Sirenia88's "Didn't you read the Forum title" live TR

[PaHunter]

I was just getting in to it, and Wham, he goes to dinner......

 

[sirenia88]

Hello there!

Let's see how much I can get through this time.

Alright. Recap with Saturday. We got to Crystal River around 4 PM when it was all said and done. The front desk recommended several places in the area for food. The clerk recommended one place in particular. It was a place right on the water! Nice breeze. Cold beer. Really tasty food. Everyone had a full belly from this place. Peck's Old Cove was the place.

Easter Sunday... Swim with the Manatees day. We had to get up early like 6 AM early. The company we booked with was River Ventures. The DW booked a 4 hour private tour with them. So it was basically the captain, the guide, and us on the boat. Now here is how it works. When you arrive, there is a check in phase. Then a video on manatee interaction. As a species still under protection, you are not allowed to actively interact with them. They have to come to us not to them. (Please no politics here. They are staled to be removed from the list. However at this current time, they are still under the old rules.) Once the breifing video is over, you are fitted to a wet suit. Finally driven out to your boat with waiting tour guide and captain.

When we got to the boat, we met our guide and captain. The guide was named Rob. The captain was Dave (not Irish Dave since there were 2 Daves.) Introductions were made. A boat safety briefing was conducted and off into the local waters we when. Now mid to late April is really the end of the season. There are a few here and there plus resident population. There was a small population but the chances of interaction are reduced at the same time. The guide headed into the bay and to a recent hot spot of activity. Then spotted a few in the water. Rob got into the water first proceeded by me, the DD and the DW. We swam around for about 40 minutes. I got bumped into by one who was curious who I was. Our guide happened to follow 2 of them at the same time in the cove. While we in the cove just checking out other activity, we got to see a mother and calf together. The calf came up for air right in between us and the guide. Then retreated back to the mother! At this point the cove was getting crowded with other tour companies. Why you say. This particular cove is part of a rehab project to bring in more vegetation for them. It is an experiment to get some grasses to grow in the area. As Rob put it, the project basically put a few bales of hay out to feed them. They are hoping the grass will come back next year and spread.

We got back on the boat for a short ride to 3 Sisters Springs. If you are able to make it here, it is really awesome. Super clear water that is a constant 72 degrees. You can easily see 100 feet plus with no problem. Our guide took us into the springs for some exploring and free diving around them as they are around 12-15 feet deep in two of them with the other smaller one at 6 or 7 feet. We swam around in them for awhile and made it back to the boat for some hot cocoa. As we were getting back into the boat, we got word a manatee was heading into the springs. It became a fire drill on the boat to get back into the water. We all got back into the springs. Then got to watch this majestic creature for over 40 minutes. At this point everyone was getting cold so we headed back to the boat. We all talked about the experience and spent the last moments of our trip taking a sight seeing tour of the bay as we only had about 30 minutes left of the tour. Finally back to the dock and back to the center for changing.

After leaving the center, we headed back to the hotel to change into different clothes as I was in swim trunks. We stopped and ate at a Sonic's as we have never been there before. The closest one is 45 minutes from our home. Then headed for an air boat right that was part of our swim with the manatee adventure. We toured the surrounding Homosassa Springs area waterfront. We spotted several groups of Dolphins. Really fun. However, one of the main attractions of this trip was to meet the DW's adopted manatee at the local state park. She is part of the Adopt a Manatee program. Her manatee is a permanent resident of the Manatee program at the park. So we stopped stopped at the state park and see if she was around. Sure enough she was. The Manatee program is very popular there. They also handle rehab and injuries with the Florida's Fish and Wildlife division. When we got there, it was about 15 minutes from the presentation. the DW asked if her Manatee was there. The volunteer ranger said yes and then asked if she wanted to be a part of his lecture. She said yes. He introduced the manatees as it was a feeding time. When he got to her manatee. He used it as a promotion for the program she is apart of. DW stood up in front of everyone and gave a wave and people gave her some applause. After the lecture, we took a brief walk around the park for some sightseeing and then back to the hotel.

I will leave on this cliff hanger of a note. I do not know if I will have any time or not to complete this report before we leave. All I will say is we are having tons of fun and going on new adventures. I am going to post photos and the like when we get home as it was be easier for me to do so. Don't worry....

