Half Shell Bar: Oyster Shooters

Eat It Raw   

The Key West Head Stand

There's an old legend in Key West that says, if you get sand in your shoes when you visit Key West--you will keep returning again and again.
Despite the fact that Key West is not your typical  "family beach vacation destination"--we love that place.
Now I shall work on unpacking and getting the sand out of our shoes.

Our Ship Has A Cute Captain

Some Lessons From The Summer Of 2014 Or...And Then The Fire Trucks Came

(Firemen in the background: KW, 7/30/14)

By the time they came floating down the river to where I was, I was still working on getting the kindling to catch fire.  There was some smoke.  One of G's friends named Penny asked, "were you able to make a fire?"
I said, "not yet--but if I get this going Pens, it will be a miracle."
She clarified, "so you're saying it's impossible?"
I said, "no but this is only the second camp fire I've ever started and yesterday I had help."
(I was talking about the Duraflame Firestarter, not God)
She interrupted me, "you can do it."
Lesson #1: When you express your confidence/trust in someone, it makes that person determined to succeed.

At dusk, after making dinner over the fire, the kids went off to go frog hunting. I stayed by the camp fire and told them to pick me up before going back to the house. Unfortunately they ended up getting lost.  They eventually found their way back but not before darkness fell and four girls were disoriented and terrified.
Lesson#2: Establish the boundaries before fear creates them.

I have been really enjoying our camp even if it not yet 100% completely done.
I've driven back and forth and played camp host to different groups of people during the various stages of the camp's construction.
Lesson#3: Don't wait. Life is now.

Being at the hunting camp for many days in July has made me neglect the garden I worked on last June.
Lesson#4: Everything in moderation. If you don't balance your time wisely or make provisions for changes in your schedule, you are bound to neglect something.
Unless of course you are avoiding something...

Like I was.
I was avoiding gown shopping.
With just a little bit over a week left to go--we went out and bought a gown that K needed for a scholarship and recognition program that she was coerced to participate in.
We bought the first dress she tried on from the first store we went to, which was a secondhand store.
The whole process including driving time took 20 minutes.
Lesson#5: Just Do It.

Last weekend we attended K's Miss Teen Of Pennsylvania Scholarship and Recognition Program held in Central Pa.
It was not a beauty pageant.
It was like an AAU tournament for poise and brains.
I was definitely out of my element.
Lesson#6: Growth Happens Every Time You Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone.

I nearly caved and almost allowed K to back out of attending this event.
(I actually telephoned the organizer to inquire about pulling her out)
It was for purely selfish reasons.
I was afraid of the unknown, participation delayed our departure date for our family vacation to Florida but most importantly,
I did not want to be a pageant mom.
Lesson#7: It Is Not About Me

As it turns out, the Miss Teen of Pennsylvania Program ended up being a positive experience for K.
Out of 68 teenaged girls ranging from 14 to 18 years old from all over the state, she ended up in the final 6.
The only 6 girls that had to go through  2 extra sets of on-the-spot interview questions that were answered in front of hundreds of people.
By that time I was feeling rather ill.
(I felt like it was the spelling bee all over again.)
Lesson #8: Be in the now and stop labeling experiences as a "like" or "dislike."
All will be well. I promise.

While she is not Miss Teen Of Pennsylvania 2014--she is Miss BRAVE and COOPERATIVE in my book.  I was very proud of her and I am thankful that Steve insisted that she participate in it.
She clearly experienced lesson #6. And so did I.
Stepping out of my comfort zone is challenging but it certainly opens up more possibilities in life for joy and fulfillment.
Lesson #9: Saying yes to life (within reason) increases your chances of making it a habit to think positive.

Right after the program ended that evening, we drove three hours to get back home...only to unpack and repack to leave the next morning for Key West--where we are right now.
Although I typically would have preferred to cocoon in my own bed for a long time after a stressful an exciting weekend, being on vacation does not allow it.
It is only our third night here but so far there has been running, swimming, lobster hunting snorkeling, eating, drinking, grocery shopping, crab hunting, stand-up paddle boarding, shark spotting, beaching, floating, scooter riding, walking, hammock buying, praying, laughing, corn holing and bocce balling, sleeping, sitting, community table eating, socializing, sunset cruising, and then this evening I accidentally caused two firetrucks to come to the house we are renting.
While everyone was out on the beach, I decided to pan fry a few burgers for dinner.
Somehow I set off the smoke detector that has a scandalously loud, institution-grade fire alarm that immediately summoned not only everyone at the beach and the neighbors but also the fire department.
Being renters, we did not have the code to stop the alarm nor the authority to keep the 10 firemen from descending upon me and my now, well done burgers.
I was embarrassed.
It took almost an hour to get the alarm to turn off.
Did I mention I was embarrassed?
Lesson #10: This Too Shall Pass, material conditions positive or negative, are temporary.

