Four activities and excursions were held today at the No Barriers USA Festival in Miami, FL... toned down a bit from the previous two days of jam-packed action (check out our previous posts!). Some went to the lighthouse, some went horseback riding, some stayed and sailed, and we went out deep sea fishing.
The buses took about 30 of us to the Miami docks around 8:30 this morning for some deep sea fishing with some wonderful volunteers and avid fisherman with one goal in mind, to catch some big ones. We managed just that.
We motored out a couple of miles and dropped lines into a pod of little fish they scanned for some bait. Then pulled up, rode out a few more miles, and dropped about twenty lines for some big fish.
Immediately Chanda Hinton's crew caught a whopper of a kingfish and as she reeled it in they speared it and tossed it into the tank.
A while went by before we caught another, but pretty soon they were reeling in tuna, jack, and dolphinfish.
But it was Eric Weihenmayer's crew that brought in the winner. Daughter Emma's line caught a cobia the size of her, and the crew warned us of its ferocity backing us away from the rails. As she reeled it in, a crew member speared it and shoved it in the tank in one swift movement, telling a story of the time he put one in and closed the lid, only to turn around to the lid flying off - the cobia's strong tail had slapped the lid right off the hinges. 
All in all a fabulous morning, with calm seas, a little cloud coverage early morning, bright sun midday, and getting in about an hour before the afternoon's torrential storms arrived.
Sure, we're sad this event is over, but we've had a blast, and we're plenty tired enough not to take another day of this action, that's for certain! It was great seeing everyone again or for the first time, companies and individuals alike with the same goal in mind for adventure and barrier-free fun. There's talk already of an NBUSA 2011, Chicago? Aspen? Where will it be... you know we're gunning for Steamboat, but we'll see!
We can't wait to share some of the wonderful companies and stories we met, to come in our next issue of The Traveler!
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