Just a silly little TR - Run Away!!

[pkondz]

Interesting about the arrows When I go to the Disboards I have it bookmarked to go straight to my User CP page and it shows all my subscribed threads that have been posted to since I was last there. Why don't you go there It's less clicks

that's what I do too. And you can refresh the page and get any new posts afterwards too.

I used to do that, but... I moderate the Dis Caption Contest thread (found here: [thread=2492482]Contest: DIS Caption Contest[/thread]) and if there are no posts since I last logged on, it won't show up in the list. I missed a few deadlines that way. So that's why I prefer to display all my subscriptions.

But yes, going straight to the User CP page would be easier and quicker.

Ponzi, shame about the video, but I'll be waiting patiently.

The chapter's all done and ready to go. I've never done a video before, but I hope it's not too difficult. Should be up around 10 or 11 tonight.

Ok, I get it, bbut that's only on the "list subscriptions" page. How you get there is up to you. Thanks

No problemo.

 

[nebo]

Kinda funny, your comments just now about video.

I just uploaded 80 pictures in less than 5 minutes.

This would have taken me 8 hours before when I was on dial up.

However,,,, even I forget how much energy the videos draw from the dilythium crystals,,, I just sat here staring for about 25 minutes loading 3 short little vids.

 

[pkondz]

However,,,, even I forget how much energy the videos draw from the dilythium crystals,,, I just sat here staring for about 25 minutes loading 3 short little vids.

You do know that you don't have to sit and babysit while it's uploading... right? :

 

[Thumper_Man]

We interrupt this TR to bring you a special event. At 7:35 pm (MST), the Annular Solar Eclipse could be spotted in Rio Rancho, NM. Dogs were unsure as to whether to howl at the moon, or hide scared. Please keep all pets inside until this eclipse is over.

To view this picture, please put on your special glasses now.



Taken by Lady H. More pictures of this event to come later.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled TR.

(Picture taken with a point and shoot digital camera through the solar eclipse viewers)

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Hi, T-Man, missing you and Lady H. here and here and everywhere. Come back soon

 

[pkondz]

We interrupt this TR to bring you a special event. At 7:35 pm (MST), the Annular Solar Eclipse could be spotted in Rio Rancho, NM. Dogs were unsure as to whether to howl at the moon, or hide scared. Please keep all pets inside until this eclipse is over.

To view this picture, please put on your special glasses now.



Taken by Lady H. More pictures of this event to come later.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled TR.

(Picture taken with a point and shoot digital camera through the solar eclipse viewers)

That's really cool Thumper! Thanks for that!

 

[pkondz]

Surfing with sharks… part 1

It was Monday April 16.

This means 3 things:

1. It’s my DDad’s Birthday… and I’m missing it ‘cause I’m in Hawaii. Well, he missed Elle’s birthday ‘cause he was on a Panama cruise so that makes us even… or at least he and Elle are even.

2. This is Ruby’s first day at the conference, so it’s just me and the DDs. Ruby’s idea of action and adventure is shopping. Mine’s not. So while the cat’s away the mice shall play!

3. I’m not good at math when I’m tired… read on.


I had looked at going for a boat ride and had settled on one that left from the North Shore.

Oahu has four distinct areas. The city… that’s Honolulu, it takes up most of the south side of Oahu and all your money. The Windward side, aka the East side, where the wind comes from... and the rain. The Leeward side, opposite the Windward side, aka the West side. And the North Shore, 'cause, really, that's all that's left.

On the boat ride website, it recommends taking the first trip of the day to take advantage of calmer seas and to take Dramamine if prone to motion sickness. Well, Kay sometimes gets a little car sick, but I think she’ll be fine. The ride is only two hours so even if she does get sick, it’ll be over soon.

Uh, huh.

The North Shore is about an hour’s drive north of Honolulu. Our tour starts at 6:30 in the morning (!) and we have to be there 30 minutes early. So let’s see, we have to be there at 6am which means we have to leave the hotel no later than 5am, add 15 minutes or so to gather everything up and get to the hotel parkade, add another 30 – 45 minutes to get up and get dressed, etc…

I set the alarm for 4:45 and fall instantly asleep.



….



Anybody do the math? No? I gave the three of us 15 minutes to get up, get dressed, get ready, get our stuff and get going. !!!

