Last week we spent 5 nights in the motorhome at Sebastian Inlet State Park. A nice park right on the inlet and overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Water flowed in and out of the lagoon with the tides and it was a fast flow at the narrow part of the inlet.
There was a swimming spot on the other side of the inlet and still part of the State Park. When the tide was high the "pool" was nearly 100 yards across but at low tide it got down to about 20 yards. I did some snorkeling here at high tide and near the point where the water comes in there were about 20 snook. They were about 18 to 24 inches long and quite a sight. One of them had a long piece of heavy twine tied around it's tail and I tried to grab it but could not get close enough.
I thought about snorkeling in the Atlantic but the surf was more than I wanted to fight. Carol and I did walk the Atlantic beach one afternoon and picked some trash. We were actually looking for gold but found none washed up on the beach!
In July of 1715 a fleet of 11 or 12 Spanish galleons loaded with gold got sunk by a hurricane right off this coast. People have been recovering gold from the area for years. In fact, Mel Fisher, the treasure hunter who fond the Atocha made is first large treasure findings here in the late 1940's.
There is a museum at the site where the survivors of the hurricane and shipwrecks camped and worked salvaging the gold. It is a very interesting story. The area is called the Treasure Coast because of the shipwrecks and the finding of gold even yet today. I may try to SCUBA it someday because the reefs are quite close to the shore.
Camping friends came to visit us while we were there and we had a good afternoon with them. We also made arrangements to go to Lazy Days near Tampa for 4 nights in mid July so we can visit with them more
While at the park, our satellite dish could not find the Direct TV satellite so Carol had to watch normal TV. After doing all I could to correct the problem I finally called the company and found a service guy in Wachula, Fl. Since we were going to be passing within 20 miles of Wachula we made arrangements to meet up with him on our way home. In a very short time he upgraded the program in the equipment and it is now working again.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Shark Tooth Dive
On Tuesday, June 15 I went on a shark tooth SCUBA dive with Capt. Gil Cross into the Gulf of Mexico just of Manasota Beach. Gil has a 50 foot boat but only carries 6 paying passengers on a trip. It is licensed as a "six pack" boat!
When I got to the dock Gil was up on the flying bridge waiting for me but I did not see anyone else around but did not think it was odd since I was early. I jokingly said "Is it just you and me today?" and he replied, much to my surprise, "Yes, just you and me." I still thought he was joking, but not so. He said he was going to do some diving also since he makes an income from the sharks teeth he finds as well as other fossils.
For those who may not be aware, the Venice, Florida area is a very good place to find fossilized sharks teeth and other fossils. The teeth range in age from 2 to 35 million years old!!
On the first dive we went to a spot that was about a mile off shore of Manasota Beach and in about 30 feet of water. Gil came up with about 10 small teeth that could be used to make necklaces but I came up empty handed. We moved to spot closer to shore and over a reef that runs parallel to the beach in about 18 feet of water.
Because of an equipment problem Gil did not dive this time and he watched my bubbles from the boat. I was down only about 15 minutes and say what looked like a broken shell in a crevice of the reef. When I picked it up I realized I had a real nice Megalodon sharks tooth that was about 4 1/2 inches long. It was covered with marine "stuff" on it but it still was quite apparent what it was. A little later I found a second tooth but it had a corner broken off and was not a nice as the first one.
Here is a picture of it if you have never seen one.
It did not clean up as well as I would have liked but I will talking to Capt. Gil about how to clean it up better.
We leave this Sunday for 5 days on the east coast at Sebastian Inlet State Park and I may get to
do some diving there. At least I will take my gear and see how it works out.
When I got to the dock Gil was up on the flying bridge waiting for me but I did not see anyone else around but did not think it was odd since I was early. I jokingly said "Is it just you and me today?" and he replied, much to my surprise, "Yes, just you and me." I still thought he was joking, but not so. He said he was going to do some diving also since he makes an income from the sharks teeth he finds as well as other fossils.
For those who may not be aware, the Venice, Florida area is a very good place to find fossilized sharks teeth and other fossils. The teeth range in age from 2 to 35 million years old!!
On the first dive we went to a spot that was about a mile off shore of Manasota Beach and in about 30 feet of water. Gil came up with about 10 small teeth that could be used to make necklaces but I came up empty handed. We moved to spot closer to shore and over a reef that runs parallel to the beach in about 18 feet of water.
