Parks Academe

Tropical Storms and Such

By Leslie Parks - Saturday, November 14, 2009

Our decision to go to Cozumel was based on the fact that prices for vacations like this were at a low. Mexico's two largest industries are oil and tourism. Mexico depends heavily on tourism and that has been affected by the economic depression in the United States, the report of violence with drug traffickers and the swine flu. Perfect timing for us; prices are cheap and what would be the chance we'd have problems with the drug cartel. They really wouldn't want a bunch of tourists. As far as the swine flu was concerned we had already had it. My mother had a few days that she could watch the kids at the beginning of November so we booked the trip. I had looked up hurricane season and average rainfall in November and it looked like it would be ok. Hurricane season was generally over by the end of October so we were home free. I started looking at the weather report for Cozumel about 10 days before we left. The weather was supposed to be beautiful up until we arrived and then rain or thunder and lightening while we were there. But really, it wouldn't rain the whole time. We were sure that it would rain for maybe an hour and then it would get nice, besides the temperature was to be between 80 and 85 degrees. We packed for sun and took off.

I didn't check for hurricanes or tropical storms because nothing was on weather.com. We landed and it was 85 degrees and rainy. No one was on the beach.

The next day the hotel employees started taking all the deck chairs off the beach. They took down their beach kiosk. The ceiling fans and all outdoor light fixtures around the beach and the outdoor restaurant came down. Then we received this very nice letter that stated

Dear Guest:

Please be informed that the presence of tropical storm IDA is located at the Caribbean Sea. According to the last report the National Hurricane Center confirms that IDA is still a "Tropical Storm"

We are expecting winds and heavy rains by 12.00pm tonight, please stay in the rooms from 10.00pm. As a prevention measurement for your own safety we recommend to close the curtains completely and put inside the room the chairs from the balcony.

For any additional information, we are available at the Front Desk....

Very encouraging don't you think? One couple was telling us that they were at Cozumel right before Hurricane Wilma five years ago. At that time, they were doing the same thing but they were also cutting all the coconuts off the trees so that they wouldn't become flying projectiles and they weren't doing that at this time. Another couple was scheduled to fly out Sunday night from Cancun which is 12 miles west and their travel agency had them leave the resort and relocate to another resort on the mainland. The ferry service quit running from 3pm Saturday until Monday morning due to the storm and all the boats had been pulled out of the water and no more tours were given.

We headed off to bed waiting for heavy wind and rains. Instead we slept great and awoke to another grey and wet day. We hopped into our jeep to tour. Driving through town we did notice large waves breaking over the sea wall in town.

Also we weren't allowed to drive around to the east side of the island due to waves. These very nice policemen had us turn around use an alternative route. They willingly posed with me though.

When we arrived home, we looked through a weeks worth of email and received this notice from Orbitz our travel agency.

Dear John,

The Orbitz Care Center has been closely monitoring Tropical Depression IDA, and we wanted to give you an update.

Forecasters say the storm, which has maximum sustained winds near 35mph, could reach Tropical Storm strength by Saturday and will likely pass near Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cancun on Sunday with 60mph winds and heavy rain.

We encourage you to monitor local weather reports and check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport. Please note that if a hurricane warning or hurricane watch is in effect where you're traveling, we will waive any Orbitz cancellation fees and help you rebook your flight, hotel, car or activity.

Our email downloaded this email the Friday we arrived at Cozumel but we didn't read it until we got back. It was $4 a minute to use the internet at the hotel. Our emails weren't that pressing but then again maybe they were.

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Exploring

Snorkeling

By Leslie Parks - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Our tour guide.

We snorkeled in the designated swim area in front of the hotel the day we arrived at we thought that was amazing.

Seeing angel fish come right up to and the colors were awesome, but there was no coral there. The bottom was sandy and someone (I assume it was the resort) had placed cement blocks to make ledges and caves for the fish. There was a resident barracuda that hung out in this area and I saw it up close and personal. We were snorkeling along looking down at the bottom and I happened to look up.

