POST-VACATION catch-up

by Robin

Oh boy!! Am I far behind in blogging!   We took a week of vacation, then jumped immediately into school two days later.  From there, we went into our 3-day open Red Snapper Season and then back-to-school colds, lobster diving and so on.....

So, here it goes.  Trying to put it into some order, although slightly imperfect order.... with little commentary between pics.

We arrived 8/11/13 to Crystal River, staying at the Plantation Inn.  Our first destination after settling in our rooms was to head for Three Sister Springs.

M & E


E's parents, who joined us the first 3 days of vacation.



Underwater view of a fallen tree in the springs.



Lil' M warming up on the side of the Springs.  Thankfully, we didn't see a water moccasin until we were on the other side of the springs.
 

Next, we had a birthday party for my son. His sweetie homemade this delicious strawberry cake for him.



This was the first sunset, Sunday night. So peaceful. I did get up at 3 am to look for the meteor shower that was suppose to happen. Somebody lied.
 

Next day, we scalloped! Jack... in one of the more grassier areas.  I think we didn't like this stop.



We hit our limit of 10 gallons of scallops for our boat.



Then, exhaustion set in and we needed a pool day.

We also needed to address the ever-growing smell issue we had in our room. Somebody must have cleaned scallops right on the carpet floors, so we were kindly moved into a golfing villa.

The dogs really appreciated the upgrade. It's their vacation too. Who wouldn't want 18 holes of greenery to pee & poop on.
 

That night, we went out to eat. Last night with our friends, so we ate at Crackers. Jack had blackened shrimp on a taco salad.  I had the same but with scallops.



We took some pictures hoping to make Senior Pictures out of them.  Not bad.




 We had a beautiful sunset both evenings and bonus rainbows.
 

The 4th morning, we had breakfast with them, said our good-byes and then headed back offshore to make quick

work of scalloping.

 

 Top bag of the day.

Got our limit, again.
 

Another beautiful night.

 

Thursday morning, Jack and I woke up early and followed all the tour boats out, hoping to find manatees. We did find them but then other tour boats would cut in front of us. The one big opportunity I had to jump in and swim over to a mom and calf, I found myself paralyzed by fear. I jumped in. Looked twice under the water. I had 3 ft visibility, green surrounding me, didn't know my depth, didn't know what all predators would be around (i.e. gators). I swam right back onto the swim platform. But, I do have this lovely photo to prove that I tried.

 

We went back to the room, had breakfast, grabbed the boys and went back out for scalloping the final day because weather was moving in Friday & Saturday.
 

Family success!! Got our limit again!
 

So, that was the bulk of the pictures that were already downsized. Here are 3 videos in no particular order. I took the first one of the young mangrove snapper. My eldest took the other 2 videos of himself.

 
Mangrove Snapper on Rock from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

Big M Scalloping from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

DSCN0499BigMSuccessScallop from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

Short Clip of grabbing a scallop from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

God bless and Happy Fishing!!
Robin

NOW WE'RE COOKING WITH PEANUT OIL!!

by Robin

I've been working towards two goals this week.  Trying to make certain that all my ducks are in a row for school starting the week after vacation AND trying to get on vacation.  Not an easy feat, nor one I will do again to myself any time soon.  That was a little too much put into one month!

Anyhow, here are just a few of the things I did to check off some things on the list to get out the door.

* shop in bulk for snacks and drinks
* dremmel dog toenails and give them flea meds
* hair cuts for all, pedicure for me, color hair (because there is nothing worse than seeing gray roots in all my pictures!
* laundry, dishes, yard cutting, ironing, more laundry
* packing suit cases (Technically, the boys did their own.)
* make sure pool chemicals are right & pool treated before we go
* have various critter sitters lined up, folks to watch house, take in mail, etc.
* clear off all cameras, charge all rechargeables, find cords to charge things
* make more lists
* gather together salt, pepper, dish towels, soaps, meds, shampoos, griddle, blender, etc.
* get papers to the printing services for Civics class, buy books, give books to friends, etc.
* more laundry, pack bathing suits, sunblock, bug spray, first aid
* sort snorkel gear and make sure everyone has their individual grab bags marked & ready to load on boat
* garbage out!

And so the list goes....    Jack has his own lists pertaining to boat, truck, tires, engines, batteries, coolers, ice, etc.

BUT, here is a going away picture I leave you with.

I'm so in love with this area.



Happy Scalloping,
Robin

by Robin

In a few days, I'm going to be paddling my way through this inlet to get to Three Sister Springs.




There is nothing like being in freezing spring water and looking down 30 ft at the opening.




Then, diving down to it and feeling the pressure in your ears squeeze your brains.  LOL.



There is nothing like it.

Boy, am I thankful that I bought an underwater camera.  Oh, that reminds me....  today, I need to clear off all the cameras & bloggie and charge up all the batteries.

Happy Snorkeling!
Robin

DOGS!

by Robin

 

I can't forget they need their own towels & battery-powered AC.  C'mon... they're lap dogs on vacation.  LOL.

