Roatan, Honduras

I'm on the island of Roatan, Honduras on a dive trip with Bananarama Dive Shop. I have done four dives already - Spooky Channel, West End Wall, Overheat Reef and Lighthouse Estates. One more dive is scheduled for today then I will do a shark-dive on Tuesday. Roatan is a great place. My buddy Brad and I have spent the mornings diving then head up to the house for lunch and a nap before hanging out at the beach until dinner each day. They have had live music the last two nights but we missed out on Firedancers and Crab Races last night because the government moved the curfew up to 6:30 because of riots and unrest on the mainland due to the military coup and ouster of Honduran President Zelaya. There are no signs of government unrest here on the island other than the concern of the locals about their government and country's future freedom. It will be interesting to see how this all develops as the week progresses. From what I gather from the locals they are glad to be rid of Zelaya - who is too much like Hugo Chavez and is trying to extend his rule. Yesterday he tried to return to Honduras but the military blocked his plane from landing with the use of military vehicles strategically placed on the runway.

I hope you enjoy the pics below. Lots of dive pics as well as some pics of other random events such as slacklining - my new favorite sport - and a pic of the crab that bit me on the toe. I paid him back by cooking him and having crabmeat in my eggs for breakfast! :)
Slacklining on the beach.

Making my way through a ravine on Overheat Reef.

This crab ran out in front of me on the road one night and bit me on my toe.

A moray eel on West End Wall.

Heading in to a swim-thru on Overheat Reef.

A shot of Spooky Channel - our first dive site.

Sunset on West Bay Beach

Skydive

Saturday morning Brianne and I met Jon and Amy Buchanan at Skydive Aggieland so Jon and I could take a dive out of an airplane. It was a great time! We jumped from about 10,000 feet with a 47-second free-fall and about 3-4 minutes "under canopy" as we floated over B/CS. It was an amazing experience! We did flips and going out of the plane and spins during the free-fall. We surprisingly weren't nervouse at all. It was really easy to just relax and enjoy the experience. It may have helped me that I had a superhero jumping with me. As you will see from the video, I had Spiderman in the plane with me and he jumped just before I did. Notice his jump method, he hung upside down by his toes on the wing before dropping into the open sky.
Jon coming in for his landing.

Me coming down for landing.

Jon and I with the videographer (left) and Rich (right) our instructor.

House of Hope Hot Dog Fest!!

A combination of members from A&M CofC and Living Hope held a free hot dog dinner at the Lincoln Center House of Hope on Saturday. It was a blast! We probably had around 100 people from the community show up for hot dogs, sausage, watermelon and Blue Bell Ice Cream.
The House of Hope is a community outreach house located directly across the street from the Lincoln Center. It has been a vision of Dr. McCrady's for a really long time and it has finally come to fruition. A multitude of events take place at the house including; Bible study, WIC, GED classes, food bank food distribution and now hot dog dinners.
As you can tell from the pics, everyone was involved. While we were setting things up some kids from the neighborhood showed up and wanted to help. So they took the signs and stood out by the street yelling and waving at cars to get them to stop and eat. They were very successful. A lot of dogs, ice cream and watermelon were consumed.
At the end of the day we had a lot of lemonade left over so David and I had a little bit of Camp of the Hills type of fun. We told the two remaining kids - who are both going to COTH this year - that they could get 10,000 points by dunking their heads in the ice-cold lemonade. As you can tell from the videos below, they did it and it was awesome! Now all they have to do when they get to camp is remember to tell Mel that "Maddog" and "Reno" said to give them 10,000 points! :)

ENJOY!
Me, David and Doc McCrady.

Me and Jackie

Doc McCrady and Jackie.

Kid dunking his head in the lemonade - Funny!

Post-dunk.

Me, Doc, Mrs. McCrady, David and kids.

Vegas Baby!! Yeah!!

I just got back from four days in Vegas with Brianne, David and Sarah. We went out for a surprise 40th birthday party for our cousin Jeff and stayed a few extra days. We had a great time! We stayed at MGM Grand and took in Cirque du Soleil Mystere, layed by the pool, played golf, played the slots and Craps and ate some really good food. Reagan and Lindy were in town for their anniversary so we were able to hang out with them as well. The pics of the skyline are taken from a bar called Mix that is in the top of Mandalay Bay. We are on the outdoor patio overlooking the strip. Our cousin works their so we went up for appetizers before dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen that evening. NFI is in New York, New York and it was the best restaurant we went to all week. They had an irish band playing and had a lady dancing the Irish Jig (see video below). Good times were had by all!

View from Mix atop Mandalay Bay.

Brianne and I on the patio at Mix

David and Sarah in front of the Vegas skyline.

David and Sarah on the patio at Mix

Brianne and I and the Vegas skyline.

Enjoying a cigar at Nine Fine Irishmen

Dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen.

Playing the slots.

Gotta love the nickel slots.

At The Venetian's Canal Shops.

With Reagan and Lindy at Cirque du Soleil at TI. It was an amazing show.

In front of the Bellagio with Paris in the background.

Watching the water show at the Bellagio.