A new game... Post pics from your cel phone V.1.0

[Jims5543]

The Square Grouper... A name given to bales of Marijuana that were found floating in the water off the coast of Florida in the wild west cowboy days of drug smuggling in the 1980's...
http://squaregrouper.net/

Alan Jackson Shot a Music Video there:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNFvQ42cnXg

The Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHtpvzYLTIU

The fund raiser was kind of lame, not well organized and seeing as they threw this together in 1 week you could tell.

While the intentions were good, they should have slowed their roll and put this together better.

Regardless, the mission was to raise funds for the lass, and that they did, I donated online the night before hopefully todays events help out a lot.

We decided to skip the food at the event, and grab a bite on the way home, I used to live in West Palm Beach, we frequented this place 15 years ago and it is still there, a great stop after the beach, it is completely outdoors, the food and prices are both fantastic. The Dune Dog Drive in.






It is summer in Florida, the snow birds are gone, it is time...


It is also time for hurricanes, this is my evacuation plan.

[94touring]

Out walking.

[Jims5543]

I am dying here... how do the finger... nevermind...

Great pic.

[Jims5543]

https://twitter.com/redbull/status/483336055673065472

Red bull Twitter campaign.  #putacanonit

[sparetimetoys]

Fired up my smoker tonight. Bacon wrapped chicken breast and a couple smoked ribeyes fresh corn on the cob and twice baked potato casserole.

[Jims5543]

Mouth severely watering.

Nice work, a true artist.

[94touring]

Hatchet usage.

[sparetimetoys]

Mmmmmm cheese burgers

[Jims5543]

 Mmmmm. hamburger buns...  (Almost 100% carb free for over 2 months now)


Lost over 10 lbs too.  ;D

[sparetimetoys]

Atkins diet or something else?

[Jims5543]

I do not know what to call it. Paleo Diet maybe. Probably not.

I noticed in my later 30's everything sticks to me. Cardio did the trick along with weight training. Then I hit a rut about 8 years ago and gained 30 lbs. I was not exercising and was eating really bad, it did not help that there was a Little Caesers Pizza 1 door down in the building I was in.   :-[

Beer was my best friend too. I was really getting into craft beer and Stouts / Porters were my favorite.

So I joined a Snap Fitness (24 hour fitness joint) and started taking our Lab for 2 mile walks / jog / runs every morning. Changed my diet drastically and lost all 30 pounds in about 7 months. Towards the end I was running 2 miles in the morning and 2 in the evening. I hate running. So I would try to run 7-8 minute miles so I could get it over with.

Then I aggravated an old back injury about 3 years ago and fell back into my old ways, bad diet, no exercise, except this time I slapped myself awake when I passed a 10 lb gain and approached 12 lbs.

I heard about people doing this very low carb "Keto" diet, which I believe Atkins is as well.

I found this calculator:

http://www.mydreamshape.com/keto-calculator/

Punched in my info then developed a diet plan. Shopped, cooked, packaged, and stuck with it. In about 4 weeks I lost almost 10 lbs, I never dreamed of it coming off so fast.

So here is the problem with me, I LOVE beer. LOVE IT!!  In order to be able to drink beer on weekends I need to behave myself all week long. So I am on a M-F Keto diet of sorts, I cheat a little here and there but try to keep the Carbs at zero and then I do whatever I want for Dinner on Friday - Sunday evening.  I try to keep it low Carb for breakfast and lunch on the weekend and have fun for dinners.

I am about 4 lbs away from being the leanest I have ever been in my life and I do almost no cardio. I mostly weight train and have been back in the gym for about 5-6 months now. Lots of muscle is coming back which = more calories to eat and more carbs which = more BEER!!

@ 48 years old, I am just trying to take somewhat decent care of myself.  I know I need to get some more cardio going, I might try to get something going when I am on vacation next week.

Which BTW - the pics from the Keys will make up for all this BS typing.

[sparetimetoys]

Good times. Quick change and watch fireworks down in San Antonio.

[94touring]

Last night with my flight attendant in Newark.

[Jims5543]

Welcome to Cudjoe Key Florida.



This is Looe Key Park it is an underwater national park.


This is the No Name Bar on Big Pine key, I now have two dollar bills on the walls in here, on a couple of days ago, one 17 years ago.



On Big Pine Key are Key Deer, this is a full grown deer, they are endangered, protected, extremely docile and not afraid of humans.


This is the dock behind the house at dusk.



