Dark Forest

Sunset - Juniper Prairie

Juniper Prairie Wilderness

Ocala National Forest

January 3, 2006

Two friends, Amber Peck and John Parker from Gainesville, FL leave for a backpacking trip to Hidden Pond in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness in Ocala National Forest.

150 miles away, a 19 year old male wakes up in Largo, FL and decides he wants to know what it's like to kill someone. He boards a Greyhound bus headed to Ocala with a concealed AK-47 in a duffel bag. While in Ocala, he purchases camping gear before taking a taxi to the Juniper Prairie Wilderness.

January 4, 2006

Just outside the Juniper Prairie Wilderness area, the young man from Largo hitches a ride back to Ocala.

Lake Erie Circle Tour

November 7-11, 2008

804 Miles Driven

New York - Ontario - Michigan - Ohio - Pennsylvania - New York

Kellisa had a couple of days off from school and I had a few extra vacation days that were not scheduled. That combination can only mean one thing: time to get out the Rand McNally Road Atlas and plan a trip. Driving around each of the Great Lakes had been on my mind since our July 2008 vacation to Sault Ste. Marie. The greatest "Circle Tour" is around Lake Superior. However, we did not have the time for Lake Superior. We did have time to circle around Lake Erie, the fourth largest of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie also happens to be the 11th largest lake in the world.

It was decided we would fly to Buffalo. I know it was Novemeber, but it was early in the month and I was hoping for some mild weather, you will see from the pictures that the weather was freezing, even by northern standards. It also snowed everyday of the trip, including more than 12 inches one day.

Kellisa's First Kayaking Adventure

Lake Oneida

UNF Campus- Jax, FL

March 2007

Grandma was visiting from Chicago and Lisa wanted to visit the outlet malls in St. Augustine. I asked Kellisa if she wanted to go shopping with mom and grandma or go out and have fun with dad. If she picked shopping, we wouldn't have a blog entry. To this point in time, Lisa did not allow me to take Kellisa kayaking...something to do with the 1,000,000+ alligators that call Florida home. Oh yeah, and they view kids as meals. Lisa asked what I had planned before leaving and I claimed I did not know yet.

As soon as they were out the door and around the corner, I loaded the kayak on the roof and packed the Pilot with all the gear we would need for an afternoon of fun. We had to make a quick stop to buy Kellisa a PFD. I knew I was risking serious trouble, but I had kayaked 32 miles across the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and had several kayak trips to the Everglades on my resume. I was 100% confident in my ability to take Kellisa kayaking and return her home without serious incident.

I selected Lake Oneida on the campus of UNF because I was familiar with the area due to hiking the trails surrounding the lake on several occasions. It was a small lake, so we would always be close to land. Plus, it was a popular campus with students always within shouting distance. The hardest part of the trip was getting a 65# kayak, all the gear, and Kellisa in her travel wheelchair to the edge of the lake to start the adventure. 

Not surprising, Kellisa absolutely loved kayaking!

1996 Chicagoland Flood

An Illinois record was set on July 17 and 18, 1996 for rainfall in a 24 hour period. A total of 16.94 inches fell on the southwestern suburbs of Chicago, including Bolingbrook. About the only time we got lucky with our house in Bolingbrook was during this flood, our lot was actually high and dry. A part of me thinks we might have been better off if the house had flooded.

The entire area around our neighborhood flooded. Only high clearance vehicles had a chance of getting out of the flood zone. Lisa made it to work with our Isuzu Trooper. I stayed home with my Honda Civic and documented some of the flood in the pictures below.

God's Acre Healing Spring

God's Acre Healing Springs

Blackville, SC

September 30, 2009.

"The water from these artisan wells is said to have mystical healing powers."

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By nature, Kellisa has mystical healing powers. You can read more about Kellisa's early days here. 

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If you look at where Kellisa started and how much she has achieved in 10+ years, it's beyond comprehension. I give Kellisa all the credit for her unrelenting determination to fight through the challenges of her life. Kellisa has always had a large circle of doctors, specialists, nurses, therapists, teachers and aides that continue to help her stay healthy (by Kellisa standards) and reach her full potential in life.

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Recently, I became interested in alternative methods that might help Kellisa. I really don't know what I'm looking for or hoping to achieve. All I know is when Kellisa does reach her potential, I want to look back without regrets. I want to know we did everything possible to help Kellisa.

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While conducting a Google search for these alternative methods, I came across Healing Springs in South Carolina. I read historical accounts as well as more recent reports of the water healing everything from poison ivy to arthritis to cancer. The springs are only four hours from Jacksonville and I decided to make a trip the next time I was working in the area. Within two days of making this decision, a customer that I hadn't had any contact with for over a year called and requested a jobsite inspection in Myrtle Beach, SC. I would be within one hour of the springs...was it meant to be?

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Would this water help Kellisa? Myself? I must admit having parents die early scares a person about their own life expectancy. Based on my parents, I would have less than 15 years left to live. I figure I could use all the help I can get. And Lisa? Would this water help heal her nagging ankle and/or chronic back pain from lifting Kellisa? What do we do with this water? Drink it? Wash with it?