Peter's Christmas Letter 2017

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This year, 2017 has been a good year for me.  Good news healthwise, being fairly comfortable all told.  Only a persistent pain and discomfort in my right shoulder has bothered me.  It's made worse by all the activities I have, including lugging my tool bag in and out of my car to my clients, riding motorcycles, paddling canoes and kayaks and walking in the woods.

Good news about my prostate cancer, 'done' last year, being essentially cured is a good thing which I enjoy.

I got outdoors on several occasions, detailed below;

EVERGLADES CANOE TRIP 2017

In January, We did our annual canoe trip to the Everglades. Denis Burgoon, Adam Hoyles, Bill Carter and Jim Northey. We were in two canoes and one kayak (Adam).  The trip was to the southern end of the Everglades National Park, Flamingo station.

We set off on a challenging course through the tightest channel, launching from the road to the first stopping place, Lard Can.  Challenging because we struggled through too many roots and submerged branches and too little water and we were heaviest, being loaded fully with food, water and ice (for the beer).

But I have a fascination for these small waterways.

My famous Electric Paddler with its improved float and the solar cell was sometimes too tight a fit and it got some scrapes, but it continued to work.

Here's a shot of my foot space in the front of the canoe with motor speed controls, solar cell controller, GPS navigation and tracking and trolling motor extreme right. With drinking water bottles and bow lines and dry bag with camera, there is very little room for feet!

But it all is worth it, to get us out on the water and have a good time.

We camp on these platforms called 'chickees' since there is no ground above water to camp on, (except in very few places).  Here's Denis preparing our meal, with Bill and Jim at back set up at Hell's Bay Chickee, so-called because of the trouble it is to get there to steer through the maze of islands surrounding it.

Here is a selfie taken during a snack break.  I'm growing a beard already

We can see good weather and bad on these trips.  Here's a great sunrise and below, our track recorded on my GPS.

WALK WITH ALLISON, Little Talbot Island

Back in Jacksonville, Allison and I wanted to go on a hike and we chose Little Talbot island.  The hiking trail starts at the entrance road for cars and goes through hardwood hammocks on a wide trail which runs north up the island and then turns and throws one out onto the beach for the walk back,  

Today it was very windy and stormy and when we got to the beach we could see the tide was in and the wind was onshore, so there was literally no beach to walk on, so after some photographs we turned around and headed back.

SCOTTISH FESTIVAL WITH MARY

Every year her in Jacksonville we have a scottish festival and games.  There's highland dances, bagpipe competitions and sports like tossing the caber and the haysack.  Didn't take many pictures except this one of us there enjoying their fish and chips. The weather was very good for the whole thing.  Later, in the arena, we enjoyed the parade of 'Piping the Tartans'  Very spectucular.

PADDLING LITTLE POTTSBURG CREEK

Allison and I went kayaking this little creek.  It is hard to believe in the beauty of the place and quietness there that we were actually only a short way from the busy center of downtown Jacksonville.  One of my favourites.  Here's a shot of me from Allison's camera.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

It was a celebration of my birthday and also our friend Professor Charles Hart (the Proff), whose birthday is a few days away.  We celebrated these at our good friend June and Jack's place in Atlantic Beach.  Then another one in Riverside, with Allison, Adam, Joey, Leslie, Jane and Gordon

GRANDCHILDREN IN TOWN

Daughter Jennifer came into town to follow the BMX championship for her kids and of course the grandchildren had to come over and play in my pool.  Then we went to raid the toy store.

CANOEING THE SUWANNEE

Off on the trip again, this time on the famous Suwannee river.  Here's where Denis and I cooled off from the midday heat in the cool, tannic waters of the river.  The river takes its water from both forest (tannic) and springs, (clear), but the mixture is as you see there.

Here's some of the rest of the group paddling.  and Breakfast the next morning

We achieved Big Shoals camp and Denis is well pleased.

Ater a good night's sleep, we portaged around Big Shoals and the next day paddled over Little Shoals that come right after them, getting stuck broadside on the top of the limestone rocks!  I had to put shoes on, get out of the boat, stand on the rocks and lift it off the rocks and hop back into the boat just as it started to go free.  I did it and you'll just have to take my word for it.  Denis did not have a camera to record my antics.

PARTY AT GINA'S

My ex-wife Gina, (she uses her stage name Gina Martinelli) and I are still good friends.  I went over to her birthday party and was welcomed.  We posed for a snap.

CBX BACK ON THE ROAD

My honda CBX 1000 which I recently had to service the carburettors on, went out for a test drive and they work quite well.  But I found that in the long period of inactivity, the brakes were not working well, so its back in the garage for it...  I bought this motorcycle brand new in 1982 and have done 98,000 miles on it.  After so many miles and so many years it has to have service to just about everything.  I'm getting there, though, now its just the brakes...

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

I had known about the eclipse a year ahead of the event since it appeared in an article in my science journals.  I discussed this with motorcycling friends and gathered a group of interested people together to drive to the mountains of Georgia, observe the eclipse from a suitable high place (yes, this was a feeble excuse to drive up a mountain to make it more exciting) on our motorbikes and then take the rest of the week to ride all over the twistiest roads we could find.  The group whittled away until it was just my friend Craig, on his Ural motorcycle and side-car combo and me.  

