Holga Positives

I recently decided to browse the contents of an external hard drive I have not used in over five years.  It was like opening a time capsule of sorts. I came across not only a lot of photographs but also miscellaneous documents that are completely useless now but reflect my life at a very important proverbial crossroads.  Right now I just wanted to share a set of images taken with a Holga and medium format (120) Ilford film.  If they look strange is because a) they were taken with a Holga, and b) I never actually got prints, I just had the film developed and scanned the negatives.  What you are looking at is the positive of the negatives, if that makes sense.  They have an ethereal, old-world quality to them that I love.  They won't win any photography competition or award, but I love them.  After looking at these scans, I realized that my Holga had a really bad light leak, I should have duct-taped it fixed!

House of Parliament, London, England

I'm relatively sure this is Westminster Abbey, London, England

A restaurant on the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Restaurant somewhere on the Amalfi Coast, Italy

View of Positano(?), on the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Ruined castle in Casertavecchia, Italy

Gables Waterways Kayaking

For my latest kayak adventure, I brought a +1 along, just to add a kick to my learning curve.  A local kayak group was getting together for something a bit different in South Florida...inland kayaking.  The city of Coral Gables was built to be accessible not only by road but also by a series of canals, collectively known as the Gables Waterways.  It is no Venice or Amsterdam but it is very cool, and relaxing, to paddle through calm waters, admiring the mansions that line the waterways and paddling right through the middle of the golf course at one of the poshest hotels in Miami, the Biltmore.

That is my husband, and our rented double/tandem kayak.

Quite a few people showed up to this event.  These are some of the kayaks, others were already in the slip.

The small launch is located on a crossroad, I forgot which one, between Ponce de Leon Boulevard and US1. Once upon a time, motorized boats were allowed to launch from here but that is no longer the case.  That is not to say motorboats can't use the waterways; they just can't launch from that particular point.  Part of the waterways is a designated manatee zone, which means motorized craft cannot enter between the months of November and April and can only run at idle speed the rest of the year.  We did, in fact, see a few manatees.  It was my first time, and my husband's too.  I wish I had seen them up closer, or that the water was clearer, but alas, it is what it is.

Putting our boat in the water.

Me, very (un)gracefully getting into the kayak.

We paddled approximately 4.2 miles total.  By "paddled" I mean we moved the paddles and tried to avoid smacking each other with them, or to go in constant circles.  Paddling on your own is easier, or at least you have no one but yourself to scold because you can't paddle in a straight line.

We look so dorky that I am honestly embarrassed to show this picture.

The Biltmore. One of the golfers/attendants told us that we had to turn around because we were in the middle of the golf course. That last part is true, but the waterways are public property and thus he had no right to tell us to leave. Not even the owners of the multimillion dollar mansions on the waterway own the waterways.

All in all, it was fun, if a bit frustrating at first.  I can't wait to do it again...although I am not so sure about the tandem thing...

Kayaking to Indian Key

A few weeks ago I was looking around meetup.com for groups that did outdoorsy stuff in my area and I came across a few, most of which seemed to do a lot of kayaking.  I had always wanted to try kayaking but didn't know where to start, plus I thought it was hard to keep your balance, etc, so I never had.  I joined one of those groups and asked a few questions, including what level of fitness was required for recreational kayaking and how difficult it was.  The answers were "very little" and "easy as long as there isn't a strong wind." Seeing that I could actually do it, I immediately became obsessed with kayaking.  In case you don't know, I am what is called a "serial hobbyist" and this kayaking thing proved it once more.  Anyhow, I signed up for a kayaking meet up and then all I could think about was kayaks. I looked at pictures of kayak trips, I looked at journals of kayak trips, I looked for reviews of kayaking sites and launches in my area, I looked up the terms related to kayaking, I even looked up kayaks to buy and I already knew which one I wanted.  I also already knew that I wanted to undertake a multi-day kayak camping trip around the Everglades and camp at the chickees.  All of this without ever so much as having set foot in a kayak.  Yeah, that's me.

