[ Music ] [Rooster Crows] >>Dave: And welcome to another episode of the Gene and Dave Show. Today we are going to have a good time. In fact we're going to have a great time because today we're talking about outdoor recreation. >>Gene: Yeah, you're not going to want to miss any of this, so grab the snacks, put them down here and in fact share some with me and Dave. But you're really going to enjoy this -- don't miss a second. >>Dave: We had a lot of fun taping it, so we know you're going to have a lot of fun watching it. Where is the first place we're going Gene? >>Gene: The first place Dave is Interlaken, Switzerland. We're going do a little bit of paragliding there. You know you can also do paragliding here in West Texas, but I though it would look better in Switzerland. So let's see how it's done. I've wanted to go paragliding ever since I saw folks do it on TV. So, I packed up the old wheelchair conestoga and headed out to Switzerland. In fact, I liked it so much I wrote a story about it. I posted it on my webpage. It's called, "Wind Riders of the Alps," and it's on www.genosplace.org. Feel free to download it. Here we are in Interlaken, Switzerland. There's Dino on the left, Peter in front of me, and Stephan on the right of your screen there, getting me hooked up in a harness. You could see my chair in the background. We took the wheels off of it. If we hadn't done that that chair would easily have rolled down the hill. Now, here's a view through my Adventure Cam 2 from [Cash Register Sound] Viosports. This is a fantastic little camera. I mounted it on my helmet, and so you'll be seeing what I see, or I should say what I saw when I went paragliding. They're getting me all set up on a hill getting ready for takeoff. We actually spent some time there getting ready, perhaps ten minutes or so just making sure the harness was on properly, making sure all the lines weren't tangled and were in good working order. There's Dino on the right. He's telling Lawrence, "You better move. You'd better move from there." So, Lawrence picks up the camera and he's about to move, but no worries, I've still got my Adventure Cam on [Cash Register Sound] and we'll get a good view here. So, the guys are picking me up here. I'm strapped in a tandem harness to Peter while Stephan and Dino hold me up here. They're going to take a few steps here, and that paraglider just fills up with air right away. Few more steps and we're airborne. We are up and away. Here's a view through the Adventure Cam 2 from Viosports. [Cash Register Sound] Oh, yeah, free as a bird. Here we go a better view through the Adventure Cam. Great little camera, I love it. We're making some turns in the air. You can see we're not really losing much elevation. We just keep making these gentle turns. Peter found some good thermals to keep us up there for a while. Here's a view again through the Adventure Cam 2. Here we go turning again. We just kept making some turns over and over again, staying up as long as we could. Here we go turning again. We made plenty number of turns. But it was a good day. We had good thermals, so we were able to stay up quite a while. Here's a picture of me and Peter. Peter took fifth place in real competition in paragliding the same year that I went to Interlaken. Here you could see the beautiful blue waters of the glacier-fed rivers in Interlaken. They have all sorts of paragliders from beginning and novice to expert class. And the ones we were in were pretty stable, but when Peter and Stephan are flying in competition they take paragliders that are inherently very unstable. And the reason for that is they're a lot better for acrobatics. They can do all sorts of turns and then all sorts of maneuvers very easily. Here's a picture of Stephan and myself. Stephan holds a world paragliding record of staying up for eight hours and traveling a distance of 197 kilometers. The whole staff there at the Alpine Center were great. I found them on the web, www.alpincenter.ch. If you do a Google search for Alpine Center and paragliding in Switzerland you'll find them there. Now, here across the valley on a clear day you could see the Eiger. The Eiger's a very famous mountain peak there in Switzerland. If you saw the movie, "Eiger Sanction" with Clint Eastwood, you would have seen the Eiger there. But this is where it's at in Interlaken Switzerland. We stayed up so long paragliding that the battery on my Adventure Cam 2 from Vio Sports [Cash Register Sound] was dead before we actually landed. >>Dave: Man, Gene, that was amazing, and I can't believe those views, those views that you had from just being up there in the air and sailing like a bird with nothing underneath you. >>Gene: It was fantastic, and I got to tell you, the one thing, the first time I went up a buckle broke on my harness, and had the second one broke I wouldn't be here today. But the second time they made sure I was in that harness better, and felt a lot more secure. But it's one my favorite sports because it combines science and recreation. >>Dave: The second time? Man, I would think after the first time with the buckle breaking I wouldn't