Riding the Wave of This Life

Paddle For The Border - Part 2

2010-05-03T05:28:00.004-04:00

Had to cut the first part short (see Below).

The route followed the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, which parallels Rte. 17, from the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center in South Mills, NC to the Dismal Swamp Boat Ramp in Chesapeake, VA, a total of 7.5 miles. It was a rather long distance for the first paddle of the year, especially since once you start you either have to finish or return to the start. There is really no place to stop and remove the boat from the water.

The first landmark is the Mile Post 28 post just up from the launch. That allows you to count down (27, 26, 25, etc.) so you know how much punishment is left. Took our first break at mile post 25. The Captain was tiring. After a short rest and a Coke, it was back to paddling. Just north of MP 25 is the state line.

Around MP 22, we both were starting to feel the burn, so another short break was in order. then the paddle to the finish. Really pretty uneventful.

Again, this was a very well organized event. All the volunteers and the people we met / talked with were very friendly. What more could you ask for? Good people, good fun, good weather, and a good time had by all.

Ironman St George

2010-05-03T05:25:00.001-04:00

Congrats to Beth for her amazing performance in the inaugural Ford Ironman St George. VERY impressive for the first time at the distance. Sans the tire incident, a definite podium performance.

WooooHoooo It's Kayak Time Again

2010-05-01T19:48:00.009-04:00

First, let me apologize for not posting in awhile. Since the wedding, things have been kind of busy, with transitioning into maintenance and Gail being at home. Still havn't really gone through the 600 plus photos from that event.

It seems that it has been a real long time since we had the VBK His and VBK Hers on the water. Back in February, during some really cold weather, we saw a newspaper article about an event put on by Chesapeake Parks and Recreation. It's called the Paddle for the Border and attracts paddlers from far and wide. Usually 200 to 300 people sign up. We figured "What the hell" and signed up. During the cold spell we we dreaming of good weather and time on the water. Well, this was the day.

The paddle starts at the Dismal Swamp State Park (actually the North Carolina Tourist Information Center, as well) on Rte. 17 just north of South Mills, NC, and ends at great Dismal Swamp Boat Ramp on the Dismal Swamp Trail at Ballahack Road. Total distance 7.5 miles.

Before any details of the trip, just let me say that this was probably one of the best organized events we have ever attended. EVERYTHING ran as smooth as silk. Although there were a lot of people, there were more than enough volunteers to help unload and launch your boat. After dropping off the boats, you had to drive up to the parking area near the finish, then ride the shuttle bus back to the launch area. They provided breakfast (muffins or egg/sausage sandwich), and lunch (potato salad, beans, apple cookies and a grilled chicken sandwich). In addition, each paddler received a hat and t-shirt. Everyone was friendly, pleasant, and more than willing to provide whatever you needed. Also, the Chesapeake Police Dept. and Fire Dept and the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Dept. patrolled the waterway providing water and assistance as needed. Great job to all the people involved with making this a great experience. We'll definitely be attending again.

Now the trip. We launched about 8:30. The weather could not have been better. When we left at 6:30 AM, the temp was in the mid-sixties with gentle breezes. At launch time, the temp had risen to the mid-seventies (perfect). Before the end of the paddle, the temp had risen to the low-to-mid eighties.

The Captain checking to see if I can keep up.....
What a trooper....

Happy Happy.........

Quite a few paddlers.....
That's it for now. Got to try and catch Beth's finish of Ironman St George. Should be coming in shortly.

Wedding - First Installment - TheTrip

2010-01-13T13:51:00.020-05:00

Well, it's been awhile since the last update, but with the wedding travel, etc., there really hasn't been time to compose a new post. I have been going through the over800 pictures taken while we were in Cabo trying to pick some of the best for posting. In addition, we babysat Greyson on Saturday and Sunday, and during that time he demanded 100% attention. I did post some videos on Picasa and sent out email invitations. Check them out, he is really growing fast, has a great personality, and is sooooooo much fun!

To start off, the trip was one to be remembered. At 7:00 PM Christmas Eve I got a phone message from American Airlines that our 6:30 AM flight had been canceled and we were rescheduled on a flight leaving at 6:00 PM. So much for plans! The reason they gave was the storm in Dallas, our one stop. Since over a hundred flights into Dallas had been canceled, I thought there would be a large backup, even at Norfolk, so we got to the airport with hours to spare. The only benefit was that we had a leisurely dinner and a couple beers before we boarded the plane.

Dinner in Norfolk..................

We got into LAX around 11:00 PM, got our luggage, and went to Steph's, arriving around 12:30 AM. The airport shuttle was picking us up at 4:20 AM for the trip back to LAX. Due to the canceled flight, we missed Christmas Dinner, but Steph brought it to us at the airport. We got to eat our Christmas Dinner in the car on the way to Steph's. We all met up in LA so we could fly on the same plane to Cabo, even though we sat in different areas of the plane. Gail likes to sit in the back. Everyone else prefers to sit more toward the front.

After a couple hours sleep, we were back up and heading for the airport . Our flight was scheduled for 7:20 AM, but "they" suggest you get to the airport at least two and a half hours before international flights. So, that's what we did. Again, we were way early, but this time no beers.

The flight was pretty uneventful until we got near Mexico City. We hit some rather bumpy air. That didn't make Gail too happy. Anyway, we flew for four hours to get to Mexico City, had a three hour lay-over, then flew for two hours back in the direction from which we came to Cabo. The lay-over flew by. We found a small sports bar near the gate and decided to toss back a few tall cool ones.

Mexico City lay-over.................

The flight to Cabo was pretty good, at least until we arrived. First, Nancy, Rick, Steph and Jake's luggage got misplaced for a little while. While we were waiting, Gail went to check on the rental car. What a fiasco. First, the desk by baggage check told us that our reservation was through Hertz Advantage and that was not him. He told us to go through some sliding doors and talk to the man at the end of the counter. We did that and he told us to go through another set of sliding doors and there should be a Hertz Rep there with a sign with our name on it. Like good little travelers, we did as instructed. Guess what ! There was no rep with a sign. We did see a guy in a Hertz shirt, but he couldn't help. Again, the Hertz - Hertz Advantage thing. Soooo, I thought I would go back inside to talk with the original guy. The doors were closed and marked "Authorized Personnel Only", but that couldn't stop me. I waited until the doors opened to let someone out and went in. I was immediately confronted by a female "Federalie", about four foot tall and 100 pounds soaking wet. She couldn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish so I just kept pushing forward. An Airport "Official" who could speak English came up and told me I couldn't re-enter. Together they escorted me to the door. He told me if I had any more problems outside to come back and talk to him. I went back out to find that nothing had changed. I went back in and was confronted by the same little "Federalie" but the "Official" was nowhere to be found. By now my frustration level had about peaked! I went back outside to talk with the Hertz guy. Big mistake! See, I had had about two hours sleep in the last 24, I had been traveling for the better part of two days, and I was pissed. He explained the situation to me and I repeated it back to him for clarification. To wit: "Let's see if I understand, you do not represent Hertz Advantage, you cannot contact Hertz Advantage, the Hertz Advantage rep left because he has no cars, therefore, we have no car!" He said yes and he and his three friends started to laugh. That's when I lost it! My response was "This is Bullshit!" At that point his three amigos stood up and started to look serious. Their humor had faded. Gail thought that we were about to mix it up right there in the street and stepped between us. She led me away to the safety of the other side of the street. She was afraid I would get arrested and spend my vacation in jail. Maybe!

After that, we arranged for a van to take us to the condo. Nancy and Rick took care of that. Nancy didn't want to share a van with strangers and insisted on a private one. The cost was $85.00, so Rick gave the head guy a $100.00 bill and he disappeared. Nancy freaked. She thought the guy had taken off, but he just went to get change. Needless to say, by the time we got to the condo, we were all ready to eat, DRINK, and sleep. What to do? We headed to Zippers (more about this place later). We ate, drank (cold beer and great Marguritas) and then went back to the condo and crashed.

Dinner at Zippers................one of many visits...........
Next installment, condo and rehearsal dinner.................

New Toy

2009-11-25T11:25:00.001-05:00

Chris came over the other day, I think it was when he and Courtney were dropping off Greyson, and showed me a "surf" camera on-line. Well, I found a really good deal on Ebay and bought one. (see below). It is a Go Pro 5MP Wide Angle, waterproof to 100 ft. It came with hardware to mount to a surfboard. It takes great pics and video. I have also upgraded the firmware so it will take a single video up to 4GB (Approx. 2 hrs) and can handle up to an 8GB SDHC card.

I find it hard to believe that something so small can perform so well. It also has numerous features, like: continuous shooting pics every 2 or 5 seconds, self timer, upside down image (just in case you have to mount the camera upside down), three shot burst photo, to name a few.

This is the camera out of the water housing.........

Working out details for a kayak and other mounts. Hope to have all helmet/adventure cams ready for Cabo.

Another Weekend Gone

2009-11-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

Due to Veteran's Day and the November Nor'easter I haven't been to work, except for three hours on Friday, in five days. Wednesday was Veteran's Day and the office was closed. Thursday work was canceled due to the weather. Friday the power was out. I went in to work to the power out condition. Without power, the computers won't work, and without computers we can't work. I did have to put in about three hours clearing the water out of our largest clubhouse because it was rented for Saturday. The place floods every time we get heavy rains. Guess I'll have to figure out a way to correct that problem. The good news was that Gail was off Thursday (she couldn't get into work due to the flooded roads) and Friday. They were closed because the roads were still flooded. So we both had long weekends.

Saturday, Chris and Courtney went up to D.C. for a basketball game and we had Greyson from about noon on Saturday until about 4 PM Sunday. Great fun. He is a trip. He loves the dogs and plays with Ozzie, Lobo and Peanut. He and Nugget still don't get along.

Check out G & Peanut, then he hams it up..........

On Sunday, we took a trip down to Sandbridge to see the barge that ran aground during the nor'easter. What a zoo. It must have been the biggest attraction around. The road was blocked near the Coast Guard Station so we parked along the street and hiked in as close as they would allow.

The barge was loaded with containers and got pretty close to the pier........
It was definitely beached............
Surf on one side..............
Sand on the other..................
Line up of looky-loos...................
Check out the beach.............
Greyson and Grandma...............
Greyson and Grandma fed the ducks and one of them tried to snatch the bread out of Greyson's hand and got his fingers.

Afterwards, he was a trooper...................

After Mom & Dad picked him up, Grandma and Grandpa had to rest up from the weekend. He really keeps us busy, but we really like spending the time with him.

Quick Nor'Easter Report

2009-11-12T12:37:00.005-05:00

Just a quick update on the November Nor'Easter. We got a lot of rain, about 11 inches so far, with more to come later today and into the night. As you can see, the water level of the lake has risen quite a bit. It is almost to the shed, and into the back yard.

A short video of the storm......

These trees are normally right at the edge of the lake.....
Pretty nasty out........
Gail tried to drive into work, but all the streets through Norfolk to Coopervision were flooded, so she came back home. I got a phone call this morning, so I didn't have to go into work. I only drive two miles and got to stay home, but Gail has to drive over twenty miles and they were open, Go figure!

Two shots of the back yard......

I'll keep you posted should we have additional information.

Sunday, Greyson, and FOOTBALL

2009-11-10T08:51:00.003-05:00

Spent the afternoon and evening babysitting Greyson. Chris and Courtney went to a wedding. The high point of the day was that the Charger - Giants game was televised. (Good news - Bad news) Greyson and I watched the game in between coloring, playing with cars, etc.

Check out the newest Charger fan and the "Rivers intercepted look"........

Alas, when Rivers threw the interception with four minutes remaining, I could not take anymore. My BP probably went through the roof. I turned the game OFF. Greyson is still too young to hear that kind of language, and I had gone ballistic. So, I found out the Bolts had won from Chris went he got home. I had to watch the replays. How can a GAME cause that type of reaction? I'm not what you would call a rabid sports fan, and yet!

An Afternoon With Greyson

2009-11-01T17:02:00.020-05:00

Courtney had some studying / homework to do so Chris brought Greyson over for the afternoon. We had fun, especially out in the garage. He got into everything. Check out the pics.

Socket & ratchet as a hammer.......
What's this......................
OOO tools..........
More sockets...............
How does this work.............
What's in here ............
How does this come out..............
Look, more tools..............
What's up there................
Every boy needs his Duct Tape............
Climbing the ladder, mallet in hand............
Now I can see more.................
What's in this drawer..................
Afterwords, some computer time............
Then.......................

It was a busy day.

I May Have Spoken Too Soon

2009-11-01T09:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday it was around 80 degrees. This is what we woke up to this morning. 60 degrees and windy.

I might have jinxed the rest of the year with my comments yesterday.

It's That Time of Year

2009-10-31T19:54:00.010-04:00

I guess Fall is here, at least the trees seem to think so!

This is a tree I see every day at work. I have watched the leaves change, but......

TODAY IT WAS NEAR 80 DEGREES!!! GUESS WHAT WE DID. That's right, we went kayaking. A couple of weeks ago, the contractor mowed all the reeds along the Davinci Canal, so..... we decided to head out. We got up late, around 8:30 and took our time. Before we got ready, Chris stopped by to return some tools he had borrowed, so we hung out and BS'd for awhile. He went out surfing this morning but it was really messy. High winds turned it to mush. I talked him into helping move the treadmill from the garage to our bedroom, so maybe it will get some use.

Back to kayaking. The wind was coming up and we almost decided to scrub the mission, but said screw it and headed out. Glad we did. Our trip down the canal was great. Fall is having its effect on the trees there and some of the surface is covered with leaves. Really quite beautiful.

My usual view, bringing up the rear.............
Once I did get in front, this was the view.........

We paddled all the way to Lake Tecumsah again. This time we were prepared, we had fishing gear. I had a pretty good time, but the "Captain" got skunked. One of the few times that I caught more than her. I got seven small bluegill. I threw them all back, too small for a meal.

Here's one..............
One other reason for going was to try out the helmet cam. Gail thinks it looks kind of dumb. I might just have to agree with her.

I will have to make some adjustments to the mounting. It is aimed a little high. Got to be ready for Cabo.

Gail in full fishing mode................

The clouds started to roll in between two and three, so we decided to head back. It wasn't too bad, but around here the weather can go from partly cloudy to thunder storms in a matter of minutes.

