Blast from the Past

This is Mom and Grandma then more Cousins and Sis

Blast from the Past

This is my Grandpa McHale and all my cousins in the 2nd picture!

Beach Day!!

Another trip to the beach! Gosh ya gotta love it. A stiff East wind brought in some very choppy seas and some low level clouds all day long today. I did get in a nice 8 mile ride on the bike and believe me the sand was not as hard as concrete today...it was like riding in mud due to the very high tide that saturated the beach. I caught some very nice body surf action off the second sandbar..the current was swift to the south but no rip tides at all today. I did spot a surf board at the local shop that I will most likely purchase next weekend. It is an NSP 6'4" Fish board that includes the pad, fins and leash. Can't wait. Of course I'll have to buy a wet suit soon as the water cools. The water was still 81 degrees today. The pictures above are of the board walk to the beach, the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and of course the surf.

Here at my temp. home

And finally I have somewhat caught up with my posts here. My job is going well after the first week and as usual with a new job I am learning all the new systems at TriQuint. So here is a picture of a sunset here at my condo in Sanford and a picture from the website of the place I am staying. And I'll start uploading a Blast from the past photo or 2..

Road Trip to West Coast

Sunday Oct. 18th , Today I caught up to Bob Patton a friend I use to work with up in Richmond at Qimonda to go on a road trip in the Miata. We decided to head west to Crystal River which happens to be just south of a nuclear power plant..yes a nuke right on the Gulf coast. Anyway the beach over in this area is not really great at all. There are several barrier islands off shore in very shallow water that make this area a non swimming area. Besides the beach is more like mud than a sandy beach.

The pictures above are from Homosassa Springs State Park which is located off hwy 44 about 40 miles north of Tampa Bay. Here I did see my first Florida alligator and Manatee, look close at the blob in the picture above to see it. You can also see the flamingos and a sandhill crane. I'll have to say some of the areas like Leesburg and Clermont Florida are Hilly with many very large live oak trees and pasture lands with cattle, reminds me of Texas. I also seen some very nice citrus orchards just west of Orlando. Overall nice ride and a nice day to do it...it was only 70 degrees today!

New Smyrna Beach

Well another trip to the beach, today is Sat. Oct. 17th a very breezy cool day since the first cold front passed through last night. It is only 74 degrees with a stiff north west wind causing the surf to be peaky. When I first arrived at the beach I took my old Rockhopper for a 15 mile ride. The beach here is drivable with vehicles for a 6 mile stretch for a 5 dollar fee. So riding the bike on the packed sand by the water is like riding on a sidewalk. It was an easy ride going south but when I finally turned back I had to fight the wind! I meandered through some of the
neighborhoods and business streets to actually take in all the places as I miss all this stuff while driving a car as it just flies by. Biketoberfest was also in full swing so the hogs and biker chicks were everywhere! The main drag was closed off to automobiles, motorcycles only and there was a chili cook off.

After riding I went to rent a surf board for my second so called session! I'll tell you what. When it is this cold out you want to stay in the water since it still 82 degrees. Anyway like I said the waves were very peaky and running 3 to 5 feet with short periods...What a workout. I think I forgot to tell you the first time I did this last week I was sore for 5 days! Straddle a wide board and paddle on your belly for a while and you will know what I mean. I found muscles that have not been used in some time especially under the pecs. So today was quite an effort getting out and also having several wipeouts! Hey it was fun. Cant wait to do it again.

Note, Sunday I wake up with a pretty good sunburn on my face..guess the SPF washed off..did not get burnt anywhere else.

Finally I Surf !

New Smyrna Beach

The closest beach to where I am staying here in Sanford is New Smyrna Beach, its only 38 miles and an easy drive from here. Today is Sat. Oct. 10th another balmy warm day..and a good one to come here! I am taking my first surfing lessons from a place called Nichols Surf Shop!! Woo Hoo! I was lucky enough today to have my lesson be a one on one with the owner of the shop Chuck Carter. I have always wanted to learn how to surf and finally I live close enough to warm surfable water to do it. Chuck did a fantastic job teaching and I had a blast at the shop and out in the water learning several maneuvers on a beginners soft board. Overall Chuck thought I did a terrific job for a first timer, apparently most people struggle getting through the surf and even onto the board. I did catch 1 good wave where I was almost in a stand up position but the wave wanked out. Other than that I had several catches but could not get off my knees or turned before the wave crashed. The surf was not that big today only knee to waist high. I'll keep trying! By the way...New Smyrna and Sebastian are the 2 best places to surf the entire east coast due the the mostly consistent conditions. One thing that is different about New Smyrna is it is also the shark attack capital of the world! I think 27 bites last year! No deaths..just nibbles!

