"Those of you on the right side of the plane can see . . . "

Just before 1 this morning, my friend Chris, and two new friends, Kim and Nick, and I got on a plane to Atlanta. It turns out, Chris and Kim had been tempting Murphy by mercilessly teasing the other group that we were to meet in Cozumel about how they would arrive first and be in the water before the other plane even landed. Eleven hours later, as we were almost close enough to taste the salt water, karma caught up with us. The pilot came on the PA with his pointing out a noteworthy site voice and said that those of us on the right side of the plane could look out near the wing and see . . . fuel leaking out! We emergency landed in Tampa a few minutes later. The girl behind us called her mom to report the events and was talking about how our plane was being chased by fire engines. Chris and I rolled our eyes at her exaggeration. There was just one parked fire engine on the runway, and two police cars at the gate. Then we looked out the window as the plane turned, and saw that we were, in fact, being chased by 4 fire engines. The plane stopped and we were told to stay in our seats while they figured out what to do next. A minute or two later, we saw a man dressed up like a spaceman climbing around near the wing. (Note to self . . . Always pack camera in an easily accessible location, even if there is no anticipated need for it.) We deplaned and were told that a replacement plane would be arriving in a couple of hours. (By this time, we had been en route for over 12 hours, and hadn't slept much since early the previous morning.) That plane was delayed as well so we waited patiently (sort of) in the Tampa airport. Chris and Kim saw the error of their ways as they realized that not only would the other group get in the water first, but the dive shop would close before they could check out oxygen tanks so they were quite likely out of luck for the day. Finally, around 3 pm, the plane arrived. . . from Salt Lake City. If only we had known . . .

The good news is we arrived safely in Cozumel, the other group made arrangements for the late arrivals to get oxygen tanks, and Chris and Kim got to play with octupuses. It's beautful here! More adventures to come . . .