Morning After the Two Weeks Before

We are back home in Maryland.

After over two weeks of vacation we returned safely home to resume life.

Our home, despite hosting at least three parties while we were away, was in fantastic shape. All told there were only three causalities--all plants, while we were away. Which is good for any vacation during the highest heat of the summer.

The signature symbol of Jupiter is the lighthouse. Designed by Gen George G. Meade to provide safe passage to mariners, it now provides passage for me to my happy place. The place where everything seems to be right with the world and I am able to blot out negative thoughts for a time.

Maybe it is a small preview of heaven, in that sense.

Chris snapped this image on our last evening in Jupiter--I have lots of images of the lighthouse in daylight, but she had the idea to get it at night--and it is an awesome shot.

A beacon to navigate the dark night.

A memory to grasp and hold onto during the hectic days of life--a place where I am unhurried and the biggest decision of the day is whether we go to the beach at 8:30 am or 9:00 am.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring as I head back into work and resume my 50 week per year life. But, I am armed with many memories and fully relaxed and ready to tackle the challenges that I will inevitably face.

But the lighthouse is the signal to help me to find my way back.

South Carolina dawn

After a fitful night's sleep in a hotel near Savannah, we are back on the road.

The last leg of the trip back to the day-to-day grind and farther from vacation.

Yesterday we were snorkeling the warm Atlantic and today we are looking at a ribbon of highway in front of us.

Home is ahead of us and fantasy is behind as we travel the road through purgatory from one world to the other.

All good things end I guess to remind us that they are good things.

OK, I do miss my dog.



Sent from my iPhone

Jupiter in my Rearview Mirror

Well we are on our way back to Maryland. Hard to believe. We are currently stuck in traffic north of Cocoa Beach due to an accident. We've lost about 20 minutes.

I can't believe my love affair with the ocean is now on hold for probably another year.

We just drove by the accident the had the road closed and it was on the other side of the road. Our lanes were closed for the medivac helo. It was a horrific two car accident. We said a prayer for those involved in the accident.

It put a real downer on my vacation's end. But we are going to drive a bit safer.

The image is of Jupiter Island beach this morning. A memory caught in an image.

Just Another Sunny Day in Paradise

Fundamentally, what is wrong with vacations is that they seem to end right when I begin having fun and am fully decompressed and can really enjoy the vacation the most.

The thought of returning to the grind of daily life begins to weigh heavily on me as I write this knowing that in less than 72 hours, I will have a tie around my neck, socks and shoes on my feet, and again be stuffed into a windowless room lighted with the harsh glow of florescent lights.

While this morning--my last on the beach for this vacation, I snorkeled for over two hours with Chris and we had a magnificent day. We played with birds and urchins on the beach, we saw a huge barracuda, and a 6 foot lemon shark and then had a manatee swim within 10 feet of us. Had my underwater camera not been toasted a few days ago, I would have images to match these memories--but alas, they are only memories.

Chris called it the best day snorkeling ever! I agree. I decided not to go diving so I could snorkel with Chris and God did not disappoint us with the diversity, size, and ferocity of the marine life we saw.

And so, as the packing out moves into a frenzy--I have fond memories of a great vacation which showed me so many different things and taught me about the fizz in my life as well and the constants. I'll write about the fizz soon.

Mostly, I got in touch with my real self again--if even for only a few moments on the beach mindlessly watching the waves.

I was mostly in the moment--not thinking about what was going to happen but just enjoying what was happening. I even got bothered when people asked me about the "plan." Ugh. Plan was in the future and I just wanted to enjoy the moment, or the bird, or the fish, turtle, manatee, or shark.

But even now, my mind is looking towards the trek back to Maryland and the life I have for 50 weeks a year.

It is a long trek--but I will ride spectacular memories of family, friends, and awe at God's creation.

The Turtle Whisperer

Just Hatched and Looking for the Ocean

Crawling Across the Beach

Off to the Deep Ocean

First Contact with the Surf

Missed the First Wave--Waiting for the Next One

She did it again this morning.

Found little turtle hatchlings on the beach after a nest had an eruption.

The Turtle Whisperer

The weather this morning was awesome--a second day in a row of pristine snorkeling conditions--but first, we had to rescue, or rather watch, some small turtles make their way to the ocean to begin the swim to the Sargasso Sea where they will grow and mature.

It really is amazing though--they dig themselves out of the nest, crawl across 50 yards of no easy to navigate beach and then into the ocean! But once they hit the water, they really begin to motor and these little guys can really motor!

One of the pictures here is of a hatchling just breaking the surface of the sand and the Turtle Whisperer was there to capture the moment.

we spent a long time this morning watching the turtles from at least three nests make their way to the surf. Sadly, the Turtle Whisperer could not save one hatchling which became caught in the sea grass drying on the beach and was plucked up as breakfast for a big black crow.

