Alibio

We had planned for weeks to spend a great weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota; it has so much to offer! We wanted to see the sights and take time to soak up the atmosphere. St. Paul is famous for its many museums, and a big chunk of our time would be visiting as many as we could fit in.
About an hour short of St. Paul, a huge stone crashed into our windshield and shattered it. We were not hurt, but we needed to have it fixed before we could continue our trip. We had no idea where to go to get the auto glass repaired or replaced in this city, which we had never visited before.
We stopped at the nearest gas station to ask for advice and get an idea on where to go to get the windshield repaired. We were grateful that they directed us to an auto glass repair shop just few miles away.
After arriving at the repairers we were ushered to a waiting room equipped with a television, coffee machine and magazines. We got some very much needed coffee and sat down next to a table that displayed some brochures on windshield repair and replacement of auto glass. We learned that this particular repairer uses genuine OEM parts that are fitted by qualified installers, and that this particular company was backed by a national lifetime warranty. The literature proclaimed that they meet the strict auto glass industry standards and compliances required by law.
A shop foreman came in to brief us about what our cars’ requirements were. He also advised us that he could replace the windshield today, but it would to take a few hours for him to do the necessary work to prepare the car for installation of the replacement windshield. We really didn’t have any choice in the matter; the car desperately needed that windshield. However, we really didn’t feel like sitting in this stuffy waiting room all day. A little research unearthed the fact that we were not too far from the city and we found we could catch a bus to the heart of St. Paul. We could get a head start on some sightseeing and enjoy a leisurely lunch. St Paul, Minnesota at last! We were eager to see just how great it is! We would even have time to check out some of the landmarks in the downtown area.
One of our earmarks was to visit the Minnesota Museum of American Art and attend their famous Patio Night party event. That’s one of the reasons for going to St. Paul! Every Thursday evening they feature a local band, and one can enjoy some really great music on the patio, which has an incredible view of the great Mississippi River. The Museum also sports a snack bar where one can grab a sandwich or some chips and salsa.

We had taken the time we were waiting for the windshield to be repaired at the windshield replacement shop to plan our tour of the city’s offerings, as well as familiarize ourselves with the city. Later, when we went back to pick up the car we were seasoned tourists! We knew how to how to get back to the Museum, find a place to park the car, and still be in time for the evening’s event!
When we arrived back at the auto glass replacement facility the repair had been completed and our car was waiting for us. All we had to do was pay for the repair and be on our way. So the day wasn’t a total loss after all in spite of the shattered windshield!. Guess what? We had a fantastic evening! The feature of the Patio Night event that evening was a blues group! – our favorite!

Some of our friends recently took a trip to Belize in order to view the archeological ruins, but when they got back home we were surprised that all they could talk about was their experience in shallow diving off the coast. It was an enchanted kingdom they described to us - fish they had never seen before and rock formation and underwater vegetation of surprising beauty and variety. It was a fantasy world they were telling us about, and their enthusiasm was bubbling over - it was contagious! We couldn’t wait to change our vacation plans from rock climbing in the Rockies to snorkeling somewhere. That took some research. We discovered that there was a marine sanctuary that surrounded the archipelago of Florida Key West. And that snorkeling was a popular activity in that area.. The only live coral reef in the American continent ran parallel to the islands that formed the Key West archipelago, some 150 miles of it.

It was a real break that we both loved to swim and were game to learn the basics of shallow diving. The excitement we found underwater was riveting. Boats of all descriptions had foundered in these waters and the ocean floor was littered with wreckages old and new. Since snorkeling was our goal, we decided to use a rental boat for the adventure. We settled on a 20-foot guest boat that we could use for a several day trip around the reef.
What we didn’t know was that swimming with dolphins was part of the package for most snorkelers. This partnership of human/dolphin/coral reef was intriguing. The dolphins seemed anxious to play with us in the water, sort of like our Schnauzer, Mike, at home who thought all life was intended to be a game. The openness of the dolphins was new to us. We had heard of dolphins swimming with humans from some New Age type friends, but we hadn’t recognized the extent to which this partnership was working. Swimming with dolphins by your side was something we hadn’t ever dreamed of, but we found it was great fun.

Another thing that surprised us about the coral reefs was that they were the graveyard of a lot of ships, some dating from before the Civil War and some very recent ones. Of course a lot of these had been explored many times, but it was still interesting to see the artifacts and the construction of these ancient vessels and some modern ones, too. We also saw the famous bronze statue of the Christ, apparently made for the purpose of being submerged among the ruins of sunken ships, blessing this graveyard of those who went down with them.

FL Keys boat rental was a great idea and it was great that we spent our vacation time this year miles from where we originally intended, snorkeling among sunken ships, eating our own fresh catch seafood which we cooked on our own boat, sightseeing on land as well as water, and just relaxing on the beaches under tropical palms.