 

[snowmedic]

We stopped and ate at a Sonic's as we have never been there before. The closest one is 45 minutes from our home.

What, you have never eaten at a Sonic, and the closest one is 45 minutes. I would be there everyday! The closest one to use is Albany, 3 hrs. away, and yes I have really considered driving to get me some Sonic.

Will be waiting on that report when you make it back safely to Jersey.

 

[sirenia88]

Well the trip is over and we are home....

Alright. I will give the cliff notes version of our trip.

On Sunday, we found this restaurant right in Crystal River. Cody's Roadhouse. They had an Easter special which I know for a fact, I would not be getting Prime Rib at home. While at dinner, the DW gets a text from one of my daughter's friend's mom. She asked how things were going. It turned out the DD friend from her class was in the area as in 5 minutes away. After dinner, we surprised both of them with a quick meet and greet. It was a nice way to end the day. the DD's friend was also going to WDW for a few days.

Monday came. We told the DD the Easter bunny found where we were staying but couldn't find the right room. So with video camera in hand we watched her open her basket. She found some trading pins, some smelly stuff known as soap, and a couple of toys. We asked if that was all she found she said yup. The DW told her to look at something else while I check the bag for a magic band slip in. We had er check again. That's when she found the MB in the bag. She went nuts! We got the room packed up and ready for the road to Disney.

We got to the Yacht Club in about 2 hours. Now the DD did not know this but the 2 moms arranged an ice cream meet and greet in the afternoon after we had arrived. We told the DD that we needed to get ready to go to Epcot first since I was needing to find something for the DW. Well we walked to the meeting spot and got the camera ready. When the friend saw the DD and the DD heard her name. They both went nuts at Epcot. We had a quick ice cream. We all went our ways since we had DHS on the schedule.

DHS was a short boat ride away. We got there just in time for the storm trooper march down the main street. We had a dining ressie at Sci Fi which is one of our go-to places. We just love the whole vibe there. However, there was a quick detour to Star Tours. While waiting for Sci Fi we wound up chatting with the DVC CM running the booth. But no dice. After dinner, we headed over to Toy Story Midway Mania. While on line, the DD finds one of her teammates from her Dance team! After the ride, they were outside just hanging out only to find out a few others from the team where at WDW this week. We headed over to Launch Bay. DD traded with the Jawaws. This time we remembered some good trading pieces. Circuit Boards from work. From time to time I come across small boards from work that required replacements to make work. She wound up trading with them and got an Admiral Ackbar from them. It was pretty cool. After that is was back to the Resort for a dip in the pool. DD and I managed to close the pool down which closes at 10 PM. It was nice and relaxing. The DW did come down an joined us for awhile.

Tuesday. EPCOT day. Initially, we scheduled 2 days for Epcot. Because we had gone over on Monday PM and had EMH, we got the whole place done in 1 day. We started off the day with a breakfast in Norway. After that, it was a trip into space. When we got home. It was a checking out all the displays they had. We did the Ellen ride. Then just walked around through all the countries looking for the eggs. It was fun. We had the different kiosks for food and beverage. By 2 PM, we headed back to the resort and once again did the pool. It was really nice! Once it was cooler, we continued our experience at Epcot. We did Merakeesk in Morocco. Then watched the fireworks from Germany. At this point, we took advantage of the EMH. We got on Test Track and Soarin without a problem. At this point we were tired from the day and made it back to the resort.

Wednesday. MK day!!!! We did room service for breakfast! It was a treat. After breakfast, we started to head over to MK for a few rides like Seven Dwarfs and Space Mountain. The DD traded pins with cast members and others while playing her SMK game. By the time we got to 2 PM we needed to get to our next surprise, dinner with her bestie at Ohana's This dinner was months in the making. We are friendly with her bestie's parents. So much they want us to move in to their neighborhood. When we all figured out that we were going to be at WDW at the same time, the DW, myself and them all figured out a way to get together. They like Ohana the same way we do. So it was decided to meet there for dinner. When we got there, the DW got her phone ready and told them where we were. AS we walked up the stairs they got up from afar and started walking over. The DD did a double take and scream her bestie's name and they girls ran to each other. They were going a mile a minute about their experiences and the like. We sat down to a nice dinner for the afternoon. After dinner, we parted ways the girls were super excited and really surprised to see each other. We headed back to the resort for the night.

