Author: Bill

It’s Monday morning….. I got into bed a lot later than I wanted to last night but still woke up a couple of minutes before that annoying a$$ alarm I had set went off. I got up- staggered around and got myself ‘together‘ and ready for my day….. camera battery bump charged….. strobe batteries charged over night and ready to go…. just had to put them in the strobes……… Made myself a wonderfully delicious breakfast to consume while I perused FB and all of it’s silliness. My Bride finally came staggering out and we eventually met in the middle of all of our morning routines for our standard good morning kiss and “Good Morning”. Beer cooler put together…. along with some snacks, a protein bar and some peanut butter crackers in case I wound up doing double duty today…….. As it turns out, I could have done a second boat…….as my “Introduction to Dive Master” class for tonight had been cancelled and the Instructor failed to mention it to me. Dang it…… a whole afternoon with nothing planned…… what to do, what to do……? Take my Queen out for Oysters since she didn’t get them the other night~! I called to make sure they would have some and away we went……. picked up our backyard neighbor who was on his ‘roughly‘ 6th trip back into town…. dropped him off at the local market, I ran in to see if they had Saltines, because the one  time we went to this place for Oysters…. they didn’t….. what to do ??? Bring your own damn crackers~! AHHH Island Life……… We went…… we drank, we ate, we drank, we ate some more…. we drank, we ate……. Not great timing on the food, but as long as the drinks are on time….. it’s all good~! I did however learn a ‘stout’ lesson from this place…… when you “politely” inform the server that your dink is pretty puny….. from there on out, you best brace yourself…… for the rest of the evening…… my Vodka and Cranberry was mostly clear…….. no pink to it. Period. That’ll teach me to run my mouth (pix to follow later) My Queen had her Oysters…. I tried the Lobster Risotto. Not knowing if I’d like it or not- I ordered a Shrimp Po’ Boy sammich along with it. Other than sampling one piece of shrimp from it – I never touched the sammich. I boxed it up and was gonna take it home for lunch for a very long day tomorrow on/in the water. We finished a mostly satisfactory meal, chatted with the floor manager about our evening and headed for the truck. One of our ‘destitute’ locals came staggering out of the shadows…. saying something to the effect he was hungry. I confirmed what he said [yes- he was hungry] – and I happily handed him my Shrimp Po’ Boy sammich and said simply “enjoy Brother”. He seemed happy with his acquisition and slunk back into the shadows. My Bride and I are now back here rubbing our very full bellies (did I mention the magnificent cheese cake and chocolate something or other dessert we had???) and getting ready for bed. I am doing BOTH boats tomorrow (4 dives) – so a fairly long day again for me……… My Queen has a [routine] Doctors appointment tomorrow…….. Ahhhh….. life on an island…….

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

When you complain that your Vodka /Cranberry doesn’t have much booze in it on the island……….  😉