So, the day of the kayaking meet up was close and the weather forecast said it would be very windy in Islamorada, where we were going. I was starting to grow nervous; I have been in small ships in rough weather and it's not fun, I imagined it'd only be worse in a kayak.  The day finally arrived and since I had already paid, I decided to take the hour-long drive to Islamorada in the Florida Keys and see what happened.  I got there and there was no wind. Thank goodness!  I would have been seriously heartbroken if we'd had to cancel.  I was given the option of kayaking tandem with someone who was much more experienced or kayaking in my own kayak, both safe but with the former requiring less effort. I chose the latter because I felt it would give me the real kayaking experience, plus there was another newbie who seemed to need a hand to hold much more than I did.  I am not fearless, but I am not afraid either.

 

So, we got on our kayaks at Robbie's Marina and started paddling towards Indian Key, which is just under a mile northeast of the Marina.  We paddled at a leisurely pace and it took us about half an hour to get there.  We missed the designated kayak landing and landed somewhere else instead, and it was very mucky.  Eventually we did find the proper landing, left the kayaks there, and went around the very small island.  Indian Key is home to the Indian Key State Historic Site, which contains ruins of a 19th century town that existed there.  The advertised history of the island, if you will, is interesting, but I can see that it's very much sugarcoated.  I am much more interested in reading the gritty, and true, history of this island and its inhabitants.  I don't know much, but what I do know sounds like one heck of a story!

After the walk, we paddled back to Robbie's and had a huge lunch. The whole place smelled deliciously of fried fish, although that is not what we ate.  The marina offers to cook your catch, and it has an area, complete with hungry pelicans as garbage disposals, for the cleaning of said catch. Too bad we didn't fish.

After all was said and done, I was SO ready for some more padding, but alas, it was over. I loved the experience, I loved the peacefulness and tranquility of the sea, even with the noise of the occasional powerboat.  I can't wait to do it again!

 

Camping Trip Update

Right when I picked him up.  Look at that smile!

It's been over a week since the camping trip to Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, Florida and I have not posted about it not only because I have been busy but also because I've been trying to figure out how to explain why we didn't actually stay until Sunday, like I had planned, but came home on that Saturday evening.  Long story short, it was cold and I wasn't truly prepared. That said, The Monkey had a great time.

Our tent and The Monkey.

He was so excited when I picked him up from school.  He REALLY wanted to go to the big tent. He didn't care that it was pouring rain.  I drove the hour and some to the campground and waited in the car until there was a break in the rain to take the stuff into our tent. The tent was more like a canvas cabin.  It was slightly elevated so it didn't get soggy in the rain.  It was actually very waterproof; despite the torrential rain, the only part of the tent that was wet was the area immediately by the entrance and only because it was open.  As for The Monkey, he was bewildered by the whole thing.  Every little thing I unpacked and set up was amazing to him.  That part alone was worth the effort.  He was just besides himself with joy. Of course, being four years old, he wanted to play outside and didn't care that it was raining. I did manage to entertain him while we waited for the rain to stop, which eventually did.  Thankfully, I took rain boots for the both of us and we wore those. 

That night we got together with the other people from our group and gathered around the fire.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.  The Monkey LOVED the marshmallows! He didn't want to eat them, I had to do that, but he loved roasting them over the fire.  It was amazing, truly, to see this city boy so thoroughly enjoy the outdoors.  He was just mesmerized by everything.  The kids played together for a long time and it was very difficult to tear him away from the action to go to bed. Once in bed, it took a long time for him to fall asleep, which is to be expected as it was a complete change of environment.  He wanted to play with the lamp.  I finally got comfortable and he was asleep, at which point I DESPERATELY needed to pee. I didn't want to leave him alone in the tent and walk to the toilets, I was concerned he'd wake up and wander out, so I did what I had to do; I got some toilet paper I had brought and took care of business behind the tent. It's not easy being a girl, take my word for it.  I didn't sleep well at all, I kept tossing and turning, and pulling him back on to the mattress every time he fell off, which he did a few times.  I was torn between laughing and being mad I wasn't sleeping.  Just when I started to sleep soundly, he woke up and wanted to go outside.  It was still dark and no one was up so I persuaded him to stay in bed a little while longer.

