Deep Sea Fishing - Gloucester, MA

In the mid 1980's, Steven and Tina were engaged to be married.  We had a deep sea fishing bachelor party for Steven and chartered a boat from the Yankee Fleet out of Gloucester, MA.  We had enough guys to charter the whole boat (the Miss. Gloucester) for a half day which was great. 

We arrived at the docks, loaded up, and headed out of the harbor for an hour or so before we started fishing.

The bait and polls were included.  We went to some good spots and ended up catching 2 barrels of cod fish.  

As we started our return trip the crew started to fillet all the fish.  There was enough for all of us to take some home.  I don't recall anyone getting sea sick as it was relatively calm.

We are all a bit older and wiser now.  Well, at least older ....

 

Where do I put these boats???

I never know where to put some of my boat pictures so I thought I would create a place right here.  A couple pictures from Gloucester, MA, Rockport, MA, and Kennebunkport, ME.

Kennebunkport, ME Vacation - 2010

Our vacation week proved to be very warm and humid as the weatherman predicted.   We walked from the house to the rocks by Spouting Rock to watch the July 4 fireworks.  St. Ann's church is in the foreground.  Years ago Pam and I drove up to see the fireworks.  The traffic was terrible so it was nice to be so close to the rocks so we could walk.  I forgot my tripod this vacation so I rested my camera on my knee.  It worked out ok for these shots.

We spent several days at the beach enjoying swimming, boogie boards, body surfing, relaxing. 

We walked to the levy and watched the boats coming and going from the port.  When the tide was high enough the kids (Scott and Pam included) jumped off the rock levy.

We covered Kevin with towels and chips a couple times to watch the seagulls walk on him. 

Kevin and I went to the " Maine Diner" http://www.mainediner.com/  in Wells for breakfast as we do every vacation.  My struggle that morning was whether I should have coffee at the diner or get my usual Dunkin Donuts morning coffee.  We also took Scott and Evan to Cabelas in Scarboro.  I bought a couple things and enjoyed checking out all the hunting stuff.

On Thursday we decided to go to Funtown in Saco, ME.  One favorite was the log flume as it was very hot and the opportunity to get wet was refreshing.

The kids like the big wood roller coaster called Excalibur.   It is the largest and tallest coaster in Maine and the largest in Northern New England.  They must have gone on it 5 or 6 times.  Megan and Kate liked Dragon's Descent too.

The 13 if us ate dinner at Federal Jack's for Kevin's birthday. 

On Friday Pam and Scott took the kids kayaking. I decided to take pictures from shore instead of risking getting my camera wet. The tide was high so they decided to head toward the ocean. Next they turned around and went up stream and under the bridge. They congregated on some seaweed and relaxed a bit.

We had pizza on the beach on Friday night.  It's a tradition each year (Rain or shine) as we pack up and head home the next morning.

Cape Porpoise, ME Vacation - 2010

We went to Cape Porpoise several times during the week.  The warm and humid conditions created fog in the mornings and haze in the afternoons.  This made for some different pictures.

I didn't get up early for a sunrise like last year.  I would get up early and drive to get my coffee (Dunkin Donuts) and head for Cape Porpoise.  It is a working dock so it can be very crowded in the morning.  There is also a restaurant there so parking in the evening can be tight.

I saw this person digging for clams when the tide was out.  It was the first time I have seen someone clamming near the lighthouse in all the years we have been coming to the area.

George H.W. Bush - 2010

I saw former President, George H.W Bush several times on his boat.  There were a lot of people staying at Walkers Point.  The first time I saw him was on July 4.  He was coming in from fishing with the secret service boat following.

I saw him come and go a few more times during the week.  I would love to take that boat for a spin.  Looks like our former President likes to go fast. 

I saw him return with family one time.  I took this picture of the former President and his son, Jeb Bush (former Governor of Florida), in the red swim shorts.  The others I didn't recognize.

H.W looked to be in good spirits surrounded by family.  I did not see Barbara this time around.

NASCAR - LENOX Industrial Tools 301

Pam got me 4 tickets to the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 for my birthday.  I thought I would take Courtney, Anthony (Courtney's boyfriend), and Kevin.  When talking with some of my friends about NASCAR and going to the race I heard comments from ... WOW, wish I was going ... Take Me, Take Me ... It's like watching paint dry, with noise.  Kevin and I had a blast last year so this will be exciting for all of us. 

Katelyn was talking to her co workers at Panera about the race and how she really wanted to go too.  One of the regular customers heard her conversation said his company does work for NASCAR and he receives tickets to give away.  Wheeling and dealing took place and she got a ticket in exchange for 2 chocolate chip cookies.  We were all excited that she could go with us.

The gates opened at 7:00AM and the race starts at 1:00PM.  My plan was to leave around 8:00AM so we could walk around before the race.  I parked the truck in a good spot close to the exit near the South Gate so we could hopefully get out quick once the race finished.  I would put the kids together and take the one ticket that was in a different section. 

You can bring coolers and food in to the park which is nice.  Once we arrived we loaded up 2 backpacks with water, gator aid, diet coke, snacks, sandwiches, etc.

Before the race started Kevin and I tried our driving with the simulators.  Kate bought a hat and shirt and Kevin bought a shirt before we headed for our seats.  The band FOGHAT was playing at the start finish line before the game.  They sang "Slow Ride”, ”Fool for the City", and a bunch of others ...

I took the 5th ticket so the kids could sit together.  I planned to stay with the kids until someone kicked me out of the seat next to them then head to my seat.  It worked out well as the people sitting next to them had extra seats so there was room for me to stay with them for the race.  Our seats were between turn 1 and turn 2.  Kevin and I liked that seating area last year.

Unlike most sporting events the more expensive tickets are higher up in the stands away from the track where the view is better and the noise is less.  We were up 36 rows so the noise wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.   We all had hearing protection just in case.

It was a good race.  There weren't many cautions or accidents to bunch the field up so there were lots of green flag pit stops.  Cautions and crack-up's make for a much more interesting race.

At one point Kate and Kevin went down to the track to take pictures.  There is a white line 6 feet or so back from the fence.  Once the race starts security will not let you go closer than that line and they will tell you to keep moving if you stand there for more than a couple pictures.  2 reasons: it's a safety issue as cars are doing 150+ mph in the corners so car chunks could go through the fence if there was an accident, and people standing there can block the view for the people in the stands.  This is Kevin and Katelyn at the fence and the security guy telling them to move along. 

A while later this person showed up by the fence.  He was trying to get the crowd to start "The Wave".  The security guy didn't seem to want to move him along very quickly.   What's with that ...

Top 5 results; 1 was Jimmy Johnson in the 48 car, 2 was Tony Stewart in the 14 car, 3 was Kurt Bush in the 2 car, 4 was Jeff Gordon in the 24 car, and 5 was Kevin Harvick in the 29 car.

Here is the Home Depot number 20 for Anthony and the Taco Bell number 17 car for Amy and Chris.

This was me goofing around with the shutter speed ...