The alarm goes off at 4:45 and I immediately realise that we have to be in the car and on the road in about TEN FREAKING MINUTES!!!! Get up! Get up! Get up! We’ve gotta go now! I screwed up the alarm time! Go! Go! Go! Batten down the hatches! Man the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!!! (Boat ride, remember?)

Bless their hearts those guys can move when they really need to. I’m pretty sure if it was for a dentist appointment, they wouldn’t have moved quite as fast. But this was something that they really wanted to do, well, Kay is usually the slower of the two, and this was her #1 activity, so…

We half ran/half quick walked to the car, dumped everything inside and took off! Thankfully at that time of day there wasn’t too much traffic in Honolulu and we got out of town fairly quickly. It was pitch black out so no pictures of the drive up this time.

We get to Haleiwa on time and pull up to the pier only a minute or so late. Phew! I see a few other people mingling around so I know I’m in the right spot. I didn’t take a picture of the boat, but it’s 32 feet long. There’s the… I feel foolish writing ‘captain’ or ‘skipper’ for such a small boat, but I have no idea what else to call him, so… There’s the skipper and his first mate, there’s a couple from Australia (long way to come… maybe they’re millionaires) and their two kids. Umm… my Gilligan’s Island theme is starting to sink already.

2 crew, a family of four from Australia, a couple from Germany, a father and son, a dude with a big fancy underwater camera and us. I think. I don’t remember for sure. Okay? Sheesh.

What I do remember is that at the start of the tour, the first mate showed us where the life raft was… and that there was only enough room in it for four people. The rest would have to be in the water and hang on to the sides.

Elle vividly remembers this since the first mate mentioned that sharks eat injured fish… and injured fish have fluttering hearts… and if you’re scared of sharks, your heart might flutter too… so if you’re scared, you might want to be in the raft instead of around it.

We head out to open sea, this was the view:

We go a couple of miles out to sea and arrive at our stopping point. After a few seconds, I spot this in the water:

No. It’s not a dolphin.

I have to admit, that after seeing Jaws when I was a kid, and having almost drowned a couple of times… I’m not too crazy about water. Pool water, fine. Lake water, so, so. Ocean water? Hello! Did I not just mention Jaws????

Reminds me of a something I read the other day. “I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.”

I’ve always had a fascination with sharks, though. Even before Jaws was invented. They’re actually beautiful animals. Perfectly designed for what they do… I just don’t want to be the one they’re doing it to.

So of course, we did what anyone would do when there’s a seven foot shark around.

We went in the water.

Did I not mention that the tour was a shark cage tour? Must’ve slipped my mind.


When we arrived at the dive site, the cage was already in the water. The cage is about a square 7 feet wide and 9 feet tall… with 2 feet extending above the water so the big, hungry, people chomping fish can’t get in. The boat ties up to the cage and the first half of the group climbs in. We were in the second group.

Elle was particularly nervous and wasn’t sure if she’d even go in. I had told her that she could stay on the boat if she wanted, but she said she’d at least try it. I’m kinda glad we were going last so she could have time to psych herself into it.

While we were waiting our turn, the crew kept us entertained by discussing the various types of sharks we might see and their role in the ecosystem.

Soon enough, it was our turn to get wet. We donned masks and snorkels and climbed into the cage. Elle was hesitant, but went in.

It was all I could do to keep Kay from jumping overboard… outside of the cage! She was pumped! (Remember when I said that Kay wanted a black pearl and Elle wanted a pink one? Getting the picture yet? Elle’s a ballet and pink kinda girl… Kay’s more of a hard rock and black kinda chick… I love ‘em both… I’m going to be in so much trouble, soon. )

We get into the cage… and holy cow! Was it rough!!! It’s not like TV, at all. The waves were probably around 4 – 5 feet… and coming from more than one direction. The cage lurches and plunges with every wave. The boat was too… but this was nuts! There were bars inside the cage that you could hold onto. You had to grab the top rail with your hands and wedge your knees under the lower rail and hang on!! I know I smacked my mask against the cage bars at least once.

Once we got semi-situated, we started adjusting to the view.

Kay, in the cage:

Where’d that shark go?

There he is…

Getting a little closer…

Joined by a couple more…

Hello!

Eventually, we were surrounded by about half a dozen sharks.