Me and my Bride~~

I would have liked to ‘slept in’ this morning….. but Mother Nature chimed in and the fact I needed to be a little bit “tired” this evening, so I could go to bed a little bit early so I can get up a lot bit early…… all boiled down together this morning to roll me out just early enough that I didn’t get to sleep in…… Dammit Emmit~! My Queen made us some pancakes, sausage and bacon and it was scrumptious~! I wrapped up my computer stuff and by 10:00 0’clock was out there cranking away on my beat up old lawnmower (only a year or so old but it has had a tough life so far) trying to get it started. An extra rest period, a little more priming and she finally turned over……. Since it was much earlier than usual, it was a smidge cooler, plus, we had a nice breeze blowing……… all that equates to the old fat guy didn’t have to stop for a rest period this time……… last time I mowed I [ashamedly took 4 rest breaks] – but that was in the heat of the day and I hadn’t had much rest when I tried to do it that day. Lawn done in about an hour- came in and sat with my Bride and had a rehydrate before going back out, loading the truck up and heading into town to get the ATV yard done. I was a little out of cycle, so the yard wasn’t in such terrible shape this time- but still needed some love……. 45 minutes there and I was done. Came back to finish up the weed eating in our yard. I did wind up taking a couple of breaks doing that as here lately doing that just tears my back/hips up. DAMMIT Emmit….. hate to think it’s because I’m getting older….. but I think there is something to it~! It officially sucks to have a 25 year old brain stuck inside a 64+ year old body……… If any of Ya’ll know a way around that particular dilemma….. I shore would like to chat with you for a bit……. As I was wrapping up my weed eating…… it started sprinkling….. OOOH… that feels good as I continued…… 3 more minutes into it and it turned into an official pouring rain. I was soooo close to finishing, that I stayed at it until I was done. I saw my Bride standing out on our [covered] porch watching me….. probably wondering what kind of dumb a$$ she married, that would be out there in the pouring rain swinging a weed eater……. I came in and walked straight into the shower….. rinsed the clothes I was wearing and went ahead and got my shower. Came out and sat in front of the fan watching our latest series [Manifest] and applied a lot of Hydrogen Peroxide to 3-4 dozens ‘spots’ on my legs. Back in the states, anytime I did anything– I was usually wearing jeans and cowboy boots…… here, it is shorts and flip flops or deck shoes….. it doesn’t offer a helluva lot of protection against varmits, critters and flying rocks…. and my legs are taking a beating. Factor in that they get “soaked” a minimum of a couple hours a day in Sea water……. yuck….. kinda looks like I have leprosy…. so I worked on them while we watched the boob tube.  Dammit….. I’m already at almost 600 words….. crap….. stopping here for tonight……. back on the boat tomorrow……..

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

Freakishly clear water~!!

Hello everybody….. the old fat boy lives~! Been recuperating a little bit here from a long tough (but productive) week. 5 days…. 18 dives…. and soooo many pictures.  We had a big group almost all of last week. 14 divers that rented the boat every day for their group. Really good for business. Kept all of the captains, Dive Masters and photographer really busy… plus there were enough local divers and other visiting folks, that warranted a second boat each afternoon….. so I went on each of them so I could be sure and get pictures of everybody. And I did…. so, so, so many pictures. Doing that many dives eats up a lot of time….. but editing that many pictures eats up almost the same amount of time. Of course, I do get to do that in the comfort of my abode, having the occasional drink with my Queen while I do that. The big group flew out today so they did not dive yesterday morning, so there was just the one morning boat yesterday. An acquaintance who had been chatting with on FB on diving here, came in and booked several dives on “my” boat— his first dive was Friday morning…. so I had to be on that boat. Nice guy, turns out he is dating the Niece of a buddy of mine here on the island and he put us in touch with each other (buddy is not a diver). I told him I was taking a couple of days off to recuperate and he understands. He will be on the boat Monday and Tuesday- so I will get to dive with him a couple more times before he heads back. There is a second group of folks (from the same organization as the first big group coming in next week as well, so I will be doing double duty again. Because of other commitments, I will only be doing double duty a couple of days this time, so it should be a little easier week.

Looks like I am going back to school for a little bit as well. I will be working toward getting my Dive Master certification. I don’t want to be a Dive Master- but the shop I work for has asked me to do it and I understand why….. so being the kind hearted [or should I say soft headed] old soul I am…. I’m gonna do it….. or try to. I should be able to get it as I already have probably 75% of the requirements needed for it. I start my orientation Monday evening.  We also have another “Wine Tour” coming up. I hate shooting those things but I know the boss likes it when I do— so I’ll be there for that on Thursday evening~~  Today was a full blown recuperation day. Computer stuff and watching Manifest. My Bride is making Spaghetti – so I’m gonna chow down on that in a little bit. Tomorrow — probably mowing the damn grass again…… then resting some more  😉

