Author: Bill

Slept almost in a little bit again this morning…. I like those mornings even if requires a trip or two in the middle of the night to go potty. A fairly quiet day, not doing much of anything other than our standard tasty breakfast and on line stuff. I took off a little after 1:00 to head to the airport and pick up Shawn & Cynthia’s Daughter (Lexi) who was coming in for a surprise visit. Got in and out of the airport real quick with her and dropped her off at the house on the mountain top while Mom & Dad were working. Hopefully Cynthia didn’t catch on and when she got home she was truly surprised…….. yes, that was the favor my buddy needed me and my truck for.

Back here – settled in for a movie and wound up watching one called The Butler. Not sure how we settled on that on one, but very happy we did.  Outstanding movie. Forrest Whitaker had the starring role and the cast was filled with multiple big names in the industry. Based on true events – if you have not yet seen it, you should. Nicely done and gives you a big eye opening to our world. If any of my girls are reading this and wind up watching the show [which I hope you do] while you watch it, remember… me and Mom grew up through most of that era that you will see…….. may nor may not explain a little bit about your parents……….

My Queen has her work day at Blues tomorrow and I will be here left to my own accord. That’s usually never good…. especially since all the mowing is done. I’m thinking seriously of moseying downtown, grabbing a tank of air and kicking out for a nice long Pier dive tomorrow….. maybe get in some practice on my camera….. we’ll see.

Good Night Ya’ll ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Thankx for stopping in~!

Slept waaay in this morning [almost 08:00] course I think some of that was from up several times to whizz and once to close the shutters because we were having a heckva a down pour happening at the time…..minor downside to no windows in the place….. of course….2 Advil PM’s right before bed may have helped just a skosh. 😉  I might even do it again tonight — I don’t remember hardly laying down in bed before drifting off…… but that may have been the Vodka…. no telling… LOL – whatever the combination – it worked~!  I must also add – it was downright a pleasure to not have to lay there for an hour before drifting off……. I almost started to be scared/worried because I don’t remember falling asleep….. but I got over it….. I had about forgot just how nice that is.

Slow casual start to the day – a nice little breakfast to get me started…… ran to mid-island and finished the process of picking up my new food handlers card — they are required if you do any kind of work handling food for public consumption (our working at Blues applies). That whole process went a hellva lot smoother than I was expecting and I was back in no time at all. It actually took me longer to get there and back than the actual card process….. kinda nice for a change. I swung by the dump and dropped off the garbage that was rolling around in the back of the truck – swung through town to check the ATV yard to see if it needed mowed then back out to our humble abode. While still in the mood – I got up and pulled out the weed eater and lawn mower and set into getting our yard back in decent shape – it wasn’t bad – but definitely needed a trim. Easily finished in under an hour, I loaded everything up in the truck and headed into town to knock out the ATV yard (God bless Spark). It was in even better shape than our yard – and in less than 30 minutes or so was done with it. Back to my Queen – equipment all cleaned and put away… we spent the rest of the afternoon chillin…… and eventually drinks…..  😉

Going to help out a buddy tomorrow afternoon that needs me and my truck for a bit – but outside that – nothing planned for tomorrow……. Hmmm…. Pier dive ??  😉  Tried to schedule a dive for Wednesday – but for whatever reason, the boat is not going out (weather… not enough people…)   Dammit Emmit~! I am scheduled to be on it Thursday morning if the weather holds out….. fingers crossed, as I am already starting to get that “itch” to get back under water……. I must be done off-gassing….. 😉

So – signing out for tonight……. Wishing a big ole Happy Birthday to my Brother-in-Law Brad “Bradford” Crowl today….. You’re becoming an old fart like the rest of us now……

Good Night Ya’ll & & & & & & & & & & & Thankx for Stopping in~!

Got to sleep in a tad tiny bit this this morning for the first time in a week…. and it felt really good. That week of diving, as fun as it was, I think was starting to take its toll on the old fat boy. While I don’t know near near as much as I probably should about nitrogen building up in the body – I know you can get yourself in a peck of trouble if you aren’t careful with it. I received and heeded multiple warnings from some of the more advanced divers about extending safety stops and allowing ample time to off-gas….. that is letting the Nitrogen escape from your body. Something I took to heart today. While I got a heckva lot more done today than I thought I was going to – I did it all at a nice slow pace and there was was very little physical exertion involved in any of it. I even put off mowing the grass, although honestly that wasn’t a big challenge….. I really wasn’t in the mood to do it and the occasional rain shower helped me decide to keep my touchas planted in this chair.

