Wastin’ away again….

The weekend was perfect…well, almost perfect. We left for the Keys Friday afternoon. Alex drove and Steve, Bert and I were passengers. We were all looking forward to a great weekend of diving. We got to Key Largo and checked in at the Bayside Inn around 8:00pm. We headed over to Sushi Nami for dinner and then I went back to the room to put together my camera and get ready for Saturday morning. We were up and ready for the 7am departure on Saturday and headed for the Islamorada Bakery for breakfast. Let me just say…YUMMM!! After breakfast, we headed to the boat at Ocean Quest Divers to begin our day of diving. There was virtually no wind and seas were almost flat. Visibility was exceptional, as the conditions had been this way for a number of days.

Jason touring The Eagle

Our first dive was on The Eagle. Although the seas were virtually flat, there was definitely a current. I was lucky to buddy up with Jason and his wife Brianna. I’ve known Jason for a while and we dove together in Mexico, but I had never met Brianna. Let me just say she is like a long lost sister. We had many laughs over the weekend and I’m sure Jason regrets that we met. So, I dropped down the line first, followed by Brianna and Jason. We hit the wreck and the strong current was obvious. That didn’t stop us for exploring. All the good stuff, unfortunately, was on the side of the wreck with all the current, so we really couldn’t hide from it. No worries, we still made our way along the wreck and it was just beautiful. There were tons of fish and the coral growth was outstanding. Way too soon it was time to hit the line and head back up to the boat. I was pushing the camera, so I had sucked down more gas, faster than J&B, so I headed up the line while they finished up. It seems that the current got even stronger while we were down on the wreck, but again, it wasn’t horrible.

Brianna explores The Eagle

On the boat, we drank lots of water and headed over to our next site, Hens and Chickens. We knew we were in for a treat, as we could count the fish on the reef from the boat. The visibility was pretty much perfect and there was no current and flat seas. This reef is protected, so there is no fishing there. This was one of the best reefs I’d ever been on. It was teaming with life. We saw nurse sharks, fish of all kinds, a turtle (a big one), lobsters, moray and spotted eels, rays, you name it. It was pretty much an hour long deco stop, as I don’t think I ever hit much more then 20 feet. The diving was so relaxing. I’ve never been to the Keys in the summer. I’ve always been in the winter, so I’ve always worn a wetsuit. When I dive the caves it is always a wetsuit or drysuit. It was a treat for me to dive with just board shorts and an under aarmor to protect the ink from the sun.

Hens and Chickens Reef

We headed back to the dock and then off to lunch at Hog Heaven. I had THE best sesame chicken salad going. The real draw of this salad was the dressing, a delicious Cucumber Wasabi dressing. After a short lunch, it was back to the boat for the afternoon dives. The first dive of the afternoon was Crocker Wall. This site was really more of a valley than a wall, but it was still beautiful. Again the visibility, seas and current all cooperated.

Alex being Zen at Hens and Chickens

On this dive, I saw an even larger sea turtle just sitting on the bottom getting cleaned by fish. I was able to approach him slowly and got pretty close before he decided to circle me and check me out. He stayed close as I swam around in circles like a madman snapping his photo. Jason found an anchor. For the second dive of the afternoon, we hit a reef known as Davey Crocker. It was also beautiful and clear. The fish were out in force and seemed happy to see us.

After the dives, we headed back to the Bayside Inn to shower and get ready for dinner. Some went back for Sushi Nami and some of us hit Boardwalk Pizza in Islamorada, which has excellent food and a great staff. Back at the the hotel, it was time for lights out and dreaming of the great day of diving we had and the new one ahead. Sunday morning saw us back at Islamorada Bakery for breakfast. The Morning Gloria was my breakfasst of choice and perfect for a day of diving. Fresh fruit with yogurt, granola, and a mini muffin. Yummy!!!

Turtle in flight

We were back at the boat ready to cast off at 8:30, unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and we had to wait for two of the group, so we ended up leaving at 9:30. Captain Sonny took us to a site he called Alligator Deep for the first dive. It was supposed to be a deep wall dive, but was more like a sort of sloping dive. Had to swim 15 minutes to get down to 85 feet. No biggie, saw some awesome sights.

