Perfect Timing

Every once in a while, usually by shear luck, it’s possible to point your camera in the right direction at the right time and capture a perfect memory.

I found one of those memories last night as I was looking through old photo albums.



This is the Island King and I in 1993.

We were at a beach party and as we were walking down the beach he tossed a bucket of water on me and our friend, Lori, snapped our picture a moment later.

I love the feigned innocent look on his face.

And the shock on mine. I never saw it coming.

A great picture and definitely a case of perfect timing.

Metal Detecting

My Mother gave the Island King a metal detector for Christmas a few years ago and after using it several times he put it away and forgot about it.

He found it in the back of his closet the other day and now has metal detecting fever.


He is loving it.


The Youngest Island Boy is loving it too and is convinced that he's going to find treasure.


He walks along with the Island King and as soon as the detector beeps he's ready to dig in and see what he can find.



A quarter made him really happy.


They found all kinds of things one afternoon last week.


Interesting, but sad to realize so much litter is buried in the sand.

They've only found sixty five cents so we aren't rolling in treasure yet but they are having a lot of fun looking for it.

Who knows - Mel Fisher found the Atocha so the Island King and the Youngest might find treasure too.

Wordless Wednesday

Hit and Run

The Island King and I were sitting at our computers yesterday afternoon and a car drove past the house.

Moments later we heard a really loud crash and knew that car had hit something.

I knew my kids were inside but our street is always swarming with kids and animals and hearing the crash I was sure someone had been run over.

We went running outside just in time to see the car backing up and then pull away.

And we saw this.


They hit our mailbox.

By the time this picture was taken we'd moved the mailbox, which landed on the other side of our neighbor's driveway, back into our yard near the post.

The car pulled away slowly but we were only able to get half of the tag number.

Holy cow! This car just ran off the road, plowed our mailbox down and then continued on their way.

Thank God it wasn't a child or an animal.

We immediately went into Alice's Restaurant mode and took at least 27 8x10 color glossies of the tire track.


And we called the police so we could file a report with Officer Obie.

Who was a really nice guy that showed up about 15 minutes later.

He'd already done a quick canvas of the neighborhood but didn't see the car.

He offered to let us fill out a report so we could file a claim on our homeowner's insurance but didn't really feel like he'd have much of a chance catching the car.

He did say he would be watching for it and we all agree there has to be a dent in the front bumper so he just might run across it.

Surprisingly, our mailbox took the hit really well and all we had to do was sink it back in the hole and rescrew the box onto the post.


And the box that flew across the yard didn't even have a dent in it.

There is a chunk of wood missing from the pole

But isn't something we'd file an insurance claim on.

The guy could have totaled the mailbox and we still wouldn't come close to hitting our deductible.

What are the chances that of all the mailboxes on our street it was ours that got hit?

I'm not even surprised.

Amnesty Day

Once a year our garbage collection company offers an Amnesty Day.

Normally, our company won't pick up anything that doesn't fit into the standard issue trash can but on Amnesty Day you can put anything out by the road and they will pick it up.

Which means the night before, the streets are lined with piles of junk.

It's like a Redneck version of Christmas morning.

Needless to say, we couldn't miss such a golden opportunity to collect more junk.

There weren't as many piles this year as there have been in the years past - I guess people aren't buying new and throwing away the old as much now as they used to.

But we did make several really good finds.

These bikes are in almost perfect condition.

They both need new hand grips but everything else on them is in excellent shape.

This bike is also in excellent shape and even though we've looked it over good we can't find anything wrong with it.


We also found these two wicker chairs that will look great in our Florida room.

New cushions and maybe a little paint and they'll be good to go.

This little cooler seems like it's ok.

I guess we'll find out the next time we're at the beach.

And this lawnmower will be perfect for Tower Camp.

It needs a new front wheel but it cranks and runs fine.

I love Amnesty Day.

You never know what treasures you'll find in junk piles by the road.

Failure To Communicate

The Island King and I decided we wanted to try a new Sushi restaurant on Friday night so we ordered pizza for the kids, left the Island Girl in charge and off to dinner we went.

When we got to the sushi place we were excited to see a sign outside that said "All you can eat Sushi buffet - $9.95"

Perfect.

Inside we go and as the waitress showed us to our table she asked something we couldn't understand. She asked a few more times but it wasn't until she made a drinking gesture with her hand that we realized she wanted our drink order.

I ordered a Coke and she smiled, said something and then said "Diet"

No, I may need diet but I don't want diet. I want a real Coke. She smiled more, said "Diet" a few more times and every time she'd say "Diet" I'd say "No Diet - real Coke."