I ran in town this morning and picked up breakfast for us, and the rest of the day worked on the computer. Paying bills, getting stuff ready to have my taxes done….. Spent some time on tutorials for my camera, trying to refine some shooting abilities…. got keep making them pictures better and better so I can start charging for them~! News that # 4 (in line of order only) Daughter may be coming to see us too…. YAY~!!

Next door neighbors have pinged and asked if we may possibly be able to help them  at their stores in town this week. I guess the young lady that normally works there, Brother got shot in a nasty weekend of violence here on the island. 12 people shot – six of them died, rest various degrees of injuries. Sadly, most of that crap happened a lot closer to us than we care for…… I still feel relatively safe, as the violence so far is almost always between locals……but it is getting harder and harder to accept. This may be an island paradise – but there is a lot to be said about personal safety – and the mickey mouse police department here on this island dang sure ain’t gonna get nothing done about it. Scary to think where it might it end up at – but I’ll pack up my Queen and head back to the land of plenty long before I feel threatened.

[[fast forward 2+ hours]]] Just sent the neighbors home…. discussed local and current events…. opportunities to be useful if they need our help and all the news that is news…. time to put up some pictures and get ready for what ever tomorrow may bring…… hopefully no more gun shots…….

Good Night Ya’ll * * * * * * * * * * * * * Thankx for stopping in~!

Up again at the crack of OMG it’s early~~! The house was dark and quiet (like I like it) as I moved around and got ready for my day while my Queen lay in the next room snoozin’.  About the time I had the majority of my stuff done and out of the way – Angie came rolling out and I got to spend my last hour with her, relatively quiet until it was time for me to go. I headed into town for what I believed to be my last boat of this assignment, and it was supposed to be just a 2-tank dive in the morning….. with no ‘student’ boat going out in the afternoon. Got there early enough to once again get my gear loaded, set up and my camera put together. Shortly after that, the students started straggling in. These aren’t your typical high schoolers though… these are all [early] college students working on their MBA’s…… but still a lot of ‘kid’ left in all of them. I have got to know most of them over the past week (25 in all) and since they since have got comfortable with me in the water around them, the last 3-4 dives have been extra fun as they come up and clown for the camera when I am around. I occasionally ease off for fish and coral pictures to supplement all their ‘clowning’ pictures. The Dive Master on this mornings load confirmed only the morning boat for the students….. but…… the staff and crews were gonna take the boat in the afternoon for a couple of quiet relaxing’ dives to celebrate the end of a fairly tough week…… and I was more than welcome if I wanted to go~~ Uhmmmm… thank you – but no. I didn’t think I’d ever turn down a couple of free ‘relaxing’ dives….. but this old man had pretty much hit his limit. 20 dives in 6 days….. even by ‘Pro’ standards (people that do it for a living)….. that is a lot of diving. Especially when you spend almost every day chasing people and hustling to ‘get that shot’…….. By the time we got back – got the kids unloaded, the tanks unloaded and the gear unloaded…… I was whooped…… as a rule… I really don’t like to admit that …. but I unabashedly declared out loud to anybody that asked……. I was whooped.

Back at the house, I slammed a beer, about a dozen Ritz crackers topped with some scrump-dilli-tious egg salad my Bride made for me and then started in on Vodka and Cranberry while I started uploading pictures. Pictures are uploaded, edited and delivered to the customer….. so now I really get to relax… fixing to jump in the shower here very shortly. I have a butt-load of little odds and ends to get done that I have put off this past week – but tomorrow I plan on doing a heckva lot of nothing~! I have quite a bit of off-gassing to accomplish and laying around watching the boob-tube seems like the perfect way to do it.

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – – – – – – – – – – –  -Thankx for stopping in~!

Up again bright and early [actually before sun up here] – to get my day started again for photography and diving~! My Bride slept in which pleases me to no end while I sat and ‘woke up’ at my own pace…….. Gear loaded, a egg, sausage and cheese biscuit wolfed down and I was out the door. Only two dives today as the boat had to be taken back around to the North shore for some maintenance stuff this afternoon – before coming back around here for tomorrow’s business. So ‘only‘ two dives for me today…… seemed almost like a vacation…… the dives were fun and not to terribly chilly and both dives were over almost before I knew it.