Now here is an adventure. We made a wrong turn. We wound up going to the TTC instead of back to MK for a bus back to the resort. We got back to the resort via a monorail to Epcot. Then a bus to DHS. Finally a boat from DHS to the YC. In the end, we got back for a little pool time. Since Thursday was going to be our second EPCOT day, we decided to call an audible. Animal Kingdom While the DW and DD were getting ready for the pool, I headed for the concierge desk. They worked some Disney magic for an Africa Wild Trek tour!

Thursday, We had to be up early to get to AK on time for our tour. The AWT is a really fun tour with a behind the scenes look of the Savanna. We met our first point of contact near the entrance once we got past security. They gave us instructions to head towards Africa and let the Tusker House people know you were going on the tour. While walking over, I got the chance to speak with a higher up working on with the new land known as Pandora. He had a good line that made me laugh. Don't run. We didn't move the ride over night. I busted out laughing. We had a quick talk and he asked where were headed today I said the Wild Trek and then Everest. He said enjoy and we reached our next points of contacts. They were our guides on the tour today. We filled out paperwork. Next got sized up for our harness rigging. Then got tagged and secured up for the adventure that waits. The guides introduced themselves with a bit of background. Then off into the park before the rest entered.

The group took a short walk to the Hippos. We got pretty close up to those guys. Henry and Hans. It was really cool to look from the vantage point we had versus the safari ride. Then another walk towards the bridges. They cross over the crocs. You get some time to hang out on the bridge for photos and viewing. It was really cool. The DD was cautious at first walking over. Then she got the hang of it. When we were on the bridges the guides did some constant checks of the harnesses for the duration. Once the bridge walk was over. It was on to another short walk to truck that would take you around the Safari. We got to check out the Giraffes that were born about 6 months ago, the wilder beasts and the young elephant. We took a short break for a snack and drink. Then back on the savanna to finish out our tour. Overall it was really enjoyable. I recommended.

We headed for Dinoland and Everest. Then back to the resort for pool time. We ate at Beaches and Cream Finally back to Epcot. We headed over to Under the seas and walked right on. Then we caught the last Turtle talk over the evening.
Friday... that will have to wait as I need to get ready for going back to work. Ugh...

 

[snowmedic]

Friday... that will have to wait as I need to get ready for going back to work. Ugh...

I did read your post last night, while half asleep. It does sound like you all had a Wonderful time. Savannah gets excited about seeing some of the friends she meets while at Disney, your daughter must have been wild when she saw her BF. Hope you gave yourself a day or two of home time before returning to work. I remember a couple years ago at driving 24 hrs. to get home at 3 in the morning just to be out the door that same morning at 4:30 to go back to work. No more, I have 1 - 2 days off now.

 

[sirenia88]

Friday's and final thoughts will come at some point much like the pictures. Yes I took of a day prior to getting back to work. It was really nice for us but not the DD she had to go back to school Then while downloading the pictures, I started having computer problems. So I wound up troubleshooting those issues. On top of all of it, I came back to 10 plus hour days with a nice stack of work.

 

[snowmedic]

Bummer, hope you aren't traveling that far for work. Can't wait for pics, but I guess I will have to. Isn't coming home from vacation great, I love getting back to work and having a set of blueprints handed to me, then tracking down the other supervisors that where on the job before me to find out if they had any issues with anything. Glad you made it back safe.

 

[sirenia88]

Alright recap of Friday...

The park hopper was good to us this trip. We managed to go to multiple parks in a day. On Friday, we decided to just eat at the resort for breakfast. The Captain's Grille Buffet did the trick. Afterwards our plan was to go to Epcot for a butterfly garden, pick up an event pin my DD was looking for and one more ride to space. While on Mission Space, the DD started talking with another child on the line. I spoke with her mother as well. When it came time to go on the ride, I just said all 4 of us were together. The DD and her new line buddy were super excited to be on the ride together. The mom thanked me for making it happen for her DD as well. Best funny of the ride was some girl didn't know who Gary Snise the famous movie astronaut was. This girl said she didn't know any of the roles he had played including LT Dan from Forrest Gump!

After Epcot we hung out at the pool for a few hours. Our plan was to go to MK at night for our last few hours of Disney. While at the pool, we made friends with another family from upstate NY. DD played a Disney Pool party game and won one of the rounds of a game they played in the water. One thing I learned was my DD is getting better with balls being tossed at her. She did a really good job tossing a football and catching too. She said her friend in class (same one from earlier in the story who she met at Epcot) practice during gym. Still cool.

