Remembering the Alamo

I was snorkeling the other day and found a stone crab. I've caught them before with nets and I've picked them up just fine. However this particular crab I found was pretty sneaky and decided to go into a hole in the ground. It was hard to see him in there, and I couldn't get him out with the little net I had. I figured if I grabbed one of the claws I could pull the crab out without him pinching me. I was correct... Almost. I put my hand in there and grabbed his claw and I practically had him out, when he pinched my pointer finger. Sadly, I panicked and let go of the crab. My finger felt bruised for a couple days, and was just a little scraped up. After all of this happened and I was complaining about how I lost the crab, I was told that I was a typical "South Florida kid" and that I should never do anything that stupid again. Psh.

Since that happened, I feel like crabs have been out to get me. The ones I catch are now trying to attack me whenever I pick them up, instead of being semi-calm like they usually are. For example, tonight during a Nocturnal Adaptations class, I caught a big clinging crab and it would not let go of the net forever. Then about 5 minutes later, I caught a blue crab with my hands and it would not stop rapidly moving it's swimmerettes, trying to get away from me while I was holding it.

Also tonight during Nocturnal Adaptations, one of the other instructors found a live cowry. You've probably seen a lot of these shells being sold with names engraved on them, but not a lot of people have seen the living animal:

The cowry isn't like a normal snail that just hides in its shell until it wants to move and then brings it's body out. This animal actually wraps part of its body around the shell, so that you can't even see the shell anymore. In this picture, it looks extra slimy, because it's completely covered its shell.

April 30 was a very sad night in Key West.

El Alamo bar closed its doors for the last time. The Alamo is a really cool bar in Key West that is down an alley way off of Duval Street. It's mainly a bar for locals because of how it's tucked away and how cheap everything is. One dollar Pabst Blue Ribbons, anyone?

The bar is all open and has this huge tree in the middle of the patio. There's almost always a band playing, and you can play corn hole, beer pong, and pool anytime you want. It's just generally a great place to hang out, which is why I'm so upset that it's closing. We'll never forget you, El Alamo.