Mini-Lobster Season

Today, July 28th was the first day of the mini-lobster season here in Florida.

The pictures highlight the ending for one unlucky lobster--left dead on the beach after having its tail removed.

Spiny lobsters do not have claws like Maine lobsters do, but their tails are every as bit good to eat.

The ocean was alive today with boats, snorkelers, and divers looking for lobsters as private citizens get two days before the opening of the commercial lobster season.

We met a guy on the beach today who had a lobster in his bag and saw one out on the reef as we were snorkeling earlier in the day. If I had not destroyed my underwater camera I would have taken a picture of it--but alas, my camera suffered from unplanned exposure to sea water when the housing failed for some unknown reason.

I hate seeing the results of this type of harvesting--half a lobster washed up on the beach. I love to eat lobster, but seeing this really caused me to question why I continue to eat lobster since we use only a small portion of the total animal.

But, that is just the way it is--having a season protects them so they can reproduce and we do not take the species to extinction in over harvesting.

Usually, we hear of four or five divers who die lobstering--and those numbers aren't available yet.

But--it is a season like deer season in Pennsylvania and trout season in New York.

Lots of people took the day off from work to go hunting lobster.

I just wanted to take pictures of them--

But fish are food, not friends.

Inception Movie Review

The movie Inception is a movie which while full of action, is not a mindless trip to the theater.

I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but I found his acting to be stellar in this sci-fi movie which requires the movie goer to stay engaged and understand the movie.

Director Christopher Nolan has engineered a true thinking movie and at 2:28 running time it can get almost exhausting before it is over.

The plot is as follows: Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. Written by Warner Bros. Pictures

The cast seemed well suited to the task of pulling this complex plot off. DiCaprio gives an excellent performance as Cobb assisted by his close aid Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Michael Caine stops by to play Cobb's father-in-law and former professor.

The movie really moves along very nicely at time at almost a frantic pace--except for the end which begins to drag some as the pieces of the plot come together. Some of final scenes are just to long--I checked my watch during them as it just seemed to go on and on in a plodding sort of way. It seemed as if they spent a lot of money filming these scenes and decided they couldn't cut them down--but the length of the action and the violence begin to detract from the movie. They were out of character from the rest of the movie which is very crisp and focused.

The ending, no I'm not going to reveal anything, works on multiple levels and fostered spirited discussion among our friends as to the clues which were left in the ending to help the viewer determine what happened.

Be prepared to think and actively watch if you see this movie. The viewer will be lost if they are expecting the usual Hollywood fare of mindless action.

RECOMMENDATION: See this movie. There is violence (a lot of it). Probably not suited for the under 13 crowd who will not be able to follow the plot.

Bird Brained

Most everyone knows that flamingos are one of my favorite birds.

I don't know why--they just are.

I have a pink flamingo statue on my desk at work which greets people who come to visit me.

I just find them to be a very stately acting/looking bird.

I could watch them for hours--but alas, life keeps me moving all to quickly. The other day at Lion Country Safari, I was enjoying the flamingos and snapped a few images to remind me of the visit.

No--we do not have pink flamingo statues in our yard or gardens.

Yes, I do have a pretty unique pink flamingo wine bottle holder that I bought at the West Palm Beach airport twice! The first one got broken a few years ago and I replaced it.

Yes, by the way, the flamingo is drunk!

You Talking to Me?

Sometimes we take images that just scream out a caption and make me laugh, like this one.

We were driving through Lion Country Safari, and these water buffalo's were enjoying a dip on the start of another hot day. As we drove by this one looked right at us as if to ask:

"You talkin' to me?"

I think he could have made any response to my answer to his question stick, so we stayed silent and kept driving.

He remained cool and did not pursue.

Manatee Surprise

It seems that every day of this vacation is filled with some new unexpected surprise. Most of them good--except for the sunscreen failure we suffered.

Today we were treated to a very rare treat.

A herd of manatees chose to spend some time sunning themselves very close to us on the beach. It was a surprise as there were about 10 manatees in the herd. They had been playing about 100 yards offshore and when spooked by a boater who came too close and probably sis not see them. We had seen the herd playing out in the water and spent a lot of time trying to decide what type of animal it was.

Fortunately, they decided to come close--about 50 feet offshore onto the rocks near us and I was vindicated when everyone else saw they were manatees--which is what I had postulated.

They are huge!

Some had fresh wounds--although from what we do not know--it could have been the barnacles on the rocks or something else.

As close as they were, we really did not want to disturb the herd as it had definitely assembled for some purpose and stayed close together until their departure when they went in many different directions.

They continued to play off shore for a long while--separately. The herd had dissolved into a separate groups of single and paired manatees playing in the warm, late-July Atlantic Ocean.

It was really very cool to see these gentle giants playing together, just offshore.

We had read an article last week that the cold weather of the past winter had killed many manatees and so seeing this herd gather together was a good reminder that nature has a way of surviving.