Around 4 PM we headed to MK. While on the bus going over, I noticed another family on the bus. They were on the trip for the Wild Trek tour. We exchanged greetings and spoke about our tour as well. When we got to the park, we had a couple of FPs we scheduled. Nothing fancy. However, we managed to literally walk on to the Under the Sea ride in FL expansion. DD beat the net level in the SMK game. However, we got to watch Wishes in front of the Walt and Mickey statue. We were amazed how many people were getting in position for the fireworks at 8:20. So we just found a good spot and crashed. Since the DD is not really a fan of the booms, I remembered to bring ear plugs. She said it made Wishes really fun for her to watch. She said it was not an issue for her ears. After the fireworks it was a couple more rides. A tasty treat from storybook. Then the long walk out of the happiest place on earth. As anyone who knows is a pretty sad thing to do while on vacation.

Saturday was pack up day. We got on the road by 10:30 AM. We took I 4 and it was not really that bad. We made great time very little traffic. Got up to Ormond Beach for breakfast at the world's slowest Cracker barrel then to a local Walmart for a resupply of trip items. It was a good ride until Georgia and the lower part of SC> GA had some fierce traffic conditions. It took over 3 hours to cross 110 miles. Ugh. We made up some time in SC and NC. We stopped in Rocky Mount for the night. Sunday Was another day of driving to NJ. However, in the afternoon as we were making good time, there was a serious crash just north of Baltimore than shut the road down for 20 or so minutes. At least 8 cars were involved. I looked up the local news and luckily no one was killed and one of the drivers were charged. We finally rolled into our driveway around 6 PM.

That was our trip. We had some new adventures. Ate at new places. Enjoyed Spring time Disney. However, we all agreed even though the pool was really cool to be in, the Yacht Club is not our style. We are still very much the wilderness types. The Fort and the Lodge are favorites. The YC felt like a hotel nothing super fancy. However we did enjoy the proximity to Epcot and DHS. We discussed our next resort stay. It is going to be between the Poly or Fort/Lodge. I know big decisions! For now, WDW is looking like 2019 or 2020. We might think cruise for the next Disney vacation. We just want to get some of the magic back and well the construction is showing us a reason to come back in the 2019-21 time frames.

As for my computer issue. I just had a pile of software updates that needed to be performed. My file storage decided to not show a drive and it was due to a flaky restart which didn't map the drive correctly. Once every was done, I really had no desire to do photos. Hopefully I will find some time to share some of my Disney vacation with my peeps of the Camping Forum. I really need to ramp up my retirement plan I mean my lottery spending so I can find some time to edit photos. LOL

 

[sirenia88]

Ugh this adventure just keeps going...

Well... I would love to share some photos. I finally got something that might work. I did in fact have a computer issue with my storage tower as I like to call it. I don't know if the hard drive is flaking or the board. So being pretty busy I managed to get the photos back p to another drive. Then another issue arose with another computer in the house. I just said screw it and a reformat took place. I'm finally getting around to get editing some photos. So while you guys are waiting here are some more fun facts from our trip.

Gas Bill! What gas bill? Our total cost to drive down in fuel was just over 130 dollars. That included our trip around the state as well. We average around 43 MPG for the trip.

My wife drove most of it! It was nice not having to drive the whole trip with a trailer in tow. I did drive GA going down. I was not feeling well so I my DW took over again for the remainder. The trip Northbound different story. I drove from Daytona area, FL to about MM 150 or so into SC. It may not sound far but there was quite a bit of traffic. The wife didn't mind since it was her car and she really likes driving it.

We somehow wound up walking away with vacation funds from WDW. Our surplus was just under $200 left on the cards. Still had a charge on my card which was reversed. The wild trek tour was charged to the card and I had it reversed when I was settling the bill. It would have been $800 if I left the AWT on the CC. I generally expect an over run of $500 due to past history.

The trip itself was about what we expected to pay for the outside of Disney since we had a good idea. Since pretty much the whole thing was paid off or funds were allocated to the trip, nothing was really a surprise. Like OMG we went over by $500 type of thought. Quite frankly we initially had a small budget when we started. However, I hit a mother load of OT and some other income came in. It allowed the budget to grow and in the end, it really turned into the right decision when it came to vacation. However, if I sat down and looked at everything, I would have probably said yea we spent more than we should have! LOL

I will see if I can get some photos resized, and edited for your viewing pleasure.