Poor Elle. I turn myself around to take a picture of her and she's climbing out. She was brave enough to go in, but she only lasted about 5 or 10 minutes. She told me that she was okay, until one of the sharks swam underneath the cage… then she’d had enough. I sure am proud of her for overcoming her fears and trying it at all.

Here’s a vid I shot during the swim, it’ll give you a better idea of what it’s like. Click it to see the video:


Eventually, I got tired of the buffeting I was taking and decided it was time to come out. A nice perk on the boat was they had a warm water hose to shower with. You don’t realise that you’re getting cold until you come out of the water.

Kay was the second last out of the cage. That kid amazes me. She won’t speak to the ice cream guy to order a treat… but she’ll swim with sharks no problem!

I mentioned that there were 4 – 5 foot waves. Shortly after I got out of the water, I started to feel a little queasy. Then I started feeling a lot queasy. Kay, came and sat beside me and innocently asked if she could see the pictures.

“No!”

I’m trying to concentrate on the shoreline and she wants me to look in a little tiny tv screen?

Soon, the boat started up and headed for shore. Immediately I started to feel better. Good thing too, ‘cause one of the boys from the other family decided that he wasn’t feeling too good and it was time to feed the fishes… right beside me.

Ah, well. All in all it was a very exciting morning. Don’t the girls look happy?

Coming up…. Haleiwa and surfing.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Look, it's Ponzi!!!'

WOW, Ponzi, you look exactly like Ponzi should look! What a coincidence!

Kudos to all of you for doing that dive, I think I would sit that one out too, but it looks like a lot of fun If you care for that sort of thing...
And to think I even turned down my DH's offer for a leisurly river ride while they go white water rafting............

That was an awesome video. Thanks for a great chapter, and I hope you can get out of work early tomorrow.

 

[shan23877]

It's Ponzi!!! Wow! Thanks for revealing yourself!

I am shocked that you got 2 young women out of bed and ready to go in 10 minutes. Amazing.

That tour sounds awesome. When I watched the video I realized that I was saying "Wow" out loud (only one in the room, wasn't even talking to the dogs)

Looks like and incredibly cool experience.

 

[Heluvsme]

IT WAS A SHARK CAGE TOUR????

I was thinking, 'Oh, how nice that sounds, a nice little 2 hour, relaxing boat tour, I'd like to do that someday. Would I wear a pretty floppy hat or a cute, sporty ball cap?' SHEESH??? Sharks??!! BRAVE Ponzi family!!!! Brave Elle and Kay!!!

Great chapter!!

 

[dawnbu40]

Oh my gosh you are all so brave! I could never do that! I don't even like getting my hair wet in the pool

Great picture of you and your girls!

 

[Kgroo]

Oh my gosh - Wilson reveals himself!!!

You guys are so brave to conquer the shark cage To me the ocean is to cool off in when you are sitting on the beach with a cocktail

Thanks for sharing - your girls are beautiful.

 

[jedijill]

We interrupt this TR to bring you a special event. At 7:35 pm (MST), the Annular Solar Eclipse could be spotted in Rio Rancho, NM. Dogs were unsure as to whether to howl at the moon, or hide scared. Please keep all pets inside until this eclipse is over.

To view this picture, please put on your special glasses now.



Taken by Lady H. More pictures of this event to come later.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled TR.

(Picture taken with a point and shoot digital camera through the solar eclipse viewers)

Cool pics! I wanted to watch it but here in Colorado we had rain and clouds...not complaining because my yard needs the rain!

Jill in CO

 

[laura74]

Surfing with sharks… part 1



The North Shore is about an hour’s drive north of Honolulu. Our tour starts at 6:30 in the morning (!) and we have to be there 30 minutes early. So let’s see, we have to be there at 6am which means we have to leave the hotel no later than 5am, add 15 minutes or so to gather everything up and get to the hotel parkade, add another 30 – 45 minutes to get up and get dressed, etc…

I set the alarm for 4:45 and fall instantly asleep.


Anybody do the math? No? I gave the three of us 15 minutes to get up, get dressed, get ready, get our stuff and get going. !!!

I'm not sure what is scarier to me. Swimming with sharks or only having 15 minutes to get ready.

