But first we went straight from the boat down to Aquarius. This was our first visit inside the underwater laboratory. The inside had a very distinct, but not too unpleasant, aroma. It's kind of what I encountered in my days as a lifeguard in El Paso, in the pump house, with the exception of the chlorine odor. Our visit was brief, just enough for a quick "before" photographic opportunity, then we headed out along the pinnacle excursion line. Wanting to start off on a good footing, Jeff gave us a very thorough briefing in route to the site. I think I spent most of my first dive trying to remember all the things we briefed and hoped not to miss much.

After the dive, approximately 2 hours long, we arrived back at the Habitat. Mike Smith, known as Smitty to many, and Byron Croker, who kind of looks like Ben Affleck, gave us a very thorough emergency and systems brief about Aquarius. It took about 2 hours to cover all the valves, switches, panels, dos and don'ts. The big thing to remember...food stays in the food area only. My bunk is the middle level one on the port side of the Habitat (aka the Hab). I put up a couple of pictures of my family so I could see them every night before I go to sleep.

The second dive was a little more relaxed. Jeff and I started working on our tasks of surveying the northeast excursion line. Having our first solid dive behind us, we pressed ahead at a more leisurely rate. Along the way we saw a wide array of sea life. Stingrays, eagle rays, porcupine fish, barracuda, snook, and tons and tons of fish of every color, size, and shape.

Getting back into the Hab from our last dive, a flurry of activity ensued. Bags and bags of gear, clothes, and such, all waiting to be pulled out, plugged in, recharged, put away, booted up, or set out. Being that this two hour dive ended close to 1800 followed by the standard gear cleaning, the group elected to eat on the run. It's now almost 2130, Greg is still fighting the computer demons (yes, those live down here too) and we are all trying to finish our last little bit of activity before lights out. I'm looking out the main viewport watching snook dive back and forth as they gobble up bait fish...listening to snapping shrimp, all around the Habitat, making sounds akin to crackling hot oil in a frying pan...and working on today's journal entry. I'll try to continue with the journals but also anticipate that time will continue to grow short down here.