A new camera, a new underwater feature

I bought a new, cheapo digital camera recently because the camera I have loved for the past three years has been acting wiggy for months. It's been unreliable and I've had to use my iPhone camera as a regular back-up lately. The iPhone camera has surprised me with it's quality but it's a hassle to take a photo when doing something active (which is usually when I'm prompted to take one in the first place).

It's a multi-step process...
*Swipe screen to activate phone.
*Click on camera icon.
*Use two hands to steady camera (otherwise the focus is unreliable).
*Hit the exact right spot on the touchscreen to actually take the photo.

I know, it doesn't sound like much but when you're walking, biking, skiing, etc. trust me, it's a hassle.

Since we're saving up to purchase a new vehicle I didn't have much money to invest in another higher-end point and shoot like my old Cannon Powershot S5. (It went on every single outdoor adventure we've had for the past several years in every kind of weather from below freezing to 100+degrees, sun, rain, snow and everything in between. This is testament that it was a great camera because we really pushed it beyond it's advertised limits!)

After talking with a co-worker I decided what I really needed in a camera in this low-end price range (under $150) were two particular features - durability and some sort of water resistance. I doubted a cheap camera would last us a year without those particular features.

I ended up buying a FujiFilm Finepix XP20 per my co-worker's recommendation. My very first digital camera was a Fuji Finepix and although it didn't have much in the way of bells and whistles, it really did take a nice picture for it's generation of cameras. It's still alive and kicking even after all these years (I bought it in 2003).

I have had this new Finepix for a week now and I am not feeling the love like I did with my original Fuji. The picture quality on this one is just OK. Actually, I think my iPhone takes a better depth of field picture with better color quality and exposure accuracy with more consistency (and I admit I still bemoan the loss of my Cannon so it's hard to find something to measure up to that). But this XP20 series is both "shock proof" and "water proof" so when I'm skiing down a mountain I can take video and not worry about a nor'easter ruining the camera (that would have been handy for our Sunday River ski trip last January. Actually, I believe that may have contributed to my Cannon's demise). Or, when we were camping in the torrential rain for three days (like a few weeks ago). Or out kayaking or canoeing in the summer (which we hope to do more of this month).

If ever there was a family that needed a water- and shock-proof camera, it would be us.

Today I decided to christen the camera with a trip to Dundee Park in Windham with my 13-year-old. I figured I'd rather find out now (while still under the 30 day warranty) if the camera really could handle the underwater option as advertised.

It does and it was a whole lot of silly fun.

I can totally see us enjoying the entertainment value this camera offers at the beach during the next couple of months. And as I learn the various photo settings, hopefully I will find ways to get it to take a better quality picture.

Remote-controlled hobby airplanes, an intro

I have never seen remote-controlled hobby planes up close let alone take control of them to fly. L. and her new rocketry 4H club were invited to join members of the Propsnappers RC Club to try flying these planes. It was a good time.

The adult members of the Propsnappers talked about the model planes and explained how the remote control units worked. L. was nervous to take a turn with the remote because she didn’t want to crash the plane (it was clear they were expensive). But the dual remotes - two remotes connected to the same plane - with a club member ensured nothing bad would happen to the plane.

Although I don’t think she aspires to purchase a model airplane, it was a great experience for her and her friends to learn about aerodynamics and handling a large remote controlled plane. Even though there was only a little bit of wind, it still affects how the model planes react to the direction changes made with the remote.

We were at the Propsnappers’ field in Scarborough, which is not far from the Jetport. At one point an actual airplane came in to view and it didn’t look that far off the ground. I was mesmerized by the proximity of the large airplane to the model planes in the air. It looked very close from our viewpoint on the ground. But of course, they weren’t. But when I looked around, all the kids were watching the big plane fly overhead just as I was. 

The Propsnappers Club is a membership-only group (for adults and youth) so you can not just drop in to a fly day. But they do host public events. I read a flyer at the field yesterday that advertised a ”Float Fly” at Kiwanis Beach in Standish on September 17 & 18. Admission to attend the event was listed as $10 per day, $15 for the weekend. If you have a plane enthusiast, or a curious kid who likes to learn how things work, this will likely be a great introduction to the hobby.

The members of the Propsnappers were a friendly, helpful lot and the 4H club very much appreciated they took the time to give the kids a hands-on experience with their model planes. 

The kids get an introduction from Propsnappers club members about how the planes and remotes work.