We had breakfast, cereal for me and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for him, and met the rest of the group in the common area. Then we went to the Renaissance Faire in the park and spent some time and energy there.  He was getting cranky, he as sleepy, and I managed to get him to fall asleep in the car.  Of course, this meant parking the car once he was asleep and stay in it until he woke up, which was about an hour and a half. The rest of the day went well but was getting colder and colder. The night would be somewhere in the low 40's, which is cold for South Florida, so after much thought I decided we were done. I don't consider the trip a failure at all, despite the fact that we went home early.  The Monkey had an awesome time and I learned that I can take him camping if I'm willing to put up with certain things.  Despite this, I have decided to wait at least a couple more years until I attempt camping with him again, at least if it's just the two of us.

 

 

Going Camping!

This morning I was woken up by The Monkey screaming "It's Friday! Today we go to the big tent!"  The "big tent" is the camping trip I've been planning for almost two months and he's been counting down the days since Monday evening.  He is so excited about it, especially sleeping in a tent, that it ALMOST makes me forget my anxiety about this whole thing.  I am only anxious now; when I decided to go camping with a preschooler I was downright terrified.  Then I realized that it can't be any worse than being stuck with the same kid in an inside cabin of a cruise ship for an entire weekend, courtesy of the nonstop rain and lack of cover for the pool.

To be fair, although it's just him and me as far as family goes, we are not going alone.  There are at least 20 other people in our group.  It's a group of single parents with kids of all ages and the older kids happen to get a long great with the younger kids, which is great.  There are some teenagers that are happy to watch the young kids and play with them.   In that sense, it's not scary.  The scary part is that well, it's camping.  But again, it's hardly backcountry camping. We are going to a county park that has the canvas tents already set up and on platforms. Each site/tent comes with a picnic table, a fire ring, a bbq grill, and.....drum roll....electricity.  Plus, there are bathrooms and showers in the campground.  Oh, they even have wi-fi!  Not exactly roughing it.  I think it's a good introduction to camping for The Monkey, and for me since I haven't camped in over a decade.

Although we won't arrive at the campsite until later today, the adventure hardly begins then.  You don't know this but I drive a very small car (for American standards).  This is by choice, I like the gas efficiency and I like the car itself.  It's a 2012 Ford Fiesta SES and it's fully loaded.  When I say fully loaded, I don't mean features, I mean camping gear!  If you have ever been camping, other than backcountry camping, you probably know that the amount of stuff you need is pretty big.  If you haven't, then now you know.  This isn't usually a problem as most people who camp like this regularly have big(ger) cars.  Packing my little Fiesta with all the stuff we needed was interesting to say the least.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to fit it all but I did.  However, the only surfaces that don't have anything on them are the driver's seat and my son's seat.

What's in there?  Well, clothes, a bag with non-refrigerated food, refrigerated food in a small cooler and a then a large cooler for ice, paper goods, two camp chairs, one air mattress, two sleeping bags, a camp lamp, two pillows, charcoal, and a few other odds and ends.  Despite the electricity thing, I am not bringing any computers (aside from my phone), tablets, etc.  I want the kid to play outside, not on electronics. It doesn't sound like a lot of stuff, and it probably wouldn't look like much in an SUV but my poor little car is full.  It feels SO sluggish on the road compared to when it's not loaded like this.  That said, I could definitely fit more stuff in there, and it's good to know that for future trips.

The bad news?  It is raining cats and dogs as I type this.  There is a cold front coming and there is a chance of rain tomorrow and Sunday.  THAT is what makes me anxious.