GONE FISHING

We left home about 7 am this morning to head down to Port O'Connor for a day of fishing, it was a chilly 49 degrees. We put the boat in the water about 8 am and headed out across the water for our favorite fishing spot.

It was pretty breezy going across the bay, but we had put on several layers and stayed warm.
We started fishing, casting as we drifted, looking for Reds. This was our first fishing trip with our new Shimano Curado reels and we were anxious to hook our first Reds and break them in. We caught a couple of Reds and then a few that were to small to keep as we drifted. The wind seemed to be constantly changing directions and a few clouds dotted the sky. Dale landed a nice Red, a couple of small ones and I landed a pretty good Trout. We had our usual breakfast-peanut butter sandwich and banana with a hot cup of coffee, really hit the spot.

We continued to make drifts across the lake hooking some small reds, but seeing some really nice fish. Around Noon we decided to stop as we reached the bank and enjoy our picnic lunch-sandwiches, chips and a cold Coke.

We thought the tide was high enough to run into one of the other lakes, but upon trying we found that it was to shallow. We decided to try a drift across some of the spots we had fished in the morning, since we had seen some Reds.
We hooked another nice fish, when I spotted a Red tailing off in the distance. Dale polled us over to the spot but the fish had moved on. It was about that time Dale spotted a nice Red, after a couple of cast he had it hooked the biggest Red of the day. As Dale was playing the Red, I hooked a Red. Luckily we landed both fish and our day was over, we had limited out on Reds with 6 , and our 1 Trout, and it was only 1:30 pm. We headed back in, stopping along the way to
watch the oyster boats working the reefs. We stopped in Seadrift and picked up a gallon of fresh oysters, nothing like a good fried oyster. We got home, unloaded and cleaned the boat, gear, and put our large bag of fish filets in the frig.
A good day, a limit of reds and our reels were great!!!!

Turkey Day

Well "Turkey Day" has come and gone, which means Christmas is just around the corner. We spent a very nice Thanksgiving Day at my Mom's house, the food was great. Mom cooked the turkey and dressing and I made cranberry salad, sweet potatoes and a dewberry pie.
The weather has turned nasty---cold and wet, not the usual South Texas climate. We have been staying in, trying to get caught up on things, and using the computer to Xmas shop. I have been working with Natasha in Port Douglas, Australia on our wedding ceremony. She has done a fantastic job and wrote a beautiful ceremony for us. We booked Steve Brennan to take photos at our wedding, makes me feel like the rich and famous after looking at a portfolio of his work. Hope he is ready for two Texans. I have also been posting some questions about dive operators and getting some info on diving the Great Barrier Reef.
Hard to believe we head to Aruba in just a month for Xmas and New Years, boy am I ready. With the Holloway case in the news again maybe we will run into Greta or Grace, who knows!
Two weeks of sun, sands and the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean out our front door, what more could you ask for.

Lunch at The Wharf

Since our flight yesterday to the Elm Creek Fly-In was canceled because of the fog we decided to go flying today. Again this morning we were grounded for a while with fog, but we finally got off the ground about 10:30 am and decided to head to Port Aransas for lunch. We hit the coastline and flew the beach almost the whole way, spotting lots of fish. We landed and waited for the trolley to take us into town for lunch at The Wharf. No trolley today, so we called a taxi. We had a great lunch of fried shrimp and oysters with all the trimmings. We called the taxi and went back to the airport. Before we took off we met a guy that had flown down from Canada in a Vans he had built, he looked and admired Dale's plane. We finally landed about 4:30 pm and wiped the plane down and put Miss Ice Tea Too to bed for the night.

Back Home Again

Dale and I are back home after heading off in different directions this past weekend. Dale went to Arizona on his bike to the Copperstate EAA Fly-In and I headed to Fort Worth to visit my friend, Pam. It was good to get back home today.
We are heading out in the morning on a guided fishing trip, hope they are biting.