Because of an equipment problem Gil did not dive this time and he watched my bubbles from the boat. I was down only about 15 minutes and say what looked like a broken shell in a crevice of the reef. When I picked it up I realized I had a real nice Megalodon sharks tooth that was about 4 1/2 inches long. It was covered with marine "stuff" on it but it still was quite apparent what it was. A little later I found a second tooth but it had a corner broken off and was not a nice as the first one.
Here is a picture of it if you have never seen one.
It did not clean up as well as I would have liked but I will talking to Capt. Gil about how to clean it up better.
We leave this Sunday for 5 days on the east coast at Sebastian Inlet State Park and I may get to
do some diving there. At least I will take my gear and see how it works out.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Enjoying Life
For the last week or so I have been snorkeling in the YMCA pool instead of playing racquetball. I getting my legs in shape for a SCUBA dive coming up on Tuesday June 15. I am going out on a boat with Capt. Gill Cross and he specializes in going to spots where many fossilized sharks teeth can be found. He had a little seminar over Memorial Day weekend and had about 2 dozen large teeth (2-5" long) on a table and said they had found those in the last couple of weeks.
I am looking forward to the dive and hoping to come home with at least several good fossils. I did go out to snorkel in the gulf last week and the water had to be in the low 90's. It was so warm that it was actually a little too warm. The visibility was very poor as I could hardly see my hand when I extended my arm so I did not snorkel very long. The surf was also a little more than was enjoyable.
This morning I went out and the water was much clearer but a little cooler and there was no surf at all. I did find a number of nice shells and I also found that my legs are in much better shape for snorkeling and SCUBA. I spent about 50 minutes in the water and did not feel any tiredness in my legs.
We have been going out nearly weekly to have dinner with our friends Gus and Marilyn and then dancing to Jay Smith. I guess you could call us senior groupies!! The last place we went to dinner was called Ivy's Steakhouse and neither of had been there before. We will be going back since it was very good. This coming Thursday a group of us are going to an Amish restaurant in Sarasota. They have a buffet that is said to be very good. That does not surprise me since their home location is in Walnut Creek, Ohio, the heart of Amish country. No dancing to Jay Smith afterwards though!!
The summer weather is upon us with temperatures in the low 90's in the afternoon and an occasional thunderstorm. Mornings are in the mid 70's and humidity is quite high.
This coming Sunday we are taking the motorhome to the east coast and spending 5 nights at Sebastian Inlet State Park. I may get some snorkeling in but I doubt if I will get any SCUBA.
Still no oil on our coasts here in southern Florida and we hope it stays away.
I am looking forward to the dive and hoping to come home with at least several good fossils. I did go out to snorkel in the gulf last week and the water had to be in the low 90's. It was so warm that it was actually a little too warm. The visibility was very poor as I could hardly see my hand when I extended my arm so I did not snorkel very long. The surf was also a little more than was enjoyable.
This morning I went out and the water was much clearer but a little cooler and there was no surf at all. I did find a number of nice shells and I also found that my legs are in much better shape for snorkeling and SCUBA. I spent about 50 minutes in the water and did not feel any tiredness in my legs.
We have been going out nearly weekly to have dinner with our friends Gus and Marilyn and then dancing to Jay Smith. I guess you could call us senior groupies!! The last place we went to dinner was called Ivy's Steakhouse and neither of had been there before. We will be going back since it was very good. This coming Thursday a group of us are going to an Amish restaurant in Sarasota. They have a buffet that is said to be very good. That does not surprise me since their home location is in Walnut Creek, Ohio, the heart of Amish country. No dancing to Jay Smith afterwards though!!
The summer weather is upon us with temperatures in the low 90's in the afternoon and an occasional thunderstorm. Mornings are in the mid 70's and humidity is quite high.
This coming Sunday we are taking the motorhome to the east coast and spending 5 nights at Sebastian Inlet State Park. I may get some snorkeling in but I doubt if I will get any SCUBA.
Still no oil on our coasts here in southern Florida and we hope it stays away.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
I must be lazy or busy!!!!
Since my last post Carol and went to spend a week at a time share in Daytona Beach. We had not been there in several years and used a banked RCI week to stay at a Wyndham resort right on the beach. It was a large place with two towers of rooms, 3 outdoor pool, a "lazy river" for tubing, a hot tub and two indoor pools. Of course it was right on the beach.
We were a little surprised that there were very few driving on the beach as it was when we went there many years ago. Of course they now charge to go on the beach with your car, so I am sure that has reduced the cars. The overall beach is about the same as it still very wide and has a very gentle slope in the water. You can walk quite far into the surf and still have the water only up to your waist.
