I had an entire blog post typed up but I somehow managed to delete more than half of it. Lucky for me, my beautiful bride posted a very nice recap to our quick jaunt to Puerto Rico last month. Read all about it, here.
It has been exceptionally cold the past week here in sunny Florida. I don’t remember it being this cold for this many consecutive days. Maybe I’m spoiled, maybe I’m a sissy. Either way, it is cold enough for me to buy Julz and I two tickets to Puerto Rico for a weekend getaway. Next weekend is a 3 day weekend, so we took the chance and found a great deal. I won’t miss any work, and Donovan won’t miss any school. Funny thing is that D is probably more excited to be away from his parents for a whole weekend.
Be as it may, Julia and I are both looking forward to shedding a few pounds in the warm tropical surf, relaxing in the evenings with good, healthy food, and of course, some of that finely crafted Puerto Rican Rum.
I would like to wish a Belated Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all of you. May 2010 bring you much success in life, and in love.
Peace.
Donovan was born! He had a great birthday on Saturday. He had some friends over, and Mom and Dad cooked up burgers and dogs for all of the guests. It was a great day, with no stress to speak of. All of the children behaved very well and all of them had a great time playing Sing Star, Corn Hole, and whatever other games they could make up themselves.
Yesterday the three of us went down to the boat ramp to catch some fish with Donovan’s new fishing pole (Thanks, Uncle Buster!) before the Jaguar game. On the way back to the house we stopped and chatted with some neighbors. It was there that Donovan really wanted me to pull his loose tooth. I obliged, of course. Here he is, our 7 year old snaggle tooth:
Another year, another Happy Halloween for the Arnold family. We started the day as we have been doing quite a bit recently: Soccer practice in the back yard.
After soccer, some of the Gator game, and a nice walk in the neighborhood, it was time to get Donovan’s costume on and head over to the Brown’s for trick or treating. This year Donovan had elected to be a ‘Mummy’ and his Mom was very excited to make his costume from scratch. She did this by procuring a pair of off white thermals for $9, some cheese cloth, and some double sided cloth tape. I was skeptical at first, but I must say, she REALLY pulled it off.
He had worn the costume to a party a week previous, and he really wore it ragged. I still think it looks fantastic. Excellent work lover!
Earlier that day I cooked up some sausage, chicken, rice, and tomato soup for us all to line our stomachs with before ingesting all of the candy that we were soon to have. Here, the kids (Donovan, Isabella, and Lola) loved it so much they could barely sit still (i kid, i kid):
We walked around the neighborhood until just after dark; roughly an hour plus or minus a few minutes. The kids were happy to rest their legs and sample their haul. We stuck around for a while, until it was time to put Donovan to bed. He was ready, for sure.
All in all, it was a great time. Next year, we have already committed, will be the year that Julia dresses as Princess Lea, I as Han Solo, and depending on how tall Donovan gets, he will be either Yoda, or Luke.
Three weeks ago Donovan got to go to his first live NFL game here in Jacksonville. The Jags put a serious beat down on the Titans (a division rival) and D was very pleased to witness it all. He was great the whole time; no fussing, lots of cheering, smiling, and happiness. I can’t wait to take him and Mommy to another game!
The 2009 Arnold Olympics was a great success. This post is a little late, but you know what they say: Better late than never. It was an adventure to say the least. We ended up spending more money than we ever imagined, but in the end it was well worth it.
We left town on Thursday September 3, 2009 at around 2:00 pm. We made decent time, though I was exhausted from work and a late night on Wednesday night. By 7:00 pm I couldn’t drive any further, so we got off I75 on a perfect exit: cheap, clean hotel next to a gas station, and a liquor store for only $40 a night. We checked in, got a small bottle of rum (hey, we’re on vacation here) and proceeded to unwind. We had some pizza and wings delivered to our room, watched some TV, and just relaxed. We ended up staying up a little later than we had planned, but like I said alreay, we were on vacation.
The next morning we took advantage of the bagels, tea, and orange juice in the lobby, showered up, and we were on our way. We were expecting only 3 more hours to cap off our journey in the 4Runner. And as expected, without incident, we finally made it to Mineral Bluff, GA on the banks of the Ocoee River.
