Floating with Friends!

Keeping cool on the Comal yesterday with friends, Karen and Jimmy! We arrived early and got in a relaxing float before the crowds arrived. Lunch was on the bank of the river under the shade of a big tree.....fried chicken, potato salad, pickles, and fresh fruit....sure did taste good! Later we did another long float! Then we cleaned up and headed to Clear Springs Cafe for burgers and onion rings. Good friends, good food, and two good floats with our guys! A great way to spend a smoking hot day in Texas!!!!

400th dive with Lady Go Divers!!!!!

Off to Bonaire  July 19-26 with the Lady Go Divers for our annual dive trip.  I met up with some of the gals at the Houston airport and we flew down together.  Arriving we checked in, had dinner, and crashed.  After breakfast, a dive orientation, check out dive, it was time for our first dive.  We were assigned to the Sea Queen with Luis and Rudd for the week.
On the third dive on Monday I completed my 400th dive and the gals surprised me a celebration and champagne on the boat, plus a bag of ice on my head.  Earlier we had a photo taken to mark this special occasion......and no I didn't dive naked!  It was great celebrating this special event with a great group of gals.

The diving on Bonaire is so easy, with most dives lasting at least one hour.  We had the opportunity to dive the Hilma Hooker wreck and the Salt Pier during the week.  We saw lots of seahorses, frog fish, turtles, and eels.  The water was about 80* for most of the week.  I had a chance to take lots of photos and managed to get some good shots.  We ate out a couple of times and relaxed around the pool a few nights with some snacks and wine.  The pool was always a gathering place for our group.
My roommate, DJ and I got along fine, and even endured our room problems with a laugh.   We had rented a studio and enjoyed being near the dive operation.
On our last day we did two morning dives, grabbed a quick lunch, then did a kayaking trip in the mangroves.  The mangroves serve as a hatchery for the fish and our guide even had us snorkel in the mangroves.  Back at the resort, we showered and then it was off to our farewell dinner with Luis and Rudd.....the night ended with a yummy cup of gelato.
Up very, very early and off to the airport....we said our goodbyes!  The trip was great fun, great diving, and all with an amazing group of women!

Floating the Fourth on the Comal!

Karen and I decided to begin our Fourth of July Celebration a little early, and floated the Comal a day early to beat the throngs of folks expected!!! In honor of the birthday of our nation we decorated our hats, and color coordinated our outfits...proudly showing off the red, white, and blue! The sun was hot...but the cool water of the Comal was refreshing! We got lots of compliments on our outfits...but maybe a few folks just thought we were CRAZY OLD LADIES! We told everyone it was the 4th .....blaming our day early celebration on having a Senior Moment! Karen proudly wore her "Green Frog Feet"....she loves those darn things! We had a blast and enjoy a hamburger and yummy onion rings at Clear Springs Cafe! Long day, but safely back home with lots of good memories!

Great Folks and Awesome Diving...Eels on Wheels 2014

Dale dropped me off at the airport in Houston where I joined other members of the Eels on Wheels group for a dive trip to Bonaire.  We arrived.....my roommate, Patsy and I checked into our room, unpacked, and headed to dinner.  Up the next morning we had orientation after breakfast and had the option to do a checkout dive on the house reef.  I was on the Sea Queen with a great group of folks, definitely the best group and best boat!  Our divemasters Max and Luis were both great, and put up with our craziness for the whole week.  This year we had only 5 folks in chairs on the trip....seems most that didn't make it had some type of conflict going on...hope to see them next year.
I logged 16 dives during the week and enjoyed some great diving.  We got to dive the Salt Pier twice, which is an awesome dive site with lots to see.  Several dives were made on Klein Bonaire during the week.  We saw octopus, turtles, seahorses, eels, squid, and lots more!  The water was about 81* most of the week with pretty calm seas, no current, and pretty decent visibility.  We got in about one hour of bottom time on each dive.

