43 replies to this topic

[DandyDon]

I've moved the posts being made by our awesome reporter on the scene to this forum so that they don't get lost- Dive & Party on, guys!

Marvel

Temp card is fine but birthcertificate or passport or other official form of identification is imperative. You might be able to use SS card as well with picture ID. -ww

Nope SS card is not the same. Aliens get those, I believe.

BossHoss - leave your original BC with your dad. Get a notarized, credit cad size copy for the county government where you were born, then have it laminted. Then, use it and your DL for backup I, as you need to look into getting a passport anyway. You have to have a PP for Central American trips, and they help for many others. In this day of both threats of terrorism and plotics based on pretend security, you'll find a PP more and more useful.

Otherwise...

I'm here

Left my casa at 3:30am Texas, drove thru the wilds to the airport, caught the 6am, endured horrible connections thru DFW & ATL, got to Montreal (long story), bargained with car rental agencies to give me a better price than I had reserved with on - saving $50, and headed west on 20, then west on 410. Made in 13 hours travel time - 1 hour ahead of schedule.

Quebec is primarily French speaking, so it helps if to know one's est form ouest; that - or look to see where the sun is gonna' sink. But for loops, knowing ouest ws better. The max speed is 100 Kph, and I kept wondering why it felt like I was driving faster than 70, until I noticed that the car's speedometer was in mph. They sell petro in liters, with Cdn$, tell temp in celcius, measure travel by kilometers, post signs in French, and give me a car with mph?!

But I didn't see any cops the 120 miles, and everyone else was doing much more than 100 kph, so I thought I'd just drive. If I'd been stopped, I would have told the dumb turth as it started, but I just zipped thru at 85 mph. No worries, mate.

I was worried about being late, but DivingGal was the only one to beat me. She met my car with the Lone Star flag flying in the drive and insulted me right away.

I suppose that the rest will be in it tonight? But DG just poked her head in my door to invite me to delivered pizza, so that's all for now.

After the pizza...

Brain and Heather just made it. They lost an aguement with a state trooper, then had to go thru customs twice. Hope their luck improves

Bu I am tuckered. Too many typos and editing.

Addition

Okay, Diverlady made it in, WreckWench and Canuckdiver finally showed up around dark:30, and we're still looking for the unknown couple.

[scuba_jenny]

see ya tomorrow all!!

Hey Romeo...Remind DiverBrian he has something for you from me.....

[DandyDon]

see ya tomorrow all!!

Hey Romeo...Remind DiverBrian he has something for you from me.....

DB brought me a DIN reg and tanks to try, but - maybe you can give me anything to do with in person next time I'm in Florida. Don't get blown away.

[Marvel]

So, Brian. Did you deliver Jenny's present to Adam????

[DandyDon]

So, Brian. Did you deliver Jenny's present to Adam????

Oh, it's mail for Adam? Okay, 'll remind them.

[scuba_jenny]

So, Brian. Did you deliver Jenny's present to Adam????

Oh, it's mail for Adam? Okay, 'll remind them.

Welll...considering its from a female, I think its not "mail." LOL

[DandyDon]

Howdy Boss -

Yeah, get a couple of notarized copies of your Birth Cert made - a big one to apply for a passport, and a pocket sized, laminated, to carry as back-up ID where you have to have a PP, and as primary for places like this - keeping your PP as back-up. I don't like to expose my PP to risk where not really needed.

But I gotta' post how great the day was. Sorry, but you're gonna' feel worse... :dltears:

We enjoyed a leisurely morning here at the Seaway overlooking the St.L, getting our gear organized and all (You can't say just "Boys and their toys," as it's any serious diver, regardless.) We finally enoyed a nice picnic here at the motel, and Kamala did bring the hot mustard I requested, with Heather furnishing some bodacious, homemade pepper relish. Pretty dang nice, and nice weather to boot. The other couple showed up (Don't remember the names; I'm bad at that.) , but no BossH?

Went to Rockport dock after lunch and unloaded all of our toys and tanks to wait for the boat. Wasn't too long of a wait, but we did meet the Penn & WVirginia divers we'd seen loading up at the Seaway this morning as they returned from morning trips, and it turned out a few of us knew each othter. I even knew one. (Mike, maybe, but couldn't swear.)

