Day 20 – Sheepshead

Shrimp in Homosassa and Crystal River are leprechauns this time of year. Something everyone would like to see but are non-existent. My hope was that one of the bait shops would have some shrimp this morning, but as all the previous morning the answer was no. Since the shops didn’t have any I decided to go biking.

Citrus County has a bike trail that goes from the Homosassa area all the way to Tampa. It is a trail that basically shoulders the 598 Florida turnpike. It is a beautiful paved path the size of a two lane street. Pretty cool that Florida and put in the money for its residents to be able to enjoy a path like the Suncoast Trail. The trail is a 56 mile path from Homosassa to Tampa. I however only did a 22 mile out and back trip on it this morning. I managed to make it back home from the trail a little before 9am.

When I got home I called around the tackle stores for a Hawaiian sling or pole spear. None of the stores had one, but one of the shops recommended I call American Pro Dive Center. LT and I headed to the dive center right away. We did not want to have this day get away from us. They of course did have a wide selection of spears and points. I bought both LT and I one each with a different barbed point. I thought we would try a couple of different styles. Headed back to the house and we were excited to see if we could change our luck on the sheepshead.

As I pulled in the driveway, Anna, Olivia and Hayli had her truck filled with kayaks and the SUP. The women were going snorkeling at Crystal River’s Three Sister Springs. Shortly after I arrived home they headed out the door. When they left, I got in the kayak and headed to the other side of the river where I had spotted sheepshead the other day. I cruised in the kayak for a while before I eventually caught the sight of one. Flippers and mask on, I hopped out of the kayak, grabbed the spear and went on the hunt.

Within fives I spotted one and followed it in the water a few yards before unleashing the spear. BAMM! One down. Took it back to the kayak and dove down again. The next few I missed or should I say hit but they manage to work off the spear. The next three did not and I made sure to properly secure the fish after the hit.

LT and I went back to the dock and he started cleaning the fish. Afterwards he and I headed back out and let me just say LT spear a HOG! This sheepshead was a big boy and made its filets look like ribeye steaks. Having five of the sheepsheads we called it a day and decided to try for more in the morning.

The girls got back and enjoyed the springs. They had stopped by Grannies on the way there for a bite to eat. You know – you have to power up!! We all just relaxed for the remainder of the day. I headed back up to American Pro Dive Center for some additional spikes for the spears and picked up a new snorkel and mask. Anna cooked the sheepshead and it was frickin’ amazing! I forget how delicious that fish tastes. It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed the meal. Anna made it with rice and hoppin johns beans.

Hayli left to go back to Brandon at 7pm and it wasn’t long before we all took some showers and headed to bed.

Day 19 – Scallopinggggg!

Early rise at 5:15am this morning. Needed to get the troops ready for a scalloping adventure. Got all the kids up and Anna made some biscuits and hard boiled eggs for all of us. The scallop boat ride was starting at 7am this morning and was to be around 4.5 hours long. I got a call from River Safari the day prior and they had an option for us to take an airboat instead of a pontoon. No brainer – Airboat ride.

We got to River Safari around 6:40am, but I unfortunately left our snorkels and masks back at the house. I had Anna and the kids go check in while I headed back to the house to grab the masks. Luckily the place was less than five minutes from the house. Waivers signed and we were off to the great open bay.

Captain Irish Dave was our boat captain of a six seater airboat. It was perfect. We had the boat to ourselves and Dave made it more special by being a very comical young man. Once we passed the harbor we put the ear muffs on, turned up the throttle and soaked in the wind and sun. The ride out to the bay was really thrilling. The marshes, birds, and just the sheer nature of it all is truly awe inspiring.

As we got closer to the grasses, Dave slowed the boat and swung it around. A pair of dolphins were playing and he managed to get us right near the pair. They popped their heads out of the water several times and even managed to swim under the boat. That would normally not be a big thing, but we were only in 2-3 feet of water – but this was their playground so they knew what they were doing.