I was keen to take my CBR, since the CBX had faulty brakes and I could not get the parts in time for the trip. (See above).  Taking out the CBR, just a week before the trip, to test it,

 

 I found myself almost stranded when the electric starter would not turn over the engine, fortunately I could bump start it and I got it home, only just.  The charging system was faulty.

Now I needed a motorcycle for the upcoming eclipse trip.  OKay, no problem, I could take another bike I have, the 1980 CB750 that I had resurrected from the dead a while back.  Here it is;

Wanting to take it out for a test, I found I could not start it, except with great difficulty.

There was something wrong with the carburettors. Darn it.

So, in the last few days before the trip, I brought out the hidden reserve;  I went into the back garden and stored under covers was the CB900: 1982.  

This had to be the bike for the trip since it was the only one running.  So I checked it out, changed the oil and filter and loaded it on my trailer and drove it on trailer to our campsite in Georgia, where I was met by Craig a day later:  

There, you now know I own four motorcycles.

The 900 was strong and ran perfectly for the whole trip, powering easily up and down hills and giving me a comfy ride for the whole trip.  The campground was great.

On the day of the eclipse, we drive up on the Cherohala Skyway to a pull-off rest stop that already had many eager viewers and we all watched the eclipse.  Some clouds made us very anxious since they were drifting over the sun, but they cleared just in time to give us a view.

Not bad for just my iPhone camera.  The site where we viewed the eclipse was directly under the center of the eclipse and the umbra was to pass directly over us.

This shot below shows we were in shadow, with daylight over our shoulders in the next valley:

Before the eclipse, waiting for it; L-R; Friend and fellow motorcyclist, Kevin, looking at his phone, he had cardboard viewing glasses that were quite good, Craig chose to get some old-time welding goggles and put dark filters in them and was sitting back to see in the right position.  I had brought stage-lighting gels of the three primary colors put together, produced a very dark red image for me to view.

Afterwards we motored away from the crowds only to find we met more traffic in long slow queues and our engines were overheating.  So, after a lunch break to let our engines cool, we back-tracked to the camp and found the traffic had dissipated and we had a good long drive at normal speeds back to camp.

The next day we did a day trip to Gatlinburg, had a lovely time motoring through a mountain park near there and a meal in town and on the way back we climbed another mountain, to the top of Clingman's Dome in the Smoky Mountain National Park.  Here we are at the top;

With fabulous views all around us.  We were at 6,644 feet altitude and the bike did great getting up there.

HURRICANES

September brought storms with their wind and rain.  My friend Professor Charles, who lives in the beaches area had to evacuate his place, but we were talking about this some days before the event and he came to stay in my spare room a day ahead of the evacuation order.  

For the storm, I lowered the canopy on my patio and stored everything around the pool that was loose, gassed up the generator and stuck it out.  During the worst night, I knew that the tree debris in my street would be clogging up the storm drain.  It happens every time. so I put on a storm jacket and went out to rake the debris away from the drain.  here's a picture before I started, with water coming up my driveway, debris all over the place.  

Clearing the drain involved standing in knee-deep water, at night, in the pouring rain, while guessing where the actual drain is and feeling for the jammed debris in the black water.  My raking was rewarded by whirlpools and soon the water went down.  For my house, I am high enough for the water to go down, some of my friends were in town down by the river were getting flooded out at that same time.  I'm glad I'm located on relatively high ground.  If they have to evacuate me, then the storm will be strong enough to wipe the city flat, a major catastrophe.

Of the two strong storms of this season, Irma hit us strongly and after that Maria went up the Florida peninsula to the west of us, so we did not get the worst of Maria.  When we go back to the Everglades in February 2018, we will be keen to observe how the storms have changed to outer islands that we camp on.  We are hoping there's something left for us to camp on!  Maria passed right over where we will be going.  I am confident the mangroves will have some damage, but they are very very strong and deep-rooted, so the mangrove trees and bushes will be there but the beach may not be...

MY CAT RUDY

My loving buddy Rudy has been close by me night and day since he got here from the rescue place three years ago.  He definitely rules the roost and tells me what he wants, we talk about lots of things.   He is Siamese, Flame-point, look it up.  A rare find, I am very lucky.

He loves water.  He asks for, nay, demands, that I open the bathroom tap a little for the water to drizzle out for him to first test with his paw, lick his paw to see if it is good, then lick water from the falling stream.  His Bowl of water refreshed daily in the kitchen will not do unless there is absolutely no way for me to go and open the tap.  He walks into my shower stall right after I open the door after I have showered, so that he can select a puddle for him to lick up, not minding that he is walking in puddles to get there.

The vet tells me he loves the baths that I take him in for.  We have had trouble controlling fleas and a bath is important to control them.  Recently we have found some good treatment for him.

I admit, I don't like his name.  Never did.  Sounds awful.  But I never came up with an alternative, so there it stays.

HIKING WITH FRIENDS

I love to get out in the woods and walk Florida Trails.  There are lots of trails around here, parks of various type and sizes, rivers and wilderness right within the city limits.  Sounds impossible they are all so local, but there you are.

Here's my regular hiking group, Denise, me and Tresa.  Here we are at Dutton Island Preserve.

CANDID CAMERA

Here's a few informal shots;

My grandchildren are very good at a quick pose.  Clearly, they are used to being before the camera, thanks Jenny.  Here they are at my son Adam's house. Violet and Linkin.

And a shot of me at my local beer place; Wicked Barley, where the property goes down to the river and they have a dock and a kayak launch.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from

Peter Hoyles