Although nervous at first, L. had a great time flying the plane and seeing how it reacted to the remote control and wind factor.

L. did some low-level flying initially.

There was some higher flying of the planes and they were just little specs from our perspective at a few points.

Cell phone accessories for my teen

My 15-year-old has a no-frills Pantech cell phone. I paid $30 for it about a year ago. She picked it out because she liked the keyboard for texting, it was easy to use and it was in mom’s price range.

My 13-year-old bought herself an iPhone last year. I agreed to the monthly fee (about $10 more per month than her sister’s phone) if she purchased the actual phone. The reasoning behind the iPhone purchase was that L. wanted an iTouch. But after some research found out that the iPhone was actually a cheaper option and it had more functionality. L. has been very happy with her iPhone and uses it not only for it’s talking and texting capabilities but also for the iPod and various apps.

G. could have cared less about an iPhone last year. She is not overly impressed with apps (not enough to give up her keyboard). But after seeing her sister’s use of the iPod functionality, she’s been a bit envious of it (even though G. has a separate mp3 player device that has a radio function as well).

G. did some research on her Pantech phone and found it was possible to download music to it. The catch was that she needed some accessories.

First on her accessory list was a pair of headphones. Her Pantech does not have a regular headphone jack. G. found headphones compatible with her Pantech phone on Amazon for under $10.

Then she looked for a USB cable to connect her phone to the computer so she could download music. She found a review on Amazon that suggested another approach but she was confused by the suggestion. I stepped in and sifted through her phone's specific features and options and found that what she needed was not a USB cable, but a mini SD card with standard SD card adaptor. It too was under $10.

I thought the $18 price tag for both items (including shipping) was a reasonable amount of money to invest for a phone "upgrade" and I bought them for her.

I don’t have much experience with mini SD cards but it was simple to use. The mini card came in a larger adapter card (it looks like a standard size SD card you use in a camera). I plugged it in to my SD card reader slot on my laptop and it prompted me to open to view it’s files. Then G. chose some mp3 tracks from my machine and dragged and dropped them on to the card. Then she pulled the mini card out of the adapter and slipped it in to her phone.

The mini card goes in to the base slot in her phone. To add more music to the card, she simply pops out the card, puts it in the adapter, puts that in to my laptop's card reader then drags and drops mp3 files on to it.

This music interface is not as easy as her sister’s iPhone but the end result works. She now can add music to her phone and listen anytime she’d like. No need to tote around two different devices all the time.

The one snafu in making her phone a music player was iTunes. L. has downloaded a variety of music for her iPhone (thanks to iTunes gift cards last Christmas). Unfortunately iTunes does not allow their purchased music to be played on an "unauthorized" device. G. was out of luck in downloading some of her sister’s music on her mini-SD card. That annoys me because it’s legally purchased music that should be able to be used for personal use on a non-Apple device.

We had to do some more creative thinking for G. to get some of the music she wanted on her phone.

Fino and I have a bunch of CDs from the 80s (mostly "alternative") as well as a smattering of 90s and 00s. But it’s a sparse collection (we're more audio book types these days). G. and I had an amusing conversation after she went through the collection and chose a handful of tracks. Her choices included some Grammy Nominee compilations, some Broadway musicals and one early 90s techno song by KLF. It's quite an eclectic mix. I expounded on the awesomeness of Depeche Mode and even explained how good they were in live concert. She failed to see the light on this and many of the other 80s bands I suggested but decided to add KLF to her playlist to "give it a try." The musical debate reflecting our generational gap was all in good teasing fun for both of us.

When we put our minds to more seriously looking for music download options, we decided to try Amazon’s new mp3 cloud player. We purchased a song and downloaded it from my account’s cloud to my desktop. Then I dragged and dropped it on to her mini SD card. It worked like a charm on her phone.

My learnings about creating a multi-tasking phone without buying a new one are:

A little creative thinking can usually come up with a solution to expand your less expensive cell phone's capabilities. 

Read the reviews of your phone product because these people also have experience using your phone. Sometimes there are ideas for a different way to make a feature work. An accessory purchase can be a lot cheaper than a whole new phone and especially nice when you really like the phone anyway. 

Amazon sells a ton of accessories for cell phones at a fraction of the cost of the cell phone stores.

I'm not too happy with iTunes right now and wonder where others buy their mp3 downloads? Or do you still buy CDs and add them to your computer's music library?