Anchored up around 7:45am out in the bay and we were off to snorkeling. The whole week we have been down here, we have heard nothing but negativity about the scalloping this season. Some people only came back with 5-10 scallops. Worst season in well over a decade, most said. As Schiffers’ luck would have it, we did okay. We anchored at four different spots. The first one was definitely the most fruitful. The others did not bare as much success as the first. However, we saw all kinds of sea life and just enjoyed being in the water.

Bottlenose Dolphin

Scallop hiding in the sea grass - as you can tell they are very well camoflagued

Anna gettting in some snorkel time

At 11:30am Dave took us back to shore. He really turned up the airboating on the way back. Anna was in her happy place being on the boat and just zipping around. I think it brought her back to her youthful days of going out into the Everglades with her old gang. The ride was pretty quick and before long we were back at River Safari. We gathered our things – especially the scallops – and stopped in the shop and grabbed some things for Anna and headed home.

Bags of gold or scallops as others my refer to them.

Kids got right to cleaning the scallops. They worked on them for the better part of half an hour. Once Hayli, Olivia and LT shucked the scallops, Olivia took them inside and cleaned them thoroughly. Hayli and LT drove to the store to get some oil and pasta for Anna. It was about to be Yummy Time!

Really cool puffer fish never seen before. Spikes instead of needles and the  design was  weird.

Our captain - Irish Dave with River Safari

Monkey Island in the harbor in Homosassa - Four spider monkeys are permanent residents.

Day 18 - Down at the Jenkin's

I thought I would wake up early, but instead my eyes opened a little before 8am. Thomas was already up and outside on the dock fishing. I left to the bait store to grab some live shrimp at MacRaes. As I was pulling in and walking into the shop with my bait cooler, one of the store helpers informed me that they did not have any shrimp. “Maybe tomorrow,” they said. Back in the car and off to the house.

Anna and Olivia started cleaning and getting some laundry done, while she was making spaghetti sauce for later in the day. Afterwards Anna and I went out on the kayak and paddleboard. We made our way towards Homosassa Springs Park and kayaked past to some other smaller channels until we hit a dead end with crystal clear spring water. Hopped out and chilled out in the water for a while before heading back to the house. Anna was a bit tired from the paddling, so I tied her paddleboard onto the kayak and pulled her back while she laid on the board sunning.

I went to Publix to grab some beer, frozen shrimp and snacks. Got back and fished for the better part of the afternoon the kids, Anna and I played around on the kayaks and paddleboard.

Hayli rolled in around 7:15pm and we finally had our spaghetti dinner. We all mauled the spaghetti like starved wolves. Well, Olivia and I did. The others were a little more civilized. After dinner, we all hopped in the kayaks and went for a wonderful sunset paddle. The moon was amazing. It was so huge and hung over the park beautifully. I wish I would have had my camera because it was a photo op for sure.

The rest of the night the kids hung out in the hot tube and eventually came in and called it a night.

Day 17 – Homosassa Springs State Park and the newcastle

Woke up in our one nighter house this morning. The place I rented was to be on the water, but it happened to be that it was located several hundred yards from a channel. So needless to say we were not too happy and I had no intentions of staying there. I managed to get another rental yesterday, but would not be able to get into the place until today at 4pm.

I tried to get everyone up and moving at 9am. That was a little harder than expected. Anna, Amanda, Olivia and LT stayed up pretty late last night, so they were very content with sleeping in. The goal was to head out of the door by 9:30am hit Grannies Country Kitchen and then go to Homosassa Springs State Park. We managed to get out to Grannies at by 10:30 and powered down a super delicious southern style breakfast.

Enter the park at 11:30am. They take patrons on a boat ride from the park entrance to the ticket office. We could have also taken the tram, but the boat was definitely more enjoyable. Several years back when we were here, we went to the park and it rained on us the entire time. This time we were looking forward to going through the park without have to avoid raindrops. Lou the hippo, the three resident mantanees, all the alligators and countless other creature were on display. Unfortunately most of the aviary enclosures were closed due to construction.

Headed out back to the place at 1:30pm to pack up our stuff and head to the new place. Didn’t take long and we were packed and on our way. Got to the house but the cleaning was not done yet. Nevin Jenkins the owner of the house was there helping the cleaner. He allowed us to be out back while they finished cleaning the house and property. Beautiful place!! All kinds of whistles and bells.

