First Day on the Mountain

I woke up and went to breakfast before getting ready to go to the mountain. I had a big bowl of cereal. Then I got ready adn waited outside for the bus with everyone else. Clay Corely, Davis Klein, Leece and I were all getting a lesson. We were not to excited about it. So when we got to the mountain we were already pre-paid. So we went to find our instuctor. They told us his name was Crazy Tom. So we waited for a while until he came. He was awesome and we couldn't wait to get started.


So we started by going on some easy greens to get our ski legs back. Clay needed some work so Crazy Tom worked with him a lot to get him back. He got the hang of it pretty quickly. So then we started skiing everywhere. We did a black diamond and it was intense. It wasn't real mogely, but it was really steep. We all made it down and loved it so we started doing a bunch of black diamonds. After that he took us in a stash park. Jackson Hole is the only place in the United States with them. A stash park is a bunch of wood jumps and grinding rails. After the stash park we went in for lunch.


After lunch we decided to go up the tram. The tram goes to the top of the mountain. When we were getting off an anoucement came on and said, " this trails are only for expert skiers." Clay just looked at me like he was going to kill him self. So we went on a double black diamond and Clay was freaking out. We told him to take it really slow and steady. It was really mogely and steep. Clay fell a couple times, but so did we all. Clay and everyone else manage down. Clay was so excited that he did that. He started yelling. It was a great time for all of us and Crazy Tom is a boss!

On the Mountain with P-Daddy

The day after we took our lesson Clay, Leece, Jack Pike, Allen and I went skiing with our teacher Mr. Pollitt. we gave him a nickname which is P-Daddy. We started off by doing some easy runs and the terrain park. Then P-Daddy showed us this huge jump. I was the only one who went down it. I fell and had a wipe out, but it was really fun. P-Daddy is a snow boarder. Then we went up to a run called Saratoga Bowl. The powder was so deep it went up to my mid thigh. I was behind P-Daddy so he cleared off some powder for me. P-Daddy said, " this run is the best run I have been on since I have been coming to Jackson Hole." Then we went in for lunch.

When we got up to the main lodge I was wondering if they were going to have good food. And they did. their food was amazing, I had the chicken stir fry. It was delicious. It was the best food I have ever had at a ski mountain. It was a small lodge so it was hard to find a seat. We found one eventually though. After lunch We ask P-Daddy if we could go on a double black diamond and he said yes. We all were so excited. Jack pike suggested that we do expert chutes. So we headed over there. We looked down it and couldn't wait.

P-Daddy went first with the rest of us following. Jack Pike and I were up front. The mogels were almost as tall as me. They were insane. The run was also very steep, but it was worth it. I fell twice on it. Like P-Daddy says if you don't fall your not trying. After that run we were going to do the alta chutes, but they were a little to rocky so we decided not to do that run. Instead I showed them where the daily drop was. It was a huge drop off like eight feet. I went first and barely landed it. Everyone landed also it was super fun. It was a great day of skiing.

Parasailing and Paddle Boarding.

The third day we were in Captiva we went paddle boarding. I was Mac, Jonathon, Clay, Blake and I. Paddle boarding is where you stand on this huge seven foot board and paddle. It was kind of hard at first, but then I started to get the hang of it. I was the last one until I fell off and started using my feet because I could stand. So once I caught up to everyone it was much more fun. Then I ran into a bunch of branches and it hurt really bad. Everyone was laughing at me. I didn't think it was that funny. After that Clay tried to push me off, but he fell instead it was hilarious.

After all that we started looking for things. We saw a school a huge Mullitt. Mullitt is a type of fish that is usally not that big. These were the biggest Mullitt I had ever seen. I saw a bunch of other fish but I couldn't determined what type they were. Once we were like a mile out from where we started we some some Sting Rays. I was afraid to fall in now after what happened to Steve Erwin. Then we started Heading back and clay and I had a war. We kept trying to knock each other off our boards. I got him off like five times and he got me off like once. It was really fun and a good experience.


