Sharonsknitthings

Imagine my surprise when I looked down to see this monster Mangrove snapper on the end of my line. He sure did put up a fight but with a little patience and some help from hubby John, this big beauty was flopping on the bridge. He was 18 and 1/2 inches long---the biggest one I've ever caught. My previous record was 17 inches off the bridge. We took a few pix and ate him for dinner. YUM!! I look kind of funny in the picture because the wind was blowing about 35 mph and also I was trying to tell John how to work the camera. he was pretty patient about the whole thing. He'd had some really good luck the past two days, fishing with two really expert fishermen who invited him out on their boats. Lucky John!! They like having him go though since he is very competent and catches lots of BIG fish which they can then sell. Works out well for everybody.

Here are a few scenic photos, taken on Summerland Key.

Finally, some fish pictures. John and brothers Fred and Chuck made it out fishing yesterday and caught a good sized batch of yellowtail. We had a lovely dinner last night, feasting on the fare grilled to perfection. We heard the fishing tales of the day, and of course there was that *one* that got away---a monster King Mackerel that John battled for awhile, only to have it snatched by a bull shark near the boat. That happens a lot and is very frustrating for all the fisherman in the park. Not much to do about it, though maybe a camera might be added to their equipment list?? The scenic photos were taken on Summerland Key, where Chuck and Mary and Fred and Joanna are staying. Lovely home and lots and lots of beautiful scenery.

We are settling in, though slowly. John's brother Chuck is down the road about 15 miles and needed John to help him with his boat, but didn't really tell John when, so that meant John was stuck sitting around waiting for a call. He turned down several other fishing invitations, and was disappointed that he didn't get to fish at all today, and it was the first really calm day. I was stuck waiting around too-- waiting for the cable company to call me so I could go in and pick up the cable equipment I needed to hook up to the Internet. My call came at 10:30 so away we went and halfway there his call came and of course his destination was in the other direction. It all worked out though and it's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow too, so hopefully he;ll get out there and catch some fish finally. I did play tennis today and had fun. My body is OK but a little creaky here and there as it adjusts to all this exercise. I also walked for an hour this morning so I did get my time in today. I also ate sensibly so maybe I will be able to lose a few pounds down here. I'm hoping to get some pix up tomorrow for sure.

Well it's Tuesday January 15, 2008---the official first day of our Fla Keys vacation. We had an easy trip from Ft. Meyers to Big Pine, after we got past Naples. Boy, was I 75 packed!!! Luckily John was alert and of course he's a very capable driver so we had no trouble at all. As promised here are a few bird pictures from Ding Darling nature preserve on Sanibel Island. Many thanks to Brother-in-Law Kib who is a wonderful photographer, as you can tell from the photos. There were a few more but blogger was none to happy about these, so I stopped.

We are here in Florida and it is so nice to be warm. We arrived here in Ft. Meyers on Saturday afternoon and have settled in nicely. We took a road trip to Sanibel Island today and visited Ding Darling Bird Sanctuary. Breathtaking scenery and of course lots of birds. I do have quite a few photos of various birds that I will upload as soon as we get to the Keys on Tuesday, as I do not have online access on my computer yet. I'm heading downstairs in a few to fish in the Caloosahatchee river, which runs right by this lovely home where we are staying. I'll take a photo of the river too, as it is large and lovely and really beautiful. Stay tuned!!!

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Grandson Jerome was here for 5 days at the end of 2007, and the beginning of 2008. He is such a dear little guy, and we had a lots and lots of fun adventures. Mostly we just hung out at home, and played with all of grandma's toys. They were all new to him, and he had great fun. We did venture out a couple of times, and he was fun and well behaved. He is quite the little shopper and now *knows* that grandma gets him pretty much whatever he wants. LOL Anyway here are a few of the pix I took while he was here. It was a teary goodby when we dropped him off---for both of us.

We are leaving for Fla in a couple of days, for about 5 weeks, so we're busy packing up and trying to hunt down our summer clothes. Found my tennis racquet first thing since that's what appeals to me most about Fla. We go down to a recreation vehicle park just across the 7 mile bridge in the Keys and there is a large contingent of tennis players. We've been visiting this same park in the Fla Keys for quite a few years, and many of the folks there are very good friends. Hubby John is most interested in fishing, and believe me, he fishes!!!!!!!! He's very successful too, so all the time he spends fishing really pays off with some big fish. I'll be posting some sunshine and big fish pix to this blog in just a few days. We start out in Ft. Meyers, and really enjoy a couple of days of fishing on Sanibel Island. Hubby's 3 brothers will be in the area so it's going to be busy and FUN!!!!!