All in all a great day. Our little kayak trips are the best stress relief in the world, so peaceful and quiet. Hopefully we will have a few more opportunities to go out before winter rears its head.

Grandpa & Grandma

2009-10-26T19:28:00.007-04:00

Been playing the grand parent role lately. We have had the opportunity to babysit Greyson. Chris and Courtney went to Hallow-Scream at Busch Gardens yesterday, so we had a day and part of the night with the Monkey. He was so good. After they left, he ate lunch, then he and Grandma took a 1 1/2 hour nap. About 6, we ate dinner, later it was bath and bed. In between, we did a lot of coloring and played with his "go-goes".

Coloring is serious work..........

Until I see the camera .... what a ham.............
Check out the curls....and the "go-goes"..........

Mom and Dad didn't get home until about 11, so for us it was straight home and in the sack. 5:30 came really early this morning, but it was well worth the lack of sleep. We really enjoy the little monkey.

Another Weekend Gone

2009-10-12T19:23:00.010-04:00

Kind of a busy weekend. Saturday I played duck and run with the rain / thunderstorms trying to get the trim around the shed door done. For the most part I was able to get that done. Later, we went over to Chris and Courtney's to babysit Greyson while they went out to dinner. He is really funny. We watched Backyardigans episodes and another series he likes. He really gets into his shows. You can't help but play along and sing, etc. Of course we couldn't get him to settle down. After his bath we must have read him a dozen books. I had just gotten him settled and almost to sleep when Mom & Dad came home. We got chewed out for not following the rules. He was supposed to be asleep. Oh Well......

On Sunday we went to Homearama with Chris and Courtney. It was pretty interesting. They have scaled down the number, size and price of the homes due to the economy. As usual, I got chastised for pointing out all the poor workmanship. Gail saw a dresser she liked, so I took a picture. We'll probably try to locate something like it.

Check it out.........
Breaktime........

Other than that, we're in training for Cabo. Check out the refer...

Modelo Especial..........
Also, got the helmet cam finished. Plan to get some water shots surfing and kayaking, as well as shots of zip lining.

Side mounted................
Top mount..................

Not much else going on. Later

Work, Work, Work

2009-10-06T07:30:00.002-04:00

There hasn't been a lot going on here lately. Since the news that Coopervision will be shutting down, we have been discussing potential plans for the future. You know, selling it all, getting a motor home, or fifth wheel & truck, and just traveling around for a while. Must be the gypsy in us!

So, instead of playing on the weekends, we are working. Repairing , painting, sprucing up the place just in case. All the things we put off so we could play. Being a responsible adult sucks. Saturday was spent mowing the lawn and replacing most of the trim on the shed out front. Getting ready to paint all three sheds. (Gail says she'll do the painting. Yeah! Right! We all know how that works out!)

Anyway, Chris and Greyson came over to help on Sunday. Gail won't let me climb up on the roof, or even to the top of the ladder, so Chris gets the high work. We replaced the wood trim on the chimney and did some painting as well.

My two helpers......

Look at me..........I'm going UP.........

The drill really works, and he knows how to use it................

Reach for the sky........

It was a pretty good day. Greyson is a trip. When he gets in his goofy mood, he is perpetual motion, and laughs & giggles constantly. He really cracks himself up.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T14:25:00.026-04:00

SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 5, 2009

We awoke to a beautiful morning on Saturday. We decided to load up the kayaks and head out. Since the Rock and Roll Half Marathon and Labor Day crowd would create a traffic nightmare to the north, we decided to head south, back to Horn Point and the Back Bay. Gail wanted to try some fishing, but only wanted to take one pole and no fishing gear. Space management in a kayak can be a difficult task. So, I packed up both ultra-lite rigs and off we went.

Horn point launch point from the first duck blind we fished..........
My Captain fishing duck blind #1..........................
A closer shot.................
Hooray, first fish of the day, after just fifteen minutes....Check out the smile......
A better shot of the fish...a hand sized bluegill..............
As I mentioned earlier, we only took one pole each and no extra gear. The first bite I got bent the pole over and as I tried to land it, the line snapped. No replacement hook. My day was over.

After about twenty minutes without a nibble, we moved to another duck blind.

My turn to fish.....with Gail's pole........
Another bluegill...................
After I caught one, I gave the pole back to Gail. She hooked one right away, but just like my first hook up, her line snapped also. It was weird. Both lines snapped just where the hook was attached to the line. I guess whatever we hooked had some sharp teeth.

With no more fishing to do, we decided to just go for a paddle. We headed up Hells Point Creek Creek, toward Lake Tecumsah. We didn't really intend to go all the way to Lake Tecumsah, but that is where we ended up.

Near the start of our journey.............
Heading up Hells Point Creek..............
We paddled past Indian Cove Resort, under Sandbridge Road, past Hells Point Golf Club, into Ashville Creek, all the way to Lake Tecumsah. I would estimate the distance at right around four miles. So, considering the approximately 2 miles of paddling we did prior to heading up Hells Point Creek and the return trip, we put in a solid ten miles plus of paddling. I guess we did the major portion of eight miles in about three hours.

The golf cart bridge at Hells Point Golf Club.....about half way...........
The entrance to Lake Tecumsah.............A view of the lake...................
My trooper on the way back......beat but paddling on............
On the way home, we plotted our plan of attack for the next day. I gathered up ALL the fishing gear, we went out and got a supply of snelled hooks, picked up some red worms and meal worms, and checked and re-checked our equipment. We were ready............

Sunday, September 6, 2009

We slept in a little, but were up and on our way fairly early. When we arrived at Horn Point, we were greeted with some rather strong winds and about a one foot chop on the Back Bay. Not the most ideal conditions, but we were ready to catch some fish. We paddled out to the second duck blind we had fished the previous day. Between the chop and wind, sitting tied up to the duck blind was pretty miserable. Gail got broke off again. I had two fish follow my bait to the surface but didn't bite, and then I got broke off. Considering that we were getting beat up by the weather and there was little success, we decided to move into a more wind protected area to fish. Unfortunately, we had little luck. All I hooked was a two inch menhadden. Not worth the effort. When I turned to check on Gail, she was nowhere to be seen. I started to paddle over to where I had last seen her when I noticed a kayaker way out at one of the duck blinds. Guess who? We had left the walkie talkies in the truck since we would be fishing so close together. Never again!

Earlier, The Captain working the reeds along the shore............
A closer view of my fisherwoman...............
As I reached Gail, she had just caught a small bluegill. We decided that we would head in, since the only place we caught fish was out in the wind and chop. So we threw him back and headed home. Two weary kayak anglers.....................

Monday, September 7, 2009 - An afternoon with Greyson

About noon, we went over to pick up Greyson for the afternoon. We brought him home, had lunch and he crashed. Right after I finished cleaning him up, he climbed into my lap, leaned over and fell fast asleep.

The "G" man fast asleep....................
I had to start dinner so I put him in the big chair and he continued his nap.........

Greyson just loves the dogs, especially Peanut. He hugs Lobo, Ozzie and Peanut. The only one who doesn't really want any attention is Nugget. She just doesn't like kids. Lobo is so mellow with him. He lets Greyson hug him and even chases his toys when Greyson throws them. "G" chases Peanut all over the house, but she is still quicker than him.

All and all, a busy weekend. Tomorrow it's back to work for me, but Gail has a "spa-day" she got as a birthday present from Chris, Courtney and Greyson. After that, she will be watching Greyson. Should be a fun day all around.

Skunked Again !

2009-08-11T20:50:00.000-04:00

Chris and I tried our hand at fishing once again. This time we went to Rudee Inlet. The tide was high and the fishing was not very good. Chris managed to catch one small one, and all I was able to mange was two Blue Crabs (good sized) almost in the boat. All and all just a good morning paddle, with some casting and drifting thrown in for good measure. I've definitely got to crack the code for catching some fish.

Chris just crusin'....................
Government marina at the end of Lake Rudee............
Chris working a weedy point................

Later that afternoon, Chris, Courtney and Greyson came over just to hang out. Good Day!

Nature's Light Show

2009-08-05T21:26:00.007-04:00

Mother Nature put on quite a light show tonight. Check out the cloud-to-cloud lightning. Quite the cool display.

For more videos, click on See All My Pictures / Videos link.

Rudee Inlet ! Finally!

2009-08-02T11:21:00.011-04:00

We finally got to go kayaking this weekend. I got up early to surfing with Chris, but it wasn't even worth getting wet, so we came home. When we got back, Gail was up and we sat around BS'ing for a while, then Chris left. On the way back from the beach, I noticed that there were actually some parking places at Owl Creek. Usually the area for parking cars, without trailers, is full, but not Saturday. Maybe is was the threat of rain and/or thunderstorms that kept people away. Anyway, we have been wanting to go for a kayak paddle around Rudee Inlet / Lake Rudee for quite some time. Finally we got our chance.

The launch site..................
One of the channels we explored............
Check out the "webs" in this tree.............
As usual, the Captain leads the way.......
Backside of the Virginia Marine Science Museum. You can see the observation platform in the trees.....
We had some entertainment as we paddled. If you look closely, you can see the "mussel fountains" as they strain the water, and squirt it back out. All we needed was music, even though the birds were singing in the background. Pretty cool.

After cruising around the back end of Lake Rudee, we headed out toward the inlet, past the marinas, to the General Booth / Pacific Avenue Bridge.

Cruising back past one of the private marinas...............
One last video. Its not too good, but it shows the Captain paddling along.

It was a pretty decent paddle, but not as big a water as we thought. We paddled the entire area in less than two hours. The fishing is supposed to be pretty good, so next weekend Chris and I are going to give it a try. Gail has a "Girls" party to go to, so I will need a baby sitter.

Your Govt At Work Again

2009-07-22T16:33:00.004-04:00

Just saw this in a news article:

"The vote was 58-39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure, offered as an amendment to a defense spending bill."

How appropriate! Does that mean the "defense spending bill" was two votes short of approval as well? So, I guess 39 senators are against defense spending, and 58 are for the right to carry concealed weapons across state lines.

By the way, "What defense spending"? What was the bill for? The F-22? The war in Iraq? The war in Afganistan? Military pay increases? It could be very important during the mid-term elections.

On a Lighter Note....

2009-07-22T07:45:00.002-04:00

This year we have slightly expanded our exploration of the fresh herb growing arena. Gail was looking through a Kohl's flyer and noticed that they had the "Aero-Garden" on sale at a significant mark-down. Since we had looked at them when they first came out and decided that they were over priced, we never bought one. Well, now we have. We are growing basil, mint, oregano, dill, thyme, and chives. All but the chives are now growing.

The basil is taking over............
The Aero-Garden.............................

The Aero-Garden is totally hydroponic. You just plug in the seed pods, fill with water, add the nutrient tablets, and wait for them to grow. There is a small pump to keep the water flowing and grow lights that stay on 16 hours a day. It even lets you know when to add water and nutrients. Virtually automatic.

Outside, I am growing corn and peppers, as well as oregano, basil and parsley.

Check out the corn......................
Herbs in the pots................

Really, we aren't turning into survivalists. We're just trying to grow some of our own veggies and herbs. Next year, I may put in a large vegetable garden.

It's Been Awhile

2009-07-21T12:55:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, never discuss politics or religion in mixed company. BUT, with what has been going on lately, I cannot bite my tongue any longer. The time has come to vent.........a little.

What the hell are we doing to our country? We sit back and allow the people we have elected to do our bidding in Washington let this country sink further and further into the depths of dispair.

First, Barney Frank - The remaining (Taxpayer funds) of the TARP money that is left unspent (to this point) should be returned to its rightfull owners! The Taxpayers! But no, he wants to spend it on "other significant" Government projects. WTF! This attempted misappropriation of funds is brought to you by the same guy who said the Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae were doing just fine. Just in case you don't know, he is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. This is the person that our Elected Representatives have determined has the intelligence and knowledge to advise that body on all matters financial! So much for their judgemnet.

Second, The Continuing Bailout - Stop the Madness!!!!! We cannot afford to save every entity from the responsibility of their poor judgement and ineptitude. What, you only want another 800 Billion dollars? No problem. We'll just print you up some nice, crisp, new bills. When will those dumbasses realize that they are spending our money with little or no thought of the consequences? Even the Congressional Budget Office is starting to question whether this level of spending can or should be maintained!

Third, Health Care Reform (and I use that term loosely) - What are they trying to reform? They write / submit a bill of over a thousand pages (that no one will ever read) that creates or expands thirty eight federal entities to administer each and evey aspect of the "plan". My opinion of this brilliant move is that with enough targets, finger-pointing when it fails will be as easy as shooting ducks on a pond. Think about it! Who in our Government in the last twenty plus years has ever accepted the blame for his or her actions. They point at other politicians, corporate leaders, God, the Devil, even the American People. It is NEVER their fault. Is there any wonder why certain corporate leaders and many people in general react in the same manner? We have learned our lessons, from our elected teachers, very well. The only difference being that we will be vilafied for doing so and they won't.

Fourth, Health Care Reform - Why do the politicians fail to separate this debate into its basic elements? There is the moral issue of providing coverage to individuals who cannot get or afford health insurance. There is the financial issue of how we will pay for that. And there is the reform issue of how to reduce costs without degrading service, if that is really possible. Until the President and the Congress try to look at these issues in their proper perspective, we will continue to see the OMNIBUS Healthcare Bills that have been floated (and failed) in the past. I do not think it is really possible to address all the issues in one, all or none, bill. Nor do I believe that it has to be done RIGHT NOW! Let's take our time and do it right. I know that the current administration is looking at the mid-term elections with fear and trepidation. If they fail to keep their grandiose campaign promises, they may loose the congressional majority. I mean, if you can't accopmplish your far reaching agenda with control both the executive and legislative branches of the Government, what can you do?

Last, Nancy Pelosi - Enough said.

Link

2009-07-20T16:41:00.004-04:00

Got the link to the videos to work. Just click Pictures

Where Did the Weeekend Go?

2009-07-19T19:58:00.006-04:00

Watched Greyson today while Chris and Courtney went to see the new Harry Potter movie. As usual, he ran us ragged, but we had a ball. He is so funny and curious. He wants to know what everything is and searches for new things to get into. Today, while I was preparing the ingredients for our Butternut Squash / Curry soup, he and Grandma played in the sink. As soon as he saw the camera, he started hamming it up.