Since it was a one on one I did not get any pictures..so maybe in the future I'll meet some other surfers that can snap a few! Hey..at least I can share some laughs..right!

Ft. Pierce

Ft. Pierce

After enjoying a nice swim at Sebastian I continued to motor south towards Vero Beach. By far this is the nicest stretch of 1A1 for the segment I have traveled. Although I could not find a public entrance to go see and swim at Vero, no doubt this is an upscale community with stunning homes and golf course after golf course consuming this narrow stretch of barrier island land. The Vero area is also densely overgrown with beautiful tropical vegetation that is very well manicured. Watch out for the speed traps..they are every where!

I have been to Ft. Pierce before to visit my aunt Mary so I can remember the area somewhat.
After driving 7 hours in the Miata with the top down on a balmy hot day like today it was time to take another swim. After criss crossing the causeway 2 times to get around the inlet I went to South Beach and found a very nice new and improved parking area with facilities. This beach has a very steep drop off to the water and when you get in the water at the edge there is a fairly deep trough which reminds me of the outer banks in North Carolina. I also noticed the water seemed to be very salty and fishy smelling compared to the beaches north of this area. The swim was great at any rate though. Time to swing by a beach dive and order up an ice cold dollar beer! I passed by the place earlier and seen the Happy Hour signs. Hard to believe you can still get a beer for a buck! On to Mary's now.

Sebastian Inlet

Sebastian Inlet Florida

Continuing down HWY 1A1 south from Cocoa you pass through the Melbourne Beach areas. I wish you could see more of the Ocean while driving this road but there are Condos and homes stretched along the east side of the highway for miles. The next stop to go for a swim is Sebastian Inlet. This is the best surf area on the east coast due to the inlet, pier, ocean bottom topography and currents. As you can see here in the pictures the water really clears up compared to 30 miles north at Cocoa. Today 10/6/09 the water is very calm and a warm 83 degrees. Since I have moved down here I want to learn how to surf so I'd imagine this coming weekend I will take some lessons. Sebastian Inlet hosts a very nice Florida state Park that has full facilities great snorkeling areas and the best fishing in east central Florida. "I'll be back!"

Cocoa Beach

PAFB Beach

After getting settled in to my new temporary housing 10/6/2009 I thought I'd make a run down to Ft. Pierce to visit Mary. I took the scenic route 1A1 from Port Canaveral to the Ft. Pierce area making stops at Ron Jon surf shop in Cocoa Beach then a quick dip in the ocean. I had never been to Cocoa Beach and overall was not very impressed with it. I also stopped at Patrick AFB beach which was much better than Cocoa Beach. The sand here gets really hot and the grains are rather course, I suppose this contributes to the sand maintaining the heat! Bring flip flops!

Florida bound - Finally found a good job!

Wow, its been a while since I last posted on my blog. As most of you know this year has not been the best due to me being unemployed from the Qimonda bankruptcy.

Finally some good news to share! I am moving to Florida (Orlando area) to work for a company named TriQuint. My house is also under contract here in Sandston and it will close on Oct. 30th so even more good news right!

I'm sure I will miss the Virginia area , after all it does have a mild climate except for the winter (which I hate) and a lot of really cool friends here.

Guam 1976

Had a good time in those days back on the island of Guam. Wish I could locate all the friends as we all scatter over the years being military...what a party we could have!

Cool Views from the air CLICK HERE

A few old pictures from Guam

I scanned these pictures from the very few I have of our time in Guam. You can see some of the damage from Super Typhoon Pamela a couple Birthday pictures a couple shots from the boonies and beach. I think these were back in the days of the kodak 110 (?) film.

Guam Links

While surfing around on the internet I found some cool links where you can see some old pictures of Guam , NCS , Typhoon Pamela stuff. Check em out!

http://www.navycthistory.com/guam_camplin01.html

http://www.edsanders.com/typhoon/pamela.htm

http://www.navycthistory.com/guam_intro.html

http://www.guampedia.com/

www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guam.htm

Laird Hamilton Wild Surf

Big Waves

A Red Headed Woodpecker!

There has been 2 of these birds hanging out in the woods around the house for the past summer. They are fairly large and really cool to see when they fly by.