Diver down

The most impressive was the school of Eagle rays that swam by us. They were really big and it was awesome to watch them silently glide by. Unfortunately, we were too far away to get any good shots. It was really amazing to watch, however. We also saw a few other smaller groups of them and a few singles. This site didn’t have much in the way of teeming life like the other reefs did. It was a lot of sandy areas with nothing. When we got back in the boat, we headed for Alligator Ledge. Now this was a beautiful reef. There was so much to see on this ledge. I had great spotters. Brianna, Jason and Alex, would signal me if they saw anything good, and I would try to get it’s photo. There were some nurse sharks, tons of lobster, eels, fish everywhere, sea urchins, it was really beautiful and so peaceful. After the dive, we peeled off our gear and then some of us jumped back in and just floated on the surface waiting for the other to surface. It was the best time.

Sea turtle glides around me

Alligator Ledge Reef

Unfortunately, it was marred by one person in the group. He was also taking photos and I was really perturbed as I watched him poke a 8-10 inch plastic shark into a hole in the reef repeatedly. Obviously, he was molesting the sea life. I’m not sure, with all of the sea life around him, why he needed to poke. When we got back on the boat, I asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was poking at a spotted eel to get him to come out for a better photo. He said, “you do whatever it takes to get the photo”. What an incredible ASSHOLE!! I was not happy. I said that there really is no need to antagonize the wild life to get photos, just take photos of whatever you can see. He said, that wasn’t how he operates…that’s because he operates like an ASSHOLE!!! This guy was without a doubt the biggest jerk I’ve ever had the displeasure to dive with. In addition to his complete disregard for the life on the reef, he also was arrogant and obnoxious. He treated his dive buddy like a piece of dirt, and he NEVER shut up. When I say NEVER, I mean he was talking out loud to the air on the boat and nobody was even listening, the whole time, every damn second. On every dive, if you found something good, he was right there pushing you out of the way to get a photo. I pretty much just shook my head and groaned for the whole trip until the last dive, which was completely uncalled for. Sad, really.

Unmolested Moray Eel waiting for lunch to swim by

Anyhoo, after the last dive, we packed up and headed back on the long 5-6 hour drive to Tampa. I hate the ride home, but it was worth it. The conditions were perfect, the diving was awesome, there were great friends along (not counting the asshole), the food was good, the accomodations were comfortable, and I didn’t have to drive. I’m already looking forward to my next trip to the keys.

Brianna explores Alligator Ledge Reef

Rednecks love a man in a bikini

Let’s start things of by acknowledging that I’m nuts. There is not doubt about it, I’m pretty much crazy and have no shame about it. So, just over a week ago, when some friends and I got into a conversation about tubing down the river, things went downhill fast. It started with Brian declaring that he wanted to tube instead of dive while we were getting fills at the dive shop. I suggested that my pasty while body would not do well floating down the river and I’d end up a french fry by the end of the day. Cheryl suggested I should cover up, and then somehow we ended up talking about wearing a pink bikini down the river on a tube. From the minute the thought came into being and was voiced, I knew it must be done.

Tubing at Ginnie Springs, courtesy Amanda Cotton

Everyone laughed at the though of my fat white ass in a bikini. They even started showing me potential fashion as we stopped into the Ginnie Springs store. This past week, I spent time looking for the perfect bikini and accessories and enlisting the help of friend and awesome professional photographer, Amanda Cotton, with her trusty partner and “monkey” Jeff Schreiber. Amanda immediately agreed to photograph the event, and we even started teasing it on Facebook. She posted she was doing a bikini model shoot and she had offers from lots of guys to be her assistant. We laughed.

Smoke on the water

I started at Wal-Mart to find the perfect bikini. I wanted to stay far away from a thong bottom (there is art and then there is visual napalm). I found a pair of bikini trunks and a non-matching neon bikini top. When I got them home, I found out that an XL women’s bottom was too big for me….go figure. So, I had to bring them back and told the customer service person they were too big for me. Imagine the look on their face, when I went and exchanged them for a smaller pair of even brighter women’s bikini bottoms. I also acquired a cigar, a tall boy of Bud Light, some pretty awesome sunglasses, a pair of hot pink flip flops, and a floppy straw hat. “The look” was complete.