There was this extremely long mean looking fish pointed at me. I took a quick photo, popped my head up to look for John and looked again at the fish. John meanwhile had swum up behind the barracuda and startled it. It headed right for me. I screamed under water (which is a nasty thing to do) and started treading water. Kind of like running in place when I'm scared. Boy, that would have done a lot of good if it had decided to bite me. John said that he was even a little nervous for me. After spitting out a mouth full of salt water it took a little to calm my breathing down so that I wouldn't hyper ventilate. We thought that that snorkeling was cool but we hadn't experienced snorkeling on the reef yet.

We were able to go out the day before we left. I had no idea but snorkeling was something John had wanted to do before he died. He has an unofficial bucket list. This was a surprise to me. They told us that at least four people had to go in order to go on the tour but we had the boat to ourselves. This was amazing. The boat had a glass bottom and we were able to see the ocean floor as we motored out to our snorkeling spots. We went to two different reefs; the Columbia Reef and Palancar Gardens (part of Palancar Reef). I can see why people become addicted to diving. The quietness and beauty of it are overwhelming. All the while I was diving I was trying to remember a verse in the Bible that said something about creation declaring the works of the Lord but couldn't quite get it.

The Columbia Reef was shallow and there were so many fish. The current was strong and carried us from south to north. We didn't have to kick, just float. The rule was that we could dive down but no touching the coral and don't swim against the current.

We saw Sergeant major fish, Juvenile French Angel fish, trumpet fish, Ocean surgeon fish, Blue tang, Four-eye butterfly fish, Honeycomb cow fish, and a Spotted eagle ray. The ray was fluid and graceful, almost as if it was gliding along the bottom of the ocean. We saw brain coral, tube sponge, sea road and elkhorn coral. We drifted along for about 45 minutes and then motored to Palancar Gardens where we saw a sea turtle swimming.

It is extremely hard to see this turtle (tortuga) but its in the upper third of the photo. He was about 20 feet away and at the bottom. The camera said best result on sunny day and within 4 ft. I just couldn't go down that far.

Two more barracudas and they reminded me of deadly little submarines just parked in the water. I stayed well away from them. This area had mostly the same fish and little tiny jellyfish that sting. It was like a little bee sting. The amazing thing about this reef was the drop off into what looked like an abyss. We could see down 50 feet but the abyss went down so far that we couldn't see the bottom. It was freaky when we had to cross from one coral formation across a particularly deep area to another coral formation. We were blown away and now want to share this experience with our children. Five years and I think they'll be ready and strong enough swimmers. They did ask us if we wanted life jackets but I couldn't imagine needing any. The salt water makes me at least extremely buoyant. It was hard to swim down.

That night we were swimming around in the pool and the life guard was laughing at me because I had a hard time with my mask. He showed me how to put on my mask underwater and blowout the water so that the mask had an airtight seal and didn't fog up . I could have used that information earlier in the day, but even so it was almost beyond description.

Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Psalm 148:4

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature -have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

You are alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry hosts, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:6

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Exploring

The real San Miguel

By Leslie Parks - Thursday, November 12, 2009

John and I had the opportunity to drive around San Miguel, the only town on the island. We had wanted to go to the Mayan ruins on the island but it was closed being Sunday so instead we drove through the town, down the little side streets and glimpsed how people live here. I would have loved to stop and talk and become acquainted with people. The town was laid out in a grid pattern and it didn't seem as though one neighborhood was any better than another neighborhood. I did glimpse houses with nice cars and gated driveways next to a small concrete block houses with almost no yard. Even so the nice houses weren't nearly as large and fancy looking as the houses can look like in the US. There were little shops and little cafe type restaurants on every block and the people were out chatting and talking, kids playing in the streets, and dogs hung out on the roof.

