Driving home from Florida

Since we knew that we had long drive back to Georgetown, we woke early and came down to have our morning beverages. Cindy made turkey sandwiches for our breakfast and lunch. We also packed fresh fruit and snacks for the nearly 13-hour drive. Kenny and Paul, his friend from Minnesota, came to the house around 5:30 to get started for the fishing tournament. We said our goodbyes and were on the road by 6:10.

Travel was very light through Florida to I-75. There was light rain from time to time in Southern Georgia. Traffic was slow around Macon, Georgia, as several oversize loads of cargo were taking up two lanes of the interstate. As expected, traffic got very heavy around McDonough, Georgia, and remained congested through Atlanta to north of Marietta. Traffic was busy in Chattanooga and Knoxville but not nearly as bad as the Atlanta area. We stopped at several rest areas to get our breakfast and lunch but ate them as we drove. 

When we drove south three weeks ago, Mary noted the exits with the best gas prices. Since the war with Iran started a week ago, gas prices spiked everywhere. The best gas prices that we saw on our trip north were in southern Georgia. As we approached Central Kentucky, Mary was able to use the new Wi-Fi enabled thermostat to start warming the house from the 50 degree setting we use while we are away in the winter.

We arrived home at 7 pm and hauled things into the house. We put the frozen fish away first, but left clothes and gear for tomorrow when we would be more rested. Since we had emptied the refrigerator before we left last month, there weren’t many choices for dinner so we opened a can of black beans and had them in a tortilla wrap.

We turned in early because we were tired from the drive and we weren’t looking forward to the spring change to Daylight Saving Time tonight.

Our last day in Homosassa

We had a breakfast of cold cereal as we wanted to finish the Wheat Chex and Great Grains that we brought from home. After eating, we took the dogs on a short walk on Standish Drive and Battle Creek Road then up to the stop sign before they were ready to get back to the house. We can really tell that both dogs are showing their age. In the past they enjoyed a long walk out around the neighborhood, but now they prefer a short loop.

New connection box

Mark and I considered going out to fish in the kayaks but wanted to do a few things first. Mark and Kenny entered a fishing tournament tomorrow, and we wanted to make sure that everything was in order for that. The first thing that we did was to replace the defective connection box on the outside of the house that supplies electricity to the HVAC unit. Saltwater corroded the existing connection box. The new connection box is much smaller than the previous box, and the connections are pretty straightforward. We disconnected electricity at the breaker then removed the rusty old box. The knockouts on the new box were difficult to remove, so Mark had to use an angle grinder to score the spot welds. Although we would have preferred to mount the surge protector on the side of the box, a siding strip prevented attaching the small unit, so we had to mount it on the bottom of the box. A little touch-up paint is needed, but the disconnect box worked well.

At the boat, we attempted to learn why the starboard shallow water anchor wasn’t operating. The Power Pole would not respond to either the keychain remote or the dash mounted remote. Our first suspicion was that the remote batteries were failing or that they were no longer paired with the anchor motors by Bluetooth. We replaced the batteries and then tried operating the Power Poles with the hard-wired controls in the bilge. The port unit worked fine but there was no response from the starboard motor.

Mark called tech support at the manufacturer of the Power Poles for assistance with diagnosing the problem. After lengthy discussion and attempts at getting the shallow water anchors to go up or down, the technician concluded that the main circuit board was defective and was, unfortunately, out of warranty. Mark could order a replacement circuit board from the manufacturer and have it within a week since the manufacturer is in Tampa. However, since the tournament was first thing tomorrow morning, Mark called the local marine sales and service centers and found that Homosassa Marine had the circuit boards in stock.

The circuit board was easy to remove, so we swapped the port and starboard circuit boards to confirmed that the board was defective. We drove up to Homosassa Marine where Mark got the board for over $250. Back at the house, the board was installed quickly and allowed the Power Poles to operate using the manual switch on the motor, but neither remote responded to the detailed procedure in the owner’s manual. After multiple attempts by both of us, we concluded that the new board must have a defect in the ability to link with the remotes. Mark called the dealer who agreed to replace the new but presumably defective board.

