Sunday, JB, Patrick and Isaac came down and we finally got our annual "Fathers" Day trip in. Here is a link to JB's Blog about Boating in WV.
http://creekwv.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-family-tradition.html
It has a nice picture of the four of us in Fire Creek on the Upper New. We set up the oar frame on my small boat and rowed the uppers with the boys enjoying the water. It was a bit chilly for mid July, but it has been that way this year. They spent the night and went hope Monday morning. Isaac just turned two.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mike and Kim
It was great to see Mike and Kim, we hadn't seen them for quite awhile.
They stayed in one of the cabins at ACE with a couple of friends. They went horseback riding and did a canopy tour at ACE. Sunday evening we went to the New River Gorge and went rappelling. I love doing that, but it made me a little nervous because I haven't been in a awhile and there is very little room for mistakes in that sport. If the boat flips on the river, people take a swim, but a mistake when you are rappelling can be fatal.
I thought of all the people that I will really, really miss in the bus and custodian business, but then I wondered if there were any that I wouldn't miss at all and I thought of 10 people so fast that it surprised me.
One thing about wearing a long sleeve shirt when I raft is that my hands get tan and look a lot darker than my arms. Seems funny at times.
Sharon's family reunion is this weekend and she is heading up to Clarksburg on Friday, I have a River trip Friday afternoon and will drive up Saturday morning. Sharon is working a FLEX schedule, 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days.
All of the Director's at work got a new Blackberry, you can read email and surf the internet on your phone. Lots of folks call it a crackberry because it is so addicting, as addicting as Crack cocaine. At first I had it set so that it rang for both emails and phone calls, but that only lasted one day and now it is set just to ring for phone calls.
Last week Sharon and I went and picked Blackberries and got about two gallons. She made a cobbler that was superb. Saturday night when I got home from the river she had made stuffed peppers, squash and that cobbler. The peppers and squash came from the garden.
I know that this is more rambling and aimless than normal, please forgive me.
They stayed in one of the cabins at ACE with a couple of friends. They went horseback riding and did a canopy tour at ACE. Sunday evening we went to the New River Gorge and went rappelling. I love doing that, but it made me a little nervous because I haven't been in a awhile and there is very little room for mistakes in that sport. If the boat flips on the river, people take a swim, but a mistake when you are rappelling can be fatal.
I thought of all the people that I will really, really miss in the bus and custodian business, but then I wondered if there were any that I wouldn't miss at all and I thought of 10 people so fast that it surprised me.
One thing about wearing a long sleeve shirt when I raft is that my hands get tan and look a lot darker than my arms. Seems funny at times.
Sharon's family reunion is this weekend and she is heading up to Clarksburg on Friday, I have a River trip Friday afternoon and will drive up Saturday morning. Sharon is working a FLEX schedule, 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days.
All of the Director's at work got a new Blackberry, you can read email and surf the internet on your phone. Lots of folks call it a crackberry because it is so addicting, as addicting as Crack cocaine. At first I had it set so that it rang for both emails and phone calls, but that only lasted one day and now it is set just to ring for phone calls.
Last week Sharon and I went and picked Blackberries and got about two gallons. She made a cobbler that was superb. Saturday night when I got home from the river she had made stuffed peppers, squash and that cobbler. The peppers and squash came from the garden.
I know that this is more rambling and aimless than normal, please forgive me.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wet and Dry Money
I realize that I skipped a week. I just thought that I'd give everyone a break. I hope that everyone had a very Happy Independence Day.
Today is Isaac's 2nd birthday. JB told me that they were going to celebrate it at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. That's a beautiful spot to have a birthday celebration, not that a two year old cares about things like that, but I hope that Isaac had a good day, Patrick was lucky he got to be there also and it wasn't even his birthday. See, there are some advantages to having a younger brother. For awhile Patrick and I were trading emails, with his Dad's help and that is a real joy. JB - that's a hint.
