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Screw It, I Am Out Of Here!


fahrquad

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No, I am serious.  The wifey and I head out Sunday morning for Folly Beach in Charleston County, SC for a week of over-consumption, sweat, and skin cancer for our 20th anniversary and I am not taking my craptop.  My smart phone has had a lobotomy, so it is just a phone, calculator, and clock, and other than my wife's I-phone, which I hate, I will be offline for the duration.  This should be an interesting experiment to see just how long the rat can go without his cheese.

  :help:

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Well, the ocean-view condo I had rented for the week had a pipe burst before we left and I had to make last minute reservations at a 3 month old Cambria hotel at the Ashley River Marina a few miles inland, so our 20th anniversary trip was off to a rocky start.  The hotel was very nice and new and cost only $243 more, but then we had to deal with 20-ish miles of bumper to bumper traffic on a narrow two lane road instead of being one road and one parking lot away.  The schools here aren't out for another 2 weeks but I saw a lot of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts license plates and the beach was fairly crowded.  The water temperature was 75` but the air temperature was between 75 and 85` with a 15+/- mph wind so swimming was a bit chilly, not that it stopped the surfers. 

 

Anyhow, I dragged the wife out of bed early at 10:00am and we hit the road home.  The wife was reluctant to leave (as always) and I was thrilled to come home.  I don't mind traveling, but I hate sitting under a beach umbrella doing nothing for 8-12 hours for several days.  As we were leaving I spotted a 1-1/2" long "Palmetto Bug" on the ceiling of the 4th floor hallway which apparently rode up in the elevator. The 1-1/2" was from head to tail and not including antenna.  The Palmetto Bug is the regional term for American Cockroach which varies greatly in size and habitat from the household German Cockroach.  I haven't downloaded the photo from my wife's "eye-phone" yet, but here is a stock photo.  Just for reference, the Palmetto bug ranges from 1.2 - 1.6 inches while a German or house cockroach ranges from 1.1 - 1.6 cm.  Saddle that sucker up and go for a ride.

 

IMG_Fig-1.jpg

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_woods_cockroach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cockroach

Edited by fahrquad
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There were quite a number of Moon Jellyfish on the beach for this early in the season.  Not very long stingers and fairly mild venom, so generally not much of a hazard.  They are nowhere near as much fun as coming face to face with a Portuguese Man-of-War while snorkeling in the Caribbean.  :scared:

 

800px-Moonjellyfish2500ppx.JPG

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelia_aurita

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The Nine Banded Armadillo continues its slow march up the I-26 corridor from the coast toward the mountains of the upstate.  I first noticed the change-over in roadkill from Possum to Armadillo a few years ago when I was making the 210 mile trek from Greenville to Charleston, SC once or twice a week.  The change used to happen about 60 miles from the coast and now seems to be about 110 miles. Interestingly enough, they do not occupy the same ecological niche, at least as far as their diet is concerned, although their carcasses serve the same purpose for the scavengers diet.

 

800px-Florida-015.jpg

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-banded_armadillo

 

800px-Opossum_2.jpg

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

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Speaking of roadkill, we only saw one dead white-tail deer and one black bear on the side of the highway.  The deer appeared to be a doe about 90 pounds although the body was bloating so that estimate may be over on the high side.  The black bear looked to be about 120 pounds.  I thought the bear was a bit out of place since black bear are generally very timid and unlikely to go near a busy interstate highway.  The doe was a bit odd too since the rut is long over and that is when they seem to get hit most often.

 

Whitetail_doe.jpg

 

A little more lively specimen.

 

Black_Bear_Lake_Louise.jpg

 

This black bear looks a good bit bigger than the dead one I saw.

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I just realized that I rarely take pictures of humans, never allow myself to photographed, and almost never post pictures with humans in it.  As I tell my wife every time she wants to take a picture "not every moment is a Kodak moment".  Here is a fairly recent shot of me.

 

rejection.jpg

 

I don't know if it is just me, but has anyone noticed that everyone else seems to be taking a "selfie"?  I thought it was strange that everyone and I mean EVERYONE down on the beach was on their "aye-phone" taking a smelfie.  My lobotomized smart-fone was locked in the hotel room in a suitcase.

Edited by fahrquad
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After using my wife's aye-aye phone I realized just how big the divide between Apple's IOS and Android actually is.  I personally prefer Android and so apparently does a majority of the rest of the world.  Here is a brief comparison of differences:

 

https://www.diffen.com/difference/Android_vs_iOS

Edited by fahrquad
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I just realized that I rarely take pictures of humans, never allow myself to photographed, and almost never post pictures with humans in it.  As I tell my wife every time she wants to take a picture "not every moment is a Kodak moment".  Here is a fairly recent shot of me.

 

rejection.jpg

 

I don't know if it is just me, but has anyone noticed that everyone else seems to be taking a "selfie"?  I thought it was strange that everyone and I mean EVERYONE down on the beach was on their "aye-phone" taking a smelfie.  My lobotomized smart-fone was locked in the hotel room in a suitcase.

 

Lots of hair there! Why hide it?

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:wave2: Sorry I am hijacking your thread to say, "i am really out of here"

Presently conducting sea trials after much needed repairs.

 

 

 

 

new_boatfloating.jpg?mh=365&mw=650

 

 

So, no time for this forum for several months.

 

If you ever wanted to be a forum moderator, this is your big chance! :wave2:

 

 

Edited by OceanBreeze
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Have a good time....and try not to get any fatter :winknudge:  

 

Nope, I was 180.8 pounds on May 6, and I am 177.2 pounds today.  My petite flower, on the other hand, has added 8 pounds to her already considerable mass 

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