Back at the dock – got the boat unloaded and ready for the motor back to the North shore. I gathered up my gear and made the short 5 minute drive back to the house. It was a really nice change to get back while the sun was still high in the sky and nice and warm. My Queen greeted me with a cold beer (to wash the salt out of my mustache) while I got my gear rinsed and hung up. I have spent the bulk of the afternoon making phone calls, making reservations, looking at birthday presents for Grand Daughter, talking with Grandson’s — although a little hectic and hard on this old man’s nerves…. it was a pretty friggin’ awesome afternoon…… My Bride has fed me, I have a drink or 5 under my [proverbial] belt (still in my trunks) – my gear is dry for the first time this week….. tomorrow is another 2 boat, 4 dive day and maybe even Saturday now…… so for an old retired fat guy – I’m pretty much diggin‘ this week~! Not to say I’m not looking forward to a day off or so though – I have some mowing now I need to catch up on before I start diving again. Best part of all this diving is that I have wads of pictures to share with you all~~~~!

Good Night Ya’ll / / / / / / / / / / / / / Thankx for stopping in~!

Four more dives again today……. Surely you understand how much I like to dive by now – but I gotta tell you – these 4 dives a day are starting to take their toll. Honestly though – I think some of it is because I am going to the same 3 or 4 dive sites every time….. day after day and that gets just a touch repetitive….. it helps chasing all those college kids around and keeping them out of serious trouble….. but it is kindly turning into work….. something I am trying to give up~! Seriously tho, I like that it is keeping me busy, I get a charge [mostly] out of watching those kids flop around underwater and the expressions on their face when they see new things [to them]….. plus- I am scoring a ton of ‘free’ diving…. which is a huge benefit for me.

Today however…… sadly…. I had to admit I was cold….. not just chilly as the previous days dives were – but actually cold…… distracting cold…… dammit Emmit~! Multiple dives a day will do that – especially with water temperature down as cold as I have seen it since we have been on island (78°). When I left the boat this afternoon – I stopped by one of the local dive shops (where I have got most of my equipment from) and ordered a 3 mil vest, as the only part of me really getting cold is my chest….. besides – I don’t want to have to fight to get into any kind of wetsuit – even a shorty….. None in stock – naturally – but now ordered and is supposed to be in Monday~! I am told the boat will remain out West for the rest of the week – that is a good thing for me as it seriously cuts down on my commute plus I can come home for lunch and get to spend a little bit of time with my Queen. Also found out tomorrow is a 1 boat day (no afternoon dive) – so I get a short day tomorrow~! Looking forward to that~! I’m behind on multiple things and will be able to use that time tomorrow afternoon to get caught up a little bit.

Well durn – didn’t think I’d get this much out tonight…… so gonna leave it here with pictures from today…..

Good Night Ya’ll + + + + + + + + + + + + + Thankx for stopping in~!

P2240047 <=== Turtle video

Just too friggin’ tired…… 4 dives a day is a lot of fun – but it is a shi boat load of work too and this old man just ain’t used to it anymore……. lots of good pictures for you though………………… maybe tomorrow ?

B

Gonna probably be a short one ya’ll. Showing up at the dock this morning, I found out that my photography skills were needed – all week – on 2 boats a day if I am up to it. Well sir – I’m gonna try to be…… but if today was any indication how the rest of the week goes…. I may have to reconsider. We are diving the West today and tomorrow- so I have a <5 minute commute to get to the dock – plus most dive sites on his end are less than 20 minutes from the dock – so with all that factored in – I’m still not getting back to the house until almost 5:00. Then add editing almost 400 pictures….. it’s now almost 9:00…. and I still ain’t had my shower yet…… add longer boat times and a 30 minute commute from the dock for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday…… PLUS – that is making 4 dives a day… count ’em – 4. Not sure how long the old fat boy can take that pace either….. I’m not sure I’ll be up for writing much of anything…… but I hope to refine the process and still be able to write here a little bit – but we’ll see…… I dang sure will have plenty of pictures to share with you though~!