She finally nodded her head and then turned to look at the Island King.

He ordered a Coors Light and she shook her head like she didn't understand.

He said it a couple of more times and each time she shook her head no.

The restaurant was empty (which is odd on a Friday night) and he could see the bar so he got up, walked over and pointed at a Coors Light bottle that was sitting in a display on the bar.

She said something in Japanese and walked off.

And then returned with a Coors Light and a diet Coke.

I don't know if they only had diet or if she was just determined for me to have a diet beverage but apparently that was all I was getting.

She hands us a menu that has no prices on it and says "All you can eat" while moving her hand across the menu.

He asked about the $9.95 buffet sign outside and she started saying $19.95.

For close to five minutes her and the Island King discussed the menu. Him in English and her in Japanese.

He's one of those people that believes speaking louder and using a lot of hand gestures will break any language barrier so he was getting louder and more animated by the minute.

Which is always hysterical to watch.

He was getting a little frustrated so he finally said "So it's all I can eat from anything on this menu for twenty bucks?"

There was a long silence and then she shrugged her shoulders and said "Ok."

Which really seemed more like a 'shut the hell up, quit waving your arms around and just order' ok than a 'your dinner is $20' ok.

We told her we needed a minute and I guess she didn't understand because she just kept standing there.

We finally made a shooing gesture with our hands so she'd go away and we could talk.

Which didn't make her happy because she gave us a serious frown and then stomped off.

By now the Island King has decided he wants a seared tuna but doesn't see it on the menu so he spots the waitress and waves her over to ask about tuna.

Again we have two people speaking two different languages and every time he says "Tuna" she says "Tuka?"

Is Tuka the Japanese word for Tuna? We have no idea.

So my husband the genius asks her if the chef speaks English. And then takes a pen and piece of paper and writes TUNA on it and asks her to take it to the chef.

We watch her go toward the kitchen where all of the wait staff are standing and they all look at the paper. Someone yells something into the kitchen and the chef comes out. He looks at the paper, writes something on it and then hands it back to the waitress.

She brought us the note back and under the word Tuna is something written in Japanese.

Which sent me into a fit of almost hysterical laughter. If the chef doesn't speak English why would you think he can read English?

Their alphabet doesn't even look like ours.

Meanwhile, the line from Cool Hand Luke is playing in my head and I kept hearing "What we have here is a failure to communicate" over and over again.

The waitress is getting impatient with us and wants to take our order so she starts pointing to the menu and saying "All you can eat."

The menu is just a list of all kinds of food but I'm confused. Do I pick one thing and eat all I can or can I order several different things?

I asked several times and each time she'd say "All you can eat."

She was quite frustrated at this point so she does a deep sigh, throws her hands up in the air and walks off.

The Island King and I are looking at each other and he says "I've got a bad feeling about this."

He tells me that while he believes the food will be good that he's uncomfortable ordering from a menu with no prices and that he's not sure what's up with the all you can eat since the sign outside says one thing and the waitress is possibly saying something else.

Which is when we realize that we have two choices. We can order something from the menu and hope to pay a reasonable price or we can go to another place down the road that we are familiar with.

By now I was over wanting to try the new place, wanted a non-diet Coke, and my sides were hurting from laughing at the Island King.

We decide to pay for our drinks and go to the other place.

The waitress returns and we tell her we've decided to come back another night and want to pay for our drinks and go now.

That must not happen often because she had a really blank look on her face and even though the Island King was doing his charades act trying to get our bill she didn't have a clue.

She called over another waitress who didn't understand what we wanted either and called a bus boy over.

It wasn't long before most of the employees were standing around our table, all talking at once and not one word of it in English.

What in the hell is happening here?

I'm trying not to laugh because I don't want them to think I'm laughing at them but seriously, them all talking at once in Japanese and the Island King playing charades was just too much and I sat there holding my sides with tears running down my face.

Finally, by pointing at our drinks, opening his wallet and trying to hand them money they must have understood.

They all started talking to each other at once and one woman gave us a look that was not very nice at all.

I have no idea what she said when she gave us that look but I don't have to speak Japanese to know it wasn't something nice.

Someone brought us our bill and then the whole group followed us to the door, all talking at once.

We're not sure but it's possible they were throwing us out.

Interestingly, the place we ended up is a Chinese restaurant and my fortune cookie said "People are talking about you today."

Which is probably true - I'm sure those people in the Japanese place will be talking about us for many days.