Guides love to get a tip at the end of the river trip and they don't mind making it obvious. I admit that I like getting tips, but I do figure that I'm getting paid to do something that I love to do, so that is reward enough. But a tip does say that you gave your guests a good trip and they want to show their appreciation. When I trip lead I use the line about if you want to show your guides your appreciation they seem to really like pictures of founding fathers and dead Presidents, so it would be nice to give them some of those. I've gotten a $3 tip this year, a $4 tip and a $9 dollar tip. That is way too many pictures of George Washington. I prefer pictures of Andrew Jackson or Alexander Hamilton. I got a picture of US Grant last Friday, my first good tip of the year. Guides really like pictures of Benjamin Franklin, but that is a rare treat. I've heard a lot of appeals over the years about tips, some say remember what we taught you about your paddle, it has a shaft and a tip, now you have to decide which of those you want to give your guide, more - if you enjoyed your ride, tip your guide, another - our guides don't know how to spell gratuity but they will sure accept one if you had a good trip. One company would hand guests an envelope with their car keys at the end of the trip that said guide tip and a spot to write in the guides name, that is a very strong hint. ACE doesn't push guide tips as much as other companies. Working for Alpine at Appalachian Bible College a tip was a very rare occasion. Oh yeah, wet and dry money, when someone hands you wet money at the end of a trip it says to me that they came with money in their pocket and were prepared to give you a set amount regardless of how good the trip was. I prefer dry money, to me that means that they have actually thought about it after they got back and decided on an amount big or small that they wanted to give to show their appreciation. I do think that the economy being down has a lot to do with the size of the tips this year.
All last year I had 22 trips and it is only the beginning of July and I already have 21 trips logged in my logbook. I am loving it.
Like checklists, I like keeping logbooks. I have a log book of my flight times, a log book of my scuba dives, a log book of hikes, a log book of every river trip. They provide rich information and memories.
We've been getting a lot of cucumbers and squash out of the garden. There are also new potatoes and green onions. I can't wait for the tomatoes, we have lots of green tomatoes, but no red ones yet. That first tomato sandwich is going to taste great.
We had company over the 4th of July Holiday. Debbie, Sharon's oldest sister and her husband Bob came down from Clarksburg and spent three days with us. Then on Saturday Marci surprised us with a quick trip down. I was good to see Aidan and Sheridan. Marci, Happy 29th birthday yesterday. I hope you had a very Happy one. The town of Fayetteville really does put on a big celebration for the 4th of July, it lasts all week, with activities every day. There was a carnival across the street from us and Sharon and I took Aidan and Sheridan over to it. I'd love to have had a video of Aidan going down the big slide, he was afraid so the attendant had to go down with him and he had a look of sheer terror on his face the entire way down and once he got to the bottom the look of relief that "I made it" I remember when JB was just a little feller, we allowed him to go up a giant slide and he came down his head just a bobbing, I thought he was going to break his neck, no terror on his face, when he hit the bottom he grabbed his burlap bag and was headed back to the top before anyone could even get to him. Aidan and I went on a spinning ride and Grandpop got a little dizzy spinning that car so fast. Sharon noticed how green my face looked.
We would love to have anyone and everyone come down for the 4th of July. Fayetteville has a 30 minute fireworks display that is mighty fine, mighty fine. Paid for by charging folks with out of state tags $150 for 1 mile over the speed limit. So if you do come on down, drive slow, don't be in such a hurry.
Well I've rambled aimlessly way too long.
Today is Isaac's 2nd birthday. JB told me that they were going to celebrate it at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. That's a beautiful spot to have a birthday celebration, not that a two year old cares about things like that, but I hope that Isaac had a good day, Patrick was lucky he got to be there also and it wasn't even his birthday. See, there are some advantages to having a younger brother. For awhile Patrick and I were trading emails, with his Dad's help and that is a real joy. JB - that's a hint.
