SouthFloridaDaily

I just got back from a two week vacation in Guatemala.  Beautiful people.  Beautiful country.  Amazing adventure.
This is probably my favorite shot from the entire collection.  I have posted some more images on my blog (www.janie.typepad.com) and will be posting additional ones some time this week.
Listening to: Rayando el Sol by Mana.

On our photo stroll through downtown Tampa, I came across two of the largest hound dogs I’ve ever seen. I walked over and greeted James and asked about his 2 basset hounds. He then told me the one closest to him was only 1 1/2 years old and his name is Maverick, and the other is Cooper and he is 2 years old. James took the dogs out for a nice walk through the park and a peaceful lunch.
listening to:the dogs playing

William’s black and white portraits inspired me to do this.
I am staying at my dad’s for a big part of the summer in Cape May County, New Jersey. This is a resort area. There are small islands off the bottom tip of New Jersey. Where I took these photos is on an island called Stone Harbor. I worked here for two summers at a candy store while I taught during the school year. I used to stop by this place to pick up some Maryland She Crab soup on the way home from my summer job. You’ll never taste soup like it. The man, who makes it, is Pat Tirotta. He is eighty-nine years old. He did not remember me that is why I called the title what I did. As we talked today, I found out that I taught his granddaughter about 13 years ago. He was thrilled that I was taking his photos and posting them on the internet. He said, “Great, maybe it will get me some business.” I told him I would spread the word here locally. Great food and a great man named Pat. I only hope I can be as active as he is if I live to be eighty-nine. What an inspiration this man is!
Listening to: the kids playing outside

I have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks, and unfortunately for me it ends Monday, and I must return to the grind. My vacation did not consist of any exotic places, per say, rather I took short trips and hung around this paradise we call home, The Nature Coast. In particular, I often travel to the Northern tip of our county and tromp around the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. During my time of R and R, last Saturday morning I woke early enough to be considered unanatural to most, and grabbed coffee from Double D. I tromped around this mosquito infested swanp attempting to obtain a photo of a certain four point buck in full velvet. I started stalking this young buck after capturing a few photos of him a few days prior. I did not see him this specific morning.

I decided to make my way down to Eagle’s Nest, a popular cave diving location after nearly being carried away by the mosquitos in the swamp. I guess they were protecting that four point from my camera that morning. It was great luck though that the mosquitos carried me back to my truck, because when I arrived at Eagle’s Nest  I stumbled upon these two fine gentleman,  Dave Grimm and Tom Bell. I don’t think they really knew what to think of me, smoking a cigar and carrying a camera. I struck up a conversation with them and asked if I could be my usual nosey self.  They politely agreed to let me photograph them and talked a little about cave diving and Eagle’s Nest.

Eagle’s Nest is a popular diving destination for advanced cave divers, and I do mean advanced, because there have been those that have given their lives to these caverns. Tom and Dave talked about the advanced training they possessed and all the gear and equipment they carried with them. They both belong to The National Speleological Society Cave Diving section, as well as, The National Association of Cave Divers. Their dive on this particular Saturday would be to a depth of 300 feet into the bowels of the Florida Aquifer. If you look at the last photo in the essay you’ll see that Eagle’s Nest appears, on the surface, to be a large pond located in the middle of the Chassahowitzka wildlife Management Area, but 70 feet beneath it’s surface is a solution tube leading to a large cave introducing divers to, really, Florida’s Aquifer. As you’ll see in this series of  images, cave divers use a series of tanks where they will breathe oxygen mixtures.

The tanks are dropped at various depths. Each tank has a different oxygen mixture which must be used at specific depths. If it is not accomplished correctly, death will occur. They possessed reels of line so as to not get lost, lights to enable them to see within these dark caverns beneath the surface, and small computers to tell them which tanks to use and the depths needed for a pause so as to not suffer from any medical issues from surfacing to quickly.  Tom and Dave were very friendly guys who were more than happy to share their hobby with me, and I found it quite interesting I must say.

I have included a few links for you to view. One of the links is to a video I found about Eagle’s Nest. Tom and Dave, during our conversation gave me another area to photograph. This new destination will include a hike into the mosquito infested swamp. I have located the new destination through sattellite imaging and with GPS in hand I will provide you all with more photos from the swamps of the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. Please see the following links suggested to me by Tom and Dave. I hope you find them interesting. A big thanks to both Tom Bell and Dave Grimm for letting me be nosey and a little annoying with my camera.

Eagle’s Nest Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkrnSwNSSpY

National Associattion For Cave Divers
http://www.safecavediving.com/

National Speleogical Society
http://www.caves.org/

Tampa Diving
http://www.tampadiving.com/sections/diving/cave_systems/system.asp?ID=26&region=FL

Cyber Diver News Network
http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050913a.html

Approach A Stranger
Meet Doug. He’s 46 years old and sure has a story to tell. He was nice enough to let me photograph him and his dog. Doug is currently homeless. He came to Florida for a job that was given away to someone else. Doug’s been living in his truck for the last month. I asked him to tell me more about his life and I found out that his wife and twin six year old daughters were killed by a drunk driver many years ago. Doug’s life went into a tailspin after that. I’m not sure if I could survive what he went through. Believe it or not, people have actually stolen items from Doug’s truck while parked, including his dog’s food dish. My friends and I bought him some supplies and gave him gas for his truck. We also prayed for him and his situation.

Approach A Stranger
This was my first safari to the 24th annual Art Festival in Brooksville, FL. I met a man taking a break from the heated day. His name is “Del”, and he was quite willing to let me photograph him. He is a retired flooring contractor. He noted that he would rather be back working; he enjoyed his job greatly.
Listening to: Staring at the Sun by U2

Approach A Stranger
Robert Wroe was hilarious. I had a great time yesterday morning hanging out in front of the Norfleet store listening to Wroe’s dirty jokes. What a character!
As Will stated he did have one journal entry, but he also had jokes that he had collected in order to re-tell them at a later date. I look forward to a future encounter with Wroe and hearing more of  his jokes.
Listening To: Landon jam out on his Fender.

Approach a Stranger
In the midst of storytelling…
Watching: Starship Troopers

Approach A Stranger
To be fair, Hank James approached him before I did (I was in Norfleet’s General Store getting a Pomegranate & Honey Green Tea).
This is Robert Wroe and he is quite the storyteller… and he carries a journal with just one entry in it AND he tells the best dirty jokes. Other than that, I know nothing about him.
Watching: So I Married an Axe Murderer

Approach a Stranger
This is Justin. Justin and his friends are currently first in line for the grand opening of the new Ikea store in Tampa. They’ve been camping out since 3am on Monday morning. When I asked them why they were camping out at Ikea they simply answered that they had nothing else better to do. Looks like everyone was having a great time.