Living the life most people just dream about~

Well thankfully, my Queens birthday dinner turned out every bit as nice as I was hoping….. We were seated immediately, service was spot on and our meal was wonderfully prepared and tasted amazing~! I had flowers and Champagne waiting at the table and the evening (other than getting it for free) could not have went any better. We split a crab Wonton something or other, and besides being maybe the tiniest bit of dry was very tasty…. and dipping it in the sauce cured the dryness. We both opted for a Filet stuffed with Goat Cheese. It came out perched on a small dollop of smashed taters and then topped with a fair pile of asparagus. Now as a rule…. other than a salad drowned in Thousand Island dressing…. or green beans…. I do not eat ‘green stuff’. In all fairness, I do always try it though… and let me tell you—- Wow~! First time I have ever eaten asparagus and actually liked it….. loved it would be more accurate. I wished there was more of it~! Both steaks were done perfectly, tender, well aged and seasoned to perfection. The whole thing was drizzled with some kind of cream sauce that was absolutely delicious and perfectly complimented the smashed taters…… Wow-wow-wow what a great meal~! We split a piece of frozen key lime pie (with a candle on it) – that tasted like………… well, frozen key lime pie – but it was good enough and sweet enough to finish off that fabulous meal. We left with full bellies and smiles on our faces to come home and sit on the couch and rub our full bellies until bed time. A wonderful way to wrap up the day.

After a less than stellar night sleep – I got up in anticipation of getting to make a couple of dives, and it wasn’t long before I was out the door. Another sparsely populated boat….Yay~! A guy and his sons from New Jersey and one other couple. We wound up going to two new [to me] dive spots. Visibility left a LOT to be desired on the first dive barely making 40’…… but we did have some sharks buzzing around us – so that in of itself made it a good dive~! A short motor to the next site and we were soon ready to drop again. No sharks but lots of other sea creatures and plenty of gorgeous coral to spectate and the visibility was much better. Not quite as many pictures today because of visibility issues – but enough for a day or two. So- a couple of pictures from our dinner last night and some from today’s dives. We’re going out again tonight to check out a place we have both been wanting to try…… and like last night, probably won’t be in the mood to write when we get back….. so that’s why this is up early again. This place sits right on the water – so maybe some more pictures for you~!

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

Happy October the One~th~! September gone already and today is my Brides Birthday~! It is also my Son-in-Law (Josh) birthday as well… and my baby Sister (Nelia) 25th wedding Anniversary….. Big day all the way around for lots of folks~! Rolled out to a gorgeous morning and yet another set of turtle tracks (# 11) for the season. Again, tracks walked all over, but I still finally figured out (and plotted) her path. I was soon joined by my Birthday girl…….. A big 63 years young today….. another 2 years and she can start drawing Medicare~!  Woo-Hoo~!! I convinced her to go for a Mani/Pedi and warmed her up a small breakfast sammich (sausage, egg & cheese) before lighting out to get her nails done. I am taking her out for [hopefully] a nice dinner tonight and she didn’t want to eat much.

I came back and cleaned up around the condo while she was getting a little well deserved pampering and got some bills paid as well…… I finally got a ping saying she was done with her pampering, so I took off and went and got her. We decided we needed to stop by Blue’s for a couple of drinks, which we did. LOTS of birthday wishes from friends there….. several drinks and we headed back here to cool off and relax before dinner. I figured I’d better get this done now as I suspect, I won’t be in much of a mood to write anything when we get back…. I’ll try and get a picture or two of our evening…. but this is about my Queen and not so much pictures (maybe)….. So signing out here…… couple of pictures from today and maybe some more dive pictures….. OH- BTW…. I did  manage to book a couple of dives for me tomorrow – so should have some new underwater pictures coming tomorrow~!

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

GOPR9919

After I had logged out last night – we went out for a smoke only to spot new activity on our beach…. another [smaller] Green Sea turtle, down in the current hole digging away. We didn’t bother her and left her to do her thing. After a sleeping in a skosh this morning (my bride was actually up before me!) I walked out to multiple trails all over our beach, with the tell-tale signs of another turtle. Some of the tracks were FUBAR’d by the waves and many more by people that [apparently] do not know better than to walk on the tracks……. but spending some time ‘reading’ the tracks, I finally figured out what when on while we slumbered. We had 2 new turtles…. I suspect only one of them actually dug a nest and laid eggs…… but sure nice to see~!

