The Extraction

Yes, I went to the dentist today, after my nine weeks of antibiotics. Ok, ok, only two weeks. It just felt like nine weeks. Four pills a day that are the size of a golf ball is not my idea of good times. No matter, it's all over with now. It went pretty well. The new dentist I have is quite good. She only hurt me a little and that's to be expected.

I can feel part of my face now, which is more than I could say a couple of hours ago. I hope I didn't drool too much. Talking is a bit difficult still. Now that the gauze is gone, it's much better. There was enough gauze in my mouth to wrap a severed leg. Sheesh! Clear liquids for 24 hours. Never had a doctor tell me to have a milkshake for dinner. I'll probably just skip it all together rather than risk ice cold stuff getting in there. Eek!

The Shrimp Incident

I am usually griping about the ignorance of the general public. This will be no exception, so if you are tired of my whining about it, stop reading now. A fruitcake diguised as a woman came in to the store today. After wandering the store for a few minutes, she had a question for me. This is not unusual. Most people do have questions after seeing all the odd critters in the store. I am accustomed to answering a lot of questions. However, the majority aren't this idiotic. I do get sideswiped occassionly. After all, I am close to Kentucky. :) Back to the story...

Fruitcake: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure
Fruitcake: Are these things really called peppermint shrimp?
Me: Yes
Fruitcake: Are they called that because they taste like peppermint?
Me: I've never tasted one, but I don't think so.

[Co-worker exits stage left]

Fruitcake: Why else would they be called that?
Me: Maybe because they are red and white striped?
Fruitcake: OOoohhhhh

Are you freakin' serious? Because they taste like peppermint? Jeez Louise. Sheesh. Holy crap! These are the times I question my decision to work with the general public. I still can't believe it. A shrimp. That tastes like peppermint. Seriously? ppfffffttt.

Sea Apple

A beautiful creature.

Gorilla Crab

He looks ready to pounce!

Poser

After I wrestled him into submission, he agreed to pose for a picture.

My Mug

No make-up, hair in a disarray from the water, feeling kinda water logged. What better time for a picture? lol

Tower of Crabs

I think this speaks for itself.

Nice Scenery

A fine place to get your toe pinched by a large blue crab or one of his many friends. (Trust me on this one)

Palm Tree

Wouldn't be a trip to Florida without a Palm Tree, now would it?

Alligator

An alligator in....Alligator Lake. Not very inventive, but the real name of the lake.

The Nice Guy

The shell in the middle of all the grass is a green hermit. He, too, is quite large. He is one of the nice ones. Claws stay fairly small and they are herbivorous.

Hermit Crabs with Attitude

This hermit is quite large. As you can see, his claw is bigger than my thumb. That's why i am holding the very end of his shell. Pinching from him would smart. These guys are complete jerks in many other ways too. They will eat anything. Not so good if he's put in a tank. The picture doesn't show just how beautiful this animal is. He has bright blue eyes, red, purple, and blue claws and a bright red body. Too bad he's such a punk.

Turtle Grass

In some areas where I go snorkeling, this stuff is everywhere. (Like here, for example) In other places, there are no weeds or a lot of some other kinds. Pretty stuff. I found many crabs and fish hiding in here. One of which was an eel.

Sheepshead

This one scared the crap outta me. He was about 2 feet long with a mouthful of intimidating looking teeth. I didn't see him until he was a few feet from me. All I noticed at first were the teeth. He swam toward me and just kept coming until he got real close. He looked at me, got bored, and swam away. Shew!

The Sidekick

This little Mr. was in love with people. Once you were found, he never wanted to leave. Curious little guy. He never tried to bite or anything else rude, but he was adamant about staying near. I think it is a juvenile grouper of some sort.

Beautimous

I am standing on the jetty looking at my favorite swimming hole. I spend many hours here. Behind me is the channel where the big dudes are. Actually, there was a fisherman behind me, but you get the idea.

Flying Blue Gurnard

This is one of the neatest fish out there. They are not shy at all so are easy to catch with a net. I touched him at the rear of his fin and he proved that he was a flying gurnard by shooting out of the water and sailing back down about five feet away. Those little side fins double as wings.

Jumpers

These little darlings were jumping all the time. This is where I swam the most and I think, it must be a favorite place of theirs too. They were there every day I was. As, you can see, they were none too shy about jumping right up in your face. I only got hit once, so I guess that's not bad. (It was on the back of my arm, not my face). I never did find out why they were jumping out of the water all the time. Maybe they're Flying Fish. ;)

Another Reason to Hate Alabama

Ok, hate may be too strong a word in this case. Never the less, it is a reason to avoid it at all costs. I am driving through Montgomery, Alabama. I pull up to a light - one of many - and what do I see? This charming old lady pulls up next to me in the other turn lane. Please look at what is hanging from her sun visor. That's right...it's a magnifying strip that people use to read with. She was using it TO DRIVE. Yes, to drive. Now, I don't know how the rest of you would feel to see her next to you, but it freaked me out a little. I let her have plenty of space and then got the heck away from her. Can you imagine that no one - like the police - has put a stop to this? Insanity!

Trip

I went on a trip to Florida this last week. As always, the trip was exciting. Alabama proved yet again they have the best drivers ever. I have pictoral proof of it this time. I am getting my pictures developed and then I will finish the trip story with cute little pictures for all to see.