Georgia Aquarium Trip

Thursday, my wife and I visited the Georgia Aquarium. What better way to celebrate the 12th anniversary of our wedding day. We enjoyed it thoroughly and would like to suggest to anyone who hasn't been....GO!!! Unbelievable place. The big tank is 286 feet long and I forget how deep and wide. Two feet of acrylic separate you from whale sharks, manta rays, groupers, hammerheads, etc. It was very difficult to get any good shots due to the thickness of the walls. Other areas, such as the tunnel where fish swim over and around you, are thinner, but lighting, reflections, etc. make a good pic tough. So these are the best of what I got.

We could have sat at the big tank all day. It was designed to accomodate 6 40' whale sharks. Right now, they have 4, I think the biggest of which might be 25-30' long. Huge critters. Standing at the tank watching a graceful ray or a grouper the size of a VW Beetle, the whale sharks would pass by above you and snatch your attention. Amazing creatures. All of them. There are penguins, otters, alligators, sturgeons...all kinds of animals throughout the facility.

Legal Seafood came highly recommended. We walked from the aquarium to the restaurant, took the elevator up and settled in at our table. I thought the food was great, but I didn't get my tea until I had almost finished my bluefish and cheese grits. My wife didn't get her water until she had eaten about half her meal. Refills arrived as we were leaving. The waitress came by at one point and said, "I gotta take the bread." I was halfway through a roll at that point. No explanation...nothing. We noticed she was taking everyones' bread. I asked the manager what was going on and he brought some more rolls. I ate half of another one and then...there she was again, grabbing the plate of rolls. I asked her what the problem was. "We have some bad bread." Hmmm...I looked at the piece I was eating. Mold. Great. Someone at another table had noticed it and pointed it out the waitress. Apparently all the bread they were serving was bad. Oh well. Other than that,,,and the lack of drinks...I enjoyed it.

This shot is obviously not from the aquarium. Seahorses aren't this big. I shot this on an early morning ride a few days ago. I was looking for the breeder where we got Roni 12 years ago (there's that number again) and saw these horses enjoying the dawn sunlight.

Aging

Aging is that insipid, creeping bastard in the night that you think will never happen to you. (That sentence makes absolutely no sense whatsoever).

• It's having to roll over veeeery carefully to get out of bed in the morning.
• It's finding that putting socks on ain't as simple a process as it used to be.
• It's realizing that everything you eat makes you fart...it's not just the broccoli and raisin bran any more.
• It's releasing that basketball-sized gas wad while riding the bike and worrying that I've just dabbled my britches with fecal matter.
• It's stretching every so often at your desk so that you can walk normally down the hall.
• It's having to take a walk down the hall more frequently than you can believe possible.
• It's getting sleepy after two beers instead of getting wired after 15 of 'em.
• It's having to have your wife and coworkers repeat every damn thing they say.
• It's finding that those "cute" comments that used to get you laid now get you arrested or looked at as "that crazy old guy".
• It's concluding that you'll probably never make that Pinhoti Trail hike again. And that doing any more of the Appalachian Trail is fuckin' nuts.
• It's realizing you won't be able to pick up your beautiful 6 month old granddaughter if she gains another pound.
• It's calling your dogs by the names of pets you had as a child and referring to your lovely wife as 'girl' because you have no idea who she is or how she got in your car.
• It's having to have surgeries to repair all the crazy damage you did to yourself flinging your body all over the place playing ball.
• It's telling the gorgeous young girl who cuts your hair that you used to actually have hair to cut.

I will occasionally add to these thoughts, I'm sure...if I can remember to!

Random Photos...Some Old, Some Not

Mom with Dad's Cordoba (rich Corinthian vinyl).

My beloved old VW bus and the boys.







POS Cutlass I bought from a coworker. The only GM product I ever owned 'til I bought my '99 Silverado (R.I.P.)









Caption says it all.










My close encounter with Bigfoot on Bald Knob in Wetumpka, Alabama.












Friend of my older son's on his Ninja. siiiiigh