INVENTORY AND CHORES DAY!

by Robin

We're down to crunch time and making final purchases before we head off on vacation.

This is certainly not everything but we're tackling
- snorkeling gear
- running boat & refill oil
- tire condition & pressure

(Who remembers last year's trip??  God blessed us with tires that made it back and then revealed they were shredding & losing air.  A miracle for certain!)




- grease wheel bearings
- shop for cases of water, soda, chips, canned fruit





Hotel reservations are confirmed and we put in our order for a certain room with good access to water & dog accommodations.  Dogs love vacations too.




Of course, we need plenty of coolers for these gems.



We also bought a shop-vac to vacuum all the guts out and leave the meat for easy removal.

It won't be long now!
Happy Scalloping
Robin

Happy Birthday Son!!

by Robin




We're definitely on a birthday roll.  And we're not done yet!!

God bless this young man who has such a heart for God.  Love him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to CAPTAIN JACK!!!

by Robin

Yes, my sweetie is another year old but like cheese or wine, he's getting finer with each year.

Love,
First Mate,
Robin

LIVE WEBCAM!!

by Robin

Look at what I found!  The Plantation at Crystal River has a live web-cam on top of their restaurant!!!!


http://www.plantationoncrystalriver.com/live-web-cam.htm









I absolutely can't wait to get to vacation.  Can you tell?

On another topic, we ate the last of our frozen vermillion snapper. It's time to go fishing again. Below is a picture taken from one of our spring fishing trips.  Couldn't buy a mahi bite on the troll so we bottom dropped and picked up something for the freezer.

Must. get. more. fish!  Of course, with these daily massive fronts moving through w/ lots of lightening, it makes me want to stay in my house.



Happy Fishing,
Robin

6.4 MILES!!

by Robin

Jack and I did it!  We walked 6.4 miles over the local bridge today.  It is 1.6 miles each round trip and we did it 4x.



We began at 2:10 and finished at 4:10.  We knew the afternoon storms were going to come early before we could do a night walk, so we planned to go early.  It was awful when the sun was out fully.  But, whenever I could take it any more, I prayed and asked God for a cloud.  Really, it was joking but it felt more than coincidental that God continuously answered my prayer over and over again with shade.

We had water at the half-way mark but oh... it gave me some cramps to fight through.  Almost wished I wasn't so thirsty.

Before we knew it, we were done.  We got in the car to drive home and rain started dripping down.  Jack laughed saying that it was like God was hearing my every prayer.  (Should have prayed for a million bucks!)

We took a swim in the pool to loosen our muscles.  It started sprinkling again.  We decided to celebrate as a family with a little Mexican food.  After our meal, we were driving home and a massive dark front began to cover our car.  I couldn't wait to get to cover.  It poured & lightening for a short while.

When we thought it had all cleared, our son went to take the dogs potty.  He was telling us how beautiful & orange the sky was.  Many of my friends posted it up on FB, including pics with rainbows.  Gorgeous.

Here is my own photo of our orange-pink sky.  It was on fire and yet we were still covered in clouds.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  It was like watching the world with orange-shaded sunglasses on.




What a magnificent day!  I love Sundays!  I love my walks with my hubby.  I love feeling stronger and healthier.

On a separate note, only 20 more days until we go on our scalloping vacation.  Can't wait!

Robin

5 Miles!!!

by Robin

We officially made it 3 times back and forth over the bridge completing 4.8 miles and then cooled down for a full 5 mile walk!!

Tonight, we were suppose to do it again but the evening thunderstorms have been ruining our walks (or cutting them short).  Tomorrow, we are shooting for 5 miles again.

You know, you have to be very fit to scallop all week.  I'm also working during the week with my upper body strengthening.  Heaven knows that going in and out of the boat all week will certainly tire me out.

Happy Fishing if you can get offshore.  I have heard of some cobia being caught in our area.  And there are more talks of Red Snapper opening up for Aug 23-25th, but that is still being debated.

EXERCISING - FLORIDA STYLE

by Robin

Sometimes I just can't believe that I live in a state where people dream about vacationing.  I am so blessed to be here  EVERY day.  I've lived in snow, in very hilly area and now Florida for 11 years.

Recently, Jack and I began exercising together.  This is my route.  Other than walking the beach, it doesn't get much prettier than this.



And the breeze is amazing even after a long hot day.  Each direction is .8 miles and so we're committing to 1.6 miles every single time we go over.  We have been walking it twice, but are very close to making 3 passes back-n-forth.  The sunsets are amazing too.

The other day, we were parking for our walk and saw a handful of these guys doing stunts in front of their GoPro camera.  I snagged a couple pictures.




I would love to try this once to see if I can do it (of course, staying on the water!).  It looks like so much fun.

God bless & Happy Fishing.
Robin

WE'RE BOOKED!!!

by Robin

We found a new location to be our base while we scallop in August.

http://www.plantationoncrystalriver.com/

I think our room will be in the building to the top-right of the pool.  We can park the boat right in front of our room.  It's going to be a fantastic vacation.



And at night, we can relax our sore muscles in this gorgeous pool.