The kids, along with Anna and Amanda, took the kayaks out on the water while I stayed and spoke with Nevin. A very interesting man who has quite a colorful past and an artist family heritage. Nevin is an inventor and patented the “Help. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” device that is used in all senior care facilities and by elderly people now. He just came up with Seasoning Stik, which are flavored spice sticks used to infuse meats and vegetables for cooking.

Amanda left a little after 5pm and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying the back yard and water. I could definitely get use to this.

Day 16 – Leaving Fort Myers & heading to Crystal River

Consider this basically down day number two. The kids and slept in until around 8:30am or so. I was already up watching the Tour, but decided to lay in bed and watch it. Anna and Jill had been up for some time and were sitting outside drinking coffee and chatting up the sunrise. We had to check out by 11am, so around 9am I got up and started packing up the room and getting what I could into the car. Anna did one last load of laundry before heading out and we finally said our last goodbyes and headed north.

On the way out of town, we met Nana and Grandpa for breakfast at First Watch off McGregor. We got there pretty quickly and just as we sat down the both of them popped in through the door. No complaints from anybody as the food was great as always. After First Watch we walked down a few doors down to Norman Love, a chocolate store. Grandpa had a gift certificate and wanted each of us to get some treats in honor of Grandma Betty.

We finally hit the road around 12:30pm and headed down to Brandon to stop in for a little bit at Hayli’s. She wanted us to come by and see her place on the way to Crystal River. We met the new addition – Nymira – a georgous litte BIG dog. This puppy is about seven months old and all play. We hung around for about twenty minute before heading out and continuing to Crystal River.

 Stopped in by the Winn Dixie for some needed grub and finally pulled into the driveway around 5pm. The house was not what was expected. This house was NOT on the water - NO good! Plus the house itself was not in the condition as advertised. This was going to be an issue for me. I was somewhat disappointed. I quickly went on VRBO to see if we could get another place. Luckily I found a nice place on the Homosassa River which we will be able to get into tomorrow.

Amanda showed up at the house a little before 6pm. We all caught up for a bit before heading to Sellers Seafood for some dinner. As we walked in they proudly announced that it would be an hour wait. No one wanted to wait that long so we headed next door to Thai Poon and powered down some amazing Thai.

Back to the house and we all chatted for the rest of the evening.

Day 15 – Oma’s Anniversary of her passing

Today all of us pretty much headed out different ways. The kids had made plans to meet Nana and go shopping. Nana picked the kids up around 11am and they went on a whirlwind of shops. Both Olivia and Thomas found some nice finds at the Goodwill store. Olivia’s finds are for keep, while LT bought the items to sell.

Jill was coming by today to spend the day with Anna. I was looking forward to going fishing in some of the bays and near some of the strands. As I left, I gave Anna and Jill a ride up to the strand by Platka’s, a greek restaurant. Their plans were to hang out near the strip and walk from place to place.

I basically just hopped from place to place near all the passes to see if I could hook up with some bigger fish. No luck at all throughout the day for anything large. Just the regulars - Snappers.

Olivia, LT and l got back together at the room at around 5pm. The ladies were still out for the better part of the evening.Olivia joined the girls until about 9pm.

Day 14 - Neptune on our own

The day was definitely a down day. All the family was gone and we awoke pretty slowly. I got out on the bike around 8:30am after getting motivated by watching the Tour.

Anna went into town to go see Buffy and Aunt Carla. She went to see them to see about getting her hair cut and colored. Needless to say, the star from out of town got the royal treatment. I had not seen Anna with her hair that short, but it looks great. Even got a little splash of purple on one side of her hair to add some flare.

When Anna made it back, LT and I headed to Lover’s Key and fished for the rest of the day. It rained sporadically all day with occasional down pours. We tried really really hard to catch something besides bait, but that was just not in the cards. Thomas had a few hits that stripped his bait, but was never able to hook up.

LT is off in the distance fishing in the flats.It was only about a foot deep in most of the bay.

