For some reason this song has been running through my head for the last couple of days. “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson is a classic country song by a classic country singer (he’s from Texas). At 81, he’s still going strong. 🙂
PS- If you want to sing along, the lyrics are playing along at the bottom of the video. 😉
Here are a couple of shots of the twinkling stars and the last eclipse of the moon for the Daily Posts Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle.
I love trying to take pictures at night. So far, I have not been very lucky with getting my photos of the night sky to come out very well. I just got a telescope to play with. Hopefully that will help. 🙂
I just got in from my regular Tuesday night meeting. Lately we’ve been going to the Mediterranean Gardens, a local Greek/Cajun restaurant. They have the best gyros in town (and really great French Dip sandwiches). Also, the baklava is really good.
But I don’t actually go there for the food. I go there for our weekly Campaign for Liberty meetups. I go there to get my weekly political fix. I can go out, have a good meal and talk politics with people who (mostly) agree with me. That’s a nice change. 😉
We talk about all kinds of things… The history of the United States, the proper function of government, the role of the Federal Reserve, the situation with our money/dollar/debt, who’s running for office (local, state, national) and do we like their plans or not…
Then we try to come up with projects to work on and things to do to increase our membership. We started a community garden (pesticide and GMO free), we’ve shown a couple of movies (Behold a Pale Horse, Atlas Shrugged), gone to a few rallies, etc. It’s really hard to do much if you don’t have a very large group of people involved. People are just so busy trying to survive now, they don’t have the time to get involved.
It’s a catch 22 situation. People are too busy to get involved, but if they don’t get involved, things will only continue to get worse and they’ll have even less time to do the things they would really like to. Instead they’ll be working harder and longer to pay the bills (and TAXES).
I have to admit. I don’t have the ability to do as much as some of the people that go. I just don’t have the energy, but I sure am glad that those other people are working so hard to keep it all going.
I wish more people really understood and took to heart the founding documents of our country. We are unique in the history of the world. These principles, that the government is made to serve US and NOT the other way around, are what made this country special. The Declaration of Independence says it perfectly…
http://calibloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DeclarationOfIndependence.jpg
Here’s my post for Day 18: Edge of the Photography 101 challenge. I think it’s pretty edgy in a couple of ways. 😉
Since I just saw the email from the Daily Post re:Converge, I’m going to use this post and photo for that challenge too. 🙂
I took this picture (and about 1000 more) at the Houston art museum. Problem is somehow I lost a huge amount of them. I have no idea what happened. I was glad I still had some left.
I like that museum. Actually, there are 2 of them. There’s the Museum of Fine Arts (FREE Thursdays) and the Contemporary Arts Museum (FREE always!) right across the street.
This picture is from the tunnel between them. They always have some good stuff to see and they have new exhibits pretty much every month. It’s worth checking out if you’re in Houston.
Here’s my entry for the Daily Posts’ Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement challenge.
Master Unlimited license from the US Coast Guard
It might not seem like such a big deal just from looking at it (the old style was much more impressive), but it took me over 30 years of steadily working towards my goal to get one. I admit, it’s not usually THAT hard to get. It doesn’t take most people that long to get one (if it did, they wouldn’t be able to run all the ships we have running around the world).
This license shows the world that I am capable of running ANY ship, anywhere in the world (or at least that’s what it did mean before they started up with the new rules, there are some few restrictions now).
I know the usual path is for a person to go to one of our maritime universities. You can go to one of those schools and come out in 4 years with a bachelors degree AND a maritime license.
If you have the means to go to a 4 year university like that, you will come out with a 3rd mate license (or 3rd assistant engineer) and then you only need a year of sea time to get a 2nd mates license. One more year of sea time and you can get your Chief Mates license (along with a test). One year sailing as Chief Mate and you can get your Unlimited Masters license. So, you can become an Unlimited Master in only about 10 years, or even less if you’re lucky with finding the right kind of work.
That is the way MOST people get their license. I was not able to do it that way. First of all, I couldn’t afford to go to school for 4 years. I had to work. You can’t work offshore AND go to school. It’s really hard to be in 2 places at the same time!
Some people are able to go to Kings Point, the US Merchant Marine Academy. If you can get into that school, its FREE! I did try, but I was too fat to pass their physical. Then I tried to get in the Navy. Same problem- too fat.
So, I went to a 2 year program instead. I moved to Texas to go to the Ocean Marine Technology program at Brazosport College. It was a 2 year program that when you finished you would get an Associates Degree in Ocean Marine Technology AND both an AB (able body seaman) and a QMED (qualified member of the engine department).
It took me 5 years to finish, (and to my regret I never tested for the QMED so I can’t work in the engine department any more).