I took off a little before 09:00 to up to Blues to knock out the painting I have been trying to get done for the past week or so. Everything went right this morning and after about an hour and a half, I was finished. Sat and had a couple of beers and chatted with Jim before lighting out to pick up smokes for me Queen and me. Also managed to pick up some burgers, hotdogs and some sausage while I was at it. Dammit Emmit – don’t go to the store when you’re hungry~!! Finally got back to the condo where my Queen had breakfast mostly ready….. we ate and then spent the rest of the day watching our newest series…. The Dead Zone.  We had watched some of this while it was on regular TV and thought we’d give it a try. I’m still on the fence about it……. We had [actually] a couple of calls from our Damn Neighbors while watching TV – listening to them rattle on about plans for February (wanting us to join them out in Vegas) and maybe coming to see us around Christmas.  WOOOOOOO – us and the damn neighbors in Vegas ??? Together ?? I don’t think any of our kids or family would have that kind of bail money~~~  LOL and yes…… they were drinking… ((drunk Monday))~~

Got a call from the clinic saying my script had been called in (Cholesterol) – I headed out to pick it up and my Bride decided she needed to go with me (and we could stop by Blues on the way home)  😉   So we picked up my meds then stopped by our favorite place on the island…….. we drank and chatted and chatted and drank…… just a great place to hang out. I finally wound up ordering a shrimp Po’ Boy sammich even though I was not even kinda hungry…… WOW – now I wish I would have ordered two of them… MmMmMmMmmm  good~! We closed Blues down then headed back here – so I could ramble on about my day….. tomorrow is my Brides birthday…….. Can’t wait to see what that brings…. I have a [hopefully] nice dinner planned for her…… but the rest is up for grabs….. we’ll see what it brings.

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

Handy work by local artist from a Coconut shell

 

About forgot I had a Board meeting of our local dive club this morning. We usually start it out with a dive, but because I got 4 dives in the past couple of days – and not near enough sleep the night before – I opted out of the pre-meeting dive and just met the rest at a local eatery. My Queen joined me for this one as neither of us had eaten yet and this place has reasonable chow. Angie had a Philly Cheese Steak sammich and I got a Cheeseburger. I ordered an egg on top of it (so I could call it a breakfast sammich) – but in true island fashion, they forgot the egg…… still a dang good burger though. Washed it down with a couple of mildly cool Budweiser’s before switching to Grey Goose and Cranberry. They also had some of the best fries I’ve ever had on the island. (Fries are kind of an oddity on the island)

The meeting took about an hour then we just hung out and drank and chatted a bit. We finally packed it up and headed back to the condo – which is a scant 4 minutes from our condo. I spent the next couple of hours updating spreadsheets for the dive club – then switched over to stuff for the other club that I am the Treasurer, as I had several emails waiting for me when I got back. Angie played her game while I got caught up on my responsibilities. Afterwards, I joined her on the couch and we set in to watching more of A Gifted Man. We actually enjoy the show, but only have 3 episodes left of the only season of it.

Going to try and get up to Blues in the morning to get the painting out of the way I didn’t get to do the other day……… Some pictures from our meeting site today and more dive pictures for you~~~

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

Up to an alarm again…… Dammit Emmit – that gets harder to do every time I do it…… but had plans that I needed to get done today. The day started out with a pretty sunrise, even though it was masked with heavy clouds and rain storms….. I got on my way a couple of minutes before 08:00 to get up to the garage to get DD 2.0 up for an oil change…… I was the first one there, told them what I wanted and then ‘hung out’ for the next 45 minutes while they got the truck fixed up. We’re good to go. I had them look it over, as I am very seriously consider buying it. They came out with a list of stuff that would normally scare the hell out of me – but I know this outfit – and I think they’re just trying to generate some business. I’m going to take the truck to another garage and have them look it over and see what they say. Back at the condo – a couple of texts confirmed a dive out to Armageddon and spots still available on the boat…… Yay~!! My Queen whupped up a delightful batch of Biscuits and Gravy (naturally with bacon) and I made a pig out of myself while we watched more of the A Gifted Man. Enjoying the show, but it’s only one season, so trying not to get too attached.

11:30 rolled around and it was time to head out once again……. Finally found a place to park (Frederiksted was a disaster area) and hoofed it down to the boat. VERY happy to find out it was a reasonably small crowd and we were indeed heading to Armageddon~!!!  Yay~!!! 15 minute motor to the dive site and we soon were sinking to the 85′ starting depth. Although visibility was presentable, some silt in the water and a serious lack of sunshine made for less than desirable picture taking – – – but – – – the dive did not disappoint~! LOTS of Barracuda….. several [mostly cooperative] sharks, lion fish lobster and just tons of fish life…… outstanding dive that just confirms this site as my favorite~! 40 minutes with a max depth of 107’~~  Woo-hoo~!

