Snorkeling The Reef

Scott
Originally uploaded by blountman

Until Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, I had never been snorkeling before. I am ready to make it my new favorite hobby! A group of about 20 of us in the Deibel Party joined about 20-25 others for an excursion to a coral reef just off of Nassau.

Yeah, Tom took that picture of me snorkeling so I would have photographic evidence of my adventure. The other pictures in this set are all from my hand. The beauty of this coral reef was difficult to capture with my little throw-away underwater camera.

The coral was beautiful, and it was beyond cool to literally be swimming with the fishes. You could reach out and touch them, if you were quick enough, and they certainly were not afraid to get in your face!

Now, the water was a tad on the chilly side...okay it was stinkin' cold! Take your breath away when you first jump in cold! However, after taking my first peak at the coral and then following some fish around, I soon forgot all about the chilly water temp. Oh, did I mention it was windy as well? Some experienced snorkelers commented on the white caps on the wave. Didn't deter me. I spent about 50 minutes absolutely reveling in the beauty of God's creation under the sea. It truly was one of the best worship experiences I have had in ages.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to snorkel again.

Peggy at the Market

Peggy at the Market
Originally uploaded by blountman

Norwegian Sky Bahamas Cruise, Day 2. Saturday morning featured a walk around the immediate downtown area of Nassau by the pier. We looked in several shops, and then hit the "Straw Market." I was struck by the sameness of the items for sale in the SM, not just the materials, but the prices. We didn't try to bargain with anyone primarily because we didn't see anything that just jumped out at us. We did enjoy the stroll, and we did wind up purchasing a Christmas ornament in a shop at the pier. We also toured the Nassau Senor Frogs gift shop. Being a frog freak myself, well...a picture of me in front of Senor Frogs can be found on our Flickr page.

Day 1 Cruisin'

Trekking from Vero Beach to Miami with Steve & Patty Macaluso was an absolute treat. Steve drove! We enjoy their company so much, and the trip was uneventful which is my favorite way to travel by automobile. Boring car (or van) trips are the best! Not that the company was boring, but the drive was uneventful with the minor exception that my Sunpass apparently decided it didn't want to work. Had to take care of all of that after we got back from the cruise, but that is a story for another post.

Boarding the ship was a relatively painless and easy process, and we were able to navigate to our stateroom very quickly. We did talk with Ann a couple of times in the process, and that made things much easier.

Speaking of Ann...when I first met Tom and her last May, they had come into the church office wanting to talk with someone about doing a wedding ceremony for them. I scheduled an appointment with them for the next day. I had plenty of paperwork for them to fill out, and we talked about their backgrounds, church experiences, family life, etc. After about an hour, I decided that I would indeed perform their wedding ceremony for them. They wanted to get married that Saturday (this was on a Wednesday).
On the appointed day, Peggy and I were there with Tom & Ann. We held the ceremony in the welcome center of our church building, Peggy took pictures, and I did the pronouncing. They wanted Peggy & me to go out to dinner with them that evening, but we already had plans. We sent them to the Lobster Shanty since they were brand new in town, and they told us that they would see us in church the next day. They did, and have been attending VCC ever since. A couple of weeks after the wedding, they attended our Discover Vero Christian Class, and I had the privilege of baptizing them both into Christ that evening in their swimming pool! We love Tom & Ann dearly.

Back on board the ship, we worked through the initial orientation, and the soda package confusion. We found Ann to talk with her about the soda package, and she broke down crying in her stateroom. Too much stress. We assured her that everything was just fine with us, and just spent some time loving on her to help calm her down a bit. She is such a dear, and we kept reminding her that this was to be a celebration cruise. She assured us that she would be fine, she just needed to vent. I am so glad we were there for her!

The "venting" took another form later on that first night, when Ann and the "Gang" (which included Patty Macaluso and Peggy) got up to do some karaoke. Here's a video snippet of that performance:





Overall, the first day/evening on board the Norwegian Sky could not have been better! And the fun was just beginning.

Norwegian Sky Weekend

Peggy and I have just returned from a three day Bahamas Weekend Cruise aboard the beautiful Norwegian Sky. It will take several posts over the next couple of days to fill you in on all the details, but here is the cliff notes overview:

Tom & Ann Deibel hosted the cruise and invited Peggy & me because I did the marriage ceremony for the Deibels last May and Peggy was the ONLY witness for their ceremony.

About 50 people were in our group including Ann's family (Mom, siblings, and one adult child, etc.) and Tom's family (parents, siblings, one adult child, etc.) and their friends (from before their marriage, living in Buffalo, NY, and in the Cincinnati, OH, areas as well as some of us Vero Beach folks).

We met and made some wonderful friends on this cruise. We ate like Kings & Queens (although Peggy did very well in sticking to her Weight Watchers routine). We toured Nassau. I snorkeled on a coral reef for the first time in my life. We hiked on a private island (Stirrup Cay) and got some great pics of scenery and iguanas. Pictures will be posted on my flickr account later. I spent quality time with my Bride (that was my favorite part of the trip). Peggy sang karaoke with Ann and the "Gang" one night on the ship. Yeah, a video snippet will be on flickr soon. We laughed and loved and expanded our family on this trip. A much-needed getaway, and a blast.

Now, I know you are savoring the thought of more details, but these cliff notes have come to an end. Chapter one of the Weekend Novel will be posted soon.

My Valentine

I love Peggy Ruth Dixon Blount more than I love life itself. I have been blessed to be married to her for 27 1/2 years and we dated a little over 4 years before we got married. Yeah, she has put up with me for a LOOONNNNNGGGG time! My Bride is the best part of me. She is not just my better half, she is the BEST half. Were it not for her love and respect and support for me, I would probably be long dead. I'm totally serious. My Bride is Jesus in the flesh in my life. Today, that day set aside for "lovers," my Bride & I have cleaned around the house, I washed her car (and my van), I cleaned the pool, and we made a trip to Wal Mart. Yeah, all that stuff is way romantic. It is how we decided to spend this day. Oh, we went out on a date last night and had a nice meal along with some "alone time." Next week, we are taking a cruise to the Bahamas. Today, my Valentine and I did what we wanted to do. Together. What a perfect way to spend the day!

My Bride and my love for her!

This has been an interesting past week to ten days for Peggy and me. Peggy has had a severe infection in a finger and at one point we were afraid that it might require surgery. There was precautionary talk of not squeezing, or trying to "pop" the infection pocket for fear the infection could spread into her lymph nodes. Yeah. Not fun.

Finally, she got in and saw an orthopedist, who lanced it, drained it, and sent her to a wound care place for therapy. At $40 a pop AFTER insurance, and with three visits down and at least one more to go, the therapy has been not only effective, but expensive. Whatever the cost, my Beautiful Bride is worth it. I don't tell her enough, nor show her enough, but I love her more than I love life itself. In fact, after my love for Jesus, my Bride is my second love. By a mile over anyone or anything else. I *know* that she knows that, but I want to show it more and more each day. She deserves nothing less.