Category: Nature

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Animals Blogging Career Driving Food History Life Nature Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

It’s time to kick-off a fresh new week of blogging here on ‘The Major’s Life Blog’, and I can’t think of any better way to kick it than with the longest-running weekly series in this blog’s history. It’s the flagship series that’s been here since the very start. It’s the ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ – in HD !

I.  Monkey Jungle – 51 weeks after my last visit to my favourite local tourist attraction I went back again this past Saturday morning to check up on my primate buddies. Read what I had to say about my last fun visit on the 14TH of March of 2009. On this visit I bought an annual pass to the joint. It’s worth it. Adult admission is $29.95, and an annual pass is $39.95. Had I bought an annual pass on my last visit in 2009 I could have used it for this visit – 51 weeks later – in 2010. Now I can visit as often as I wish free of charge. I dig that. This was another fun 2½-hour visit. It was also a cold visit with actual air temperartures only in the mid-60s and wind chills in the upper-50s !  My friend Mei the orangutan was so frigid that she kept throwing her new blanket on top of herself like a little kid. The only time she let go of her ‘blanketty’ was when she had to go fetch her food that unintentionally landed in the moat below her. My old buddy King the western lowland gorilla is still hangin’ in there. He’s nearly my age. He came right over when he saw the crowd gather, and he performed all of his usual tricks. He knew that it was time for Lunch. While the vocal animal rights activists may not appreciate Mei and King (and zoos in general) I certainly look forward to checking up on my old buddies with every new visit to the jungle.

Me In Front Of Monkey Jungle In January 2006

II.  Operation Desert Storm – TODAY – the 09TH of March – marks the 19TH anniversary of my return home from war on the harsh desert sands of Saudi Arabia. I departed Al Kharj Air Base at 0326 Saudi Arabia time on Saturday March 09TH 1991. It was a 7 hour and 7 minute flight westbound to Torrejon Air Base Spain followed by an unexpected 5 hour and 24 minute layover there. The transatlantic flight to Dover Air Force Base Delaware took 8 hours and 59 minutes. It was a long 21½-hour travel day for me. The next morning I flew from Philadelphia to Miami, and then back home to Homestead Air Force Base as a war veteran. For rest and recuperation the USAF awarded us returning home from war the rest of the month (March 1991) off from work. I ended up driving to my official home-of-record up in the Washington D.C. area to be with my family. That capped roughly 10,000 miles of travel for me in just 6 days.

III.  Your Weather Forecast – No ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ is complete without a weather forecast (or at least my analysis of recent weather). It’s been a record-breaking cold winter season all across America’s Riviera due mostly to the continuing El Niño phenomenon. This is the same weather pattern that destroyed virtually every single tropical system out at sea last summer. It appears that El Niño is now waning, so more normal seasonal weather should be expected for at least the next 9 months or so. In the near short-term look for a return to afternoon temperatures back in the 80s and overnight low temperatures back to where they should be during this time of the year – the mid-60s. Also look for a return to that wonderful South Florida humidity that’s been on hiatus for an extended period of time. Normal probably won’t feel so normal after so much abnormal weather for the greater part of the past year, but I’m sure that we will all get used to it again in no time flat.

IV.  Longhorn Steakhouse – Late this morning I enjoyed a delicious Lunch at Homestead‘s Longhorn Steakhouse. I was in the mood for juicy steak, buttery mashed potatoes, and soft warm bread, and I can’t think of anywhere else within a short driving commute to go for such a fantastic feast than the Longhorn. I’m also doing my part to try to keep this place in business. I hear that the joint is jumpin’ every night for Dinner, but it seems like such a well kept secret for Lunch. You can enjoy a delicious Lunch there with excellent customer service for $10 or less – slightly more of course if you prefer to go the steak and potatoes route such as myself. The Longhorn is gradually becoming a Tuesday for Lunch tradition. Who wants to meet me there next Tuesday ?  I’ll treat !

We’re just about 48 hours away from another intriguing ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’. Think of what would happen if the ‘Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ collided with Twitter. It’s what you’d get with the ‘Mini Thoughts’. Each unique thought is presented in 15 words or less, and I pass the savings on to you !

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Animals Driving Holidays Nature Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

From the 13TH through the 21ST of February of 2010 I sailed for 8 days and 8 nights aboard the luxurious Carnival Freedom. It was my 2ND cruise in 28 months on the 110,000 gross ton / 952 foot long ship. I had previously sailed from Rome Italy to Miami Florida on a 14-day Mediterranean / Transatlantic voyage during her maiden journey to the U.S. from Europe in October and November of 2007. The combined 22 days and 22 nights on the Carnival Freedom is the most for me on any single cruise ship in my 19-year sailing history. I’ve also visited more new countries for the first time ever via the Carnival Freedom than via any other cruise ship. In addition to Italy, Spain, and Madeira (Portugal) I can now add Costa Rica and Panama to the list of new countries visited.

I.  Cozumel México – This is my all-time favourite port-of-call for no other reason than the fact that I’ve been there more often (by far) than any other place in the world during my cruising history. It’s like my one-day home away from home once or twice a year. I know what to expect there, and I know where to go there for shopping opportunities galore if I wish. I’ve been there so often that sometimes I don’t even get off of the ship – but this time I did. I actually went on a rare shore excursion this time around to take advantage of some unusually chilly winter weather for the island (cloudy with scattered rain showers and stuck in the 70s). During the 4½-hour sightseeing and shopping tour one of the highlights was a tequila farm and factory. I didn’t partake in the extended taste test of a wide variety of random tequilas inside; however, it was fun to watch the others who did as well as listen to some of their outrageous feedback such as “This tastes like Windex … I LOVE IT !”  Classic stuff – and a fun excursion all around ‘my’ island home of Cozumel.