Hey, look at me................
What does this do??????
WATER....................
By the way, the soup turned out great. Butternut Squash / Curry Soup, garnished with Horseradish Cream Sauce and Lime Zest. MMMMMMMMMMMM.
Served with a great salad and some warm, buttered bread. Who could ask for more? Oh yeah, a cold beer to wash it down made it complete.

No kayaking this weekend. Friday afternoon we had a thunderstorm move through and Saturday morning it was still pretty cloudy. Of course it cleared up in the afternoon, but by that time we were already committed to other things (cleaning the house). Today started off the same, but again it cleared up in the afternoon.

Last Video

2009-07-18T13:55:00.015-04:00

This is one video of the carp "nesting" from our June 7th trip to the Back Bay National wildlife Refuge.

Carp........

Apparently you can't upload more than one large video file per blog post, at least that's the way it seems. Check out the other videos at Pictures

Missing Videos Part 2

2009-07-18T13:45:00.002-04:00

Second video.

Greyson and Dad feeding the ducks.......

Missing Video Part 1

2009-07-18T10:30:00.004-04:00

Here is one of the videos that wouldn't upload.

Greyson helping Dad wash the car.............

Hard Weekend

2009-07-14T15:51:00.002-04:00

Saturday was a bear. Gail went shopping and I stayed home to trim the trees. After eight hours, all the trees were trimmed and the lake was cleaned out. Neeedless to say, I was beat. As I was about to doze off, Chris called. Another Oh-Dark-Thirty surf trip. So, I was up at 5:30 AM on Sunday. When we got there, the surf was pretty small. We even discussed leaving, but since we were already up, we stayed. Turned out to be a little fun. Knee to waist high, and what seemed like 5 minute intervals.

The rest of the day was spent running around. Not much more to report.

July 4th Weekend

2009-07-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

LESSONS LEARNED, July 3, 2009

It has often been said that you should learn at least one new thing each day. Well today, I learned more than one. What I learned as:

1. Three to five foot seas are much bigger when you are out in a 12 foot kayak than they appear from shore. (Think "Deadliest Catch". 125 foot ship in 30 to 50 foot seas, you do the math.)

2. "Watertight" hatch covers aren't.

3. "Dry bags" are, partially.

4. My waterproof camera really is.

5. I can still swim.

How I learned all this is quite simple, we decided to go for a kayak paddle on the Chesapeake Bay. We launched from the Chesapeake side of First Landing State Park.

This is what it looked like from the shore.............

The funny thing about the whole adventure is that when we came through the gate, the ranger suggested that we should go to 64th street to launch and I told him we wanted to launch on the Chesapeake side. Of course, he didn't mention the high seas.

Our harrowing, life threatening (according to Gail) adventure began with launching into a rather rough shore break. I helped Gail get out and then launched myself. Even before I got into the boat, waves were crashing over the top. When I did get into the boat, the cockpit was filled with water, but the scuppers took care of that in no time. We paddled out and had a ball riding over the waves, although, with the wind and current we made very little headway down the beach. We just hung out in the same area for a while and rode the waves. We just considered this to be a practice session for our planned ocean excursion. Then the real fun began.

We were just talking about going in, when the five foot part of the seas came into play. Several waves came in succession and the bow of my kayak was buried in the water. The cockpit filled and it got really sluggish. I tried to turn into the next group of waves but got caught sideways. Needless to say, I got pitched into the water. When I tried to get back in the boat it would just continue to roll toward me and could not be stopped. That is when I figured out that the "watertight" hatch wasn't. The kayak was filled with water. Each time I tried to climb back aboard, the water would shift over to that side and cause the boat to roll. Each time it rolled, it took on more water. There was no way that I was going to get back on board and paddle in, so I just started swimming and pushing the boat toward shore. (Under the watchful eyes of Gail) She didn't understand what I was trying to tell her, that the kayak was full of water. She thought I meant the cockpit, not the hull. Needless to say, she "worried" (guided) me all the way in. When we finally did reach the shore, she tried to pull my kayak up on the shore and couldn't. It was then that she understood. I pulled my kayak up on the beach, opened the hatch, and poured ten plus gallons of water out.

On a side note, Gail was kind of worried about landing her kayak in the rough conditions, but she handled it like a pro. She paddled to keep up the same speed as the incoming waves and glided to a soft and safe landing.

Looking back on the adventure, we were never in any serious danger and it was kind of fun.

Chris and Greyson, July 3rd, 2009

Courtney was in Las Vegas for a friend's birthday celebration, so Chris and Greyson were "batch-ing it" for the weekend. They came over in the afternoon and stayed for dinner (partial disaster). We had purchased a small tri-tip roast last weekend a Trader Joe's and decided to have it for dinner. Gail mentioned it to Chris and he said he had read that they were good grilled. What a mistake! It was so tough that you could hardly chew it. The beans and potato salad were great, so all was not lost.

Greyson never fails to amaze me. That kid has more energy than any two kids I have seen. He is in constant motion. About the only time he sits still is when he wants you read him a book. That only lasts for a few minutes and he is off and running again. Chris decided to wash the car and Greyson was ready and willing to help.
Hey Dad! Let me help!
(Great video should be here. Having trouble loading videos and have contacted Google)

We have several varieties of ducks that call the pond home and Greyson loves ducks. He even knows the sign for ducks and signs every time he sees them. He also signs airplane, motorcycle, please, more, all done, and several others. Then there is the universal point and "Uh" for everything else. Dad and Greyson decided to feed the ducks.

Feeding the ducks.................
(There should also be a video here)

Note: I'm going to trying uploading some videos to Picasa to see if that will work.

Kayaking, Chris and Greyson, July 4th, 2009

We went out for an early (at least for us) kayak trip to the Back Bay. We went down to the Back Bay Ranger Station and launched about 8:45. The water was calm, the winds light, and the weather was gorgeous.

The Captain leading the way.............

Hey ! Gail had the camera...............
Gorgeous scenery................
Snowy / White Egrets sitting in the tree........
School of small Bass fry...............

Spent about three hours paddling around the south end of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, toward False Cape State Park.

After our trip, Chris and Greyson came over again. Chris washed his truck and Greyson, well he was Greyson. He wears me out.

The way I see Greyson.........

Dinner turned out better this time. Beans and potato salad again, but this time it was drumsticks marinaded in Soyaki sauce. Turned out pretty good.

July 5th, 2009

Went over to Chris' to help him install a ceiling fan in Greyson's room. Took most of the afternoon once we got started. Pretty uneventful day for the most part.

I had really hoped to spend some time working on the transition from the old computer to the new. Didn't get much done on that front, but the time was well spent on more important things.

Great Weekend 6-20-09

2009-07-05T07:50:00.001-04:00

This post has been in the works for a while. Never had a chance to finish it up, so I decided to publish it now just to get it done.

All our work was finished up on Thursday, planning a kayak outing for the weekend. Also, I have been looking for a good deal on a tandem kayak for about five months now. Every time I find one, it has just sold. Well that changed on Thursday. I decided to check on Craig's List while I was at work and there was one listed. I called the number listed and left a message for the seller. He called me back about three and explained that he would be busy with a client (he is a personal trainer that works out of his home in Chick's Beach) until about a quarter to five and then had to leave. I told him I would be there at 4:45 on the dot. I left work early and headed out. Got there at 4:40, he finished with the client and showed me the kayak. A little rough around the edges, but still a decent deal. Scored a tandem kayak. Just after we had loaded it into my truck someone else drove by that was interested. Too late! I found out that he was supposed to take his son to a karate lesson, but my stopping by made that impossible, so his wife had to be the chauffeur. Hope it didn't cause too much trouble.

Saturday morning we headed out the First Landing State Park for the maiden voyage of the "VBK OURS". We only stayed out for a couple of hours due to the weather. Not that it was bad, just the opposite, beautiful. BUT, about 95 degrees, high humidity, with a heat index around 110. Gruesome.........

While we were out, a couple of times I thought about jumping in the water. As we were paddling, I thought I saw grease spot floating on the water, but upon closer examination, saw something that kept us out of the water. See below...

Lots of jellyfish. They were everywhere. No water for us.

"The Virginia Beach Kayak (VBK) Ours"
We got home just before the heat got really oppressive. All in all, good timing.

On Sunday we went down to Sandbridge to meet up with Chris, Courtney and Greyson for a day at the beach. Seemed like a good way to spend Father's Day. The wind came up and it was like being in a sandblaster from the knees down. We aborted that plan. Later they came over for a BBQ. Greyson wanted to play in the rocks, but only lasted to the point where he decided that he would eat the rocks no matter how many times he had been told NO.

Round Two

2009-07-01T17:30:00.003-04:00

Last night was the second attempt to get the new computer up and running. No email, no bookmarks, and even though the hard drive was reinstalled into the old tower, all my programs and data files were blank. It seems there was a conflict with "ownership"when a copies were made to disc. Seems my files now belong to his laptop, which is not with him. Sooooo, the whole old computer took a trip to work today to try to resolve the issues with his laptop. I'll find out what happened when I get home tonight.

Trader Joe's

2009-06-30T13:48:00.003-04:00

Sometime ago, James mentioned Trader Joe's Soyaki Sauce in one of his blogs. We went to Joe's this past weekend and I picked up a bottle. Yesterday I put some chicken in the Soyaki to marinate during th day. Last night I threw it on the grill, and then drizzled some over it when it was done. It was very good. Kudos to James, and of course Trader Joe's. Can't wait to try some other recipes / applications. One of their suggestions is to use it as a stir-fry sauce. I plan on trying that one very soon.

AAARGH !

2009-06-29T13:42:00.003-04:00

New computer arried on Saturday.

Set up was "set up" for Sunday.

Neighbor's daughter hit Comp Tech's car.

Set up not completed.

Six hours ! AARGH !

Good news, though. I went surfing with Chris and Tony EARLY Saturday morning. First time in years. Used some muscles that have been neglected for those years. Hurt a bit, but it was worth it. No kayaking. Between surfing, getting our hair cut, shopping a Trader Joe's, cooking dinner for a visit from our neighbor, new computer, the minor accident, etc., didn't have enough time. Still have a post I was working on from the last trip. I guess I'll finish that when "I" get the computer up and running.

Catching Up 6-7 to 6-19

2009-06-07T20:28:00.013-04:00

Nothing much has been happening here lately. We try to get all of work done during the week so we can play on th week-ends. Just need to have good weather on one of the days. Didn't go out last weekend. Between the weather and cleaning out the shed, the weekend was over before I knew it.

6-07 Back Bay Kayaking

We went kayaking today in the Back Bay. We decided to launch from a different place this time. We went to Little Island Park in Sandbridge. I had read about False Cape State Park, just south of Little Island and it said that no vehicular traffic was allowed. What I didn't know is that you can drive to the Back Bay Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and launch from there. It would have been much easier and we wouldn't have had to follow a trail the had a snake warning sign right at the beginning. Also, the paddle would have been shorter. Live and learn.

We started heading south toward False Cape when we came across an amazing sight. Apparently the local carp population decided to nest on the same day in the same place. We could see them jumping and splashing from about a half a mile away. We cruised up to watch the show.

Tried to upload a video of the carp, but apparently it was way too big. After about two hours (I tried on two different computers) it still wasn't finished. So, you'll just have to imagine two to three foot carp jumping all around you.

Here are some shots of the area between Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park.

SPF 1000 hat on the Captain.......
Paddling along..............
Getting back into the Yak after a stop at the ranger Station.........
Drifting along.................
Spent about four hours out on the water. By the time we got home and cleaned up the kayaks we were both beat.

End of the Holiday Weekend

2009-05-25T16:02:00.003-04:00

Well, the Memorial Day weekend is at a close. We had planned to spend at least two days in the kayaks, but this morning the forecast was for rain starting at noon, with thunderstorms starting at 3:00 PM. Guess what ? No rain yet and it just after 4:00. So much for Accu-weather!!!

We decided to go to the movies instead. First a short background.

Shortly after I read "The Davinci Code", I came across a book titled "Beyond Angels and Demons". It referenced "The Davinci Code" on the cover so naturally I had to read it. As I started reading, it became apparent that there was another book by Dan Brown. You guessed it, "Angels and Demons". When I heard it was being made into a movie, I knew I would have to see it. Well we did today. I would recommend this movie for two reasons; 1. It is a pretty good tale of suspense and adventure, and 2. If you read the book, it follows the story very closely. One of my major complaints about books made into movies is that the director takes dramatic license and sometimes changes the story. Not this one. Go see it and let me know what you think.

Tommorow it's back to work and into the regular grind.

Later.

PS

2009-05-25T07:05:00.003-04:00

You might notice the quote to the right and under the header picture. I saw something very similar to this on a large plaque/sign a short while ago (can't remember the exact wording or where). I like this version. It came to mind when we were a Epcot during our forays into the rain. Gail and I did dance in the rain, much to Steph's embarassment, and you know what, it is certainly true. Life is too short to just survive, and dancing in the rain is much more fun.

Gail's First Kayak Fishing Adventure

2009-05-25T06:28:00.008-04:00

We decided to try a fishing trip on Saturday. We really wanted to go to Lake Tecumseh, but the reeds along the Davinci Canal where too tall. Gail didn't want to hike through them, snakes you know. We thought about going to the Back Bay, but the Pungo Strawberry Festival started Saturday and the traffic through there would have taken at least an hour. Then we considered First Landing State Park, but the Memorial Day traffic at the Oceanfront would have been terrible. So we settled on Lesner Bridge.

My Captain in her rigged kayak........
Searching for those elusive fish.........
Soaking some bait.........and my feet.........Think that scared them away?

The one thing we didn't check was the tide. It was the lowest I have seen. We paddled back into some of the cuts and small islands we had scouted on previous trips. Normally the water is four to five feet deep. It was eighteen inches to two feet deep. The fish were nowhere to be found.

One stop along the way................

We paddled out into the middle of Linkhorn Bay to fish a sandbar that has been rumored to hold fish. No luck there either. The time flew by. We launched about 9:30 and it was now 12:30, so we decided to head back. To our amazement, the tide had receeded even more. there were several areas we had paddled through earlier that we now had to wade.

Slogging through the shallows........

Even though we didn't catch any fish, we had a good time. It took us about an hour to get back to the launch site, between paddling and wading. Headed for home about 2:30.

Can't close with out showing off my catch.