Average Debt per capita since Sept. 2007

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 05 Jun 2009 at 03:57:39 AM GMT is:

The estimated population of the United States is 306,309,647
so each citizen's share of this debt is $37,148.94.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.85 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Is it time to move to Australia???

My Mom

I had a chance to scan in this picture of my Mom when she was a baby! Ain't she cute!!!

Hi Mom!

Memorial Day Parade in Sandston Virginia!

Well , it has been sometime since my last post -"how time flies". Everything is going well here with the exception of not finding a good job. We have had over 3 inches of rain the past 2 days and it was needed since we had not received any for a week or so , the garden needed it due to the unusually hot days that we just had- the temps were at 98.

I have started to pack items in the house in the event I sell , which is about inevitable at this point. Not sure what the plan is since I do not have a job. It is difficult to figure out what to do as you could imagine. Its a shame that the Factory has not been able to be sold yet..and it does not look like any viable buyers have any negotiations. There may be a hopeful prospect for a good job but I am still waiting for the posting..more later on this.

Well , last week I went with my "bud" Rabbit to the Memorial Day Parade (1st Annual) in hopping Sandston Virginia and attended the Memorial Day service at the Seven Pines Memorial Cemetery. I was a little upset that the persons presiding over the ceremony made many political comments which on this day are very much uncalled for. What a shame. I'll leave you with a few photos of the parade..Rabbit is pictured along with Hillbilly Red (in the golf cart). Hillbilly stoked the grill at his restaurant and cooked up some great hot dogs with all the sides which was very nice of him to do for all of us.

My Hydrangia Flowers in FULL force

I have a 22' ring of these that come back every year around my deep well head. I call these snowballs but the real name is Hydrangea. They sell these things at the flower shop for 5 bucks each! I usually get about 300 of them easily around this well head. They love shade and wet soil...Sun is their enemy!

I am ready for more monster tomatoes

You can see here evidence of my "premier" virginia grown (organic) tomato from my garden the previous seasons. Things are looking good out there other than the rabbits terrorizing my green beans for the 3rd year in row. I need to call Dick Cheney down here to eradicate them! Don't worry I'll stay far away when he is around with a loaded weapon.

Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Well, since I was feeling lucky when I woke up Saturday morning I thought I'd head down to Colonial Downs here in Virginia-New Kent County (about 23 miles from house) to wager on the biggest horse race of the year. I did quite a bit of research on the internet to help me choose the winning horse and came up with #6 Frisian Fire , #15 Dunkirk and #16 Pioneer of the Nile. These horses were heavily favored to win the roses. I also went ahead and picked my long shot horse #4 Advice since I usually always do. The track was super sloppy since it had rained so much and the inside horses through the day seemed to be favored so this did not fair well with my #15 and #16 choices. I knew this , but was content with my picks.

Wow..was I ever wrong...none of my horses placed and were far from placing throughout the whole race. Horse #8 Mine that Bird as you all know was the horse that had the longest shot at winning 50:1 , and you know the result..#8 pulls in the big win by far. I mean BY FAR. This horse took them all out and left the herd in the mud. This was the second biggest win by a long shot in the history of the Run for the Roses at Churchill. The last time a long shot won by this distance was 1918.

Since 8 is my lucky number I should of placed a simple Win bet on him for poops and grins. A $2 bet on this would of yielded $104 big smacks...Whew. I only heard a few people holler at the result at the track and likewise only a few people go to the window to collect any earnings. What a loss for SO MANY PEOPLE today. I still wonder if anyone out there put a Win for $2000 bucks on number 8 because if they did it would of been a $104,000.00 gain !!! What a race. I am sure Mine That Bird will be one of the most famous wins at Churchill and would bet that a movie will be coming out to tell the story of this great win.

Lipton Tea 250

Friday night I went to watch the Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond International Speedway with James Key. We found some great tickets in the Commonwealth Tower section so that was very cool. The higher up you get at these races the more you can see. Our seats were just about at the top (highest point in the stadium). The race was fun to watch, not that many accidents and Kyle Busch ended up winning the race fairly easy.

The 2 pictures you see here I had taken at last years Indy Car race at RIR. You can see how high the Commonwealth Tower is in this picture. The Indy cars run near 200mph while top speed on the NASCAR's are about 145.

Lisa's new Miata!

Well , looks like Lisa may be having a bout with Mid-Life crisis since she ran out and purchased a Miata! I say good for her! Of course I laughed at Becky's serious comment with regard to only being able to get one weeks worth of groceries in the car rather than 2 weeks worth of food! Becky was very concerned about this issue! LOL , you'll live Becky!