We get to Haleiwa on time and pull up to the pier only a minute or so late. Phew! I see a few other people mingling around so I know I’m in the right spot. I didn’t take a picture of the boat, but it’s 32 feet long. There’s the… I feel foolish writing ‘captain’ or ‘skipper’ for such a small boat, but I have no idea what else to call him, so… There’s the skipper and his first mate, there’s a couple from Australia (long way to come… maybe they’re millionaires) and their two kids. Umm… my Gilligan’s Island theme is starting to sink already.

2 crew, a family of four from Australia, a couple from Germany, a father and son, a dude with a big fancy underwater camera and us. I think. I don’t remember for sure. Okay? Sheesh.

Did you size them up to determine if you could live on a deserted island with them?

What I do remember is that at the start of the tour, the first mate showed us where the life raft was… and that there was only enough room in it for four people. The rest would have to be in the water and hang on to the sides.



Elle vividly remembers this since the first mate mentioned that sharks eat injured fish… and injured fish have fluttering hearts… and if you’re scared of sharks, your heart might flutter too… so if you’re scared, you might want to be in the raft instead of around it.

Wouldn't everybody have fluttering hearts?


I have to admit, that after seeing Jaws when I was a kid, and having almost drowned a couple of times… I’m not too crazy about water.

How did you almost drown a couple of times?

Pool water, fine. Lake water, so, so. Ocean water? Hello! Did I not just mention Jaws????

I'm with you there.

Reminds me of a something I read the other day. “I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.”

Too true.


Did I not mention that the tour was a shark cage tour? Must’ve slipped my mind.

Did they pay you to go on this thing?


When we arrived at the dive site, the cage was already in the water. The cage is about a square 7 feet wide and 9 feet tall… with 2 feet extending above the water so the big, hungry, people chomping fish can’t get in. The boat ties up to the cage and the first half of the group climbs in. We were in the second group.

Elle was particularly nervous and wasn’t sure if she’d even go in. I had told her that she could stay on the boat if she wanted, but she said she’d at least try it. I’m kinda glad we were going last so she could have time to psych herself into it.


While we were waiting our turn, the crew kept us entertained by discussing the various types of sharks we might see and their role in the ecosystem.

Soon enough, it was our turn to get wet. We donned masks and snorkels and climbed into the cage. Elle was hesitant, but went in.

Good for Elle!

It was all I could do to keep Kay from jumping overboard… outside of the cage! She was pumped! (Remember when I said that Kay wanted a black pearl and Elle wanted a pink one? Getting the picture yet? Elle’s a ballet and pink kinda girl… Kay’s more of a hard rock and black kinda chick… I love ‘em both… I’m going to be in so much trouble, soon. )

With which one?

We get into the cage… and holy cow! Was it rough!!! It’s not like TV, at all. The waves were probably around 4 – 5 feet… and coming from more than one direction. The cage lurches and plunges with every wave. The boat was too… but this was nuts! There were bars inside the cage that you could hold onto. You had to grab the top rail with your hands and wedge your knees under the lower rail and hang on!! I know I smacked my mask against the cage bars at least once.

I think I would be in the boat.

Eventually, we were surrounded by about half a dozen sharks.

Yikes!

Poor Elle. I turn myself around to take a picture of her and she's climbing out. She was brave enough to go in, but she only lasted about 5 or 10 minutes. She told me that she was okay, until one of the sharks swam underneath the cage… then she’d had enough. I sure am proud of her for overcoming her fears and trying it at all.

Here’s a vid I shot during the swim, it’ll give you a better idea of what it’s like. Click it to see the video:

Cool video! Glad I'm not there.


Kay was the second last out of the cage. That kid amazes me. She won’t speak to the ice cream guy to order a treat… but she’ll swim with sharks no problem!

Isn't it funny the things that they're shy about?



Ah, well. All in all it was a very exciting morning. Don’t the girls look happy?

Nice picture! So first there was the shadow silhouette and now sunglasses and hat? Will we see actual eyes in the next photo?

Coming up…. Haleiwa and surfing.

Really interesting adventure Ponzi. Thanks!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Wow! What an adventure! I am amazed you did that - AND got two girl up and out to the car in 10 minutes Great video! I was almost too afraid to watch it! You send mom off to work and the adventure begins!

 

[jedijill]

Wow! Fantastic tour and pics. My bf is a diver and just got back from Papua New Guinea and they swam with manta rays but I hate to tell him that the sharks are cooler.