When I got out, I started working in the offshore oil field. I worked my way up from ordinary seaman, to able body seaman, to 1000 ton mate, to 1600 ton captain.
I started the OMT program in 1978. I was able to work my way up to 1600 ton master by 1986. It was NOT easy. I had a couple of strikes against me from the start. One, I was female and things were VERY hard for women trying to work offshore in those days. Two, I was fat. The job description is ABLE BODY seaman. Most people did (and some still do) discriminate against me for both of those reasons.
When I got my 1600 ton masters license from the Coast Guard, they gave me an unlimited 2nd mates license along with it. Like an IDIOT I gave it back to them! I had not asked for that license, simply because I didn’t feel completely confident in my ability to do that job. I didn’t want to be thrown into a situation where I might screw up and hurt somebody.
The Coast Guard officer who had just given me my license was shocked at my decision. Apparently no one else had ever given back their license they had earned before. But I was told that I could come back and get it at any time, whenever I wanted it.
BIG MISTAKE! The USCG changed the rules re: licensing without telling me (or anybody else). That was against their own rules, they are required to publicize it any time they want to change the rules, to prevent just exactly what happened to me!
When I did feel confident of my skills to run the bridge of a large ship, I went back to the USCG to ask for the 2nd mates license I should have already had. They informed me then that they had changed the rules and I could not have it. I would have to stop sailing as master/mate and go back down the ladder to sailing as AB in order to get a THIRD mates license!
WTF??!! I would have to go 2 steps down the ladder to earn again what I was already owed! I would have to work for a minimum of 3 years as AB to get that license back! So, I sucked it up and went and found a job as an AB on a ship large enough that it would count towards getting back that 2nd mates license I had already earned.
I was lucky to get a job with SeaRiver on their tankers. I spent a few years running up the West Coast to Alaska. I really enjoyed the job and they helped me get my third mates license. The only problem with them was, they told me they would NEVER promote me to third mate due to the fact that I was an “alcoholic”.
WTF??!! Yeah, I had a DWI, way back in 1982. When I asked for a promotion it was 1998 or so. Yeah, they consider you PERMANENTLY an alcoholic if you’ve EVER had any problem with it. WOW!
Considering their experience with the Exxon Valdez and the fact that they threw Captain Hazlewood under the bus to get the focus off of their company POLICY (which REALLY caused the accident), I can totally understand their reasoning. So I just quit. People told me I should have sued them over that, but it really wasn’t worth arguing with them about it to me (and I would have had to win millions since for sure I would have been black-balled).
For some reason, I decided to listen to my grandmother and go back to school. I had a bunch of money saved up. It was gone in 2 years. I had to go back to work. I took a job with Coastal Tankships as 3rd mate. I asked them in the interview if they had any problems with me being ‘an alcoholic” due to my long ago arrest for DWI. They laughed and basically welcomed me on board. 🙂
I had a great time working for Coastal as 3rd mate. I had some really great ABs that helped me learn how to be a good Third mate. I would have stayed there forever. But Coastal sold out to El Paso and they scrapped all their ships. 🙁
I had seen the writing on the wall since the buy-out and had already applied to Oceaneering. It took them over 6 months to actually hire me. It worked out well, since it gave me the time I needed to study and pass my Second mate exam. Talk about STRESS!
I passed the tests and got my Second mates license in January 2002. On February 1, 2002 the STCW 95 amendments went into effect. Whew! In by the skin of my teeth!! I had been hearing rumors of this huge change in the rules, but nobody had any real knowledge of what was going on. Even the USCG, who would be in charge of enforcing these new rules had NO idea when I asked them about it in November 2001 when I was applying to take the Second mates exam.
The problem (again) was that they didn’t notify anyone of what the rules were or how they would affect us. It is a rule that they HAVE to do that. They didn’t. So, I got ROYALLY SCREWED (again)!
I should have been able to simply get my 1 years sea time as second mate and then sit for my Chief Mates license. Since they changed the rules (again), I would now be forced to (re)take a dozen classes (each of which cost a minimum of $1000).
So, yes, I TRIED to protest. I wrote to everyone from the local USCG office to the President. No one was willing to consider my arguments (the fact that they did not follow their own rules, the fact that I had ALREADY taken each and every one of the required classes). All I got from any of them was that the USCG thought the rules were the rules and had to be followed (never mind the fact that THEY broke the rules)!
In the meantime, while I was trying to protest, I started taking the courses whenever I had both the time and the money together. It took me over 7 years and $50,000 (not counting the lost income I should have already been earning) to complete the courses so that I could apply to test for my Chief mates license!