 

[snowmedic]

Gas Bill! What gas bill? Our total cost to drive down in fuel was just over 130 dollars. That included our trip around the state as well. We average around 43 MPG for the trip.

That is impressive. I think it cost use 150 just to drive there, then not sure what I pay to run around the state while there, has to be close to 80, then another 150 home. When we first got our Rav it had 23 miles on it before we went to Destin and the Fort, when we got back home it had a little over 5000, 3000 was just to get to Fl. and back. The dealer was kind of surprised to see us back in 4 weeks for a oil change. We play the envelope game with our vacation money, one for gas, food and so on. I think it works better that way for us so we are not spending necessity money with our regular spending money.

Good to hear that your DW did a lot of the driving. I wouldn't be able to sleep with my DW driving after the little scare I had a couple years ago, that and it would take us an extra day to get there, she doesn't like to go over the speed limit.

 

[Teamubr]

Gas Bill! What gas bill? Our total cost to drive down in fuel was just over 130 dollars. That included our trip around the state as well. We average around 43 MPG for the trip.

We somehow wound up walking away with vacation funds from WDW.

Ok. Both of those statements are just not right.

First, my truck holds 98 gallons of diesel. That's about $250 to fill and I can make it within a 100 miles of Disney. That's averaging a whopping 9-9.5mpg. Depends on wind.

And Disney certainly didn't do their job if you came home with money. Don't let this get out or those of us following you are doomed.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

I carry 87 gallons total and it gets me to the Fort with a quarter tank left if I hold the usual 70-72 mph.

Now Alan, you drove down in which vehicle this time? I know it wasn't with the camper just wondering. You may have already mentioned it and I just missed it. It's hard to read these posts and keep the squirrel feeders filled and not miss something.

 

[sirenia88]

That is impressive. I think it cost use 150 just to drive there, then not sure what I pay to run around the state while there, has to be close to 80, then another 150 home. When we first got our Rav it had 23 miles on it before we went to Destin and the Fort, when we got back home it had a little over 5000, 3000 was just to get to Fl. and back. The dealer was kind of surprised to see us back in 4 weeks for a oil change. We play the envelope game with our vacation money, one for gas, food and so on. I think it works better that way for us so we are not spending necessity money with our regular spending money.

Good to hear that your DW did a lot of the driving. I wouldn't be able to sleep with my DW driving after the little scare I had a couple years ago, that and it would take us an extra day to get there, she doesn't like to go over the speed limit.

My DW is ok with doing 80 but that's her limit as she doesn't want to get busted going faster.

Ok. Both of those statements are just not right.

First, my truck holds 98 gallons of diesel. That's about $250 to fill and I can make it within a 100 miles of Disney. That's averaging a whopping 9-9.5mpg. Depends on wind.

And Disney certainly didn't do their job if you came home with money. Don't let this get out or those of us following you are doomed.

j

j,

I know right. It might not be correct in Disney logic but it feels great to know I came in under budget for a Disney Trip! LOL

I carry 87 gallons total and it gets me to the Fort with a quarter tank left if I hold the usual 70-72 mph.

Now Alan, you drove down in which vehicle this time? I know it wasn't with the camper just wondering. You may have already mentioned it and I just missed it. It's hard to read these posts and keep the squirrel feeders filled and not miss something.

Yes you are correct. I don't know if I mentioned it either. Originally, we were going to drive my F250 down to Florida for this trip. I figured out it was going to cost us around $500 for the fuel load for the trip. This was the plan until February. Our other vehicle which is a 2005 Explorer had some mechanical issues prior to a dance competition my DD was participating in. So my wife and I hit the local Enterprise for a weekend rental. They had a Dodge SUV and a Sonata. The Sonata was half the cost of the SUV and would hold everything she would need for the weekend. My wife rental the car for the weekend while i got the Explorer repaired. Long story short. My wife really liked the car and entertained the idea of looking at one with more options. Over the weekend I did some research on the car. The reviews seemed to be really positive especially on the higher end models for features.