Catch of the day.....a "Weedfish".........with an oyster shell attached...........

After we got home and cleaned up, us and the boats, we went to Wild River Outfitters. When we were in Florida, I left my kayaking hat in the condo so we went in search of a new one. We left with a new hat for me, shorts for Gail, and a Mini-Kayak caddie. It's a set of wheels you strap to your kayak to transport it from your vehicle to the launch area. Much better than carrying them any distance. Tried it out yesterday in the yard and it works great. Now we'll have to go back to get one for the VBS HERS.

Gail's legs got pretty sunburned on Saturday, so we just hung out yesterday. The high point of the day - Gail decided that I needed to clean out my half of the closet. Moved all the winter stuff to the guest room closet and re-organized all my drawers. FUN - FUN - FUN.

Can't wait to see what's in store for today........

Last Weekend

2009-05-24T20:15:00.014-04:00

After returning from Florida, the rest of the weekend was spent with Chris, Courtney and Greyson. Steph got to spend quite a bit of time with her favorite nephew. On Friday we went over there for a while. Greyson was sleeping, but that didn't last long. We dropped Steph off and did some shopping and he was up when we returned.

Look at me, how cute am I.........
The family......
Satruday we celebrated Steph's birthday a few weeks early. We also started a new family tradition. When I turned forty, everyone thought it would be fun to rub it in. I have decided to continue that tradition. As I recall, Steph got me a troll doll that said "Forty is not old if you are a tree", so we returned the favor, and the troll. In addition, I contributed the "Over the Hill" t-shirt I received.

We also decided to grill up a rack of ribs for the celebration.

Playing outside........
Steph sending Greyson's alligator back........
Greyson at the other end......
Steph, Chris and Courtney decided to take Greyson over to the park to play. Luckily, Chris came back to get the car keys and drive over rather than walk. They got caught in a downpour.

A little damp on their return....
Of course, the grill master had to tend the ribs in the middle of that rain, and one heavy period just as the ribs needed to be turned.......
After dinner, we had cake for Steph's birthday.

Greyson helped blow out the candles......
The start of a family tradition......
This t-shirt is almost twenty three years old......

James and Chris are the next in line for these ancient artifacts.

Steph left on Sunday, so we stopped by Chris and Courtney's for a final visit. A great end to a great week.

Vacation

2009-05-18T18:15:00.013-04:00

Warning, this is a long post, I mean a really long post.

Our trip actually started on Saturday. We decided to rent a car for the drive to Orlando, so we went to the airport to pick it up. That night we packed and got ready for our 5:00 AM wake up. All went well and we were on the road by 6:15 AM.

Day One - Fifteen hour drive to Orlando.

Our drive took fifteen hours. We didn't get to the condo we were staying at until around 9:00 PM. When we got there, there was a note on the office door that it had been moved, and the directions were unclear. We drove around and found what we thought was the office, but the code for the lock box to pick up the keys didn't work. Needless to say, it was the wrong place. A short phone call, followed by a short hike got us to the right office. After that, it was a quick dinner and bed. We had another 5:00 AM wake up.

Condo....... Dining room / family room...........
Living room....................
Master bedroom...............
The Boss at the wheel..................

Day Two - another long day to be sure.....

We were up at 5 AM to catch the tour bus at 6 AM. The pick up point was about two blocks from the condo. There were a quite a few people there when we arrived, so we took our proper places in line and waited. Ofcourse, the bus didn't arrive until 6:30. By that time, the line was long and people were still arriving. The bus proceeded to pull up the the tail end of the line, and people started boarding. Imagine how that pissed off the people who had been waiting at the front of the line (yes, ME included). Turns out, they were working off a passenger list and our names were on it so we boarded and got seats together. Then we settled in for the ride to Kennedy. The trip to Kennedy was uneventful but the trip back was another story (more to follow).

Boss on the bus to Kennedy.........
Steph on the bus to Kennedy..........
Heading into Security at Kennedy, just like the airport......

After clearing security, we rushed over to the Kennedy Space Center bus tour, since our tour guide said that the last bus would be leaving at 8:15 AM and it was now almost 8:00. What he didn't tell us was that only two stops were open and the one we really wanted to get to was the one that was closed, the Observation Gantry. This is the one that gets you the closest view of the launch pads. We found that out on the bus as we headed to the Saturn V exhibit.

Saturn V display.........
Steph checking out the Saturn V.........
After walking through the Saturn V exhibit and checking it out, it was about 9:30 and we had to be back to board our bus to the viewing area at 10:45, so we headed to the bus that was returning to the Visitor's Center. Rolled in there about 10:00 and decided to hit the Gift Shop. What a mistake! LOOONG lines everywhere, but t-shirts and hats were going fast, soooo. On a quick check of the bus boarding area Steph found an extremely long line. She and Gail went to get in that line while I waited in the check out line. Then I joined them in the bus line. We got on the bus about 11:20. The bus finally left for the viewing area at about noon.

Here's where we were.......
Quite a large crowd.........
Gail and Steph waiting for the launch......
Then it was time...

Reference shot from Observation Gantry of Endeavor on the pad ready for rescue mission if necessary......
STS 125 Atlantis, Final Countdown started........
We have ignition.......
Liftoff.....................
STS 125 airborne....all Systems GO.........
Heading for space.......
Totally awesome and then some.

The trip back to the condo was long. We were on the 528 Toll Road when we came upon an accident involving a death and serious injuries. Traffic was stopped to allow Life Flight to land on the highway. The trip back took over four hours. Had a quick dinner and hit the rack.

Day Three - EPCOT

We actually slept in and didn't get on the road until 9:00 AM. Upon arrival, the ladies plan our strategy. As it turns out, we hit "Test Track" and "Mission to Mars" first thing. Gail doesn't like those rides and waited while Steph and I rode. Luckily, it wasn't very crowded so the wait wasn't too long.

Which way do we go George..........
Then we decided to travel the world by visiting each country exhibit.

Ahhhh Mexico, Nachos, Dos XX's and Margaritas......

Loved Norway, Vegetable Torte, Bread Pastry, and Carlsburg.....
Gail feeding a Norwegian squirrel.......
China was pretty good too, Pot Stickers and Tsing Tao.............
Ah, Florida in the Springtime. During the early afternoon, the weather started to change rapidly. It went from sunny and mild to cloudy and windy in what seemed like minutes. Ironically, we sought shelter in a closed Rain Bird Sprinkler booth.

I found this sign to be fitting................
Gail found a very safe place during the storm........

At this point, we decided to head for "Soarin", the ride that simulates a hang glider over California. We stopped briefly in Mexico to pick up another Dos XXs and flavored margaritas. No time for pictures, we were racing with the rain and lightning.

Waiting in line for "Soarin". they have an interactive game to play to make the wait seem shorter. Steph REALLY got into it....

We did manage to tour some of the other exhibits just to get out of the rain. Our timing was near perfect. While we were going between exhibits there was light rain. When we came out, we saw soaked people coming in, but the rain had just let up.

By this time it was nearing dinner time and the storm was not really letting up. We had planned to have dinner in Japan, so we headed that way. When we got to the restaurant there was a forty minute wait, so Steph waited while Gail and I headed for Morocco for more refreshments. We got a "Morocco-rita" (vodka, triple sec, and lime juice) and two Casa beers.

International stars.......
Waiting for dinner..............
Dinner was great, Gail had Tempura and Steph and I had Sushi. It was by far some of the freshest/best Sushi I have ever had. Oh, let's not forget the Kirin. too busy eating to get a picture.

After dinner, we watched the fireworks and then left. We didn't make it all the countries., had to save something for the next trip.

Day Four - Back to Kennedy

We decided to go back to Kennedy since we didn't get to see much of anything or ride the rides on launch day. This time we drove. Much better trip.

Made it to the Observation Platform.

Gail & Steph was the launch platform in the background. If this had been on Monday, STS 125 would have been on the pad.
Endeavor on the pad ready for a rescue mission, if needed...................
At the International Space Station Assembly Building, I had an "Armageddon Moment". You know the part where Bruce Willis says "You guys are NASA, you think shit up, is this the best you can do?" Notice the cable running over the roof. It's being held down by sandbags. Really Hi-Tech.
International Space Station Assembly Clean Room......
Steph and I rode on the Shuttle Launch Experience. This is supposed to be a close simulation of an actual shuttle launch. It was way cool, but I think the real thing would be better.

Of course I had to add to the hat collection.....

Day Five - Return to Virginia Beach

The return trip took about fourteen hours. We only had one rough time. Apparently, my driving was not up to par, so........

Got home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

All in all it was a great trip.

Remainder of the weekend to follow. This post is long enough.

Check This Out

2009-05-09T21:06:00.003-04:00

Caught a quick video of Greyson's excited face. Look quick at the beginning.

We're Off

2009-05-09T10:13:00.005-04:00

Steph arrived last night. We picked her up at the airport and went over to see Chris and Greyson. That little guy is so cute, and developing quite a personality. He has developed what I can only call an excited face. Quite the expression. Hopefully we can get a video posted, either here or on his blog. It is really quite hilarious.

The ladies are out shopping. Yup, left me all on my own. Of course I am expected to get some things done before we leave. Gail wants to leave at Oh-Dark-Thirty. We'll see. Tomorrow we leave for Orlando for the Space Shuttle Launch on Monday. Should be a blast (no pun intended). Don't exactly know what else we will be doing. You know me, I just pack and carry the bags and go where I'm told. If we do make it to Disney World, I am taking my new POV (helmet) cam to test on one of the rides. The Boss won't go on them, but maybe she can share the experience.

More Later.

Kayak Adventure

2009-04-21T19:40:00.000-04:00

Sunday we decided to take the kayaks out for a spin. we decided to try the Davinci Canal, just five minutes from home. Gail was somewhat apprehensive since we had to hike through some slightly tall grass to get to the canal. She had a "snake stick" (think Parent Trap) to scare the critters away. Didn't see a single snake. I guess the stick worked. What a great paddle. We put in about eight miles in just under four hours.

Here's the Captain enjoying the start of the trip.
As you can see, she likes to lead the way (surprise)..
She even took a picture of me.....
We paddled down the canal until we came to the entrance of Lake Tecumsah. I think we found a great fishin' hole. Fish were jumping all over the place. We saw very few people on the entire trip, and only one was fishing. He said that this area was this best fishing he had found, and he had been coming back for ten years.

Lake Tecumsah (drop of water on the lens)
Standing Cypress trees on a great point....

We saw a Green Heron in the trees as we paddled through the Scopus Marsh and two Osprey nests in Lake Tecumsah.

Green Heron.....
Osprey nest # 1.........
Osprey nest # 2..............

All and all a great adventure. I will be searching for a launch point closer to Lake Tecumsah. From the launch on the Davinci canal, it is a forty five minute to one hour paddle to get there.

First Outing of the Year....

2009-04-05T13:45:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we went to the Post Office to get our passport applications turned in. We were number three and four in line and it still took almost an hour to get done. The Post Office passport office is only open from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday. At fifteen minutes per person, that means that 16 applications can be processed in four hours. There were at least twenty people waiting when we left, and they had already been open for an hour. Good Luck to those in line.

Went for a little kayak outing today at the Lesner Bridge. The tide was going out and the currents were pretty strong in a couple of places, especially at the entrance to Broad Bay. Hard paddling and very little progress. Lots of exposed sandbars.

The "Captain" heading out. Note the pretty blue paddle.

We can usually paddle across most of this.....

Parked on the sandbar after a long cross current paddle. We started at the white building, right side, directly behind Gail's kayak. Needed the rest......

Paddling through a little channel we found on our way into the Broad Bay channel.

Heading toward the Broad Bay channel.

Stayed out about two hours. The weather was great, but the water is still quite cold. We had to wade through some shallow areas. After a few minutes our feet were somewhat numb. Still, it was great to get out again.

Almost Forgot

2009-04-03T20:33:00.003-04:00

Some time ago, we decided to try to do something special for Steph's --th birthday. We told her we wanted to take her to Disney World, since she had never been, and with this birthday she is no longer a youngster. In reality, we were secretly planning to see a space shuttle launch. Well, as we all know, Steph started checking out other things to do in Orlando and discovered that there was a launch scheduled for the time we would be there. So much for surprises !

I signed up for email notification for when tickets would go on sale. I got the email on Wednsday that said tickets would go on sale starting at 9:00 AM today, and usually sell out in minutes. Since I would be at work, I emailed the link to myself at my work address. I tried to book the tickets Wednesday night, but they were unavailable. While checking my email at work yesterday, around 10:00 AM, I decided to check the link to make sure it was working. Just for the hell of it, I tried to book the tickets again, even though it was about 24 hours before they were to be available. Much to my surprise, I was able to book three tickets. These are VIP tickets that include bus transportation from Orlando to Kennedy Space Flight Center, and viewing from the Causeway bridge, just six miles from the launch gantry. This is the closest that the "public" is allowed to the launch site. The only people that can get closer are NASA employees and dignitaries. How cool is that? STS-125 here we come. (May 12, 2009).

Just Couldn't Wait !!

2009-04-03T20:06:00.005-04:00

As I had mentioned earlier, we got new paddles for Christmas and I have been dying to try mine. When I got home today it was about 75 degrees, but quite windy. I fired up the charcoal grill in preparation for two filets, and while waiting for the coals, decided to give it a go on the "pond". Here a couple of pics the Boss took.

Launched out the back gate......

Just cruised to the far end and back.....

New paddles are far better than the ones that came with the kayaks. More power per stroke. The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend. Maybe we will go for a paddle at the Lesner Bridge on Sunday. Of course, that depends on getting the lawn mowed on Saturday. That might be a problem since we have a lot to do Saturday. The most important is submitting our passport applications so we can go to Cabo in December. Will let you know if we decide to head out on Sunday.

Mid-Atlantic Kayak Fishing Symposium

2009-03-15T18:58:00.005-04:00

We attended the Mid-Atlantic Kayak Fishing Symposium on Saturday. The lectures we attended were: Kayak Fishing 101; Unique Paddle Strokes, Anchors and Maneuvers; Kayak Rigging; Safety Equipment and Rescue Techniques; Catching Big Fish; and Skinny Water Slam.

