Kayak Adventure

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....

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

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 !!

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

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

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

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

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

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.......

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.