Mary, Cindy & Mark at Marguerita Grill

While we were outside working on the electrical box and the boat anchors, Mary and Cindy were working on Ancestry. By working together and using some of the old family records that their parents and grandparents had accumulated, they were able to add a few ancestors and relatives to their tree.

It was near lunchtime, so we decided to go to Marguerita Grill which is a fun place to eat and drink. On the way, we stopped at Homosassa Marine where Mark exchanged the new Power Pole circuit board hoping that another board will work for us.

Cindy & Mark at Marguerita Grill

The seafood at Marguerita Grill is excellent and well prepared. The owners, Cuban immigrants, have a very pro-American atmosphere in the restaurant and celebrate veterans at every opportunity. We were fortunate to get a table on the back deck with a good view of the water. Mary had a whitefish basket which she reported to be very good. She especially likes the lightly seasoned French fries. I got Gavin’s Seafood Platter with her agreement to help me eat some of the shrimp, fish, scallops, crab cake and hush puppies. We bought a “medium” margarita which comes in a pitcher and serves four. Everything was very good as always, so we left the restaurant very full.

Mary at Marguerita Grill

We made a quick stop at Sportsman’s Wholesale. Kenny’s birthday is Sunday, and Mark wanted to get him a spool of woven fishing line. He also got a few crank baits that might work for redfish.

Once back at the house we quickly installed the newly exchanged Power Pole circuit board and once again attempted to pair the remotes to the hydraulic motor. After failing several times using the multi-step protocol in the owner's manual, Mark called tech support again. They gave him a very different and simpler procedure that paired the two remote controls easily.

By the time we finished, we were too tired to go kayak fishing. We came in to prepare for our departure tomorrow morning. While we were watching an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, Kenny and Jodie stopped by on their way back from their evening meal at Marguerita Grill.

Sign at Marguerita Grill

Earlier we decided to leave Homosassa in late morning on Saturday. We would get a room in the Atlanta area and drive the final half of the route on Sunday. This would allow us to leave at a time that wouldn’t disrupt Mark and Cindy’s Saturday schedule. However, since Mark would be leaving early for the fishing tournament, we decided to leave early and drive back on one day.

In anticipation of our early departure, we turned in early after we did a little late minute packing.

Fishing in Homosassa with no luck

We slept well and woke before 5 am. We did our morning language lessons and had morning beverages. Once Mark and Cindy were up, had cold cereal for breakfast then took the dogs on a walk on Standish Drive.

Fishing near Homosassa

Mark has been hoping to learn some of the advanced capabilities of his Garmin chart plotter. We used the Garmin Active Captain app to connect Marks iPhone to his Garmin boat plotter and experimented with syncing waypoints, tracks and routes to his phone and computer. Mark was especially interested in bringing tracks to his computer for viewing on Google Earth.

Kenny with a small lizardfish

Kenny came over at 9 am to fish. We loaded the boat with our gear, including the reels that we cleaned last night. They seemed to work very smoothly after cleaning and lubricating. We fished the shallow water around Homosassa and up Battle Creek for 7 hours. In that time, we caught and released a lot of undersized redfish and a few ladyfish. Kenny even caught a small lizard fish that was hardly bigger than his lure. We caught no snook and no fish of edible size. We had to get out of the boat on several occasions to push the boat through shallow water. We also had to get out a few times to retrieve snagged lures but not in deep mud like yesterday. While fishing we saw three adult porpoises and two young.

We were out until nearly 5 pm without catching much to speak of. After we returned to the dock, we cleaned saltwater off gear and cleaned boat deck and seats. We ate a leftover dinner of shrimp from The Freezer, snook from Tuesday’s fish fry and salads. It was all good.

After dinner Mark and I went to Home Depot to get a disconnect box for the HVAC. We hoped to replace the exterior electrical box on Friday. Back at the house we tried searching online to figure out why the lower icemaker wasn’t working on the refrigerator.

