Even Beach Bums need a Relaxing Day Off!!!

I awoke to the sound of the seagulls squawking yesterday about 7 am. I had been up late the night before catching flounder, a sting ray & large blue crab, which made an excellent grilled seafood dinner. Although I had never been much of a morning person, the gulls wake me up every morning like clockwork now. I walked the dogs and about 8 am my friend Sara stopped by to invite me to go to the beach.

The day started out somewhat overcast so we headed south toward St. Augustine to try to find the sun. We decided to go to Crescent Beach, a beautiful wide powder white beach where you can park your vehicle directly on the beach.

Tourist Tip: Your vehicle makes an excellent wind block and can make a cool beach day much more comfortable when the clouds block the sun.

We spent most of the day at Crescent Beach taking long walks, watching the surfers, kite surfers, sea shell hunting and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the beach. The sun came out nicely and it was a great day.

I decided to show Sara some of my favorite spots on the intracoastal waterway and other beaches as we drove south toward Marineland before coming home. We stopped at a nice beach near the Matansas Inlet, walking over the long boardwalk above the dunes. Next stop was Summer Island on the intracoastal side where it is rumoured that Sean Connery owns a house. Finally we visited the beach at Marineland. This section of the island is extremely narrow and you see both the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway while driving down A1A. A beautiful view and great way to end a nice day.

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Bumming around in Boats, Boats & More Boats Cont......and Fishing Too!!!

After laying 3 or 4 layers of fiberglass matt, and cloth on my catamaran, Salty & I went fishing at the community dock for about an hour. We then went to a large marina where he does work. I helped him remove the old name from the beautiful 28' Regal in preperation for a compound/waxing detail job tomorrow. He showed me other boats at the marina that he had detailed, then it was off to Shands Pier at Green Cove Springs to go Fishing. Salty caught a nice Redfish and a large Catfish was caught as well. It was a great day fishing, doing a bit of work & just Bumming around in Boats.

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A Great Day....Just Bumming around in Boats, Boats & More Boats!!!....and a bit of Fishing!

Today I woke early...abt 6 am. Walked the dogs then went to check on my FREE Prindle 16' Catamaran by the boatramp. The Grandparents of the owner just wanted it off their property as their grandson had moved to Arkansas. I had a place to keep it, it had a large hole in it and I knew a little bit about fiberglass work soooooo, I got a FREE BOAT. When they delivered it it was covered with 1/4" thick green spots....looked liked baked on duck poop. It had been sitting unused for 5 years. My friend Salty and a few others helped me clean it up. Salty owns a boat detailing business & I help him out sometimes buffing and waxing large beautiful boats, almost more fun than work for me. My Catamaran is still a project boat and is a work in progress. Steve, a Boat Captain friend of mine made a very generous donation of some old sails and a mast from a boat he once owned, not the right rig for my catamaran but will still work and I will get to sail...which I love. The boat will be named BeachBumToday and I am looking forward to launching her in the next week or so.

Even though I have owned large boats in my past, the fact is I can have (ALMOST) as much fun as people on 3 Million Dollar Yachts. I still have the views, the fresh air, the sunshine, and joy of living in Florida....the boating capital of the USA!

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New Logo.....New Site! Voice your opinion.

I must apologize for the "DEAD AIR TIME". I learned that phrase from Johnny Fever on the old 70s TV show....WKRP in Cincinnati!!! The fact is that I have been busier than ever in my life. Between friends, followers, events and recent adventures(probably 1001.....I have to take time out to keep the stories coming) there has been very little time to work on the transfer of this site to our new one....BEACHBUMTODAY.COM. The cool thing is that on BEACHBUMTODAY you will be able to purchase T-Shirts, Swimsuits, and eventually all of the coolest beach bum accessories available for your Florida Spring Break/Vacation! Plus, here on my site we will offer money saving tourist tips, interesting articles, adventures and the BEST of Florida while making your dollar stretch!!!!!!!........And ALL FOR DONATIONS....if you believe we can save you AT LEAST $20 on your next vacation, then donate a few dollars if you can, but as always there is NO OBLIGATION to DONATE....a NEW CONCEPT.

