rinsed off with my suit on. A thermostat told me the water temp was 81 degrees.

Andrea went next, and when she returned to the boat, she looked shell shocked.

“I got stuck in the shower,” she said.

“How did you get out?” I said.

“I couldn't open the door to our side,” she said. “I tried and tried, and then the other door opened to a gentleman standing there with his toothbrush. I told him I couldn't get the door open. He said, “May I help you?””

“So wait...this is a COMMMUNITY outdoor shower?” I asked.

“I guess it is,” Andrea said. And we laughed.

We saw that a Tiki Taxi departed from the restaurant right next to us – Guanabana. It left every hour and was just $10. Perfect, we thought.

We stood on the dock to get on.

“Look,” Andrea said, pointing at the shore. “There's…our shower.”

Sure enough. We could see our shower from the dock. A VERY community shower!

We got on the Tiki Taxi and had a lovely ride talking to everyone else on the boat as we toured along the river. We pointed out where we'd been that day. There were lots of people from New York and New Jersey who moved here or wintered here.

Guanabana looked perfect for dinner, but some people told us the food was just okay. We had to wait for a table, and then we scored such a great one - on the water, beautiful view, greenery, and we could - once again - see our shower from there! What an amazing spot to have dinner AND a show!

Our food was great - mine was the best I had while I was in Florida. We also really loved the atmosphere. After we ate, a live band played, but they were an Allman Brothers cover band and we didn't know any of the songs. We stayed for awhile, and then sat outside in the warm air before heading home to our tiny bed once again.

Day four

I ran to DuBois Park again, this time to see the sunrise. There were lots of fishermen out, much shared excitement when one had a fish on the line, two men smoking cigars, and people also gathered to also watch the sun come up.

Andrea and I once again ate at Bagel Bistro because it was so great the first time.

We had tried to make a glass bottom boat kayaking tour reservation, but we were put on a waiting list. Andrea suggested we go there and see if they had any last minute spots. It took us awhile and a phone call to the company to find where to go...because we didn’t actually have any instruction or a real reservation where they would normally tell us.

We finally met up with a guide named Callaway and three families with kids that were also touring. Callaway asked where we were from, we chatted, he told us he was 26 and born and raised in Jupiter, and he gave us a dry bag for our possessions. He started off with a few pointers on paddling, and said he would get us settled into the kayaks.

We’d let them go first, Andrea and I agreed. We immediately clocker there were not enough kayaks for all of us in the water.

Callaway got the people into their kayaks and walked toward us on shore, looking a little sick.

“I must have miscounted,” he said, grabbing his kayak. “You can have this one.” He started hauling it down to the water.

“But…don’t you need a kayak?” I asked.

“I'll just go on a stand up paddleboard,” he sighed.

Andrea and I came clean fast.

“We don’t have a reservation! We were just hoping you had room!” we said, our words overlapping.

He looked sick again.

“I can't...really do that,” he said.

“IT'S FINE!” I yelled, sorry we were making him say this.

“No problem! We’ll just leave!” Andrea said.

We hurried off, dropping off the dry bag, when he jogged up and told us, “I have to unlock the gate for you to get out.”

He escorted through the gate and locked us out. People like us are why they have gated communities here.

But! Zero problem. We had another plan. Kayaks CAME FREE with the boat house! We slipped them into the water and had a wonderful paddle around the mangroves. It was calm and gorgeous. No glass bottom needed! Andrea pointed out that we had been on boats for most of our trip - counting our home - four boats in three days was a record for both of us.

I steeled myself and took my last cold plunge shower, and then we checked out and drove to Fort Lauderdale.

We marveled at the yachts that were parked on streets that were water - just like Venice! We passed a street called Isle of Venice Dr. They got it, we laughed. We walked down Las Olas Boulevard and checked out places to eat. We happened upon a place that was really buzzing – Louie Bossi's Ristorante Bar Pizzeria

The hostess asked if we wanted to be inside or outside. We chose outside, and she led us into a beautiful garden! It was so decorated and pretty! How pretty? We watched four girls take Instagram pictures there for 15 minutes. How lucky were we for finding it?

Food, service, atmosphere, and people watching were all all top notch. We walked around checking out the yachts until we heard thunder and headed to return our rental car. The shuttle was quick and we were to only people on it. We waited for the next shuttle for about 30 minutes, and it took us about 30 minutes to get through TSA.

Our flight was delayed for 2.5 hours due to weather, and then Spirit said we were going to wait for some international passengers. I didn’t even see any empty seats, but then 26 more people got on! I was happy for them…who knew we still waited? It was absolutely pouring on the drive home, it was difficult to see – but we finally made it home at 3:30 a.m.

When I went to bed I closed my eyes, picturing the sharks circling below me.

I get a real thrill out of new experiences like these, since they bring me so much joy to do and think about later. I once read that to slow down time you should have new experiences. I'm giving it a shot, and I'm so glad I have friends and Andrea in particular who is up for anything, has an adventurous spirit, and is small enough to share a tiny, tiny boat house.