Thoughts from a Kids Sea Camp mom
Reflections from a Kids Sea Camp family that has gone to these KSC trips: Curaçao 2003, Curacao 2004, Curacao 2005, Honduras 2006, Honduras 2007, Fiji 2008, Palau & Costa Rica in 2009 and joined 2010 Belize.
By Trish, mom of Corley, then age 8 and now age 19
I had been debating whether to put down my deposit for our Kids Sea Camp in Curaçao. We couldn’t decide whether we wanted to try a new location or take a year off. But after speaking with Emily at Caribbean Adventures (formerly of Kid Sea Camp) and finding out what a special alumni week they had planned for us “oldtimers,” how could I not make our reservations!
We had such a wonderful time last year, we learned that one week was not enough, so this time we signed up for a two-week stay.
I highly recommend that any family go to Kids Sea Camp and take time to enjoy the Ocean as a family. My dolphin swim will always be a treasured memory. Our second week of camp was a great diving experience. Corley began her junior open-water certification. Getting to dive with her on the final day on the Tugboat dive was such a thrill — seeing how she had learned to operate her equipment and be a responsible diver made me realize what a wonderful teaching dive crew they have at Kids Sea Camp weeks.
All these experiences and so many more — from taking a day trip or diving, meeting new friends and renewing friendships made the year and, of course, golfing made it easy to come back.
On another note, it’s amazing what a small world we live in. Part of our vacation plan was to bring my older daughter, Sara, along with us. She was certified six months before she was sent overseas to do a tour in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, and she had never gotten to dive in the ocean.
While we were waiting for her to arrive, my husband, Jon, overheard a diver talking about his dive buddy who was a paratrooper. Sara is a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, and of course, it made me curious. I introduced myself to him and asked where he was stationed; to make a long story short, his name was Rick MacIntosh and he and Sara had been in Ramadi, Iraq, together. This made for quite a reunion later that week when she arrived and an interesting “You’ll never guess who I ran into while on vacation” story. The beautiful waters of Curaçao made for a very memorable first ocean dive experience for her, and she now understands why we are so hooked on Kids Sea Camp Family Dive Adventures!