Ken Kurtis
Contributor
The only thing worse than flying . . .
IS FLYING WHEN YOU'RE SICK - Uggghhh!!! I was very happy to be able to carve out a free extended weekend to fly back to my old stomping grounds of Richmond, VA, to go see an art exhibition by my longtime friend David Short who has not only taken up oil painting but has become very good at it. It was bad enough getting up at 4AM Thursday to get to LAX in time for my early-AM flight but it was REALLY bad as I walked to that gate and got "that" feeling you get when you know you're coming down with something. And it only got worse on the plane and once I got to Richmond. Seems like it was the typical flu stuff: high fever, chills followed by sweats, fatigue, and all those other wonderful things. Fortunately, I was able to pretty much kick it in time for David's show Friday evening (and hopefully wasn't infecting anyone - I generally kept my distance) but it was really great not only seeing Dave's work but also seeing a number of my old WLEE radio colleagues as well. Of course, I was wiped out on Saturday so had to take it easy and on Sunday afternoon had to get back to LA so am writing this at 39,000 feet on UA719 as whatever I had has now transformed into a cold.
UNUSUAL TSA PRE-CHECK IN RICHMOND - You've heard me extol the virtues of TSA Pre-Check over and over so I'm was pleased to learn that Richmond - which is still a medium-sized airport - has Pre-Check. But I was dismayed to walk up and see that the lane wasn't open. But then I got a nice surprise as the TSA woman handed me a pink card that said "Expedited Screening". So you go through the regular screening lane but when you get to the front, you don't take off your shoes and stuff, and you go through a regular metal detector instead of the machine that makes you put your hands up like you're surrendering. Hopefully they implement that at other small airports that don't have a separate Pre-Check line.
AVALON CLEANUP IS THIS WEEKEND - We're on the 6:15AM boat going over from Long Beach and hope to see many of you there. I believe you can still signup on-line but now you'll pay the day-of registration price which is $10 higher. (That's what you'll pay if you sign up at the event on Saturday.) But I can make you a deal and save you $10 if you like. One of our people has to cancel and since I've already paid for his spot (no refunds - same as with Chamber Day), if anyone would like to go in his place, I can just swap you in, give him his money back, and save you $10 overall in the process. If you're interested, give me a call ASAP at 310/652-4990. The extended forecast is calling for a gorgeous day, BTW.
ISLA UPDATE - So last week, Week 2 was sold out and this week it's not. What kind of chicanery are you trying to pull, you might be asking yourself? What happened is we had a couple of people drop off Week 1 and a few more switched from Week 2 to Week 1. So both weeks are full-ish (I think we have 13 people total on 1 and 11 people on 2.) We generally try to limit this to no more than 16 people total (divers and snorkelers) which gives us two Whale Shark boats with about 8 people on each one. So we've got a few more spots in either week if you're interested. Because the WS dives are limited to snorkeling (Mexican government regulation), it's not a "dive-heavy" trip as we generally end up doing 7 scuba dives and about 12 WS snorkels over the course of the week. But it's (IMHO) a really fascinating trip because we're doing something differently every day. Sunday is the Cancun Underwater Museum with their hundreds of sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, Monday is Whale Sharks in your face and all around you (an amazing experience), Tuesday is cenotes, Wednesday is Whale Sharks again so you can get the shots you were too excited to take the first day, Thursday is a wreck & reef day, and Friday is one last shot at the Whale Sharks so you can perfect the shots from the first two attempts. It's really a great experience overall and because most of the days are about a 2/3 day in terms of time, you really don't feel rushed and there's plenty of time to relax, hang around the pool, and just chill. You can also, if you want, schedule extra dives inclduing night dives during the down time. We have 2-bedroom condos and we put (generally) 2 people to a condo so you've got plenty of room. Cost is $2,490 for divers and $1,995 for snorkelers. Both include hotel, xfers from the airport including ferry over to Isla Mujeres, three Whale Sharks days, marine park fees, and crew tips. The dive package also includes the three dive days, as well as transport from Isla by ferry and van down to Tulum where we'll do the cenotes. If you want to join us, grab one of those last remaining spots by calling 310/652-4990.
AND DON'T FORGET - We've got Great White Sharks August 1-6 on the Nautilus Belle Amie and the Maldives on the Manthiri with dive dates of November 5-14.
AMAZING SURF VIDEO - It's not exactly dive-related (although take note of the "snorkelers" in the water who are surf photographers trying to get the perfect shot while not getting creamed by the massive waves), but you'll still find the footage amazing, especially when you realize it's all being shot with a drone. Huge waves, some people riding them some people wiping out, boats barely making it through before the waves break on top of them, and just a unique look at the awesome power of the sea. Check it out (good music with it too): This Drone Video Of The Teahupo'o Surf Will Blow You Away.
AND FINALLY, THIS WAS PREDICTABLE - Here's a very short video of a Russian (I think) news guy doing a story on global warming who decided it was a good visual to have his car parked on a frozen lake behind him (language NSFW): Don't park your SUV on a frozen lake while reporting on global warming .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and I'll hope to see you Saturday in Avalon.
