Family Day at the Beach

Sunday at the beach......with the family...
sun...surfing...picnics....beach games with the kids....body surfing the breakers....WOW....nothing like a wonderful day at the beach.....I am sure that it happened somewhere today....

we went to the beach for our weekly family outing and the effects of the hurricanes are being felt even here on our little beach....when the weather man is talking about confused surf.....these waves were as confused as a flower girl at a Morman wedding.....great looking waves breaking at about 5 to 6 feet....they just don't know where they are going....they break over, under, and around each other....no way to catch a clean wave to surf....just jump and go and try to make something out of it before you crash because the wave has nowhere to run.....

oh, and those rip currents.......WOW.......they were wicked today.....six foot current in twelve inches...what this means is if you jump 12 inches up to break a wave crest, you come down six feet away from where you left the ground....and then spend the next three waves trying to get back to where you started.....just don't fight it too much....go with the flow because fifty yards down the beach you find yourself standing in knee deep water wandering why you just didn't start here to begin with.....the kid and his sister spent the entire time trying to catch a good wave....the kid's sister stayed close to shore and road the smaller waves while the kid did his best to put his new board to use.....a little rough for using a new board but damn he gave it a good try....he did catch a couple of beauties on the old long board....good close to shore 50 yard runs.... one took him completely to shore next to an elderly couple that watched him the whole time.... the look on their faces was beautiful....pure joy watching a kid enjoy himself at something he is good at.....or maybe that was the look on my face.....anyway he got his day's admission's worth on that wave alone......

Jon-Jon came and joined us for a couple of hours....it was a good time just sitting and watching the beach action with him.....didn't talk alot....don't always have to.....just enjoy the time spent together.....did see a couple of whales we thought were going to beach themselves.....but then they got up and walked away.....that we talked about......of course John came with digital technology and he took some photos that I know will become a blog, or a part of one soon.....

something about a beachrider lowrider.....with spinners too....

Surfs Up

the kid got a new surf board tonight...after repeated attempts to repair old surf boards....starting with a short board, 5'11", that I picked up on the beachside for real cheap....a couple of failed repairs later....you have no idea how hard it is to repair a surf board....I thought it was a simple affair involving fiberglass bought from the local auto parts store.....not so lucky....the skill of repairing a surfboard is not an easy undertaking....took me three attempts to realize that I had no idea about what I was doing....but it would hold water for about three hours before becoming a submarine....but then I came across a long board...7'4" .....that needed a little repair....another project....I was in heaven.....until I realized that it would also involve fiberglass repair.....at least it would hold water for about six hours.....I guess I gotta learn that skill if the kid and his little sis are going to be surfers ....but then Jon-Jon found the finds of all time....a board for sale.... cheap...and basically in our backyard....New Smyrna Beach....anyway...the kid and I drove down this evening and checked out the board.....a 6'8" fiberglass board that a local firefighter has owned since new.....has been repaired three times by a professional...there is a difference in quality....and with a cool logo...the kid thought it was great and after a short visit with the seller and his roommate.....gotta love buying from roommates... they fix everything and always have it professionally done....something about 'dinks'... dual income no kids.....like the bus, the kid kept his bankroll in one pocket, a couple of notes short of the asking price and he struck a deal.....didn't even have to dip into the second pocket... got it short enough to afford a new leash and maybe a sock too....of course the new board can't stay in the garage with the others so the kid has made a spot for it in his room....at least until we can build a rack for the beach toys in the garage.....stopped by the longroof's condo on the way home to show it off and he took this picture....thanks again John....

the hurricane is coming..the hurricane is coming..the hurricane is coming..