Anna and I did dinner at Charley’s Boat House restaurant. They had Elk racklettes for special with Anna had and I went with the salad bar. Figured I hadn’t really had any greens for most of the trip, so I was due for some. Brought back some lobster bisque, salad and cheeseburgers back for the kids.

Day 13 – Neptune Inn – Hanging at the Inn

Everyone slept in a bit this morning. Jill and Anna woke up a bit earlier and went out to the beach. They sat at the bench near the pool for the better of an hour until at least 7:30am. I went out to the both to wish them a “Good Morning!” 

I had been inside watching the Tour which started at 7am today. It’s been a real treat watching it this year. Not sure why, but I believe it’s because NBCSN really has put forth an effort to broadcast all of it every day with multiple repeats throughout the day. I hopped on my bike for a 25 mile ride to get the day started and to give the boys some quite.

LT woke up around 9am and Lane woke up shortly thereafter. The boys and I headed to Heavenly Biscuit for some delicious breakfast. Anna and Jill had called and said they would meet us there for some biscuits, but as we got there they had not arrived. We decided to order and devoured the delectable delights before the girls every got there. Anna, Olivia and Jill arrived right as we were finishing up. We basically tagged out and gave them the table and hauled off.

Lane, LT and I took off back the hotel and grabbed the car and jetted off to Lover’s Key Bridge for some fishing. We all fished there the day prior and killed it with Snappers. Unfortunately no such luck today. We did catch one, but beyond that the lines were still. LT did get one slam, which within seconds we learns it was an egret. I managed to wrestle the bird down and calm it enough for us to get the fishing line out of its wing. After the wildlife rescue, we headed back to the hotel and joined the girls.

When we arrived, Kelsey, Kendall and the new addition Avery was there, along with Tobi, Hayli and Auntie Carla. All the ladies were hanging out at the beach. Darrel had come by a bit earlier and brought over a 10x10 tent and put it up for them on the beach. It made a perfect little oasis for the girls and little Avery – the perfect shade. Not but about 30 minutes later and Nana arrived to join the clan.

 

I took out the cast net and caught some green backs. I cast out my Shimano a few times and got the fish stolen. Then I cast it out one more time and let the little Pilchers swim for about five minutes, when all of a sudden the pole bent and the line started screaming. I quickly turned up the drag on reel and started reeling in. The fish was totally erratic, swimming back and forth. Then I noticed the fin protruding from the top of the water. I had laid into a black tip shark. I was a juvenile, but was a fight. I got it to shore and managed to grab a hold of the little guy. It was around two feet long, but all muscle.

Tried to catch some more afterwards, but got absolutely nothing. Went back on to the beach and joined the ladies in the tent. Little Kendall stole the show and is just the sweetest little two year old. She was having fun playing in the sand and making sand castles. We all sat out on the beach, laughed and talked for the better part of the afternoon.

As the later part of the day arrived, the girls started preparing for dinner. We opted to cook the fish we caught the other day. Anna, Carla, Olivia and Hayli headed to the store to pick up some taco accessories. Carla purchased an air fryer to cook the fish in. However, we ended up cooking half of the fish on the grills by the pool. The fish did not last long as the tacos went one after another. We couldn’t heat up the shells fast enough. What an awesome time!!!!

Around 7pm everyone started to head out and we starting winding down. It ended up being an early for us as the eyelids shuttered before 10pm.

Day 12 – Just out on the beach

Definitely a rest day today. Anna was glad to be in her old stomping ground. Fort Myers was coming to visit us today. Toby, Hayli and Lane were coming first thing in the morning and they arrived a little before 10am. The boys have been fishing together for the past week and make a great fishing duo. We hadn’t seen Hayli in some time now that she is working and manning the hospital – yeah – on her own! Danny, unfortunately, was not able to join us as he had to work. Hayli and Danny now live in Bradenton, located just outside Tampa, about a 2.5 hour drive from Fort Myers.

Not but about 20 minutes later and Anna’s best friend Jill walked past the hotel window. Anna hadn’t seen Jill since February, so they had quite a bit of catching up to do.

I took the boys fishing for the better part of the day, while the girls got a bit wild at Mermaids. Jill ended up spending the night while Tobi and Hayli heading to Auntie Carla for the night.