- Ken
IS FLYING WHEN YOU'RE SICK - Uggghhh!!! I was very happy to be able to carve out a free extended weekend to fly back to my old stomping grounds of Richmond, VA, to go see an art exhibition by my longtime friend David Short who has not only taken up oil painting but has become very good at it. It was bad enough getting up at 4AM Thursday to get to LAX in time for my early-AM flight but it was REALLY bad as I walked to that gate and got "that" feeling you get when you know you're coming down with something. And it only got worse on the plane and once I got to Richmond. Seems like it was the typical flu stuff: high fever, chills followed by sweats, fatigue, and all those other wonderful things. Fortunately, I was able to pretty much kick it in time for David's show Friday evening (and hopefully wasn't infecting anyone - I generally kept my distance) but it was really great not only seeing Dave's work but also seeing a number of my old WLEE radio colleagues as well. Of course, I was wiped out on Saturday so had to take it easy and on Sunday afternoon had to get back to LA so am writing this at 39,000 feet on UA719 as whatever I had has now transformed into a cold.
UNUSUAL TSA PRE-CHECK IN RICHMOND - You've heard me extol the virtues of TSA Pre-Check over and over so I'm was pleased to learn that Richmond - which is still a medium-sized airport - has Pre-Check. But I was dismayed to walk up and see that the lane wasn't open. But then I got a nice surprise as the TSA woman handed me a pink card that said "Expedited Screening". So you go through the regular screening lane but when you get to the front, you don't take off your shoes and stuff, and you go through a regular metal detector instead of the machine that makes you put your hands up like you're surrendering. Hopefully they implement that at other small airports that don't have a separate Pre-Check line.
AVALON CLEANUP IS THIS WEEKEND - We're on the 6:15AM boat going over from Long Beach and hope to see many of you there. I believe you can still signup on-line but now you'll pay the day-of registration price which is $10 higher. (That's what you'll pay if you sign up at the event on Saturday.) But I can make you a deal and save you $10 if you like. One of our people has to cancel and since I've already paid for his spot (no refunds - same as with Chamber Day), if anyone would like to go in his place, I can just swap you in, give him his money back, and save you $10 overall in the process. If you're interested, give me a call ASAP at 310/652-4990. The extended forecast is calling for a gorgeous day, BTW.
ISLA UPDATE - So last week, Week 2 was sold out and this week it's not. What kind of chicanery are you trying to pull, you might be asking yourself? What happened is we had a couple of people drop off Week 1 and a few more switched from Week 2 to Week 1. So both weeks are full-ish (I think we have 13 people total on 1 and 11 people on 2.) We generally try to limit this to no more than 16 people total (divers and snorkelers) which gives us two Whale Shark boats with about 8 people on each one. So we've got a few more spots in either week if you're interested. Because the WS dives are limited to snorkeling (Mexican government regulation), it's not a "dive-heavy" trip as we generally end up doing 7 scuba dives and about 12 WS snorkels over the course of the week. But it's (IMHO) a really fascinating trip because we're doing something differently every day. Sunday is the Cancun Underwater Museum with their hundreds of sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, Monday is Whale Sharks in your face and all around you (an amazing experience), Tuesday is cenotes, Wednesday is Whale Sharks again so you can get the shots you were too excited to take the first day, Thursday is a wreck & reef day, and Friday is one last shot at the Whale Sharks so you can perfect the shots from the first two attempts. It's really a great experience overall and because most of the days are about a 2/3 day in terms of time, you really don't feel rushed and there's plenty of time to relax, hang around the pool, and just chill. You can also, if you want, schedule extra dives inclduing night dives during the down time. We have 2-bedroom condos and we put (generally) 2 people to a condo so you've got plenty of room. Cost is $2,490 for divers and $1,995 for snorkelers. Both include hotel, xfers from the airport including ferry over to Isla Mujeres, three Whale Sharks days, marine park fees, and crew tips. The dive package also includes the three dive days, as well as transport from Isla by ferry and van down to Tulum where we'll do the cenotes. If you want to join us, grab one of those last remaining spots by calling 310/652-4990.
AND DON'T FORGET - We've got Great White Sharks August 1-6 on the Nautilus Belle Amie and the Maldives on the Manthiri with dive dates of November 5-14.
AMAZING SURF VIDEO - It's not exactly dive-related (although take note of the "snorkelers" in the water who are surf photographers trying to get the perfect shot while not getting creamed by the massive waves), but you'll still find the footage amazing, especially when you realize it's all being shot with a drone. Huge waves, some people riding them some people wiping out, boats barely making it through before the waves break on top of them, and just a unique look at the awesome power of the sea. Check it out (good music with it too): This Drone Video Of The Teahupo'o Surf Will Blow You Away.
AND FINALLY, THIS WAS PREDICTABLE - Here's a very short video of a Russian (I think) news guy doing a story on global warming who decided it was a good visual to have his car parked on a frozen lake behind him (language NSFW): Don't park your SUV on a frozen lake while reporting on global warming .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and I'll hope to see you Saturday in Avalon.
- Ken