Adios Huatulco

Our trip to Huatulco and Villa Pacifico has come to an end, it is time to head home. Rebecca and Hugo have taken great care of us and we have enjoyed spending time with them. Carlos is picking us up after an early lunch for the trip to the airport for our flight. We enjoyed the drive up to Pluma Hildalgo, snorkeling at St. Augustin and La Entrega, walking around La Crucecita, and seeing old friends. The weather didn't cooperate, we had one day of rain, but it was still a great trip. October is a great time to visit, everything is green after the rainy season, the temperatures aren't terribly hot, the water is usually warm, and there aren't any crowds of crazy tourist.
We felt a small earthquake the morning we were leaving, I think Huatulco was saying goodbye.
We leave counting the days until we return, hopefully in the fall of 2008.

Last Day in Huatulco

Dawn came to Huatulco after a stormy very windy night, a few clouds dotted the sky, but the sun was shinning. Rebecca and Hugo arrived on Rebecca's scooter and prepared a light breakfast for us. We decided to try La Entrega again, since it sits in a protected cove. We packed our gear and called a taxi for the trip. We arrived to find calm water and not much of a crowd at the beach. We picked a table at one of the local restaurants. I decided to try snorkeling, got my snorkel gear and camera hoping to get some pics. Dale decided he would hold down the beach and catch up on his reading. I found the water ice cold as I entered the water, wow was it cold! It was so cold it almost took my breath away. I swam out , made my way into the cave to try and get pictures. The tide was high and the wave action made it hard to get a good shot. I swam over the reef, but didn't find anything exciting, besides I was beginning to turn blue. Swam back into shore and was eager to tell Dale how he missed the cold water. I guess the storm that had been blowing stirred up the currents and made the water so cold.
We ordered lunch, fish for both of us, I tried a margarita..............................thought it would warm me up. After lunch we just laid around the beach, read, watched all the families that had arrived and talked with some young folks from Colorado. We stayed at La Entrega until four and then grabbed a taxi---driven by a NASCAR driver I'm sure, back to the Villa.
Rebecca greeted us with some fresh guacamole and chips. Of course we had to eat again.
We had time before dinner to lay down and rest, I cleaned my camera and downloaded the photos.
Tomorrow we head home, as another trip to Huatulco comes to an end. Carlos will take us to the airport for our flight to Houston. Rebecca will prepare a light lunch before she sends us on our way, she always takes care of us. Hope the weather is good tomorrow for our flight.

Exploring Huatulco

Cloudy skies, no rain today, so we grabbed the car and took off after breakfast for a day of exploring the area. First, we headed up to Santa Maria Huatulco, then onto Pluma Hildalgo for a scenic drive into the mountains. We had a little problem finding the road, even with Rebecca's directions, but after stopping we were on our way. The paved road wound through the mountains, across a river, as we continued to climb leaving the coast off in the distance. Pluma Hildalgo was once a major trade center, and sits above 4,500 feet, and is still home to some coffee farms(fincas). Pluma Hildalgo has a well known reputation for its organic coffee. We stopped in the town zocalo to have a brief look around, went into the church, and walked to a great lookout point. We headed back down to Santa Maria Huatulco and were stopped at a roadblock by the military. We had to show proof of the car registration, they did a brief search of our backpack and little ice chest, no problem. We drove back to La Crucecita and decided to walk around town, we ran into our old friend Juan, his son in law, and grandson. As we were walking around the town square we heard the sound of a chain saw and saw several men working at cutting up a large tree that fell during last nights high wind. A few seconds later, we heard a funny sound and another huge tree fell over, nearly missing a lady selling her goods in the square









We left La Crucecita and headed to Santa Cruz, which was pretty quite with no cruiseship in town. We walked around, went to the chapel, took a few photos and left. Then we went to La Bocana, a favorite spot for the local surfers, no surfers today, the surf was to rough. Finally we headed back to the Villa, Rebecca whipped a bowl of guacamole and fixed a great margarita. We sat around the kitchen and told her about our adventures.
Rebecca fixed another wonderful meal and we decided to turn in for the night. I did manage to get some great photos of a beautiful sunset.