01.18.15

Diving

Planning has begun. Photo equipment assessment and "fixing". It wiill be a trip that pounds count!

01.14.14

Reef Cam & Dinner
(Sorry, I had to post two topics today...I liked my burger photo.)

Over the weekend I discovered the "reef cam" at my favorite Grand Cayman resort, Ocean Frontiers. They've always had their office cam that looks over the boat docs, but the reef cam is very cool!! Every now and then they will rotate the camera for a different view. Today I finally remembered to look at it during the day!! It's a great little time-out or way to get an "ocean fix." This is just a screenshot I took today. Here's a link to the cams.


Dinner

Tonight's dinner was a yummy turkey burger. Toppings included: ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, lettuce, jalapeno, avocado, and BACON!

10.17.09

CSE Underwater

At school we have a bulletin board to showcase the locations our CSE shirts visit.  I took my t-shirt with us to Turks & Caicos and soon realized that a photo on a boat in the middle of the ocean would be boring.  I decided to put my shirt on over my wetsuit...had a little explaining to do when the other guests on the boat were just looking at me.

I had hoped to get a shot with a shark over my shoulder, but that didn't pan out.  :o)

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.16.09

Not a Shark

Okay, we did some other fun creatures...other than sharks.  :o)  We saw several turtles...they are always fun to watch and swim with.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.15.09

Another Shark

I said that we saw a lot of them...here's another.  I thought about bringing one home, but I don't think the neighbors would let me keep it in their pool.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.14.09

Up Close and Personal

It was great getting to see the Grey Reef Sharks so upclose.  There were a few that made me nervous, but it was very exciting.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.13.09

Head-On

An underwater head-on takes on a whole new meaning!

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.12.09

Angels & Memories

Even underwater you can find angles (or grey angelfish). Today was bittersweet. One year ago today, my friend and colleague Tonya passed away. Tonya was on a family vacation in Hawaii. It was freak and tragic accident. One of the toughest things for me about Tonya's death is that the ocean, the one thing I love and so enjoy, is what took her from us. I remember Tonya greeting me with her wonderful and contagious smile every morning. Tonya will live on in our hearts and memories forever.

10.11.09

Shark on Reef

Sharks are amazing creatures.  I particularly liked how the sun reflected off their them.

The sharks on this trip came closer than the other ones...they were within arms' reach and on every dive.  There was no type of chumming going on.  These sharks were simply interested in us.

10.10.09

Chad & His New Friend

One of the reasons we wanted to go aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II again was because of the sharks we had encountered on several of our dives.

And we weren't disappointed the second time!  On this particualr dive we ended up with three different sharks that circled around both Chad and I.  I captured the still photos...Chad captured the video.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

05.17.09

ISLANDS Magazine Photo Contest - Honorable Mention

Well, I was hopeful that this week I could tell everyone to run out and purchase the June issue of ISLANDS Magazine and turn to a certain page...unfortunately that's not the case.

I learned back in February that I won Honorable Mention, for a second year in a row, in the ISLANDS Magazine 20th Annual Photo Contest.  (I was able to "formally" announce anything until the magazine came out.)

My winning photo was of a sting ray laying on the sand. I took the photo while on a liveaboard in Turks & Caicos.  We were just about ready to head back up to the boat and there were two rays gliding across the sand.  They are amazing creatures and are so fun to watch.

There were only half of the photos that made it in the magazine, but you can see them all, including my stingray, by visiting the the ISLANDS web site and clicking on "Photo Gallery":  http://www.islands.com/article.jsp?ID=1000071546

02.03.09

Well, as I promised last night...diving!

I was VERY excited to see the release of Google Earth 5.0! I had to get it downloaded on my "teacher" computer at school ASAP. Once I had it installed an began exploring, underwater of course, I had to call over a fellow teacher and scuba diver. We agreed that we had logged our first dive at CSE!

Tonight I managed to get it installed on my laptop and to do some more exploring. Using my screen capture, y photo today was taken just east of one of my favorite dive sites - Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman. You can see some of the underwater topography and the waves lapping overhead.


So what have our friends at Google improved this time? As for the ocean layer, there are some great resources. Not only can you dive under the surface, but you can add photos to dive sites, watch videos, visit live blogs, and more. Another great feature that I like is the historical imagery. You are able to see the changes a location has undergone over time. Our house is still not on the map, but it was fun to see what the subdivision looked like before the golf course and houses. Finally, I'm looking forward to trying the recording feature. This allows you to record a tour for others to take.

The one downfall of all these changes...I have figure it all out so I can share it with our students and teachers. A great example for students that you are always learning, no matter how "old" you are.

If you are interested in checking out the Google Earth 5.0, here's the link. Enjoy!!
http://earth.google.com/