Second site we wound up back at Alien Nation AGAIN…. but I didn’t care….. I got to dive Armageddon~!!! That dive was uneventful…… got to chase a sting ray…. point out some Lionfish for the Lionfish hunters (killed 7 total I think) and just a nice way to unwind from the deep dive.

FB was advertising some Cajun Cooking out on that end of the island….. some Gumbo, Shrimp Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, and other goodies, so I stopped by and picked up 4 different dinners and brought them home with me. Not quite Louisiana Quality Cajun cooking – but not bad for an island in the middle of the Caribbean~! Belly full now and a drink or six and I’m ready for my shower and some sleep….. as soon as I upload pictures for you~!

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

A better night’s sleep but nothing to write home to Mom about…….. got good and woke up before grabbing my tool bag and heading up to Blues for some painting. Arrived to find Jim not there and to also find out he apparently rolled an ankle and was laid up. Deb said she’d feel better if I waited for Jim to get back to do the painting because she wasn’t sure what all he was after. No worries…… ‘Since I was there‘ an early morning ice cold beer felt like the thing to do – That first beer out of the freezer in the morning up there is amazing……. I usually like to hold that first big gulp in my mouth for a bit to savor the taste…… but it was SO cold…. How cold was it you ask ???? It was SO cold it made your teeth hurt….. so I just had to gulp it on down….>AAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhh~~!!! I even got goosebumps~! I tried the shake of the day while I chatted with Eddy before finishing off that icy cold bottle of wonderfulness……. no luck on the shake….. but the chat and the beer were good. A great way to start the day off. Came back to the condo to my Queen, who made us a tasty breakfast. We finished up the last couple episodes of The Practice while we let our breakfast settle. Really enjoyed that series… but after seeing the last half dozen episodes, it was easy to understand why it went off the air…… but thoroughly enjoyed it up to that point. We have started another series called The Gifted Man…… entertaining, but only one season long and I think I understand why….. so open to suggestions if you got ’em~~!

Had to run my Queen up to see the Doc for a follow up appointment around noon….. I played good Samaritan while she was inside helping a woman get her car started. Came back for a couple more episodes of The Gifted Man before I took off for a meeting of Adaptive Diving. After sitting through it….. I think I’m gonna wind up holding off of that particular certification for a multitude of reasons……

Gonna have the oil changed in DD 2.0 tomorrow early and may possibly get to run out to the West end again for another attempt to dive my favorite spot – Armageddon~!! IF I make it and IF we make it to Armageddon…. should have some GREAT pictures for you….. until then… more from the dives the other day.

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

After what has to be in the top 5 worst nights sleep I ever had – I got up to a usually typical gorgeous sunrise. Very happy to see. No new turtle events, but we still have a couple of months for them yet. Out the door by 08:15 and headed for Salt River – a very comfortable 10 minutes down the road. Grabbed my gear and was welcomed aboard the IBIS….. Cane Bay Dive Shop’s boat. A much, much smaller crowd today…. me and 5 other people…… MUCH more to my liking than the 17 other folks I had to deal with on my last dive. Two fun sites today on a calm gorgeous sea. First site was The Pavilions with a wonderful 80′-100′ visibility. I knew it was gonna be a good dive when we dropped straight down onto 3 sharks…… yes~!! Lots and lots and lots of corals and fish to look at. A fun relaxed dive. Back on the boat, we weighed anchor and moved 1/2 mile or so East to the West wall of Salt River — another favorite spot of mine. While visibility wasn’t quite as good – still a spectacular dive with lots of Sea Life….. lobsters, sting rays, barracuda’s….. no sharks though  🙁    Still a very nice dive with lots of pictures for you. Met several folks after the dive, we enjoyed a beer and chatted about the dives. One young nice couple are “old neighbors” hailing from Louisville KY…… one other guy is a Chiropractor new to the island and the sport of SCUBA diving. Looking forward to diving with him again and may even become a potential dive ‘buddy’.