It seemed as though most people owned a scooter. I think that Canada and the US are the only countries that have strict scooter laws. I've seen photos of people riding three or four on a scooter and this was certainly true in Cozumel as well. It was just as common to see people standing in the back of a pick up truck leaning over the cab as someone was driving down the street. I even saw a chihuahua riding on the top of the cap. Bummed that I missed that photo.

Another mode of transportation were these little bikes. They could haul merchandise, groceries and even whole families.

I look at my washer and dryer so differently now. Since it was humid there, it took a long time for wet clothes to dry and my clothes just ended up wet and stinky. Most people had their clothes out to dry so dryers were obviously not a common household item. I now look at my dryer with appreciation. Another thing I noticed were the colors of the building. They were turquoise, yellow, green, orange, blue, white, and red. The colors were vibrant and different yet they seemed to coordinate perfectly with each other. The buildings themselves were concrete, no wood. The locals that I talked to said that wood didn't last in hurricanes but concrete did. They know all about hurricanes. 5 years ago, hurricane Wilma stayed over the island for 3 days and ruined not only buildings, and vegetation but also the coral reefs in the ocean. The reefs are starting to come back just now but on the island you can still see ruined buildings that have just been abandoned after the hurricane. Still talking about the buildings, most houses looked as though they were as big as my living room.

We needed to stop and get gas and I practiced my Spanish, what little I know, with the attendants. They were happy to practice their English and would repeat the words for me as many times as I needed.

I could have spent a week wandering around. It was different, beautiful and incredible. I feel so overwhelmingly wealthy. It was a stark contrast from the hotel to actual Cozumel. This was what I wanted to see.

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Exploring

Cozumel, Mexico

By Leslie Parks - Wednesday, November 11, 2009

John has always wanted to go to Mexico. So after an extremely long time we decided that the time was right to visit. We had gone to Europe to meet my family 15 years ago and had not gone on another major trip as a couple except for long weekends to places within 2 or 3 hours. I'm definitely not complaining. John and I are doers. Our vacations really revolve around doing things. So this vacation was so different in the fact that we went somewhere far away and we had a lot of time laying around. It was wonderful but the first day or two I was in doing mode. Lets do this, lets do that. We don't have much time to get everything done so lets get going. It took awhile to slow down. We took a red eye out of Seattle, arriving in Houston at 5 am, leaving around 9:30 and touching down on the island at 11:30. The air was humid at 85 degrees and pressed upon my body so that walking on the tarmac I worked up a sweat only to freeze upon entering the airport. In my head I knew that it was supposed to be rainy while there but I had blue sky and sun pictured anyway. Upon arriving at the hotel, they greeted us each with a glass of white wine and plush seats to check in. Our room wouldn't be ready until 3pm but we were welcome to go eat, wander down to the pool or beach, get drinks whatever. They would keep our bags for us. We wandered down to the beach and since it was raining sometimes hard and sometimes a drizzle we were the only ones on the beach. After getting into our room we immediately went back to the beach, checked out snorkeling equipment and snorkeled in the area set aside in front of our hotel. We were amazed to see little angel fish, rock fish and even a sting ray. Later we learned that there was a resident barracuda. We should have brought our own masks and snorkels and ended up buying some from the gift shop. The buoyancy of the salt water made it easy to just float and look at the fish. One other thing I should have brought was mosquito repellent as I would get bit just opening the door. I think that I counted 25 bites on one leg alone. Although that was just a nuisance.The first 6 hours of being on the island were so impressive but also uncomfortable in the fact that I'm not used to being served like that.

