Fabulous Fall Day!

An absolute beautiful November, Fall day out on the water at Port O'Connor........a little cool running across the bay early this morning, but soon the sun was shining and warming us up. The sky was a vibrant shade of blue with only a few puffy clouds. We could see shrimp boats pulling their nets on the horizon, while the sound of duck hunters and air-boats broke the early morning silence. We drifted across the shallow water....fishing was slow!  I caught the first nice Red, and Dale got the second nice 24 inch Red........in between we caught small Reds and a few Trout. We ended our trip by heading to Cathy's for a late seafood lunch....then it was home to wash the boat.

The Red Baron!

Clear skies, and cool temperatures made for a smooth, easy flight to Brenham for lunch.  We landed just before 11 am and waited for the Southern Flyer Diner to open.
On the way Dale took my camera and got a photo of me with my "Red Baron" scarf around my neck......heck, it keeps the drafty cool air off the back of my neck when it is cold outside.  Think it was about 53 degrees outside at 4,000 ft!  We grabbed a table and ordered.....Dale enjoyed a $100 hamburger (pilot's joke) and I had the chicken strips as we listened to some oldies on the jukebox.  We split a big yummy piece of Coconut Cream Pie for dessert!  Taking off we headed to Moulton to take a look at this year's Corn Maze.  It was beautiful as usual, the theme this year was "A Maze ing Grace"!  Dale flew the plane while I took photos at different altitudes.....trying to get a great photo!  Photos done...we headed to the hangar at VCT! 
A great day in the air!

Cayman Time With Friends!

We flew to Grand Cayman to join Dennis, Tamara, Meg, Kevin, Mike and Leslie for a week of  diving at Ocean Frontiers.  Landing, we picked up our car, before heading to the grocery, and driving out to the East End.  Dinner that night was at Eagle Ray's.  Up early the next morning to calm seas, no wind, and a beautiful day we boarded Ocean Hawk for a week of diving.  It was good to see all the staff and get the first two dives out of the way.

Later in the week the weather turned rainy, the wind blew a couple of days and it was rough, but the diving went on!  We saw turtles, sharks, lots of lobster, crabs, a couple of eels, and lots of lettuce leaf slugs.  The dive masters worked hard to dive some of the sites I needed for my Green Shorts Challenge.  By the end of the week I had added 12 dives in my logbook!

On one wall dive Mike had a up close and personal experience with three sharks at about 100 feet as we all watched....it was awesome!  I think they might have been looking for a lion fish hand-out!
Of course Chef Dennis had us over two nights for dinner, and as usual his food was wonderful.  Dennis and Tamara are the ultimate host!! We also enjoyed meeting Tamara's friend, Nancy.  We spent our afternoons hanging around the pool and hot tub together.
Dale, Tamara, Nancy, and I booked a snorkel trip and had a great afternoon with three snorkel stops.  We saw a wrecked sailboat, a big Eagle Ray, and lots of fish. On Friday we went to Starfish Beach to check out all the starfish and then to Rum Point for a swim and relaxation.
Leslie and Mike and Meg and Kevin joined us at Kurt's Corner for dinner one night and the food was very good.  I had a very spicy bite of Key Lime Pie......which proved to be very funny!  On our last night we ate together at Eagle Ray's and watched the videos the guys had taken....especially the shark video!

It was so good to share a week of diving with our friends and hope to dive with them again in the future.

Getting Our Fix!

We met at 7am and off to Port A we went....wanted to get in a full day at the beach...crazy I know!  We stopped in Rockport for a bakery treat and then it was off to Port A.  We bought fresh shrimp off the boat to take home, checked out the beach, and drove to the jetties to watch the fishermen.  Then when the shops opened we shopped...looking for end of summer sale items.  We did manage to get matching hats...looked really cute.  Our favorite restaurant was closed, so we had lunch at Castaways....enjoying some delicious kale and sausage soup before our shrimp.  It was then time to rent a beach cart for some beach time....the water was warm and the waves washed away our stress!  Karen napped and I took a long walk!!!  We cruised around one more time before stopping for a yummy gelato.  To soon we were back on the ferry line and headed back home.  Our beach addiction satisfied!!!

Sacked 'em Up!

Up at 4:15 am and at the dock at 6 am with lighting flashing across the morning sky....but as the sun began to peak above the horizon...off we went. The wind was blowing, and the air was cool. We started our drift, casting our gold spoons into the water......with the clouds and not much sun it was impossible to see any fish moving. Dale hooked the first fish of the day and it put up a good fight before being netted. It was slow going after that with only one more fish on the boat....so we moved and fished another spot. 

Well the action picked up and by 12:30 pm with a picnic lunch break we had our legal limit......6 nice reds! In addition to the 6.....we caught a boat load of 17 inch little fellows......illegal but would be finger licking good....so back in the bay to grow bigger. It was a great day! Home now and boat already cleaned up....Hooray!

Happy Birthday Karen!!!!

Dale and I were invited to celebrate my friend, Karen's 65th birthday at Greek 205 bar on Friday.  We arrived to find a lot of old friends.  It was great catching up with folks I hadn't seen in some time. Karen was her usual crazy self and was having a ball  as the center of attention.  It was great celebrating this milestone with her family and friends.
                                                      Happy Birthday Karen!

Red Fish Tailing!

The sun peaked above the horizon  as we made our way to our fishing spot...the water like glass.  Dale spotted a nice red tailing near a duck pond and poled me closer and closer, the first cast failed.....but with the second cast the red hit the gold spoon and immediately started splashing in an effort to get free.  Soon he was in the ice chest.....doesn't get any better.

Our luck was brief, as the next four fish we caught were small, so we had to release them to grow bigger.  As fishing slowed, we crossed the bay, making a stop at the Army Hole and then into the back lakes where Dale caught a nice fish.

Lunch was cold fried chicken, potato salad, fruit and ice tea on the deck of the boat.
We checked out a few other spots, but no luck!  Back home to wash the boat, clean up the gear.