Author: Bill

Workin’ on my Advanced Open Water certificate today. Did 2 dives after completing the text book portion for the two dives I made today. First dive was Navigation…. the one I dreaded the most, as I mentioned previous…. I apparently SUCK at it……. Instructor did a good job with hands on application there in the dive shop and was patient with me as I slowly got my aging brain to wrap around the premise.  Headed out for the dive to test my new found knowledge. I got a bit gung-ho on my first test (yea – hard to imagine huh?) and way over shot my objective. Instructor got me calmed down and I nailed the second attempt. Ditto on the following 5 tasks – aced them~!  Yay~!!

Came back for a quick lunch, new tanks and some more classroom training, this time on a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) This is a small device that looks like the back half of a torpedo. A lot more training for it than I would have ever imagined – but glad there was. A LOT more to those little dudes than I would have ever thought…. wow. After multiple watch, learn and duplicate maneuvers by the instructor… it was time to take off for a DPV dive~! Much, much tougher than I thought. It was a totally different type of SCUBA diving. Zipping through the water. I liked it……and I didn’t. One of the things that I really like about SCUBA diving is being able to bottle-ass around and look at all the fun things you find under the water….. definitely can not do that with a DPV~! You kinda just watch things zoom by. You can cover a butt load of area…. but I think I still like the slow poking around much better.

Because both dives were training dives…. I opted not to even bring my camera with me so I could focus on what I was doing…. so no new underwater pictures for today. Am happy to say that I passed both courses – so I now have 2 more dive courses to complete for my Advanced Open Water certification~! I  am scheduled to make those dives on Thursday~!

Got some mail from ‘home’ today. Christmas card from Daughter (mailed right after Thanksgiving) and a wonderfully sweet letter from a Grand Daughter (my Squirt) – both made a really good day so, so much better. Also got 2 notices to go to Post Office for more mail – so big day for us again tomorrow to get more mail~!  I’ll try and get a couple of new pictures of something tropical for ya~!

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

Same set up I trained on…. no, that is not me.

Yay~! Mail from ‘home’…… 🙂

It kinda looks like Spam, It smells like Spam, it does NOT taste like Spam  😉

After our start of our usual coffee and a couple of cigarettes, my bride made us our standard breakfast. Did you ever give any thought that most people (and I use the term most loosely) have the same thing for breakfast everyday and don’t get tired of it??   I know the last 15 years of my working life – I had almost the exact same thing for breakfast every morning (and usually on the weekends, just a little bit more of it) I had a small orange juice, 2 eggs and 2 small pieces of sausage and a small glass of milk…… and never got tired of it~! Actually looked forward to it each morning~!   Oh – I would occasionally scramble the eggs versus making them over-medium and once in a while substitute a couple of chunks of spam for the sausage – but by in large the same thing day after day….. and never got tired of it. My lunchmeat (multiple types of lunchmeat) sammiches that I brought and had for lunch everyday — constantly got tired of them….. and I don’t know of anyone – who would have the same thing for dinner, over and over and over before getting tired of it. I wonder why breakfast is different ? But I digress……

I have decided I am going to go ahead and go for my Advanced Open Water Certificate before we leave this island. I like the dive shop I’m working with and it just feels like the right place and time to do it. I think we’ll be fairly busy our first several months on St. Croix – and I’m not sure how much time I’ll get to devote to diving in that time period. So I signed up for the course and got the needed textbooks. I have to ‘test’ in 5 different areas (text book knowledge and applying while diving). There are two required courses, Navigation and Deep Diving. That distress’ me slightly because the part of navigation I had to do in my initial training – I found out that I SUCK at it – so probably a good thing I’m getting more training. Deep diving doesn’t concern me as I have already “snuck” down to 100′ twice already (Anything below 60′ is considered ‘deep’) – so I know I’m good there. I had a variety of things to choose from for my other three areas, so I wound up with Peak Performance Buoyancy, Wreck Diving and Diver Propulsion Vehicle.  I am apparently going to get credit for my 2 previous dives on the Hilma Hooker for the wreck diving – woo-hoo, so have only 4 more dives to make for the certification (provided I pass).

