Page 68 - KSC Magazine 2020

A WORLD OF FRIENDSHIPS CREATED THROUGH DIVING
Journal entry April 6, 2018
Friday: JB is back from England - tonight the Bynums and Van Pelts came for dinner and to catch-up. Crazy girls fell asleep on the floor.!
Saturday: Sean emailed. Cary & Tristan will be in town next week for a competition!
Sunday: Hoorah! Talked to Margo - looks like Caleb will finally reconnect with Hunter and Sam on a dive trip after all these years on the Socorro Island Kids Sea Camp trip.
By Jennifer McClure,
Kids Sea Camp mom since 2010
Above is a glance at what could be a page out of anyone’s journal - except that it’s different.These aren’t friends from col- lege, the neighborhood or church. Most of these friends aren’t even people we see for more than a of couple weeks a year. We’re bonded by the excitement of observing thresher sharks on a cleaning station, and countless laughs on boats big and small.
In 2010, we went on our first family dive trip with Margo and Tom Peyton to Bonaire. Ben and I were thrilled to be diving and sharing our love for the ocean with our children, Hannah and Caleb. It had been
almost 10 years since our last dive trip. B.C (before children), we had been spoiled - diving annually with a group of friends in the Indo- Pacific.
KSC was an oasis in what we thought would be a 20 year drought until the kids were grown. Meeting and making new friends wasn't even on the agenda and the added bonus that our 5 year old became inseparable with a set of brothers.
We were pleased to have three common interests with the other parents.:
We went home excited and looking forward to our next underwater adventures with Kids Sea Camp.
The next year, we went to Utila.We had one of the most enjoyable dives of our lives, during our daughters first dive! Yap and Pa- lau were also high on the bucket list and did not disappoint. A boat filled with middle- school aged “mermaids” singing above and spinning below the waves making Hannah’s 12th birthday most memorable.
Much to our surprise, Ben and I, again con- nected with our new dive buddies.
We carried over our happy hours and roaring laughter from Palau to a holiday visit in New York months later.
www.familydivers.com
803-419-2556 email: dive@familydivers.com www.oceanwishes.org
n A love of travel,
n A passion for diving
n A great desire to share the
magic of the underwater world with our kids!