We arrived at around 2:00 pm on Friday and began unwinding and catching up with family. As dusk neared, more and more Arnold’s and friends of the family began to show. Opening ceremonies were to begin at 8 pm.
This year Dave and I were selected to help organize and basically create the event from the bottom up. Dave and I were up to the task, and the event was a blast. Everyone had a great time. Dave and Sharon handled the food and medals. Dave printed out rules and the event schedule, along with heat sheets for the events. I created and maintain the web site, and I ran & scored many of the events.
Dave and I gave a short speech explaining rules, schedules, and fielding any and all questions from the competitors. After opening ceremonies, we all shared many laughs and drinks well into the evening.
The next morning, we would begin the Olympics with target practice (had to get this out of the way first so we could start drinking). Shooting guns into the side of a mountain is great fun! So, with that out of the way, it was on to the rest of the events for Saturday. We managed to get horseshoes, bocce, and home run derby all completed before dinner (grilled burgers and dogs). I think we may have done the kayak race as well. Not sure. Anyways, after dinner we completed darts, and the kids competed in Sing Star. Sing Star was actually pretty fun! I was impressed. Needless to say, it was an early night Saturday night (well, kinda) after all of that activity.
Sunday morning was a slow morning. Uncle Don made a pitcher of Bloody Mary’s, which really seemed to brighten everyone’s morning. I know it made mine much better. After the rest of the crew showed up, we began to finish up the events. Cornhole, Potato Sack Race, and Croquet were all completed, as well as an art contest for the kids, and perhaps women’s bocce?
That evening, a lasagna dinner was served, and everyone enjoyed it along with salad, and garlic bread. Soon thereafter, we all gathered in the downstairs den / bar area and Dave and I held the awards ceremony and subsequent closing ceremonies, where we gave out medals for all events. It was very loud, full of laughs and smiles and true happy family togetherness. We did our best to stretch our time with our cousins, who we knew we probably wouldn’t be seeing again for quite some time. Just thinking about the whole weekend makes me smile. We bid our farewells to the crew that were staying at Dave and Sharon’s, and spent some more family time with my parents & brother, Uncle Don & Joanne, and the Skunk, Julie Bear, Melon, Morning Dove, Owen, and the kids.
Monday morning came WAY too fast, but eventually we got packed up and hit the road before noon. I drove until I couldn’t see straight anymore, and got a tip from a friend about a great exit in Valdosta (I mear 2.5 hours from home, but nearly 6+ hours from Mineral Bluff). We took it, and found a nice hotel right next to a gas station, a liquor store, and a Mexican Restaurant all within a few blocks of each other (remember, still on vacation). We checked in, got our supplies, and relaxed for a bit before dinner. Donovan was thrilled to be traveling so much with his parents. We were thrilled that he was thrilled, so it was big smiles all the way around for everyone. Dinner was decent. Quick and easy if anything, and we headed back to the hotel to enjoy it for a few more hours before bed.
Up the next morning, we were so excited to be almost home, we were up and at em. After a continental breakfast and quick refuel, we were back to barreling down I75. I noticed, while in Valdosta, that my transmission was slipping for some reason. This concerned me quite a bit, as we were still a good distance from home. We were only on the road for about 30 minutes on Tuesday morning when traffic came to a halt. We would later find out that a tanker truck filled with noxious chemicals had overturned early that morning and spilled it’s contents all over the interstate. We were diverted onto a highway, which luckily connected with I10 only a few miles down the road, so that only put us back about 45 to an hour. I know that sounds like a lot but it could have been much, much worse.
We finally made it home without any major incident, and what a relief that was. We got everything put away and some friends came by to welcome us home. We then noticed the red gooey liquid dripping from the front left of the 4Runner. That’s right, transmission fluid. But how the heck was it all the way up near the radiator, you ask? I’ll tell you. There is a separate transmission fluid cooler inside the radiator. Well, this cooler cracked, and transmission fluid began mixing with the radiator fluid. The pressure from the transmission was causing this goo to surge out through the radiator flood reservoir, which is right were we noticed the dripping. $900 later I had a new radiator and thermostat installed, and 62 quarts of transmission fluid were flushed through my transmission to clean out the radiator fluid / transmission fluid mixture.