have gone again, that's for sure. >>Gene: No one ever accused me of being bright. >>Dave: [Laughs] I guess not. But if you don't want to go to Switzerland, there's a lot of places locally here, or at least in Texas that you can go to, lot of recreation places that feature outdoor recreation. One of them that we found is located down off the coast in Rockport, and it's called "Camp Aranzazu", and I believe you met the executive director of that, right, Gene? >>Gene: As a matter of fact Tammie Shelton the executive director is a member of the Eels on Wheels Adaptive Scuba Club, and I met Tammie years ago. We went scuba diving together, and she's a great person. I couldn't think of anyone better to run this camp. And she even sent us some video that we can go ahead and show our audience today. >>Dave: Alright, well let's check this out. [ Music ] >>Located along the Texas Gulf Coast in Rockport, 30 miles north of Corpus Christi is a truly remarkable place, a peaceful, wooded area that is dedicated to changing lives. It's called "Camp Aranzazu," a barrier-free camp that acts as a host facility. >>A host facility is where we provide the facility and the activities, but a group comes from an organization, and if they have special medical care they bring that with them. >>Our mission is to provide camping experiences for special need kids, chronically ill kids, terminally ill kids that don't have other choices where to go. >>Mommy. >>[Inaudible] having something over your left shoulder. >>We are able to adapt any activity to any kind of disability or illness. So, the kids who come here were in mainstream schools. They may be disabled or different. Here they get to come and just be a kid. >>The purpose is to provide a camp experience for children who share a common obstacle. Through this experience the camper interacts with other campers who have the same medical, physical and social challenges. Each group provides its own experienced medical staff and volunteers. By sharing experiences with peers, a process of social healing takes place that surpasses what medicine and treatments can achieve. Camp Aranzazu is managed as a not-for-profit organization, and all revenue is dedicated to fulfilling the camp's vision, while preserving the facilities and property for future generations of people, plants and animals. Physical and financial barriers are alleviated, so the campers who might otherwise be excluded may experience the beauty of the coastal bend, learn the importance of conservation, and leave empowered to interact with their natural and social environments in a positive way. >>It's really good for both the kids with special needs, and for the ones that don?t have the special needs to be able to interact. >>At Camp Aranzazu there's a close interaction between the campers and the counselors. >>The kids are loved. They're appreciated for who they are, and mentored in how to be part of a group and work with others. >>I think it's important that they have an environment where they feel safe and comfortable, that they don?t have to worry about being teased or ridiculed because of their differences. >>The unusual coastal location of Camp Aranzazu makes it one of the most impressive camp settings in Texas. One of the unique aspects of the camp's program is the emphasis on environmental and ecological responsibility, and learning about the arts. >>During camp today we have all kinds of activities. We have archery. We have scuba. We have tile-making where the children can create part of our camp. We'll display their tiles out on our buildings. >>Each camper has a favorite activity. >>So far my son's has been archery. He's enjoyed the archery. He actually got the lessons from Billy and was able to do it all himself. And my daughter right now she's learning how to scuba dive. And she's always wanted to do that. >>Activities like scuba helps kids with special needs because, you know, it gives them an activity that they can do, and so it's something that they enjoy, they love. It's something that they can hold really close to them. >>Camp partners include Texas A&M University Center for Coastal Studies, Mid-Coast Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist, Rockport Center for the Arts, and various bird-watching organizations. >>You know, our camp is very focused on education and environmental education is one of our primary focuses. We work with a number of universities and local organizations that that's also their mission. And our purpose is that when kids come here they get a sense of what their purpose in life is and their role as a citizen. >>And they have fun while they actually learn about protecting their environment and more about the world around us, very special that way. >>So, you remember what I was telling you, these are all old sand dunes and ? >>By utilizing the facilities and programs here, campers are exposed to the environment and history of the coastal bend area. Located at the camp's highest point is the sanctuary. Here campers are encouraged to learn more about life skills and to embrace spiritual development. >>I like that it's tied into finding