Author: Bill

I was rudely roused out of a solid slumber this morning by my Brides alarm going off. Something I had not planned on because I was ‘off’ today with no need to get up early other than to answer natures call, but I got up and made the bed and opened the bedroom up – while waiting for my turn in the bathroom.  That done, Angie out the door – I settled in to enjoy my day off. I only had a couple of errands to run and I was kinda looking forward to that. Had to swing by the store and pick up a couple of odds and ends….. next door neighbor asked if we could pick her up some stuff while we were at it. Since my Bride was working – I said I would be glad to take care of it. Got my running done, and was in the neighborhood – I stopped into Blues to see my Queen and chat with Jim for a little bit. I haven’t been there in quite a while and was starting to have Blues withdrawals. I had a couple of beers while I chatted with Jim and helped with some of his stuff. It finally got to be Noon and the place opened for business – so Jim had to go to work. So I gave my Bride a kiss and headed for the store. Neighbors list was a little more than I was expecting – but I got it done, getting almost everything on the list. It’s always an adventure and a guessing game when you go to the store here on the island….. you never know if the store will have any of what you are going for.

Got back to the house and chatted with Angie just to find out, Little Sister was stuck in Chicago because of air plane problems and they might not make it in tonight. Dammit Emmit~! We sat and chatted and waited for updates. Still nothing, but its not starting to look good….. Dammit Emmit. I guess it will be another hour or so until we know for sure whether the Michigan crew will make it into the island tonight.

It was kinda weird to run around and do all that stuff instead of spending the first 5 hours of my day on a boat and/or underwater. Probably ought to do it a wee bit more often. I taken so many pictures this past week – not sure I can remember which ones I’ve sent you and which ones I still need to share…. so bear with me if you see some duplicates…… Again, if and when Nelia makes it in…. posts will probably be intermittent for a while.

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

Today’s boat got cancelled and somewhere in the midst of the night – got rescheduled…… only having 3 paying customers on board though made for a pretty skimpy load – sure is easy to keep track of everybody though~!! I dutifully showed up and took pictures…. even though the one full paying customer had a nicer camera than I’ll probably ever have…… but those kind of things happen. I took pictures and acted as happy as I could be, to be there. My belly was giving me fits (not really sure why) and that makes it tough to keep a smile on your face when you’re afraid you’re gonna drop a boom-boom in your swim trunks…. in front of people no less~~~ I made it [happily] through both dives and got the boat unloaded (again, thankfully only 10 tanks today)…. before jumping in my truck and racing back to the house.

My Queen was at work, so I had the place to myself, while I sat, edited pictures, dried off and listen to it absolutely pour rain for about an hour. Not complaining – because even after an almost full day of rain yesterday – we still need it terribly. My Queen has pinged me 3 times now in the last hour and a half saying she is done with work….. not terrible sure I understand why it’s taking her that long since it’s only a 30 minute drive….. but I know she is ‘surprising’ me with Gusto Pizza~!! Hopefully she rolls in here soon…… or I’m gonna have to go look for her…..dinner ain’t that friggin’ important…. even pizza~!

Taking the day off tomorrow to get a couple of things done before Little Sister and the Michigan crowd gets here and takes our little island by storm. Should be a fun week with them. I will try and keep up with blog and FB trivia….. but hard tellin’ what’s gonna happen……. you can bank on the fact it will be fun….. and there will be pictures……. I hope.

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

Up early this morning after a mostly wonderful evening of good food and good times last night. We got a call from our ‘Damn Neighbors‘….. sorry so & so’s….. they were already good and messed up [from saying their afternoon prayers] when they called – which made for an absolutely delightful conversation. They called to wish me a happy birthday….. only a short week late…. but I would not expect anything less from them….. Love them anyway. We spent 15 minutes laughing at each other and calling each other mostly vulgar names…. until they had to stagger off and go to bed under the premise of “having to get up to go to work”…… yea – right~!  😉  Always love hearing from those two.