Well, that's a sneak preview of our upcoming trip.  Also, we are invited some new friends with us.  They will join us a couple of the days.

We are praying for good weather and NO HURRICANES!!!

Happy Fishing,
Robin

4th of JULY FOOD!

by Robin

 We had some wonderful food around our house for 4th of July. I only spent $40 on seafood and fed the 4 of us two different meals that would have cost us well over $100 in a restaurant. For lunch, we fried up some oysters that were already shucked for $14.99/ pt container. There were 2 plates full and so we loaded up our sandwiches. The guys added cheese to theirs. We had tomatoes, onion, homemade dressing and ate like Kings (& 1 Queen).

 

Very filling lunch for us as we did a small list of honey-do's. Then, in the late afternoon, my youngest and I knocked out the other couple dishes for dinner.

 We seared the outside of a small marinated (overnight) pork loin that had a dry rub on it all day. After it was seared, we added a little bit of Diet C*ke into a double-tin foil wrapping and put it into the oven at 225 for 2 hrs. It slowly cooked all by itself. We let it rest for maybe another hour before dinner was served.  This was the end result.  Very moist and tender.


 

 These thinly sliced pieces made into more hoagies for those that were still hungry after the seafood. Oh... back to seafood. Right.

 

 Boiled some already de-headed shrimp for a couple minutes. Seriously, shrimp do not take long so don't overcook them. We put them on ice immediately and into the frig they went. We prepared a homemade dipping sauce of ketchup, horseradish (hot) and lime juice. Yum!  (If you're keeping up with the costs, I think these were $13.99/lb.  I bought 1 lb.  Normally, I can get a better deal on this, but the day before a holiday, it just didn't fall into place for me.)

 

 Then, I steamed the clams until they opened up. Middle-necks are only $4.99 for a dozen and so I bought 2 dozen. Our local guys always give us a handful more in case some do not open up.

Never eat a clam that is open BEFORE you cook it (dead) or is CLOSE after you steam or grill it. Something is wrong with it.

 We made a Smart Balance, hot sauce, lemon juice broth to drizzle over the clams. Yummy, but I don't eat much of this. The oils in the smart balance can sometimes gives me reflux issues... Oh, but it is so good.

Now, that is our meal. Of course, we top it off with good veggie sides and usually a pie. This year, I got slack and made the pie 5 days later. ha ha.

God bless & Happy Fishing. Our water was blown up again last week and THIS week, we get Tropical Storm Chantel to stir up the waters.

Robin

STING RAYS

by Robin

One day, our family went offshore fishing for mahi and vermillion snapper.  We trolled and trolled without success.  We did come home with a bunch of "beeliners" as they are nicknamed.  So much fun!

But, best treat of all was to come across this school of Sting Rays about mid-way home.

I have video of them from above and below the water.  I am SO THANKFUL I actually remembered to take my underwater camera.  I rarely do that.

Here they are.
ABOVE WATER

School of Sting Rays from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

UNDERWATER
(I was not swimming with them. I merely held the camera under the water at the back of the boat.)

Underwater view of sting rays from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

BOOKED IT!!

by Robin

We booked our scalloping vacation. 

We've gotten bigger. (taking friends)
We've gotten bolder. (booking a week)
We've gotten better. (going to the Plantation instead of Days Inn)

We are so EXCITED!!!! 


We have not been fishing much. We went out a couple weeks ago but got skunked for tripletail.  Saw many cool things like dolphin & sharks but not edible fish.  I haven't blogged any of it, but maybe I should make that my goal.

For now, we wish you a wonderful 4th of July week.

 

FISHING VACATION WEEK!!

by Robin


Yipee!!  This is our 2nd try at having a fishing vacation.  A couple weeks ago, Jack was off work and we thought we'd try the new engine while tripletail or cobia hunting.

As we came up to plane, a buzzer went off.  We tried a couple different things but the best thing we did was take her over to Mullis Marine (Mercury repair center).  Dana was able to diagnose our sensor issue and it was a cheap repair, thankfully. 

So, this week, we'll be going offshore again to try the engine and hopefully catch some fish. 

While we were on the last vacation, we also were very blessed to take care of some other business.  Our beater Suburban was stressing over hauling the boat and so we traded 'Snowball' in for a new-to-us Silverado.  LOVE IT!! 

We are very excited to have this new addition for when we travel with the  boat.  And we'll be very excited when we haul the boat back over to Crystal River for scallops in late summer, too.

Happy  Fishing!

ENGINE #3

by Robin

FYI - Jack and I did get offshore fishing FINALLY.  We picked up some chocolate chip porgies and while working north on the ridge, our Opti-Max blew out the engine again.  Something about that sweet #6 connecting rod / cylinder was all dried out & missing the needle bearings. 

So, we bought a refurbished engine and Jack put it 95% on this past weekend.  It would have been 100% but he had the wrong o-rings for something. 

We'll be fishing again soon.  The cobia have arrived to Port Canaveral, although, the cold weather has come back too.

God bless.  Happy Easter.  See you after the break.
Robin