Weekly Update Archive

Week Ending 08/16/04

It has been a very busy summer so here is a late posting. Kim, the kids and myself took off on Saturday, August 7 for Florida. I had just spent a wad of money in order to get the great machine (AKA my Chevy Blazer) pumping again. I replaced the fan clutch, thermostat, rotor and cap, radiator, fuel pump, filters etc. Also I got a front-end alignment and now, after the non-problematic trip, I have 345,000 plus miles. We all know my goal in 500,000. I am confident I can make it. Kim had her reservations before going on this trip because it has spent most of its time on the back of a transport truck the last month or so. Anyway, we made it to Motel 6 in Tallahassee. It was a long, grueling trip especially through Louisiana. We had to make frequent stops for the kids. Traveling takes much longer with the kids, that's for sure.

On Sunday, we checked out and snake hunted all day and into the night in the Apalachicola National Forest just South of Tallahassee. I must have taken every conceivable road known to mankind and all I ended up with was a dead Corn snake and a dead Eastern Coachwhip. I hate to cuss on my website but I have dubbed Florida the "up your ass state" and the reason is every time you turn down a road, someone is up your ass. Whenever you think you're alone, five cars show up out of nowhere. It is very difficult hunting down there and I prefer Texas any day of the week for collecting.

We moved on to Lake City where we crashed there at another Motel 6. Hey, I had to save money for that one special snake I wanted at the Daytona show! We had a very eventful breakfast Monday morning at Shoneys when Caleb decided to have a complete and total meltdown. We spent some quality time in the men's room. After the attitude adjustment, it got a little better but not much. We arrived in Orlando in the mid afternoon and did a little shopping and gave the kids a break. We later dropped in our friend and father to a fellow herper, Mr. Charles Lacina. Because he likes it, we will call him "Chuck." We had a most enjoyable visit with him and it was great to see him again. Kim has not seen him in 5 years. Kim had taken a long hiatus from Daytona due to the kids.as well as some other factors.

Over the next two days, our friend arrived in Orlando and we all stayed at the Hampton Inn-Disney. We stayed for three days. We all went to Epcot, Disney World and MGM. Our thanks go out to Chuck for being a champ as well as very generous in giving us free admittance into the parks for two days. I know it was very hot and a pain in the ass, but we greatly appreciate it. You are too kind.

I will have to admit that Disney would have been much more fun 20 years ago. The lines were long and it was Africa hot…plus the humidity was like Belize and Houston combined! I even thought it was rough. Disney made the money on drinks that day. The rides were pretty cool but I am just not a fan of theme parks. The most enjoyable part about Disney was the log ride that was totally awesome and worth the 50-minute wait and the light show at night with all the Disney characters. We were pretty beat after that day.

We arrived in Daytona Thursday, August 12. We partied down and visited with all the other herpers from around the world. We took the kids out on the beach and walked all around to the different establishments. The slide shows and talks were good but, unfortunately, Alan Kardon's presentation was cut short because the bulb blew out, and then hurricane Charley hit with full force. We were asked to depart the room and head to the lobby or back to our rooms.

You would have never known there was an Category 4 hurricane outside. I think between Meridith and I, we polished off two bottles of Crown Royal in two days. The view of the hurricane outside our fifth story window overlooking the swimming pool and Atlantic Ocean was nothing shy of the most awesome thing I have ever seen! I witnessed three funnels of water getting sucked out of the pool into the darkened sky. The water had receded 100 yards or so out into the Atlantic. The windows were bowing in and out and I was expecting them to give at any moment. Just then, metal and other things hit the glass. The storm was picking up and at times I thought we were going to be history. The water was being sucked down and kept surging back and forth. It seemed like something from the movie, Amityville Horror! Later on the storm began to die down and then we went out to see the damage. I guess after a bottle of Crown Royal, we just weren't worrying about the possibility of being sucked out of the window or maybe having a palm tree come through. I will again have to say we enjoyed watching this hurricane and this was the first hurricane the kids had been through.

Upon inspection of my vehicle which had to be parked outside due to my pod being too high for the parking garage, I found my vehicle was untouched. Some people were not so lucky. A few people had their windows broken out and also palm trees through the glass. We drove around to see the damage and trees were snapped like twigs, roofs ripped off, debris lying everywhere! It was a mess and we lived through it!

I made a purchase at the show, and enjoyed visiting with everyone. I did purchase with great pleasure Brian Hubbs' book that just was completed named MOUNTAIN KINGS, A Collective Natural History of California, Sonoran, Durango and Queretaro Mountain Kingsnakes. My female albino Queretaro Kingsnake is featured on the front cover of this book, along with three other kings. My Pyro, which I collected in Arizona, is also featured inside the book. Now all I have to do is write MY book. It's all a matter of finding the time!

We departed on Sunday afternoon and stayed in Pensacola at the Red Roof Inn. I was too beat to go out and waste more time looking for herps so we all just crashed. We arrived back in Houston on our arrival date of the 16th. It was a flawless trip, no speeding tickets, no car trouble, and it was an awesome day to drive back to Houston. It was great seeing all you crazy herpers down there, and you all know who you are!! I hope to see most of you at our show here in Houston September 10-12. After that, I am off to Ft. Davis, the River Road and wherever else luck may take me! Party on Herpers!

Wayne Howell
August 16, 2004

Trip to Daytona and Orlando, Florida

DOR Cornsnake