WHAT'S UP AHEAD???

by Robin

Ok, so Jack liked the picture but said it made him look like he was memorialized.  I think that's a compliment.  AND, btw, he shaved off his beard today.  My sink is full of whiskers. Nice sweetheart.

So... I'm looking back on last week's photos.  Still got to do a live well update too.




So, I'm just taking photos of birds heading to the island for the night.  I thought a nice picture of the boat coming through the channel markers would be nice.




But, then the birds caught my attention.




Then, splashing.



And more splashing...



What is that??



Sharks??



No silly, they are dolphin.  A good many of them in double pods.  I do feel like there were 2 girls at least in estrus.  Many males were chasing them down.  I think this one has a baby still by her side.





Whew, that was a close call!

Happy Fishing,

Robin

INDESCRIBABLE GIFT

Photo by Robin

This man works tirelessly at a thankless job and still puts in full-time work here at the house with honey-do's and boat projects.  I am so thankful for him loving and providing for us.

I'm also excited that next weekend, he's got a 4-day weekend pass to hang with me!  Hello concert and fishing!!

LIVEWELL INSPECTION (Sunset & dolphin!)

by Robin

Jack and I splashed the boat after church to see if all Jack's new holes in the boat were sealed well and if clamps were clamped down well enough.

We kept him on the trailer while he filled the livewell and did some inspections in the bilge and around the hoses.  Everything went very smoothly and there will be pictures showing all that tomorrow.

However, since we were at the docks for inspection, and since we had to test the shrimp to see if they would drown or survive the new pump, we set out for Haulover Canal.



We actually went east of it and up the Intracoastal to find some less crowded waters.  We made several drifts to check for flounder.  Honestly, the only thing that were interesting were the dolphin and birds.

There were 2 pods of dolphin.  I think both of them had a female in estrus and the boys were harassing them.  I will make another blog with interesting dolphin photos but for now, I have to share my favorite of them all.



This is a happy boy. I guess he was showing off for the little lady.


So, then we headed back in as the sun was getting very low.

I stayed down in the cuddy for we were totally unprepared for such nippy wind.  Temps were dropping fast.



However, the sunset did not disappoint at any phase of its setting.

The skies were marvelously painted with every single color you could think of.  We even saw a partial rainbow before we got to this stage.



And then we came up on the docks and I had to capture a few pictures that included the sunset with my favorite walking bridge.



Well, more later.  Wanted to share the cream of the crop with you!!

Robin

CHANGES at PORT CANAVERAL

by Robin

Let's take a virtual tour of the new  Port Canaveral changes.  I already showed the new recreational boat docks in an earlier blog, but here are the changes down George King Blvd and Flounder St.

Ok, pretend we're coming out of Jetty Park, headed back to A1A/ Beachline Hwy (528).

First thing you will notice is the new cruise ship terminal.

Here is the opening to the Terminal Parking deck.  The cruise ship is behind it.

(Above) From here, we turn right down Flounder St. You'll see the parking deck from the other angle.   Nice drop-off area here.



Past the parking deck is the check-in area.



Above is a different angle of the same building.

Below is the left side (inlet side) of the terminal.  You can see the Ron Jon booth and probably some other time-share booth.

You can see down the side of the large cruise ship here. This is Explorer of the Seas' new home.  This all used to be the former recreational boat docks and parking lot.



Ok, at this point, we have to turn 90 deg left and pass Grills on the right.   We have a new shark now and a new title of "World Famous" shark kabobs.   Ok??   I didn't know that all the times we have been here.



Grills added a new front to their building.  There used to be a gazebo here.  That's gone. It is super beautiful inside.  Love the look of the sports fishing bar with great mahi wood carving.



If you were to look back to get a size comparison, this is the perfect shot.  That boat dwarfs the restaurant.

If you look to your left, you will see the new bait/tourist shop. They have a great fish tank in there and plenty of fiberglass fish. Lots of little gifts you can get before returning home. This used to be the former home of the motorcycle parking and some parking.  Sometimes a boat would sit on the corner.

 


This is where the old bait shop was and it was torn down this week.



Ok, so we're past Milliken's Reef, which hasn't had changes and we turn down past Bluepoints Marina and Cape Marina, this is just a shot I took from the docks and fishing area under the bridge.



If you go over the bridge to Cruise Terminal A, north side of the inlet, you will see a great view of all the restaurants, marinas and cruise ship.




On the north side, there are usually Carnival and Disney lines in there.  Maybe even Royal Caribbean.  There were 3 in there today, plus a 4th in this picture.

How would you like to play on this??




If you don't like this, some have rock climbing!!



Ok, here, we've done a 180 from the northern terminals and heading back towards Hwy 528.  This is the bridge that overlooks the locks and Banana River.