Into the marina this morning to a really ‘lite’ boat…… 6 divers…… about half of them were brand new divers so it gave me and the Dive Master a lot to keep our eyes on. First dive site – The Trench….. becoming a favorite of mine – but due to the layout of it – it sweeps in deep Sea currents and visibility usually leaves a lot to be desired…. today was no exception. We did get a couple of sharks (rare for this site) that came in which just thoroughly wigged out a couple of the new divers…… but being the “good guy” I am [and wanting ‘that shot‘ put myself between the sharks and the new divers, so everybody remained mostly chilled…… and I managed a shot or two.

Second dive was another ‘Sharky‘ dive and once again – I entertained the crowd by being circled by 3 sharks…… I love it~! Later, I handed my camera off to one of the newer divers who had asked about it and let him fire off a half a dozen shots….. HMmmmm…… I think I see a business opportunity here…….. anyhow…. I get a picture of me once in a while……… Finally back – boat unloaded, guests on their way…… a very cold beer and I was headed back West. Turns out our end of the island had a morning of some very much needed rain. Still pouring when I got here – I got a ”free” rinse of my gear and hung it up on the line….. and then took a ‘shower’ in some very cold rain standing out in our back yard……. pure, clean, [cold] rain……..

My Bride fed me a pork chop, some green and yellow stuff and a mostly sad version of smashed taters (even by her own admittance… they were sad)….. belly full of Vodka and a little bit of chow….. I’m ready for a l-o-n-g nap…… The way it stands right now….. I am NOT diving tomorrow because they do not have enough people for the boat…… that is, however, subject to change….. we’ll see~~~~~

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

Yesterday – I spent the bulk of my day on a huge Catamaran….. it is a sailing charter boat that was needing some underwater pictures for the dive excursions they are trying to offer off of their boat.  The agreement was – I was to take pictures of a ‘local‘ celebrity that wanted to try SCUBA diving off of their boat. Turns out…. aforementioned celeb wasn’t feeling up to par and opted out of the day’s sail. The owner, in true old fashioned style, said I’m not sending everyone back home because ‘celeb’ can’t make – so we’re going out for a day of fun……… and we did. As it turns out, the owners girlfriend had JUST completed her ‘Open’ water diving certification – so I turned my focus on her…… we covered some of the most gorgeous water around the island…… after the last dive, there was beer, some damn fine baby back ribs and other ‘fixin’s‘ that most people with any sense would be proud to put in their mouth. The owner [Clay] – a likable kinda guy and his girlfriend Sandra…. run the boat…. local charter that can be rented out for the day or by the week. Swan Charters LLC. I would absolutely give them a thumbs up if you are visiting the island and want to check out St. Croix from a very unique (and gorgeous) prospective….. ( www.swancharter1@gmail.com)  Quite honestly….. I didn’t get back from that charter until almost 6:00 and I was absolutely shot when I got home…… so a quick shower, a small bite to eat and I fell into bed and slept the sleep of kings for 7 hours~!!!!~ (so- sorry for no post on the blog)

Today – Back out on “my” boat….. North shore – First dive site was North Star [a fav] and I was not disappointed….. same for the second dive… a drift dive… where you let the current carry you where it may and the boat comes and picks you up. A little more complicated than that – but that it is in a nutshell. Second dive I got me a shark ‘experience’ that is still making me smile……. 2 different occasions, I gripped my camera with both hands (I usually shoot one handed) and was expecting impact from a charging shark. There was a lion fish kill on the dive that got this particular shark ‘amped’ and twice….. I planned on the fact that if my strobes [flashes] didn’t turn him – he would impact me…… and I was good with that. I held my camera deftly up in front of me and waited. Down side…… I had my strobes set for about 6′ thinking that was as close as I was gonna get….. turns out it was a lot more like 6“ and most of my shots “washed” out [too bright] – but I salvaged a couple. That really gets the ole ticker a pumpin‘ when you have a 6′ Caribbean reef shark charging you……. I Love it~!!! Also got some nice shots of my favorite….. a Giant Green Moray Eel~!! What a day~!!!

