Trip to Hobe Sound, FL (Part 3): Video

Final posting on Hobe Sound happenings: a few clips that capture the essence of my trip. Actually, they probably completely miss the essence. The essence would be me laughing till my pancreas ached about Balderdash definitions and Rifftrax samples. Oh well...didn't have the camera rolling at those essential moments....Watch this instead.

Trip to Hobe Sound, FL (Part 2): People

There are a lot of great people in Hobe Sound. Some of the following friends and family were just visiting, but it was great to hang around some of my favorite people on the planet for a few days. I stayed at John-Paul and Jolie's house - they were great hosts and my stay was comfortable and fun.

My bro-in-law Scott in a semi-serious conversation with the be-sweatered John-Paul. Chloe, as always, is scurrying about at dizzying speeds.

My sister Ashley and the newest addition to the clan: Marshall Cole Blackmon. (We call him Cole.) Moments after snapping this picture, I shoved them both in the pool. (Kidding.)

Chloe decided to make herself useful and clean out the pool.

Kate, who is yet to figure out how to be useful like her older sister, is appropriately punished by being flung into the freshly cleaned pool. Chloe looks on approvingly.

Chloe is rewarded for hours of good behavior by being allowed to accompany JP and Nola on a walk. After pooping in an antagonistic neighbor's yard, Chloe led Nola safely home. (Modifier misplaced intentionally for sake of awesome humor.) I have video of this epic dog-walk coming later.

Marshall patriarch Bill condescendingly criticizes his son-in-law on his bottle-holding technique. Moments later, Bill suffered an "unintentional" loafer to the groin.

Yours truly (which is a euphemism for "me") with his delightful sister, prior to us both being rendered unconscious by mutual Vulcan death-grips.

Kate suffers through some mandatory socializing with her only cousin. Cole (who is yet to master his emotions) expresses displeasure by turning his smily stuffed animal upside-down. Very clever child.

Jeremy hangs out with a take-home bag of Banana Dream Cake from TooJays. "Casually thrilled" best describes his attitude at the time of this picture.

Mi hermano Matt and his wife Sara. Sara would collapse seconds later when Matt unwittingly supported 80% of his body weight on her shoulder. Fisticuffs ensued. I never knew TooJays embraced such a bar-room brawl ambience. Love that place. Great beef brisket...great sandwiches. Waiters all handy with broken bottles and chairs.
Chloe and her uncle Kirk eye an assortment of TooJay's cakes. I was totally bored because I knew I was getting Banana Dream Cake to-go; but I held the pose because cameras were flashing and it was supposedly a "cute" moment.
Jeremy, Matt, JP, and me (holding Katester). Apparently, only JP was aware of the upcoming photo. Matt, as he often does, contemplates BOATS!
It was really windy and chilly, okay? I love how Kate looks like she's going to smash a paparazzo in the mouth if he doesn't stop following her.

Nola and JP enjoy a Sunday-afternoon-esque atmosphere by the pool. It was the perfect day for lounging with a Schnauzer.

Florida in February: if you haven't tried it, make plans soon.

Trip to Hobe Sound, FL (Part 1)

February is the best time to be in Hobe Sound, Florida. The weather ranges from gusty and chilly (and beautiful) to breezy and balmy (and beautiful). And, of course, factor in some quirky, 40-second bursts of torrential rain. I visited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Hobe Sound Bible College.

This is the Hobe Sound public beach. It's actually on Jupiter Island. This is approximately one mile from where I used to live. I didn't spend a lot of time at the public beach when I lived in Hobe Sound, but we didn't get a chance to visit Richmond's, the place where I surfed (I use the term loosely) and realized my fear of sharks.
The heavy wind had chopped up the ocean a bit. Only lunatics would be swimming or enjoying water sports: I'm sure the water temperature was ridiculously low.

This is the front lawn of Hobe Sound Bible Church. The long sidewalk leading to the front door is lined with palm trees that rustle in the sea-breeze. I now know that I miss palm-tree-sea-breeze-rustling. I also miss pine cones - especially the kicking thereof and the hitting-with-5-irons thereof.

This is one of the three main entrances to Hobe Sound Bible Church (Pastor: Rodney Loper).


During the anniversary celebrations, they had a re-dedication ceremony for the music hall. They renamed it the Archie Coons Fine Art Center. It's been remodeled and re-landscaped. I'll always remember it for the countless choir practices and for the countless hours spent teaching myself Beatles songs on the grand piano in the auditorium.

Hobe Sound Intramurals

This clip is from just before my last ever soccer intramural match at Hobe Sound Bible College. Of course, I was no longer a student. I was eligible because I was the seventh-grade teacher. In fact, my friend Joel and I were taking shots while one of my seventh-grade students (Jordan P.) was in goal. I hit the upright with one of my shots; but he probably had it covered. The Intramural program was great in Hobe Sound: we played almost every sport possible and the teams stayed the same for every sport, every year. At GBS, we have different teams for basketball, volleyball, and soccer - plus they re-draft teams every year. I think that totally ruins intramurals. I think they might change things in the future.