"A Day in the Life"

Some of our friends ask us, "Are you going to stay in Florida?". My answer, "I didn't know we'd be in Florida - I guess we'll be here until we leave.". If you put yourself in the path of opportunty, doors will open. When I first met Susan she told me something that always echos in my head - she said, "Follow your heart". It reflected the words of my favorite author - Joseph Campbell - was an American mythology professor, writer, and lecturer best known for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion. He said, "Follow your bliss". When Susan called me at work 2 years ago, and informed me that a Technical Headhunter had found my resume on Monster.com and wanted to know if we were interested in moving to Florida. The door of opportunity opened. We had a choice - stay where we were or take the unknown road to Florida. Another quote always hits me when I'm faced with a choice - "A ship in harbor is safe - but, that's not the purpose of a ship." When I first met Susan, she was moving to Florida to start a Caribbean Art Gallery. Getting married to me, put a crimp in her plans.
Susan is my Femme, my best Friend - She is so in touch with her feelings. Let's go to Florida, she said.
Our parents didn't have a choice most of the times. We do. Like the Nike slogan, "Just do it". If you do, just hope you have a partner like Susan. She is the coolest girl ever.


Life at Work:
This morning started with a tropical storm rolling through
- typical of life in the tropics. I meet Michael at our office and start packing the pelican case with a new High Speed Camera that we will be using soon- Michael, Ben and I will be the camera operators. A high speed camera is a device used for recording slow-motion playback films, or used for scientific study of transient phenomena.


Photo to below:coffee blown from a straw. A normal motion picture is filmed and played back at 24 frames per second. High speed cameras can film up to 250,000 frame/s per second.
We need to get familiar with the camera, steady cam and pitch and roll of the boat. This morning was the first of several mornings to come where we will leave the dock and strap on the steady cam and try to keep the horizon steady while the sea is bouncing us around.
Then back to the office that is full of Michael's dive gear, cameras, graphic art tools of all kinds - 4 monitors, two CPUs and prints of our art scattered all over the desks. Michael and Wayne's Zone. This is my new professional life: 3D Digiatal Animator - Digital Photographer - and Michael's Wing Man. I like it.

"A ship in harbor is safe - but, that's not the purpose of a ship."

Carolyn & Jim's September Visit

September 11th - Carolyn and Jim flew down to Florida. Yeah, I was at the wrong airport to pick them up - but, hey, I'm almost 60. Finally, got them to West Palm Beach. Susan was in Virginia helping her Mom - so, it was just the 3 of us. We packed in lots of experiences: Turtle Rescue Museum, Delray Beach, Coral Reef, Coconuts Tiki Bar
, Sailfish Marina, City Place at West Palm Beach. It was a short visit; but, great fun.

No . . . We're not in Hawaii

This summer didn't want to give us any really good
"Snorkeling Sundays" - although, any day at the beach is fun. Susan had been in Virginia for a month and was ready to grap her snorkel gear and hit the beach. Our friends Janis and
Toni said they were up for it, as did Floria and Todd. Michael and Anna said they were going surfing. We were going to head a few miles north to Jupiter Island to explore a new park - Coral Cove. When we arrived in the parking lot we could hear the surf. As we cut through the natural tunnel of Sea Grapes and Sea Hibiscus, we saw that it was a beach with large exposed rocks. This whole area felt like we were in Hawaii. The surf was breaking 4-6 in sets of 3 with really good form. There was a day when I would have paddled out and waited the the "big one". We decided to head about a mile north to see an area called "Blowing Rock".
This was an amazing place: the beach slopes down to a rock cliff. The rocks have holes on the surface of the cliff - as the waves hit the walls of the cliff, the surf blows up out of the holes as it smashes against the wall.
No snorkeling here today - but, amazing look at nature. We decided to head down to Juno Pier Beach to get wet and play in the surf and chance hooking up with Michael and Anna. It was breaking really good for the surfers and too much for swimming. Pretty soon, Anna and Michael joined us with their "Boogie Boards" and ripped up the waves.


Susan and I had never been to the "Square Grouper" - The Square Grouper is the bar that Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett recorded the song, "It's 5'O Clock Somewhere". You will never find this one unless a local takes you there. Toni guided us down "Love" street until it dead ended at the Jupiter Inlet waterway. And, there it is - a small Tiki Bar with 8 tables - We found a table under the Tiki roof - Toni, Janis, Susan and I got a round and as our friends Floria and Todd caught up with us. Beer, Burgers, Wings, Beer - the Square Grouper provided us shelter from the rain that was starting. A snorkel day Sunday . . . NO - a day with good friends in a Tiki Bar . . . YES.

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9

Sunset - Ocean Park, Virginia, September 25, 1999 - Wayne Baker and Susan Virginia Irvin were joined together by Rev. Billy Rice as husband and wife. Witnessed by friends and family, a party was held. There was a full moon over the Chesapeake Bay - and wedding day was wonderful! Only one person fell in the pool, and a good time was had by all. Our journey continues . . .

My Honey is Home!

After a month in Richmond - helping her Mom recover from 2 very invasive surgeries - the emotionally, physically, and mentally tired Susan is back in Florida. Our family is back together again - the kitties are happy too.

Mom Irvin is a very strong woman. She is on the mend - and walking down the road of recovery.

Blast from the Past - 1967 Relived - well maybe for one night

It's that time of year again. Some people don't understand the Highland Springs High School "Springers" alumni. Every year at the ACCA Temple in North side of Richmond, Va, they transform the main dance floor into a 1960's/70's happening. Two bands that were popular in the '60s are represented in 60's style, complete with psychedelic light show, professional sound board and the familiar sounds of period guitar licks and drum solos. Susan and I are flying out Friday and will be there for a really "Groovy time"!

Suzanne's & Billy's

Susan and I decided to fly up to Raleigh/Durham to visit our nephew and niece-in-law. Dr. Billy is doing his Fellowship work at the hospital at UNC and Suzanne is a Social Worker at Duke in Raleigh. We had the best time - Billy and Suzanne's house is really cool - they showed us such great hospitality! We toured the gardens at Duke in Durham, browsed the art collections at the North Carolina Museum of Art, experienced the culinary delights of Elaine's on Franklin where Billy and I enjoyed the "Pâté de foie gras" with peaches - it was amazing!, a wine tasting at their local wine shop, and a really cool retro-pub called City Beverage - complete with vintage album covering the walls - we had an amazing tomato soup that tasted like a liquid pizza with a spicy kick, saw a couple of baseball games on their giant plasma TV, and just enjoyed being with Suzanne and Billy at their place. Thanks, we love you both!