Kayaking in North Key Largo

Here’s a brief report of my Friday activities:

I met Dave V and family at Jack’s down in Florida City on US 1 at 10 AM and we headed down Card Sound Road, made for Key Largo and swung into the old ramp just beside Garden Cove. We put in one kayak (for me) and a large tunnel hull canoe for Dave, his wife, and two little ones around 10:30. It was very breezy out, so the waves were a little on the choppy side. Dave hooked up a 45 lbs thrust trolling motor to his canoe, and tied mine to the back and dragged me across the channel, then we abandoned our plans to head to the barge and beach due to the rough weather. But we did stay in the creeks and flats protected from the wind by the mangroves and it was very pleasant. I made sure to lather up with SPF 35 waterproof sun block so I wouldn’t fry. Inside the creeks we saw lots of mangrove snapper, a few very big snook, and even a black stingray with white spots. At one point, Dave tied off on some of the mangroves and went for a swim in the surprisingly cool water. I let him use my snorkel gear since I wasn’t going in and in the course of exploration he located a honey hole of a lobster spot. According to Dave, the ledges were jam packed with lobster of all sizes. I believe him because he dove down and came up with a lobster in his bare hands. He also reported seeing a French Angelfish and plenty of tropicals. After all that, we headed to the grass flats and tied off the canoe and kayak while we ate lunch. Dave also showed me that the upside down jellyfish all over the grass flats are almost completely harmless. Just about the only way their stinging cells can effect you is if the are left on your most sensitive skin, like the inside of your are or your neck. I actually handled a big one with absolutely no problem. I’ll post the video later.

As the tide continued to go out, we almost got stuck in the grass/sand flats when they actually were out of the water. We cleared the flats and made our way back to shore and headed for home around 3 PM. When I got home, I realized that the sun had burned a stripe on both of my knees where I missed putting on the sun block.

Overall, it was a beautiful day, though a little windy and we had an excellent time. Friday night, the plan is to go back for a little night excursion to do some fishing. We shall see how that goes.

Wednesday Quotable

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.

-Poet William James

I quit blogging!

I quit blogging every day, that is. The truth is that it got to the point where it was more of a responsibility to make sure I had a blog entry every day than it was originally. I am going to continue blogging, but not every day. Being away and unable to make a daily entry let me realize that it’s not that big a deal if I don’t blog. Maybe I’ll take Kelly’s advice and post more pictures on my blog than I do. TTFN!

Bus drivers in Cayman Islands also provide entertainment!

While we were in the Cayman Islands on the way to snorkel the barrier reef, our bus driver showed us how talented he was.  Safety first!  LOL

Fevered Thoughts

-I’m sick again. Seems like every other week for the past few months I have had a cold, cough, or sore throat.

-This one is strange. I got a cough, then a fever and headache, then body aches, then I felt all better this morning when I woke up, then I got all the symptoms again only worse around 8 AM.

-My fever and headache has subsided, but I still have the cough and now a stuffy head.

-I think I am going to make it through the day. I almost called out last night, but I hate to miss work for a cough.

-I’m finished with my interview process for this iteration of the new operations class. I think I will find out the results within a week.

-The outage has been extended. That means more work opportunities, but also less rest to recovery from my mystery sickness.

-I promise to work this weekend on getting some pics and videos up from my trip to Cozumel, Cayman, and Jamaica.

-I think you’re going to like the videos of the stingrays, that may have been the best part of the trip.

-I was inspired to go snorkeling this weekend with Marcela, but I am not going unless I feel better.

-In case you wondered, Max didn’t even notice we were gone. My mom and dad took care of him while we vacationed and he had a good time being trained by “The Hammer” (my dad’s new nickname) and petted by my mom.

-He’s been very sleepy since we got back. Marcela theorizes that he is going through a growth spurt. He’s perfectly content to sleep nearly all day.

-I ran 49 rounds through the Kel Tec on Monday and had 3 rounds that failed to feed correctly. 450 rounds through the Glock and no issues, and 50 rounds through the Mossberg.

-I also picked up 50 rounds of 00 Buckshot and 50 rounds of rifled slugs. Another 50 rounds of each and I should be pretty well set for a while.

-The tea parties that took place across the nation yesterday drew an estimated national crowd of 150,000 Americans fed up with the waste and high taxes in this government.

-The parties were poo-poo’ed by the left wing media as right wing kooks organized by powerful interest groups and Fox News.

-Regardless of whether that was true or not, what happened to the message that “vote or die”, “rock the vote” and other left wing movements pushed over the past 8+ years that anything which draws people to the political process is good? This is the finest example of hypocrisy I have seen in a while.

-Janet Napolitano and the Obama admins Homeland Security department is casting some serious derogatory and nasty light on God-fearing people who believe in smaller government and the right to life. They’ve categorized people like me (I am pro-life and against a massive federal government and for local control) as potential threats to homeland security in a memo sent to all state and local law enforcement agencies.

-She also stated that another potential threat comes from military personnel returning from warzones over seas who may be having difficulty adapting to civilian life. It’s downright sickening what the left will stoop to in order to secure power.

-Enough political rant, I’m out. Hopefully I won’t be assigned to mandatory OT and I’ll be at church Sunday morning. See you then!

Wednesday Quotable

The turtle never went anywhere until it stuck its neck out.

Reward requires risk.

The Trip

I will try to get some pics and videos up tonight.  I had such a great time!  Mark, Mary wants to schedule an LPC cruise.  How great would that be?  I would be in!

I have some great pics and vids of stingrays and corals in Grand Cayman just off the barrier reef, Dunns River Falls at Ocho Rios, and some Mayan ruins and the beaches at Cozumel.   I don’t know how the water can get any prettier than what I saw in Cozumel!  Unfortunately, our three reef trip in Cozumel was cancelled due to strong winds and rough seas.  So, I have to go back.

Sunday Evening LPC Talk Soup

What a great Easter Evening service down in the keys! I got home this morning from a quick spin around Cuba with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios Jamaica, and thanks to my dad had a stress free trip home from the port. This evening, Trav gave the first message in the rebel series and focused on Peter. He was a tough guy with a special constitution. I thoroughly enjoyed Trav’s sermon; it may have been the best he’s ever presented. The PK campus looks great too! Also, Tom’s testimony was great. After service, we hung out and had dinner together. Pizza, casseroles, pasta, potato salad, chips, beans and rice, and other stuff tasted delish! I was so happy to be at church tonight in a near full capacity service, and I only wish I could have been at the theater this morning.

Blog Blackout Begins Now

I’m booked for a 3 reef dive in Cozamel, Stingray City Sandbar and Barrier Reef dive in Grand Caymen, and Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios Jamaica. Currently, I’m looking through the glare of the sun at the City of Miami skyline. Blogging will resume April 12, 2009.

I’ll be back!

Blogging with a Private Balcony?

I don’t think so, but I won’t rule it out.