Fire & New Arrivals

After being here one night, it was time for a bonfire. Brad's dad has some scraps laying around that he wanted burned, so we obliged him...

Erik Lighting The Fire

It Burned Nicely

It Was A Very Hot Fire

Had Some Late Night Arrivals

Kristy & Chris Rolled Into Camp Around 1:40 Local Time

For some reason Kristy was a little camera shy and very tired. But I had to do my duty and document her arrival.

Rock Season

There is one positive to the low water level. It has made rock hunting easier. It does not provide adequate cover for the rock herds located around the lake. The rocks have been slow to take up on this and have not realized they are no longer hidden from view. Erik and I took advantage of this and headed for the island to find more rocks for the fire pit.

The Channel Is Very Shallow

The Island has Managed To Increase Its Real estate

Skipping Rocks At The Island

Heading Back To Camp With Our Catch

We hit bottom going through the channel with the extra weight.

We Have 18 Rocks to add to the Fire Pit

The search will continue tomorrow...

Fun In The Sun

Well we had gorgeous day. Mid to high 80's, lots of sun, and a light breeze. Erik and I spent our morning hanging out with our buddy Brad and his boat. Brad had just gotten a new tube and we decided that today was a perfect day to break it in.

Erik took the tube out for its maiden voyage.

Boat Crew
(we used Brad's boat, its got more power than the Wet Dream & we haven't put the Dream in the water yet)

Bandit is enjoying the lake

Erik on the tube

Like the Titanic, Erik had problems with his maiden voyage

July 1, 2010: Day 1

Hello everyone. Erik, Bandit and I Left home around 6:30am and arrived at camp around 1:45 local time. There were a few construction detours and a very bad stench near the Green Bay area, but other than that it was a pretty smooth ride. It was drizzling a little when we reached camp but that cleared up pretty quick. The rest of the afternoon was partly cloudy and about 72 degrees. There was a chill to the cabin so we started a fire and the cabin quickly became nice and toasty. Erik and I are not used to being here when there is no one to fill the fridge with food for us. So we had to go shopping. It didn't turn out too horrible and we think we can survive the next few days.

We had to start the trip off right by having pasties for lunch. They were delicious. Next on our list was to take care of the jungle that we had for a yard. It takes a lot longer to mow the grass now due to the fact that we have an extra 40 feet of beach front property. It probably would have gone a little quicker if the group before us actually mowed the grass on our new land. It must have been 3 to 4 feet tall in some areas. It took 2 and a half tanks of gas but the jungle has been cut down.

Erik and I put the canoe in the water and decided to go to the island. Before we left we decided that we should take Bandit with us. That probably wasn't the best idea. He liked to walk around in the canoe and shift his wait when we were not expecting him to do so. We some how made the trip without him tipping us over. The channel is probably about a foot deep. Do not think that a motor boat can make it through. If one does the trees that are submerged will probably take off their engine.

The Wet Dream aka The Dream, showed up late last night. We will be putting it in the water in the morning. Finding a dock to park it at may be a problem though. Weather looks promising for tomorrow. Kristy and her boyfriend are expected to show up at some point tomorrow night. I will keep you all updated.

View from the end of our dock. Notice our extensive muck beach and the jungle behind it.

Uncle Mike forgot his underwear on the line.

It is hard to tell, but we have about 9 & 3/4 in of water at the end of the dock. I do believe that it has raised since the camps last visitors.

Manservant in training.

The jungle has been tamed. And yes I am aware that there are a few areas that are still long. Lawnmower could not reach it all. Borrowing a weed wacker tomorrow I think.

Gourmet diner of PB & J, with a side of chips and salsa.

The Wet Dream has arrived!!!

Florida fri-sat

Well after enjoying a few days of peace and quiet, the rest of the fam showed up. They brought a nice little thunderstorm with them and it prevented them from landing at Fort Lauderdale. After circleing Fort Lauderdale airport for an hour they were diverted to Miami to be refueled. They can land plans here during huricanes, I don't get how a little rain prevented them from landing here. We did not do a whole lot on friday due to poor weather.

On Sat, we went deep see fishing. Kristy landed a big Jack Crevalle after about 10 min of fishing. Erick caught a small Bonito, and a small King Mackerel. I landed a big Bonito. My mom and dad did not have the opportunity to catch any fish.

Today we also had great weather!!! It was about time. After fishing we went swimming and hung out on the beach. I added another penny to my treasure collection. I am now up 2 cents!!! I will be extending my search into the ocean in the morning now that the water has calmed down and the jelly fish have washed back out to sea. Erik is flying home tonight, he starts both school and hell week for football on Monday. We wish him the best, but are in no hurry to join him back home.

I am sorry about the pictures. When I was creating this post they were side by side, not sure what happend and could not fix it. I am sure my smart readers can figure out what captions go with whith what pictures.

The princess trying to avoid the poparotsy

Erik should of shared his breakfast with the pigeon the other day. The bird community got even by dropping a bomb on his neck.


The Shooting Star (our fishing boat)

Captain Greg and Captain Dave

One of my future summer homes and some local wildlife

This years canidates for Fisherman of the Year

My catch, The big Bonito

Krsity's catch, The big Jack Crevalle

Erik's 2 little catches, Bonito & King Mackerel

Finally getting some sun

Some underwater fun

Florida

View from the room

The pigeon wanted to join us for breakfast


Walking along the beach

Lots of dead jellyfish along the beach

Dinner at Bubba Gumps

Treasure hunting

My treasure so far

The weather here has been windy and overcast with scattered showeres but has at least remained in the 70s. Dad and Kristy will arrive at some point tomorrow.

EPA: Bottle 13 and Unknown

I apologize for this post being a long time in coming. EPA Bottle 13 and Andrew's Bottle (# is unknown) were consumed on the twenty-third night of January 2010. It was Andrew's going away party. For those of you who don't know, Andrew was leaving for basic training on January 27th. Andrew and I had decided that we would start the night off by drinking a beer that had been made with our own sweat, labor, and intellect: Escanaba Pail Ale.

The Beer is cold and we are ready

We are a little nervous at this point due to the amount of sediment that can be seen floating around in the bottles. Others at the party are suggesting this may not be a good idea...

What do they know. We made it, soo it must be safe....Bottles raised, we toasted to a good night, a safe journey for Andrew, and for Andrew to make an acquaintance with a camel preferably female for his sake.



Down the hatch

It was delicious!!!

The rest of the night couldn't have gone any better. Andrew made it safely to Fort Jackson in South Carolina. The army did not turn him away for having any strange toxins in his blood. Its been over a month since the tasting and we both are alive and well. I hope everyone enjoys EPA just as mush as we did. Looking forward to the next brewing. Hopefully we will have a better supervisor who has more faith in us next time. Or I get promoted to supervisor because of my excellent work record and the current supervisor has to experience what it is to be like a common laborer. It will help him to become a better supervisor one day.