Fair season, round one

We spent this past weekend at Ossipee Valley Fair. Both girls had exhibits for the 4H hall and L. was showing her three sheep. The fair was a much larger coordination effort than it has been in the past because we decided to camp at the fairgrounds with our little camper for the 4-day fair. That meant we had to do two hauling trips up to the fairgrounds - one for the sheep and one for the camper.

It was nice to have a home base (i.e., camper) at the fair but it was not without a bit of drama before we actually got every body and every thing to the fairgrounds.

Tuesday night I made a run to the fairgrounds to drop off the 4H exhibit hall items for my kids and their general 4H club. Since we have never camped at these fairgrounds I decided to scope out our assigned camper lot number we had received in the mail.

The lot we were assigned had a large tree and root in the lot and even though our camper is small, the lot didn't seem to be something that would work for us when I saw it. I sought out the person managing the camp office and she agreed the spot wasn't suitable. She said she'd identify another site for us the next night when we arrived with our camper.

Wednesday night came around and both Fino and I didn't get home until nearly 7 p.m. (from work and kid-related activities). As Fino finalized the connections of the camper to our minivan he realized one of the camper tires was low. This was a surprise since we just bought new tires.

He assessed the issue and refilled it with air and believed it would be OK. So off we went. About 150 yards down the street the camper's door flew open. I was sure I turned the bolt lock but somehow it shook loose (it's a "suicide" door as the opening faces the front of the vehicle rather than the back).

Fino fixed the door and told me I hadn't pushed it closed correctly.

Then we were off again only for the door to fly open about 1/4 mile later.

Redemption for me but still bad news.

We tied the door shut and off we went again.

Then there was a power surge in the van and Fino lost all his gauge functions and the camper running lights went out.

He pulled over and we had a conference on the side of the road. By that time it was 9 p.m. and the sheep *had* to be at the fairgrounds that night.

We decided the camper was a lost cause for the night and we turned back home.

I thought we were going to have to call in a favor to haul the sheep if the van's gauges were really fried. Turned out as soon as the electrical connection to the camper was removed, the van's gauges worked like normal.

The sheep hauling was uneventful but we didn't get back home from the drop-off until 11:30 p.m.

I got up early the next day and repacked the car with our tent gear. I figured our home base change would be fine since it was sunny and warm. We found a roomy new spot thanks to the friendly, helpful camp office manager and all was well for us.

That night Fino got home from work and tweaked the camper's electrical and door issues while the girls and I were at the fairgrounds in our tent.

Fino drove the camper to the fairgrounds on Friday morning without incident. And the timing was great because we broke down the tent at dinner time before the heavy rains started (and yes, we commented multiple times during that rainy night about how nice it was to be in a camper instead of the tent during the storm).

The fair was a low-key affair for us. L. did her various sheep shows, participated in the fair parade with her sheep and chatted with friends. The only curve ball was L.'s jump to the senior showmanship 4H sheep showing on Saturday. She's a 4H intermediate level showman (it's only her second year) but because there weren't any others in her level at the fair, she had to bump up to seniors. She held her own in the class with much older and more experienced kids and was happy to have placed in the middle of the pack.

Leaving the fair required additional coordination efforts to drive the camper home first then head back to the fairgrounds to pick up the sheep (after cleaning out stalls) and the exhibit hall items. There were no snafus and I was grateful because we were all exhausted by then.

Here are a few pictures from the fair...

G. was especially pleased about receiving her first blue ribbon for her baked item at the 4-H exhibit hall. She's won blue ribbons at Cumberland Fair but never at Ossipee in this particular category. A traditional apple muffin recipe won her the accolades.

My favorite Boston-area Italian ice was at the fair (when I was little I lived near the original Richie's store). After introducing it to the girls when they were small during a visit to Boston, they've been hooked on it ever since too. We ordered a small cup of it nearly every day we were at the fairgrounds.

L. had fun with her two days of sheep showing. She showed her three lambs as well as a farm friend's lambs too.

For a bit of lighthearted fun before the official start of the sheep shows, the 4-H sheep kids' parents as well as other adult sheep owners participated in a showmanship class. The kids make it look easy because when you're out there you realize it is not. I didn't come in last place but I wasn't far away from it either.

G. offered some sisterly love by walking  one of L.'s lambs in the fair parade even though G. isn't as keen on sheep as she is on her beloved cows (G.'s show cow was not at this fair).

I've thought for a while about writing a blog titled, "The Little Van that Could" because we really test the limits of our 1990's minivan. I have yet to see anyone hauling animals with a minivan and the sight of ours doing so makes me laugh. But it is working for us while we save up to purchase a truck (which won't be happening for a while).

