Seabase

Matt went to Seabase down in the Florida Keys 4 years ago. He loved it! Christian was thrilled when he got to go 2 years ago. Our stake goes every 2 years, and matt was kind of bummer he wasn't going back again. 

So neighbor Dan got kidney stones a few days before the Scouts Seabase departure. Matt flippantly said he'd take Dan's place if he was still sick. Fast forward to Friday, the day before departure, and poor Dan was still sick. I was out shopping, around 7pm when matt called and asked if he could go. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, so we did some juggling and Matt threw together a backpack full of stuff, and by 2pm Saturday he was on his way to Florida. 

They weren't able to transfer Dan's airline ticket, but he was able to get a last minute ticket on the same flight as the rest of the group and then they were really off!

They flew down to Miami? I actually don't know, but they stayed the night there, went to sacrament meeting the next morning, and then boarded this swanky bus down to the Keys.  

Jared posted a bunch of pictures, so I was able to swipe them. 

From there they stay a night at base camp (or something?) and do fun Boy Scout stuff before boarding kayaks out to the island. 

Matt's concentrating on his food right next to Jared. There was a nice group from our ward - bishop and Eric, Jon, and Jared and his two boys. 

I don't understand the ways of the Boy Scouts. I only had one, so... 

Seems like they do lots of eating?

They sleep out in the open in hammocks. Matt was an old pro, so he put his hammock in a good spot and was totally comfortable. There are no clocks, watches, or phones on the island, it's all island time. And the time spent there is all about what the boys want to do. They spent a lot of time fishing and saw sharks and dolphins (not the bottleneck variety). 

Last time he went to Seabase I wanted him to write this post, but we never got around to it. Hence my unknowledgeable post here. 

Matt took a backpack and a shopping bag of stuff. He said everyone was amazed at how little he brought. I said boys are gross. Underwear don't take that much space, and I shared this idea, but buys will be boys, I suppose. He even borrowed a hat from the lost and found. Gross, right?

Bishop sent me this one and I'm realizing now that I never did get the story. 

Because their flight home was delayed, they were able to take an Everglades tour. That's an alligator out in front of their boat. 

Not sure about this one either, but cool, right?!

Their tour boats! I've always wanted to do this!

And finally, this! 

Also, I found out moms can go to Seabase and I feel super jipped. Just kidding, I don't want to go hang out with stinky boys that only pack a backpack for a week of camping.