Guides love to get a tip at the end of the river trip and they don't mind making it obvious. I admit that I like getting tips, but I do figure that I'm getting paid to do something that I love to do, so that is reward enough. But a tip does say that you gave your guests a good trip and they want to show their appreciation. When I trip lead I use the line about if you want to show your guides your appreciation they seem to really like pictures of founding fathers and dead Presidents, so it would be nice to give them some of those. I've gotten a $3 tip this year, a $4 tip and a $9 dollar tip. That is way too many pictures of George Washington. I prefer pictures of Andrew Jackson or Alexander Hamilton. I got a picture of US Grant last Friday, my first good tip of the year. Guides really like pictures of Benjamin Franklin, but that is a rare treat. I've heard a lot of appeals over the years about tips, some say remember what we taught you about your paddle, it has a shaft and a tip, now you have to decide which of those you want to give your guide, more - if you enjoyed your ride, tip your guide, another - our guides don't know how to spell gratuity but they will sure accept one if you had a good trip. One company would hand guests an envelope with their car keys at the end of the trip that said guide tip and a spot to write in the guides name, that is a very strong hint. ACE doesn't push guide tips as much as other companies. Working for Alpine at Appalachian Bible College a tip was a very rare occasion. Oh yeah, wet and dry money, when someone hands you wet money at the end of a trip it says to me that they came with money in their pocket and were prepared to give you a set amount regardless of how good the trip was. I prefer dry money, to me that means that they have actually thought about it after they got back and decided on an amount big or small that they wanted to give to show their appreciation. I do think that the economy being down has a lot to do with the size of the tips this year.
All last year I had 22 trips and it is only the beginning of July and I already have 21 trips logged in my logbook. I am loving it.
Like checklists, I like keeping logbooks. I have a log book of my flight times, a log book of my scuba dives, a log book of hikes, a log book of every river trip. They provide rich information and memories.
We've been getting a lot of cucumbers and squash out of the garden. There are also new potatoes and green onions. I can't wait for the tomatoes, we have lots of green tomatoes, but no red ones yet. That first tomato sandwich is going to taste great.
We had company over the 4th of July Holiday. Debbie, Sharon's oldest sister and her husband Bob came down from Clarksburg and spent three days with us. Then on Saturday Marci surprised us with a quick trip down. I was good to see Aidan and Sheridan. Marci, Happy 29th birthday yesterday. I hope you had a very Happy one. The town of Fayetteville really does put on a big celebration for the 4th of July, it lasts all week, with activities every day. There was a carnival across the street from us and Sharon and I took Aidan and Sheridan over to it. I'd love to have had a video of Aidan going down the big slide, he was afraid so the attendant had to go down with him and he had a look of sheer terror on his face the entire way down and once he got to the bottom the look of relief that "I made it" I remember when JB was just a little feller, we allowed him to go up a giant slide and he came down his head just a bobbing, I thought he was going to break his neck, no terror on his face, when he hit the bottom he grabbed his burlap bag and was headed back to the top before anyone could even get to him. Aidan and I went on a spinning ride and Grandpop got a little dizzy spinning that car so fast. Sharon noticed how green my face looked.
We would love to have anyone and everyone come down for the 4th of July. Fayetteville has a 30 minute fireworks display that is mighty fine, mighty fine. Paid for by charging folks with out of state tags $150 for 1 mile over the speed limit. So if you do come on down, drive slow, don't be in such a hurry.
Well I've rambled aimlessly way too long.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Chunky Dunking
The sign in the gift shop on the Cape May - Lewes Ferry said - "We no longer Skinny Dip, we now Chunky Dunk." Just another way for someone to tell me that I am fat. It was that way all weekend.
My mother in law said, "You can tell David doesn't miss any meals"
My mom said, "you and Steve were so fit and trim when you were in the Marines, maybe you need to start running again."
My brother Steve said, "What is your waist size?" SAME AS YOURS BRO!
The airlines announced that they are going to start charging for extra pounds. The seat at the baseball stadium seemed awful small. Anyway, it seems like a good time to go on a serious diet. Especially after all that good NJ food. It is normally 8 hours between when we leave home and I am sinking my teeth into a NJ submarine, but we were taking Sharon's Mom and our niece Mandy with us for the visit so we went to NJ via the Cape May - Lewes Ferry. It is a pleasant boat ride across the Delaware Bay. I think everyone enjoyed it. It added about 4 hours to the trip, we went over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis, which is also impressive.
