St.Augustine and Fay

This is the third time that I've started this little update. It's just been so long now it's hard to even begin. And then I managed to delete an entire section which made it that much harder to begin; knowing I have to rewrite.  Sometimes I wish I was a little more methodical, that I could write and rewrite these things so that they flow and are minus the mistakes. But no, that's just not my way.  Instead I blather on and on.  And on that note I better actually begin to recount.  

Well it's raining, again, still, here in FL.  This time it has a little something to do with Tropical Storm Fay. She's still trying to make up her mind whether or not she wants to go for it and become a hurricane....I'm hoping she does.....I know the damage blah blah blah but she'd only get to a category 1.  It's so funny I've met a few people who have been like 'you're from ca, aren't you scared of earthquakes'.  UMMMM You live where there is a threat of major hurricanes every year and during the wet season you have to run inside every time there's thunder because you may get struck by lightening.......and you're asking me about earthquakes.  Not to undermine the great force of an earthquake and the potential for harm, but come on.  (Who's gonna have the last laugh if I get home and 'the big one' finally hits!!!)

Back to Fay. She has mucked up my plans a smidgen.  I had been up in Northern Florida. I spent the week camping. First at Alexander Springs in Ocala National Forest, then Flagler Beach and finally Anastasia State Park. This is not the best time to be camping in Florida. It's sooooo hot and humid, it rains nearly every day; and wet equals mosquito season. Besides the mosquitoes, who love me, there are so many f$#$%@ bugs it drives me crazy, and it seems like they all bite. Not to mention some big spiders. Huge. Banana spiders. They like my car.  I don't like that. The picture does not do the creepy little thing justice!!  

  

Eventually I ended up in some crap motel for a night in St.Augustine.  St.Augustine is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the continental U.S and it's a great place to just wander around. You can tour several of the buildings, some of which date back to the 1700's, and there's also a fort that was built by the Spanish in the 1600's. If you're in the mood for museums there are several large and small.  What's really interesting about many of those earlier buildings is that they are built out of blocks of coquina (sedimentary rock made of shells) so you can see and feel all of the shells that make up the walls...very neat.  

After a day in St. Augustine, while staying in the crap motel, I checked the weather and there was Fay so instead of heading straight down to the Everglades and the Florida Keys I'm back at grandpa's for a few days. At this point I'm not sure what I'm going to do next.  I'd like to head down to the keys and scuba dive, maybe take the advanced open water course.  It's been so long since I've been I'd like to take a refresher first, not to mention my apprehension about my 'buoyancy'.  I wish my dive buddy was here : (    I was certified originally in Australia where it was cheap and awesome!!  It was two days in the classroom and three days liveaboard where we did nine dives including a night dive.  And after all of the things that I've done, and places I've been, diving on the great barrier reef  is still one of my favorite experiences.  

*update 8/21/08 Tropical storm was very wet but never upgraded to a hurricane. Here in Port Saint Lucie lots of flooding in places but not in the vicinity of the house.  It's actually still windy and rainy and will continue to be the next day or so.