Kayak Fishing 101 was a presentation of general information on kayak fishing, from selecting the proper kayak to the equipment needed for fishing. Unique Paddle Strokes was as the title states, general and some special paddling techniques (sideways and one arm paddling) as well as how to maneuver your kayak while fishing. Kayak Rigging was a presentation on how to rig a kayak for fishing and all the different equipment you can outfit your kayak with. Safety Equipment and Rescue Techniques was just that, how to be safe on the water and what to do if you get into trouble.

The last two were the actual fishing presentations. "Kayak Kevin" Whitley discussed the art of catching big fish from a kayak. He has landed a 52 plus pound Striped Bass while fishing from his kayak near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. (See Below) He also talked about Black Drum, Red Drum and Cobia. He had slides of several really big fish he and his fishing buddies have hauled in. There were some really amazing catches.

The last presentation was the Skinny Water Slam. Basically it consists of catching Puppy Drum (small Red Drum), Flounder, and Speckled Trout in shallow waters. A "Slam" is when you catch all three during the same fishing trip.

Can't wait for it to warm up enough to go try our luck. We also have our new paddles to try out and several things we learned at the Symposium to try, like standing up and paddling and some of the rescue techniques. I guess we are in for a busy and fun spring.

Nothing, Nada, Nil, Zip

2009-02-16T17:40:00.005-05:00

Not a lot has been going on here lately. We are both in our winter funk. Just hibernating and waiting for Spring. The weather this winter has been really schizophrenic. It can be mid-sixties to low-seventies one day and mid-to-low twenties the next. This really keeps you off balance and makes adjusting difficult. One day it's the sheepskin lined jacket with scarf and gloves, shirt sleeves the next. We even had a light dusting of snow this morning. Go figure!

We're chomping at the bit for good weather and warmer water so we can hit the water in our kayaks again. The late start last season just wet our appetites. In addition, we got new paddles for Christmas that we are dieing to tryout. Saturday we signed up for a kayak fishing seminar put on by Wild River Outfitters in March. We plan to be ready to spend some quality time out on the water this year. Who knows, I may even wax up the board and hit the surf again.

The diets are going well. We are both maintaining our goal weights. No more than a one to two pound variance weekly, depending on whether or not we go out to dinner that week. It's really hard to control your calories when looking at some menus, and of course, whether or not they have Killians Red.

That's it for now. I'll try to post a little more often in the future.

Note on the Soup

2009-02-10T17:56:00.004-05:00

Adding Sriracha to the soup was a good idea, originally. After sitting overnight and reheating, it was QUITE spicy. Might want to add less, or add to taste per serving when eaten.

Sweet Potato / Red Pepper Soup

2009-02-07T14:32:00.022-05:00

Tried a new soup recipe today. Turned out pretty tasty. Here is the recipe:

Sweet Potato / Red Pepper Soup

2 Red bell peppers (about 8 ozs.) seeded and cubed
1 1/4 lbs. sweet potatoes, cubed
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup chicken stock
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine sweet potatoes, onions, red bell peppers, garlic, wine and stock in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until veggies are tender.

Transfer the mixture to a blender / food processor, or use an immersion blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a generous dash of Tabasco sauce.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

I added one tablespoon of Sriracha instead of the Tabasco (flavor + heat). I like the soup a little on the spicy side. For the meek at heart, I'd start with a teaspoon of Sriracha.

Ready to start cooking.....
Simmering away.......
Finished product.....

Enjoy.

Short PS

2009-01-04T12:13:00.002-05:00

Even with all the food eaten (Gail baked about five dozen cookies) I only gained three pounds. Back on the healthy diet as of tomorrow.

Christmas, New Years, Etc.......

2009-01-04T11:00:00.014-05:00

Happy New Year ! It hardly seems possible but it's 2009 already. Where does the time go ?

Christmas season was quite busy. We had one mini-Christamas on Christmas Eve with Greyson, Courtney and Chris. Greyson opened his presents and Courtney and Chris opened their birthday presents.

Courtney with "Monkey" and the stuffed version......
Getting into the process.....
Opening the B'day presents............
Christmas Eve ham..................
We decided to hold off opening the remaining "family" presents until Beth and James arrived.

Gail and I have a very quiet Christmas Day. We got up, opened presents, and then watched movies all day. We didn't even get dressed. Stayed in our PJ's all day. Pretty uneventful, but very relaxing. Gail finally let me open the new paddles we had ordered as our present to ourselves. She wouldn't even let me look at them until Christmas Day. Now I can't wait to try them out. It has been pretty cold lately, but we did have one record setting day, 76 degrees, but the water is freezing. Since we do quite a bit of open water kayaking, we also got international orange safety flags for the yaks. I guess they will make us a little more visible to the boaters.

I got two new books also. "Why We Suck" by Denis Leary and Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Sanction". Needless to say, I've already finished both.

Beth and James arrived on Sunday, the 28th. Chris Courtney and Greyson came over, so we grilled filets, drank some beer and wine, and watched the Chargers dominate the Broncos.

Beth and J with Baby G.....(naturals)
Greyson eating James' Blackberry......
On Monday, we all went over to Chris and Courtney's for dinner and to open the remaining presents. Chris grilled chicken, fish, and tons of veggies.

Cookbooks anyone ??????
Greyson going for the chips.........
Gail got me a spare battery for my camera as a present. My battery died after a few pics and guess where the spare battery was. Yup, at home, so few pics of that night.

Tuesday, we accompanied James on his annual pilgrimage to Kelly's.

Wednesday was New Years Eve. Chris, Courney, Beth and James went out to dinner and met up with Brittany, et al, to celebrate Courtney's birthday and New Years. We babysat Greyson. Well, Gail babysat and I slept. Greyson wouldn't go to sleep before they left, so we got in some playtime. He finally crashed about 9:30, and I do mean crashed. He was one tired little monkey by that time. I'll let James post the results of their night out. I'll just say that their return home was entertaining.

The following morning, it was breakfast for all at our house. James suggested that I try sweet potato hash browns. Tasted pretty good, but the texture was lacking. I'll need to try some experimentation to perfect this dish. James and Beth headed out around 10:30. Back to Philly to catch a plane at 7:30 AM the next morning for home.

Unfortunately, I had to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I didn't get to spend that much time with Beth and James. But, the time we did spend together was great. I am still somewhat amazed at how well my son's have grown into the men they are. I don'ty know if was something we did, or was in spite of what we did. They both have chosen, or have been chosen by, fantastic women to share their lives. I hope their lives are as blessed as mine and Gail's have been.

Here' to a great 2009 for everyone.

Just in the nick of time......

2008-12-16T08:09:00.002-05:00

Today is the day. When we started dieting, my (Gail's goal for me) target weight was 175 lbs. My actual (secret) goal was 170 lbs. Today the scale read 170.0 lbs. Just in time for the holiday food fest. Although, we're both so anal about what and how much we eat, I seriously doubt if there will be any significant weight gain as a result.

Now just one more obstacle to overcome. Right James.........

Busy.....Busy

2008-12-14T16:26:00.006-05:00

Long time between posts. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Between working for a living, helping Chris and Courtney with their house, and building the "Kayak Kloset" (Gail calls it the "Boathouse"), I've had very little time to do anything else.

This weekend was no different. I spent all day yesterday helping Chris finish up the wall paper, and today mowing the yard (hopefully for the last time this year) and watching Gail clean (straighten up) the house. Now it's time for dinner. Got the grill going and pork chops waiting.

Here are some pics of our kayak storage facility.

Two sets of rails, one per kayak.....
I have it framed across the back of the rear deck........
This is where they will reside as son as completed..........
Time to put the chops on....Later.....

Weather or Not......

2008-12-09T13:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the high for the day was 39. Today it's cloudy with a high of 61. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 74, with a chance of thunderstroms. Thursday's forecast is 41. We are having really schzophrenic weather.

Another Day with Greyson

2008-11-23T16:36:00.010-05:00

With Chris and Courtney preparing to move, they needed another day to pack, so........ they dropped Baby G off this morning with us. What a handful. He is perpetual motion. Check out the videos..

He is growing so fast. I think he will be trying to walk by Christmas. He is sooo CUTE...
Later, we went over to their new house for the final walk through. We tracked down a couple of electrical problems, but all in all, everything they wanted fixed had been completed. Chris wanted me to help him paint on Wednesday, but I can't get off. The other inspector either quit or got fired and now I have all of Ocean Lakes to inspect on a daily basis. I'm thinking of changing jobs. Instead of being just an inspector, I would be concentrating on maintenance of all the Association clubhouses and common areas, and only inspecting on a irregular basis. I will talk to the Association Manager tomorrow and see if they will agree to my requirements. If not, I will be the primary inspector and they will hire someone to do the maintenance and help inspect. We'll see......

We are trying something different for Thanksgiving. A new stuffing and brining the turkey (just a breast for us) prior to roasting. Also, we will be making our own cranberries instead of opening a can. I'll let you know how it turns out, and if it turns out well, might even post the recipes.

We went to Wild River Outfitters on Saturday to check out their kayaking supplies. They have a fairly good selection. What really caught my eye was a Hobie Sail/Yak. It's a 14 foot kayak fitted with outriggers and a sail. I checked out a video online and it looks like a real ball. I just might have to save up some money, or get some side jobs, to buy two. Then we could learn to sail them and have some real excursions.

Working 8 hours a day is a pain. I don't have time to research recipes and cook. That's why the recipes have stopped. I'm trying to figure out a way to do both.

Hibernating

2008-11-22T09:32:00.004-05:00

Early winter ? Normally, if we get any snowfall at all, it doesn't come until January. Well this year was a little different. This is what we woke up to Friday morning. November snowfall. Not much, but enough to indicate we may be in for a long, cold winter. The temps a dropping steadily, with mid to low 30s at night, and mid 40s to low 50s during the day

Time to hibernate........

Maybe I'm Wrong

2008-11-08T14:15:00.002-05:00

I have always thought that it was every Americans DUTY to vote, as many who know me can attest. I have been very vocal concerning this attitude and have often chastised those I know who did not or do not vote. In my opinion, if you cannot take the time to prepare and vote, you have given up the right to complain or question anything done by your government. An excellent example would be the war in IRAQ. How many of the current anti-war protesters actually voted? If it is anything like the Viet Nam era protesters, the answer would be approximately 30%.

As we dissect the results of the current election, one hears about the large number of voters who turned out, many of them for the first time. There was one news story about a 100 year old woman who was voting for the first time in her life! Although the increase in voter turnout seems laudable at first glance, once a complete analysis is performed, I ,for one, am not so sure. For example, the City of Suffolk held its first mayoral election on Tuesday. Previously, the mayor was selected by the City Council. This was the FIRST time that the residents of that city had an opportunity to have a say in who governed them as the mayor. An historic election in its own right. Here are some excerpts for the coverage:

One candidate was Mike Debranski. One voter when asked why she voted for him is quoted as saying: "The honest truth?" she said cringing. "Because he had a weird last name."

The article also stated "....more than a few acknowledged they knew little, if anything, about the local candidates."

Another voter is quoted as saying: "I didn't know who was who." The article goes on to say "She said she voted for Linda Johnson because she was the only woman on the ballot."

Yet another voter had a very good reason for voting her choice. "I just put Johnson, because my last name is Johnson,".

The final example is a voter that said she didn't know any of the mayoral candidates is quoted as saying "My grandpa told me to write in me."

Nearly 5,000 of the 41,800 who voted (slightly over 10%) did not even bother to cast a vote in their local mayoral race. OVER TEN PERCENT! And that does not count the voters like those quoted above. How many more made their selections in a like manner? Some people had to stop and think to even recall who they had voted for just minutes before. Why, then did these people vote. I could venture a guess. Are these the new voters that turned out in support of Barrack Obama? Are these the New Democrats? If so, are these the type of voters that will make intelligent, informed choices in the future? That is, assuming they will continue to vote on a regular basis, which I seriously doubt!

Therein lies the reason for my self doubt. Am I wrong to expect every American Citizen to be involved in the decision making process? Obviously there are many people whose only qualification is citizenship and age, the minimum requirement. It's unconstitutional to require any more, like commitment and intelligence. But, what about the responsibility to make informed choices? Do I expect too much? Is there really that much apathy in the American Electorate?

Like I said before, take any good looking, well dressed, eloquent piece of meat, give him half a billion dollars, and he, too, could become President. Maybe that is what we deserve. Maybe issues are as dead as many of our preceeding Presidents. Now it's all hype and showmanship!

More Politics - Media Blasting

2008-11-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

So, race was not an issue in this campaign. For two years we have heard from both campaigns, all the network news anchors, all the talking heads on the cable news networks, all the op-ed writers in all the newspapers that RACE cannot/should not/shall not be an issue in the election. Now that the election is over, all you hear is that history was made because an African-American was elected as President. I even read an op-ed piece that identifies the election of Barrack Obama as the REAL end of the Civil War. Let me see if I've got this right. Race didn't play a part in the campaign or the election, but is the most important / historical factor resulting from the election. Not once, and believe me I read, watch, and search out news/event stories from many sources, have I discovered one opinion that states we have elected the best man for the job.

This is all a subterfuge. It is the game the politicians and the media play to fill the airwaves with superfluous bullshit to gloss over what is really important. Just think back to the campaigns. We had the "lipstick on a pig", "the Ayers connection", "Palin's wardrobe", "Rev Wright", and "he voted no on...." controversies. Why? To steer us away from the real issues. I think the media is doing it again. Rather than concentrate on "ISSUES", they concentrate on "Gossip". That's probably due to two major reasons: 1) They need to fill more time than there is news, and 2) Most people don't want to deal with the serious concerns, they want to be entertained even by the news. I'm surprised that they couldn't find a way NOT to report on the economic crisis. The prime example for this morning was the hours spent reporting on what Rahm Emanuel had to say about being selected as Obama's Chief of Staff prior to the official announcement. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

Then, after the announcement, check out what the AP had to say about his choices.

"His choice Thursday for White House chief of staff - Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan who doesn't mind breaking glass and hurting feelings - is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" has surrounded himself with during his campaign. And transition chief John Podesta, like Emanuel, is a former top aide to Bill Clinton and a tough partisan infighter, though less bombastic than the new chief of staff."

So much for a non-partisan, reaching across the aisle administration. This issue did not even garner a whisper this morning. It was much more important to dwell on Emanuel's "I'm not sure I will accept, I'll have to discuss it with my family" than to explore his position on partisanship.

