Can you tell me how to get

Today we decided to check out SeaWorld. Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells a parable of a man that goes on a cruise and spends most of his time in his cabin eating crackers he brought with him because he was unaware that all the food and entertainment on the ship was included with the cost of his ticket.

Today I felt like that man. When I bought my annual pass for Sea World a couple of months ago it included a coupon for a free PhotoKey. I had no idea what a PhotoKey was and when I asked they told me how and where I could go and get it, but nobody explained what it was.

So today we decided to check out the new Sesame Street area of SeaWorld. It was actually pretty cool. Kind of like stepping into the Sesame Street from the TV show. The rumors I have been hearing is that the crowds at Disney the last week or so have been really bad. So I expected Sesame Street to be crowded, after all it has only been open for one week. But actually it wasn't crowded at all. In fact we were frequently able to ride the same ride multiple times in a row because there was no line.

Also the lines to meet Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Big Bird were very short, or at times no line at all. Each time we would go see Cookie and Elmo my grandson, Cayman, would run past Cookie and over to Elmo. He has an Elmo toy that he loves but really doesn't know who any of the Sesame Street characters are. Anyway, after were are done with the character greets they would give me a little card for getting the pictures they take. And I'm thinking I'm not going to buy those pictures. But then I look at the card and it says PhotoKey on it. So I take it to the counter and ask if my free photo key deal is good for the pictures they took. I'm thinking it is some kind of keychain with a picture on it. They tell me yeah but you have to go to the place by the entrance to get it.

So after we were done with Sesame Street Cayman was getting tired and I decided to head home for the day. After being at the beach all day yesterday I had a slight sunburn and figured it would be best not to spend another full day in the sun.

So we stop by the KeyPass place on our way out and I ask if I can use the free PhotoKey with the pictures they took today. I'm still thinking this is some kind of keychain. She says no problem and scans the cards I had collected and my coupon, and then tells me how the PhotoKey works. For the next year anytime I visit any of the SeaWorld family of parks I can give the PhotoKey card they give me to the photographer and then all the pictures they take will be available for me to download. For FREE.

The sad thing is, when I got the annual pass I also got a free animal encounter. I let my son Stephan, and my grandson Vincent use the animal encounter to go and see and pet the dolphins. And of course they took pictures, and I could have had those pictures, also we could have taken other pictures with Vincent. But like they guy in the parable I was figuratively sitting in my stateroom eating the crackers instead of enjoying the free benefits that came with my pass.

And one passing thought, I think they want you to go around the park asking, "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?" because they didn't have any signs showing how to get there.

Florida Beaches

Over the last few months we have visited several Florida beaches. First we went to Daytona Beach on the Atlantic coast, and loved it. It was the middle of November, yet the water temperatures were fine and I was surprised how nice it was for being so late in the year. Then we tried Clearwater Beach on the Gulf coast. We were surprised at how nice the sand was, but near the water it was more broken shells than sand and so not quite as nice as Daytona Beach. Also the waves at Daytona Beach were a lot more fun to play. At least so far, and it makes sense, the waves on the Atlantic beaches are much bigger than on the Gulf beaches.

Then in January we tried out Cocoa Beach. My son in law gave me some pointers on body surfing and we had a blast surfing the waves. By the end of the day I actually got to where I could ride the waves pretty well. 

A few weeks ago I decided to get up early in the morning and bike from Clermont Florida to Pine Island Park beach and then meet my daughter and family would drive out and we could have a fun day at the beach. 

The problem is there isn't enough parking at the park so if you don't get there early you can't park. So after stopping to get a picture I headed north for Crystal River, and my daughter picked me up somewhere along the highway between Pine Island and Crystal River. Anyway we ended up going to Fort Island beach.

Fort Island beach was a great little beach for kids. It is well protected so there isn't much in the way of waves. Also while we were there a pod of dolphins came near the beach and played around for awhile. We stayed for sunset and I just had to get some pictures. 

And then today we headed out to go to Fort De Soto Park beach. But we didn't bring any cash with us so we couldn't go over the toll bridges to get to the park and decided to go to St. Pete beach instead. We had a blast there. The sand was super soft and fine. And while the water felt a bit cold when you first step into it, after you get used to it, it is just fine.

So out of the beaches we visited so far, which is the best? Hmm, hard to say. I guess so far every Florida beach we've been to so far has been great.

Can you ski coast to coast across Antarctica solo?

A friend sent me a link to this expedition: https://soloacrossantarctica.com/expedition

After a quick glance my first reaction was, this is basically an attempt at completing the expedition that killed Henry Worsley. This morning I took a more in depth look at the website, and yup, that is what it is.