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

Up a little early so I’ll hopefully get to bed a little early. Tomorrow starts a long week of picture taking for the old fat boy. I will be doing double boats (4 dives a day) all the way through Thursday….. right now, Friday looks to be a single boat.  Doing double boats is not only physically taxing…. it is pushing my limit on my camera capabilities as far as keeping all my batteries charged up each evening/night….. Guess I’m up for it- only one way to find out. I just ordered some extra stuff that I really should have on hand anyway, but it will allow me to keep a better stash of charged batteries, such as occasions like this. Unfortunately, they probably won’t get here until Saturday, if then. Once again, a down side of living on this particular island. It’s all good though…….. Once again my Queen made a dandy breakfast. French toast this time with sausage and bacon…… Yum~! We sat and caught up on FB and the news. I kept an eye on the grass— it was soggy, even though we did not have any rain…… the humidity is that thick right now. Also watching the radar as multiple little rain showers popped up and came and went but still luckily missing us.  My Bride ran into town to return a defunct fan. Brand spanking new and it didn’t even last one day……  I used that opportunity to head out and fire up ye old lawn mower. That poor old thing….. it’s getting harder and harder to start, I put a new spark plug in it, but that didn’t really help….. but so far I can get it going and it chugs on through whatever I put it in…. [[knock on wood]] It doesn’t get a Fall and Winter break like state side mowers do…. this one gets fired up at least once a week and used…. every week…. all year round. I got the yard knocked out and just about cooled off about the time Angie came rolling back in. I loaded up the truck and ran into town to do the ATV yard……. done with that, swung out by the dump and dropped of the gar-bage’..… and back to the house. Sat and downed another Rehydrate before moving over to the coffee table to assemble the new fan. Fan done…. I’m sitting in front of it now letting my shirt dry out (and me) before I jump in the shower. Black clouds everywhere, even one lone rumble of thunder…. but no rain yet.

My Queen says she is hungry, so I’m gonna see if I can remedy that for her. Not sure what I’m gonna do for pictures for you. I know I have a ton of them you haven’t seen yet….. just not sure which ones they are — so apologies if you see duplicates~~~~~

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

Talking about ‘dancing’ with the Manta Ray yesterday….. like I said, I would have loved to seen a video of it….. but that is one big reason I like being behind the camera… I don’t have to be in front of it. There are the exceptions tho…. and that was one of them. I do have a video ‘of sorts‘…… the one in my mind. There are some things in my life I will absolutely never forget [I hope] and I’m sure that my dance with the Manta Ray will be one of them. Something I have seen probably Hundreds if not Thousands of times wishing I could be that person dancing with a Manta Ray…….. now- been there, done that, has the memory~! That made up for the two very ‘challenging’ dives I had that day, that was extremely hard on these old nerves, as well as taxing physically….. but we got everybody back that day safe and sound with some pretty great memories of their own. I even got cut in on the boat tips for the day~! (I’m normally not)  -It wasn’t a lot, but it means a lot to me because the rest of the crew are acknowledging my contribution…… besides the business I like to think I bring in because of my pictures.

Today (and tomorrow) is a day off…….. and other than prepping my gear for a very long week, doing some research on Medicare/Medicaid [for my Bride]. I haven’t done much of anything. My Bride made us a wonderful breakfast while investigated. We have got in several episodes of Manifest, before stopping so I can do this……. Tomorrow I’ll probably mow again as the monsoon we had the other night really made the grass spring up~! Aside from mowing…. don’t plan on doing much else…… just like a day off should be.

