Yesterday, Lance and I drove through the Palm Beach Inlet. We went the full length of the inlet often going nearly 50' deep. I believe Lance at 9 years of age must be the youngest diver that has ever done this. Its still a pretty "hairy" dive even for an experienced adult. Last night as Lance and I were on the couch I asked him about the dive and her said that there was times he thought he was going to drown. Its hard to imagine what must have been going through his head as we swam through some pretty wild stuff. The three photos were taken of us by my son in law just as we were beginning the dive.
Yesterday, Lance and I drove through the Palm Beach Inlet. We went the full length of the inlet often going nearly 50' deep. I believe Lance at 9 years of age must be the youngest diver that has ever done this. Its still a pretty "hairy" dive even for an experienced adult. Last night as Lance and I were on the couch I asked him about the dive and her said that there was times he thought he was going to drown. Its hard to imagine what must have been going through his head as we swam through some pretty wild stuff. The three photos were taken of us by my son in law just as we were beginning the dive. The trail that we hiked is called The William O. Douglas Trail. William O. Douglas was a Yale Law School graduate Supreme Court Justice that came down to Kentucky to this very spot 40 years ago. A gang of eager politicians were all going to dam up the gorge, etc. and totally destroy what was there in the name of progress. After William O. Douglas hiked out the upper Gorge he was so impressed with its incredible beauty that he went straight back and told all the other Justices that there was no way in hell was he going to allow anyone to dam up the 15 mile stretch of Red River Gorge. Because of his love of nature and his wisdom and vision, the Gorge survived and is today's Kentucky's showplace for real wilderness, for the primevil. A place you can still go to to know what it was like when the first white men came into the state.
California Cave is one of the most extensive cave systems in Estill County, Kentucky. It is a very tough cave to locate; situated in a limestone outcropping along a very steep cliff in Alexander Hollow. I first began exploring the cave when I was around 9 years old, going solo into a remote area deep within the cave called "SOAPSTONE PIT." SS is a grand hallway where you can take out time to relax and marvel at nature's secrets. This series of photos is of me and my grandson, Lance; Lance at the time was 5 years old and I took him all the way back to SS; I highly suspect that he will forever own the honor of the youngest person ever to go that far back into that dangerous area; I watched over him like a hawk. I was 55 years old at the time. I am now 63 years of age and will be 64 on August 24. Lance is now one of the very best swimmers in Kentucky, and one of the top swimmers in the nation for a 13 yr. old; he swims on 4 teams and is a very fine person and a dedicated athlete. He happens to be quite a reptile person and has some 20 aquariums scattered throughout our home housing primarily different kinds of snakes.
California Cave is the most special cave of all the caves I have ever explored. I've discovered several passages in it that I named after myself. And in my first novel, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS, the first chapter takes place inside this cave. The cave derives its name from the strange narrow entrance-way that it owns which happens to be in the shape of California; if you attempt to go into this passage you must turn your body sideways and squeeze your body in as you also lean downwards for some 30 feet or so. From there it is a wild cave with all kinds of tight squeezes and rough crawling. What better way to impress your grilling friends than to serve up grilled lobster tails. Don’t tell them, but grilling lobster tails is pretty easy to do! And delicious. The hardest part of this recipe is deciding which guests are worthy of this awesome treat. Add a nice steak to the menu and you will have friends for life! Follow these easy steps for grilling lobster tails. Ingredients : 2 8oz to 10oz lobster tails 4 tablespoons butter 1 garlic clove 1 lemon salt and pepper First things first If the lobster tails are frozen, start by thawing them to room temperature by placing them in a plastic bag and then submerge them in a warm bowl of water. Prepare Basting Sauce Next create a basting sauce. Melt the butter in a small dish in the microwave, or warm in a small pan and remove from heat. Mince the garlic or use a garlic press to mince the garlic and add to warm butter. Add one tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and stir. Halve the tail Lay the tails bottom side up on a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut the tails in half