II.  Limón Costa Rica – Last Wednesday morning I set foot on Costa Rica for the first time ever – just below the 10°N latitude line (about 690 miles north of the equator). It was a rainy and coolish morning (by Costa Rica standards) with temperatures stuck in the 70s. Eventually the sun came out late in the afternoon and it got hot outside. But back in the cool light rain I took a combination bus, boat, and train tour of the eastern lowland countryside. The boat ride on a river was cool, as we eavesdropped on crocodiles napping, sloths just hangin’ around, and abundant monkeys high atop a tree. We actually saw one young monkey fall from the top of a tree and land much further down on some branches and leaves. He was OK, but now he may be alone for the rest of his life. Allegedly (according to our tour guide) once you’ve fallen from a tree you’ve cast disrespect and dishonour amongst your neighbourhood and nobody wants to be seen with you ever again. Harsh dude !

III.  Panama – Early last Thursday morning shortly after sunrise the Carnival Freedom pulled in to the port in downtown Colón along the northern (Caribbean) coast of Panama. 13 busloads of my fellow cruise ship passengers (over 525 of us) were then loaded up and transported southeastward across the country to the Pacific coast. The drive took about 1 hour and 20 minutes along modern highways and tollways guarded by fully-armed Panamanian militia. Once on the Pacific side our 13 busloads got in to 2 ferries (comfortably), as we began our partial transit through the Panama Canal starting with a beautiful view of the downtown skyline of the bustling capital city of Panama. I never really understood how the Panama Canal actually worked until I got to experience it firsthand. It is definitely one of the greatest modern marvels ever made in the history of the world. Incidentally the Pacific side of Panama is nearing the end of a rather severe dry season. It hasn’t rained much on the south side of the country so far in 2010, and that was quite evident as all of the grass was brown and crunchy. It was very hot there – well into the 90s. The north (Caribbean) side of the country was milder, greener, and lusher. The three highlights of this mighty educational day in Panama were no doubt the one-third transit of the Panama Canal, seeing the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans within 90 minutes of each other, and driving by land and sailing by sea right through the great Continental Divide of the Americas.

This was a wonderful vacation at sea and on land way down south that truly exceeded my expectations, and I can’t wait to do it all over again in about 6½-months when I embark on my next great Carnival cruise vacation !

Categories
Astronomy Bugs Nature Travel Weather

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon: Special On-Location Edition – Everglades National Park

YESTERDAY I visited Everglades National Park to spend the day outside with nature. Here are my takeaways in 15 words or less:

– Me and a buddy arrived out there shortly after 9 AM while it was still foggy.
– I knew that it would eventually be a sunny and hot day – and it was.
– We took a cool 1 hour and 45 minute tour of the former Nike Missile Site.
– It’s a small abandoned military base that was active from 1964 to 1979.
– It’s remnants are now owned and operated by The National Park Service.
– They started giving (limited) guided tours of it just last year.
– Our tour guide – Ryan – was thorough and knowledgeable.
– Check out this article for more information on the site.
– After the tour and a quick Lunch in the car we went hiking on some trails.
– We took on a couple of easy trails at first – less than a mile combined.
– And then we went for the gusto.
– We went on a 6.0-mile hike through muck and mosquitoes.
– We walked the entire 2.6-mile length of the Rowdy Bend trail eastbound.
– Then we took the Snake Bight trail 0.3-miles south to Florida Bay.
– Then we walked the entire 3.0-miles all the way back to our car.
– I smothered myself with Off / Deet before the hike, but it wasn’t enough.
– The trails were totally infested with swarming and biting mosquitoes.
– They were drinking the Off / Deet, and biting through my shirt !
– In addition to the hundreds of mosquito bites I also got a facial sunburn.
– If I go out into the woods without sunscreen then I might just be a redneck.
– I was totally shocked as to the abundance of mosquitoes on the trails.
– They froze to death during the recent freeze, but then new ones took over.
– It’s been a very wet dry season, so it didn’t take long for new skeeters to be.
– They are totally hungry and thirsty for human blood, and so we were Lunch.
– After the 6.0-mile hike we ventured down to Flamingo on the Bay.
– We took a really nice 1 hour and 45 minute boat tour of Florida Bay.
– We went westward adjacent to the south coast and towards the sunset.
– The sun set at precisely 5:59 PM, as that’s when the disc touched the horizon.
– The sun hit the horizon and then took a mere 3 minutes to drop below it.
– It was one of the most perfect sunsets I have seen in my entire Life !
– There were no clouds in the way obscuring it in any way.
– As our sun was setting it was rising simultaneously in Shanghai China.
– It was a nice tour of the bay, and quite refreshing after a hot and sweaty day.
– Water temperatures on the bay have slowly recovered back to the upper-60s.
– It was recently much colder than that, and thousands of fish died.
– It didn’t smell very nice at the shore with all of the dead fish floating.
– It may take a couple of years for a normal fish population to return.
– I really enjoyed my day out with nature despite the bites and burns.
– I hope to do it again sometime before the end of the current dry season.
– Thank You God for all of your Glorious Creations !