Monthly Archives: May 2011

Fish on!

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It’s not Fox Creek in Grayson County, VA; it’s definitely not the Davidson River near Brevard, NC. But the Groudle River (yes, they call it a river) is a five-minute walk from my front door.  You could even see it from my front door if it weren’t all covered by the trees that surround it.

There oughta be a fish under that bush on the right

This is the first time I’ve gotten a chance to go fishing since I got back. Lisa was headed out for a run and since I went “running” with her the last two days (she jogs, I run and walk some), I decided to get in the creek.

I hooked up a #16 black mosquito and hung a #14-ish Prince nymph a foot behind it. I was 100% sure that if I got any strikes, they would be on the dropper. Five minutes after I got in the water I was proven wrong. I drifted my flies right where you see in the picture above. Second float, I didn’t see the strike, but suddenly my rod was doubled over and I saw a flash of white. This wasn’t supposed to be happening – the largest fish I’d caught my first tour here was probably 5″.

This one gave me a good run for my money and when I finally got him to me, he was a honest 8-9″ wild brown. This would be an legit fish in either the Davidson or Fox Creek, but in this little stream, well, this was like catching a 16″ brown in those waters.

You can see that he took the mosquito and not the nymph

I usually get the fishies back in the creek as quickly as I can, but I really wanted documentation of this baby. I have a feeling it might be the largest trout for a mile in either direction. But have no fear, he went back in the water soon enough and high-tailed it for deep safety.

I caught one more – a typical 4-5″, then climbed out and was in the garage taking off my dripping reef shoes five minutes later.

P.S. As I stood there after releasing the big fish, I thought to myself, “Somewhere, ol’ Dean C. Jones is grinning ear-to-ear about this fish.”

Hell’s Bells

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So, after learning the joys of small town musical acts (e.g. Orange Peel, AVL Civic Center, Thomas Wolfe), we’ve signed up for a bunch of the shows at the Villa Marina, a 100-year-old concert venue smack in the middle of downtown Douglas, Isle of Man.

Last night was “DC/AC: Thunderstruck!” They were quite awesome. The Angus Young clone was about 5’3″ and I have to say he shredded the SG. The Scott/Johnson vocalist was, in Lisa’s words, “better than the original”. They burned the place down – needless to say, everybody in the place knew all the words to all the songs. Lisa and I just sat back and let the walls of guitar chords roll over us.

The funny bit was that the lead guitarist, once he took off his school-boy cap, looks like a CPA who’s ended up in the wrong place. But then during the obligatory strip-tease act, when the shirt came off, his upper body was covered in tattoos.

I recalled last night why I enjoy AC%DC so much. They have about four chords they use: I, IV, V, VIIdim, and the occasional IIIm when they’re feeling musically sophisticated. Those chords ring nicely and driven through a stack of Marshalls, [1] make your whole body vibrate.

They played for two hours, closed with “You Shook Me All Night Long”, and we wandered out into the cool post-midnight of a Saturday pre-TT long weekend, the Prom all a-bustle.

Our ears were ringing, which is exactly as they should have been.

P.S. You will note that the picture is taken from the (nearly deserted) balcony where we sat. I felt a bit like a poseur, not down in the crowd. But toward the end of the show, as the mosh pit broke out and a couple of cups of beer were hurtled skyward, we said, “Yeah, we’ll sit up here.”

Singer stage right, Angus-clone stage left (ldo)

[1] “Plug it into that Marshall, turn it up a little bit.” -J.J. Cale

Back on IOM

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I’ve been on Isle of Man for a week now and am quickly getting back into the swing.

It’s a whole lot easier the second time around – just today I was chuckling as I parked in a secluded area near the main shopping street “The Strand”. I recall being on that same street shortly after I arrived on the island in 2005 and with the one-way streets, roundabouts, and left-hand driving, thinking “If I get out of this without a ticket or a bent fender, it will be a miracle.”

Looking northeast across Groudle Glen

Many (actually, “most”) of the faces in the PokerStars office are new to me, but that makes it all the more fun to see the old veterans who I remember (and who remember me). There’s a real espresso machine in the break room now; sweet.

Barn and cows immediately opposite us across the Glen

Our new rental house on Groudle View is absolutely great. It’s four bedrooms, two of which (hereinafter “Master Bedroom” and “Lee’s Office”) have spectacular views across Groudle Glen. [1] Every evening the bunnies come out to frolic in the grass across the street from the houses – there’s a beautiful late afternoon sun (recall that we’re a hair north of 54º here). And I’m tickled that our friends from my last tour, Rosie and Paul Rowlands, are just three doors down the street.

I’m even driving with virtually no difficulty – after a while, you just sort of figure “Oh yeah – driving on the left.” Having the steering wheel on the right side creates enough of a paradigm shift that you semi-naturally do the right thing. There are some things, however, that seem to go even deeper. I mentioned to a coworker that I still haven’t broken a habit involving two colleagues approaching each other in an office hallway. “Still veer right, huh?” he chuckled.

Looking northwest toward Snaefell

As I was writing this, the sun truly broke out and I went out to grab a couple more shots. I got this cool one looking more northwest toward Snaefell:

Find *both* critters

And then, as if to remind me that we’re really near the sea (it’s a seven-minute walk), a seagull landed in the grass and started grazing in the grass. Bring out the kids (or recall your days of looking for the hidden objects in your Highlights for Children magazine) and find the two critters in the picture…

[1] Have no fear – Lisa’s first (er, “ground”) floor studio has the same view.