FLORIDA FISHING 2011 WILL SOON BE HERE

Won't be long until we head for Florida again for Florida Fishing 2011. We have assigned seats on the various airplanes we will fly, and a rental car is waiting for us. This year brings a new route, as we will be flying from Columbus to Washington D.C. to Tampa; and then Tampa to Cleveland to Columbus.

Well, we made it home, sort of. Jordan and Lane are home. Luke and Zach will make it home Saturday. And I might make it home Sunday. We are all anxious to go around our respective houses and touch our stuff.

Trip back was uneventful. Well, except for the dead battery when we went to pick up our car. But that was quickly remedied, so no big deal.

We are already talking about what we will do next year and we haven't even gotten the fish smell off our shoes from this year. Minor things, but as the boys get older, more things occur to them that might make the trip even better. Spending this exclusive time with them, 24/7 really helps me see the transition from boys to older boys to young men. Their parents have taught them well about respect and obedience so we never have any big issues.

So, unless I think of something or the boys come up with something, this is it for Florida Fishing 2010. I'm not sure what to do with this blog now. The boys will probably know. They always have an answer for every thing.

I could do an ad for Mastercard or Visa.

Airpland tickets: a few dollars.

Rental Car: a few dollars.

Fishing trip with grandsons: PRICELESS.

Today was our big day of fishing, and we did our charter trip out into the Gulf. We had to be at the dock and board with Captain Sam and First Mate Matt at 8:00 a.m. We made it and shoved off on time. Waves were'nt too big and everyone felt fine for the entire trip.

Everything was pretty much as usual. We caught some grouper, which were'nt big enough to keep. They have to be about 24 inches I think. That means they are hard to pull in. One of us caught one that was an inch too short. Bummer.

Then we hit the Bonitas. (sp) They fight. Below you will see some pictures. Everyone caught more than one. It took at least 5 minutes to pull them in. I guess we caught 8 by the time we pulled anchor. They are not good eating, so we throw them back. But they fight like crazy. I have some good movies and will try to put one of them on a separate facebook entry.

Luke decided that a picture of him before he gets home would be OK. He was thinking maybe his dad wouldn't see it. I think he wanted a picture of himself with one of those big fish, and you can't miss his haircut.

We will be eating large tonight. Fish, french fries, and pop. And we have just the right amount. None will be left over.

We head home tomorrow morning, and if we have wifi at the airports, you may see another blog before we get back to Buckhannon.

Can't quit saying it: Life is Good.

P.S. I'm inexperienced at creating blogs. Intended for more pics here and to be placed more systematically, but look on fb for more.

Well, Zach has lost a little interest in this blog, so now it's up to me from here on out, I guess. Although there is only one full day left. Then back toward WV on Tuesday morning.

Between fishing, watching movies, and the fact that it is a little inconvenient to go over to Starbucks or McDonalds every time we want to update, the blog hasn't gotten much attention. The highlight of yesterday was Luke's haircut. I have a picture, but Luke wants to wait and have his Dad see it in person, rather than a picture. It is a cool cut.

We left the house at 6 p.m. tonight to go fishing. By the time we got to our new spot on Manatee, it was pouring down rain. We waited about 20 minutes, with not much letup, and then it began to lightning. Everyone but Luke thought we should not go out on an open dock with lightning, I mean fishing rods in our hands. Actually Lane may have been on Luke's side. So we went and rented another movie. Have to get up early tomorrow for 8 a.m. appointment with Captain Sam, so the movie has already started.

We are still having fun.

While Zach is still sleeping, I will grab the blog controller. As you can tell from what he has written, we are having our usual great time. We even found a new place to fish. Out on the Manatee causeway. Nice dock, shade and restrooms at the dock, as well as a water fountain. I'm glad they like that place. They, of course, like it because they usually catch fish there. When the boys are up and around, we will go to Cortez Kitchen for breakfast and then next door for a Luke haircut. I'm sure Zach will blog more later.

We had a great day of fishing today. We decided to get up a little early and go the Palma Sola pier again. We fished there while Papa caught a plethora of baitfish to use. He technically always catches the most fish. I caught a catfish and Luke caught a giant dead crab (as shown above). We decided to head over and check out a fishing spot that we could see from the Palma Sola pier. After exploring we decided to come back after a lunch. Papa made some of his famous mac & cheese we played some Frisbee Golf and Super Mario World 2 on the Wii. Then we headed back to the place we had just explored. After just a few minutes Luke caught the biggest catfish yet. Quote: "I caught the biggest fish and I'm the best at fishing". Nice. After Papa caught a million more baitfish we headed over to the seawall. we fished there for a while, but catch anything. (Except Papa, who caught a whole bunch of baitfish again). Then we headed home, took showers and went to get groceries and a movie. We stopped at Starbucks, where I am right now, to update the blog. We plan to head home, watch a movie and eat Papa's famous bacon, egg and chesse biscuits. We plan for another great day tomorrow.

We're here! Our flight came in yesterday araund noon. We came home chilled out and set up the Wii, which is going to be a blast. Then we decided to head out to Five Guys Burgers and Fries to eat lunch. Incredible. There's a good chance we'll head back there. Then we went to Walmart and bought some fishing supplies and groceries. Then we came home and decided to go fishing. So we headed out to the dock on Palma Sola. Papa caught some baitfish and we started fishing. I caught the first fish, a catfish, followed by Jordan with another catfish. Then we headed home, watched X-Men Origins Wolverine and went to bed.