The Snorkel Keeper the official newsletter of the Rochester Scuba & Snorkel Club Rochester, Minnesota USA RochesterScuba.org

President: Tim Swanberg	Treasurer: Dan Lovik
Vice President: Ron Nelson	Editor: David Merbach
Junior Officer: Monica Merbach
Volume: 20 Issue: 3	April 2010

Next meeting: Park Cleanup at Foster Arends
Tuesday May 18^th – 6pm

President’s Corner by Tim Swanberg

In lieu of a report from the president, here is reminder that the next club meeting on May 18^th will be at Foster Arends park for the Spring Park Cleanup. Please bring gloves, clothes that can get dirty and an appetite for ‘adult drinks’ and something on the grill.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Just Wacky by anonymous

There once was a man from Nantucket

Who kept all his gear in a bucket.

A shark thought it was bait
The whole bucket he ate
So the man from Nantucket said

“Now I've got to get a new bucket”.

My Trip to Bohol by Christina Campos

Two months ago my Mom, Dad, Lola (Grandma), Tita (Aunt) Pat, and Adela, (Lola’s maid) and I went on my best diving and touring trip in my life! (Maybe I should tell you I am only eleven years old and I only got certified last year in the Philippines.) This trip was to Bohol. Bohol is an island that lies right smack in the middle of the Philippines. I think Bohol looks like a brain. And if you don’t know where the Philippines are, they are in the Pacific, southeast of China.

Before the trip, we packed, drove to my grandparent’s house, went to bed, got up early, got to the airport, got our tickets and that’s when it all started. When we got to our gate, I saw the sign said Bismarck, ND. We were supposed to fly to Chicago to start our trip. My dad asked about it and we were told our flight was canceled. So we got sent to another gate and my dad got new tickets to the Philippines going to Japan instead of Korea like our first tickets. So now we go to another gate. Dad wanted us to sit together, so he asked if we could get different seats. That’s when the problem happened. We weren’t allowed to get on the plane. I didn’t understand it, but we found out that our trip was cancelled that day.

Dad called Lola and my other grandparents to tell them we weren’t going anywhere. So my grandmother came to pick us up and bring us back to her home. Our moods were very strange. Dad was angry, mom was sleepy, I was sad, and grandpa and grandma were confused. I was so sad when I turned on the TV, I didn’t understand what it said. Dad kept trying to get us another flight, but to no avail. We went to bed and the next day Dad said, “We will try again.” So we went to the airport, got different tickets, went to our gate, boarded the plane, flew to Japan, stayed for awhile, flew to Manila, got our bags, drove to Lola’s house and WENT TO BED!

A lot can happen in two days, but now I am getting to the good part. Since we had jet lag, we were very sleepy. Dad kept waking up at midnight for some reason, Mom couldn’t wake up, and plain old me, well, I couldn’t go to sleep. Weird family, Eh? Tita Pat, Dad’s sister, came to get us for our trip to Bohol. Dad surprised us by packing for us. We loaded the car with Lola and Adela and drove to the airport. The traffic is nothing like Minnesota’s traffic. It is way worse!

When we got to the airport, my cousin and his dad, who I never met before, almost ran into my Lola’s wheelchair. Tita Pat introduced us to them. They said they just got back from vacation. It felt strange to meet new family at the airport. All I know is Dad has a lot of cousins. We got our tickets to Bohol and went to our gate. Tita Pat had said that if we arrived at our gate early, we wouldn’t be rushed. So now we had a long wait. Because Lola was in a wheelchair, we got the first two rows in the airplane. Adela, Tita Pat and Dad in front and Lola, Mom and lonely me in the back.

Next Month…Touring Bohol.

Featured Fish – dorkfish

Inspired by the discovery of the fossilized remains of a dolphin with a noted overbite, Bill Engvall created a comedy sketch describing the look, sound and behavior of the dorkfish, a very strange looking fish whose upper jaw sticks out way farther than his lower jaw.

A common phrase heard from the dorkfish:

I'm a dorkfish! He caught me on'a corndawg! I was swimmin' in th'ocean, and I saw that corndawg and said "Whatsa corndawg doing in th'ocean?!"

Featured Recipe - Corndog

Corndog batter:

1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar

Mix together all ingredients. Dip wieners in the batter and fry in hot oil until brown.

Start of Diving Season – by The Gossip Girls

The Gossip Girls have just learned that a gang of Scoober Doers ventured to a pit in Wisconsin for a day of diving on a cloudy and raining day. Details of the event are sketchy, but the word on the street is that the doers roughly followed a trail known as ‘the reverse pipes tour’. Spirits were high at the start of the outing and continued so even after ‘first dive of the season’ hiccups occurred such as wondering around aimlessly, leaking camera housings and 47 degree temperatures.

Here are two of the Scoober Doers exhibiting the effects of the cold water. Notice that they both have blue hands. The word on the street is that their hands weren’t the only things blue. Unfortunately, due to a leaking camera housing, no photographic evidence is available.

Club Information

Meetings are on the third Tuesday evening of each month at Clarion Inn, 1630 South Broadway, Rochester MN.

Annual dues are due each January. Annual memberships are $25 for individuals or $50 for a family. Follow the directions on this form to renew.

Have you been on any dive trips lately? We'd love to publish your stories and photos! Contact the editor if you'd like to contribute.

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