I kinda wandered off path again…..  so – I didn’t do anything ‘fun’ today (or at least worthy of taking pictures) except sit around and read text books and take tests. So gonna leave it here with a couple of re-runs………….. Can’t wait to try out and tell you about the DPV — it’s kinda like a underwater motorcycle, except I think the one I’m training on will be more like holding onto the fins of a torpedo……. well crap… here I go again.  Dammit Emmit~!   😉

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving

Started off the day so easy and laid back I am almost embarrassed to talk about it. Slept in, had a nice breakfast, lounged around to let it settle a little bit and then decided to go snorkeling. Went to Te Amo beach – one of the few actual sand beaches on the island. Sat in glorious sun shine, smoked a cigarette and just stared out at that gorgeous blue water…… wow….. especially when I hear that there is a Winter storm advisory being put out at ‘home’. I guess I should feel bad about living this almost dream lifestyle – while friends and family are freezing and putting up with classic nasty Winter weather, but I really don’t.  I worked for 47 years and put myself through a lot to get to this point and feel like I earned it.

I went out and snorkeled the reef while my bride hung out in the sand and surf. I forgot my GoPro and felt almost naked swimming without it. After a good 45 minute snorkel, came back and checked in on my Queen. We sat on the beach, had a couple of smokes and soaked up more of that amazing sunshine. I spotted several things on the first swim that I really wanted pictures of (plus I have to have pictures for you all) so I grabbed my phone and away I went. I have actually got quite comfortable sticking my [ridiculously expensive] cell phone underwater and swimming with it there. It takes pretty amazing pictures as well, even though I don’t have a magenta  filter for the phone. I shot a couple more fun videos with it as well (but again, sorry), you’ll have to go to FB to watch them. Came back after about another 45 minutes and was enjoying more time with the surf, sand, sun and smokes. By then, the beach started getting really crowded [and noisy] so we packed up and headed back to the apartment.

Came back to the apartment, made a drink and sat out on our patio watching the pelicans putting on another diving exhibition while going after their dinner. It really is a wonderful lifestyle…… I hope you can come visit us once we get settled in St. Croix and join us in relaxing and sunshine, even if only for a little bit.

If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.

Spent most of my day studying material to advance my skills and capabilities while SCUBA  diving. Last half of the day was class room training with hands on demonstrations of my new skill. That new skill is being able to dive now with Nitrox. Technical name is EANx or Enriched Air Nitrogen or Nitrox for short. It is a special blend of air and Nitrogen and can be blended to multiple different blends, depending on what kind of diving you are wanting to do. The benefits of diving with Nitrox [in a nutshell] is that it extends your time on the bottom and that you typically won’t feel as tired at the end of a day of multiple dives.

Didn’t do much of anything else (noteworthy) besides the class work – hope to make a couple of dives shortly to try  it out. So not pictures or anything today.

Thankx for checking in~~~

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

Laid back today and got some reading done. Worked on a couple of things in preparation for our up coming move. Tried to get calmed down from finding out I [thought] I let our insurance lapse…………. yeeeesh…. thankfully not true – but a hellva scare~~~

Ran out for a bite to eat at a local food truck. Lot of them dudes on the island and if you can catch them in their spot (hours vary w-I-d-e-l-y) you can pick up some pretty amazing eats at a fairly reasonable price. I had a Mahi-Mahi wrap and a cheeseburger…. my bride had a Red Snapper wrap. Both washed down with a nice cold beer. Both wonderfully delicious. Plus you’re sitting on one of the prettiest beaches on the island looking out at all of that beautiful blue water….. just don’t hardly get any better than that when it comes to quenching a hunger.

Going to put up a few more pix of the Hooker Dive that didn’t load last night, will try and not to duplicate.

No idea what tomorrow brings…… kinda nice……. 🙂

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

I was a tag along on a 2 tank dive today and the first dive was the Hilma Hooker. As a rule, I don’t like to dive the same place twice – but gladly made an exception for this one. Something about seeing that big old ship laying down there on her side……wow~ Her starboard side lays at exactly 100′ so I got in a little more practice on a deep dive…. Today she was host to about a dozen large Tarpon. I got a couple of pictures and one nice video (again, sorry… you’ll have to go to FB to see it) It’s hard to tell in the pictures and even more so in the video, but the one in the video was an easy 4′ long…..  very docile fish that didn’t seemed overly concerned with me shoving a camera in it’s face…… just awesome to be down there floating around with those big ole dudes……… Cut back on my picture taking an tried to focus more on quality than quantity… I hope you see the difference.