Came home to a surprise [badly needed] birthday gift (new flip flops) from Daughter Stephanie and Co. ….. my queen had a drink ready…… 85° with a nice cool breeze….. I’m tellin’ ya….. this is the life~!

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

IMG_5847 <—- Video

Off of the pier this morning on our end of the island for a change……. I was up buku early and had the truck loaded and ready to go with ample time to make me a couple of eggs and part of a hot dog. I have to have some kind of meat with my eggs or it just don’t seem right. Breakfast done, kissed my Bride and away I went. Even though I didn’t leave here until 5 minutes after 08:00 – I arrived entirely to early. The boat was not only NOT there – I couldn’t even see it coming around the bend, so I sat my gear down, grabbed a small sliver of shade and sat down and stared out over that beautiful blue water. The different colors of blue right there at the Pier is amazing in of itself….. but the fact is is so clear, it almost looks like bath water just adds to it. I watched a small turtle surfacing occasionally and a small bait ball moving around in the water and about 3 different Pelicans dive bombing it to get their fill of an easily had breakfast. The boat finally showed up. I helped get it tied to the dock and then helped load all the folks who had showed up and their dive gear. The sun was shining – it was about 82° and there was a slight breeze…… a perfect way to start this day……. any day for that matter~~ A quick 20 minute boat ride to the dive site…. Armageddon~!! Yay me~!!! Briefing in process and I bailed in and took my place at the end of the boat. The captain hands me my camera, and I get it clipped to me and set up just in time for divers to start jumping in toward me. Sometimes I get the shot I want – – sometimes I don’t…. between the angle of the sun, the occasional troublesome current [like this morning] and water spots on the lens……. it’s the luck of the draw most of the time….. but I’m working on it. All divers in the water and sinking to 90′ to our destination……. I set my camera up (as I sink toward the bottom) and just as I got to the bottom, my camera went black……. DAMMIT Emmit~! No matter what I did – for the next 30 minutes, my camera was dead in the water [so to speak]. Housing wasn’t leaking, I had a fresh bump charge on the battery before I left the house — I don’t know what in the hel  heck was wrong with it. On my surface interval…. I swapped batteries and my camera sprang back to life… so guess I need to buy me another battery… because I obviously can no longer trust this one…. DAMMIT EMMIT~!

Next dive site was shallow and full of things to photograph and I made up for lack of pictures from the first dive on this one…. so I have lots to share with you. Tomorrow is a day off and I am looking forward to it. Not only do I get to spend the entire day with my Queen (and dinner out later with her and the ‘kids‘) – I hope to also figure out what in the blazes went wrong with that battery~!

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

Well I guess as most of you have now deduced….. yesterday was my birthday….. officially one year away from being able to get Medicare……. geez that makes me sound old~~ I’m looking forward to it though….. it’s gotta be better coverage than what I have now and a HELLVA lot cheaper~! In this case…. cheaper is a good thing~! I ‘worked‘ yesterday morning…. taking pictures of people here visiting our little sunny warm paradise and getting in some diving. The owner was told by a little bird it was my birthday and she had a special bowl made up with the sweetest, richest, chocolate something or other, topped with strawberries and whipped cream. I powered it down between dives…… although a very long motor to our next dive site over some very “sporty” water… almost made me wish I would have held off…… but it all worked out. Lots and Lots of fun cool stuff on the dives, except sharks. Got a really nice turtle video for you~! Came back, got my gear rinsed and was invited out to a fun little little place in the middle of the rain forest, by a friend. Since my Bride was gonna be late working I took him up on it. We sat, shot the breeze, drank and had a couple of shots of MamaWanna….. I locally brewed elixir that will easily sooth what ails you….. it will also severely inhibit your ability to talk or walk if you over indulge in it. Wanting to get back home to my Queen – I left – ‘just in the nick of time’  😉   I stopped and picked up some Subway sammiches, cause I was starving and I knew Angie would not be in the mood to go out or cook – and I wanted to make sure she got something to eat as well. Finally back here, sammiches in hand, Angie had not been home very long. She had drinks waiting for us and we settled in to hear about each others day. Just about the time we were ready to catch up with the real world….. our internet took one of it’s famous dumps and for the rest of the evening we had hardly any internet and no cable…….Gotta love island life. Apparently the outage was island wide, so it was kinda nice not to be alone stranded here on our rock without being connected…….