That same day we decided to got parasailing. they people that do the parasailing have been there for a long time. Davis, Clay, Jonathon and I went parasailing. We signed up for the highest rope distance. When we were up in the air we were looking for Sharks and turtles, but we didn't see any. The captain of the boat was shaking the rope when we were in the air. It was fun, but I couldn't wait until he dunked us. So then we started coming in and he dunks us. I thought we were going to drowned he dunked us so far. It was awesome. The captain said he has never dunked anyone that far before.

Scoops with John

In Captiva there is a ice cream store called Scoops. One of the workers name is John. He is from Haiti and has worked there for about seven years. He is always nice and has a smile on his face. He would play games with us and give us free ice cream sometimes. If you didn't know where he was from you would think he is from Jamaica. Most of the other workers in Scoops are Jamaican. He always tries to trick me and sometimes it works. Once he told me that one of the girls that worked with him was his wife. I believed for about two days until he finally told me that they were not married. He is quite the joker.

This year the first thing my brother and I did was Go into Scoops and say hi to John. We talked about life for a while and then they started talking about Mac's girlfriend so I just left. That night we went in there to get some ice cream and pizza. We gave him a piece of pizza because he look like It had been a rough day. Then Tony came up to us. He is also a worker at Scoops who has been there for a while. He looks exactly like Elvis Presley. We talked to him and John for a long time then we went home to bed. It was a great first day. I couldn't wait for the next day.

The last day of  vacation we all decided to get the wagon full of fun. which is 20 huge scoops of ice cream in a tiny wheel barrel. We got it last year and it was a disaster. Along with the ice cream there is crushed cones, brownies, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, and sprinkles. This year we decided to eat it outside. Once I brought it out everyone started eating it instantly. It was like watching animals feast on prey. Everyone ate a bunch so we finished it. I went to rinse it out and ask John to see if i Could keep the wagon, but I couldn't. If we go next year we will definitely get that.

Basketball

Last year we always played basketball in this grass area. This year we found this volleyball and played with that. We started a rivalry between the teams. The teams were Mac and Blake verse Jonathon, Clay and I. This rivalry started in Louisville, but without Jonathon. So Jonathon was new to it. The first game we played Mac and Blake started at negative 20 and we played to 50. They beat us by 2. Both Mac and Blake fouled the heck out of us. Mac would especially foul Joanthon. For example if Jonathon was running for the ball Mac would pick him up and through him to the grown. Jonathon didn't like it at all, but he had to deal with it. Jonathon couldn't wait for the next game.


After we lost the first game we would go over to the goal a little early sometimes and practice play. We had like 7 plays, but only 3 of them kind of work. The 2 plays that worked the most were called T-Jones, B-Knight and D-Lamb. T-Jones worked the best out of all of them. the next game we were ready. Blake and Mac had also set up a play called Kemba like Kemba Walker just to makes us mad and it worked. After we had practiced all the plays we were ready to play. So the next game started and they were dominating but then we started running T-Jones. All of a sudden we were dominating. Clay and I kept dunking it and Jonathon kept swishing the threes. We ended up winning by 4. The next games Mac and Blake fouled even harder. We never won another game. We went 1 and 7 through the rivalry.

Blake, Mac and I also played basketball at a rec center in Sanibel, Florida. We all wore our Kentucky shirts so they would know where we were from. So we walked into the gym and there are a couple kids my age and a lot of people in their thirties and a couple that were really old. So the first game I played Blake and Mac were also on my team. You play to 11 and it is win by 2 in theses games. We got killed by 8 points. that is a lot considering we are playing by ones. I hit 1 three pointer which is worth 2 points. So the next game I played Mac was on my team, but Blake wasn't because he couldn't make a free throw. We still lost, but only by 3. I hit 2 three pointers this time. After that game I got the nickname Jimmer like Jimmer Fredette. So the next day we came back and when ever my team need a three pointer the counted on me. I hit most of the ones I took, But my Brother played amazing the second day. It was really fun, especially because half the people we played with had anger manangement.