DG had reminded us several times to be sure and have our PP or BCert ready, as we would have to clear immigration both ways for the American wreck, but one of the group still forgot. (Don't remember the name, though; I'm bad.) The Penn & WV boys were going to do some shore dives next though, so they adopted our stranded diver.

I enjoyed the parade of large pleasure boats coming by the docks and in for fuel. Expensive crafts, all with lovely French-Canuk gals sunning on the top decks. French folks can be trying at times, but the women do tend to be gorgeous, especially on the expensive boats.

Bottom Time is a super operator, and that's an understatement, nice boat, and the couple running is it is knowledgeable, fun, and gracious. She's gorgeous, too. They're leaving here soon to run the Carribean Explorer, so I hope to see them next year, as well as tomorrow. They even served bakery cookies after each dive!

Everyone was well prepared for the 67 F water, and the dives on the wrecks were wonderful. 112 feet down and under the first one, 70 feet down on the second. (Don't remeber the names; I'm bad.) Some current, as this is the river, but not challenging. The second one is at the bottom of the active shipping channel, so we waited for a big freighter to pass, less divers get sucked off of the wreck by the turbulance. We then dropped down to the shelve at 30 feet, followed the line over the edge and down to the hulk, and explored - reminding ourselves that we could not screw up and do free ascents from the wreck, less we become boat targets.

After the trip, we took our tanks for fills at the best dive store I've seen this side of Florida, and I've seen a few. You just cannot go in that place without buying something, but I had to help the feller with the currency conversion, as he wasn't charging me enough. Some of the group just started credit card tabs.

Back at the motel, we hung our toys up to dry, then enjoyed a super supper - steak, fish, chicken (I had 2 outa' 3.) and enough veggies to please even this farm boy. Kamala talks a lot, but she can cook! We thought BossH just might show up then, but - we ate his part, too. A few mosquitoes, but somone in the group even had skeeter spray.

And I'm sorry, Boss, but it looks like tomorrow will be better! I bet he gets a lot of copies...?

[nextariel]

Gee, DandyDon sounds like you guys are having a wee bit more fun then those of us in Florida this weekend. Food, company, and diving all good. Sure glad this wasn't the weekend we had choosen for the So FL get together

Party On

[BOSSHOSS]

Well Don, it looks like you guys are having a blast. I'm glad my absence hasn't dampened anyone's spirits, but I'm a miserable SOB here at home (my wife's words ). For sure, I will have plenty of copies made of the BC, and I'll be sure to get a passport as soon as I can.

Hey Nextariel, I'm heading down to Orlando in late October, can you give me a heads up as to where I can go diving? I'm already signed up for the Epcot Living Seas tour dive, but I'd like to go diving more than once while I'm there. Thanks!

Again, to everyone in Brockville, I apologize. :dltears:

[DandyDon]

I tell ya' - being part of an Authentic SingleDivers.com dive trip is a hoot. I can lead a trip, get people in the rooms and on the boat, even to dinner, but no one does it like The Crazy Woman! :marvel: I wonder about letting married-but-buddless people come on these, as I hate for a guy to have some much fun his wife left him? Oh well...

We lounged again yesterday morning, working gear, chatting and all, mostly being chummy. And it's better diving when you get to know the people you're diving with. Grabbed another sandwhich out of The Wench's room, and we headed down to the docks to watch the pretty gals on the boats coming in for fuel while we waited on our boat. I kept telling the guy running the place that I could stay an extra week and work cheap just to watch the pretty gals, or if I had to have a Green Card, I would work for free. I may have to pay him.

Our boat got hung up on immigration island during the morning run, as one of the divers didn't have his citizenship proof just right or something? Then we finally got to the immigration island, and the Smokey Bears were still in a bad mood. Gave The Wench a little hassle about being born Arabic, until they heard it was to a USAF officer's family, and gave one of our Canadians trouble about forgetting he'd been arrested once as a teenager. Hell, I've been arrested several times as a grownup, but they didn't know. Texas doesn't share much information with outsiders.

Did another dive under the swim-under ship, and that was neat. Lots of freshwater sponges this year, the most since the water cleared a few years ago from the zebra mussel infestation. And they're spawning, doing the dirty sponge style. Even a few of another variety that look like Atlantic anemones, and zillions of mussels! A good number of fish, too - brown, green, brownish-green, greenish-brown. Saw a good size pike today, but couldn't get close enough for a picture without being swept out, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. And the cutest little sculpin, an exotic that east mussels, hoping along the bottom by an old anchor.