Buxom Bikini Model

I showed up on Saturday morning and met Amanda and Jeff. Amanda was excited for the shoot, and Jeff was a little freaked out I have to say, Jeff was a really good sport about the whole thing. I know he had a good time. We decided to do the bikini shoot first and then dive where both Amanda and I would shoot underwater photos in the cave. Amanda got her camera together while I readied for my debut as a bikini model. I got the cigar out, poured out the beer and filled it with gatorade (yes the beer can is just a prop), and put on the bikini. Amanda came over to do the catch on my bikini top and then we were off to shoot.

Acknowledging my public

I have to say, I don’t think I’ve had that much fun in a very long time. We posed and walked all over. I had two photographers shooting (Amanda with her camera and Jeff with mine). It looked like an actualy photo shoot. I found out that one of the staff actually radioed up to the main office “Tell Rose there is a guy down here in a bikini and there are photographers with him”

We made our way to the water with my tube and Amanda got in the water with me and her underwater camera rig. She did some great shots in the water, that I am thrilled with. We laughed and took photos for a while. The cave divers in the water were noticeably apprehensive. They really had no idea what to make of the whole thing. I rested my feet on some Cypress stumps, which I later learned housed a water moccasin.

Amanda was laughing the whole time, and I was choking on the nasty cigar in my mouth.

Bikini Model Cover Shot

Relaxing at Ginnie Springs

After the in water shots we headed back to the parking area where we went out on the roadway to get some reactions. I have to say, the rednecks, they love a man in a bikini. They were going by with their Redneck flags flying high and they would catch a sight of me and slow down, hooting and hollering. The girls appeared a little jealous, but the guys were big fans, almost too big.

Communing with the Red Necks

We then walked to the far entrance to the water to get more reactions. The tubers went nuts. This was the scene of one of the funniest interchanges of the day. Some guy yelled “You’re so hot, that is awesome, show us the backside” So, I turned around and shook the money maker and then he yelled “Now, that’s just gay”. I was dying. I got in the water and got mowed down by a few people putting tubes in the water, which made things even funnier.

Hanging with the tubers

We headed back to the car and took a few more shots as I got out of the bikini and said goodbye to the bikini….for now at least

No, Jeff, it's not "that kind of photo shoot"

We then geared up and headed to the water to dive in the caves. It was going to be dueling dome ports. I must confess, I had camera envy. I have a 6 inch dome port and Amanda has an 8 inch. Trust me, 2 inches makes a world of difference. So, we headed into the cave and Amanda got some awesome shots of me. These were the first really good underwater shots taken of me. I’m always behind the lens, which is where I prefer to be anyhow.

Me coming out of the Corn Flakes

Jeff and I in the Gallery

Me on Deco in the Eye

I was able to get some decent shots of Jeff and Amanda, although they are not as awesome as Amanda’s. That’s why she is the professional. I was very fortunate to be able to shoot with her. After the first dive, Jeff took all our tanks to get fills and amazingly got the same parking space when he returned (it was a parking zoo). We did a second dive, and I left the camera, while Amanda took hers.

Amanda with her rig

Jeff might be stuck

Amanda and Jeff pulling thorough the Eye

After diving, we dried off and headed to The Great Outdoors for dinner. We shared some laughs over the day’s adventures and shared some great conversation. As we left, we talked about getting together again soon (although probably without the bikini). I had an amazing day, and was happy to spend it with great friends like Amanda and Jeff.

Me with my camera

PS- Please check out Amanda’s website and blog, as she is one of the most talented people I know. You won’t be disappointed!!

Coming out of the dark, and going in, and coming out again

I haven’t touched a camera since Mexico. To be honest, I haven’t felt like touching one. Over the past month, I’ve been distracted and off. I won’t lie, I still miss Chief. I think about him all the time and still wish he were here. But, I also know that things are looking up. 99 is doing much much better and is getting back to her old self. As I write, she is outside barking at something…anything….constantly. Max is sitting at my feet working a bone. Tonight, they will jump up on the bed and crowd me out until everyone settles in, and in the morning, they will wake me with kisses and wagging tails.