Demolition Derby

Last year Clay Scinta, Davis George and I came up with a came called Demolition Derby. The object of the game is to hit each other with bikes while the other people are on their bikes. Wecame up with the name because Clay and I went to a Demolition Derby in Indiana. It was in an race car arena. All the cars did was go super fast around the track and hit each other. It was awesome especially when the cars did figure eights. When the cars were done they would bring out trucks and hit each other. Last year one of the trucks caught on fire. That is why we named it Demolition Derby because we run our bikes into each other. Jonathon was knew to it this year, but he caught on quick. Our parents thinks it is the stupidest thing they have ever seen. It is fun to us though.

The first day we were in Florida we started playing Demolition Derby. I started by hitting Jonathon. I T-boned him, it was hilarious because he got really angry. So then he tried to hit me and the game started. When we were playing some people would look at us like we had no common since. One day Clay came out of no where and hit Davis so hard the metal piece on his bike that protects the chain came off. Then Jonathon tried to hit clay, but he couldn't pedel because his medal piece that protects the chains was in the middle of his tire. So Clay and I had to help him bend it back. At night we would alway go for a bike ride on the golf course and when we were riding Clay and I's bike handals got hook together so we crashe and I got a huge cut on my leg and my chain to my bike came off. It took me 30 minutes to put my chain off, and I got greece all over my hand. You couldn;t even see my hands. It took about 20 minutes to the greece off my hands. It was all worth it though.

After Demolition Derby, the last 2 days we decided to try to do stunts with our bike. I was Following Clay on my bike and all of a sudden he disappeared. Then I realiized he went off a 2 foot drop off. So I thought if Clay can do it I can. Then I went off And I did a front flip while holding onto my bike. I landed straight on my back and my bike was hanging over the ledge about to go into the ocean. I tried to go over a big bump with no hands on my handal bars and I fell and I'm preety sure I am going to have a scare on my right arm. After that I was down with doing stupid things with my bike. That night Clay and Jonathon got up on this porch area and started to go down the stairs. They begged so much until I finally did it. Then they convinced me on trying even higher steps. I did it, but i thought I was going to die. Thanfully no one got hurt, and they bike are in one piece.

Banana Boating

Banana boating is where you are on a huge tube about 15 feet long, and a jet ski pulls you around super fast in the ocean. Three years ago Mac, Blake, Clay, Leland Gray Seth Gray all went banana boating. We would go about 5 times a day. When we would go we would play king of the boat. The object of that game is to throw everyone off and be the last one standing. We would also wrestle on the tube with tag teams. The employees that worked there did not like us wrestling on the banana boat. Especially when we threw each other off in the channel. The reason they didn't like us throwing each other in the channel is because that is highway for boat. If one of us got hit by a boat the, their company would probably be sued. Ever since then they didn't have banana boat until this year.

This year they had banana boating and it was awesome. This year you  had to wear a helmet and also the guy driving the jet ski went slower. They first time I went I was with Clay and Davis George. Davis and I tried to hold on to the very back of the banana boat while Clay was in the middle. Davis and I were barely holding on then Clay ripped our hands off. Davis and I went flying into the water. He landed on top of me. So Davis and I were gonna try to get Clay now. So while we were going Davis was trying to get Clay off, so Clay didn't see me. I came from the side and drop kicked him super hard and he flew off the side. After that we were all against each other. Our driver did a figure eight and once he whipped around we all flew right off. After we went banana boating we signed up again for later in the day.


The next time we went it was Jordan, Clay, Jonathon, Davis and me. We told the guy to drive even crazier than last time. He said that he would if there wasn't a lot of people going in and out of the channel. So the first thing the driver did was he went really slow in a circle and then went super fast. We all flew right off the back. The water was surprisingly shallow. I could stand in the water. So after that we played king of the tube. Clay and I were the last ones on but then he threw me off. Then we started throwing each other off in the channel and our driver started getting angry. So we stop and he took us in, but it was fun while it lasted.

Crab Hunting

On Tuesday night Mac, Blake, Clay, Jonathon and I went for a walk on the beech. For light we used Clay's flashlight. When we were walking we kept seeing these little white things running into the water as we got close to them. We tried to catch them with our hand, but they were super fast. Eventually Clay hit one with his hand back at us and Jonathon tried to pick it up and it pinched. It was hilarious because Jonathon screamed really loud. The one that pinched him was small. If it was a big one like some that we saw his finger would be off. Luckily it wasn't a big one. So we decided the next day that we would by some nets and a bucket with a lid to catch the crabs.

