Friday, March 30, 2012

Kananaskis snowshoe

Midweek four no-work-today friends set off for K Country from Calgary.  Frank and Mel clipped into their cross country skies while Robyn and I slipped into borrowed snowshoes.  A short journey compared to Frank and Mel's usual 25+ km skis and a massive change of scenery (and temperature) for me it was truly a treat to explore the trails with friends and family without the weekend traffic. 

 Mel and Robyn

I missed you mountains

 Robyn respecting the groomed trails


 The Dream Team


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Parting photos

Leaving sucks.  Whether from Bimini, Calgary, Chetwynd or Phuket.  While I've lamented the bittersweetness of returning to where you started it still stinks saying what is likely "see you never" amidst tears covered by sunglasses (a trick I learned entirely too late) to truly great friends.  

Farewells wished with good intentions to stay in touch, I'm at stopover 1 on The Long Way Home in Davenport, Iowa where my younger sister goes to uni.  I was truly impressed with the St. Paddy's show Kelly's down the road from her flat put on.  Outdoors tents housed local bands playing covers, green beer flowed from the copious and well-placed stalls while the generations of green-clad party goers danced through it all.  

Not unlike Red Deer, Davenport is a city.  An offensive, loud, bright city filled with cars, SUVs, motorbikes and all manner of tards driving them.  I long for motorbike-filled cities with no traffic lights, golf carts driven on the left side of the road, a skiff, a chicken  or even Bimini's party bus.  


  No bullsharks for the Italian film crew, but a pod of pelicans was interested in our bait and the scraps from the cleaning table.  

Shit Pit prep

 Some Sharklab be(a)sties

 
A wee nurse caught gillnetting

Working her up

The skiffs

Chris swimming from our boat to the Twin Vee with bait

 This is not a hammerhead but still a sizeable nurse

Jean preparing hammerhead bait

 
Sunset at the Beach Club

Leaving Morning sunrise

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Bidding Bimini bye

Tomorrow I leave Bimini - again - and it's no surprise I'm taking the long way home.  Another global lap, five months away, assorted passport stamps, friends old and new and newly old and still I don't know what, who or where is home.

While too many of my friends and family are in the predictable process of "putting down roots" or "settling down" I'm coming to terms with my own place infidelity.  Rarely in the same place for more than six months I'm always struck on Relocation Eve and hit especially hard on Leaving Morning at just how truly hard it is to say goodbye.

Sunday, March 4, 2012