So, some thoughts on the expedition:

My bike in the endless sea of Antarctica Ice

I've never skied in Antarctica, so I really don't know how hard it is compared to biking. When Juan passed me while I was pushing my bike and he was skiing,  skiing with a bike in a sled was a lot easier than pushing it. But there were other times where it seemed that my riding the bike was making a better progress then his skiing. My guess is that overall skiing is easier than biking in Antartica, but still extremely physically demanding.

Charlie is planning on leaving in early November and taking 80 to 100 days to complete the expedition. Henry Worsley took about 71 days before he had to be picked up and was some 120 miles from finishing. That would mean he probably would have taken another 10 days to finish. So, the 80 to 100 days to complete seems reasonable. Given that you have to finish by the end of January when the last flight leaves, you would have to leave in early November to be able to finish.

The problem is the earlier you leave the softer the snow is, and the colder and worse the weather conditions are. This means the first month and a half or so will be in soft difficult snow conditions, and then when he gets to the polar plateau, near the South Pole, the snow becomes a bit like sand and again difficult to ski on. In other words this is an extremely physically challenging task.

On his website he says he plans on consuming 9,000 calories per day, while skiing 12  hours a day. Looking at Henry's expedition and from my own experience I would say 12 hours a day is probably a minimum amount of time needed. Eating 9,000 calories a day and having your body absorb those calories while doing a 12 hour a day physical workout is very difficult.

He is expecting to expend 12,000 calories a day. So that is about 1,000 calories per hour of skiing. My guess is this is about right. Now the problem; he is expecting to lose 40-50 pounds on his expedition. The general rule of thumb is that 3,500 calories is about 1 pound of fat. If he is expending 12,000 calories and consuming 9,000 calories that is a 3,000 calorie deficit per day. If it takes 85 days that is about 73 pounds of fat. To only lose 40-50 pounds he would either need to consume more calories or expend less. The thing is, I don't know if either of those options is possible. So it looks like he would lose about 73 pounds on the expedition. Looking at his pictures I doubt there is 75 pounds of fat on his body.

If he can't get the needed calories from fat then it has to come from something else -- muscle and organs. Once the body starts cannibalizing itself you are in trouble. I figure on my expedition I depleted my fat store and was burning muscle and who knows what else to complete my expedition. Fortunately for me my expedition ended after 51 days. I'm not sure I could have lasted the 71 days that Henry Worsley went, and I am sure I would not last 80+ days.

So, knowing what I think I know, this is not an expedition I would want to attempt. I don't know if I could find the right balance between not giving up and not killing myself. I am afraid this expedition would kill me.

Is it possible to do? In spite of my calculations above I think it probably is possible. I will be sure to follow Charlie's progress and hope and pray that he successfully completes what is sure to be an amazing expedition.

Mr. Blue Bird is on My Shoulder

Crossing the Jordan River

This morning was just one of those mornings...

I went out to get ready to ride and you could feel the crispness in the air that says Autumn is just around the corner. Actually as I started riding I wondered if I would get too cold as I head down the hill to Saratoga Springs. However after getting going it turned out to be that perfect temperature.

Really it was just a perfect morning to be riding a bike. The skies were a beautiful azure blue. It was one of those days you wish the bike ride would never end.

It is the truth, it's actual, everything is satisfactual!

Yeah, but I had a penny...

One day, when I was just a little kid, my brother had a dime. Back then we could buy two pieces of candy for 1 cent. So three or four of us decided to head out to the store. I'm not sure our parents would have approved having us little kids walk the mile to the store crossing the busiest street in the city, but I don't think we asked anyone for permission.

Along the way to the store I found a penny on the ground. More candy! However there was a problem. On 10 cents there is no sales tax, but if you spend 11 cents then you also have to spend one cent for tax. So as we walked to the store we devised what we thought was a clever plan. Each of us would pick out our candy and one by one pay for the candy and then pass the change on to the next person.

We thought we were so smart. I picked out a couple of Swedish fish and was the last to buy our goods. But before we left, the sales lady asked us why we hadn't just payed for everything at once. So my brother tells her that we didn't want to pay sales tax. "There is not tax on a dime." she said. And I proudly replied back, "yeah, but I had a penny!"

They teased me about that the whole way home. Actually they teased me about that for years afterwards. I still remember how great we thought it was that we out smarted the system.

At the intersection where I cross Redwood Road on my way to work, there is what I thought was a dime amongst the debris that piles up at the intersection. A few days ago I stopped and picked it up. It actually is a penny that has had all of the copper worn off of it. I've actually noticed a lot of coins amongst the road debris as I bike to and from work. As a kid I was so excited when I found that penny, now I simply ride past quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies every day. Surely other people see them too but nobody cares enough to even stop and pick them up.