The next night we went back to the beach with our nets and our bucket. We started walking along the sand close to the water because that is where the crabs like to hang out. Then we saw our first one. Clay tried to go get it but it took off super fast into the water. That is when we knew we would have to sprint to catch the crabs. We started seeing a lot of them and it took 2 people to catch 1 crab. 1 person would would trap between the bet and the sand an the other person would scoop under to get it into their net. Then all of a sudden we saw a huge one, but right when we took one step to it the crab took off into the water. So we turned our flashlight off so he couldn't see us. We waited there for about a minute then turned the flashlight back on and there it was. So Clay and I sprinted at it and I trapped it and Clay scooped it up. At the end of the night we had like 15 crabs in our bucket. Our bucket was stire foam so they could climb up the side and try to get out so we had to get some rock and put them on top of the bucket. We prayed that they wouldn't get out.

After we went crab hunting we put the crabs under the Scinta's stair case going up to their condo. We had to put rocks on top of the lid so they wouldn't get out. After we ate dinner we showed the crabs to everyone. The weird thing was that all the little girls thought they were cool and all the boys thought they were gross. The crabs also smelt really bad. The next day only 3 of the crabs were alive. The 2 big ones were alive and 1 that was a different color from the rest. Later that day the all were dead. It smelt so bad I almost threw up multiply times. Mrs. Scinta told us that we had to get the crabs away from their condo. So Clay, no thinking at all just threw them in the middle of the bushes right next to their condo. That made it smell even worse. Also you could smell from a half a mile away. It was fun while we were catching them. but not while we were smelling them.

Fishing in the Gulf

In past years I have caught many fish and shark in Florida. Last year I caught a 6 foot tarpon it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. So this year I was hoping for same exciting also. We went fishing on monday mourning. It was Mac, Jonathon, Clay Scinta, Blake Scinta and Me. We all had to get up at like 7:00 which is really early for all of us. We all rode our bikes to the Ship Store to get a egg sandwhich with some milk before fish. My dad also bought a lot of bananas. Then we went on the dock to see our captain and it was our favorite from past years Randy. So we all went on the boat and were ready to take off. Then my dad tossed me the bananas and Randy said, " bananas are bad luck for fishing." We didn't believe it so we kept them.

When we got into wear he thought there would be a lot of bate fish we anchored. It was so windy that we could only use 2 poles at once instead of 4. Jonathon and mac had the first 2 poles. Mac caught a cat fish, which our captain does not like because they are not good bate and they have barbs on them that could shock you. Then Jonathon caught a cat fish also. Now it was Clay and I's turn to fish. I caught a small trout and clay caught a cat fish also. It was Blake's turn now with Jonathon. We had a cycle going, if you caught a fish you would give your pole up. Then all of a sudden Mac caught a HUGE Lady Fish. It was the biggest Lady Fish I have ever seen in my life. A full grown Lady Fish is suppose to be about a foot and a half. Mac's Lady Fish that he caught was about 2 and a half feet. Then we all started to catch some Lady Fish, which is great shark and Tarpon bate.

After we caught all the bate fish we went shark and Tarpon fishing. Captain Randy cut some fish up and use it as chum. Then he cut a lady fish into 2 or 3 pieces and put it on the hook of the big fishing poles. I called the second pole. Jonathon called the first pole and Clay called the third pole. Randy has four poles, but one broke so we couldn't use it. Shark and Tarpon fishing is a waiting game. We were playing the name game for about an hour and I because Blake was helping me, but Mac didn't notice. Then we saw the bananas and threw them overboard just to see if they were bad luck. After 5 minutes my pole started to bend. So I picked it up and put it in the belt. I couldn't real because shark was taking all my line. I knew it was  shark because Randy told us. Randy had to start the boat up and go towards the fish because it took so much line from me. Mac had to help me pull up on the pole sometimes because my arms were getting really tired. Finally I got it close to the boat and it was a 7 foot Lemon Shark. That is the biggest Shark I have ever caught. It was a great fishing day for me, but I can't speak for everyone else. I guess bananas are bad luck after all.