I am displaying a draft ot a new cartoon venture that I am a partner in with Annette Pachl Haldiman the lady who helped give me the Idea for this site. She is a very talented artist, cartoonist, businesswoman, public speaker, and an advocate for cancer patients. View her blogs at http://www.thoughtsofanrtist.blogspot.com/
I would like your opinions on the Graphics/Logo/T-shirt Concept. The Best Suggestion will win a free t-shirt when we produce them....I want honest opinions and so does my friend, let us know.

Thank You from your Friend,

Daveed da Beach Bum

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Off Season Florida Gators Training Camp Huddle!

Alright....its forth down and 2 yards to go for the touchdown. We're going to pull the left guard and TIM TEBOW* will do a quarterback draw and hit the right side of the line......Lets Do It and then hit the GatorAid Jug......ON TWO!!


*Tim Tebow is the Heisman Trophy Winning quarterback of the 2006 & 2008 NATIONAL CHAMPION Florida Gators....just about the best thing to hit North Florida since Boiled P-Nuts!!!

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Time or Money....that is the question????????

Every day I watch the news, the Dow average, the crime reports.......and I feel for people in these rough economic times. The city I live in, that I love so much, is a WONDERFUL place to live but a tough place to work....Why?......I have come to the conclusion that it is because of supply and demand. People love to live in NE Florida so much that there is an abundance of workers. Also I have heard it said that Jacksonville is the Largest Small Town in the country. I may have to agree with that. JAX is unique in that it is one of the largest city's LANDWISE... anywhere in the US, urban sprawl to the max and with a very wide river (the St. Johns) flowing south to north through the middle of the city and not enough bridges to accommodate rush hour traffic. I have known people who commute over 1 hour to work both ways. A neighbor of mine who asked to use my phone takes a approx. $10.00 cab BOTH WAYS to work each day and has been given notice of a layoff in April at a RETIREMENT HOME. Yes, times are hard but..........

I remember a time in the 70's when I was a young man, Jimmy Carter was President, Gas was HIGH for then, and although I had a job as an Engraver, my hours were cut. Back then, we didn't worry about the DOW, the talking heads on CNN or CNBC, we just made the best of what we had and had a lot of friends. When I wasn't working, I raced Hobie Catamaran Sailboats. To save Money on gas we would Stack two boats on a trailer to travel to the races and camp at the Sailing/Yacht Clubs. There would be Pig Roasts, Kegs of Beer, and good competitive racing at the regattas throughout the Midwestern USA. The camaraderie was priceless and friends lasted when family failed. Once a year we would take a trip to South Padre Island Texas or Florida for a well deserved Vacation in our Caravan of Vans with stacked boats in tow taking turns driving non stop to our destination and sharing gas costs. Buy shrimp off a boat and boil it over a campfire on the beach and sleep in the van. These were very good times in rough times. My point is that yes, these are rough economic times, but..................................

Things are NEVER as bad as you are led to believe. There are ways to make lemonade out of lemons, and make them GOOD lifetime memories. FRIENDS are important!!!! No mater what the news says....LIFE IS GOOD!!!

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Sailing around JAX on a Catalina 22' Sailboat!!!

Big day today....nice and sunny, my kind of weather. Slinky called and was catching several Whiting surf fishing off Fernandina Beach. I went fishing at the dock with Sandy, then he had to go to work on a boat. Talked with Captain Ron, an interesting character who owns the Catalina 22' Sailboat at the dock.(Same as the last cabin cruiser sailboat that I owned in MO) Capt. Ron also has a 50' Sailboat in St. Croix, USVI and is going there soon to take charters out on his boat. I caught a 17" Speckled sea trout. Capt. Ron's girlfriend cancelled because her grandparents came to visit, so I was invited to crew on his boat with him and Capt. Steve, who owns a 23' Full Cabin offshore sport fishing powerboat. We took a 4 hour sail and they let me take the helm the whole time we were under sail. We cruised from the Ortega River to NAS JAX(Naval Air Station), up near Downtown and got back just after dark. Sailed, drank beer and listened to Jimmy Buffett and Reggae, Big Fun!!! Capt. Steve said he would take me offshore fishing sometime as well.

All this fun by just taking a three minute walk to the dock to go fishing and meeting some new friends.

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Racing a Powerboat on My Windsurfer!

Are we Having BIG FUN YET?

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