I went to do some snorkeling at the beach and as I was walking out my feet got quite cold. So cold that I did not want to get the rest of me wet!! The water temperature had to be in the mid to high 70's rather than in the 80's. Too cool for me!! Overall the weather was warm but not as warm as at home.
The resort was right next to a movie and restaurant complex. We did not go to any movies but we did eat at Bubba Gump's Seafood and had a delightful meal. A Sloppy Joe's was also there plus some fast food places. While doing some walking of the city we found a great Greek and Pizza place and had lunch and dinner there on two occasions. Their small Greek salad was huge and when we each got one, we took a complete one back to the condo.
One evening we went to the Ponce Inlet area and had a good seafood meal and had a good guitar player to entertain us. He is the first entertainer I ever go to play my favorite Jimmy Buffet song "Let's Get Drunk and Screw"!!! However, neither Carol or I got drunk!!
We left Daytona to spend time in Jacksonville to evaluate hotels for the upcoming Hazelwood reunion in 2011. You can read about that week in my Hazelwood Blog when I get it posted in a day or two. Get to it, if you wish, by clicking on it in my profile area.
On the 20th of this month we are taking the motorhome to Sebastian Inlet State Park on the east coast of FL for 5 nights. We are making our RV trips shorter but still want to run the motorhome to keep it in shape.
So that's about it for mow
Before we arrived at the condo, at the beginning of our week,we stopped a massive flea market and spent several hours wandering it. I did find some nice (cheap!) sunglasses to replace my scratched ones.
We were a little surprised that there were very few driving on the beach as it was when we went there many years ago. Of course they now charge to go on the beach with your car, so I am sure that has reduced the cars. The overall beach is about the same as it still very wide and has a very gentle slope in the water. You can walk quite far into the surf and still have the water only up to your waist.
I went to do some snorkeling at the beach and as I was walking out my feet got quite cold. So cold that I did not want to get the rest of me wet!! The water temperature had to be in the mid to high 70's rather than in the 80's. Too cool for me!! Overall the weather was warm but not as warm as at home.
The resort was right next to a movie and restaurant complex. We did not go to any movies but we did eat at Bubba Gump's Seafood and had a delightful meal. A Sloppy Joe's was also there plus some fast food places. While doing some walking of the city we found a great Greek and Pizza place and had lunch and dinner there on two occasions. Their small Greek salad was huge and when we each got one, we took a complete one back to the condo.
One evening we went to the Ponce Inlet area and had a good seafood meal and had a good guitar player to entertain us. He is the first entertainer I ever go to play my favorite Jimmy Buffet song "Let's Get Drunk and Screw"!!! However, neither Carol or I got drunk!!
We left Daytona to spend time in Jacksonville to evaluate hotels for the upcoming Hazelwood reunion in 2011. You can read about that week in my Hazelwood Blog when I get it posted in a day or two. Get to it, if you wish, by clicking on it in my profile area.
On the 20th of this month we are taking the motorhome to Sebastian Inlet State Park on the east coast of FL for 5 nights. We are making our RV trips shorter but still want to run the motorhome to keep it in shape.
So that's about it for mow
Before we arrived at the condo, at the beginning of our week,we stopped a massive flea market and spent several hours wandering it. I did find some nice (cheap!) sunglasses to replace my scratched ones.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Still Busy, Busy, Busy
I know it as been a long time since I have made a post and I hope to get caught up shortly. Since my last post we went on our cruise to Rome and I have been getting caught up but not fully yet. Of course we were gone 19 days and have been back only 17 days and we leave again tomorrow for two weeks!!
This coming trip will be a relaxing time in Daytona Beach followed by some work on the Hazelwood reunion in Jacksonville. While in Daytona I am going to try to get caught up on all of the pictures taken on our cruise to Rome and have them posted here and on web albums so anyone can see them. In Jacksonville I will be looking at hotels and trying to make a choice for the reunion. It is less than a year away now so I have to get that part of the planning done soon.
Today I went out SCUBA diving off Venice Beach looking for sharks teeth but found none. The good news was that I found a good dive buddy .... someone I feel comfortable diving with. Even though the visibility was lousy while we were diving (about 5 ft. but as low as 5 inches!!!) we both felt good diving together.
The last several days I have been trying to plan out the rest of our year with our short trips. We found out that Trafford is having their street fair on August 20 and 21 and will plan a trip up north for that. We will probably make stops at Mount Eagle, TN, Louisville, Cincinnati, Zanesville, OH, Trafford, PA, Charleston, SC, and Jacksonville, FL (more reunion work). That trip will be about a month or more in length. We also have a short trip planned to the FL east coast (Sebastian Inlet State Park) in June.
