Hula

Here's a cool pic from our honeymoon. We had front row seats at a luau one night.

Pictured Rocks

Can you see the Indian?.....I'm ready to go paddling.

Numbers

Maybe I've lost my mind, but I just spent $10 on batteries for a 14 year old calculator. I could buy a brand new calculator for less than $10, but it wouldn't be my trusty hp28s that I struggled to learn RPN on 14 years ago.

I hope one day that I will be as attached to my CD Gulfstream, as I am to this calculator. I have rolling instruction at an indoor pool scheduled for the 26th of February with Black Parrot Paddling. If I struggle as much learning how to roll as I did learning RPN, I may indeed be permantly bonded to my Gulfstream.

Honeymoon

We're back from our honeymoon! We spent a week on the island of Kauai. The weather was beautiful, about 80F for a high every day with a nice breeze to make it feel real comfortable. We took in all of the sights with all of the standard excursions: Boat ride to Na Pali coast, where we saw humpback whales, spinner dolphins, and green sea turtles. A great Luau with front row seats. A presentation of the musical "South Pacific". I even got to do a little kayaking. Yvette doesn't paddle, and really wanted to have a spa day, so we went our separate ways for a couple of hours. I took a guided tour up the Wailua river 2 miles and then a hike into the jungle another mile to "Secret Falls" where the group ate lunch and swam under the falls. Our guide provided a detailed explanation of the flora and fauna, including both native species and those pesky non-native species brought there by man. We also spent plenty of time at the beach and around the hotel pool trying to darken up our pasty-white office tans. We used plenty of SPF 30, so as not to burn, but then didn't get very tan either. Oh well, I guess you're not really supposed to get a tan on your honeymoon anyway, right? ;-}

Der Reckoning

Oh the joy. Four cavities requiring fillings, one broken tooth requiring a crown, two impacted wisdom teeth, the other two wisdom teeth are crowding their neighbors, and one of them is rotting away, all four requiring extraction.........Serves me right for not seeing a dentist in a very long time.

Oh yeah, and I need to stop grinding my teeth.

Indoor Archery

Indoor Archery season has begun. Another of my favorite distractions. I get to "hang with the guys" and try to prove myself the better archer. This is a "traditional league" meaning sticks and strings only. No machines of any kind, and no sights, instinctive shooting only. We are not very serious shooters, and we do try to have a lot of fun, but everyone in the photo appears to be concentrating very hard. It is only the first week! 12 weeks of this will help pass the time until warmer weather melts the ice.

Snowshoes

My friends and family always seem to know exactly what I want for Christmas. They are painfully aware that I like the outdoors. So they get me gift cards to stores that specialize in outdoor gear. Truth is, they don't have a clue what to get me, but they know I am happy with the gift cards. So this year I picked out a couple of cool items.

Snowshoes are something that I have wanted for awhile. So I picked out a pair for a large heavy person, and now I plan to try to get some fresh air and exercise this winter, while changing the scenery a little bit. This picture of me, was taken by my brother a couple of years ago. I plan to day-hike sections of the same trail this winter until its warm enough to paddle again. This trail is about 47 miles long one way, and is maintained by a local Boyscout troop. I have walked its entirety once before, in sections, both ways, on weekend afternoons.

I also bought a Tilley hat, because I need to stop burning the tops of my ears when I paddle.

I also got a new tow-belt for kayaking.

I also bought both of the DVD's This is the Sea and This is the Sea 2, and I have been watching them non-stop. It's cool to see people that I have met and paddled with, paddling on a world famous video production.

Pictures

I like blogs with pictures. Here's a nice blog with some great pictures. I wish I could paddle in Michigan, in December, on a river, while wearing shorts. The ice fishermen have been out on my local lakes, the water here is very hard.
Above is a picture of my friend Barry at Drummond Island.

Happily Married

We Interrupt This Winter....

Just day-dreaming about paddling. Miners Castle, Lake Superior.

Will You Marry Me?

I am reminded of an advertisement that I saw once, it said: "Ask her to marry you again." Of course this ad was referring to a three stone anniversary ring, but I liked the thought of the surprise and romance and joy that would bring. So I am going to do just that, right here and right now. "Yvette, will you marry me?"

A Happy Birthday

I celebrated my birthday with my fiance on 29 November 2005. First thing in the morning Yvette gave me my birthday present, a shiny new Pentax Optio WP, now I can be a proper kayaker/photo-blogger. We then drove a couple hours north to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and visited the casino where I converted $100 in twenties into $80 in quarters. Yvette didn't fare as well, but didn't lose her entire $100 either. We then went to a nice "brew pub" that was recommended by my good friend Don the Pit Boss, where I had the Cajun chicken fettuccini and a Cow Catcher Amber Ale and Yvette had the BBQ brisket , garlic mashed potatoes and water. Afterwards we went to the movie theater and saw "Walk the Line". I do enjoy spending birthdays with someone special.