I FINALLY got it and then had to get a minimum of 6 months sea time sailing AS CHIEF MATE. It was really hard to find a position as chief mate and so I did just get the bare minimum. I was able to use a full year sea time as Second mate to fulfill the requirements for Master.
I got my Masters unlimited license in December 2011. I was SO happy. I could hardly wait to get outside the building and shout YEAH! FINALLY GOT IT!!
If you click on the link, you can see what these license USED to look like.
As usual, I’m late and having a hard time keeping up with the tasks for the Photography 101 challenge. This is my post for the Day 8 assignment: The Natural World.
I’ve been super busy and haven’t really had the chance to get out and take any NEW photos for this challenge. I did go to Moody Gardens on the way home from the FRC course in Galveston the other day and took a bunch of pictures very similar to these. I just haven’t had the chance to upload them onto my computer yet.
Do you consider it ‘cheating’ that these pictures were all taken at an aquarium and I wasn’t actually underwater myself?
Let me know what you think of the photos. I’m doing the challenge to practice my photography and get feedback on what works and what doesn’t. 🙂
I’m still trying to catch up on the assignments for the Photography 101 challenge. I’ve been pretty busy with trying to get caught up on everything I’ve needed to take care of when I get home. Everything from going through the mail, paying the bills, to doctor and dentist appointments and TRYING to get my computers working properly again.
They’re still not. 🙁
Oh yeah, those USCG courses I have to keep taking too. FRC this week, Leadership next week. So, I’m not going to get down on myself for not keeping up when I’ve got all that other stuff to do.
Actually, they did not really give an assignment for the weekend. They just gave us some ideas to play around with. I’ve already done a little bit of experimenting with the photo gallery idea, so I thought I’d post a link to this one of my visit to the Houston Maritime Museum a few months ago.
Today is the last day of FRC class.
A cold front came through Galveston yesterday and dropped the temperature at least 20 degrees.
That’s not too bad when you’re sitting in a nice warm room, cuddled up in a blanket. But when you’re out on the water, running around in a tiny little speedboat, it’s a different story.
I had a pretty good time on Monday playing around with the boats. Today we have to go out again and practice search patterns. I’m not looking forward to getting cold and wet today!
I hope it all goes quickly. I’ll try to get some decent pictures to post here later. 🙂
I tired to vote on election day. I always try to (even tho I seriously doubt it does any good). Since I knew I would be at work on the ship, I filed for an absentee ballot. I sent it in. I even checked off the box for EMAIL. I had some slim hopes that the mail would deliver my ballot in time for me to vote in this election.
It seems they can’t get an envelope from Texas to Angola in 3 weeks, never mind that I never would have been able to mail it back to them in order to be counted before it was too late. So, NO, I did NOT get to vote in this election. 🙁
I am very disappointed, mostly because in contrast to the people who constantly tell me I’m wasting my vote by choosing to vote Libertarian, I am NOT wasting my vote at all. In fact, my vote counts 100 times more than theirs will.
By voting 3rd party, I am making my voice heard. I am emphatically stating that the way things have been going for the last 100 years is NOT acceptable!!!
I try not to pay any attention to politics. My friends will probably disagree with that statement. Especially since it may seem like that’s all they ever see me posting about on Facebook.
Sometimes I get carried away with it in personal discussions. Some have even accused me of ‘ranting’ on certain issues.
Yes, I have to admit, it’s almost impossible to avoid the politics any more in the USA. I have come to envy certain people. I really don’t know how they manage to do it. To completely ignore everything that’s going on in the world around them.
They’re happy to just live in their own little world and ignore all the continual and constant additional rules and regulations being piled upon us every day. The constant violations of our ‘god-given’, or as I prefer to call them, natural rights.
It helps to be retired, or otherwise not concerned with a job. It helps to not have to leave the house. I think even if I could live that way I would still be bothered just by the fact that any time they want, the government could choose to destroy you personally (KILL YOU on a WHIM, read up on the PATRIOT ACT and/or NDAA) and everything you’ve ever worked for in your life (Google asset forfeiture).
I’ll never understand how so many people just continue to totally ignore that fact and just go on with their lives like everything is perfectly fine.
It’s NOT. 🙁
I’m going to try again to participate in one of the Blogging University’s challenges. This one is Photography 101. A picture a day to challenge us to improve our photography. I HOPE I can keep up with this one, but I’m already a couple of days behind.
I’m due off the rig and will start traveling home tomorrow morning (if all goes well). So I’ll probably have even less internet access than I’ve had here on board. I’m also stuck without my good camera here and can’t take any photos here anyway (I have to get a hot work permit to use the camera on deck).