Finally back to the condo….. gear rinsed….. I’ve had my shower and some fabulous wings left over from last night. Showered, relaxed and a full belly….. I’m about ready for a nap…… for about 8 hours  😉  Again, too many pictures from today,   so will spread them out over the next several days. Maybe some painting up at Blues for me in the morning…. Doctor’s appointment for my Queen tomorrow (follow up) and a meeting for Adaptive Diving tomorrow night for me. I’ll try and take pictures……

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

IMG_2775  <— Video

Rolled out to another heavily overcast day, with intermittent rain showers, dang little wind and absolutely no sunshine. No new turtle tracks….. nuthin….. I thought – well at least I get to make a couple of dives…. UHMmmm…. That would be a big negatory there storm trooper…. a text that popped in shortly after I got settled said the “boat had been cancelled”… Dammit Emmit~! You can never predict the thoughts or reasons behind those decision… just live with them…. Dammit……….. A nice breakfast, some of The Practice until about 1:00 or so, when I pinged potential employer about coming to check out the job she wanted done…. She replied and I was gone……. small job – more time consuming than anything…. putting up some wall paneling, laying some quarter round trim, maybe a light or two and hanging a new door……. none of which are gonna be tough – just time consuming… but they are ground floor and indoors…. so all my ‘worriers’ can relax…… I left from there and headed to WAPA [[Vectren]] to dispute my electric bill that had doubled from one month to the next……. What an exercise in futility…. I might have well been arguing with a fence post. I did not want to take my frustration and anger out on the young lady I was talking with – as I’m sure she had nothing to do with (or could do anything about) my issue. I did get her name and had her note – I had ‘issues’ with my bill on my account and was soon on my way back to my Queen. By then I was in the mood for some consolation and thought about stopping off at out watering hole – but figured my Queen would like to go – so I swung by the condo and picked her up. Soon up at Blues and as always – having a ball. We talked and drank, and drank and talked…… what a wonderful place to have to go on the island for some stress relief and enjoy the company of a bunch of really good people~! Once again, we shut them down and headed back toward some conditioned air……. we brought a ‘mess’ of chicken wings back with us…. even though we both enjoyed a ‘smoked’ egg salad sammich sitting there at the bar……. I am currently wiping out about half of the wings now as I type this (my keyboard is now a disaster area)

A recent text says the dive boat for tomorrow is ‘ A go’…… so hopefully will get to get wet and get some more pictures for you tomorrow …… until then…. gonna go wash off the wings residue, clean my keyboard….. maybe another episode or two of The Practice and get some shut eye~!

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

 

Woke up again much too early after staying up much too late again watching The Practice. Rolled out hoping to wake up to thrashing winds and awesome waves…. but not my morning for that……  Skies were heavily overcast with some intermittent showers…… and waves were almost non-existent. Bummer~! I by no way, shape or form want any devastation to our little island – but as most of you know, my affliction with weather related events….. especially ones I have not had the chance to experience before. My Queen finally rolled out and our day went pretty much like most other non-descript days. We had our breakfast, watched more of The Practice and just spent the day waiting for a weather event that just didn’t happen. So here I am…… not a hellva lot else to talk about……. no new turtle visits, a Tropical Depression that turned out to be just depressing…….

I do have a 2-tank dive scheduled for tomorrow provided the weather cooperates…. so hopefully new undersea adventures to take pictures of for you…. until then… rest of last dive pictures…………

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

 

Hoping to sleep in this morning got wiped out with the struggle of my eye balls floating having to pee so bad……. dammit Emmit~! Got up and got enjoy a little bit of quite time before my bride came stumbling out. We had 3 more visitors last night…… our beach now looks like an official disaster area.  We had had a hard enough rain during the course of the night – the events on the beach were hard to ‘read’ – but I think I have the layout and coordinates of where everything happened, close enough to be able to hunt for babies 60 days from now. Rest of the morning was catching up on world events, all things FB and intermittent rain showers as ‘Jerry’ spins out away from us……. Que Karen. Currently a tropical storm, headed right square for us. She is supposed to hit us around 02:00 in the morning according to the most recent graphic. We aren’t worried. We are well stocked with hurricane supplies and like I stated for the last one….. live in a small bunker. I do not even intend to close hurricane shutters unless I hear something different before I go to bed.

I did a little running today looking for and picking up some stuff to support the local dive club….. other than that, ducking more rain storms as Karen pushes nearer. The rest of the afternoon was watching The Practice with my Queen. The Practice has turned into a very addicting show that is keeping us up later and later at night to see “what happens next”. We still have a season and a half left and really gonna hate to see this one end. Eventually Angie said she would like a steak for dinner, so  I heated up our little indoor grill and dropped a Filet on it for her and some hot dogs for me. About an hour later, we were both enjoying our meals. Rain showers and much bigger clouds are becoming more frequent as we await our next Tropical Storm.

Some pictures from today and more of the dives from Sunday for you. I think [hope] you’ll find the pictures getting much better as they go……

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