John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Blake and I went snorkeling today at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, America's first undersea park. It cost $30 for a ride on the Encounter, the park's snorkeling vessel, which took us five miles offshore to a living coral reef that's part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

We were given an hour to explore the reef. A relatively harmless species of jellyfish, known as moon jellyfish, were abundant as they floated with the current. Conchs were also plentiful. We were told they were being introduced to the protected reef in order to boost their population after years of overfishing.  We saw a school of barracuda as well as a number of other fish species.