We watched episodes 1 and 2 of season two of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV.

Fishing with Mark & Kenny

Steve with a small ladyfish

As usual, we were up early, so we did our language lessons and had morning beverages before going downstairs after Mark, Cindy and the dogs were up and moving around. We had a cold cereal breakfast working toward finishing the Chex and Great Grains boxes that we brought from Kentucky.

Kenny came over before 8 am, and we loaded Mark’s boat with fishing gear to try to catch some snook. We fished hard for over six hours catching and releasing 10 undersized snook, several redfish under the keeping limit, and many ladyfish. We had no keepers.

While retrieving a lure from the mangrove snags in two feet deep mud, I took a spill landing on my rear. Watching me trying to stand up provided great amusement for Mark and Kenny.

Steve in the mud retrieving a snagged lure

By the time we returned to around 2 pm, the temperature was in the upper 80s. We were all pretty hot and had been in the sun enough for the day. We washed salt from fishing gear and scrubbed the boat to remove the mud that I brought on board after my fall.

We planned to meet Jodie and Grant at Marguerita Grill. When we drove up Hall’s River Road, we saw that they were closed on Wednesday. After talking with Grant and Jody, we went to Crumps Landing a little over a mile west of Marguerita Grill. We had never been to Crump’s Landing before, but there was plenty of parking, despite being very busy. We were seated at an outside table by the dock across the water from MacRae’s.

Jodie & Grant at Crump's Landing

Mary had a Cuban sandwich; I had the clam basket with chips.  Several of us had margaritas, and Cindy had a mojito. The meal and service were good. We really like the atmosphere at Marguerita Grill, but Crumps’s Landing is a good alternative.

Before we drove back, we made a side trip to Monkey Island near MacRae’s. Monkey Island is built on a rock outcropping near Homosassa that was a frequent hazard to boaters. In the 1960s a developer had a crew add material to the rocky structure, forming a small island. The developer had a lighthouse and other structures built on the small island and planted trees and other plants. He also obtained a few spider monkeys and squirrel monkeys, placing them on the island. Today the island is inhabited by five spider monkeys living in very nice accommodations providing great amusement to Homosassa’s visitors.

Monkey Island

Back at the house, Grant and Jodie played Phase 10 with Mary, Mark and Cindy. I fell asleep upstairs for a short nap.

I awoke when Grant and Jodie were preparing to leave. Mark and I went out to his garage workshop to disassemble a fishing reel that wasn’t working. After cleaning, greasing and reassembly the reel seemed to work well.

We strained the peanut oil from the fish fry on Tuesday evening. We returned the used oil to the original plastic jugs. Mark keeps the oil in the chest freezer above the garage for the next fish fry.

While we were working on the fishing gear and straining the oil, Cindy came out and told us that the air conditioning in the house wasn’t working. After testing connections and attempting to locate the problem, we heard a snapping sound coming from the connection box on the side of the house. Mark worked with HVAC a good deal in their 40+ years of owning and operating McDonald’s Restaurants, so he knew that the connection box was the source of the problem. We found that the disconnect box was arcing and that made the air conditioning unit stop operating. The box had been immersed in saltwater several time during hurricanes and other tropical storms, so it was not surprising that the box needed replacing. We temporarily wired around the disconnect, and the unit worked well until we could replace the box.

By the time we finished it was getting dark, so we came in and watched the final episode of season 1 of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV. We all turned in by 10 pm.

Hanging Out with Joanne and T

We woke early to see the beginning of the lunar eclipse starting at 5 am and continued to full eclipse at 6 am. The eclipse was very visible to us over Mike and Pam’s house across Standish Drive. We sat on the front porch drinking tea as the moon darkened from top to bottom. As the eclipse continued the moon took on a pale red color. We were glad that we had awakened for the event. Sadly, the sky was too overcast in Georgetown and Cincinnati for our grandsons to get a view of the eclipse.

After a breakfast of oatmeal with craisins and pecans, we took the dogs on a longer walk around the neighborhood. Mary and I returned the house and left at 9 am to pick up Joanne and T at the Comfort Suites in Dunnellen.

