Living the life most people just dream about~

Woke up this morning to a new set of turtle tracks. Thankfully there was not another turtle at the end of them. She must of came in fairly late because I didn’t go to bed until almost Midnight again and she wasn’t out there then. She was a busy turtle though I have to give her that. She came up on the far end of the beach, came all the way up to the building, dug a sizable body pit, left without laying eggs, moved on to a second location, dug a little bit, and actually dug a hole for eggs, left and moved to a third location where it looks like she finally nested, before heading back out to the sea. Busy night for her.

I spent the rest of the day, running to the bank, drug store, garage (no DD is still not fixed) and coming back for breakfast and working on stuff for a meeting of my dive club. Watched some Hell’s Kitchen before loading up back pack, folders and speaker and heading downtown for the meeting. Nice turnout tonight, to hear guest speaker talking about tips and tricks for fish identification. Speaker did a really good job and I think everybody enjoyed themselves.

Now back here for a shower and a bite to eat. I have a 2-tank dive scheduled for in the morning, but now not sure I’m gonna make it. I have the feeling it’s going to be a long night and am not sure I’m gonna be up for getting up early enough to make the dives. I’ll see how the night goes. Pictures from today and I think the rest of my dive pictures from the other day.

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

Slept in a teeny tiny bit this morning after not getting in bed until almost Midnight last night. We finished up season # 9 of Heart Land, which is all that Amazon Prime is carrying right now. A little research shows they are actually still making the series and are now on season # 13 [I think] but I guess we’re done for now as buying seasons is not even an option yet on ‘Prime’. Looking around – we found we have a couple of new seasons of Hell’s Kitchen – so we are watching that now again and we stayed up late watching it. Looking out the doors when I got up – I saw new turtle tracks, so I grabbed my phone as I went out for my first smoke. While I started out to get some tracks pictures – my Bride, who followed me out, called me over to the corner of the patio…… lo and behold….. there sat a fair size Hawksbill turtle just under the bushes. They tend to prefer to be in under bushes versus out in the open like the big Green turtles, so the location wasn’t unusual, but for the sheer fact she was there in the day light raised a red flag. I took a closer look and discovered that she was actually stuck. She had limbs from the bushed wedged in under her shell as well as having ‘high centered’ her self on some rocks she had dug up while digging her hole. Between the rocks and the limbs – she couldn’t move. I careful removed the limbs that had her shell snagged and cleared out as many rocks as I could until I figured she was freed. The poor thing just laid there. I figured she had worn herself out trying to free herself.

I called S.T.A.R. (Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue) and informed them of the situation. They took my address and said they were on their way. After approximately 20 minutes she started to shuffle. I gave her one extra boost to make sure she wasn’t stuck, and she turned and headed for the water. She would move a little bit and then rest a little bit. I called S.T.A.R. back and told them she was good. They asked me to check for tags (and told me where to find them) She was not tagged. They also asked for a couple of pictures of her – which I happily complied with. When she got to where she could see the water, she really lit up and was gone in a flash. I sure hate that she had to go through that but really happy we got to be a part of it. I have video, but still having issues with getting my videos on here. I’ll get loaded what I can….

A salute to my veteran ‘Brothers & Sisters’ – those still with us and those who are not. Happy Veterans Day.

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

IMG_3430 <—– Video

I had forgotten last night (but thankfully reminded) we had a brunch date with friends at one of the newer restaurants on the island. We have threatened many times to go check it out – but never got to it. Dave and Liz invited us a couple of weeks ago to join them for brunch there – and we happily accepted. We arrived at the building we have driven by dozens of times and while wandering around trying to figure out where the actual restaurant was at, Dave and Liz pulled up and showed us the way. Nice little place, sitting almost directly on the water with a view to die for (kinda like the place I had some of my business meetings at – it is actually just up the road from that place) The brunch special here offers bottomless mimosa’s, in 4 different mixes (orange, pineapple, cranberry and grapefruit) We ordered one of each (yes, I went off the wagon for this occasion) – not happy with the mimosa, I ordered a Bloody Mary ( I wasn’t real shot in the a$$ about that either) and switched to beer…..  We finally ordered….. everybody except me ordered some version of eggs benedict. I ordered pancakes. Everybody except my Queen got their chow. Somehow – the kitchen managed to screw up her order….. so I fed her most of my pancakes. Even after cancelling her order…. it showed up anyway…. tasty, but really late and she was mostly full from my pancakes. We all shared an Oreo, triple chocolate something or other that was even too sweet for me to eat much of, then sat and chatted for a bit, just enjoying each others company. Finally walked out to our vehicles and bid each other adieu. Always a good time with those two~!

I opted for the scenic route going back home, enjoying the views and relatively full bellies. Back at the condo – we settled in on the couch for the final season of Heart Land….. pausing intermittently, while Angie chatted with a couple of our girls on the phone.

No new turtles so far tonight…… nothing (that I remember) in store for tomorrow. May run up to Blues for a bit….. we’ll see. More dive pictures tomorrow.

