Champ

As I keep saying, if you are outside a lot having adventures you sometimes see some really amazing things. I had some great luck getting video and stills of two shipwrecks in three days off of Ala Moana. My son Colin had some great luck too. He's in college at the University of Vermont in the Film and Television Department.

I was moderately impressed last spring when he chose this school but my enthusiasm went off the chart when I learned that the school was on Lake Champlain, home of "Champ" the Lake Monster. Kind of the American Loch Ness Monster. You may have seen him on TV on one of those Monster documentaries maybe after the Bigfoot story. Well, I told Colin if he wanted to come home for Christmas then he had to bring me a photo of Champ. Yeah, I know, this was a bit harsh but it did get his butt out of those comfortably warm halls of learning and out to the lake for an adventure.

After hours crunching in the snow one late fall day Colin was rewarded with the photo of a lifetime - a fantastically clear shot of "Champ." I got an 8.5 by 11 glossy for Christmas. I really think it was a combination of Colin's sense of adventure and the attention to detail they teach in the film department.

That or he wanted to come home for Christmas really badly

How you got it doesn't matter. It was just what your Father wanted. Thank you Colin.