But the second dive yesterday was on a 100 year old wodden schooner, that has not crumbled like it would in the ocean with wood worms. Pretty neat. Artifacts laying around that have not be taken by vandals; most divers respect the rules. The unknown couple that joined us turned out to be married, but I figured that as an ordained minister, if I can perform marriages, I can grant temporary divorces - which I did for them and the couple running the boat. Didn't last though; they left the weekend as couples.

Diverlady is about as feminine and a lady as you'd ever meet, and it was funny seeing her hanging on the line working off deco. No problem, as she's quite the sport, too. I had lots of equipment problems, mostly because I'm still learning, but we came out okay.

Last night, what was that - Sunday, we all went to a pub downtown for great food and brews, and mixed with other divers. It's always fun to establish friend-of-a-friend assocaitions, in case you need to borrow money or something, and I met some friends of the operator that took my family manatee snorkeling in June. Neat. "It's a small world, afterall," but stop that damned Disney music!

Today, we had the same leisurely start-up, grabbed some pizza-by-slice on the way to the docks, then boarded for a different wooden schooner. The Wench is always getting chilled diving, so I made her a quart of hot chocolate in my spare thermos, made sure she took it, nagged her to drink it, and she was better. Bit of current on the wreck, but we stay down current or inside as we toured it twice. The pictures may come out? I'm digital, so I may tonight, if I'm up to it after packing.

The second wreck was another wooden schooner in hard current, so we had to be careful to follow directions on how to get to it without being swept away, down one side carefully, crawling up the other side, around again, then - the flight over the wreck and away. Had to always remember to veer right along the wall; if you veered straigt, you'd come up in the shipping channel. Bad enough to hear a freighter come by - "Thump, thump, thump, thump..." and just maybe get some turbulance, but you sure don't want to bob up in front of one!

We all made it back to the boat, though, then back to the dock to unload and sort out equipment. Brian and I had to operate on our regs, as he'd loaned me 120 cf DIN tanks and a DIN reg, but we kept it all sterile. Lots of hugs and goodbyes until next time, which is only a week for Diverlady and a month for me, and most hit the various roads. The Canuck is staying over tonight to take care of The Wench before she flies home, and I am as well. Who knows what we'll get into tonight?

The 3 Musketeers do Brockville!

Edited by DandyDon, 06 September 2004 - 03:15 PM.

[DandyDon]

Those Smokey Bears working for U.S. Immigration are an okay lot, I guess. The one we got the first day claimed he knew the Texas county where I was born, but wasn't chatty. The young storm trooper we got the second day was just a jerk, but maybe they're trained that way - to be rude and watch our reactions. I was much more polite to them than I am overpaid TSA agents.

We had to clear the Canadada immigration agents on the way back 2 days, and the second day - he made The Wench and I get out for a chat. Friendly chat, though. We think he was hitting on one of us, but we're not sure which. I don't think either of us were interested.

Now it's time to hit the 401 to Montreal, and see what Canadadan luggage screeners think of 19 cf pony bottles in luggage. Got a dinner date in Dallas tonight!

[Diverlady]

Great reporting DD.

My deco stop wasn't nearly as funny as watching you chase your gear up the mooring line!

For those who know the area, here are the wrecks we did:
Saturday: The Keystorm, The American
Sunday: The Keystorm, The Kinghorn
Monday: The Gaskin, The Lilly Parson

A great time was had by all!

Diverlady

[canuckdiver]

Well, finally back after a FANTASTIC weekend!!

Great reporting Don!

Well, the Wench has been dropped off safe and sound at the airport, should actually be getting into Dallas about now.

Was absolutely great meeting you all and diving with you, looking forward to making this an annual do!!

I'll post more details after I get a little rest....

[WreckWench]

Hey gang...I made it back safe and sound! However I am bushed so will post more tomorrow! I will say this.....there is NOTHING like NOTHERN HOSPITALITY!!!! And I thought the Southerners had a patent on it! NOT!!! I hope all have made it back safe and sound! Thank you all for a FANTASTIC trip! -ww

[canuckdiver]

see ya tomorrow all!!

Hey Romeo...Remind DiverBrian he has something for you from me.....

LOL, Thanks Butterfly, he did pass it along.

Somehow it's just not the same though......