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

IMG_3403 <—– Video

 

 

Shortly after I posted lasted night, we went out for a smoke – and compliments of light from a 3/4 full moon – I saw a turtle sitting at the edge of the water. I asked the guys next door to turn their light off (which they did) and as soon as the light went off – up she came. Beautiful Green Sea turtle – I’m guesstimating she was 150-175 lbs. Definitely not the biggest we’ve seen, but not a little one either. I resisted the urge to try and get pictures of her and just let her be to do her thing. We watched her crawl to where she felt was the right place and started digging. Over the next several hours, we went and watched her progress. On our last trip out before bed time, she was gone. The way the sand was situated and the amount of time she spent – I am satisfied she laid eggs~! Yay~!!

After a small tasty breakfast, my Queen and I headed out for the South side of the island to pick up paperwork for DD 2.0. After a classic island arrival time of saying when she’d be there, the young lady showed up and in a matter of minutes (and $217.00) I had a new registration, new inspection sticker and a new title to DD 2.0. She is officially ours now! And we finally get to cross something off of the ‘get-R-done’ list……. it’s about friggin time~! Hopefully more to come this coming week that we can get knocked out and finally get caught up to do some other stuff waiting in the wings. We had to make several small pit stops, store, drug store etc. and burned up another hour or so while Angie argued with the guy at the drug store about pricing. Some kind of crap and the insurance not working or something…. but we’re apparently going to have to wait for the long weekend to get over before we can address that~~

Nothing planned for tomorrow……Sunday Fun day here on the island and most beaches are a lot more crowded than we like to deal with, so the weekend is usually our time to stay in and avoid folks  🙂 Gonna stop here and get up some more dive pictures (some really good ones coming up!)

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

Up bright and early in anticipation of getting to dive today. Spent a little bit of time with my bride before grabbing my gear and heading out the door.  My first dive was awesome…… my second dive was 10x’s better than the first one~! Lots of sharks, sting rays, spotted eels, big Barracuda and a giant green Moray eel~! Plus tons and tons of sea life. I got lots of good pictures for you – they’ll take several days to get them all put up here. Some of the video’s (awesome as well) may be a little too big to get on here – so will have to put them up on FB. But I think you’re really gonna like the pictures~!

One week……. I have voluntarily put myself  ‘on the wagon‘ and today has been one full week without drinking. I’m doing it mostly for personal reasons and hoping maybe some health reasons pop up as a benefit. I have already noticed a couple. My blood pressure is down a little bit and I can actually see a very small reduction in the size of my belly…… there is a looooooooooong way to go on that one though~~~  😉  I did add an exception to my on the wagon rule today…. For the past couple of dozen dives I have bringing a cooler with really cold Budweiser in it – and after I get off of the boat – I spend a little time drinking that ice cold beer and enjoying a cigarette. (You’re not allowed to smoke on the boat – so these 2-tank dives are usually a 4 hour break from smoking for me) and that beer to wash the salt out of my mustache and that first cigarette – just rounds out my diving…. today made it fabulous. Recently several regulars that I have come to know on the dives, stop and have a beer with me and we re-hash the dives. Kinda like after the last jump at the airport during my sky diving days.  I missed that and it’s nice to be doing it again. Not sure how long I’m gonna stay on the wagon….. but I’ll keep you updated.

Back at the house, gear rinsed, got my shower and watching a little Heart Land… we were both hungry, I told Angie I wanted to try making some fried chicken in my air fryer. The folks on Heart Land are always having it for dinner and it looked wonderful (and no – not KFC~!) 😉  Now I have grilled 100’s of chickens, but cannot recall ever frying one (deep fried a couple of turkeys… does that count?) But I mixed up some stuff, rolled the chicken around in it and put it in my little air fryer……. 55 minutes later…..’Fried’ Chicken. I gotta say — for a first attempt…. it wasn’t half bad. Tender, juicy and did not use a single drop of grease or oil….. Look at me getting all healthy and stuff~~~ 😉

My DMV person called and said paperwork for registration, title and plates was ready for DD 2.0, but I was in the middle of frying my bird, so I told her I’d come get it tomorrow……. so for now…… I’m done and out~~~!

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

GOPR0750    <— Video

 

 

Woke up to a small set of new tracks this morning….. between the Sargassum on the beach and the compacted sand from the big tides we have been having, it has been hard to tell if there’s been any new tracks or not – but these were definitely new~! Awfully small and I’m 99% sure there were no eggs laid – but it was nice to see some activity. I haven’t looked it up yet to confirm – but I suspect this one was probably a Hawksbill, simply because of the size of the tracks and the size of the dig.

I got a whole lot of nothing done today. I don’t know what the deal is, but I am going through a serious lack of motivation here lately. Guess it’s a good thing I’m retired and don’t have to do much of anything if I don’t want to….. We watched some more Heart Land and just farted around the condo. Finally cleaned up and headed up to Blues around 4:00. A friend of ours was playing up there tonight and we usually go up on those nights. Back at the condo now and getting ready to relax before crashing for the night….. Big day huh ??? Couple of turtle track pictures for you and some random shots. I just confirmed a 2-tank dive for in the morning (Yay~!)…. so hopefully some more good underwater pictures for ya~!