So, look for updates coming soon!!!
This coming trip will be a relaxing time in Daytona Beach followed by some work on the Hazelwood reunion in Jacksonville. While in Daytona I am going to try to get caught up on all of the pictures taken on our cruise to Rome and have them posted here and on web albums so anyone can see them. In Jacksonville I will be looking at hotels and trying to make a choice for the reunion. It is less than a year away now so I have to get that part of the planning done soon.
Today I went out SCUBA diving off Venice Beach looking for sharks teeth but found none. The good news was that I found a good dive buddy .... someone I feel comfortable diving with. Even though the visibility was lousy while we were diving (about 5 ft. but as low as 5 inches!!!) we both felt good diving together.
The last several days I have been trying to plan out the rest of our year with our short trips. We found out that Trafford is having their street fair on August 20 and 21 and will plan a trip up north for that. We will probably make stops at Mount Eagle, TN, Louisville, Cincinnati, Zanesville, OH, Trafford, PA, Charleston, SC, and Jacksonville, FL (more reunion work). That trip will be about a month or more in length. We also have a short trip planned to the FL east coast (Sebastian Inlet State Park) in June.
So, look for updates coming soon!!!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
I can breath again!!!
On Friday I went to an ear, nose and throat specialist to have the plugs removed from my nose. It has been a real discomfort trying to sleep while breathing through my mouth. I really got a dry mouth and had to get up in the night to get a drink of water.
When the doctor removed the plugs it was not very painful and it great to be able to breathe through my nose again. But then the fun began .... she felt it was necessary to cauterize the nasal cavities again. This was to prevent the bleeding to start again. It felt like she was placing a hot poker up my nose and I could not help but flinch. She did give me the choice getting the plugs again (no thanks), bleeding or using the "hot poker". Reluctantly I chose the hot poker!!!
By the late afternoon I was feeling pretty good and breathing quite well through my nose. We even went out to dinner with our friends at the Punta Gorda Elks but did not stay long enough to do any dancing to Jay Smith.
We did get back home in time to watch Kentucky play in the NCAA tournament and were disappointed that they did not make it to the final four.
We got our package of information about our cruise to Rome. I went on Google Earth and even looked at the hotel we will be staying in at Rome. Looks pretty good and it is less than a 2 mile walk to the Vatican.
We are both looking forward to the relaxation of the cruise.
More later and hopefully more frequently ..... except when we are at sea!!!!
When the doctor removed the plugs it was not very painful and it great to be able to breathe through my nose again. But then the fun began .... she felt it was necessary to cauterize the nasal cavities again. This was to prevent the bleeding to start again. It felt like she was placing a hot poker up my nose and I could not help but flinch. She did give me the choice getting the plugs again (no thanks), bleeding or using the "hot poker". Reluctantly I chose the hot poker!!!
By the late afternoon I was feeling pretty good and breathing quite well through my nose. We even went out to dinner with our friends at the Punta Gorda Elks but did not stay long enough to do any dancing to Jay Smith.
We did get back home in time to watch Kentucky play in the NCAA tournament and were disappointed that they did not make it to the final four.
We got our package of information about our cruise to Rome. I went on Google Earth and even looked at the hotel we will be staying in at Rome. Looks pretty good and it is less than a 2 mile walk to the Vatican.
We are both looking forward to the relaxation of the cruise.
More later and hopefully more frequently ..... except when we are at sea!!!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Long Time No Post !!!!!!
Wow, I did not realize it had been so long since I made a post to this blog. Now I am going to catch up some.
Late last month we had the opportunity to visit with our friends form Groton, CT when they were in the area visiting. We have know Jan and Charlie Kepner since Jim was in the Navy nearly 50 years ago. They were visiting Jan's sister in Venice only about 8 miles from us. Her sister arranged for a luncheon so Jan and Charlie could see all their friends in the area without having to run all over the place. It was a very nice affair and we also got to meet some new acquaintances. In fact we found out that Jan's brother-in-law and I graduated from Rensselaer in the same year. It's always nice to meet alumni.
We are still going out to see our favorite entertainer for dancing whenever we can. Late in February we went to the Punta Gorda Elks and had a fine time. Then the next week end they were having their annual Lobster fest. There were three couples that went to that. Marilyn and Gus bought a couple of tickets on a four pound Maine lobster and won it!!