The van has served us well hauling L.'s sheep to various sheep clinics, fairs and shearing dates this past year. The loan of the wooden box crate to fit in our little trailer has been great too. Thanks David!

And hauling our small, but not pop-up small, 13' camper. We were so happy to have it at the fairgrounds this past weekend.

One fair down, two more to go for L's sheep showing season.

Kid Tracks Column: Paddleboarding's a stand-up pastime for almost everyone

My daughters and I decided to learn how to stand-up paddleboard. My girls are young teens now and this sport scored high on their hipster gauge.

Paddleboarding is part surfing and part kayaking. The basic idea is that you stand up on a large surfboardlike board in calm water and use a long paddle to propel yourself.

The girls and I took our lesson from SoPoSUP (South Portland Stand Up Paddleboarding) with owner and instructor Rafael Adams. He started our lesson on the shore at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth.

First we were told where to place our feet on the board. Then we were shown the basic paddling technique. The paddle is sort of like a one-sided kayak paddle that's extra long.

My daughters have done a fair amount of paddling in a canoe and kayak. This was helpful when Adams explained this sport's paddling technique. For balance, it's best not to let the paddle get too far behind where you're standing on the board.

Although Adams doesn't have an age requirement for paddleboarding lessons, he did indicate that the size of the board, and paddle, can make a difference for younger, smaller paddlers as they strive for a vertical paddle angle.

"There are not a lot of boards out there for kids. Most boards are too big and that makes it hard to do proper strokes," he explained.

But he clarified that younger kids pick up the sport very easily using adult gear. It's not a problem to get them up on boards and having fun.

"I can give a 7-year-old a paddle and a board and within seconds they are paddling away."

I can attest that my daughters picked up the sport a lot easier than I did. Within a minute on the water, the girls and I were paddling around the cove. I did more falling off while standing on the board because I was over-thinking my actions. The girls did not have the same problem.

My younger daughter is a 100-pound, agile 13-year-old. She made standing look effortless, although she did fall off once when she tried to stand while parallel to the shore. That's a common beginner mistake. When going from kneeling to standing, it is easiest when facing away from the shore. Hitting the waves with the nose of the board makes them more manageable for a novice.

My 15-year-old is my more cautious child. She felt content getting a feel for the ocean current on the board while kneeling. She did a fair amount of standing but commented that her legs felt like jelly after a few minutes. My legs felt similar. It takes some stamina to stay in a standing position (with knees bent) for any length of time on the board. But the initial standing up -- and staying up -- was done within minutes of getting in the water for all of us.

Adams said he's had kids of all ages try to paddleboard with good success.

"I do not recommend a certain age to begin paddleboarding, but being able to swim is a good benchmark," he said.

Parents of younger kids can learn the basics of paddling during a lesson and then have their kids pile on the board for a ride at the end. Kids can also go out on boards with a couple of their friends as a group affair.

Even though I did more falling off than my girls did (actually my 13-year-old fell off only once, my 15-year-old did not fall off at all), we had a lot of good laughs out on the water (mostly at my expense). We all found success at standing up and paddling around, which was a great confidence boost for my girls. It feels good when you can learn something new so quickly and easily.

Adams said that a lot of families enjoy paddling together and it really is easy to do.

"It's a very family-friendly sport," he said.

PADDLEBOARD SHOPS
SOPO SUP
382 Cottage Road, South Portland
317-0425
www.soposup.com
AQUAHOLICS SURF SHOP
166 Port Road, Kennebunk (they also have a satellite shop in Old Orchard Beach in front of The Pier).
967-8650
www.aquaholicsurf.com
MOOSE COUNTY
67 East Grand Ave., Old Orchard Beach
749-1656
www.moosecounty.us
LIQUID DREAMS
365 Main St., Ogunquit
641-2545
171 Long Beach Ave., York
351-2545
www.liquiddreamssurf.com
WHEELS AND WAVES
365 Post Road, Wells
646-5774
www.wheelsnwaves.com

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram July 10, 2011

Kid Tracks Column: Learning how to paddleboard

Paddleboarding is part surfing and part kayaking. The basic idea is that you stand up on a large surfboard-like board in calm water and use a long paddle to propel yourself.