Anyway, here’s my photo for ‘water’.
water- 3 kinds- clouds, rainbow, ocean
I’m out on the rig right now. A different one than the one I took that picture from. I was working in the Gulf of Mexico then. The water is pretty much the same here off the West Coast of Africa. So far, it hasn’t even been rough yet. I’ve been surprised at how calm it’s been here.
It’s also been very overcast since I started working here in July. I wonder what the reason is for it always being so cloudy. Just the last couple of weeks it’s started clearing up off and on. I hope that continues. I much prefer clear blue skies and starry nights to dreary, grey overcast days.
I take a LOT of pictures of water, that IS where I spend most of my time. 😉
If you want to see more, you might like to check out some of these earlier posts (or just search my blog for “water”).
I’m going to try again to participate in one of the Blogging University’s challenges. This one is Photography 101. A picture a day to challenge us to improve our photography. I HOPE I can keep up with this one, but I’m already a couple of days behind.
I’m due off the rig and will start traveling home tomorrow morning (if all goes well). So I’ll probably have even less internet access than I’ve had here on board. I’m also stuck without my good camera here and can’t take any photos here anyway (I have to get a hot work permit to use the camera on deck).
Anyway, here’s my photo for ‘street’.
This is a photo I took last time I was down at the beach. I say beach cause the name of the town is ‘Surfside Beach’ (Texas).
I used to live down there for a while and most of my friends still do. If I go out when I’m home, this is usually where I go. I don’t actually spend much time anymore on the real beach like I used to. I just like to hang out with my friends and catch up on all the local news and gossip.
I really only stopped to take the photo because of the huge thunderstorm on the way. Notice the big black clouds in the background. The weather is usually pretty nice there. It’s especially nice in the summer when there’s always a good sea breeze. The winter is my favorite time to go to the beach there, there’s nobody else around and you can drive all the way to Galveston right at the waters edge. 🙂
PS- the featured image for this post was taken right around the corner from the one I chose for this post. I took it at the St Patrick’s Day Parade last year (it was raining, but that didn’t stop the parade). 🙂
Let me know which photo you like better (and why), it will help me improve my photography, which is part of the reason I’m doing this challenge.
Thanks! 🙂
I got an email earlier today from the Dollar Vigilante (I subscribe). He was talking about how we need to find ways to get more people to wake up, to see what’s really going on around them, to get involved.
It’s funny cause I was just suggesting the same thing at the Campaign for Liberty meetings I go to Tuesday nights when I’m home. How maybe we could try to use movies, videos and COMEDY to catch peoples attention.
At least long enough for us to start a conversation. Hopefully the comics would at least open their minds and get them thinking just a little bit out of the ordinary. Then maybe we could open it a little bit further. I was thinking along the lines of George Carlin (who was also in the TDV video).
I never heard of this guy Steve Hughes before. He’s from Australia. In the video he says he lives in England now. He’s doing a show in Sweden (Swedish subtitles). I think he’s pretty funny in this show. I also think he says a lot of things that OUGHT to make people THINK. I like that. 🙂
I especially liked it when he started up about second hand smoking. Check it out. 🙂
PS- If profanity REALLY offends you, maybe you ought to think twice, he does use cuss words.
I love to take pictures at night. They almost never turn out very good but I keep trying. I was glad to see the Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime.
I’ve got a few good ones. I like to take pictures of everything, so I have a good variety of stuff. Here are a few from last years Brazoria County Fair. I’ll miss it this year. My new job has me missing pretty much EVERYTHING I usually try to do when I’m home. 🙁
I love to take pictures at night. They almost never turn out very good but I keep trying. I was glad to see the Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime.
I’ve got a few good ones. I like to take pictures of everything, so I have a good variety of stuff. Here are a few from the last time I went to the Bikes and Blues Fest in Freeport TX. I missed it this year. 🙁
I met Capt Hugh a few months back at one of the weekly meetings I go to whenever I’m home. The Campaign for Liberty is an offshoot of Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign and I’m a big supporter of his views. So is Capt Hugh.
I still don’t know Capt Hugh very well. We haven’t both been home off our ships at the same time very often. He looks like an ordinary guy. Comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. Middle aged, average height and weight, nothing really special about his looks. But it all comes out when you talk to him. His passion for life and liberty, his sense of adventure, his determination to do whatever it takes to further his goals.
He doesn’t live near here. He lives up near Dallas somewhere, I think. That’s a few hours drive from here. He comes all the way down to our meetings when he’s home from work. It shows a high level of commitment to the goals we’re working toward (increasing freedom and liberty).
He works offshore like I do. He’s working as captain on some kind of oilfield support vessel. Recently he’s been working out of Africa (me too). I’m working off the Congo River, Hugh is working further north. He’s on a much smaller vessel than I am and so he gets to go into port occasionally.
If you’ve never worked out of Africa, you have no idea what that entails. It’s very chaotic and can be extremely frustrating. It takes a really special person to not only go there and do the work that needs to be done, but to ENJOY it. I’ve only met a couple of people like that so far and each of them was full of great stories and a love of life that showed through.
I follow Capt Hugh on Facebook. He’s quite an adventurer. He’s planning a vacation in Africa whenever he gets off work (who knows when). With everything going on over there, including an epidemic of Ebola, he doesn’t let it stop him. He takes the opportunity when it’s offered. A ‘free’ trip to Africa! What a deal!
Capt Hugh is not only captain of the supply vessel he is employed on, he has his own little sailboat too. That’s another feather in his cap! He’s willing to put everything he has on the line, buy a boat, fix up what he can, and then take off for parts unknown. That all shows a real spirit of adventure, love for the ocean, and a desire to find the freedom we’ve lost here.
I hope he is able to sail off soon. I’ll keep track on Facebook. It’ll inspire me to see where he winds up. I know it’ll be somewhere worth going.
How to Host an Oktoberfest Party – Betty Crocker.
Since I’ll be going back to work soon, I’ll be missing Octoberfest this year. It actually started in Munich yesterday.
It’s already over here in Houston. I might have gone if I knew about it earlier. Really, I just had too much to do at home to check out fun things to do. 🙁
It’s always like that when I first come home from being offshore for a month or more. With this new job I recently started it looks like I’ll be missing ALL of the things I’d like to do for the next few months at least. 🙁
Here are some fun suggestions for those of you who DO get a chance to enjoy some interesting events on your time off. 🙂
Those pretzels look especially interesting. And beer is always good, I even have some Saint Arnold Octoberfest brew in my fridge right now, I’ll just have to settle for a few of those before I leave for work. 🙂
Arrrrggh Mateys! This is the day we’ve all been waiting for (or not). 😉
It’s International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Enjoy watching the festivities from last year. Maybe you can find some around your location too. 🙂
I know my sailing buddies at Sail La Vie in Houston are having a big dress like a pirate paaarrty and sail tomorrow. (I’m just still too beat from work, that looooong journey home with no sleep, and too much to do to justify a 3+ hour drive, even for a great party).
Instead, I’ll be heading to the Texas Navy Day Celebrations here locally at Surfside Beach. Maybe I’ll even get to shoot a cannon! Arrrrghh, that’s a piraty activity too. 🙂
Check out the Talk Like A Pirate website, maybe you can find some nearby pirates to practice the lingo with over a good glass of grog. (It helps). Join in the fun! 🙂
Anyone who wants to send me pirate pictures, feel free! 🙂
Here’s another one to illustrate the Weekly Photo Challenge from the Daily Post. This week the subject is “silhouette”.
I took the photo a while ago when I was on vacation in Bali Indonesia. I LOVE it over there and go there every chance I get (which is not nearly often enough).
It’s such a nice, friendly, peaceful place. There is so much to do on such a small island.
I’ve been to see many of the craft villages (batik, stonework, painting, woodcarving, silver-working), enjoyed watching some of the traditional dances, explored a few temples, went horseback riding, river rafting, rice-paddy walking, bike riding, snorkeling and SCUBA diving. I still have plenty of things I’d love to do there.
One of my favorite things to do in Bali is just to head to the beach at sunset along with a lot of the locals (and other tourists like me).
This photo always reminds me of good times. 🙂
Heres another one to illustrate the Weekly Photo Challenge from the Daily Post. This week the subject is “silhouette”.
I took the photo a while ago when I was out sailing Galveston Bay with the Sail-La-Vie meetup group. We were coming in to Kemah after a great day out in the bay and everyone was relaxed and just chillin’ out.
I really liked how this photo turned out. 🙂
I thought this photo would be a good choice to illustrate the Weekly Photo Challenge from the Daily Post. This week the subject is “silhouette”.
I took the photo a while ago. I belong to a meetup group in the Houston area called Sail- La- Vie. They go out sailing pretty much every weekend.
It’s a great way for me to still get to go out sailing for the day without having to spend the money to buy another boat of my own. 🙂
I do love sailing. There’s just nothing like it. It’s so nice to be out on the water with the wind in the sails and the sound of the water rushing by. 🙂
I don’t like the worrying I do when I have a boat sitting at the dock and I’m stuck working offshore hundreds or thousands of miles away. The entire hurricane season I worry about every storm that enters the Gulf of Mexico. 🙁
With Sail-La-Vie, I can go out sailing every weekend if I want. It costs me less than $100 for the day, including the drinks and snacks we all bring to share. I have a great day out on the bay with a bunch of fun and interesting people and the best part is, I don’t have to worry about the boat.
I’ve only been home a few days so far. I’ve been really busy trying to catch up with everything that’s been needing to get done while I was at work over the last few weeks. Especially my TAXES (UGH)!! 🙁
I decided I needed a break. I got free tickets to “SHARKS After Hours” at Moody Gardens. I’m going. 🙂
Moody Gardens is in Galveston and the show is from 7-10 pm. I know I’m not going to feel like driving all the way home at that hour, so I got a hotel for the night. I figure I can hang out for a while before I head home and then stop and see my friends at Surfside on the way home.
I hope to get some more decent pictures while I’m up there, (these are from last time I went).
Moody Gardens has a bunch of cool stuff to see. They have a ‘rain forest pyramid’, an ‘aquarium pyramid’, another one that has special exhibits (last time I went it was about pirates), a water park with nice white sandy beach, zip lines, a paddle boat, etc.
I don’t have any kids but apparently it’s a great place to take them. I always see lots of families. They all look like they’re having a good time. 🙂
green sea anemone
underbelly of a sea star
sea dragon
pot bellied sea horse
puffer fish
sea turtle
chameleon
penguins
Here’s another photo for the Word a Week Photography Challenge: Red. I took this one last year when I was up messing around in Houston. I stopped somewhere to get lunch and they were having a car show out in the parking lot. They had some FINE old cars!
Here’s another photography challenge entry. This one is from the blog A Word In Your Ear. Here’s the link to it if you want to get involved…
http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-orange/
Here are a few of my photos that show off ‘orange’…
orange wave (sculpture on Gwangali Beach Korea)
orange flowers (Jayu Park, Incheon Korea)
orange food? (fish market, Incheon Korea)
orange sunset at sea
orange sunrise, Tarawa Kiribati
orange beard (Surfside Texas)
orange umbrellas (and hair)
orange fish
another orange fish
orange spots on another fish
orange boat(s) alongside at Fourchon, LA
orange uniforms on the boat (me and Jess on the DS-5)
orange sky at sea
orange chopper (USCG)
one more orange boat (lifeboat)
I hope you like these. These photo challenges are fun. I really wish I had the time to go out and take some more pictures for them but no time so I have to use some from the past. 🙁
I’m glad I had most of these photos uploaded before I came out here this hitch. I really haven’t had the time to get online much and the computer situation is not the best here. I’m kind of limited in what I can do til I get back home.
So, I figured since I already had the pictures on here, I might as well add a little bit more flavor to my earlier post about the Summertime Bikes and Blues Fest.
I was actually there last summer. They usually have this event the last weekend in August. I try to go if I’m home. I usually see a few friends, it’s neat to check out all the cool bikes, and I really love the music. It’s out in the open, spread out around the old downtown area of Freeport. I like that it’s that way, it doesn’t feel very crowded. The food is good too. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to get this post done for a while. Something always comes up. I went to the Summertime Bike and Blues Fest last summer and it’s taken me this long to get around to posting these photos.
I went down there with my friend D. They’ve been having this festival in old downtown Freeport for a few years now. It’s kind of neat wandering around down there with all the old buildings, right in the middle of everything.
We had a good time checking out the bikes, listening to the music, trying out the food, running into friends. I always like to go to these things. 🙂
Here are a few photos to get started. I’ll have more later. 😉
It’s already time to go back to work. It seems like I just got off!
Yes, I did have a couple of weeks at home. Tomorrow would have been 3 weeks. WOW! It sure flew by. 🙂
I have been pretty busy this time home. I went up to Houston a couple of times. I went to the Houston Rodeo (yeehaw!). Only my 2nd time in all the years I’ve been here. It was fun, I watched the barrel racing and the mutton busting. I tried the fried Snickers ice cream sundae (yummy). Took TONS of pictures. 🙂
I was hoping to meet a friend who was volunteering at the Wine Garden. I did actually meet her, but she was pretty busy by that time and I was on my way out. I was on the way to a meeting with the Sail La Vie sailing club I belong to (check out my post on last Saturdays sail).
That was an interesting meeting. 😉
I spent the night up there in Houston. I had planned to go to the zoo in the morning since the weather looked nice. Apparently everybody else in town had the same idea. I couldn’t get into a parking lot anywhere within a half mile.
I decided to try something else instead. I decided to check out the Houston Maritime Museum. It was actually pretty close to where I spent the night and the Zoo but I drove around for a while looking for it.
I finally found it and was glad I did. Of course, yes, I am always interested in a good maritime museum. 😉
This one didn’t look like much from outside, or even when you first walked in. But the more you wandered around, the more it opened up. There was something interesting to see around every corner.