More diving today, Angie worked again (½ day) today. I got to swim with the sharks today~!! They were even a little bit cooperative…. Yay~! So got some fun pictures (including sharks) to share over the next couple of days ((as long as our internet holds up)) – for now – ready for a nice cool shower and get ready for another day underwater tomorrow. Boat is out here on this end of the island tomorrow, so 5 minute drive instead of a 35 minute drive…. plus – there is an above average chance I’ll get to dive my favorite site [Armageddon]~!! So another year older and loving every minute of it – especially being able to share it with you all~!! (when we have internet)

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

After a night of slumber (and that is using the term loosely) I rolled out to a very warm, breezeless morning.  It was the same way when we went to bed last night and for the first time this year……. we turned on the A/C – yeppers folks, it’s starting to get toasty here on our gorgeous little Caribbean island……. I LOVE sleeping with the A/C on here (other than what it costs us to fire it up – but the room is blacked out (closing all the shutters), the temperature is perfect and the A/C creates just enough ‘white noise’ for some dandy sleeping~! Unless of course your Queen is up a dozen or so times during the course of the night with some of her own issues, so I respectfully am awake to ensure everything is okay with her. Once I’m sure she is okay – I drift back off to sleep until the next occurrence. Besides the obvious, I hate when she has those night’s because I know she is not getting any rest. As a rule, neither am I.

Up and moving a couple of minutes before my alarm…. I got my morning stuff out of the way, batteries all bump charged, the truck loaded up and a small bite to eat before my Bride come staggering out. I was really hoping she would sleep in a little while and make up for some of the lost sleep…… but out she came, 20 minutes before I had to go. Too hard headed to take a nap today – I’m hoping she sleeps well tonight. We both could use it.

Fairly easy day on the [smaller crowd] boat today….. got to chase sharks for a little bit and had a good time with the folks on the boat….. scarring the the bejeezus out of them sneaking up for pictures. I did not realize it until I got back here and was filling out my dive log — but my second dive of the day, was my 100th dive of the year….! At this pace (and I didn’t really get started until mid-March — I will make roughly 300 dives, this year……….! I love it~!

Tomorrow  will probably be a repeat of today – with maybe an afternoon boat in the mix — my Bride has started working a full day at Blues now on her Wednesday’s so I’m left to my own devices for the day…… we’ll see what I can get into for the day~~~  😉

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

Up much earlier than I would like this morning… but Ma-Nature was beckoning and my bride stumbling around combined to make enough effort for me to roll on out of bed and get my day started. Bathroom duty finished, I settled in to catch up on world news (jeeez what mess) before moving onto the the most truly FUBAR’d world of FB (an even bigger mess). My Queen made us a right tasty breakfast as I let the first half of the day slip by mindlessly……. I finally had to gather up myself and some paperwork and take off for mid-island where I wound up facing the most tedious, mind numbing horse-shi  stuff that I have dealt with in quite a while…. stupid, mind numbing and boring enough….. I’m not even gonna try to waste your time with it but but geeeeeeez Louise what a mess~!