I have taken one paddleboard lesson and I'm an expert ... at falling off. I can do the tip to one side plunge and the walk backwards to gain balance only to walk right off the board maneuver. Those seemed to be my body's favored styles of descent. There were a few big sways – one way and then the other – for balance. But alas, the overcompensated sways generally failed to keep me upright most of the time.

The old adage of "if you're not falling down you're not learning" suits my situation when learning a new sport. I choose to believe this to be a good learning style, mostly to justify why it takes me a while to learn something new.

Having a good sense of balance is helpful though. My teenage daughters have plenty. Regardless of athletic abilities, our first family paddleboarding lesson was a lot of fun.

The girls and I took our lesson from SoPoSUP (South Portland Stand Up Paddleboarding) with owner and instructor Rafael Adams. He started our lesson on the shore at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth. He explained where to place your feet on the board and the basic paddling technique. The paddle is about a full arms length taller than your shoulder and sort of like a one-sided kayak paddle that's extra long.

My daughters, ages 13 and 15, have done a fair amount of paddling in a canoe and kayak so they were able to make adjustments to their stroke to get the hang of this paddling technique.

Once our boards were in the water we climbed on and stayed on our knees to get a sense of balance. This felt a little unsteady initially and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stand up without falling off. Our instructor cautioned that if I believed I was going to fall in, that's just what I would do. I've learned when trying a new activity that once you fall down, you are less concerned about doing it again. I decided to stand up on my board to get the initial fall out of the way. We didn't have wet suits on and it hasn't been the warmest spring so when I did fall in that first time, it was a cold shock. But once I was wet it was a done deal. My subsequent falls – and there were quite a few – didn't seem to be as cold.

One of the tricks about feeling steady on a paddleboard is constant movement. It sounds counterintuitive to find stability in movement but it's especially true while on a paddleboard. A little forward paddling to get a bit of speed before standing up on the board really does make the position change easier.

To stand up on the board from a kneeling position requires grabbing your paddle with both hands and laying it perpendicular on the board in front of you. Then you get your feet under your knees in a wide stance in the middle of the board before simply standing up.

We were cautioned by our instructor not to lock our knees in place. We needed to keep them slightly bent to have better control of our balance.

My younger daughter is a 100-pound agile 13-year-old. She went from kneeling to standing easily. She made it look effortless although she did fall off once when she tried to stand while parallel to the shore. That's a common beginner mistake. When going from kneeling to standing it is easiest when facing away from the shore. Hitting the waves with the nose of the board makes them more manageable for a novice.

My 15-year-old is my more cautious child and spent a lot of the hour lesson kneeling. She felt content getting a feel for the ocean current on the board. She did a fair amount of standing but commented that her legs felt like jelly after a few minutes. She switched between standing and kneeling periodically and managed not to fall at all during our lesson. According to my younger daughter, her sister didn't do as much standing as she did.

I did manage some time standing and agreed with my daughter's assessment of my legs feeling like jelly. But boy, it sure was a thrill to feel like I was walking on water.

I provided a lot of entertainment for my girls during our lesson with my learning (to fall) antics. But the truth was, it was not a hard sport to learn. We were on our knees and paddling on the water in minutes. Standing took some extra time to figure out but within the hour even my balanced-challenged self was standing for a couple of minutes at a time.

There are a lot of water sports that can be fun for a family with tweens and teens. Learning to paddleboard together will provide not only a nice self-esteem boost for the kids, it will also likely offer plenty of fodder for story (and photo) sharing for the rest of the summer.

Rafael Adams, owner and instructor of SoPoSUP, esplained feet placement on the paddleboard as well as paddling technique on the shore. The 13-year-old (left) was pointed out as holding her paddle correctly.

My 13-year-old was giggling as she turned back to see the splash, which is me falling off the paddleboard, again.

I did manage a little standing on the board with the girls.

Paddleboarding Shops
SoPo SUP
382 Cottage Road, South Portland
317-0425
www.soposup.com

Aquaholics Surf Shop
166 Port Road, Kennebunk (they also have a satellite shop in Old Orchard Beach in front of The Pier).
967-8650
www.aquaholicsurf.com

Moose County
67 East Grand Ave., Old Orchard Beach
749-1656
www.moosecounty.us

Liquid Dreams
365 Main St., Ogunquit
641-2545
171 Long Beach Ave., York
351-2545
www.liquiddreamssurf.com

Wheels and Waves
365 Post Road, Wells
646-5774
www.wheelsnwaves.com

All photos were taken by Shannon Bryan. See Shannon, I told you I'd make sure you got credit for them!

Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, July 2011