Hetland
Contributor
I got a late start last Friday, and didn't make it into Vortex until 2:00pm. Airstream, MrXRay and Recharge were in the final stages of setting up their camps. JHayes and his family had already set things up the day before, so I got to work and had my tent up after a few minutes.
We had all worked up a bit of a sweat in the warm afternoon sun, so we decided to hit Morrison for a quick cavern dive before heading out for some Mexican grub. Lives4Sharks was nearby when we were making our plans, so we invited her along.
Morrison was a tiny bit busy for a weekday, but not enough to dissuade us from jumping in. We found the basin filled with perhaps two dozen students, but they were doing a good job (for students) in not silting the whole place out.
I needed practice laying line, so I volunteered for the reel-man job, and left my camera behind. I placed my primary tie just outside the cavern entrance, and did a crappy job of it, which resulted in a very secure secondary. I made my way around the left side of the cavern and had mixed success in my endeavors. I took a long and lazy route down to the back of the cavern, and then down to the chain, where I tied off the reel and stuck my face into the howling breach that leads to the darker depths of the Florida Aquifer.
After a thousand or so gallons of water punched me in the face, I collected my reel and started about retrieving my line. I made a quick headcount and worked my way back across the original route. Once everyone exited the cavern, I removed my last two ties and joined them near the log for a stop, and then practiced by frog kicks once around the rim, and again around the platform. It was a very refreshing way to cool off, and once I had my gear washed down I was ready for some grub.
We met back up at camp and then headed into Defuniak to a Mexican Restaurant (can't remember the name). The servers were a bit overburdened, but the food was very good, and I had to intentionally force myself to eat conservatively as we were doing a boat dive early the next morning.
Back at camp, we found the temps had dropped significantly, but I was mostly toasty in my sleeping bag, even so, I slept like crap.... It took me forever to get to sleep, and it was shallow and fitful once I did.
Saturday after our boat dives, we limped our old butts into camp and JHayes went about preparing the fire and the boiling pot. I shucked and sliced the corn into thirds, and set all the veggies out. Airstream wanted to braise the sausages, which was a radical idea to all of us, but it sounded pretty good, so no one protested (good call!).
JHayes had all of his secret spices heating up by then, so I dumped in the corn and potatoes, soon after went the sausage, okra, onions and garlic. Here's what it looked like:
JHayes and XRay got the shrimp ready, and once we had a boil they dumped them all in and took turns watching the pot.
After a few minutes, we added mushrooms and let everything sit for a moment. Things started looking goooooooooddddddddd.......
Recharge, XRay and JHayes worked to remove the water once the cooking was done, and then laid everything out on a couple of tables. After that, it was time for grub!
I spent most of the night peeling shrimp, and unsuccessfully resisting the temptation to eat more okra and mushrooms (the mushrooms were like little atomic bombs). Grouper321, Kevin, BugMan, AwesomeFish, Moondog, and of course, Denise, all stopped by for a visit or a long sit, and a few new folks drifted in and sampled Jason's fine cooking. It seemed like the music died around midnight, but I just made it past 11:30 before hitting the sleeping bag and snoring the night away.
Early next morning, Mrs. JHayes kicked Jason out of the kitchen and cooked us up some fine bacon, to add to homemade grits, eggs and biscuits!
It was good to catch up with everyone, and I look forward to seeing everyone again in a few months at VortoberFest! It was especially nice to have Mrs. XRay and Mrs. JHayes join us this year. Maybe the rest of the group can talk the wives into coming to the next event.
-h
We had all worked up a bit of a sweat in the warm afternoon sun, so we decided to hit Morrison for a quick cavern dive before heading out for some Mexican grub. Lives4Sharks was nearby when we were making our plans, so we invited her along.
Morrison was a tiny bit busy for a weekday, but not enough to dissuade us from jumping in. We found the basin filled with perhaps two dozen students, but they were doing a good job (for students) in not silting the whole place out.
I needed practice laying line, so I volunteered for the reel-man job, and left my camera behind. I placed my primary tie just outside the cavern entrance, and did a crappy job of it, which resulted in a very secure secondary. I made my way around the left side of the cavern and had mixed success in my endeavors. I took a long and lazy route down to the back of the cavern, and then down to the chain, where I tied off the reel and stuck my face into the howling breach that leads to the darker depths of the Florida Aquifer.
After a thousand or so gallons of water punched me in the face, I collected my reel and started about retrieving my line. I made a quick headcount and worked my way back across the original route. Once everyone exited the cavern, I removed my last two ties and joined them near the log for a stop, and then practiced by frog kicks once around the rim, and again around the platform. It was a very refreshing way to cool off, and once I had my gear washed down I was ready for some grub.
We met back up at camp and then headed into Defuniak to a Mexican Restaurant (can't remember the name). The servers were a bit overburdened, but the food was very good, and I had to intentionally force myself to eat conservatively as we were doing a boat dive early the next morning.
Back at camp, we found the temps had dropped significantly, but I was mostly toasty in my sleeping bag, even so, I slept like crap.... It took me forever to get to sleep, and it was shallow and fitful once I did.
Saturday after our boat dives, we limped our old butts into camp and JHayes went about preparing the fire and the boiling pot. I shucked and sliced the corn into thirds, and set all the veggies out. Airstream wanted to braise the sausages, which was a radical idea to all of us, but it sounded pretty good, so no one protested (good call!).
JHayes had all of his secret spices heating up by then, so I dumped in the corn and potatoes, soon after went the sausage, okra, onions and garlic. Here's what it looked like:
JHayes and XRay got the shrimp ready, and once we had a boil they dumped them all in and took turns watching the pot.
After a few minutes, we added mushrooms and let everything sit for a moment. Things started looking goooooooooddddddddd.......
Recharge, XRay and JHayes worked to remove the water once the cooking was done, and then laid everything out on a couple of tables. After that, it was time for grub!
I spent most of the night peeling shrimp, and unsuccessfully resisting the temptation to eat more okra and mushrooms (the mushrooms were like little atomic bombs). Grouper321, Kevin, BugMan, AwesomeFish, Moondog, and of course, Denise, all stopped by for a visit or a long sit, and a few new folks drifted in and sampled Jason's fine cooking. It seemed like the music died around midnight, but I just made it past 11:30 before hitting the sleeping bag and snoring the night away.
Early next morning, Mrs. JHayes kicked Jason out of the kitchen and cooked us up some fine bacon, to add to homemade grits, eggs and biscuits!
It was good to catch up with everyone, and I look forward to seeing everyone again in a few months at VortoberFest! It was especially nice to have Mrs. XRay and Mrs. JHayes join us this year. Maybe the rest of the group can talk the wives into coming to the next event.
-h
The food was wonderfull as always and I went to bed fat every night after hardy meals! Sunday mornings breakfast was bonus, and just what we needed for a 7 mile canoe trip down the Econfina - which is my new favorite canoe waterway in FL, BTW.