We had a quick trip, traveling on Friday and Monday - which only left Saturday and Sunday for visiting. We went to North Wildwood Saturday morning just before the rain that lasted all day hit. Saturday night about 20 people gathered and Mom's and we had some "Big Johns" pizza, a special taste and memory from my days growing up in NJ. Did you know that smell is the closest sense we have to memory? When I walk into Big Johns the smell is exactly what I remember from 35 - 40 years ago. The pizza tastes like I remember it also. Sharon agrees with me about NJ food and is becoming a big fan of Big John's Pizza. Especially the sweet peppers, onions and sausage pizza that Freddie turned us on to. Never had that growing up, but it is good.
Sunday I spent the day with Fred. Brian had tickets for the Phillies and Orioles game and he was taking his Dad for Fathers day and they invited me. Thanks again for that! I'd never been into the new stadium in Philadelphia before. I went to the old Connie Mack stadium two or three times. Once I remember Uncle Carson taking Fred and I and we got to see Johnny Callison play right field. The one game I went to at Veterans Stadium I saw Mike Schmidt hit a home run. The Phillies lost this game 2-1 a real pitchers duel. Ryan Howard didn't play cause he had the flu, he might have made the difference. He had hit a 3 run home run the night before. After the game Fred and I slept in the car as Brian fought bumper to bumper traffic for quite awhile. (I don't know who snores louder me or Fred.) Then we visited Jim and Pam and got to see their home and sample some of Jim's grill expertise. AJ/Alan is a good baby and I finally got to hold him at their house. He was being held by everyone else at Mom's on Saturday night.
Sharon, her Mom, my Mom, Mandy and Dianna went to the shore again on Sunday while I was watching baseball. This time it didn't rain and they got to walk on the Ocean City Board walk and see the sights. This was the first time Mandy or Sharon's mom had seen the ocean and when they said that on the beach on old fella didn't believe that Mom Jarvis had never seen the ocean. Sharon loves feeding the seagulls, she could stand and do that all day long I think. She was surprised that the came down and took food right out of my hand, she just throws it to them. I think Mandy and Sharon's Mom - Lotus Jarvis had a good time visiting and I want to thank everyone for making them feel at home.
Hey life is too short to hold grudges or be mad at anyone. Family is too important to not stay in touch and stay close.
Well I think that I've rambled aimlessly long enough.
My mother in law said, "You can tell David doesn't miss any meals"
My mom said, "you and Steve were so fit and trim when you were in the Marines, maybe you need to start running again."
My brother Steve said, "What is your waist size?" SAME AS YOURS BRO!
The airlines announced that they are going to start charging for extra pounds. The seat at the baseball stadium seemed awful small. Anyway, it seems like a good time to go on a serious diet. Especially after all that good NJ food. It is normally 8 hours between when we leave home and I am sinking my teeth into a NJ submarine, but we were taking Sharon's Mom and our niece Mandy with us for the visit so we went to NJ via the Cape May - Lewes Ferry. It is a pleasant boat ride across the Delaware Bay. I think everyone enjoyed it. It added about 4 hours to the trip, we went over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at Annapolis, which is also impressive.
We had a quick trip, traveling on Friday and Monday - which only left Saturday and Sunday for visiting. We went to North Wildwood Saturday morning just before the rain that lasted all day hit. Saturday night about 20 people gathered and Mom's and we had some "Big Johns" pizza, a special taste and memory from my days growing up in NJ. Did you know that smell is the closest sense we have to memory? When I walk into Big Johns the smell is exactly what I remember from 35 - 40 years ago. The pizza tastes like I remember it also. Sharon agrees with me about NJ food and is becoming a big fan of Big John's Pizza. Especially the sweet peppers, onions and sausage pizza that Freddie turned us on to. Never had that growing up, but it is good.
