Missing Video Part 1

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

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

Hard Weekend

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

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

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

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

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 !

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

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

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

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.