Well, it's that time of year again...the television stations are all geared up and smelling the ratings climb due to their outstanding ability to cover the impending damage from the storm....if you listen to the #7 and the #13 stations, the world we live in is going to be altered forever....oh the carnage, the destruction, the (fill in your own line here).....of course don't forget that crazy idiot from the weather channel that is 'out in the storm telling us what it is like so we won't come out in it'...what the hell is this guy thinking..??..there is a hurricane out there blowing sustained winds around 60 miles per hour.....what in the world makes this guy think I want to go out in it..??...oh wait, it's ratings time again ....the smell of salt in the air...the sound of the surf crashing against the shore...the site of tree limbs in your yard...your neighbor's tree limbs in your yard....your tree limbs in your neighbor's yard....the gentle hum of a 12 hp Honda motor that you know is the reason your refrigerator is running....the look of relief when your wife opens the refrigerator door and the little light comes on.....man I can't tell you what a stress release that little light bulb is....the cough and spit of that same motor that tells you it is time to get your butt up and run out in the rain and re-fuel your generator.....the sound of fathers throughout the neighborhood cussing and kicking things in the garage because the chain saw won't start....man I hope I remembered to have the chains sharpened.....where is that chain saw.....I used a couple of years ago and put it where..??...it was right here just the other day....oh yea, it's in the attic with the fans and the, what I call the charlieconditioner....this is commonly known throughout out the world as a window air conditioner, but damn it worked so well during hurricane charlie....damn near froze us out of the bedroom....
got all the lawn furniture off the back porch, the trash cans are in too, the plants on the front porch will have to ride this out for now....the shutters are uncovered for future immediate need..
never know, this storm might prove to justify all the hype....all the time the phone has been ringing from co-workers and friends....are you prepared..??...need anything..??...got your generator running..??...you know I'm coming to your house if it gets bad.....don't worry about work, I'll be there.... if you need to go, remember that family comes first.....seems air conditioning is a fantastic friendship equalizer....the kids started school today and already got a vacation...two hurricane days off....now what do we do with them for two days..??...checked with Jon-Jon and he is set....haven't had a chance to check with Bob yet, but hell he has a virtual fortress down in Tampa Bay...self start generator that cools the important stuff first....beer frig, pool lights, tiki hut fan, and the pool warmer in case the water temp drops below 78 F.....oh wait, a weather update is coming through....it's going to rain and it will be windy.....okay it's over now...
seems like nobody is getting overly upset about this storm, even the kid told me not to worry.... just going to get some rain and wind....hell he could work for the TV stations forecasting the weather...
oh well....time to close....
as Chris said in his email tonight....
...put some rocks in your pockets....the wind is fixin to blow

Goin Fishing

As I sit here and wait for the Olympic Games to continue I wonder....okay, enough of that....spent the afternoon repairing the kid's sister's surfboard....ah, the smell of fiberglass resin will be stuck in my garage for the next couple of days....but after several delays....4:00 Mass, 5:30 dinner, forget the trip to the mall, got too many things to do with too little time...Micheal Phelps just won his eighth gold medal of these Olympic Games....congradulations to his Mother.... imagine the time SHE has put into his efforts....Good Job Mom....but tonight the kid and I are going fishing....fishing with the kid....oh thats it, what is becoming a Saturday night event, the kid and I went fishing again tonight....we decided to forgo the usual fishing spot under the big bridge and hit an old fishing spot that we hadn't visited in about a year or so....called Jon-Jon to see if he was too busy to join us...seems his schedule was open for the evening and after giving him directions the kid and I continued on our way....now the directions to this fishing spot are pretty simple, just head north on John Anderson (the beach side river road) about a mile past the tug boat....about the time you think you aren't ever going to get there, just keep going about another mile or so.....these are pretty simple directions that I am sure my brothers have heard before.... Tom most likely has given or received these same instructions more than once in the last month....well, the kid and I arrive at the secret fishing spot to find an elderly couple with a line in the water....with a courtesy hello, and a 'catching much' the respond is a desolate NO....not even getting any bites.....well, we unloaded our fishing poles, our tackle box, our standard issue bucket, and the ever present cooler containing the so important adult beverages...the kid baits a hook and cast his pole....before I could even pop a top and get a shimp on my hook, the kid is reeling in a fish....of course he had to make a big show of it...but damned if he didn't pull in a catfish that would have tipped the scales at about six pounds.....very pretty fish but ugly as hell...