a spiritual place and for spiritual growth and teamwork. >>It's something else that, you know, as long as you can, I guess alter your focus in life and you bring it to another place, then I believe that things like they just seem like things, you know, you can forget about everything else while you're here. [ Music ] >>At Camp Aranzazu young people discover that their lives make a difference, and that everyone has a spiritual purpose and meaning. Facilities include modern cabins, some of which are completely barrier-free. And the counselors, staff and volunteers are specially trained to deal with children who have special needs. As a barrier-free facility, Camp Aranzazu features paved walkways for wheelchairs, fully accessible restroom facilities, and specialized equipment to enable maximum participation in water sports and other physical activities. Through their interactions with the environment, physically challenging activities, and spiritual awareness, campers gain an increased level of confidence, an enhanced self-esteem. This provides them with emotional healing, and this psychosocial healing supports them in their struggles to survive and to face their own personal challenges. >>They don?t want to leave. [Laughs] >>It's just one of the best times of their lives every time. >>And there's just a world of things that they get from the camp. >>I hope that they are able to leave here having one day where they forgot they were sick, where they get to just play and be a kid. >>If we can provide a place that they can appreciate their role in life and that there is a spiritual support, and that the difficult path is worth it, then we've done our job. >>The thing I learned from going to camp is that even though you have a problem you could still make it. Like, like where you could still do it. >>Dave: That looks like a lot of fun. >>Gene: Yeah, and where was this place when I was a kid? That's what I want to know. >>Dave: [Laughs] I don't know. I don't know. I wish we would have -- I would have had a place like that too, 'cause it sure looked like a lot of fun. >>Gene: Yep, but you know, it's not the only place. There's Candlelight Ranch near Marble Falls or in Marble Falls. They do a lot of recreational stuff with kids with disabilities. >>Dave: Well that's a little closer to our home here in Austin anyway. >>Gene: Right, right. >>Dave: They are the place that has the zip line, is that right? >>Gene: Now, we've heard a rumor that they have a zip line. They haven't invited us to try it out yet, so as far as I'm concerned it's rumor, but if they invite us out there and we'll put it on video and it'll be on our show. >>Dave: And we'll show it to you, and either that or you can look them up on their website. Give them a call yourself and see if they do actually have the so-called zip line. Give it a try and let us know how it was. >>Gene: Now, you also found a place in San Antonio, didn't you? >>Dave: That's right, just down the road, just down 35 a little ways in our neighbor in the city, San Antonio, a new place opened up, just at the beginning of 2010, called "Morgan's Wonderland," and it's a very unique amusement park. It's on 25 acres of amusement park, fun and games, and it's all accessible for people with varying disabilities, cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, and it's a very family friendly place to go. They cater to the entire family at Morgan's Wonderland, and while I haven't been, it really looks like a fun place to go. >>Gene: You know, you mentioned unique. I got to tell you about this sailing experience I had on a tall-ship. It's wheelchair accessible. You could see here this is what the tall-ship looks like, the Tenacious. >>Gene: This ship is totally accessible, and you can see they're lowering me from the crow's nest where I spent some time just taking a look around. But they really made it a point to make this ship as accessible as possible, and I just love it. Here's a view from the crow's nest up there. This is what you'd see if you got hauled up there. Here's Norm. Norm is totally blind. He's the one in the green hat. But he's way up on top and he's in the nest. He wants to know what it feels like to be up there. Here they are hauling me from the zodiacs. We use the zodiacs to get to islands or other places that we want to visit, 'cause we just can't get to dock with the Tenacious, as big as it is. And here we are at some island actually. This is the Island of Dominica, and we wanted to go up the Indian River to see what the inside of the island was like. We found some folks who took the bench seats out of the rowboats so that those of us in wheelchairs could stay in our wheelchairs and just get loaded into the rowboats, which I thought was a great idea. It worked out really well. Here's another gentleman getting lowered into a boat. Obviously, you know, no ramps around here, but often we have to improvise and adapt to make things happen. Good thing there's no lawyers around here, huh? They'd have a field day with this. But we got it done. This is our guide. He was telling us about the history of the Island of Dominica, also