And when all else fails, there's always Five Guys, which is exactly where some of us ended up going for a late dinner.
Maybe I should just stick to cooking over a camp fire.

Lunch Duty

I do my five days of  parent lunch duty on the first five days of school.

I do this so that when I say good bye to the girls in the morning,

I can nonchalantly call out: 

"See you at lunch!"

This helps me with my back-to-school jitters and it might, just might be good for my daughters too.

Pictures of Summer 2009  here.

08-08-08

"Let me see your hands!"
Is what the cop of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ordered of the Lobster people.
They were skindiving on the eve of the two-day spiny lobster season in preparation for the next day's dive.
The officer was checking to make sure that there was no preemptive lobstering going on.
Do not mess with them--the Law enforcement officers of the DEP--I mean.
They will stalk and hunt you down.
We learned this eleven years ago when Steve and I were vacationing at the Keys with six other people.
We had rented a boat and started diving for stone crabs and spiny lobsters.
We touched and fondled every underwater sea creature that surrounded us, collecting some starfish and conchs along the way...in awe of the underwater sea creatures that surrounded us.
We had inadvertently wandered into the protected waters of Bahia Honda State Park hence the abundance and the ability for us to squeal "I got another one!" over and over again.
By the time we got to the marina, the cops--salivating-- were waiting for us.
They barked:
"You are hunting in protected waters and you will be fined $750.00+ for each specimen found."
"Open your live well."
Unbeknownst to us, Steve made the executive decision to empty out our live well.
(To this day we are not sure why he did this, perhaps he knew if we kept it...HE would have to cook it)
Imagine the cops surprise and (our relief) when there was no contraband to be found.
After issuing us a warning citation and Steve's name (whom the boat was rented by) put on a "watch" list for 10 years, we were let go.
That was in 1997.
Steve, you're clear to go lobstering again.
(Pictures from that trip are posted here.)


The Lobster People 2008.

(Pictures from Key West 2008 are posted here)

The Big Unit

Location: the streets of Key West, Florida.
The girls and I stopped at a street artist's display.
After looking at his paintings and the artist's name,
I recognized that it was this man's work hanging all over the coveted 'Big Unit.'
The Big Unit is a beautiful 2 story +
a roof top bar apartment that the
'Lobster people'
and I have a not-too-secret battle over.
(we were victorious in 2007)
Anyway, after I met the artist whose work adorns the Big Unit, I took it as a sign that the place was meant to be mine.

Unfortunately, this year we lost the Big Unit to the Lobster people.
(who am I kidding...since one must have life planned a year in advance to secure the place, we were not even a contenders)
But life has its way of making a loss, a gain.
The other day, I got an email from the offending Lobster people.
They informed me that someone in their party had canceled but had already paid their non-refundable 1/2 down payment on one of the small units.
They wondered if I was interested in taking it since, it is now half its price.
I am a sucker for great deals.
That is why the girls and I are leaving for Key West today.
Well that and fresh lobster.

Unexpected Surprises

Last July, Key West was home to us for a month.
Conchs (the people of Key West) are the best.
They are the most laid back and friendly people.
The friends we made there, made our stay perfect.

My absolute favorite hat must have thought so too because it decided to extend its vacation.
Fortunately Barefoot Billy of the Reach Watersports and his wife Tracy were kind enough to send it to me.
A few days ago I got my hat in the mail, together with T-shirts they sent us.


Thank you Billy and Tracy!
We miss you.
The last batch of Key West Pictures here.



Thank You, Becky and Kelley.
The kids, loved all their treasures as usual.
I will enjoy mine, I am sure.

E-zine Article

An article I wrote for the E-zine PMN was published today.
Will you read it?

This is the E-zine Article

I have never been one to let my daughters be more than three feet away from me in the water. (a trait I inherited from my mother)
I respect the water enough to have the right amount of fear for it--not only for myself but for my children.
Because I do not want my hyper fear of drowning to get passed on to my children--I act relaxed. Mothering, after all, is a constant acting job.

With Built-in Floaters, life jackets, AND the ability to swim--I keep them safe.
But what about the skills needed to make the right choices?
At what age is it safe to let them float further than you can leap?
Is an 8 year old (who rightfully refuses the built-in floaters) equipped to make the right choices?