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

Happy Birthday Stephanie~~~<3

 

Well today I actually got done everything I planned …… ermazing~! I lit out fairly early this morning and got laundry dropped off and then stopped by to check on DD 1.0. These guys come up with more excuses than you can shake a stick at. Dude I was talking to this morning says he has one more thing to try and if it doesn’t work – he will refund the money I have put out so far and I will have to have the truck hauled off because they are going to admit defeat…… just friggin’ great….. 6 weeks and now you want to tell me you don’t know what is wrong ??? I can’t hardly wait……. [insert eye roll here]……..

Back for a tasty breakfast my Bride was working on…… a couple of episodes of Heart Land – before loading up and heading to the South side of the island to get the needed paperwork for DD 2.0 — It’s been over a month since I bought it and have been driving around without a registration or anything. Thankfully, everything went amazingly smooth (so far) and I am expecting a call Friday to go pick up all new paperwork, including a new title, and that will finally be one thing done.

We left there and went to Cost-U-Less (kinda like a very small Sam’s Club) and stocked up on water (hurricane supplies) smokes and a couple of odds and ends. left there and swung by and picked up the laundry, then back to the condo to unload everything — that was my cardio for the day. My Queen wanted to run up to Blues…. so we went and sat for an hour or so, before getting some wings and a meatball sub to go. Came back to the comfort of the couch and ate our dinner while watching the latest round of drama on Heart Land. We are now into Season # 8……… I’m still not a huge fan – but must admit, it is interesting to see what petty crap they can turn into an episode of drama.

Nothing planned for tomorrow other than maybe spending some more time up at Blues to watch a friend performing on stage……. here are the rest of my dive pictures and whatever videos I can get to load….OOH…. that’s something I can do tomorrow… reconnect with the Geek Squad guys and see if I can get my video transfer issue figured out…… woo-hoo~~  😉

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

 

Today went almost 180° from what I thought was going to happen… which is just another way to say we spent the day watching TV again. Another season of Heart Land down the drain…… Going to try and get motivated tomorrow to do what I planned today…. I Love being retired~! I’m out for tonight….more [actual] dive pictures this time…….

GOPR0696 <— Video

Up slightly before my alarm to answer the need to whiz and just stayed up. Got to watch one of our beautiful sunrises and spend a little bit of time with my Queen before grabbing my gear and heading out the door to make a couple of dives. A beautiful day with big white puffy clouds, our massive swells we have been having the past almost month have seemed to finally subsided, although the sea was a little rougher than usual anyway going out to the first dive site. A long motor to the first site – actually out by Cane Bay. Bailed in and happy to see roughly 70′ visibility~! Wasn’t in the water ten minutes before we saw our first shark~! I tried my new trick of tapping the handle on my camera housing against a rock. (This apparently sounds like a spear hitting something which attracts sharks thinking there is a free easy meal somewhere) I apparently got over zealous as my camera quit working directly after that~!  🙁  Dammit Emmit~! I ‘fiddled’ with it the rest of the dive but never could get it to work~~   🙁  I tried to look at the brighter side of it – in that I have been wanting an excuse to get a “better” camera….. but sad at the same time as I have become quite attached to my little Go Pro~~ I finished up the dive thoroughly enjoying a beautiful dive, while saddened I could not take pictures of the beautiful reef I was enjoying.

Back on board, I got my gear switched over to a new tank and continued to ‘fiddle’ with my camera during my surface interval (the time I have to wait between dives) I poked, prodded and pinched trying to get the camera to respond. I finally thought thumping it caused it…. maybe it will reverse it. Guess what ?  It did~!! Not sure what happened, but it started working again~!! I dried it off and put it back in it’s housing, checked (still working!) and waited until I could get back in the water. We motored around a while before we found another site that the visibility looked good – surface interval time was over and away we went. Just got good and started and out of the deep comes one shark – but she was gorgeous…. and big~! I’m guesstimating close to 8’~!! And my camera was working~! The shark was not very cooperative about coming in close or letting me get close (and I wasn’t about to try “tapping” it in…. so no close ups – but do have some pictures and video of her. Got a picture of a nice size Barracuda and a Sting Ray~! Even better visibility on this dive too…. almost 80’~!

Back at the condo – gear rinsed, me showered and pictures uploaded, I moved to the couch to spend some time with my  Queen and watching more Heart Land. I think we’re going to the “Big Lots” store tomorrow to stock up on water and smokes….. Then I have to stop by the garage and threatened the folks that are [still] holding DD 1.0 hostage…….. Dammit Emmit~!

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

IMG_3364  <— Video

Pretty dull day today….. a bite to eat, a little bit of rain and a whole lot of TV….. A picture or two you may have not seen yet. A 2-Tank dive scheduled for tomorrow, so at least should have some more pictures for you~~

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

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IMG_3319 <— Video