That Man Caught a Mullet

We passed this man fishing on the beach and just happened to walk past him at the perfect time.


He was reeling in his line to check his bait and was surprised to find a fish on his hook.


We stopped to see what kind of fish it was and were really surprised to see that he'd caught a Mullet.


A nice size Mullet at that.


It's rare to catch a mullet on a hook. Most mullet are caught in cast nets.

I don't know who was more surprised - the fish or the fisherman.

He was really proud of his catch and gladly let us take his picture.


The mullet around here are very tasty, which is not the case for all mullet. Being bottom feeders they don't taste good if they're caught in muddy or dirty water.

So as well as having a tale to tell this man has dinner too.

The Jetties Sailboat

Do you remember the sailboat that ran ashore near the jetties and sat there for months?



She was a sad sight.

Unfortunately, things have gotten worse for her.



She's now sitting underwater right off the beach.

It's painful to see such a beautiful boat end up with such a sad fate.

I hope someone will come along and salvage her soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Webelos Crossover Ceremony

The Oldest Island Boy has really enjoyed being a Webelos and he's spent a lot of his time working towards his ultimate goal - receiving the Arrow of Light and becoming a Boy Scout.

A real Boy Scout. He's so funny when he says that and I always think of Pinocchio wanting to be a Real Boy.

After 2 years as a Webelos the time has come and he and the other boys in his group have earned their Arrow of Light patch and crossed over into Boy Scouts.

He's not a Cub Scout anymore, Dorothy.


Their faces were painted with 4 marks.

Each mark symbolized the lessons learned as a Cub Scout, a promise to obey the Scout law, the Arrow of Light award and the beginning of a path toward Eagle.

Each boy was then presented his Arrow of Light patch.


They lined up and as their name was called they crossed a "bridge" and were met by the Boy Scouts on the other side.


They were handed a plaque showing all of their achievements


And their shoulder loops were changed from Cub Scout blue to Boy Scout green.

I can't tell you how proud that boy was of those green loops.

He also received a certificate for completing all 20 achievements instead of just the required 15.


We're very proud of him and I hope he enjoys scouting as much as I think he will.


My parents came over for dinner and the ceremony and after it was over we went back to the house where there were presents waiting for the Oldest.

He got a swivel head flashlight, his own mess kit and a set of utensils from my parents.




He likes to cook and is excited about having his own "gear."

His father was sent on a mission to get him a new pocket knife from us.

I should have known that wasn't a good idea.

He came home with a belt knife.

A big belt knife.

It did come with restrictions though.

He's not allowed to carry it around the neighborhood or when he goes out to play.

It's for camping, hiking and hunting only.

But he's ok with that and already has it tucked in his backpack - ready for a chance to strap it on his belt.

We're very proud of you Son and know that you will have lots of happy scouting memories.

Determined To Be In A Boat

We watched some people paddle up to the beach the other day and while we could tell they'd had fun we had no idea just how determined they'd been to get out in their boat for the day.

Until they started dragging the boat from the beach up to the parking lot.

It slid along the sand easily.


But they had to pick it up to get up into the parking lot.


Then we realized they faced a bigger obstacle than having to carry the boat to the parking lot.

What do you do when you don't have a truck to put the boat in?


You put it on top of your car.


And then you drive off into the sunset.


You just never know what you'll see around here.

Beach Ducks

We met an interesting couple at the beach the other day.


They're an attractive pair and caught our eye as they made their way down the beach.



Something about us must have caught their attention as well because they wandered up to say hello.



She was quite chatty


But he was a little on the reserved side.


The Youngest Island Boy immediately went into Bird Boy mode and offered them a cracker.



The Island King shared his cracker too.


After visiting for awhile they moved on down the beach a little and picked a quiet spot to rest.

But then...

Another male swam up and our friend got really upset.

He took off running across the beach, head down, wings flapping, squawking like crazy right at the new guy.


Which made the new guy turn tail and fly away as fast as he could.

But just leaving the beach wasn't good enough and our friend continued to chase him out into the Bay.


I was curious how his wife was handling his fit of jealousy so I looked over and was surprised to find that she was completely unaffected.

She closed her eyes, tucked her head in and took a nap.


Her husband didn't give up easily and stayed out in the Bay, keeping a close watch over the intruder. Every time the new guy would start to get close to the beach again he'd fly straight at him, squawking at the top of his lungs.

Eventually the intruder gave up and swam off, the husband came back to the beach, collected his wife and off they flew.

He was so quiet when we met him that I never would have guessed he had such a jealous streak.