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

Hi All, Yesterday started off like most of the others… breakfast, driving and diving. I was ‘bringing up the rear’ on today’s two dives and had my hands full with one diver in particular. The diver kept me busy enough keeping him safe, for the majority of both of the dives, my camera hung below me on it’s tether while I dealt with this diver. Kind of bummed out at the end of the first dive, I resigned myself to the fact that the second dive was probably not going to be any better. I was not wrong….. almost~~~ Once we got everybody back to the boat, that particular diver went on up and got on the boat. I still had half a tank left- so I started swimming around getting some people pictures and anything that I could find that was photo worthy. I finally got down to around 700 lbs of air and decided to go on up and do my safety stop (safety stop is a 3 to 5 minute stop made between 15 and 20 feet) during the final ascent of a dive ). Divers should be back on the boat with no less than 500 lbs in their tank [for multiple reasons] Normally during my safety stop, is when I fold in the lights in on my camera, hook up the carrying lanyard, put on the lens cover and detach the camera from the tether….. and that’s exactly what I did. As I started my slow ascent to the surface there was a small school of fish I had been watching (and photographing) and it had a big ole Barracuda watching them. About 4′ from the surface I saw this large dark shadow on the other side of the school of fish and it only took me a split second to realize what I was seeing…. A Manta Ray~! It took me even less time to yank the lens cover off of my camera and head back down towards it~! I “had” to get at least one decent shot of it before it was gone. Imagine my my surprise when it turned and came at me~!!! Even bigger grin when it started doing barrel rolls around me. For a solid two minutes we swam in unison as I took pictures, then video, back to pictures, more video and yet back to pictures. The Dive Master, said “It looked like you two were dancing”. Would have been great to had a video of that~!! When the Ray finally tired of playing with us went on her way— I realized I had followed her a long way and now had no friggin’ idea where the boat was at. Thankfully the Dive Master did and away we went. I was breathing hard from dancing with the Ray… Thankfully she stayed fairly shallow so I did not need to do another safety stop. I was a juuust a little lower on air than what I should have been.  😉  But OH SO Worth it~! Swimming with one of those gorgeous creatures is an item on my Life List that I can now happily check off~! A few more details tomorrow maybe… over my limit now.

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

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Another early morning as I get back into the swing of things again. I’m not getting to bed as early as I was because we are staying up to watch more of Manifest……. After I got up and moving- Went in and got my Bride up after about 30 minutes as today was her long day at Blues. She actually let me make her an egg sammich with a slice of cheese for breakfast this morning. Only one egg – but it’s a start~! I had my usually belly filler and we were both soon out the door.

My two dives today were pretty tame as in didn’t interact with anything today that could kill me (other than some of the crazy a$$ drivers on this island)…. guess I should say underwater…. but still- a fun group and most really decent divers. There was enough Staff today – all I did was take pictures. I still help unload tanks though…. I cannot stand there and drink my icy cold Budweiser and watch the rest of the group lugging tanks and gear around~! (Guess I could go ahead and leave– hehehe… that way I wouldn’t have to watch them…… AWWw quit– you know I wouldn’t do something like that~!!  😉

Back, showered and was just sitting down when my Queen rolled up – so a shorter than usual day for her— she brought some KFC home for dinner and I have to tell you- it was tasty~! Actually made half way decent for a change. Fingers all good and greasy- now my mouse is slippery and I have greasy smudges all over my computer keyboard….. dammit Emmit~!  😉

Angie has her short day tomorrow at Blues….. I’m diving again. Maybe my last dive day for the week. Angie and I am helping the ‘Island Kids’ out on Friday. They have friends and family in so Angie is going to run the office and I am leading one bike on a tour. So a change of pace for a day. Not sure if I’m diving any on the weekend or not. Still need some recuperation time I think. Next week has the potential for some intense diving…. possibility of 3- 4 tank days in a row……yeah… I should probably take the entire weekend off to rest up for that…. just in case  😉

Had a pretty awesome Thunderstorm come sneaking in on us coming up from the South—– lots of rain and thunder. I know I have said it before- but that thunder sounds so awesome rolling uninterrupted out across the water….. Awesome~! Lights just blinked… DAMMIT Emmit~! I better get this posted before it goes completely out~!   I think that’s it…. some pictures for you from today……

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

Up a lot earlier than I wanted to be…… this sleeping in the past several days kinda got me spoiled. I got plenty of sleep though – staying up a shade longer last night than I intended to, to get in another  couple of episodes of Manifest…… Still very intriguing~!!! Got batteries all bump charged and loaded into my camera – all my gear in the truck and made me a small breakfast- even though I wasn’t in the mood for it (which is rare).  I am always glad that I do though….. cause I wind up needing the energy. Today was no exception…. Two fun dives with a fairly decent bunch of divers. There were a couple of newbies on the load but they did pretty good. Got to try and call some sharks, saw a Lion Fish and a gorgeous Hawksbill turtle….. Back to the dock and boat unloaded… back to the house to my Queen. Had to run to the air port to get the neighbors, they’re back now…. lot’s of little distractions since I’ve been back — so cutting this one short (still a couple of distractions to contend with)….. Diving again tomorrow~~~!