Second dive of the day was on the North East point of the island – and there was a lot of surge and silt stirred up, so picture quality suffered….. still a great dive. Shot several short videos of each dive….. can’t wait until I figure out how to get them put up here~!

Came home, cleaned up, had a couple of drinks with my Queen and headed out for dinner. Couldn’t find the place we set out for, so opted for a favorite close to the apartment. Had a very agreeable meal and came back here to regale you of my adventure for the day. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Ik hoop dat je warm blijven

Tarpon

Well me and my Queen actually set an alarm to get up early enough to do our morning ‘stuff’ and still be at the marina on time to pick up our boat for the days cruising. Finally found the ‘right’ marina, only to find the guy we were supposed to meet, hanging over the engine ‘fiddling’ with it. I watched him make multiple attempts to start it (unsuccessfully) when he finally noticed me. He said something to the effect of he gave it to much gasoline (flooded it?) and that he needed a special wrench to work on it…….. could we come back in an hour ?  Sure – no worries….. we lit out and stopped at a little place we have been to before and sat down for some breakfast that we had skipped. I had an egg and salmon Croissant….. Angie opted for a conventional egg breakfast. Both were equally delicious~! Headed back out to the marina only to be met by the ‘boat guy’ saying he was going to have to get a mechanic to work on it. Many apologies and sent us on our way……. Dammit Emmit~!  Awake, fed, lunch packed, all dressed up and now, suddenly nothing on the schedule. Fortunately not a problem on an island like this~! We stopped by the house for a bit….. I looked up a good snorkeling spot and away we went.

I got in a solid 2 hours of snorkeling, stopping for the occasional cold beer and a cigarette……. got some pictures of my snorkeling for you. Took several videos, but sadly cannot load them on this site  🙁   I hate that I can’t put them up here for you to watch, but the site just don’t have the a$$ for it…… so you’ll have to go to FB to see them if you want to watch them….. Maybe when I get settled on St. Croix – I can look into a better website~~

Came back, took our showers and had a couple of drinks. Decided to go out for dinner and went to a place we been eyeballing for a while. Eddy’s….. nice place. Pool in the middle of the restaurant with a hot tub….. gotta love a Caribbean restaurant~! I had the catch of the day (Barracuda) with a side of sautéed shrimp~! Wonderful~! We shared a piece of the worst tasting cheese cake I’ve had in a while….. but it did the job of finishing off dinner.

I have a 2 tank dive scheduled for tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what that brings and maybe by the time I get back, the boat guy will give me a call saying the boat is fixed.

Schop de banden en het licht van de branden

Stayed in most of the day…. lounging in the luxury of not being one of the poor souls that had to drag their a$$ back to ‘the real world’ of working…. and doing it in sub-zero temperatures…. yessir — that’s gotta suck~!

Big day planned for tomorrow. We have rented a small boat for the day, we plan on exploring the Western coast line of the island (from the water this time) and then going out and spending a couple of hours doing some snorkeling on Klein Bonaire. It is supposed to be the number one snorkeling spot of Bonaire. I put a couple of pictures up of it yesterday. Should have lots more tomorrow.

Took a couple of pictures of that big beautiful moon we got hanging out there again tonight. Tried for some dramatic shots, but my phone just ain’t got it in it. Again, should have a  bunch of great pics for you tomorrow.

Until then – have fun at work – oh – and bundle up  😉

Wanted to do something special to kick off our new year as officially retired people on a Caribbean island……. so I chartered a 46′ sail boat for a private dinner sun set sail around the beautiful island of Bonaire.  (Compass Bonaire – highly recommend these folks for your on the water wants if you come to the island)  We left out of port just a couple of blocks from our house about 2:30 in the afternoon. We were instantly poured a large glass of Crown and Coke and away we went. We were treated to many wonderful type snacks as we sailed out past Klein Bonaire (Little Bonaire) skirting a large rain storm coming across the island. The sights were amazing, flying fish jumping and flying along side the boat while watching the coast line as we sailed…… listening only to the wind going past your ears and the occasional flap of the sails. No motor humming to listen to……………….