Ginnie Springs recovering from flood

So, yesterday, it was time to get back behind the camera. I headed up to Ginnie Springs to dive with Sam and Ryan. I told them that I was bringing the camera and we could get some shots. When I got there, Sam had Gibby with him and he joined in. The Santa Fe has recently flooded, so the water was up at Ginnie and the flow was down. Winter is clearly over, as the drunk tubers were back in force. Nothing says “you’re my BFF” like a chick yackin’ on her friend’s feet, while said friend holds her hair back. Seriously, the quiet peaceful Ginnie of the winter months is gone and replaced by…well….drunk messes.

Diver descending through tannic water at Devil's Ear

We geared up and headed to the water. I was stoked, as river flooding means lots of tannic water over Devil’s Ear. I was not disappointed. The water and the sun cooperated nicely. The tannic water was thick and swirling and I didn’t actually see the deco log until I was about 2 feet away from it. Those were perfect conditions for a few photos.

Diver descends through tannic water at Devil's Ear

We then hit the Eye which was clear and took a few shots before diving into the cave. The flow was way down and the cave was peaceful with a greenish tint. Overall it was a beautiful day with great dives. I’m glad I took the camera. Not my best day of shooting, but I got a few that I was very happy with and that is all you can hope for.

Divers exiting Devil's Eye

Snorkler in Devil's Eye

Wake up

One of my favorite movies is Donnie Darko. It starts with a voice telling Donnie to “wake up”. As we learn throughout the movie there has been a rift in time/space and it is up to Donnie to put things right. Donnie needs to “wake up” to see what needs to be done to fix the past and restore the present. I know, kind of out there, but one of my favorites still. The premise of going back and doing something different that results in a different present has been in the back of my head all week. I really want to wake up and find this has all been an elaborate dream, er nightmare.

99 has been hanging in there. She is eating a bit more and drinking plenty of water. It’s clear she is in a lot of pain. She can’t lift her head when she walks and can barely make it up and down the stairs to go out and do her thing. Her swelling has not gone down any. It is really painful just to look at. She is, of course, a dignified lady and is carrying herself that way. I know that on the inside she’s in pain. The tears in her eyes are a giveaway. I spend a lot of time on the floor laying next to her and just scratching the top of her head. Last night she kissed my hand, and she even barked at one point, which I took as a good sign. We’re going to take it slow and hope that she’ll get back to her old self in time. The vet has warned me that she is old and may never be fully how she was before the attack. I don’t care. As long as I haven’t lost her, I’m happy.

Through all of this, Max has been a champ. It’s pretty clear that he knows something is not right. I’ve been keeping him separated from 99 so that she doesn’t strain herself. He doesn’t like that. He is such a sweet guy, though. Yesterday, I was working in the office and I heard him whining from the bedroom. I went in and he was sitting on the floor whining, looking up at the TV. I realize that I had not turned it on, which I normally do. I turned it on, and he started waging his tail, jumped up in the bed, settled down with his head on the pillow and proceeded to watch TV. He sleeps with me at night and always cuddles up next to me for some belly rubs. When I can’t control the tears, he is there to kiss them away, always patting me on the head with his paw. He is really a bright spot in my life.

The whole situation with Chief still seems like a bad dream that I want to end. Little things remind me of him. I haven’t had the heart to break down his crate or put away his food and water bowls. I started to yesterday but just couldn’t do it. Time….more time….. Today I picked up my keys and his collar with his tags got caught on them and fell on the floor at my feet. Everywhere there are reminders. And so, in many ways, I wish I were Donnie Darko and could make things alright again. Wish I could make some sacrifice that would bring back Chief and make 99 whole and healed. But that’s the movies, not reality. So instead, I’ve got to do it the hard way. I’ve got to just take it a day at a time. I’m not unfamiliar with the concept, just not always patient enough to let the healing occur at its own pace. Still, I’ve got 99 and Max and for that I am grateful. The rest is just up to the universe.

I have also been sad to know of Chris’ baby, Brutis. He’s been very sick in the vet hospital at UF and they still don’t know what’s wrong. I really feel for Chris and for Brutis. He is a lot like Chief, lots of energy, lots of love, and always has a smile (you really can tell when they are smiling). I hope that Brutis has a speedy recovery for his sake and Chris’.