Sunday I spent the day with Fred. Brian had tickets for the Phillies and Orioles game and he was taking his Dad for Fathers day and they invited me. Thanks again for that! I'd never been into the new stadium in Philadelphia before. I went to the old Connie Mack stadium two or three times. Once I remember Uncle Carson taking Fred and I and we got to see Johnny Callison play right field. The one game I went to at Veterans Stadium I saw Mike Schmidt hit a home run. The Phillies lost this game 2-1 a real pitchers duel. Ryan Howard didn't play cause he had the flu, he might have made the difference. He had hit a 3 run home run the night before. After the game Fred and I slept in the car as Brian fought bumper to bumper traffic for quite awhile. (I don't know who snores louder me or Fred.) Then we visited Jim and Pam and got to see their home and sample some of Jim's grill expertise. AJ/Alan is a good baby and I finally got to hold him at their house. He was being held by everyone else at Mom's on Saturday night.
Sharon, her Mom, my Mom, Mandy and Dianna went to the shore again on Sunday while I was watching baseball. This time it didn't rain and they got to walk on the Ocean City Board walk and see the sights. This was the first time Mandy or Sharon's mom had seen the ocean and when they said that on the beach on old fella didn't believe that Mom Jarvis had never seen the ocean. Sharon loves feeding the seagulls, she could stand and do that all day long I think. She was surprised that the came down and took food right out of my hand, she just throws it to them. I think Mandy and Sharon's Mom - Lotus Jarvis had a good time visiting and I want to thank everyone for making them feel at home.
Hey life is too short to hold grudges or be mad at anyone. Family is too important to not stay in touch and stay close.
Well I think that I've rambled aimlessly long enough.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Checklists
Saturday at work the river was running about 10 feet above normal and I was scheduled for a 7:30 trip and my friend Mike Swope was scheduled for an 8:00 o'clock trip. Mike rode in with me and he tried to get moved up to my trip and no one wanted to switch, well I headed for the river to pump up the boats and get ready and he stayed back with his trip and the river manager "Bo" got me switched to the 8:00 o'clock trip, but on a "gung ho" boat. That means that the customers paid extra to hit the bigger waves and tougher holes on the river and probably flip the boat and swim 3 or 4 times. Anyway I thought, Mike what have you got me into this time? At the water level we were at they actually give the customers a rebate and put them in a bigger boat and you don't have to take as many risks, but it is clearly understood that these guys wanted to go for the gusto. So anyway we hit all the big stuff and they got what they asked for and we all stayed in the boat the entire day. There was a great shot on the video of us smashing into a wall of water in a rapid called Greyhound Bus stopper that was neat. We ran the meat of the hole and the wave broke on us right as we hit, it buried the boat and we hung on for dear life hoping to stay upright and we did. Very satisfying!
Sunday on the river Mike and I were on the 8:30 trip and we were down tying on the lunch coolers and stuff on the boats and the 8:00 o'clock trip was all ready to go. There was a female guide on the earlier trip that has the name Ode, like Ode to joy. Well, the trip leader told a group to go down and find the guide Ode. The group thought he said "old" and they came down next to my boat and asked me if I was old. I said yes, I'm old, so? They said then you are our guide. I was meeting and greeting them when the trip leader came down and corrected the situation.
You just have to smile about those things. One older fella on the trip that I was on said that it made him feel real good to see someone as old as me guiding on the trip. I don't feel old! Especially on the river.
I like checklists, Sully Sullenberger, the pilot that landed on the Hudson used a checklist to prepare for that descent. It helped keep the situation in focus. A checklist just gives you the things to do and possibly in the right order. When JB and I used to scuba dive a checklist was essential to make sure that you had all of your gear. It could ruin your outing if you forgot an essential piece of gear for the dive. I have a checklist for packing for rafting, paddle, PFD, helmet, throw bag, sun screen, etc. I have a checklist attached to my travel bag. On the front side is our name and address and on the backside is Bible, fan, charger, slippers, dirty clothes bag, water, night light - there is more but you get the idea.
If you read Ecclesiastes 8:15 the checklist would be 1. Eat 2. Drink 3. Be Merry. I wish that checklist for all of you.