So, if you add the gas, hotel room stays, and 4Runner repair, we could have easily bought 3 plane tickets from JAX to ATL, and rented a car for the weekend. We would have spent far less money and we would have more time to relax and less time stressing with driving. But when I really think about it, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Oh dear, I almost forgot. Here are some photos my brother shot during the event: 2009 Arnold Olympics
Last week, Julia and I were surprised to meet one of nicest professional surfers you will ever meet. Though the chance encounter was unexpected and certainly not planned, we were graceful enough to avoid embarrassment.
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and I had heard that Billabong’s new surf flick ‘Still Filthy’ was going to be premiering at a local watering hole in Jax Beach. I also heard that Mark Occhilupo (Occy) was in town earlier in the day, but I totally didn’t put two and two together that he would be at the premiere.
I certainly didn’t even think about when I was convincing Julia to go with me to the premiere. It just so happened that Nana was staying the night with us, so it was pretty much a no brainer. We hadn’t had a night out in quite some time, Nana was there to watch Donovan, we had cab money, and we had already eaten dinner; all things pointed us out for some drinks and a free movie premiere.
We got dressed and called our cab, and we were off. As soon as we got in the bar, we saw our friend Kelli at the end of the bar (she has pink hair, hard to miss). She said that she was just chilling with Occy. I was like WUT?!?!?! I glanced over, and sure enough, there he was. He wasn’t surrounded by anyone; he was just standing there sucking down a cold bottle of beer relaxing, when I asked him: “Occy! Can I get a picture with you?”
He obliged, but before we could get a shot, I thought to myself, “Julia would flip out if she knew Occ was here and ready for a photo.” I asked Occy if he would rather take a photo with my wife, explaining that my wife was/is much better looking than I. I pointed her out to him, and he quickly agreed.
I got Julia’s attention and motioned her toward us. She came over and her eyes lit up like big saucers and she grinned from ear to ear. Of course, for her pose, she showed her bashful side:
We goofed around with him and a bunch of other pro surfers for the rest of the night. It really was a fun night, one of the funnest nights out in a long, long time.
A good friend of mine recently told me of an epic adventure he had recently while sailing a 34′ sailboat from Halifax to Maine. Bear with me here, he told me this story on the phone last night, and I was enjoying a few cocktails with my lovely wife at the time of the telling. I will do my best to get the story straight, and in the correct order. I’m sure some details are missing, but the main part of the story remains intact. Well, here goes…
Having sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada that morning, Ben and Randy were about 70 miles offshore, close to the Cape of Maine just humming along at about 6 knots when the unthinkable happened. Earlier that day, they had been running with a rather large pod of Humpback Whales. The Whales ran with them for over 3 hours. Ben was concerned that one of the whales might damage/sink the vessel and leave him and his copilot stranded in a life raft with large whales surfacing all around them. A concern to say the least…
After many photographs and a very humbling appreciation of nature, the gentle giants of the sea eventually parted ways with the two sailors, and there were huge sighs of relief from the men. As they got closer to the cape, the anticipated northwest wind kicked in at 10-15 kts instantly. The breeze blew them off a bit, but Ben decided to stay on course until the tide switched, wherein they would ride the rather large incoming tide and tack across the the Gulf of Maine, into the bay and finally to the marina.
All was going as well as it could. The whales had long since left the sailors, but the wind had by now stirred up closely stacked 5-6 foot swells. The boys were getting battered, but there was hope as it was almost time to make the turn. Before the tack could be made, the boat, still chugging along at 5-6 kts and a ways offshore, suddenly came to a crashing halt. Not only did the boat stop, but the stern was launched several feet up out of the water while the bow took a nosedive. Ben, who so eloquently noted that the boat did, in BMX terms, an ‘endo,’ was thrown to the stern, while Randy was smashed against the bulkhead. Both sailors were desperately shouting expletives trying to figure out what had just happened. Ben and Randy felt as if they had just been in a car wreck, but they were in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.