My home for a week:



Tonight we are going to Key West to go to a Drag Queen show. Then whatever other shenanigans we can get into.

[Jims5543]

Sunset @ Mallory Square.  We had to do the touristy thing one night.







Never eat waterfront in the keys. Especially Key West.  Find places back off the water and off Duval street. I broke that rule last night due to pressure from others in the group. The result was a $200 dinner bill for mediocre food.

[94touring]

Good to know about the food.  And the tame deer is crazy  8.gif

[Jims5543]

If you have ever driven into the Keys and seen that toll road that runs off of US1 in Florida City that says Card Sound Road and thought maybe you should go down it, do so.

About 5 miles down in on the right hand side, just before the toll both ($1 toll) is a dive bar called Alabama Jacks.  Try to sit along the water to boat watch, and order the conch fritters, they are very unusual and very very good. Also, the hot wings are very delicious and VERY hot to taste. Habenero pepper hot and really tasty.  Be warned you may or may not end up with a ring of fire a while later.  The beer selection is in bottles and I was happy to see Kalik beer, the Bud of the Bahamas on there.

Take a walk around there after you eat and check out the pictures on the walls, enjoy the house band that is very good. Enjoy the scene.  It is a perfect way to start or end a trip to the Keys. It is what the Keys are about.

[Jims5543]

I am going to break the threat rule and post a couple of non cel phone pics.

Go pro pic out in Cudjoe Bay near the Atlantic Ocean, water temp was in the high 80's and was our favorite swimming spot. We would go out with the boat and spend tons of time tubing, kneee boarding and swimming in this area.



Taken with a Fuji Underwater Camera, this guy wanted to hitcha ride on one of us while snorkeling after it was knocked free from a seaweed drift.


Scuba Below at Looe Key.


Go Pro picture of  sunset on Cudjoe Bay, our favorite place to take one in. Do the Mallory Square one once in your life so you can say you were there, then find more beautiful places to go and do it in peace.

[Mudhen]

Your pics remind me that I suck...heck if we get in a little hike I feel good we did something.

I won't let anyone else here see how the other half lives, maybe they'll never know.   :-X

[Jims5543]

Your pics remind me that I suck...heck if we get in a little hike I feel good we did something.

I won't let anyone else here see how the other half lives, maybe they'll never know.   :-X

That was my first 1 week vacation since 2008. No lie. My life is not that exciting M-F the rest of the year. Trust me.

Every other trip or time off is limited to a weekend or maybe a Friday off or a Monday off too.

My wife had been on my case to take a full week of for a couple of years now. I am glad I did.

I work my ass off like many do, I leave my house at 6 a.m. and most days do not return until 6 PM then jump back on a laptop to check work and do more work around 8-9 PM and work to 11pm to 1 am.

Hence how I can be on here so much. Trust me I prefer to not be on here and not on a computer after 6PM.

Work hard and play hard, I really try to not live to work but to work to live. So I really make the most out of weekends and take any opportunity to take a day off and play with the family.

I stopped Autocrossing (I had hopes years ago of National Titles and was pleaded with by the owners of Evolution Driving School to get my ass to Topeka and win some) and track days many years ago to make more family time. I was never comfortable taking what little time I have free to leaving them home to go play.

My older boy does a random AX here and there with me, I have forced the wife to do one event too, my younger one likes Karting so we may get back into that gain this winter.

[Mudhen]

I miss autocrossing...need to get back into some kind of racing - just don't want to spend money on anything but the '80...have to focus for another year or two and do some real rallying.

The two older members of the goon squad and I went up to the New England Forest Rally yesterday.  Man - I gotta get out there somehow.  Can't imagine sitting on the starting line in an old Mini ready to tear up the gravel.   62.gif

Couple pics from the Parc Expose.  These chuckle heads were there...David Higgins in the blue car in first place...again.  And Travis Pastrana coming back to rallying and I think in second place.  Would be nice to have a factory team to do everything!


Griff can't hold still for two seconds - still got an autographed poster and to meet one of his hero's:


Our spot for the day:




Only a couple action shots as I was messing around with 'sport' mode on the camera...argh.

[sparetimetoys]

Love those autocross photos. I used to race off road two seat buggy and jeep back in the late 70s

[94touring]

I took the metro downtown philly last week and stumbled across this cracked bell. 

[MiniGene]

That's the Taco Bell!

[Jims5543]

That's the Taco Bell!

He is right. I an an expert on history. .