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Vacation

Getting Ready

By Leslie Parks - Wednesday, November 04, 2009

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Learning

Reformation preparations

By Leslie Parks - Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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Sports

End of Outdoor Soccer

By Leslie Parks - Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Every year I take my camera out and take photos of the kids on the teams. Then I go through all the photos and pick out about 5 - 6 photos of each kid, and a few team photos and some funny photos and I set it to music, publish it and burn it to CDs. I scour the Internet for "soccer" songs and also quotes. Sometimes the quotes are soccer related, sometimes they are just motivational. Last spring, I only made a DVD for Job's team and Isaac's team. It was too hard for Lona's team. For game days the team was split in half and each 1/2 team played 4 different matches in an hour. There were 14 girls on the team so it almost made it impossible. This year Lona's team stayed all together and played only one match in an hour. There were only 10 girls on the team which made it much more doable. I took over 600 photos for each team and narrowed them down to less than 70 photos. Soccer can be such a challenge to photograph because of the pace of the game. For me I liked being able to change my focus point at the touch of a button. It also helped to have the focus on the opposite side that the player is running to. This allowed me to photograph a player running into empty space in the photo and make the photo more dynamic. With that in mind I have plenty of photos that don't follow that rule. Some children are harder to photograph because of the position they play, how they play, whether I have to be at another match, or how often the player is at the match. With three children and practices 4 nights a week, there was some matches that either overlapped or were at the same time. My goal was to have 90% of the photos done by game three and then organize and get the last minute photos. I had this done for 2 out of 3 teams. I do have to say that having a telephoto zoom lens is a must for me. I'm trying to talk John into purchasing a fast zoom lens. It would make taking indoor soccer and ballet/tap recital photos easier. I would also love to hang out behind the goal and take photos instead of photos from the touchlines (sidelines). Sadly parents/spectators aren't allowed behind the goal line.

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Activity

Who Knew?

By Leslie Parks - Friday, October 23, 2009

A visit to the locks in Ballard. In September we studied the Erie Canal in History. Not realizing that it had such a monumental impact in our country's history, I merely dismissed it in school. Come to find out it helped our nation with trade and expansion tremendously. Sometime growing up, we stopped at some locks. I thought it was on the Columbia River but really couldn't remember. I really wanted to take the kids to see some locks because of the amount of locks on the Erie Canal. Talking to some gals at coffee, I was told that there are locks in the Seattle area! Thank you, Marty! So I looked it up and sure enough we could go. Please John, can you pull the boat down and put in at Lake Union and go through the locks both ways with the boat? I thought for sure that as a home schooling family that he would definitely be up for that. NO WAY!
So I drug the kids down there without him or the boat. Maybe another time (like not during soccer season). We started out with hot cocoa and coffee and got out of town with a map to the locks, a walking tour guide of Ballard, a guide to the gardens attached to the locks, and Isaac's ipod.

We got down there quick, paid for our parking and walked into the garden area. Who knew the museum, gardens and fish ladder were free. Love that.

Who knew that across the street there was a restaurant where all the kids would order fish and chips. I didn't know they liked fish and chips. Loved it.

Isaac has gotten into yo-yos and carries his around with him everywhere; that and his ipod. Of course they are both green.

There were squirrels galore here and not timid at all. We watched this one poke around the ground and bury a nut. Who knew that we'd spend almost an hour watching this squirrel.

Who knew that we could spend 3 HOURS watching boats go through the locks! When we arrived there weren't any boats. Within 15 minutes there was a boat going through the locks. The variety of boats were incredible. Tug boats, pleasure boats, tour boats, boats that pulled logs out of the water, and fire boats. It was educational. We also watched a film in the museum and looked at all the displays, including a simulation of the locks and how they work.

There is a park on each side of the locks and you can walk back and forth on the gates to each side. A draw bridge for the train tracks just down the way. We spent another hour or two going through the garden with their map trying to find all 29 trees listed on their brochure. The trees on the end of the list were mislabeled. They had a California red wood labeled as a yucca plant. I don't think so. I thought that we would see a couple of boats and then the kids would get bored and want to do something else. Who knew that I'd have to drag them out of there and home to get to soccer practice. Wow. It was a beautiful but slightly chilly day. So perfect to spend 6+ hours outside. I'm hoping to go back down there in the spring, the trees were gorgeous with the fall colors and am thinking that it would be a beautiful place to bike ride this spring or summer.