St. John Sun. 3/18/12

Boy, did it pour last night! It rained hard for about an hour and then off and on a couple more times in the night. We woke up to a steamy day, but the humidity has lessened this afternoon although it is a bit cloudy right now. Randy Fish's parents came in last night so we all got to meet them at breakfast. They are from the San Francisco area and came here from a boat trip off of the Dominican Republic where they were whale watching for a week. It may take them a day or two to become accustomed to walking on land again. Interestingly, they are related to the Mystic Fish family - many generations ago! Dave did some vine clipping in the laundry and shower area while I helped the Iowa State students pull snake plant from around the fire pit. The students packed a lunch as they were going to hike at Cinnamon Bay and they were delighted to have snickerdoodles to pack! Dave and I raked leaves for the rest of the morning and used them as mulch in the bed behind the museum. Hopefully, they will rot down and help make some topsoil which is sadly missing here - the soil is quite clay-like so any help we can give it . . . After lunch, I gave a tour of the museum to a couple who had met one of the original Tektite aquanauts 10 years ago. They are moored out in the bay and walked over to see the museum. They are from Montana and spend every winter sailing down this way to get out of the cold. We went for a snorkel in Greater Lameshur and had a great time. We saw the three-legged hawksbill turtle, which is usually over in Little Lameshur. We assume a shark got one of his hind legs. I tried to find the octopus that Charlie and I had found to show to Dave, but didn't have any luck. On our way back, I decided to look again for the octopus when I saw him - out of his hole and swimming right towards me! It was totally awesome! I yelled to Dave, but he had hidden himself by the time Dave got out to where I was. We had a great snorkel, but I couldn't go as far as usual as I got chilly - the sun was behind clouds almost the whole time we were in the water. The Iowa kids are going out to eat tonight so it should be a small group for dinner. I can't believe that we have been here almost a month - I don't know where the time has gone.