Miss Watermelon Queen 2005

working the crowd at the
50th Annual Watermelon Festival,
Hampton, South Carolina.

The Queen was wonderfully gracious when I approached asking for a photo. She carried herself with elegant poise and made me feel like an old friend - at a proper distance, of course.
Thanks for the photo-op & enjoy your reign!

Miss Wade Hampton High 2005

working the crowd at
the 50th Annual Watermelon Festival,
Hampton, South Carolina.
The Queen has a seasoned entourage. They know to scatter off-screen during photo shoots. They reconvene immediately after the image of The Queen is captured for posterity.
Her minions mill about her, tossing out observations for The Queen to latch onto. The Buzz is contagious.
Oh no higher reward than to please The Queen!

Crepe Myrtle

Note the wisp of Spanish Moss.
Happy Happy Joy Joy

Sea Wolf IV

seawolfcharter.com
A catamaran with new twin Cummings, we made 28 and 30 knots offshore.
Captain Wally knows his stuff & knows a good time.
"A good time was had by all"

Mess o'Fish

photo below, from the top:
1) Spanish Mackerel, caught trolling over the Betsy Ross Reef
LORAN C-45504.1/61061.9 // GPS-32 03.427/080 24.851
2) A large mouth surprise photo'd at the dock. I shot this one.
With this camera. It was much larger than the cooler it was draped over - about 4 feet of solid fish not including the tail. He could swallow your head up to your shoulders.
3) Sea Bass, from 40 miles offshore. Not telling where. Off Hilton Head in the Atlantic. Look at those eyes - clear means fresh.


click the photo!
Actual fish are larger than they appear.
I grin everytime I read that.

Quite a haul & by the time I reeled in my last thundering Sea Bass of the day I'd fished myself out. We got a big laundry basket full of fish. Even after cleaning we had a cooler stuffed full of meat.

At the reef our Spanish Mackerel catches were often partials - barracuda found us and were biting off our Spanish Mackerel catch before we could land them. We were pulling up heads or fish with a significant bite missing from their abdomen.

More yapping about fishing:
"I" caught the biggest shark until my buddy one-upped me. But mine fought more!
"I" also made the biggest commotion over nothing, hooting & crowing while reeling in a "shark or something" that turned out to be some sort of epileptic sand dab / guppy. It felt big. Perhaps a shark did a bait & switch?
"I" claim to have caught the most, but admit most of mine were from an Elementary School and were tossed back to graduate.

One undisputed superlative "I" earned:
"I" tossed cookies the most. Twice.
Nobody else got sick over the side although some looked like they felt like it on a few trolls. When I hurled my experience at sea showed. Everyone agreed that I really know how to barf with finesse.
Along with the "Most Urps" award "I" also earned the "Best Bounce-Back" award: "I" ralphed, "I" rinsed my mouth, blew my nose to clear the stomach acid from my sinuses, and "I" re-started fishing & yapping again without delay.

"I" persevered against these obstacles and kept on fishing.
Then I accused a guy of hogging the "Luck Corner" of the boat when he caught several in a row and I was on a dry spell.
Fish, Fish, fish-fish. Fishing!

dangerously seductive enchantress

Her name is Eve.
She is in league with the serpent and the world is wrapped around her finger.
Eve is looking at you. perhaps thou art next for her.
"Take a bite of the apple, don't you want to know what it's like?"
If Man looketh directly into her eyes his free will shall be lost.
Enjoy your eternity.