Finally moored up on the leeward side of Klein Bonaire and was treated to a wonderful steak and seafood dinner prepared wonderfully by our crew (Wim and Jeannette). The sides were almost as amazing as the entrée. We then pulled off mooring and headed back to port under a wonderfully gorgeous ‘Supermoon’ as we watched the island light up and watched passing boats and the palm trees highlighted in the glow of the moon. I tried to get some pictures of it – but my camera just cannot do justice to the beauty of what we were seeing. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance~!

Back at the apartment now, listening to even more fireworks going off……. what a great way to  start off a new year~! We pull out of here in 2 weeks to settle in what we believe will be our new [permanent] home on St. Croix. It will be nice to have a place we can call ‘home’ and start putting down some kind of roots again – not living out of suitcases and best of all, start having family and friends to come visit us all while still living our dream…….  so I’m calling it quits here with lots of pictures for you. I sure hope your New Year started out as great as ours did…..

Happy New Year Ya’ll~!

Another year – shot -right in the touchas~! What a year it has been though… wow… started off like most of the last 45 years… working…. cold… working and thinking there has got to be more to it than this….. then, May 1st — OOh-Rahh~! Retirement….. what a wonderful place to be…..  🙂  Thankx to a good paying job that I put in 33+ years at and a wonderfully smart tax advisor (ping me if you’d like her contact info) …… I got to make my dream come true….. romping around in the Caribbean. If you’ve never been, make it a  point to go at least once….. you will never regret it~! Yea, yea, I know, you like cold weather and the mountains and all that other stuff….. but trust me…. take a trip to anywhere in the Caribbean– just once…….. Those of you that know me well – know, I don’t ramble on endlessly about just anything. You also know, when I do make a statement like that,  I am saying it from the heart.

Me and my Queen went out for a really nice New Years Eve dinner….. really hard to beat. About 80*, on the waterfront,, watching the sun set. A VERY agreeable meal washed down with 2+ bottles of a nice Zinfandel wine….. something we rarely do, but it ‘worked’ this evening. Was hoping for a big fireworks display, but I think it was a little early. We came home and I poured my Bride into bed (apparently not used to the grape).  I had to smile as I tucked her in….. she had the most wonderful smile on her face that I have seen in months….. It truly was a magical evening for us….. realizing our dream and watching it unfold in living color….

As I sit here now typing this, it sounds like WW III outside….. good lord these people get happy with explosives, I thought me, Paul and Josh were bad about it………… not sure I’ll get out in time to catch some if it on my camera – if I do, It’ll be tomorrow before you see the pictures, as I am struggling to combat the effects of the grape myself~~~  😉

Just stopped for a smoke break and watched some of the fireworks…. Got some pictures and hopefully later a little video as they start cranking up……. wow – these folks are serious~!

I’m going to take a minute to mention by name some of the people in my life that I am thinking about now (especially those freezing their a$$e$ off) but they also have been such a huge part of my life and I’m not sure my life would have been the same without them in it……. [disclaimer] if you don’t see your name mentioned here…. You  can bet it is probably more because of the grape than the love…… so please don’t take offense~~~

Mein Schotzie, Mouse & Grant, Stephie & Josh, Rachael, Honey Bear & Michael, (<- and all their kids)  Ela, Daniel, Susan, David, Leta, Joe, Nelia, Bradford, ‘Lil Sis/Cuz’ Susie, Paul, Angela, Roland, Letty, Ernie, Ricky, Jim, Doris, Steve, Nicole, Annie, Tina, Susan C., Eric, My ‘damn neighbors, Andy, Jackie, Joanie, Toni, Lorelei, Sarge, Jennifer B., Vera, Robin, Alex, Christina……………… I could probably sit here until I sober up listing names – but where is the fun in that ???? To those mentioned here and the probably countless hundreds I can’t remember right now — THANK YOU for being a part of my life and all you have done to help me make 2017 and my life what it has been………. THANK YOU. I love you and wish you the happiest New Year of your lives~!!!

My Queen~ <3

Damn wind kept messin’ my hair up~!  (all 3 of them)  😉

Lobster something or other…..   😉    ^

Octopus spaghetti  ^

Good Night ya’ll … sleep tight……….and Happy New Year~!!