As the boat came back to a more level position, rocking in the waves, the men were relieved to know that they had not hit ground. But that wasn’t enough reprieve to quell the following very frightening concerns: Were we just hit by a whale? Did we just hit a whale? Are we taking on water? The motor is out and the engine alarm is blaring, why is that?
Needless to say, the two were shocked and befuddled, and they certainly had their hands full. It was now imperative that they now act quickly. Ben directed Randy to check for water and make sure the bilge was working down below. Randy rushed to the engine room and discovered something that would help them formulate a theory as to what had just happened. Lucky for the guys, there was no damage to the hull of the vessel, so the boat would not sink. Yet.
Unfortunately, the steering cable from the main wheel to the rudder was pushed so hard by the impact of whatever they had hit (or whatever had hit them) that the cable housing was torn from the boat and thrashed about the engine room, tearing down the some of the paneling in the room. Randy went back up to the wheel to confer with Ben about the steering situation, when the two saw what would become one of the biggest fish tales of a lifetime: a 15+ foot shark lying on its side on the surface of the ocean, right next to the boat.
Everything became immediately clear to the men; they were mistaken by a very large shark as a 34’ lure. No shit. A humongous shark came charging up from the deep blue and tried to bite the brass 3 pronged propeller of a thirty four foot sailboat. It all made perfect sense: the way the stern of the boat was launched into the air; how the motor seized and the steering was damaged on impact. Randy and Ben could breathe a little easier now that they knew what had happened to them, but they were not out of the woods yet. Now Ben and Randy had to get the motor running, check the rudder, repair the steering housing, and reattach it to the boat. Did I mention that there was still a very large, and very pissed off shark next to the boat? The monster was still there, on its side, flushing water through its gills in epic attempt to revive itself and finish what it started.
The two sailors watched in awe as the creature finally righted itself, and began to slowly swim around the boat. Eventually, Randy and Ben were in agreement that the shark was indeed a very large Mako, and not a Great White as one would expect. And just like that, the shark disappeared. Straight back down to the depths of the dark blue sea.
Ben and Randy somewhat nervously made their repairs, while occasionally looking for their predator. They were back on track within several hours. The two rattled sailors never saw the shark again, and eventually made it back to port without any further incident. Upon arrival, they told their tale to anyone who would listen. As you would guess, many of the fishermen and sailors in the area joked with the two; responding to their story with things like “Yeah right, you got hit by a granite shark.”
The following day Ben and Randy pulled the boat out of the water to inspect the damage. Sure enough, there were scratches (tooth marks) in the propeller, and on the transom. No other external damage anywhere on any other part of the boat. Anywhere. From this point, it is hard to discount their story.
I have known Ben for over two decades now. I’ve seen him become an expert waterman over the years. He has sailed [as a civilian] more than most will ever sail in their entire lives, and he’s still very young at 32. I don’t see him stopping anytime soon, but one thing I do know: He is quite the land lubber now, as I suspect he will remain for at least another week or two.
Here’s the latest mixtape that I created for The Family Julz:
- Make Light - Passion Pit
- Y Control - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Can’t Stop Now ft. Mr. Vegas & Jovi Rockwell - Major Lazer
- Satellite Skin - Modest Mouse
- Georgia ft. Jamie Foxx - Ludacris
- Tourists Woman - Cass McCombs
- Eyes As Candles - Passion Pit
- King Rat - Modest Mouse
- Keep It Goin’ Louder ft. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze - Major Lazer
- High Heartbeats (A-TRAK Mash Up) - Kanye West vs. The Knife
- Mason City - The Fiery Furnaces
- I’m Good ft. Pharrell (Produced by The Neptunes) - CLIPSE
- Feel Good Hit Of The Summer 2 - Atmosphere
- Cuddle Fuddle - Passion Pit
The Tooth Fairy has been to our house twice in a month’s time! One of Donovan’s adult teeth is coming in, and it pushed out two of his baby teeth (I had to pull them out by hand, but they needed to come out). See for yourself:
