Myself, Vanessa, and Vero packing up to go home. Notice how pale I still am after three days in the sun. At least I found my shades.
 

Mike and I at the end of the trip. They call me Gilligan. Our canoe was the General Lee. 

Memorial Day Extreme

For Memorial Day I embarked on an extreme adventure! That’s right, three days and two night in the wilderness with nothing but my wits and about 80 pounds (felt like 200) of modern technology. The trip was organized by Victor and the main players in the eXtrememiami club came along. The plan was to drive to Myakka state park on Saturday and hike into a primitive campsite and spend the night. Sunday we were to arise early and drive another hour to pick up canoes and begin the first leg of a 23 mile paddle down the scenic Peace River. Monday we were to finish up the trip and head back to Miami to resume reality.

The trip turned out great. We had 14 people come along in 4 cars; I rode up with Vanessa in her truck. We shared the four hour drive from Miami with Tom and Vero. We arrived at Myakka around 2 and everyone got on the trail by 3. Now I have found the State Park maps here in Florida to be less than ideal for orienteering. This one was no exception. We ended up taking the long way around, about a four mile hike. At one Point Mike and I hiked ahead to find the site and come back to help the others. We arrived back to the group to find them already setting up camp in clearing and about 10 seconds from starting an illegal fire in an illegal campsite. It's all fun and games until you have to pay a $500 dollar fine. No worries on that count, we grabbed the gear and moved to the sanctioned site and enjoyed ourselves immensely that night.

The next morning started out harsh. We had to be out of the site at 8 so we could get to the canoe place in time. I couldn't find my sunglasses or my eating utensils while packing up. They turned up later whenI unpacked my tent. I was not the only one with a hangover that day. The pictures below demonstrate some of the evenings highlights. Johnny Walker is not so friendly the morning after my friends! The 2 mile hike back to the cars was unpleasant to say the least. I need to rethink my packing strategy to dump some weight for the next trip. I suppose another option would be to drink less and sleep more. Naaah! After a nap in the car and some Gatorade I was suitably refreshed for the paddling part of the adventure.

We were shooting for a bridge that was supposed to be the halfway point for our trip. The river was high and the water calm. We spent a lot of time looking at Gators and Turtles on the banks. There were a lot of huge trees blocking parts of the river, victims of the hurricanes. It made it interesting. Mike and I almost got swamped by an airboat that blew past us going much too fast. How Rude!

We finally reached the Bridge and set up camp on a low ridge overlooking a flat stretch of water. We quickly built a fire (We always quickly build a fire) and played Frisbee in the water for a long time. This night the alcohol was mostly gone and it was a relaxed evening for all. Later that night some folks came up the river on a john boat with a 10,000 candlepower flashlight playing all over the water. We figured they were looking to poach some alligators. They came up and down the river twice but it didn’t look like they got anything. Score one for the Gators!

I crashed at 11 but got up again around two and hung out some more and helped burn all of our trash. “Don’t burn plastic.” I said when I walked up to the fire. The four late-niters all laughed. They had just thrown the plastic trash bags on the fire. “Alright, just don’t throw the aerosol cans on the fire. They explode.” More laughter. They had been in the garbage bags! Lady luck was shining down on us in the early morning moonlight. No explosions. Now they know not everything can be burned, and knowing is half the battle.

Monday we got up at 8 and packed up after breakfast. We expected a long day of paddling. After a bit we passed the poachers site. We all recognized the fat guy with tattoos who had been flashlight. Later we passed another site who wanted to trade us beers for soda. Unfortunately we had none to offer. I feel for them though. We hit the end of the trip at 11:30, three hours before we had expected. That sucked. Mike and I passed on some really sweet looking rope swings because we thought we were pressed for time. Stupid River maps! Next time I go camping I’m getting a real map of the area so this sort of thing doesn’t happen. I really could have slept longer in the morning and taken time to play Tarzan for a while.

Late night yoga on top of a cooler. I may never learn. 

Yes, that's a human pyramid. We went there. Didn't end up as stable as it looks here. 

My friendly backyard wildlife, the Gecko. This little fella was chillin' on my front door last night. 

Extinct...Not!