Sunday on the river Mike and I were on the 8:30 trip and we were down tying on the lunch coolers and stuff on the boats and the 8:00 o'clock trip was all ready to go. There was a female guide on the earlier trip that has the name Ode, like Ode to joy. Well, the trip leader told a group to go down and find the guide Ode. The group thought he said "old" and they came down next to my boat and asked me if I was old. I said yes, I'm old, so? They said then you are our guide. I was meeting and greeting them when the trip leader came down and corrected the situation.
You just have to smile about those things. One older fella on the trip that I was on said that it made him feel real good to see someone as old as me guiding on the trip. I don't feel old! Especially on the river.
I like checklists, Sully Sullenberger, the pilot that landed on the Hudson used a checklist to prepare for that descent. It helped keep the situation in focus. A checklist just gives you the things to do and possibly in the right order. When JB and I used to scuba dive a checklist was essential to make sure that you had all of your gear. It could ruin your outing if you forgot an essential piece of gear for the dive. I have a checklist for packing for rafting, paddle, PFD, helmet, throw bag, sun screen, etc. I have a checklist attached to my travel bag. On the front side is our name and address and on the backside is Bible, fan, charger, slippers, dirty clothes bag, water, night light - there is more but you get the idea.
If you read Ecclesiastes 8:15 the checklist would be 1. Eat 2. Drink 3. Be Merry. I wish that checklist for all of you.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Nothing on but his PFD and a smile
Well it was the last day for students on Friday, so the buses didn't run today, drivers were cleaning them up and getting ready to turn them in for the summer. Most can't wait, they were scheduled to turn them in tomorrow, but many had them cleaned and ready today. We took any that were ready today less for us to mess with tomorrow.
Not a lot to write about this week, we've had a lot of rain and they have also had a lot of rain in Virginia and North Carolina where we get most of the water for the New River. So the river was running 11 feet plus on Saturday and I took a afternoon express trip down, we had 4 boats and one of them flipped in a really bad place called Berry's Hole in the rapid called Double Z, it is nasty place to be. It took almost a mile of river to recover the people and get the boat turned back over. I was very frustrated. The funny part was that one of the young men in the boat that flipped lost his clothing in the hydraulic. He got in another boat with nothing on but his PFD (personal flotation device - lifejacket) and a smile. One of the girls commented that she didn't know the water was that cold. That made his smile go away. After a few minutes of embarrassment, one of the guides on the trip dug a pair of splash pants out for him to wear although they were too big at least he was covered.
Not a lot to write about this week, we've had a lot of rain and they have also had a lot of rain in Virginia and North Carolina where we get most of the water for the New River. So the river was running 11 feet plus on Saturday and I took a afternoon express trip down, we had 4 boats and one of them flipped in a really bad place called Berry's Hole in the rapid called Double Z, it is nasty place to be. It took almost a mile of river to recover the people and get the boat turned back over. I was very frustrated. The funny part was that one of the young men in the boat that flipped lost his clothing in the hydraulic. He got in another boat with nothing on but his PFD (personal flotation device - lifejacket) and a smile. One of the girls commented that she didn't know the water was that cold. That made his smile go away. After a few minutes of embarrassment, one of the guides on the trip dug a pair of splash pants out for him to wear although they were too big at least he was covered.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Where the Blackberries Grow in the Summertime
Sharon said that I should quit boring you guys with these aimless ramblings. Someday I'm going to write a book and maybe I'll use these to write it from. The seven Seays know that a good book title for our stories would be "Don't tell Dad."
When I first became bus director for Fayette County a little girl was on a bus and we had a sub driver that didn't know where she lived and she was the last student on the bus. He asked her where she lived and she said, "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime" as if he would be able to know where that was. We did eventually get that little girl home, but that would be a good title for a book - "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime."
When I first became bus director for Fayette County a little girl was on a bus and we had a sub driver that didn't know where she lived and she was the last student on the bus. He asked her where she lived and she said, "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime" as if he would be able to know where that was. We did eventually get that little girl home, but that would be a good title for a book - "Where the blackberries grow in the summertime."
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