We did three dives a day....so it was check in at 7:45 am with the boat leaving at 8:00 am for two dives.  Returning around noon, we enjoyed lunch and relaxed before it was time to check in at 1:45 pm with the boat leaving at 2:00 pm for one afternoon dive.  Then it was pool time before cleaning up for dinner at the resort.
Town was a short walk, Patsy and I did some shopping and stopped to enjoy some delicious gelato.  Our final night we all walked to a wonderful restaurant for some great food and lots of laughs.  Pick up for the airport was at 5:15 am with the flight home at 7:00 am....making for a long day.
We had a great time....got in some AWESOME diving.....invented the famous Ponche Cuba Crema Chupacabra drink, spotted the illusive White Moon Fish, and took a poll to see if the Speedo made Joe's butt look big!  There was never a dull moment!  I laughed so hard I cried....what a fun group!

Limited Out!

Limited out! Put the boat in the water about 7:30 am and had SIX nice reds in the ice chest by 12:38 pm....now that is a great day of fishing! We even had time for our picnic lunch out on the water! Back at the dock, we had a visitor at the fish cleaning stand looking for some fresh sushi! Home now, boat washed, and fish in the ice box!

Five on Ice!

Up early, we were off to POC to replenish our fish supply that was getting low! Cloudy skies, a howling wind, and a chill in the air when running across the bay....almost seemed like a bad omen for fishing! With no luck at our first spot, we ran the shoreline in hopes of spotting some fish....nothing! Heading to a new spot, Dale spotted 3 Whooping Cranes along the shoreline, we stopped to watch and I tried to get some photos. They are highly protected by the government, so we stayed far enough away as not to disturb them. Two flew over our heads as they crossed the bay......big birds!!! Finally we managed to land a nice red and had him on ice, but fishing was slow! We fished and fished, with no luck.....stopping for a break to enjoy our picnic lunch. Back at it, Dale and I soon both had really nice fish on, and after a fight, we had them in the ice chest! Yahoo! Drifting back across the bay we landed two more fish and were celebrating our good luck, after such a slow start! We tried to catch one more, but had to settle for 5 nice Reds! The legal limit is 6! I also got to use my Hot Pink Fish Lip Grippers that Dale gave me for my birthday......Wow they work great! What started as a really slow fishing day, turned out great! Fish cleaned, back home, boat washed and fresh red fish filets in the freezer.

Green Shorts Quest!

Tamara and Dennis invited me to come down to Grand Cayman and stay with them at their condo to get in some diving in the quest for my Green Shorts!  Tamara picked me up at the airport and I was soon settled in and unpacked, looking forward to 10 days of diving.  Dinner the first night was at Eagle Rays across the street....very good food with other divers.
We were scheduled to dive on Ocean Hawk and it was good to see the dive masters and staff of Ocean Frontiers.  It was ten days of unusual weather and diving conditions...making it difficult to get in the dive sites that I needed.  I had never done much drift diving in Grand Cayman, but this trip we did several times.  In fact, we had quite an exciting drift dive with a rip, roaring current one day.  Kevin, the dive master said we traveled over a mile underwater and covered seven dive sites.  Not the greatest conditions for underwater photography, but it was like flying underwater.  The week held some really rough boat rides, lots of surface current, and one day we ended our final dive in a squall with the boat pitching heavily up and down....making getting back on-board difficult!!
Chef Dennis prepared some wonderful meals for us....he sure does love to cook and entertain....really spoiled me!  Tamara and I held down the pool after a day of diving....sleeping, reading, and relaxing!
We did attend the Diver's Night Buffet at Eagle Rays with the gang...great food!   A lunch at Kurt's Korner one day for some great local food.
Dennis left a few days before Tamara and I....had to go back to work!  I ended up with a total of 24 dives, getting 6 marked off my Green Shorts Challenge List!   Leaving only 5 dives sites to go!  Great fun, good diving, with good friends!