Pitch Clock, Flying Fish and a Dolphin?

We’ve just concluded a very restful weekend. The first of those in a long time. The condo population wasn’t overwhelming which meant a good level of internet service and the super streamer was rocking. I caught a couple Red Sox preseason games played under the new rules which I love. One of my biggest problems with baseball over the past few years is the length of the games. Every single batter would step out and walk around between every pitch and pitchers seem to go through personal therapy between throwing pitches. With the new rules the batter has to be in the box and the pitch clock keeps the pitcher focused. The game moved right along. It ended bizarrely but helpfully when the bad guys loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9^th and the last hitter was called out when he wasn’t ready in the batter’s box in time.  Very cool.

Sunset Time

While I referenced restful above, that doesn’t mean I was vegetating down here. I’ve had a couple interesting experiences with sea life during the last couple of boogie boarding sessions. Yesterday I saw my first ever flying fish. It was skimming along the top of the surf about 20 meters away. This morning involved a little more distance, thankfully. Overnight a local fisherman had set up a net just beyond the surf line. I noticed some action there while I was boogie boarding. When I got back to shore, I used the binos to check it out. It was either a dolphin or a shark circling around one of the buoys. I saw the dorsal fin but couldn’t get a good look at the tail. It was pretty big so I talked myself into declaring it a dolphin. Hence the “thankfully”.

Saturday and Sunday Sunsets

Watching Venus and Jupiter Getting Closer Each Night

One of the best aspects of the past weekend was getting to know one of our condo neighbors. He is the condo administrator but this was the first time we’d had a chance to hang out. We spent most of Sunday afternoon sitting on the beach with them and our upstirs neighbors. We ended up planning a picnic together in a couple weeks and a trip later in March to the San Blas Islands. The other couple lives in Panama City so we’ll travel down there for the trip to the islands.   

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course