The descriptions of your daughters reminds me of this Mustang commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiyhXf_KVc0

Jill in CO

 

[Thumper_Man]

Is it just me? Or does anybody else think Ponzi and Nebo are long lost brothers? I don't have Photoshop on my work computer, but I was able to put this together real quick. Show of hands on who says they're actually brothers. Pay particular attention to the hat and mustache. That's why they each have the same sense of humor and are so good at writing TR's. And I apologize in advance if you spit coffee, tea or whatever it is your drinking, all over your monitor.

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

Slowly catching up. A few comments and then i'm off to see what i can do to this...I mean, what i can say about the latest chapter...

Okay, so I've got one more show to talk about from the 70's, early 80's. And by the way, Dana, I'm embarassed to say that I never watched the Waltons. Shame on me, I know.

For the most part, all of my favorite shows as a kid were mainly guy shows, that's what you get when you don't have siblings yet, and all you have are male cousins close to your age. But I did really, really like one more girl friendly show....."Little House on the Prarie"! I loved Pa and Ma and half pint! Michael Landon was just terrific in every show he was on, I went on to watch "Highway to Heaven" as well. Little House was special, there was always a moral message with every show. And I'll share this as well.....if I have time and it's on TV, I still watch it.

Anyone else?

Love love love “Little House on the Prairie,” And I have found myself watching re-runs of it when I have time and I’m not watching Food Network or Cooking Channel…Which suffice it to say is ALWAYS!

Oh, boy. Love white chocolate... ummm.... I'm starting to realize that there's lots of lovin' here.[/B]

Mmmm…Chocolate. White, dark, semi-sweet, milk…All of them above…Chocolate…Wha? Huh? Did someone say something?

Oh wait…I knew I had quoted this for a reason…DH loves white chocolate, so I more than likely will have to try this recipe. Although from the sounds of it, I may have to try all the recipes. Good think I love to bake. and good think DH loves to eat what I bake.

I've been trying to avoid this, 'cause I know Nebo's against it... but, yeah. I want a Nebo TR too. Even if it means losing readers here.

Lose readers? Are you nuts? I can’t speak for everyone else, but you can’t get rid of me that easily.

Ok, ok, ok. This isn't fair to Ponzi's report.
I'll give you what I have, but after doing this 7 or 8 times now, believe me, it's not much. Give me a day or two to get all loaded into Pbucket and then we'll try to get a Cliff notes report on the road!
I mean up in the air.
Nothing worse than a bunch of women sitting around drinking wine and targetting their anger at you!

Anybody know any good titles?

Ponzi, you are right about one thing, it's hard to tell when to add chapters for the reasons you gave, some folks get bored waiting, while others don't have regular computer time each day and have a hard time keeping up.

Whoo Hoo! Now I’ve got two TR’s to fall behind on.

So if this is timed well I can finish Ponzi's report and start on Nebo's
Will we need cookie recipes for that one too?
wine and cookies all around!

Wine? Cookies? I’m there!

...Is it just me or did anyone else think of the movie Grease after reading that last line? You know, where they are having the slumber party, and they are all drinking wine and Jan takes out the twinkies and everyone makes fun of her, telling her “twinkies and wine? Oh that’s real class.” but she points out that “it says right here it is a dessert wine”

Nope? Just me huh…

Hi, T-Man, missing you and Lady H. here and here and everywhere. Come back soon

Awww… I’m still around. Darn life got in the way again. We have been so busy both and work and home that I just haven’t had a chance to post. And when I have had time, I find I have fallen behind and have to catch up again before posting.

Plus…

…I’m sort of posting incognito at the moment.

I’m in violation as I haven’t posted a cookie recipe yet…Shhh…Eeek…Is that Ponzi?

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

Is it just me? Or does anybody else think Ponzi and Nebo are long lost brothers? I don't have Photoshop on my work computer, but I was able to put this together real quick. Show of hands on who says they're actually brothers. Pay particular attention to the hat and mustache. That's why they each have the same sense of humor and are so good at writing TR's. And I apologize in advance if you spit coffee, tea or whatever it is your drinking, all over your monitor.

Although, this could clarify a lot, Who knows...Maybe they are one in the same. Nebo is actually Ponzi, or Ponzi is actually Nebo...Maybe this is the real reason, Ponzi won't give up his real name...

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

That's really cool Thumper! Thanks for that!

Hey! What about me? I was the one that took the pic...T-Man just posted it...A girl just can't catch a break...