about the Indian River and the Antigua Island area there. This is the Indian River. My God, this is such a beautiful place. I wish I could be there now. It's just amazing. The trees are so dense there. I don't know what kinda tree this is, but I think God's a magnificent sculptor to create something like this. Here we are, we've reached our destination, and now it's time to get out of the rowboats. So, we're going to see if you can get a few folks here. And oops, there we go, oops, that's why we want to make sure we do this when there's no lawyers around. Andy's okay there. They're going to get him to where he needs to be. Alright, after we've had some fun at a local bar, we're back in the boats, and back on the Indian River rowing our way back towards the Tenacious. Better watch out for that coconut there, pal, huh? You find all kinds of things in this river. I wish I had my scuba gear to go diving here just to see what it's like here. There I am in my wheelchair with a big cushion behind my back. My back was a bit sore that day. But quite a lot to see along this river. Everyone's got to spend time on clean-up duty and watch duty, and everyone, and I mean including yours truly, had to spend time cleaning up the ship. We cleaned up every part of the ship. We spent quite a bit of time doing that. That's Duncan there cleaning up, John there, who's another gentleman here, working on cleaning up some of the ship. Here I am taking my turn at the helm. Everyone's got to take their turn at the helm, and it's a working crew, and we clean, we steer, we do watch duty. But everyone's got to take their turn working on the ship. I like to spend most of my time on the bowsprit there. Well, that's a beautiful place to sit, great views. I love it. Now, there's this story I tell about Norm, the blind gentleman. I say, "Where's Norm," and people say, "Well, he's on watch duty." And I say, "Watch duty? He's blind. He can't watch for anything." And they say, "We know. That's why he's steering the ship." Well, Norm's got a talking compass here, and he uses this [Electronic Voice] to help him steer the ship. [ Electronic Voice ] Oops, there I am either going up or down the ship, or down the gangway, I should say. It's a bit awkward. But steady as she goes, we'll make it. There's Andy at the sink. The sink goes up and down, left and right to make it as accessible as possible for good reason. That's the lee sheet there keeping me in the bunk. Whenever we hit the big waves and the ship's rocking back and forth, I need that sheet to keep me in the bunk. Oh, there's the Antigua Harbor. There you'll see the Tenacious on the lower left of center. Here's another view of the Tenacious from a different angle. Beautiful ship, isn't she? Oh, I love it. Here's Andy and I, we're pretending to be working at this capstan so we could be turning the ship on its side so people can clear off the bottom of the ship. Here's just another view of the Tenacious. And here we have yet one more view. It's a beautiful square rigger, out of England. I would encourage you to check it out. >> This is a little movie I made about a friend of my, Trevor, who is also a quadriplegic. He's living in the UK. He built this trimaran that's wheelchair accessible. Instead of traditional sails, he uses these aluminum air foils. Air foil is like an airplane wing turned on its side. With this combination of air foils he can rotate them from a computer inside the cockpit. There's handsome, I mean there's me on side of the boat. Now I'm on the back just enjoying the scenery. There's plenty of space for someone in a wheelchair to roam around on the ship. There's Trevor's friends off in the distance in that small sailboat. We had to get them into the picture, but you see there's plenty of room on the side here. Here I am kicking back, relaxing while someone else is checking out the air foils. That's Davin laying down in the blue. Davin, that's Dr. Davin now. He has his M.D. Trevor's friends again. They're taking a picture of us. Davin's tired after hauling my butt all over the UK. We traveled quite a bit on that trip mostly by car, but we did stop to check out Trevor's trimaran. Another view of the air foils here. Quite amazing bit of work. They're still experimental. Here I am talking with one of the crew, who is not in the wheelchair by the way. He just happened to find an extra wheelchair and was taking a break. Here's Davin cooking one of his specialties. I don't remember which specialty it was, but we ended up cooking it on a grill and it was quite tasty. I bet you don't see wheelchair lifts on sailboats very much, but Trevor needs one for his ship, the Adventurer; that's what he named it. You can see it cutting through the waves there. We're probably making about 8 knots at that time. And there's Trevor himself on the right. There's Trevor's mom in the back flying the UK flag, of course. Here's Trevor at the helm. Although you don't see the wheelchair, there is Trevor and there he's at the steering wheel and he has the computer controls so he can steer the ship. It's modern technology at its finest. He's protected from the