Decisions like:
*Know your limits
--do not over-exert yourself in the absence of a safety device
*There is safety in numbers
--never swim/kayak/snorkel alone.
*Do not panic
--if you get knocked out of a jet ski in deep water it is no big deal. Swim.
*Confidence is good, over confidence is what can you in trouble.
--do not swim/kayak in water that is over your head unless you have safety feature near by
(a flotation device, responsible adults looking out for you, a wall to cling to etc)

Come to think of it, doesn't this apply to all of us?

This beach trip has taught me to relax my hold on my older daughter.
If we equip our children with what they need to know in the various stages of their life, then we should trust them by loosening our grip--
but not too loose that we end up losing them.
The key is finding the right balance.

The Lobster People

water spout sighting KW 7/2007

We never meant to crash their hunt and gather lobster fest.
It just so happened that our decision to stay in Key West for a month, coincided with the celebrated two days in July for lobster hunting. Our presence caught their five year tradition by surprise.
We were given the directive by the English school marm caretaker aka cat woman to be on our best behavior.

The morning they arrived, we eyed each other warily.

"Are you Hemingways?" I asked.

"Nah... just mostly morons," he replied.

despite the fact that they looked at us as encroachers to their territory...the ice was broken.

The ringleader had long tubular bag that reached down to his knees-- and he was attaching it to his waist.

With his mask, fins, snorkel, motorized scooter, net, ruler and tickle stick-
he was quite ready to do battle.
Whether it was with a lion or a lobster-- I was not quite sure.

"May I come?" I asked.
any opportunity to skin dive while attempting to catch dinner, seemed like a good idea.

"Well hurry the he** up," he said.

the man was serious.

"Meet me by that stationary platform out in the middle of the water."

eyeing his underwater scooter that was about to propel him to our meeting spot,
I grabbed my mask, fins and snorkel and without further ado-- dove right in.

The Bobster.



Thanks for the coconuts Ronnie.




Chesca, Carole and Leeann (proud Ronnie in the background)








Melissa, Tyler and Jimmy


Erika and the girls


Rich: Liz wants to talk to you.


Melissa, Michael and Amanda


The things we do for fresh lobster.

Survivor

The girls and I just got back last night from our own version of
Survivor: Key West.
Main challenge: Internet Access denied.
We started with five players. Two men (that would be ours) were added, but had to go--since work did not give them immunity.

Next to arrive was Helen Lykes.



Helen, a Harley driving, tongue pierced, inked sweetheart of a mother, was invited on the island for some R&R after serious surgery and treatment.
Her positive outlook in life is truly inspiring. In my constant quest to surround myself with non-toxic people, I am glad I met Helen.
She was accompanied by her beautiful and kind 13 year old daughter, Samantha.




Here, meet Sam.


Then there was the MD woman named Laurian,MD. She volunteered that since she was an MD, she knew how to remove a splinter.

The couple last to arrive for the week was very private. They wanted minimum disturbance.
Jill and Sarah pretty much kept to themselves, but were nice enough to leave us their floats.
Which was nice.

Except for Helen who has lifetime immunity due to her connections, the rest had to go.
Carole and I, chest puffing (okay euphemism for me) over the fact that we had outwitted, outsmarted and outlasted the next group...researched the new people coming in, supposedly the Hemingways and the Donaldsons.
They were coming in for Lobster days.

The Swimmer

Our vacation spot has access to a swimming pool-about 500 steps away.
1000 steps if you are 8 years and under.
We decided that it was more convenient to use the neighboring resort pool, 30 steps away

We called it Operation: Burt Lancaster

(after a 1968 film in which he starred, called The Swimmer-about a successful businessman that decided to swim across the country--trespassing from property to property--where his uninvited presence at backyard pools, country club pools, city pools etc were often met with hostility, disdain, surprise and curiosity.)

We always came in through the beach...hosing off the salty water with care (like regular guests) before jumping into the pool.

For the record, one adult in our party of 7 was a reluctant party to the crime.
Three adults were complicit
("It is almost too easy! I was almost hoping there would be more of a challenge to this...")
and the three children were completely innocent.

Four glorious days of contraband basking poolside before we were suddenly narced out.
A guest, ostensibly unhappy with the riff-raff interlopers ended our reign.
And this is how it came to be that three--THREE brand new signs were erected a mere 8 feet apart that read:

with our contribution to the landscape complete...
walk of shame--check--
we take the extra 470 steps to the legit pool.

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Also, about the guy in the previous post--
Before this man's arrest, he was observed to be extremely happy to have "found" a waverunner just begging to be taken for a joy ride.
Barefoot Billy, (of Barefoot Billy's Watersports) generous entrepreneur that he is, thought it would be in everyone's best interest if the perp submitted himself to a shower before his joy ride in a patrol car.

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