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

Slept in ever so slightly this morning after staying up until almost midnight last night….OMG~! I know right….. Almost unbelievable~!! We found a new series we like and just could not tear our selves away from it. Series is called Manifest. It is a LOT like Resurrection…. only newer twist. Three seasons and we are already half through the first one. Love it. Got up and started our day on line….. guess we’re not THAT old yet…. but best source of information of the few options we have here on our little rock. Some FB (best way to keep up with our families). I wanted to make today a mowing day- as I expect to be diving the rest of the week…. but the local forecast was calling for an 80% chance of rain today and 60% chance the rest of the week….. dammit Emmit~! I finished up a most righteous breakfast of French Toast, sausage and Bacon with a big ole glass of milk and settled in smugly knowing I could let my big ole belly bag out full of that goodness and not have to worry about mowing….. hehehehehe…… wait a minute…. it’s been several hours now, no rain – the sun is shining….. the grass is dry….. DAMMIT Emmit~!! So I waddled my big full belly out and for the next 3 hours, mowed, weed eated and worked around the yard. Tried to go into town to get the ATV yard mowed while I was at it- but circumstances dictated I leave it alone [for now]…….  so I came on back to the house- cooled off, had a shower and scheduled a dinner for my Queen. A place here on our end of the island has started advertising they have Oysters…… OMG-OMG…… we have GOT to get there so my Bride can have Oysters. I confirmed they indeed did have Oysters, made a reservation and after another couple of episodes of Manifest— headed into town for Oysters (for my Queen)~! Got there, got seated…. ordered a couple of drinks and a couple of shrimp cocktails to get us started….. Then on to the main course~!!!  Now one thing I do know about my Queen and her Oysters….. they have to go on a cracker with enough other ‘stuff’ – they don’t really taste like Oysters anymore…….. but that’s how she likes them….. I’m sorry— what’s that ??? What in the HELL do you mean you don’t have any crackers??? How the $%^&*( does an “UPSCALE” joint like this one not have crackers????? Jeez Louise……. Long story short….. my Queen enjoyed her Oysters….. my “famous” fried chicken needs a better publicist.. Fries were decent— Cheese cake was excellent.. chocolate what ever it was needed work and the service was decent….. weirdly…. one of the better experiences we have had at this particular establishment.  Due to the fact they are the ONLY place on the island to get Oysters now….. I’m sure we’ll be going back…… but going to bring crackers with us….. just in case.

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

Normally a day off today- and would have been a day of recuperation after family leaves…. but today was “JR Dive Day” at the shop – and that is almost always a ‘have-to-do’ dive for pictures. Besides – I was ready to take a swim…. after all – it’s been a couple of days since my last dive  😉  I opted to skip the 2 morning dives…. primarily because my touchas was draggin’ from a hectic week and besides that- the boat was packed~! I think I may have mentioned before, I do not like the boat when it’s crowded….. for multiple reasons. So, I waited until the 1 afternoon dive today, the JR dive boat. This is a day the shop sets aside each month, so the young kids can come out and dive. It is also a great time to for the parents to go on a dive with their kids and get in some real quality time with them. It’s always a fun dive and lots of fun on the boat as well. The little folks get an extra special kick out being able to jump off the top of the boat after diving. Outside of some pretty ugly rain showers after we got up out of the water – you couldn’t have asked for a nicer day….. The dive went well checking out the Shallow Wrecks, visibility was good and almost no current~! Perfect~! I got lots of pictures and just not got them put up……. now some time to write. I am taking tomorrow off. The plan was to get the mowing caught back up again, but I guess we have a week of rain coming at us – so we’ll see if I get the mowing done or not. I have several other odds and ends [inside] I need to contend with if it does rain…. or I can just sit and do nothing. I go back to ‘work’ Tuesday again.

I found a bunch of pictures of Steph and Josh’s visit that I forgot I had, so I need to get them edited so I can share them with you. For now—- I’m gonna enjoy this nice cool breeze blowing through the house…. may even try and get in a late movie……

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