weather, of course, inside there. I didn't sit on the outside though. I like being in the elements. Yep, thank you folks. We appreciate the adventure. That was great. Yep, if you don't like what you find out there, make it yourself. That was a great adventure. [ Music ] >>Dave: That has got to be one of the most ultimate recreational experiences, although I knew that you have quite a few, and you've traveled the world to see some of these. >>Gene: I have done a bit of traveling, but I think sailing is one my favorite sports. But here's another one, scuba diving. And I'm going to mention that I got my start scuba diving here in Austin with the Eels on Wheels. And this video comes courtesy of George Cummings, who makes instructional videos to let people know how to do all sorts of things. So, hats off to George Cummings and Eels on Wheels. Let's take a look at some of his scuba diving. Here's Davin pushing me down the boardwalk there to get on the boats to go out diving. The guys are lifting me into the boat here, just a small step there. And there we go, guys, good job. Alright, let's get positioned here somewhere where I won't flip over when the boat starts rolling. Sonya's going to buckle me in there, got some valuable cargo here. She wouldn't want to lose me. Aye, who could blame her? I'm a pretty good catch, huh? There she goes. She gives the okay sign, and we're ready to get moving there. Davin's helping me get my wetsuit on. It can be tough getting it on, but this one's custom made for me. They've got me on the back of the boat now, and they're going to put a weight belt on me. They're going to start by putting it around my waist, which is how most divers wear their belts, but mine tends to slip off there. So, we're going to make a slight modification on this. We're going to get another weight belt, and we're going to hook it over my shoulder to hold this weight belt, waist weight belt on me. Here we go slipping that other belt on. Course nowadays we would just use a harness made for this type of thing. But it wasn't available to me at the time so we had to improvise. And you'll find that's what a lot of folks do in my position, improvise to get the things that they need to go diving. They have me on the transom now. That's Chad in front of me in the black dive suit. They've got me comfortably on the edge there. They're going to put the BCD, the Buoyancy Compensator Device on me. It's filled with air, got my mask on, and the regulator's in my mouth. They've just nudge me forward and here I go, "plop," into the water. Davin spins me around, and here we're just letting the guys know that everything's okay and I'm just about ready to go diving. So, we'll say so long to these guys. I'm wearing ankle weights so I could float straight up and down. It's easier to clear my mask and breathe. There we go, Davin's taking me down. Look at that clear, blue water. Isn't that something, huh, beautiful sight. Other folks are down before us. Davin's taking me down slowly, checking me from time to time to make sure I'm not signaling that I need to clear my ears. If I did he would assist me with that. Oh, there's some fish there, huh? Oh, and there's a diveasaurus. I believe that's Jill waiting for us. She's going to be another dive buddy. Davin is pretty in tuned with what I would like to see, whether it be caves or swim-throughs, or just coral walls. So, he's going to take me to some of these places. He's familiar with this area. Oh, there's another great shot. Wow, look at how clear that water is. I love diving at Cayman Brac. I just love being underwater. There's nothing like diving. It's just a great experience. It's like being in a totally different world, really indescribable. You'll just have to try it yourself, see how you like it. For me I really enjoy it. I'm sure you will as well. And here we are. Here you see another shot of Jill. And of course I'm out in front, and I'm pulling them along. I'm always doing all the work. We're close to the seafloor now, just exploring some walls up. Here's a friendly little fellow that the guide master here is encouraging him to come closer so I can get a better view of him. We don?t want to touch the sea creatures actually. We're intruding on them. They're not intruding on us. So, be respectful of that, and we'll leave this little guy alone. Sometimes I like to float by myself. I can control my buoyancy to go up or down by inhaling or exhaling. However, there wasn't quite enough air in my buoyancy compensator device to allow me to float the way I wanted to. Now, Jill's going to pick me up here because she wants to protect the seafloor. And the seafloor is a living organism. We don?t want to damage it, so let's be mindful and stay off of the seafloor. When the dive is over, and it's always over too soon, they get me to the surface. They're going to take the weights off me first, and they'll take the tank and the BCD off of me last. Here I am at the surface. They're going to get me over to the back of the boat, being mindful not to hit my head on the back of the boat here. There you go. They've got me up on the back of the boat. It