The temperature finally hit 90 degrees here in sunny Florida. That can only mean one thing; it's time for the last of us snowbirds to begin our migration North. We spent the winter in Crystal River again and really enjoyed our stay here. We made a few new friends, had a great time renewing old friendships and spend a fair amount of time (it was kind of a cold winter) exploring the Gulf coast with our kayaks. Early in the winter, produced great fishing days and Sheila and I are getting more proficient at kayak fishing. This week Sheila caught the biggest fish of the year, a nice 17 inch sea trout that she had a ball catching. As we make preps to head North we can't help but reflect on the good times we had this year.
Kelsey made three trips to Florida (Lynn came with her twice) and we had a ball showing her some of Florida. One of my highlights of this years stay was watching Kelsey kayak with the manatees. She looked scared to death but was a real trooper and paddled with the best of them. We also finally went swimming with Lynn and Kelsey at a local spring. It was cold (72) but the water was crystal clear and I'm glad we finally got around to doing it.
Dustin and MJ also made the trip this year and we really enjoyed visiting with them. Dustin and I tried our luck with a local fishing guide but were totally shut out. We did okay when we rented our own boat and got to spend some time on the Homosassa River.
Ron and Nancy made the trek down to Florida a few weeks ago and we really enjoyed their company. Ron and I did a lot of kayak fishing and enjoyed pretty fair success. We didn't catch many big fish but we (mostly Ron) caught a lot of different kinds if fish (trout, catfish, bluefish, rays and something we couldn't identify).
We are taking off Monday and beginning the voyage home. First we stopping at Mexico Beach where our good friends John and Rosie will continue with our fishing lessons. We hope to catch sharks and pompano and are really looking forward to the trip. (Hope the oil spill doesn't wipe out the beaches)
After Mexico Beach we plan on exploring Destin Florida and then heading to Mammoth Caves, Kentucky.
After playing in caves we are heading to Shipshewanna to pig out on the great Amish cooing and restock my peanut butter supply. (yes Amish peanut butter is absolutely the best) After Shipshewanna it's on to Hastings Michigan where I plan on giving Krout golf lessons. Spending a day golfing with Krout is about as good as it gets (unless of course he should win) so I'm really looking forward to that stop. The next stop will be good old Monroe Michigan. We plan on spending about a month in Monroe while we visit old friends. It's always fun to meet up with friends from work and catch up on what's happening. From there we're off to Erie to visit with family and friends.
Looking forward to seeing our northern friends in a few weeks. GO WINGS!!!
We had a GREAT time in Crystal River! We believe it was because of fine people who were our hosts! It may have been the end of the Manatee season, but we loved what we did, what we saw, what we ate, and plan on "bugging" on down that a'way next April. THANKS 4 all!
ReplyDeleteWe had fun too! I can't wait till you both get back up here. I am looking forward to another fun summer of camping and spending time with you before you head back south again.
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