by Patricia Wuest

There's a reason Capt. Spencer Slate of Capt. Slate's Atlantis Dive Center is dressed like an Easter bunny on steroids. Territory manager Ashley Bringman Ford and I arrived in the Florida Keys the day before Easter, and Capt. Slate invited us on his annual underwater Easter egg hunt. Capt. Slate says that when his ex-wife Annette proposed the idea of an underwater Easter egg hunt several years ago and showed him the bunny suit, he said, "I'm not getting in the water in no bunny suit." But he did ("he didn't talk to me for two days," recalls Annette), the underwater Easter egg hunt was a success, and it's now a popular annual event. Capt. Slate usually takes divers and snorkelers to Horseshoe Reef. Capt. Slate jumped in first, bunny suit, ears and all, clutching a basket of brightly decorated hard-boiled eggs. A few minutes later, we all jumped in, gathering eggs from the sand and behind coral heads. Proceeds from the underwater event go to KISS, Kids In Special Situations, a local Keys nonprofit that helps underprivileged kids during holidays. At Easter, KISS provides baskets of gifts and goodies to kids who might not otherwise get them; Capt. Slate's event usually raises about $300.