came in brackets. It's fairly easy to get in and out of these boats. That's why we love diving there so much. Now, they're going to carry me to my wheelchair. It's a good thing I'm a lightweight, huh? Otherwise these guys would be straining themselves. Yeah, once they get me in a wheelchair they might as well remove these goggles. I have no use for them on the boat here. Let's get rid of that strap as well. Let's wash the face off, get that salt off. Ah, that feels great. You know, communication underwater is very important. Dive buddies have to learn what each other needs to do, either to be more comfortable or to be safe underwater. I've developed a method for people to communicate underwater. It's especially important for a person like myself that can't use my hands. If you want to learn more about this method, go to my webpage www.genosplace.org, and download the story, "The Urge to Submerge". It'll explain a little bit more about that method. >>Dave: That's another thing I want to try sometime. That looked like a lot of fun. >>Gene: It really was. I got to tell you, the first half dozen times I tried it, I was pretty scared. And I was coming every time I got out of the water. Once I finally got used to it, it was great. >>Dave: Man, I can only imagine. >>Gene: Yeah, we have some more sports coming up, so please don't leave the TV set or webpage. For those of you who like skydiving, there's a place here in San Marcos that takes folks with disabilities. I've gone skydiving three times, and although I had a lot of fun doing it, I recently broke my leg in my apartment, of all places. And it was no fun, so I'm not going to recommend this sport. But here's what it looks like anyway. [ Music ] >>Gene: They're strapping my leg to the instructor's leg. Guess I'll just take it easy around landing, protect my legs somewhat. [ Music ] >>Gene: Hey look, someone pushed Tom Cruise out of the plane. >>Dave: That's not Tom Cruise. That's Antonio Banderas. [ Music ] >>Gene: Watch out for that banana peel, told you. Here I come. Somebody catch me. [ Music ] >>Alright, Gene. You made it, huh? >>Gene: Pretty good, pretty good. [ Music ] >>Oh, behave, oh, yeah, yeah, baby, yeah. [ Laughs ] [ Music ] >>Dave: Now you've got to be pretty adventurous I think to do that. >>Gene: Well, you've got to be missing a little something upstairs. And by the way, it was a good time actually. >>Dave: Speaking of missing something upstairs. I know earlier you said that nobody's ever called you bright, but I think one of the craziest things that you have ever done is bridge jumping in Africa. >>Gene: Oh, and there's a story behind this too. I had posted some of my scuba pictures on my webpage on genosplace.org, and a gentleman in South Africa saw these pictures. He emails me and says, "Well, why don?t you come down here? Not only do we have scuba diving, we have bridge swinging." He sends me this clip of some folks bridge swinging, and I said, "I have got to do that." [Laughter] So, it's hard to describe, but here's a video of me bridge swinging in South Africa. [ Background Sounds ] >>Let's jump in. Five, four, three, two, one. Woo. Yay. >>Dave: You definitely have a few marbles loose! I can't believe you would do something like that. I mean... >>Gene: Oh but here's the safety part. If that rope broke, I would have at least a foot of water to break my fall. >>Dave: A foot of water? Yeah. Well I don't think I will be trying that any time soon. >>Four, three, two, one, bungee. [ Music] >>Gene: There's a lot of sports people can do right here in the States. There's snow skiing. I learned something called a bi-ski, which is really great. Or if people just wanna just enjoy the beach, there's beach chairs, and all kinds of equipment. >>Dave: Yeah, in fact here's a picture of me from a few years ago in a beach chair just right down on Galveston Island. We went to one of the beaches down there and several of the beach shops have chairs you can actually rent for free, you can give 'em your driver's license, and then let you take out these. It was made out of PVC pipes with great, big wheels on it. And my friend wound up pushing me in this chair out into the water. It was pretty exciting, and it was a way that I could get down in the sand and down to the beach. So, and that's right down in Galveston. >>Gene: So many sports. They're really more accessible than people think. And you've got all the fresh sea air. That had to be good. It had to be a good feeling. >>Dave: Yeah, yeah, it was great. So, definitely call around. Call some of these places. Call some of the places that you've seen in this show today, and find out more about outdoor recreation, because there's so much of it out there. >>Gene: You know, you just do that internet Google thing, and you'll find whatever you're looking for. >>Dave: And if you found a place that you think we might be interested in that we've missed, 'cause there's so many out there, please shoot us an email, send us a link to the places that you've seen, and maybe we'll feature them on another show. >>Gene: Capital idea Dave. >>You know, there's plenty of things to