Many of you may have heard about the big excitement in the birder community. Investigators from Cornell have found a live specimen of the Ivory-Billed woodpecker in the Cache River National Wildlife Reserve in Arkansas. This bird had been listed as extinct for 60 years. They weren't looking for it, they just stumbled upon it while canoeing down the river.

This news pleases me quite a bit. It's good to think that nature can persevere despite the best efforts of modern man. I have hopes that other species once thought extinct will be found or saved. I believe it's important that we do this as responsible stewards of the planet.

As a tribute I started to look around at the backyard wildlife in my neck of the woods. I have personally seen many birds, including bluebirds, cardinals, and some kind of really loud toucan looking bird. On the ground I found slugs, snails, and squirrels. At night in the huge Mango tree above my deck I've seen a possum, rats, cats, and a raccoon. The two wee beasties I see most often are Geckos and Palmetto Bugs (a gentle name for cockroaches). The palmetto bugs hate the rain and when it rains hard (everyday this time of year) they cling to the window screens trying to get in to the apartment. I am of mixed feelings about this. I have no problem with them outside, but when I find them inside, they meet a swift demise. It's a challenge because those bugs move fast! Really fast! Like jedi ninja fast! My advantage is my reach is greater than theirs.

I'm about to get ready to go out for the evening. Tomorrow I'll put up some photos of my exploits. Until then, stay classy America!

My Parents have Moose as backyard wildlife. Crazy! Same coast, opposite ends. - Photo Courtesy of Ray Coyle. 

Matt Reisz and I at Automatic Slims. 

Holy Thieving Thieves!

Well, It's been a busy week in Miami, my home town.

My cousin Mathew called me out of the blue on Saturday. Says hes in South Beach with some buddies and do I want to go out tonight. Well of course I do! I called around, but it was too late to get on any lists. I generally do not deal with the velvet rope patrol If I can help it so we went to Automatic Slims. A great place to party with no cover. I usually enjoy myself when I go there and this was no exception. Check out the picture above.

There is always drama on the beach. I have lived her for a while now and I thought I knew the ins and outs. Not so good friends, not so. My beloved Focus was assaulted while I partied the night away! Miscreants! Scoundrels! I knew it was a bad idea to park at a meter in the street. They broke the rear passenger window, and the little vent window behind it. Looks to me like the used a screwdriver. They got my cell phone and the adapter I use to play MP3s through the stereo. Not a great haul considering the trouble I have gone through cleaning up this mess. To add to this pile of suckitude, I left my wallet at the bar.

At this point, I have ordered a new cell phone, cancelled every piece of plastic I own, and had one of the windows fixed. I cancelled the cards because I figured the wallet was gone too, but my buddy Ryan had seen me leave it and grabbed it for me. He brought it by Sunday evening, but not before I'd cancelled everything. I am hugely thankful I got it back, but still without cash.

Oh how I have suffered. I couldn't manage to see Star Wars until tonight! First time since empire I have missed an opening night! The tragedy! I had my Yoda outfit all ready!

It could be worse I guess. Still sucks. I feel chastened. My parents were nice enough not to lecture me, although my friends have given it to me good. I'm still confused as to why they thieves broke the tiny little window in the back corner. You can't get anything from there! Weird. On the bright side, the guy who put the new window in explained to me that auto glass is designed to break into very small pieces. It is this property that makes it impossible to pop your tires by running over it in the street.

So that's the news from Miami, where the women are hot , the men are Latin, and the thieves are brazen.

Patricia, Christina, and me at Pawnshop 

Picture Pages

O.K. I think I have the technology to put pictures in this blog. Here goes:

-Nope, the program was blocked by my pop-up blocker. I'm trying again.

-It seems I have to download a special program. I'm on it.

-Alright, here we go again. Still wrestling with the Hello program.... I think I've got it....

Yes! It works! Behold pictures of Miami nightlife!

Free! Free at last!

YES! I do not know what to do with myself. In the past two weeks I have written over 100 pages worth of final exams and papers, attended a five day research conference, and today I sent off a 300 page research grant. Tonight I got home and have nothing pending. I have about six weeks until summer school. This feels like forever! What do I do with all my free time? Any suggestions?

I am starting with Clean laundry. Oh, the oft overlooked joy of fabric softener!