We met them in the hotel lobby a little before 10 am and loaded a few of their things into our car to take a trip around the “Nature Coast” area of Florida. We wanted to give them an overview of things in the area that might interest them in future visits. They live less than 2 hours from Homosassa, so a day trip for them would be likely. Mary planned a general itinerary and sequence of stops for us to visit today.

Tour boat at Rainbow Springs

Our first stop was to the springs at the head of Rainbow River at Rainbow Springs State Park. We paid the $5 park admission fee and parked in a shady spot. We walked down to the springs that form the Rainbow River and saw people swimming in the designated area. The water there and throughout Rainbow River is as clear as glass. We walked along some trails with azaleas of all colors. The waterfalls along the trails were developed in the 1940s and 50s. We chatted with two volunteers who were very helpful in directing us to the right trail to walk for our day.

When we left the springs, we drove past the access to the KP Hole at about midway on the Rainbow River. We stopped at the downstream takeout point of the Rainbow River, but no parking was available. We parked across the road at Swampy’s Bar and Grill since it was nearly noon. We decided to have lunch there. We had eaten there many times before and found the food to our liking. I ordered the gator dip appetizer, and T got chips and salsa. For the meal, Mary got the grilled fish Caesar salad; I had a bowl of seafood gumbo. Joanne and T split a Reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal.

After leaving Swampy’s we drove over the Cross Florida Barge Canal and gave them the history of the ill-fated project. We pointed out the access to the “Follow That Dream” Parkway leading the island where the Elvis Presley movie was made and some of the beach scenes were filmed.

We stopped at the Crystal River Archeological State Park to explore the nearly 2000-year-old mounds and earthworks. Although the visitor center is closed on Monday and Tuesday, we enjoyed walking around and reading the signage. Joann and T are very into some of the Ancient Astronaut theories. They believe that the mounds support theories about early cultures being aided by extraterrestrial civilizations. We sat on top of the large temple mound for some time before resuming our walk along the back of the Crystal River. We saw how a landowner in the 1950s and 60s had bulldozed much of the temple mound to fill in a swampy area. Fortunately, the land was purchased by Florida’s park system preserving the mound.

When we left the archeological park, we drove Joanne and T back to the Comfort Suites in Dunnellen and before heading back to Mark and Cindy’s house in Homosassa.

We unloaded the car and started helping Mark and Cindy prepare for dinner. Kenny and Jodie were coming over for a snook fish fry. Mark heated peanut oil in an outdoor deep frier to 360 degrees. Kenny rolled snook chunks in a mixture of egg and oil then covered them with panko crumbs and seasoning. The fish was deep fried at 360 degrees for 3 minutes. Kenny used the same treatment for some small portobello mushroom caps. Cindy had made coleslaw, and Jodie brought potato salad. Everything was delicious, and we all ate our fill and more. After dinner we had Cindy’s brownies and Jodie’s peanut bars. Jodie also made margaritas while we visited after dinner.

The evening ended with Mark, Cindy, Kenny, Jodie and Mary playing cards.

The Freezer with Joann and T

A return of my sciatica pain kept me from sleeping well. I had gone through a bout of sciatica in 2021 during Covid and for some reason it seems to have returned. I got up at 4 am and did language lessons before getting our morning beverages at 5 am. I went outside to check the location of the moon since  a full lunar eclipse was to occur at 6 am on Tuesday.

Strickland's Convenient Store

We had a breakfast of Great Grains cereal then took the dogs on a morning walk. Mark and I got the bait bucket and drove to “Strickland’s Convenient Store” for two dozen live shrimp. Back at the house, we loaded fishing gear and life jackets into the kayaks. When I pushed my kayak into the canal a little water splashed onto my life jacket causing the CO2 cartridge to inflate the PFD in the rear of the kayak. We paddled out of the canal a little after 8 am.