well, I no more than got my line wet when I hooked a nice little eight inch red fish....using the small tackle that I do, it put up one hell of a fight....of course we practice catch and release so those fish both got an opportunity to grow bigger.....after reeling in a couple of more smaller fish called crokers, thats the noise they make when they are hooked, they croke like a frog....a couple of small cats...the kid hooks another monster catfish out of the main channel.....this is another monster that would be a keeper if a fish fry were in order.....but that is not why we fish....about this time the couple next to us on the pier pack up and head home....seems they had been there for two hours and hadn't caught a thing.....kind of felt sorry for them, but then enjoyed another cold pop and got over that real quick....about now Jon-Jon calls and asks how much farther past the tug boat we are.....about a mile or so Jon, just keep going and look for the jeep on the left....ten minutes later he arrives.....what took so long seems to be a party at one of the big houses on the intercoastal waterway.....three cops acting as cross walk guards with lites and sirens....somebody spent a boat load of money to catch a buzz....could have joined Jon and I and got away a lot cheaper.....again I digress...the kid and I with Jon-Jon and my friend Jim spent the next hour catching and releasing fish back into the the intercoastal..... nothing can compare to the feeling of a Yellow Jack slamming your hook and taking off with it.....swear that I had hooked Jaws XXXV when that jack hit.....then the kid hooks a big mangrove and the fight is on....he makes a hell of a good show out of a three pound fish....after a couple of more c&r's Jon-Jon gets in the groove and pulls in a big ass Red Fish.....I would have kept that one and took it home to cook, but as Jon has stated in the past, he likes his fish on a platter, prepared by someone else....so that big ole red got another chance to grow.....after Jon's big catch he smartly realizes that it is best to quit while ahead and he heads back to his condo on the beachside.....seems that the kid got quantity for the night, but Jon-Jon got quality.....the kid and I hung out for another hour or so c&r ing and feeding the local mosiquito population.....oh, by the way, Deep Woods Off must only work in the deep woods cause it didn't do diddly for us tonight....I am afraid to look in a mirror.....might think I have chicken pocks again....finally the kids calls it quits and we load up and head home.....of course a night fishing wouldn't be complete unless we stop by and visit with the longroof....spent a nice hour hanging out at Jon-Jon's place watching the kid get excited about Robin Williams on you-tube.....

Goin to the beach

Since my wife has determined that Sundays are now going to be family days, we have spent the past two such days enjoying the beautiful benefits of living within two miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
Of course in the county in which we live, driving on the beach is one of the many benefits for which we pay our taxes. The first Sunday we went to the beach was a pretty good trial run for me. We loaded the old jeep up with everything we thought we would need and headed to the beach early. We foundered about 9:00 AM and set up camp. Put up the sun screen that everyone has been able to purchase at Wally World the last couple of years, put out the beach chairs, got the fins and snorkle out, waxed up the surfboards, the skim boards, and the waveboards. Put the cooler in the shade and covered with a heavy beach towel (this actually works to help insulate the cooler) put the food bag in the shade. Spread the beach sheet out under the sun shade. Remember not to walk on it..it is for decoration only.... Then proceeded to head to the surf and enjoy our first family day in a long time. After an hour or so of beating myself to death riding the wave board, trying to stop the kids from one upping each other, they are pretty good at that surfing thing, and basically driving myself crazy, my lucky star arrived.

Some kids from Ocala had the fortune to get their hot rod Mustang stuck in the sand. Finally!!!!!!!!! Something for me to do. Of course I should have realized that when my bride told me someone was stuck down the beach, this didn't mean for me to stop what we were doing and head down to help. Boy was I mistaken. Again. After checking the inventory of the old jeep for the tow chain, I realized that I had no way to pull these guys out of the sand....so I took the next step and contacted the longroof to see if he had a tow rope...forgot that longroofs don't go where they need tows...so anyway the longroof agreed to run to the homestead and retreive a tow rope...when the longroof asked why I didn't have a tow rope I told him that I didn't need one...a couple of kids from slocala did.....he laughed all the way across the longbridge and back...he was a great trooper and went the extra mile to let the little mule show her stuff......good job and thanks Jon-Jon.....See the oleragtop post for photos and descriptions...
After returning to camp....I was truly and justly chastised for deserting my family. The fact that the kid went with me, at her suggestion, seemed to have been missed. Of course the next question that was thrown my way was, 'did you get them out?'...when the kid stated that we got them out without the jeep even spinning a tire my bride turned and walked back to the sun tanning chair...seems she was not going to let us know she was proud of us......

any way, finished the day surfing and enjoying the time spent with the kids and my bride....guess I just had to get that helping others off my chest.....sure was fun and gotta love the little jeep