Finally back at the house….. I settled into the couch for a movie…. Sniper: Ghost Shooter…… not great, but not bad. From there went into Yes Day-— a mostly funny yet entertaining show about parenthood. If you’re a parent and have not seen it yet – I strongly recommend it. Interrupted by our neighbors coming home, drinks were made and we discussed lots of topics. Sadly, the one that affected me the most, was my dive computer died and could not be repaired for what I would consider a reasonable price. So- I need a new dive computer…… JUST so happens…. neighbor [who owns a dive shop and is letting me borrow a ‘nice’ one] has some for sale in his shop. Dammit Emmit~! JUST replaced my dive light (my fault) and not damned if I don’t need another computer…… lots of what if’s, but can I, what if I, can I do this……. kind of conversations….. but the bottom line is I need another dive computer (they are a truly handy thing to have). I told him I would stop by after tomorrows dives and we would discuss………….. he had an semi-evil smile on his face when they left…… LOL   😉

Early this afternoon I got an offer from a friend who used to Dive Master and teach for the dive shop I currently dive for — she is working a charter boat now here on the island and they need some pictures for their FB page……. so looks like I get a couple of free dives, plus tanks) and a nice fun afternoon on the charter in exchange for some pictures this weekend. I like where this is going~! For now though – diving the next 4 days in a row…. so ready for a shower and some rest…… hopefully a little sleep with it.

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

First dive site today was a favorite that I only get to dive a couple of times a year because weather and water conditions have to be perfect. This morning they were and we got to dive Vertigo~! The ‘Good’ part of the dive starts at about 110’….. of course a decent law abiding diver would never go beyond the recreational depth of 130’…. so you have to be careful when making this dive….. but when your are ‘careful’ it is a very rewarding dive…… sadly, my camera did not react like I thought it would at those depths and pictures [savable] were few and far between. Because of the depth, you can’t stay there very long….. but is sure is something to see when you’re down there~!

Second dive was a lot less deep – and visibility dropped off as the dive wore on, but there were some [unfriendly] sharks and just lots of beautiful corals to look at. A really good group of divers made the dive just that much more enjoyable. Stopped by the dive shop on the way home and picked up a new dive light. No two ways about it – the last one “died” at my hands, using it to strike the tray that camera sits on (trying to replicate the sound of a spear hitting a rock) to draw the sharks in….. a mildly expensive lesson to learn – but I’m sure even Jacques Cousteau had to start somewhere…….   😉

Back here after a very cold Budweiser or two 😉 My bride has fed me…. I actually took a bit of a nap….. oh okay – maybe more than a couple of Budweiser’s. A little bit of Vodka in there as well……. feeling fit as a fiddle and ready for a shower now…. some pix from today. I put a fun video up today (on FB) from some surprise visitors (Dolphins) way to big to put on here….. check it out~! Taking the day off again tomorrow and then probably diving everyday the rest of the week. Little Sis and company comes in toward the end of next week and I need to build up enough “time off” to be able to hang out with them…… can’t wait for that~!! SO excited~!!!!!

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

Slept in again a teeny tiny bit after a modest nights sleep…… I offered ‘to cook’ breakfast this morning and my Queen took me up on it. I ran into town to Polly’s for our standard ordered out breakfast. That done and bellies full… we each settled into our morning modes. I spent the first 3 hours or so on line…. FB, world news, I looked into getting my bride signed up for Medicare (that is coming soon) and chatted with the Cynthia about our next scheduled bout of running the ATV business while they head back to the states once again……….. Finally tired of looking at the computer screen – I moved to the couch for some boob tube viewing. Watched the movie Saving Private Ryan. Odd that we hadn’t seen it yet – but very well done and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable movie. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet~! Followed that up with a short movie about the first guy to make a jump from space in a space suit. That was interesting but filled with a lot of BS mellow-dramatic sequences, I’m sure done trying to make it more interesting….. something any skydiver worth their salt would notice. It was called 14 Minutes from Earth. Lot of neat footage if you want to watch it. That was it – no dishes, no mowing the yard…. nothing….. a truly relaxing day off~!

I’m diving tomorrow as one of the Dive Masters has a bunch of friends coming into the island – and he would like some pictures of him and them doing their thing underwater……. as you know – I don’t normally ‘do’ weekend dives – but this should be a good fun group to dive with and it’ll give me a chance to work on my underwater pictures~! So short read for you tonight as I want to get a shower and head back to the couch.

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