February 14, 1995.
Valentine's Day.
We knew we were leaving Guam in just a couple of days, so made the most of this sunny day.
We joined up with Japanese tourists to head out on the Sea Odyssea II for a day of diving.
Our first dive, though refreshing, was uneventful.
As always, I'd abandon all responsibility while diving.
Brad would take the lead, and I'd blissfully follow, knowing he'd eventually bring me back to the boat. There's another advantage to being the "follower".
As Brad would leisurely kick along
(maybe 2 feet above the sand)
the gentle movement of his fins would lift the top layer of sand
often revealing amazing treasures.
I'd always end up with the best shells.
My favorites were "olives", but oh! how exciting when he'd uncover a larger shell.
We have a great collection of cowries, cones, and conchs.
Our 2nd dive was at Hap's Reef.
Incidentally, it was at Hap's Reef where I ran out of air the 1st and only time.
I'd been diving long enough to know not to panic. We knew I was diving
with a tank somewhat low on air, so it wasn't a big surprise.
As I worked to suck out the last bits of air in the tank,
Brad pulled his octopus out for my use
and offered it to me
for buddy breathing. It was actually a pretty fun experience
sharing air as we floated to the surface.
But that was another day.
This Valentine's Day dive was amazing.
Typical of Guam diving, the water was crystal clear.
We could see for miles, the temperature was perfect.
So it felt to me as if I were flying.
Besides the unearthly colors of the tropical fish and coral,
the sand captured my attention.
Following behind Brad I was focused on the amazing shells being uncovered.
Occasionally while diving with Brad I'll take my eyes off the shells
and take in the full beauty around me.
This was one of those moments.
Brad was a bit in front of me. He turned toward me and seemed to be watching me.
All of a sudden my eyes fell upon an object in the sand.
Poking out 3-4" was the point of a shell.
It looked sort of like a dunce-cap.
Although I'd never found one before, I knew exactly what it was ...
On my last dive in Guam, I'd found my
Triton's Trumpet!
It was like having thousands of hundred dollar bills drop from the sky.
I swam over, uncovered the rest and lifted up my treasure.
Brad had always said we couldn't leave Guam without me finding one ...
that thought entered my mind
and I replayed the last couple of minutes in my head ....
this was really Brad's find.
He was watching me to see the surprise unfold.
He'd spotted it, then moved aside to watch me find it.
Did I marry a great man, or what!
The Triton's Trumpet with Brad's watch to show the scale.
An Olive Shell - Denalee's favorite!!
What a beautiful shell!!
Over the six years we lived on Guam, we found quite a few of them!