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – – – – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

Sleeping in a teeny tiny bit – I rolled out after an intriguing night, battling a stomach issue that has me mostly baffled…… but more on that if it develops. Hopefully not…… up again slightly before ‘time to get’ up with the same stomach issue, but came in and laid back down trying to enjoy a sleeping in day…….. That didn’t work out so good but finally up and at ’em to get our day started. Even though it got bumped out a little bit – the plan was to meet up with Cynthia and Shawn down at Sand Castles for an afternoon on the beach. While it was less than a 100′ from where we were last weekend – it took on a whole new atmosphere….. one I won’t soon repeat. As a guest of the hotel…… there was a fairly intense set of rules to follow…. and although they weren’t a tough set – they were rules‘ nonetheless.

We got settled in, eventually got a drink order put in (you couldn’t bring your own) and the morning/afternoon ensued. Being a guest of the hotel – was nice in that you had someone waiting on you to take your drink order albeit it very, very slowly…….. we had a great time…. but at the end of the day… it was a [almost] $200 day….. which we can’t do very often any more. The part I struggle with, is it was less than 100′ from where we were last weekend – with virtually no rules, the drinks were much better, even though you had to make them yourself….. so will probably be the last time we do something like that…… $200 bucks for an afternoon on the beach is now a little rich for our budget….. so if you want to do it – we’ll walk that 100′ or so to come hang with you~!

4:00 came and we were rapidly ushered off of the beach—- island edict from the Governor…. unless you’re a Cruzian – then you can hang out as long as you want…… Us white folks are definitely a minority here on the island and they do not hesitate to let you know it…….. Island ‘Daughter’ had maybe one or 6 too many drinks and was in need of food and because the restaurant was ‘between shifts’ we opted to pack up and head to the house – where I made up a griddle full of cheeseburgers and did my best to get everybody back on the path of the straight and narrow……. Kids fed and content – we sent them on their way up the mountain and currently waiting to hear if they made it or not.

I think I have a full week of diving starting tomorrow….. I have to show up and do my homework to find out exactly what they have in mind – but still sounds good regardless. Hopefully I get to dive all week for free and make a couple of bucks doing it. We’ll see…… right now – time for a nice cool shower…………..

Good Night Ya’ll / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Thankx for stopping in~!

Slept in a little bit this morning and woke with a minimum of aches and pains and urges to run to the bathroom….. definitely the start of a good day. A wonderfully warm breeze was already blowing through the house and gorgeous blue skies to greet us as we finished our rounds in the bathroom. Bed made, settled in with a coff of cuppee and the news and to see what the blizzard weary U.S. was up to today. Apparently still frigid and snowing [in some parts] – we sat and basked in our warm Caribbean paradise….. especially nice this time of year. A tasty breakfast….. some more lounging…… I finally broke away from the world of FB and opened up the manual on my dive computer. I had to figure out why it was doing what it was doing….. or I guess more accurately why it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to be doing~! Took an hour or so of perusing through the 50 page manual….. but I finally figured it out and by early afternoon and it set to where it is supposed to be….. I think – guess I’ll find out Monday morning~!

During all that – had several texts from Daughter # 1 [ my Mouse] They are coming to see us in mid July~! Yay~!!!!!!!!!! We are helping them procure a place to stay as our humble little abode now will no longer accommodate that crowd. I think we found a nice little place that they will like and less than 10 minutes from us – with their own beach~! I am currently talking with the places owner to finalize the details.

Shortly after that, we heard from Daughter # 2 and they confirmed tickets to come see us in October~!!! So, so far this year already…. we have Little Sis and Co. coming to see us in April/May….. Amanda and Co. in July and Stephanie and Co. in October…… WOO-HOO~!!!  Turning out to be an active year for us – and so far, will be like having 3 Christmases for us~!!! Still lots of ‘openings’ in our time for all the rest of you if you want to come hang out on our gorgeous little island for a while~!! ( I can think of at least 3-4 other “folks” who keep saying they’re coming to see us)

Going to go hang out on the beach with the Island Kids tomorrow for a bit. Will probably be some alcohol involved [LOL] and a bite of lunch all while basking in a very comfortable 84 ° weather on a beautiful white-ish sand beach….. you could be joining us….. just sayin’~! So between weather, food (did I mention my ‘bitchin‘ hotdogs I made myself for dinner?), the wonderful, wonderful news of kids coming to see us, hanging out on the beach tomorrow and diving my brains out next week…… it’s been a very good day~!

Good Night Ya’ll : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Thankx for stopping in~!

P2190104 <=== Video

P2190106 <=== Video

P2190145 <=== Nurse shark Video