Headed South
I only have a couple of more days in the beauteous white Northeast and then we are headed for Florida again. Once more, the procrastinators couldn't find their 'roundtuits' and have delayed receiving their samples of sapphire that I've been trying to give away for two years now.
We'll be headed over to Albany, NY, to spend Christmas with relatives and then pointing south. I hope we don't get the 26 inches of snow like two years ago. That delayed us a day.
I have a new job this year as my volunteer position with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Instead of teaching water safety in the local schools around Fort Myers, (2600 kids last year), I'll be a photographer for the corps taking digital pictures of nature and conditions in the inland waterway that stretches from Fort Myers, along the Caloosahatchee River, Lake Okeechobee and then over to Fort Pierce on the east coast. I expect to be doing a lot of documentation of hurricane damage and reconstruction. The aftermath of the storms in the Everglades is being closely monitored by the Corps biologists, so I'll be working with them as well.
It should be a good experience. One nice thing this time is that I finally switched over to a Verizon digital cellphone that connects to the computer. I can be on-line every day instead of weekly at the local libraries. So, the group will have to put up with my more frequent postings instead of having a three month holiday. Verizon hasn't yet been able to get it to work, but the local salesman said that one way or the other, he will make it work even if it means a new cellphone. Impressive statement from a sales person.
All our gear is staged by the door waiting for warmer temps to load into the fifth wheel RV. It was -2F this morning so I think I'll wait a little longer. The new camera gear (Nikon D-70) with extra lenses, memory cards, tripods, and other essentials is ready to go. I'm taking a dry mount press for those visitor center posters I'll be making. I think I have everything. If not, they have stores in Florida. The check list is finished. You would think after four years of this we would know what we are doing.
Earle Rich
Mont Vernon, NH
It better be warm when I get there!
We'll be headed over to Albany, NY, to spend Christmas with relatives and then pointing south. I hope we don't get the 26 inches of snow like two years ago. That delayed us a day.
I have a new job this year as my volunteer position with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Instead of teaching water safety in the local schools around Fort Myers, (2600 kids last year), I'll be a photographer for the corps taking digital pictures of nature and conditions in the inland waterway that stretches from Fort Myers, along the Caloosahatchee River, Lake Okeechobee and then over to Fort Pierce on the east coast. I expect to be doing a lot of documentation of hurricane damage and reconstruction. The aftermath of the storms in the Everglades is being closely monitored by the Corps biologists, so I'll be working with them as well.
It should be a good experience. One nice thing this time is that I finally switched over to a Verizon digital cellphone that connects to the computer. I can be on-line every day instead of weekly at the local libraries. So, the group will have to put up with my more frequent postings instead of having a three month holiday. Verizon hasn't yet been able to get it to work, but the local salesman said that one way or the other, he will make it work even if it means a new cellphone. Impressive statement from a sales person.
All our gear is staged by the door waiting for warmer temps to load into the fifth wheel RV. It was -2F this morning so I think I'll wait a little longer. The new camera gear (Nikon D-70) with extra lenses, memory cards, tripods, and other essentials is ready to go. I'm taking a dry mount press for those visitor center posters I'll be making. I think I have everything. If not, they have stores in Florida. The check list is finished. You would think after four years of this we would know what we are doing.
Earle Rich
Mont Vernon, NH
It better be warm when I get there!