I voted for John McCain because I believed that he was the BEST PERSON for the job, given the current state of this country. The majority of the American People disagreed with me. So be it. I will abide by that decision, but I will not abdicate my responsibility as a citizen and member of our participatory form of government and watch things just happen. I will not wait four years for my voice to be heard. I will be WATCHING. I will be PARTICIPATING. I may not be able to affect much on the National level, but my local representatives surely know my name, and the new ones will shortly.

Am I the only one who sees this travesty, or the only one who is saying anything? I need to get a national audience and form my own "Revolutionary Party". We will be for peaceful revolution from within. We will take over the government by playing by their rules and beating them at their own game. Any Takers.....?

Apparently, not "NUFF SAID".......

2008-11-05T20:50:00.001-05:00

Well, WE elected our new President and will have to live with that decision for at least four years. Because of this event, I feel that I must air my feelings or burst. I have bitten my tongue for the last few weeks and created "The Saga of Flip" as a diversion. Though that may continue, it won't be as a diversion, it will be for fun. The following are some rambling thoughts that have been held back for way too long.

If WE are to believe the voter turnout numbers, this country has been galvanized into action. WE have spoken. WE are taking control. Or, was this just an anomaly? Do WE just vote and then return to OUR inconsequential existence? That's exactly what "THEY" hope ! After all, to THEM the American People, "WE", are not intelligent or capable enough to participate in OUR government. That's what "WE" elected "THEM" for. Once "THEY" are elected, "THEY" become one of "THEM", and "THEM" don't want to deal with "WE". It's "THEM" versus "US". (That's WE, as in We the People, and US, as in United States Citizens) (T.H.E.Y - Those Hopeful Elected Yahoos) (T.H.E.M - Those High Elected Morons)

Obama said "WE are the change WE have been waiting for." So, now WE have to roll up OUR sleeves, get off OUR collective asses, and actually participate in OUR governance. Just voting is
NOT enough. It is the first step in the process of taking back OUR Rights and OUR Country. Watch carefully the actions and voting of YOUR elected representatives. Hold their feet to the fire each time they vote for special interests and earmarks that do not benefit YOU. Let them know that WE ARE WATCHING, and WE WANT CHANGE ! Not just the slogan, but the ACTION. Hold them accountable ! This starts with OUR elected city officials and goes right the the Highest Office in the land !

With a Democratic Executive and Democratically controlled Congress, legislation will be passed so fast that it will seem like a bullet train speeding through the Capital. Unfortunately, the vortex created by this high speed legislature will suck the money right out of OUR pockets and the wind out of OUR sails.

I agree with Joe Biden. WE need to "take back our country". But, unlike Joe, I think WE need to take it back from the professional politicians, not just the Republicans. Of course, I also agree with Bob the Builder and his anthropomorphic friends . "Can WE do it? Yes WE Can!"

Partisanship only matters because PARTISANS (political party members) WANT IT TO !!!!!! THEY actually thrive on conflict. It's what gets THEM the evening sound bites and makes THEM feel important. A Democratic Congress has not accomplished a damn thing in two years, blaming partisanship, not THEIR own incompetence and inability to work for the good of the people. Now with a democratic executive there is nothing to stand in THEIR way.

These are the same members of congress that ignored every warning sign leading up to current economic problems for over two years. AND WE expect them to fix it! Now, THEY will be able to expand THEIR entitlement programs with little or no checks and balances. Who will pay for those programs ? YOU guessed it, WE! Are YOU excited yet?

WE need to turn the"M" of "ME" politicians upside down. Make it a "W" for "WE". Once THEY get elected, THEIR only thoughts are for reelection, not the welfare of THEIR constituents. Does this imply that WE belong to THEM? WE need to make that happen, because, as witnessed many times over, THEY will not change THEMSELVES!

WE, too, have become enamored with special interests. WE want to be part of a "Special" group. Whether WE be divided by age, sex, race, location, education, height, weight, political party, married, single, rich, poor, middle class, WE want to be special. That's what THEY prey upon. THEY know the buttons to push to make YOU feel special. THEY will lie to to make YOU feel special, that is until YOU demand that THEY do the job THEY were elected to do. Then THEY retreat into THEIR safe little office and sulk. Only to come out should there be a photo op. These people are so far removed and isolated from the WE people, THEY probably can't even conceive of what OUR interests might be.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But, it is the only way to ensure that "WE" get back the control of OUR country and OUR future. DEMAND REPRESENTATION. Remember, "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny". I think that's where WE are headed unless WE take a stand NOW.

NOPE !!!

2008-11-05T06:12:00.000-05:00

NUFF SAID !!!!

Let Us Pray

2008-11-04T19:00:00.005-05:00

We did our part. Now let's just hope enough intelligent, well informed voters did the same!

Flip may be in REAL trouble...

2008-11-04T08:20:00.001-05:00

Today I got a very interesting email from the Transportation Security Administration. Seems they are looking for Flip and tracked his emails to me. They wanted to know if I knew his whereabouts. I told them I didn't have a clue, but knew he had been in Maui last month. Steph, you may be contacted due to your comment about him showing up in your closet.

Here is a surveillance photo from LAX that they included. You can see Flip working one of the counters in baggage claim (lower left).

Flop is really depressed. Flip is in trouble with the Feds. I think may push him over the edge.

Greyson's Visit

2008-11-02T18:36:00.007-05:00

Chris and Courtney had some running around to do this afternoon so they dropped Greyson off for a couple hours. That boy is a handful. Here are a video and some pictures of the day.

Isn't he cute ?

He is crawling and wants to get into everything. He really wants to get to everything on the end tables. He is also quite vocal. He screams and squeals, and just seems to like the sound of making noise. We had a fun visit.

Finally, Some Good Weather

2008-11-01T19:20:00.012-04:00

Today the weather finally improved enough that we could go for a short kayak trip. The weather has been running in the mid to low 40s at night and mid to low 60s during the day. When we watched the weather report last night, they said it would be in the low to mid 70s this afternoon. Amazingly, they were right for once. We did some running around this morning and came home, loaded up the kayaks, then headed out to the Lessner Bridge. The last time we were there we really enjoyed the paddle and scenery. Today was no different, except we shorted our paddling time by about a hour this go round.

Check out this little video of the Captain.....

Enjoying the sunshine....
She always has to lead now. I just follow at a safe distance...

Here are some pictures Gail took at one of flats we stopped at to take a short break.

The water is really getting cold. We only walked in it for a short time, then it was back in the kayaks to warm up. My feet got numb quickly, and, in fact, didn't thaw out until we got home. As we were on our way back to the launch site, we ran into a fellow kayaker we had talked with earlier. He was having a bit of a problem. His kayak was taking on water, lots of water. We stopped at a nearby beach while he drained the boat, then we followed him in to make sure he made it. He did and all ended well. Except Gail saw a dog on one of the islands and was concerned that its owner had left behind. After we followed the the distressed kayaker in, we didn't see the dog. So ?

After we got home, Gail told me that she really hadn't wanted to go. She thought it might be too cold, but she really enjoyed the day in spite of her misgivings.

It was really great to get back out on the water again. Seems like it has been months since we were last out. Although it hasn't been nearly that long, we're both pretty beat. Came home, cleaned up, threw a couple of filets on the grill, cut up the fixins for a great salad and gorged ourselves. Great Day! Now it's nap time......

Aloha from Flip...

2008-10-30T20:10:00.001-04:00

ALOHA from the Xterra World Championship course.

Another Email from Flip. Apparently he has been reading James' blog and learned about the World Championships in Hawaii. He is becoming a master at showing up in the craziest places, although Hawaii is not really a crazy place for a Flip. Check him out hangin' with the athletes getting ready for the swim.
He did say that he was kinda bummed that neither Steph or James saw him in the crowd of supporters. But, oh well, at least he was there in person to lend a "foot".

The boy is getting his wheels...

2008-10-26T11:17:00.006-04:00

Chris and Courtney stopped by yesterday and of course brought Greyson for a visit. He is really getting big. They were planning on a trip to the Pumpkin Patch, but it started raining right after they left, so they'll probably go today. The weather is better today. They got him dressed for his outing. Check out the Big Boy look.

Jeans, flannel shirt and high tops. The boy is stylin' in a country sort of way. He is also full on crawling. Hands and knees, on the move. He seems somewhat frustrated though. He pulls himself up to a standing position and really wants to walk. He'll be cruisin' by Christmas, just in time to get into all the decorations.

The Shame of it All......

2008-10-23T07:50:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the picture below, Flip has not only physically deserted me and Flop, but has has ideologically deserted us as well. I don't know how this could have happened. I thought we three were a team, when all along he was harboring these left wing tendencies. How could I not have noticed?

Flop was desolated by the news. He just mopes around the house and his "sole"ful moans are driving me crazy. I really have to do something about this.

The only thing I can think of is to get him some grief counseling. I'm not really sure if that is at all possible, but with the power of the Internet, I am sure I can find something.

News from Flip

2008-10-19T12:58:00.000-04:00

Got an email from Flip. I almost deleted it because it showed up in my spam file. I didn't recognize the email address because he used a library computer. I guess he hacked into their account. The subject was "Hey Flop, Doin' well on the Left Coast", so I immediately opened it. I have no idea how he made his way across the country. He sent this picture of him and his new pals. They're all blue and he is now in a "Blue" state. My worst fears may have come true, he is a "Left Foot Liberal".

Apparently they spend their time hanging out at the beach "Sole Surfing". Check this out !!!

At least he is staying true to his heritage!

The Little Guy is on the Move....

2008-10-18T20:32:00.006-04:00

Chris called tonight and asked if we would go with them to look at a house they are thinking of buying. I guess they are seeking parental approval, or at least our opinion. Cute little house in pretty good condition, the neighborhood looks OK, and the price seems right. Of course, we went over a little early to see Greyson. The little, well not so little any more, guy is really on the move, as you can see below.

He is just a bit away from crawling. Then watch out, he'll be getting into everything.

Great Progress.....

2008-10-18T11:18:00.003-04:00

Milestone #2 has been met. Today the scale read 175.4 lbs. Five pounds more ? Gail says NO ! I say YES. We'll see.

The hard part is going to be adjusting to not loosing any more weight. I am so used to counting every calorie that it might be hard to increase the amount. Since mid-August, I have been averaging between 1300 and 1400 calories a day. I don't know if I can continue to eat as healthy as we have been and increase the calories enough to maintain at say 170. I have become the master of trade-offs, say 190 calories for two Michelob Ultras, or 170 for a Weight Watchers Ice Cream Sandwich. Maybe I could get used to having both! That just might work!

Gail is also doing really well. She has achieved her goal, but has decided that she may drop just a little more. Just enough to make her favorite pants a little looser (sp).

All and all, we have done great. As a reward, we go out to dinner every Friday night, but, just like at home, we are conscious of every calorie. What sucks is that a lot of restaurant food is very High Cal, and junk food is out of the question, unless we fast for the first half of the day. We're working on a manageable plan.

Steph may have been right....

2008-10-15T07:14:00.004-04:00

Unfortunately, Steph may have been right. Flop may have run away. Check out this article from this morning's paper. Flip-Flops that show your support for your favorite candidate?

I talked to Flop, and he told me that both he and Flip had heard rumors that this was happening. He said that it was like running off to join the circus. If this is the path that Flip has chosen, I only hope that he doesn't support Obama, but he is a "Left" foot.

This is UNBELIEVEABLE..........

2008-10-13T07:10:00.000-04:00

Gail came home from grocery shopping yesterday with a surprise for me.

Flop must have been on the computer longer than I thought. It seems he found a website where he could have Flip's picture put on milk cartons. Amazing! I have to do something about this situation soon!

Fishing with Chris....

2008-10-11T17:20:00.006-04:00

I took Chris on the inaugural fishing trip in the kayaks. We went to First Landing State Park, the infamous site of Flip's disappearance. That park may have it in for me. This time I left my insulated water bottle on the bumper of the truck and lost it on departure. Anyway, about the fishing.

We paddled straight across from the beach where we launch. We fished for about 2 1/2 hours. Didn't really have that much luck. In total we caught 13 fish, when, all put together, would probably made one decent fish. Here's a picture of Chris with one of his doubles.
As you can see they were really small. The wind came up pretty strong, so we called it a day and headed in. Besides, we had to reinstall a gutter for a guy nearby and got that out of the way early. That's about it for now.

Memorabilia Conspiracy and High Tech Flop......

2008-10-11T17:15:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, I put Flop on "The Man Shelf" in the office. He must have instigated a rebellion of my memorabilia. Apparently the Silver Surfer (a gift form Jake) supplied the muscle. He took the lei (from Otani for my last birthday) off Ron Jon Teddy (another gift from Jake), attached it to the surfboard (from Chris) to slide down to the table. You know that taking the lei from Ron Jon Teddy had to be a "bear".

Once on the table, Flop took one of the lanyards I made for the kayaks, attached it to my tackle box (I had the fishing gear out in preparation for Chris and me going fishing) to slide down to the floor.
Once on the floor, he went to the desk chair and climbed up the the desk.

What I didn't realize is that while was on the "Man Shelf", he could look over my shoulder while I was on the computer. Apparently he is a fast learner. He must have stolen my password and logged onto the Internet. This is what I discovered when I walked into the office.

He was on the Virginia Beach Police website trying to file an MSR (Missing Shoe Report), and also issue an APB for Flop. I don't know what to do now.

Pretty smart for a Flop.

Searching for Flip.....

2008-10-10T07:55:00.001-04:00

Since I have called off the search for Flip, Flop has been moping around the house. Yesterday he actually tried to sneak out the dog door. I assume that he was personally going out to look for Flop. As you can see, he almost made it.

I had to find a place for him where he can't get to the door again. The only place I could think of was "The Man Shelf" in the office. Do you think this will keep him put?

The shelf is seven foot off the floor and should keep him from moving around the house. It should also keep him from sneaking out. In addition, he has a place of honor among my other memorabilia.

You Had To Know It Was Coming....

2008-10-08T19:55:00.000-04:00

WARNING: Opinions expressed here are my own and may offend some readers!!!! Parental discretion is strongly advised.

Last night I watched the second "Presidential" debate. As I sat listening to the unending drivel opined by each of the candidates, my mind asked "Haven't we heard this bullshit before?" My answer was a resounding YES. It was then that I realized that I was extremely tired of this campaign. Not physically tired, but mentally beaten down. It seemed as if I had been following this campaign for years. WAIT, I have been following it for years. This campaign has dragged on for way longer than necessary, and the result is the two candidates we have? Couldn't we have done better? Are these the two best we have to run the country? I hope not! But, they are the "Parties" representatives. We've been told, and they hope we are convinced, that Obama and McCain are the "heirs apparent" in their respective parties. Screw the parties. WHAT ABOUT US? WE THE PEOPLE? Where is OUR leader?

Besides being tired, I am SICK! I am sick of hearing all the talking heads discuss, ad nauseum, who won and who lost. It' obvious to me the loser is the American people. Do either of these guys represent you? Or, do they represent all the special interest groups, corporations, and other "Devils" they have sold their souls to? You don't have to answer that question, it's rhetorical ;-)
(Pretend you are a politician)

My opinion:

What's wrong with American politics is that we have lost the direction and idealism of our Founding Fathers. No, they weren't always right, but they were always responsible and dedicated. Their major point of dissent was whether we should have a strong Federal Government (Federalists) or a weak Federal Government (Anti-Federalists or States Rightists) . The Anti-Federalists believed the power should reside with the States. That way, the states, ergo the people, would control the real power. Unfortunately, the Federalists won out! Our leaders today are more concerned with winning reelection than doing the job they were elected to do, and the Federal Government wields power with dizzying ineptitude.

Our Founding Fathers could not even imagine the position of "Professional Politicians". Their view of government was that all persons with a stake in this nation would perform his civic duty by doing a tour of duty in that governance. Each community would send a representative to Washington to provide the input from his constituents. Yes, I know that their idea of a person with a stake in this nation was a white, male, landowner. But, think about that. At that time, white, male, landowners were usually the most highly educated, economically active, leaders in their communities. Farmers as well as scholars and industrialists.Who better to send to Washington? This perception has changed over the years and has been addressed through Constitutional Amendment. But, the concept of popular representatives doing their tour and then going home is still fundamentally sound.

That brings up another sore point. We DO NOT live in a Democracy! We live in a Representative Democracy! We elect "Representatives" to perform the day to day activity of government. Otherwise, "We The People" would be voting on every bill / law / appointee / budget / etc. required to run the country. In theory this works, but with professional politicians spending their entire adult lives in Washington, they lose sight of "We The People" and concentrate on "Me The Politician." Re-election trumps representation, and "We The People" have become so lazy and complacent that most of us don't even care, or really want to know, what is going on in our own government. Just parade some smooth talking, good looking, well dressed, financially supported piece of meat in front of us and we will trip all over ourselves to send him to Washington. AND, even if he looks us straight in the eyes and lies to us, fails to "represent" us, breaks the law, commits unthinkable acts, WE WILL SEND HIM BACK AGAIN! Go Figure!

So, let's put together a plan. "We The People" will form a nationwide alliance. We will all agree not to vote unless there is a candidate that actually meets our requirements. We have just two: 1. That they be completely open and honest, and 2. That they actually Represent the people.

WHAT IF THEY HELD AN ELECTION AND NOBODY SHOWED UP. Imagine the message that would send to Washington!!!!!

It's Working.....

2008-10-07T08:39:00.004-04:00

About two months ago, Gail and I went on diets along with adding biking and kayaking to our activities. I had never really seriously counted calories in an attempt to lose weight. My plan was Atkins Carb counting. Well the calorie thing is working very well, much to my amazement. Part of it could be that I am listing everything I eat. Anyway, I got on the scale this morning and goal 1 has been achieved. When I started I weighed 197 lbs. This morning the scale said 179 lbs. Eighteen pounds in two months.

I want to get down to 170, but Gail may not allow that. She thinks at 170 I am too skinny.

It's working very well for Gail also, but it isn't polite to talk about a woman's weight. Let's just say that her goal is nearly met as well.

The Sad Truth.....

2008-10-06T12:20:00.004-04:00

Is this pathetic or what ? I came home for lunch and to let the dogs out, and what did I find? Flop had crawled up to the window to look outside for Flip. Sad proof below.

The poor guy can't seem to accept the fact that Flip is gone.

Failed rescue attempt - Flip is gone........

2008-10-05T13:29:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I lost one of my Rainbows (Flip) when we went kayaking yesterday. This morning we went back to First Landing Park in an attempt to rescue him from the great outdoors. Our attempt was a failure. Flip was nowhere to be found. I can only hope the someone picked him up and will give him a good home. Flop is heartbroken. His partner of 15+ years is gone forever. We plan to have a ceremony to commemorate the loss and help Flop deal with his grief. Until then, I'll just have to deal with the forlorn looks and lonely sighs. Can you see the forlorn look?

Poor Flop......

First Landing State Park

2008-10-04T18:47:00.021-04:00

We decided to go kayaking today and put off all the work around the house until tomorrow. On the way home, we decided that tomorrow morning we are going to ride our bikes up to the Oceanfront and do the work in the afternoon. Sounds like a plan to me!

Back to kayaking. We decided to go back to First Landing State Park and head in the other direction from our first trip. We paddled up through Broad Bay, followed a channel into White Hill Lake, across Broad Bay into some canals in Bay Island. A total of 6.68 miles in 3 1/2 hours. Great trip.

We ran into Randy, the guide from Kayak Nature Tours. He was leading a tour for the Little People's Convention. Good to see him again. He pointed out a few areas of interest. Map of trip below.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/856037619009"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;First Landing 10-4-08&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

One is the lonliest number....

Only low spot of the day, lost one of my Rainbows. We think it fell out of the truck when we stopped to pay for parking. Usually there is a person at the gate to collect the fees. Today I had to pay on the honor system. You put your money in an envelope and put into the safe. That's the only time it could have fallen out. I guess we'll run back up there tomorrow morning to see if it is still there. I'd hate to have to break in a new pair!

This is a bridge we had to go under to get into White Hill Lake.....
Gail's view under the bridge......
This is how you have to go under.....
Osprey nest in the tree........
The "Captain" paddling ahead while I stopped to take pictures.....
Paddling out from White Hill Lake......
Our rest stop on the way back in......
Some of the great scenery.......
Coming out of White Hill Lake........
Happy Yakkers.......
One last shot of the scenery......
We really enjoy being out in the Yaks. Although we are both whooped after a long paddle, the peace and relaxation are the greatest stress reliever you could imagine. As I have said before, 90% of the time we are totally alone. No people, no problems, no schedule. Just paddle and watch the scenery pass by.

One last note. Last night I installed new seats in the kayaks. These have butt pads and higher back supports. They are great. No more back aches while paddling.

New seat....

Greyson's Ready to Crawl.....Video

2008-10-04T08:49:00.011-04:00

Chris stopped by this morning to return the tools he borrowed and brought Greyson along. He's going to be one of those Dads that takes the boy with him everywhere. Anyway, Greyson is almost at the point of crawling. He belly crawls across the floor. When he wants to move a little faster, he just rolls. "Hell on Wheels" shortly.

Look at me.......

I'm a big boy now....

We had planned to kayaking this morning, but it was a little chilly. Plan on going a little later today.

I Plan To Make This Official...

2008-10-03T20:42:00.001-04:00

This is a cool video that Steph sent me. What the hell, I couldn't do any more harm to the country than our current leaders, executive and congress.

A vote for Jim is a vote for yourself. Common man, uncommon beliefs.

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=357563&altf=Kjn1&altl=Xbmti

Another long paddle.....

2008-09-28T20:25:00.008-04:00

Today we decided to push everything else aside and go for a paddle. Yesterday, with Chris and Greyson over, we were pretty busy all day. After they left, Gail went grocery shopping and I started building a table that folds down against the wall for the Harrison Opera House. I got the basic table done, but spent the rest of today finishing up the folding mechanism. Chris will install the table and do some other small tasks on this job tomorrow. I took the job before I started working for Ocean Lakes. It can't be done on the weekend, and has to be completed by their opening on Oct. 3rd, so Chris volunteered to fill in.

We didn't want to head up past the Ocean Front since the Neptune Festival was in full swing. The "natives" refer to the Neptune Festival as the celebration that the tourists have finally left town. So, we headed south to the Back Bay for an open water paddle.

We launched at Horn Point, paddled all the way across to Sandbridge, cruised a couple of the canals, then headed back. The weather was great in the morning, but as we headed back, we could see a storm moving in. Our illustrious weather forecast called for a storm in the late afternoon. Guess what? They missed that call. About an hour after we got home, the rain pushed through.

Horn Point looking across to Sandbridge....
Sandbridge looking back to Horn Point....
The Captain paddling in one of the canals....
View of one of the canals....
All in all a great morning. It was a tough paddle with the wind and currents, but it was great to get back on the water, if only for 2 1/2 hours. Almost six miles.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/986773120200"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Back Bay 9-28-08&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Needless to say, we are both whooped, and it's back to work tomorrow. I need a vacation!

Newest Yakker, Toooo Cute

2008-09-27T18:54:00.010-04:00

Chris came over today to replace the brakes on his truck and brought Baby G with him. Grandma got to entertain him while Chris worked on his brakes and I fetched the tools. Fun for all!!!!

While we had the kayaks out of the garage, we decided to introduce
Greyson to the sport. As you can see, he is a natural.

Next time we might try it on the water! HaHa.
The little guy is now scooting and rolling across the floor. He going to be hell on wheels when he starts crawling and walking. He already wants to "go" all the time. He can't just sit. Perpetual motion is his thing.

Toooo Cute.....
Give me my blanket and my thumb and I'm a happy camper.

Week two....

2008-09-26T17:50:00.003-04:00

Well I got my second week of Community Inspector under my belt. Can anyone say "Over qualified"? The other inspector was out Monday and Wednesday through today, so I soloed for most of the week. Piece of cake!!!! But, I still miss my days off. More later.

Working for a living......

2008-09-22T20:19:00.002-04:00

Boy, I really didn't know how good I had it. Working eight hours a day sure cuts into your free time. All we have time do do now is work. The weekends are now for house work. Saturday is mowing the yard, cleaning the house, and all those little things that destroy fun time.

We worked our butts off on Saturday so we could go kayaking on Sunday. The weather took a turn Sunday morning, too chilly for Gail, and by the time it warmed up, the wind came up with the temp. So, Sunday was a bust. Went and did a little shopping for fishing gear for the kayaks. Almost ready to give it a try.

Greyson brought his mom and dad along on a visit Saturday afternoon. Man, that kid is growing like a weed. He gets bigger every time we see him. He's almost to the point of scooting across the floor. Before you know it, he'll be running around getting into everything.

That's about all for now. The job is OK and I'm quickly settling in. Pretty soon I'll have it wired and might just have some time to relax.

More Exploring

2008-09-14T17:00:00.001-04:00

Today we went exploring in our kayaks again. This time we went to the Lesner Bridge to launch. We have been there several times before to fish from the shore, but this was the first kayak trip. First things first. The anchor trolley system worked extremely well. I was able to set the anchor and easily move the anchor from the bow to the stern, thus turning the kayak 180 degrees from the anchor.

From the launch site, we headed down Crab Creek, into Pleasure House Creek, all the way to a dead end at Shore Drive, past Bay View Golf Course, around Pleasure House Point into Lynnhaven Bay. We paddled around several islands and over sand bars and flats. Map My Ride doesn't do justice to the islands and flats in Lynnhaven Bay. For a better view, go to Google Maps, Lesner Bridge Virginia Beach Va, satellite view. You can see all the islands and flats. Pretty awesome!

This was probably the best trip so far. Found many really good fishing spots, and there are many areas to beach the kayak and get out to walk around. We even hopped out on one of the flats.

We launched at 9:00 AM and landed at 12:30 PM. Three and a half hours of paddling. The last twenty to thirty minutes was HARD PADDLING against a very strong current. We'll plan better next time and use the current to help on the return trip.

This was our approximate route....
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/850553927550"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Lesner 1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Beach at one of the islands we stopped at......
Walking on the flats.....
Looking across Lynnhaven Bay to the Lesner Bridge.....
Cutting through an island channel.....
Turning around at the dead end at Shore Drive.....
Some of the scenery.....
All in all, a great day. We are both beat. It was hot (record high of 97 today) and pretty windy at times, with some hard work thrown in for good measure. We'll definitely go back again.

Tonight, a quick to fix stir fry for dinner, maybe another beer, and early to bed. Tomorrow it's back to work, for both of us.

One more thing, we both need to shoot more pictures with the new camera, AND keep our fingers off the lens. Too used to cameras with the lens in the middle, not in the upper left hand corner :)

Getting Ready to fish

2008-09-13T10:10:00.001-04:00

Last week I started gathering the equipment we need for fishing. Starting with the basics and will work my way up.

Three rods, locked and loaded......
One thing I am concerned about, is equipment falling or getting dumped out of our kayaks. To that end, I have been looking for some lanyards to clip the equipment to the kayak. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for at a price I was willing to pay, so I made my own. Each one uses two S-Biners ( $1.97 each) and about 10 cents worth of rope. Total cost around four dollars, and better than most I have seen.

Home made lanyard.....
Lanyard on front rod holder.....
Lanyards on rear rod holders.....

One accessory that seems to be, at least to me, definitely required is an "anchor trolley". This is a line and pulley system that effectively allows you to move the anchor from the bow to the stern, and vice versa. This allows you to position the bow or stern into the current or wind.

All material for anchor trolley and anchor.....
Anchor trolley mounting hardware.....
1.5 lb. folding anchor and line.....

The anchor trolley system consists of: 2 Harken 29mm Carbo Cheek Blocks, 3 nylon clamps, 7 WellNuts, 1 carabiner, and enough line to connect it all together. Length of line depends on the length of the kayak. Below are some pictures of the completed anchor trolley system.

Stern cheek block.....
Looking toward the bow.....
Looking toward the stern.....
Bow cheek block.....
Anchor trolley system fitted with anchor.....

One kayak completed, one to go. Hopefully I will get it done today so we can test them tomorrow.

Next step, consolidating these into a "tackle box" system.

News..... Good, I guess

2008-09-12T18:17:00.003-04:00

Thursday I had an interview with the Community Association about an opening for a Community Standards Inspector. Today they called me back for a second time. When I went in for the first interview, I dressed CASUAL. Shorts, t-shirt, and my Rainbows. So, they called me back today to tell me that I will have to wear closed toe shoes. Like they couldn't have told me that over the phone. The other reason they called me in was to tell me that I was their choice for the position. That info will be given to the Board of Directors for approval, and I should start Monday, 9/15/08. Damn, working 9 to 5 every day. I don't know if I can handle that after setting my own hours for so long. I can't remember when I last worked five days in a row.