The Houston Maritime Museum was founded by James L. Manzolillo (merchant mariner and cruise ship lecturer), and opened to the public in 2000. Since then, it’s worked to educate the public about maritime history and the continued importance of the maritime industry to Houston and the State of Texas.
I enjoyed exploring rooms full of models recreating everything from aircraft carriers (including tiny little airplanes on deck) to Liberty ships to semi submersible drilling rigs to the USS Constitution and famous ships of the age of exploration.
The museum counts Master Modeler and restoration expert Lorena Alvarez as a valued member of the team. Her expertise shows! The time and effort that goes into building even one of those models is just unbelievable and they had dozens of models!
They had an excellent collection of navigation equipment: sextants, astrolabes, starfinders, compasses, barometers and barographs, etc.
They had a nice display of ships (and other things) in bottles. I still don’t really know how they get all that done, but it looks like a good project to work on if you don’t have a blog or another hobby to keep you busy at sea. 🙂
They had a mock up of a ships conning station with the ships wheel, compass and engine order telegraph.
They had a room covering war ships and it had a pretty good exhibit on how the merchant marine functioned during war time. Convoys and Liberty ships, sinkings, explosions and other disasters, navy escorts, etc.
They had a room with memorabilia from the old cargo liners and another display of things relating to the passenger liners “Titanic”, “Olympic”, “Britannia” and the SS United States (still one of the fastest ships ever!).
They had a room to tell the history of the Port of Houston. It did a pretty good job of explaining how important the Port was and still is to Houston. How the founders built up Buffalo Bayou and brought cotton and sugar to/from Allens Landing and all up and down the Bayou. Those old photos were really fascinating!
There was another room full of really interesting stuff from the oilfield. There was a painting and write up on Howard Hughes’ (spy ship) Glomar Explorer. There were models of drillships, floating production facilities and semi submersibles. There was a nice little section on whaling (not much of that going on in Houston). 😉
They even had a room just for the kids to learn about maritime stuff. The day I was there, it was still a work in progress. They had costumes for the kids to dress up in and have fun pretending to be ships captains, pirates, mermaids, engineers, etc. 🙂
One of the staff was working on installing a cushion for the floor in the kids room and I started talking to her about the museum. Turns out she was the Director of Operations so I got a really good person to talk to and answer all of my questions.
My biggest one was: why in the world was the Maritime Museum located in such an out of the way place and not nearer to the Ship Channel where people would expect it to be? Turns out, they are in the process of building a new place right over there and it will be opening in 2014 for the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the Houston Ship Channel.
That will be a good move for the Museum, for the Port of Houston and for the general public. It should be easier to find and they will have a partnership with the M/V Sam Houston (which gives free tours of the ship channel), that should help both parties.
That tour is a very interesting thing to do too, especially if the weather is nice. Free boat ride! Woot Woot!!
It really is amazing all the things that go on in our own backyards and most people have no idea. The maritime industry is one of those things that I think more people would be interested in if they only knew about it. I think the Houston Maritime Museum will be a good place to go to learn more about it and I hope more people will take advantage of the opportunity. 🙂
I went out sailing this Saturday with the Sail La Vie meetup group (FINALLY!!). It’s been way too long since I’ve been out sailing. I always have a good time with them and this trip was no exception.
My only issue with them is that they are up in the Houston area. They usually sail out of Kemah and it is so far away, I have to get up around 0800 (on a WEEKEND) to get everything done and drive all the way up there. 🙁
I did my usual morning rush around to get out of the house before I’m too late to make the departure time. They don’t leave until noon, but they ask people to be there by 1130 to get settled and then go over the safety briefing.
I had to stop for some snacks. I got some honey BBQ chicken, cheese (smoked gouda and muenster), and some surprisingly good store made brownies. And beer (of course).
Everybody always brings so much good food, we never wind up eating it all. This time we had a full boat and we still had plenty of food, beer, wine, etc. People brought brie cheese and crackers to start with, sandwiches, calzones, chips, olives, etc.
We took the Paradise out for this trip. She’s a (1994) Hunter 42. There were 10 of us and I think she can take 12.
When we left the dock it was pretty dreary. We got out past our marina and the fog really started moving in. It was only about 1/2 to 3/4 mile visibility for a while. Some people were concerned about heading out into that. We passed quite a few boats already returning to their docks.
We continued on out, figuring that we could just go check it out and see if the fog would burn off as it warmed up. It did. Once we got out on the bay, the visibility got better. It turned into a BEAUTIFUL day for sailing. 🙂
The fog did come back for a bit later on and we got out the foghorn (hold your ears!!). Anyone who wanted to practice got plenty of time on the helm.