length-wise. Use kitchen scissors to get all the way through the shell if you need to. Using a brush, thoroughly baste the flesh side of the tails with the butter mixture. Prep the grill Clean and oil the grate to prevent sticking. Using a gas grill, turn the grill to medium-high heat. For charcoal, distribute the coals so there is an even heat. Grilling lobster tails Once the grill is hot, give the lobster tails one last baste, add a bit of salt and pepper and place them flesh side down on the hot grill. Be careful of flare-ups from the dripping butter. Cook flesh side down for 4 to 5 minutes until light grill marks show. Flip the lobster tails to shell side down. Baste with the butter mixture several times during the next 3 to 6 minutes until the lobster meat is firm and opaque. Finally… Tie on your lobster bibs, heat some butter, and dig in. Or, better yet, add a few fillets to the grill, and you have a beautiful Surf and Turf. Charlie,
My tribe is all staying at the BREAKERS for he next few days, we had dinner and supper there yesterday, The east wind is coming across the ocean and there are whitecaps as far as you can see. In near shore constant 5 ft. waves rolling in for well over 200 yards out. Still, Barry, Matt and Mike wanted me to take them diving on The Breakers Reef. Also, Lance. Hard and against my better judgment said OK, I had guessed and hoped it would clear up some once we got out far enough which is about 600 to 700 yards straight out. Everyone got geared up and after fighting through the waves we made it out about 300 yards only to find ourselves in huge swells about 6 feet or more, many breaking on top of us. The water was warm and though they couldn't know it I knew we were in a strong north current. We kept swimming out and I kept screaming at Lance to stay close to me. At least a dozen serious waves collapsed on him and each time he came through them like a trooper. I was honestly amazed at his ability considering that he is 8 years old. Once we were out about 700 yards or so and still in swells I could see it was over 30 ft. deep and we had lost the reef I wanted to be on, at least 400 or more yards north and going strong in the current. I was glad to see nobody panicking and I kept us together as best as anyone could. The water was bad stirred up and visibility was about zero. I saw a guy on a red jet ski and motioned to him and he said we were nearly a half mile out and had better get our ass in. Nothing I didn't already know. I told the group to stay with me and to begin our swim in. I kept on telling everyone to just take it easy and that we would make it. I didn't want anyone getting scared or cramping up. And I was watching Lance like a hawk. Still amazed at how the child was handling the ocean in what was actually a very mature and somewhat desperate situation. I swam a good deal on my back and made certain that our direction held steady towards shore as it was easy to get off track. After a half hour or so we made it into the crashing waves and then onto shore, still on Palm Beach, but on the north end, close to the Kennedy home. Chesteen was watching all of us from shore and she said she knew we were in a bad situation. I was very relieved to get Lance into shore but really, he handled himself throughout the entire exploit and I never once really did a single thing to help him other than to keep him near. So many times his little face popped up to stare at me for a new command. A real trooper and I know in my heart a real diver in the making. Water is totally second nature for him. Chesteen's brother had motion sickness when we got in and vomited. He remained sick for two hours afterwards and continued throwing up or trying to. He was embarrassed but I assured him that what he had done was nothing to be embarrassed about. It had been a wild dive in the swirling warm ocean. The one thing I kept in the back of my mind was the shark population and how we were sitting ducks and in a perfect situation for them. But I never mentioned it to anyone as it was the last thing I wanted on their minds. Still, I knew the presence was here and It was one of the main reasons I kept us together and my swimming the way I was doing. The whole dive was a total wipe out and I should have never allowed myself to let them talk me into going. I think part of it was due to the fact that I dove the reef this time last year and remembered how beautiful it was. But this new wind coming across the ocean has it all different. I'm seeing very damn few boats, actually none at the moment as I lookout onto the Gulfstream. I'm just very thankful we had no incident out of the dive and I learned more about Lance on that adventure than you might ever dream. He is something else. Your Most Humble And Obedient Servant, E. Lowell "Robbie" / " No Sweat " Robbins, Jr. |
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