I blame the water...

So at around 9AM this morning, my ol' buddy Paula and I were pushing off in a canoe and heading down the Santa Fe River towards Rum Island. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze and the water, even with the breeze, maintained a stillness and almost mirror-like appearance.


Try to ignore the freakishly large behind in the khaki shorts. Ummm... the mirror-like quality of the water was playing havoc with my camera. It was like Fun House Mirrors. Yeah, that's it! It was the strangest thing. For some reason, my behind in every picture is huge! That damned Fun House Mirror-like water. Curses!

We saw tons and tons of turtles. It was like a freakin' Turtletopia out there. Every log we'd pass would have at least two or three turtles sunbathing on it.


We encountered a great blue heron,


And a gator! Click on the image and you'll see his beady little eyes watching me... and my meaty behind. Damned Fun House Mirror-like water!


And we also took a swing by Lily Springs to pay a visit to "Naked Ed", Lily Springs' self-appointed care taker. I was hoping today would be a loin cloth day... nope. He was one with nature. I kept my distance - didn't want to see what the Fun House Mirror waters would do to ol' Ed, but Paula was right up there with him. Look closely, she's holding his loin cloth in one hand and a bottle of Naked Ed's Pale Ale in the other.


After almost four hours on the water, we ended our trip at Rum Island. It was here that we had us a little snackage before catching a ride back to the outpost. Overall, it was an awesome day - great start to a long holiday weekend.


Tomorrow will bring traditional cookout fare, friends, fireworks and the 2nd Annual Wii Cow Racing Championship. Have a happy 4th and please keep your loin cloth on!