We did a few tacks around the bay, going nowhere in particular. We got up close to Bayport and took a look at one of the cruise ships at the dock. We talked for a while about setting up a cruise for the Sail La Vie club which I would love to be able to go on! 🙂
We headed back to our marina in time for the sunset. The Kemah Boardwalk was full of people and the docks at “Outriggers” were packed with boats.
We got everything secured at the dock by about 1830, then hung around “Paradise” for a while to BS and eat/drink the rest of our supplies while we tried to decide if we wanted to continue on.
There was some talk earlier about heading over to the Kemah Crawfish Festival, but I think most of us weren’t really up for that. We called to get a table at the ‘Swamp Shack” but they had a 1-2 hour wait and we weren’t sure if they reserved one for us or not (and nobody wanted to take a chance on possibly having to wait around so long).
A couple of people had to get on home since it was getting dark. I figured I had better just go on home too. I still had to drive over an hour to get home. I’m not too thrilled about driving at night anymore.
It’s a good thing I didn’t stay later. The fog came back on the drive home and it’s not one of my favorite things to deal with (65 mph speed limit on a 2 lane highway in thick fog).
I made it home OK and wishing I didn’t live so far from all the action! I’m already ready to go sailing again but I’m heading back to work soon and still don’t have any kind of regular schedule.
I just have to hope I’ll be home long enough next time to take another cruise with Sail La Vie (or at least make it to one of their great parties!). 😉
These photos are a combo of this Saturdays sail and the last one I was on (Jan 26, 2013).
I stuck around as long as I could stand it. At least I got to see a lot of old friends and catch up on the news down at the beach. Too bad the weather just SUCKED!
I hate it when the rain gets all over my glasses and I can’t see!
People down there work and plan all year to make this event a success and the cold and rainy weather put a damper on it once more. 🙁
I think only the regulars showed up down there to start with, and only the real die hards stuck around til the parade started.
I wound up leaving right before they started the parade. For some strange reason, I didn’t really feel like hanging around drinking all day (the bars were PACKED with people trying to dry off).
At least I got a few decent pictures. I got to try out my new Olympus Tough camera. It’s waterproof! 🙂
Sorry I haven’t had time to do a whole lot of posting here this week. I hope I can catch up some in the next few days.
I’ve been enjoying my time home and busy doing some fun stuff for a change. I went to the Houston Rodeo, the Houston Maritime Museum, the Sail La Vie meeting, the Campaign for Liberty meeting, and this morning I went to the St Patricks Day Parade at the beach.
I haven’t had time yet to get my pictures together, but here’s a preview. I’ll get them up tomorrow! 🙂
Now THIS is some cooking I could get into! 😉
I never used to like beer. I grew up on the beach in FL and I used to be a wino. 😉
My father always drank wine. Maybe it was because his mother was Italian and always had wine with meals. We always had wine around the house (and so it was very easy for me to have some whenever I wanted).
When I moved to Texas (to go to school) I was in for a major culture shock. First of all, most of the area where I moved to was ‘dry’- no alcohol! WTF??!!
Moving from a little fishing town in FL with 15 bars/restaurants within a few blocks (along with everything else we would need to live) to Texas where my school was 5 miles away in one direction one of my jobs was 10 miles away in the other direction and the other job another 5 miles away in yet another direction.
WOW! I really had no idea how big Texas was when I moved here. 🙂
So of course there was nothing within walking distance, or even within a reasonable bike ride away. There was not a bar I could find that had anything but beer. For some reason beer was almost always available even when nothing else was. Blue laws???
So, I switched to beer out of necessity. 😉
I never really thought about cooking with beer, I just drank it. Sometimes I made neat things out of the empty cans. I remember a beer can Christmas tree one year. 😉
I’m not sure why I never thought about cooking with beer before. I did cook with wine growing up. I remember a bunch of my dads fishermen pals stopping by to help me cook a pot of beef stew.
It went like this… throw some onions and the beef in the pot and some (red) wine. Pass around the wine.
Check on the stew, throw in some potatoes and celery and some more wine. Pass around the bottle.
Check on the stew, throw in some carrots and mushrooms and some more wine. Pass around (another) bottle.
I think you get the picture. 😉
We all enjoyed the stew!! 🙂
I think this ‘Peppered Beef Soup’ could be done in the same style. I’ll have to invite some friends over and try it out one of these days. 🙂
That ‘Beer Cheese Spread” does look really good to me, and not too hard to make either. I’ll definitely be trying that recipe soon!
I’m not too sure about the rest of the recipes (just not really my kind of thing), tho they do sound like a good way to use up your beer (if for some reason you don’t drink it all).