We'll see how this goes.....

Busy Weekend.....

2008-09-08T11:45:00.001-04:00

This was a busy weekend. Steph got in on Thursday evening. Friday Gail worked and Steph had a hair appointment with Brittany. I was taking her to her appointment when Brittany called to say the shop was flooded, not from Hanna, but from construction next door. Apparently they broke a water line. Appointment was rescheduled for Saturday. I had planned to go to Home Depot while Steph got her hair done, so we both went to Home Depot. I got some stuff I needed for the kayaks and Steph looked at some things she wants if she buys a house in the near future. I dropped Steph off to get her nails done and do some shopping and I went home. When I went back to pick her up, the rain from Hanna started. It rained off and on Friday night and into Saturday.

Friday night, Chris joined the three of us for dinner at Gringo's, a SMALL cafe that came highly recommended for their fish tacos. I wasn't impressed. All Chris could say was "$15.95 for a Carne Asada Burrito". Did I mention their prices were high?

Saturday morning Hanna really arrived. We had rain and gusty winds most of the day, but it wasn't nearly the storm everyone predicted, as usual. That afternoon, we went over to Chris and Courtney's so Steph could spend some time with Greyson. Also, Courtney was going to give Steph a ride to her hair appointment. Before they left, Chris wanted me to open my birthday present from him, Courtney and Greyson. Greyson even signed the card.

How's this for the ultimate present, my very own Chefs Jacket. I guess it's official now.
In keeping with the spirit of the gift, I prepared dinner for the crew. Grilled chicken, grilled sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus. Gail prepared a Chef's salad to round out the meal. I guess the best compliment came from Brittany. She said that she didn't like sweet potatoes or asparagus, but had never tried them grilled. She ate the sweet potatoes and even stole some asparagus from Chris' plate. Apparently she liked both.

Gail, Steph, Chris and I sat down to play some poker, while Brittany and Courtnay went to a friends birthday. We played for about two hours, and in the end Chris was the winner, one dollar ahead.

Sunday Chris and Courtney brought Greyson over for a visit. Check out this picture. What a goofball....
We continued the birthday celebration with Gail and Steph's presents. A waterproof camera with a PFD strap to float the camera should it happen to somehow get dumped into the water. How could that possibly happen?

Super camera. There are a lot of features I need to check out. One of which is not to put your finger over the lens, as seen in the picture below.

Sunday night, Chris, Courtney and Steph took us out to dinner at Otani, a Japanese Steakhouse. The food was great, but I ate entirely too much. We started with Tempura Calamari, had some Sushi (Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, and a Spicy California Roll topped with Spicy Crab meat), then came the main courses. Teriaki Chicken, Filet, Scallops, fried rice, veggies, lots of food. Did I mention the beer. Chris was drinking Saporro, I was drinking Kirin, Gail had her Corona, and Steph had Vanilla Vodka and Sprite. Great time. Turns out it was really a surprise for our anniversary.

Chris and Courtney.....

Gail, me and Steph.....
As you can see, everybody was having a good time.

Finally, Another Ride

2008-09-04T07:30:00.001-04:00

Finally got to go for a ride last night. Gail got off work on time and the weather was great. After not riding all last week, it felt good to get back on the cruiser. We put in just over nine miles in an hour and a half. (See Below)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/va/virginia-beach/883051333295"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;9/3/08 ride&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Might be the last ride this week as well. Steph gets in tonight, so we'll be visiting with Chris, Courtney, and Greyson. Of course, we are governed by baby G's schedule in that regard, and since he is developing quite an independent personality, HE is in charge. (HaHa)

In addition, the weather forecasters (guessers) are predicting we will get some effect from Hurricane Hanna over the weekend. We'll see.

Birthdays, Kayaks, and Other Thoughts

2008-09-01T16:20:00.001-04:00

Well,yesterday was my sixty-once birthday, as in I was sixty once. All in all, a pretty uneventful day. While we were sitting around in the morning trying to decide if we were going kayaking, and if so, where, Chris showed up to finish the brake job we started last weekend. We had to stop last time because the guy at BAP/GEON gave him two sets of front rotors instead of fronts and rears. So he finished up the brake job while I supervised and fetched tools. While we did this, the wind came up so we scratched kayaking for the day.

After Chris left, we went and did a little shopping. First to Kohl's to see if they had a new bathing suit for Gail. And then to BJ's to stock up on meat. Then we watched a movie and gorged ourselves on Chinese food. We both went way over our calorie limit, but what the hell, we've been so good for the last 6 weeks, we deserved it.

Throughout the day, my mind totally wandered through the many years of my life. As I have aged, some say not so gracefully, I have come to realize that my life has been pretty good. Sure, I get grumpier the older I get, but I've earned the privilege! I wouldn't change a thing. The little things in life will continue to piss me off, because there are no BIG things. All is good......

This morning when we got up, it was a replay of Saturday mornings weather, around 80 degrees and dead calm. No question about it today, we loaded up and headed out. We decided not to fight Labor Day traffic at the Oceanfront, and opted to head for the Back Bay instead of First Landing. Turns out it was a great decision. The bay was calm and the paddling was easy. We decided to head south this time, towards Shipp's Bay. We cut across into Peter's Cove, then out around the islands, and were even considering paddling across the bay to the Sandbridge side. But, we decided to scout out a couple of large duck blinds about 2/3rds of the way across. After that, we headed back toward Horn Point and some distance up the channel we explored on the tour. Map of the trip below, 6.55 miles.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/928652940523"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Back Bay 2&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

This where we launch at Horn Point.....
The "Boss" paddling toward Shipp's Bay.....
Heading toward Peter's Cove.....
Looking back toward Horn Point.....
Way off in the distance is the Horn Point launch area.....
Back on dry land.....

The trip was about three hours on the water. We did quite a bit of open water paddling out on the Back Bay. These little kayaks are extremely sea worthy and handle very well. As far as I am concerned, these kayaks have paid for themselves in just the three trips we have taken. The currency of the pay back is solitude, enjoyment, and exercise. I wish we would have started this years ago. About 99% of the time we are on the water, we are totally alone, not another person in sight. The peace and solitude is amazing. A real Zen experience.

While we were paddling, fish (some very large) were jumping everywhere. I think we found some very good places to fish. Next on the agenda is to outfit the kayaks for fishing. We need small tackle boxes, lanyards to attach to equipment, and maybe a small anchor for each. I might take a look later this week. Both Gail and Chris are bugging me to go fishing.

Not too bad for the first day of September.

Kayaks and cooking...

2008-08-30T19:09:00.007-04:00

We woke up at 7:30 this morning to a beautiful day. Complete calm and about 80 degrees. First thought, load up the kayaks and head out for a little paddle. We headed to Owl Creek launch site, but being past dawn, the only parking left was for boat trailers. So, we headed for First Landing State Park. What a great place. One of the local secret spots, somewhat unknown to tourists. We launched the kayaks and headed into a channel that leads to Crystal Lake, surrounded by the multi-million dollar homes of Bay Colony. It was gorgeous. Calm water, no wind to speak of, and a nice paddle. Sorry, no pictures. We took a camera, but stored it the dry storage compartment. I wonder why we did that? (HaHa). Gail's camera still isn't working after our last trip / swim. We paddled for about two hours and covered approximately four miles.

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/823599487889"&amp;gt;First Landing&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

After we came home and cleaned up the kayaks and ourselves, we headed out to WalMart to do some grocery shopping. Yes, I went to WalMart. When we got home it was time to start thinking about dinner. So......

What do you do on the Saturday before Labor Day when there are forecasts severe thunderstorms and you can't grill? Why stir fry, of course!

All the ingredients, ready to go......
Cooking in the wok.....
Ready to serve.....
Quick and easy, once all the prep is done.

We are hoping that the weather is as nice tomorrow so we can go for another paddle. It really feels good to get out and get some exercise since all of this week has been a bust. Between Gail working late and the threat of or actual rain, we didn't have a chance to even ride.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2008-08-28T08:02:00.004-04:00

Well, the diet is going well. We are both eating better / healthier and the excess weight is coming off slowly.

The threat of rain finally came true. We had a small amount of rain in the evening. Just enough to cancel our ride yet again. Gail even got home at a normal time. The worst part is that I had both grills going when the rain picked up from a drizzle to actual raindrops. I had the charcoal grill going for the Filet, and the gas grill for the romaine and eggplant. In spite of the rain, dinner turned out great.

I think some of our neighbors think our stove is broken since we fire up the grill 4 to 6 times a week, rain or shine. Already on our fourth propane bottle of the season, with the fifth standing by because #4 in nearing empty.

The weekend weather looks like we might have a small window for a short kayak trip. We'll see.

Nothing Going On

2008-08-27T12:39:00.004-04:00

Not very much going on here. We've been having some really funky weather. Apparently the remnants of Fay. It's cloudy all day with chances of thunderstorms. Can't ride with the chance of thunderstorms around here because they can get pretty severe in the blink of an eye.

Also, Gail has been working late since she is the only scheduler until the new lady starts. Doing the job of two people sometimes makes for long days.

We are watching the weather forecasts regularly to see if we will have an opportunity to go kayaking again this weekend.

Last night's dinner, Grilled Drumsticks and Sweet Potatoes.....

Maiden Voyages of the VBK His and Hers

2008-08-23T19:10:00.002-04:00

Today was the maiden voyages of the VBK (Virginia Beach Kayak) His and VBK Hers (see pics). Gail's idea so we didn't get them confused. Each is set up for a specific Captain. (HaHa)

The VBK HIS.....
and the VBK HERS.....
We decided to launch at Horn Point, the same place we launched when we went on the Back Bay tour. There is a sandbar offshore where we wanted to practice getting back into the kayak from the water without being in really deep water. (More on that to follow)

This is the route we followed, 6.63 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Not bad for beginners.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/803101952295"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Maiden Voyage&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Our route lead across North Bay into Hell's Point Creek. After following that for a short distance, we paddled up a branch heading toward Sandbridge Road. The creek started getting clogged with weeds (see pictures below), so we turned around and headed back toward the Back Bay. When we launched there was a pretty stiff breeze blowing and the bay was pretty rough. Back in the creek it was better. However, in some sections we were going cross wind and experienced a phenonom called "wind cocking". Basically what happens is that the bow continues to move straight ahead and it holds its direction due to the friction with the water. The stern is releasing from that friction, so the wind tends to swing the stern around, and it is quite a battle to keep going straight. Gail had a worse time of it than I did, and a couple of times was so frustrated that I thought she was going to throw her paddle. (Temper, temper)

As we came into the bay, Gail noticed a structure out in the middle and we decided to paddle out for a look. There was a pretty good wind chop on the water and paddling out was pretty strenuous, but we made it. The real fun was heading back to the launch site. As I said, there was a pretty good wind chop, with some of the swells running about 12 inches. Me, being somewhat over confident and a little cocky, decided to ride the swell. Why not, can't be much different than surfing. WRONG!!!! Between the wind, the swell, and my inexperience, I got sideways and got pitched into the water faster than you could blink an eye. It probably would have been funny as hell except for the fact that I had Gail's camera strapped to my life vest. Her first words were "My camera!" so I scrambled to try to keep it out of the water. No such luck. Fortunately her camera takes the same memory card as mine, so the few pictures we took were safe and could be downloaded. Her camera still isn't working. We'll see if a few days of drying out will help.

After that, we did stop over the sandbar and did some practice reentries. It was so rough by that time, we called it a day and headed home. Although being somewhat beat down, we had a great time and are already planning on scoping out some other launch sites. I can't wait to go again.

Me in Hell's Point Creek.....
Gail further up the creek.....
Some of the weeds we ran into before we turned around.....
Paddling up Hell's Point Creek.....
My Captain workin' the water.....
Structure mentioned above.....
Gail plowing through the swell.....
See the chop, be the chop......
Brief rest stop at the structure.....

The next major adventure will be to load them up with our fishing gear and see how that goes. I imagine it will be quite fun. A good sized fish could give you a wild ride. One thing I learned today, we will have to get some lanyards to clip to any equipment we carry just in case I get dumped again.

Some features of our "fishing" kayaks. Center rod holder..... Two rear rod holders and dry storage......
Stern "wet" storage/cargo area.....
Bow dry storage compartment.....

Norfolk Botanical Garden Sunset Kayak Tour...

2008-08-22T08:40:00.000-04:00

Last night was our Norfolk Botanical Garden Kayak Tour. It was great. Our first attempt at single kayaks. We had a ball.

Turns out that the kayak tour of the Norfolk Botanical Garden is actually an Adult Education Class. Go figure.....

Map of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Gail going for the Gold.....
Me just crusin' .....
This is the route we followed. The first part of the tour was paddling around the Botanical Garden in Lake Whitehurst. The last part of the tour was following a canal through the Botanical Garden. (Just over three miles)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/united-states/va/virginia-beach/303984784969"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Botanical Garden&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-route/united-states/va/virginia-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Kayak / Canoes in Virginia Beach, Virginia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

A shot of the scenery. It was really gorgeous. Perfect weather. We even saw two pairs of Bald Eagles.
Me....
Oh Captain, My captain.....
Sun setting over the group...

If everything follows the same time table, Kayak Nature Tours will publish its pictures in the next couple of days. I will combine ours with theirs and set up an album for viewing.

Next adventure, Saturday we take out our kayaks for some fun in the Back Bay. Just a play trip. No fishing yet.

Greyson Gets Some Man Training

2008-08-21T13:46:00.003-04:00

Here is a cute picture of Greyson that Chris and Courtney gave us. Looks like he's starting his man training early.

Riding and "The Diet"

2008-08-19T08:20:00.002-04:00

Not much going on, except we continue on our "get into shape journey". Last night we went for a 5+ mile ride and came home to an excellent dinner, Grilled "Slab" Pork Chops and Asparagus grilled with garlic/olive oil. Mmmmmmmm...

Gail has me following her calorie counting diet. I'm a carb diet fan, so this is new to me. I think the most helpful part of counting calories is that you must track everything you eat. It really puts the grazing / snacking habit in perspective. We'll see how long it lasts. Down 8 lbs. 15 to go...