do, though, in Texas. You know, out in west Texas you could go sail planing. My friend, John Mitchell, took me sail planing once. Here you see me on the transom of a boat getting ready to go scuba diving. There's just a lot of scuba clubs right here in Austin that can take you out to the Caribbean. Here I am underwater. I don't know where my dive buddies went. I think they just abandoned me here. But there's plenty of sights you can see underwater that you won't see anywhere else. And no, this is not Lake Travis. You can go cliff climbing. I did this in Socorro, New Mexico, but I'm sure there's places here in Texas where you can do things of this nature. You know, we talked about paragliding before, although I did it in Switzerland, there are places right here in Texas that'll be happy to take you paragliding, plenty of them within that two hour's drive of Austin as a matter of fact. So, take a look around, see what you can find. You know, they were talking a lot about recreation here. I tend to equate exercise with recreation, and if you want to see them both there's a website you should go to. It's the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability.org, ncpad.org. and why yes Dave, I did make some video blogs for them. And so it's a great place to go too, but they show you how to do all sorts of exercises. Regardless of what your disability is, you can do some exercises. There is no excuse for not exercising. And not only do we talk about exercise, but healthy eating habits as well. So, it's just a great way; we've got great programs for people with disabilities to become healthier. You know, Dave, if you like trekking you might remember a few years back in 2003 there were ten of us folks with disabilities that left Austin on a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. >>Dave: Like I said, you've traveled the world, man. You've done it all. >>Gene: You know, it was a tough trip, and it was cold. We were introduced to the culture and foods, new ways of doing things, but a lot of people are wondering, "Well, how did you get around?" Well, the way we got around is since I couldn't use my wheelchair there were just too many rocks and boulders in the way. They put me on the back of a Sherpa. A Sherpa is someone who lives in a village where all the families have the name Sherpa, and they're known for carrying heavy loads up to the top of Mount Everest. They put me in a basket called a dock. The Sherpa was careering this doko on his back. They took me in the basket, and off we went, and then every 20 minutes or so he would trade off with other Sherpa. We've got some great pictures here. This was all initiated by the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. And they've got a great website up for that too. So, if you want more information on that, look at our show summary page, we've got plenty of websites listed there where you can get more information. But that was a lot of land travel. Now, I understand you did something in the water. >>Dave: Yeah, thanks to you for calling me. Yeah, I couldn't believe that I said that I wasn't going to do anything scary on this show, and you called me one day and said, "Here's an address. I want you to meet me there at 4:00 this afternoon." So, being the daring guy that I am, sure enough I did, and here we are down on Lady Bird Lake. Let's check this video clip out. >>Gene: That's Dave's son, Denver, sitting on his lap, obviously a beautiful trail right next to the lake, just a lovely place to take a stroll. And now here's Dave getting ready to transfer to one of the kayaks. These kayaks are -- you either have one or two seats in them. Dave will be going into a two-seat kayak, so that he can - so that the person in back can actually paddle, because I think Dave is going to be too busy taking pictures to actually paddle. Well, they just about got him in there. One more lift, there you go. That got him. Got to make sure he's comfortable there. Unfortunately the kayaks don't go up very high on the back. So, I couldn't go out and kayak myself. Inside the dock is so close to the water it's so easy getting a kayak into the water. This is the Texas Rowing Club. This is where we're at here actually. There's Dave taking some video. And that's Larry behind him from Seton Brain and Spine. I notice Larry is doing all the work there. I keep waiting for Dave to paddle, but well we'll see. I'm sure that'll happen eventually. Here we go. Guy is getting ready to transfer. He's going to do that by himself. He doesn't want any help. He prefers doing it by himself, and he knows the best way to do it. So, the guys are just going to stabilize the chair a little bit there. Guy's pretty much going to transfer himself. Here you see him telling the guys, "Don?t get involved. Let me do it myself." So, he got to do the chair, getting ready to make that big leap there. And he's in. This is a single seat kayak. He has good upper body strength, so he'll be rowing by himself. And here they go putting him into the water very easy, very easy to get into the water here. And here is Mike getting ready to transfer. Mike also has some