Jim chair-maned the last pancake breakfast for our community and had a record number of tickets sold. There are five breakfast during the season and we will start again in November. A fine breakfast of Pancakes, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs all for the low price of $3.00.
We were off to dance to Jay Smith again at Harbor Isles, the community next to ours. Who said the seniors just sit around and do nothing!!!! We sure don't! We were going to dance to Jay again this Friday but Jim had an accident and we have to cancel.
While playing racquetball at the YMCA he got too close to his partner and got clobbered on the nose by his partners racquet. He was hit on the cartilage of the nose so no bones were broken. Naturally a nose bleed started but it was under control in about 10 minutes. However when we got home it started bleeding again and much more than originally. Since he could not get it stopped we went to our doctor. He could not stop it either and we went to the emergency room. While at the doctor's office Jim did find a pressure point that did stop the bleeding.
At the emergency room Jim told them of the blood that had gotten into his ears. This happened when he was pinching his nose to stem the bleeding. Even though the blood was not coming out of his nose, it was backing up in his nose and got into the ears. They were concerned he had a fracture and did a CT Scan to be sure there were on bone fragments ..... there were none.
Finally about 3 PM (this all started about 9 AM) they finally cauterized the left nostril where the most bleeding was and plugged the right nostril. Talk about pain!!!!! Jim nearly passed out at one point. They jammed a plastic tube with packing around it way, way up each nostril by hand. He felt as though he was being tortured in a prison camp. At least the bleeding was stopped.
Now even though he can breath a little through each tube he still cannot sleep without his mouth being open. The dry mouth is very uncomfortable.
Tomorrow we go to another doctor to get the tubes taken out and I hope the bleeding is healed and no more tubes are required. If so, they are going to have use an anesthetic!!!!!
We are getting close to departing on our cruise to Rome. We leave on April 10 and get back late on April 28. I am sure I will have a lot of stories when we get back
Late last month we had the opportunity to visit with our friends form Groton, CT when they were in the area visiting. We have know Jan and Charlie Kepner since Jim was in the Navy nearly 50 years ago. They were visiting Jan's sister in Venice only about 8 miles from us. Her sister arranged for a luncheon so Jan and Charlie could see all their friends in the area without having to run all over the place. It was a very nice affair and we also got to meet some new acquaintances. In fact we found out that Jan's brother-in-law and I graduated from Rensselaer in the same year. It's always nice to meet alumni.
We are still going out to see our favorite entertainer for dancing whenever we can. Late in February we went to the Punta Gorda Elks and had a fine time. Then the next week end they were having their annual Lobster fest. There were three couples that went to that. Marilyn and Gus bought a couple of tickets on a four pound Maine lobster and won it!!
Jim chair-maned the last pancake breakfast for our community and had a record number of tickets sold. There are five breakfast during the season and we will start again in November. A fine breakfast of Pancakes, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs all for the low price of $3.00.
We were off to dance to Jay Smith again at Harbor Isles, the community next to ours. Who said the seniors just sit around and do nothing!!!! We sure don't! We were going to dance to Jay again this Friday but Jim had an accident and we have to cancel.
While playing racquetball at the YMCA he got too close to his partner and got clobbered on the nose by his partners racquet. He was hit on the cartilage of the nose so no bones were broken. Naturally a nose bleed started but it was under control in about 10 minutes. However when we got home it started bleeding again and much more than originally. Since he could not get it stopped we went to our doctor. He could not stop it either and we went to the emergency room. While at the doctor's office Jim did find a pressure point that did stop the bleeding.
At the emergency room Jim told them of the blood that had gotten into his ears. This happened when he was pinching his nose to stem the bleeding. Even though the blood was not coming out of his nose, it was backing up in his nose and got into the ears. They were concerned he had a fracture and did a CT Scan to be sure there were on bone fragments ..... there were none.
Finally about 3 PM (this all started about 9 AM) they finally cauterized the left nostril where the most bleeding was and plugged the right nostril. Talk about pain!!!!! Jim nearly passed out at one point. They jammed a plastic tube with packing around it way, way up each nostril by hand. He felt as though he was being tortured in a prison camp. At least the bleeding was stopped.
Now even though he can breath a little through each tube he still cannot sleep without his mouth being open. The dry mouth is very uncomfortable.
Tomorrow we go to another doctor to get the tubes taken out and I hope the bleeding is healed and no more tubes are required. If so, they are going to have use an anesthetic!!!!!
We are getting close to departing on our cruise to Rome. We leave on April 10 and get back late on April 28. I am sure I will have a lot of stories when we get back
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