I took Monday off which was President's Day. We returned the car to the rental place. Did a few errands and then went to a local dealer to see what they offered. Since we were just looking, she was the one buying. We looked at the SUV line up. Then we looked at the Sonata again. They had a leftover 2016 Sonata Hybrid limited with an ultimate package on the line. IOW, it was fully loaded and full warranty. She looked at that, the sales guy got the keys for a test drive. We went for a drive and came back told the sales guy we would have to check back in a few weeks to think about buying. The floor manager came out and gave us a really great price on the car. We said we would think about it. While driving home, my wife was really stoked about the car and how she liked the ride. When we got home, she did some research on the Hybrids and I watched a few you tube reviews. She told me to call the sales rep and ask if I can take the car out for another drive and home for some additional looks. He said no problem. I brought the car home. We checked it one thing. How well it would pack for the trip as the Hybrids had smaller trunk space due to the battery component. She said let's see what they will offer for a sale. I called my parents and asked if they could watch the DD. They said sure no problem. When they got over they thought the car was really sharp looking. i liked the fact I could fit in the front and back seats without a problem. The car was comfortable to drive.

We went back to the dealer. talked numbers. They were on par with what we considered to be OK with. About 2 hours later, we were owners of the car. I was more ticked about not having the down payment that we wanted to have. the dealer screwed around with the financing. It took 3 rounds with the first round being I know what my bank will give me and I have no problem leaving a down payment and coming back with the check. Heck when I bought my truck, the sales guy was more than cool with the process and it took about 10 minutes to hammer out the truck price and the deal itself. Even though I came in on the lower side, I manged to get it at a fair price to what the current market rate was on the truck plus a few goodies for the ride when we picked it up. I was more annoyed sitting around watching other people.

So that's how we got the ride. On top of that. It was a really good feeling that our gas bill dropped again. We went from $1400 for round trip airfare to $500 for the truck to basically a $200 budget for gas. That just meant we could do more on vacation. We knew we were going to be around 45 MPG. We averaged around 43-44 MPG which was not bad in traffic and doing 75-80.

 

[sirenia88]

here are a few pictures from the trip.



DD participating in the Junior Ranger program. The ranger with my DD is a local resident who had recently finished up his service with the armed forces. He got involved the the parks and enjoys his work.





Canaveral National Seashore North side. This is from the shell mound which I think is turtle mound or mount. Very cool views from above. This is the direction of the ocean. The lagoon is behind us.




the bane of the Norwegian showcase. Elsa and Anna!






Waxing our surf boards and can't wait for June. Brett and DD waxing the board for use in the waves.





Yes it was a bit choppy out there!





The only picture of the DD up and riding! There was many knee and stomach trips. The surf was rough and the instructor wished the waves were a bit more formed. This was due to the on shore breezes.





On the Africa Wild Trek. This is one of 2 "adventure" bridges in the safari. Notice the road for the trucks. You don't realize how many trucks are on that ride while on AWT. Yes you are harnessed in.

 

[sirenia88]

Part 2!!!!




DD meeting her adopted manatee at Homosassa Springs State Park.




A giraffe on the AWT. Yes you are that close! We're around 60 percent closer than ride itself. It is really a different experience on the AWT. I would do it again in a heartbeat.





Trading with the Jawas. I had some small circuit boards from work. Guess what? They worked as the DD got a few trinkets in return like its a trap Admiral Ackbar.




Hanging with Lightning Mc Queen at Epcot. The Flower and Garden festival was really all that. We enjoyed looking at all the displays Disney put in place.





This guy was from our manatee private swim. We hopped back into the water as he entered 3 sister springs in crystal river. There were a couple of paddle boarders, a couple of kayaks and us. He was very interested in us. No I didn't touch him but there was another one from earlier in the day that decided to investigate me. 3 Sisters is really that clear.

 

[snowmedic]

Finally, pictures. I guess you really did go on vacation, just kidding. Living in the Cocoa area for about a year, I don't think I have ever seen the surf that choppy. "T" looks like she is having a great time up on the board. How long was her lesson? Awesome pics, especially this one ^^^^, love the clear water.

 

[sirenia88]

Vince the lesson was about an hour long and almost 2 hours total with classroom instruction, walk to the beach and beach observation. The instructor was actually working on creating his own board and surf business. He was really awesome with T and the such. Great demeanor. Brett and I talked for a while. You can see he really enjoyed what he did for a living.