pretty good upper body strength. He's never been in a kayak before, though, so this is the first time for him. But he wants to figure out how to transfer himself. So, let's see what he comes up with. You can see Mike is a rather tall person. So, it might be a little bit more difficult for him, but there he finds a place to put the kayak. But "boom," he's in the kayak. Now he just needs to get comfortable. If you notice all the guys have life jackets on. Better to be safe than sorry. They're getting him in the water now. This is the first time for Mike, and he's just getting used to it a bit. He's just getting comfortable with it. Behind Mike you can see someone rowing skull. They have a number of those boats there at the Texas Rowing Club on Lady Bird Lake. Here we go with - Travis is going in the water now. And he's getting ready to enjoy the scenery. There's Guy just sitting back looking cool. And they're off. That's Dave on the left there. They're just enjoying Lady Bird Lake, very scenic. The water is very refreshing. And the sun can get pretty hot, but otherwise it looks like it could be comfortable way to enjoy some recreation. This right here actually is another day. But you can see people still enjoying it. Here's Dave coming back from his kayak trip with Larry right behind him. And there's Guy coming into the picture. Dave's still not paddling. I wonder why? I wonder what's going on. Do you have any parting words for us there, Dave? Anything you might want to say? >>Dave: It's been another refreshing day on the lake. We'll meet you back later, Gene. >>Gene: It looks refreshing. Alright, Dave, we'll catch you later. >>Dave: Yeah, that was a workout. Larry, you did most of the paddling but I am tired. >>Gene: Now, that had to be quite a trip. I mean, not only are you on the water. Of course you don't know if you're going to flip over sideways or not, but I imagine once you got comfortable here you come across a bunch of turtles on a log, one of which there was a huge snapping turtle. >>Dave: Yeah, this thing is huge. We had a really good time out there. I mean, it was very peaceful and calm, and you know, once I got out there I didn't really worry about tipping over as much as I did before we got out there. In fact, once I got out there I decided to put my son in the kayak with us, and he went with us. So, he really enjoyed it. He stayed in the kayak the whole time, 'til we got to the end, and then there was a little circle of rocks that he got to get out and get in the water. He stood on one of the rocks and he was not about to get in, because on our way there he saw this baby, this turtle. Check out this guy that was sitting up on a log. >>Gene: Well, now that looks like the granddaddy of all snapping turtles. >>Dave: [Laughs] Yeah, and his eyes were great big when he saw it. And I couldn't believe it. But there was turtles on a lot of the logs down there, and people jumping in the water and having a good time swimming down on Lady Bird Lake. It was great fun. >>Gene: Now, did your wife get mad at you for letting your son get that close to that monster turtle? >>Dave: No, she was not upset. It was all good. She needed -- he had a good time, and in fact we did. And special thanks to the people involved that helped us get down there. >>Gene: Yeah, that was Seton Brain and Spine. They did a wonderful job. Anyway, you'll find more information about them in our show summary. Dave, that was a lot of recreation there. Now, that was just outdoor recreation. >>Dave: That's right. >>Gene: So, you've got indoor recreation coming up on another show, and you're not going to want to miss that either. So, do we have any parting words for our audience? >>Dave: It was a great time, and please, check out our website at www.thegeneanddaveshow.com, and feel free to send us an email. Send us your feedback and let us know what you think of the show. And if you've got any show ideas, we would love to have them and go out and have some more fun, and bring it to you here on the television screen, or on your interest browser, wherever you happen to be watching us from. And we're having a great time bringing it to you. >>Gene: And we're also looking for sponsors, so keep that in mind as well. Any amount is acceptable. Dave, thanks for being my co-host. You've done a great job, and your technical skills are beyond compare so. >>Dave: Thank you. Well, it's a lot of fun, and it's great seeing you explore the world, and I'm glad I wasn't the one that had to go on the top of Mount Everest. But it's a good time. So, join us again on the Dave and Gene Show, and ? >>Gene: Dave, that's the Gene and Dave Show. >>Dave: Okay did I get that wrong again? >>Gene: We'll have to talk about this later. >>Dave: Alright well we'll talk about it, alright. >>Gene: In any event, we'll see how on the next show. >>Dave: We'll see you next time. >>Gene: So long. [ Music ] ==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ==== ==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ==== ==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ==== ==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====