New Horizons

The 2005 summer season is officially over. Our summer season at the marina is from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During the summer season, we increase the hours of operation. On the day after Labor Day we go back to winter hours. That means a normal workweek for me of anywhere from 40 hours to maybe 42 or 43 hours per week. This is a far cry from the 50 plus hours per week I end up working sometimes during the summer. Every day after Labor Day I take off and sleep almost the entire day. Yesterday was no exception.

I got a call yesterday afternoon asking me if I would work today as first mate on a boat taking some clients on a lunch cruise to Harbor Town on Hilton Head Island. I have never worked as a mate on a boat but I jumped at this chance to take a nice boat ride and get paid for it. Here are a couple of pictures of the boat I was to go on.

 

I arrived at the dock on time and got the drinks into the insulated box and iced down. The captain started the generator and we got the shore power disconnected. I saw that the refrigerator was stocked with wine and located the corkscrew and the wine glasses. We were ready to shove off and were awaiting their arrival.

As is often the case, the trip was canceled at the last moment. The low pressure system swirling off the East Coast of Florida is sending rain bands this far north already and foul weather was imminent at some point today. The clients did not want to gamble on this weather and made other plans. Too bad, I had my trusty camera with me and was ready to document the entire trip to share with you in this journal. Sieblond has an expression just right for this type of disappointment. Le sigh!

In an effort to keep our minds off of other things going on these days, I would like to play a little game. I don’t want to start anything regular, this is not about creating a group. This is just a onetime only thing I came up with that might be fun. I call the game "New Horizons."

I am going to show you three photos of my view at work. I’ll use work because it’s a much more interesting set of horizons    than what the subdivision road I live on presents. If any of you decide to play, go ahead and use subdivision roads or any horizon you encounter on a regular basis in your normal life. Diversity is what we may end up with and that is always interesting.

                   

    

So here is the game. Next time I post, (which will be next week according to my usual track record in this journal), I will have traveled to the horizons shown here and I will have taken a picture of the horizon at those vantage points. I will post those pictures here so, in effect, you will be able to see beyond my original horizons. I am going to show you three pictures because I work near the intersection of two rivers and that gives me three horizons I can look to and wonder what lies beyond. With each picture I will tell you a little something about the area I am taking the picture from and you will come away knowing just a little more about my world here on the coast.

I used a paint program to draw on the same three pictures to show you where I will go by boat to take my three horizon pictures this week. Here they are.

                    

 

If any of you want to play, too, I’ll post your links possibly in an interim post to let everyone see your first shots. On Tuesday, September 13th I’ll post the new horizon set of pictures and the game will be finished. I’ll post a link to all participants in that entry so we can all go see everyone’s new horizons easily. Once again, this will be a one time only game, LOL!

One disclaimer! If the low-pressure system swirling off the coast of Florida strengthens and comes my way, all bets are off on this game and I will post the new horizons as soon as weather permits a safe boat ride to take the pictures.

If no one else wants to play, that's okay.  I'm going to have fun with it and I'll still share it with the rest of you.