This is not the same road (below) but this was taken from the road that heads out to the locks.  Nice little fishing holes.



And you might even see some mysterious old boats left out there.




Hope you enjoyed my tour!
Happy Fishing,
Robin

OLD LIVE WELL OUT!!!

by Robin


Yep, it's out.  And so is my chair.



And the new hoses are in.   I believe he even got the side put back together.


Possibly tomorrow is the installation of the new live well.  Jack tells me that I will have a newly welded chair sometime this week.  Mine will eventually look just like his chair- - one solid, long pole.



More pictures to come as it comes together.  Maybe some before and afters too.

Happy Fishing,

Robin

LIVE WELL - completed

by Robin


Top is completed!



Drain plug and one of the tabs to secure it to the deck.



In (higher to make bubble) and Out flow fittings.



Next step will be getting it installed onto the boat.  We are going to do some re configurations up there.

Happy Fishing!
Robin

WINTER PROJECT - LIVE WELL

by Robin

Ok, what else can you do when your foot/ankle is swollen & healing??

Sit and build something, you say??

Why, yes, you would be correct!!



Jack decided to solve our bait-dying issue by building a new live well from scratch.  Our other one swirls the bait around until they drown, which isn't good.  Plus, it was only about  9-13 gallons big.  This new one was constructed from a 30 gallon barrel with the top off.  Probably still is approx 25 gallons in size.  He put in proper tubing fixture today and metal pieces to hold it onto the boat deck.



Here, he is adding a nice piece that will hold the dip net.  Super feature considering how I lose my keys at home on a daily basis.  Best to have something handy so I don't lose the dip net too.




He has this awesome top he built too.    He put sealant around the top too to prevent water from escaping the sides.  I will keep you updated as we go.


Happy Bait, Happy Fisherman, More Fish!

 Robin

WHITE AND BROWN IBIS in FRONT YARD

by Robin

Posted up in sequence of events.  This happened when I pulled in the driveway with my new baby chicks.  How ironic that I had more than a dozen ibis in the front yard too.

Not paying attention to anything.


My neighbor opens up his front door to take out garbage.  What was that?? Hmmm.



Older son opens up garage door, spooking them.



Dogs proceed out of garage door. Good bye.



Pretty happy I had my continuous sequence on for these shots.



Bye-bye!!




Thanks for visiting.
Robin

OFFSHORE PORT CANAVERAL - 12/20/14

by Robin

Ok, I will be a little out of sequence with these next few blogs but these were photos already downsized from our last little excursion out before Christmas.

As you can see, we were heading out about 5:30 am and Carnival Liberty was coming in.



Wow, just a little bit HUGE and intimidating to pass by.



The sun rose around 6:20, I believe.  For the longest time, I thought it had already rose but was hiding behind all those clouds (which eventually rained down south of us).   I was so excited to catch the sunrise with the new camera.  Nothing like God's new mercies every day.  My heart overfloweth!!



It wasn't long before we were joined by this super-pod of approx 75 dolphin.  I realize some super pods get much bigger than that, but this was so beautiful.  I went to flip on my camera and I was so excited by the newborn baby dolphin that I didn't get my settings completely right (half-way between 2 settings), missed the baby shot.  Awwww.  He was adorable!!  Never seen one so small in all my years offshore.





There were so many spotted and two-toned dolphin.  One day, it is my goal to learn the different dolphin species.



I did catch this one action shot.  The sun was still so low and the glare was bad on the water, but other than that, I think I did ok capturing his breaking the water.



I really have many more of these group shots.  What I should have done was taken a video so you could see all the multiples of groups coming up for air.  Offshore dolphin are just SO MUCH MORE friendlier than inshore dolphin.



Just gorgeous.



Ok..... now, this is HOURS later, after we pulled in so many fish, my muscles hurt.  Sharks, red snapper, white knobhead porgies (we call them chocolate chip porgies), flounder and various reef fish.  NONE of them came home with us because they were either out of season or undersized.  :(  Boo.  But, we had 2 large black sea bass, which I did fry up for the kids.  It was a great day hanging with my favorite man from sunrise to sunset.

Disney was coming out of port, so we just stalled at the entrance waiting for them to head out and catch the sun setting.  Oh my... speaking of that... I got some amazing pictures of that too.  Some belong in a magazine but I will have to put my watermark on them before I put them on the blog.



Here is the pilot boat which goes before each cruise ship and clears the way.




I am certain that there is more to this photo....  I guess that is for the best because I have about 2 that belong in Disney's brochure too.  Gorgeous setting sun making the cruise ship glow.  I need to watermark those too.





These are in no particular order, in spite of me trying to get them somewhat in order.  There was some fishing in-between that has pictures yet to be downsized.

Be Blessed! Happy Fishing!
Robin