We paddled out among the islands in Mason and Battle Creeks casting Johnson Silver Minnow spoons hoping to catch sea trout, redfish or even snook. We were disappointed to catch a few small snappers, one undersized snook, one small redfish and dozens of ladyfish. All of these were immediately released. The ladyfish were fun to catch. The spirited, slender fish put up a good fight and even take to the air giving them the name “poor man’s tarpon” for their fighting. On more than one occasion, a hooked ladyfish would come out of the water and shake the hook loose. The lure would then be quickly taken by another ladyfish.

Mark fishing from his kayak

While we were out, Mark had a text from Cindy at 1:30 that our company, Joann Potter and her partner, T, had arrived. It took about 40 minutes to paddle back to the house. Upon arriving at the dock, we washed saltwater from the fishing gear and the kayaks and put everything away. We sat on the back porch and visited with Joann and T for about an hour. Since we had all missed lunch, we decided to have an early dinner at The Freezer. Joann and T rode with us for the short drive, and we met Mark and Cindy in the parking lot.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded but was still busy. The only outside tables available were in the sun, but we watched until a group left then quickly got a table with an umbrella. Each couple ordered a full order of steamed peel-and-eat shrimp which is a large Styrofoam clamshell filled with shrimp along with cups of melted butter and cocktail sauce. There was a comfortable breeze as we ate shrimp and enjoyed each other’s company.

After dinner we walked out to the observation tower on the Salt Marsh Trails area of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. The walk was short, but it was good to move around after our large shrimp dinner.

After the short walk to the Salt Marsh Trail, we returned to the back porch of Mark and Cindy’s house to chat. We enjoyed hearing about Jo Anne and T’s move to Florida last October and learning about the Del Webb community, Sun City Center, where they live. They said that their house is about 50 years old but has been well kept. Their $600 per month HOA fee covers mowing, landscaping, water, sewer, internet, exterior painting, roof and gutter replacement as well as roads and community centers. They seem very happy there.

Mary, Steve, Joann & T

After visiting until nearly 5 pm, Joanne and T left for their room at the Comfort Suites in Dunnellen. We walked the dogs then watched an episode of Dark Winds on AMC and one of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime TV. We turned in at 10 pm.

Kayak and boat fishing

We woke at 5 am, did language lessons on Babbel and had our morning beverages until we heard Mark and Cindy moving downstairs. Mark made biscuits while Cindy made sausage gravy; both of which were delicious. Mark and I took Jade and Sage out for a walk in the neighborhood while Mary and Cindy loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up after breakfast. Then they took their own walk. While the wives got ready for church, Mark and I went out in the kayaks to fish.

Kenny with his 30 inch snook

We paddled up Battle Creek to fish around some of the oyster bars in the stream. Mark suggested a hole near an oyster bar that might hold fish. He recommended that I beach the canoe and fish from the oyster bar. By the time I made it to the spot, two teenagers were struggling to get their small aluminum boat through the shallow water. Soon thereafter, an airboat circled through the area and attempted to fish. I waited until everyone left, then casted a gold colored Johnson spoon into the pool catching several ladyfish of all sizes. These ladyfish are not considered palatable, so I turned them loose as soon as I caught them. While they aren’t good to eat, the ladyfish are sometimes called the “poor man’s tarpon “ because of their ability to leap from the water as they attempt to throw the hook. They put up a good fight and are fun to catch. Mark caught a 15-inch sea trout.

Mark and Kenny on the boat

Back at the house we cleaned the kayaks and fishing gear and replaced line on one reel. We cleaned the sea trout that Mark caught and bagged it for a meal later this week.

As we were finishing, Kenny came over with a 30-inch snook that he caught this morning. It is the first day of snook season and only fish between 28 and 32 are legal to keep. We made plans with Kenny to go out in the boat at 3:30, so we had a quick lunch of salad, deli ham and corn chips before we loaded the boat for our evening fishing.

We headed out to try to catch a few redfish from around the mangrove islands in the area. We moved around a lot looking for fish trying the Johnson weedless spoons and plastic paddle-tail jigs. We had a few strikes, and Mark and I caught sea trout that were below the legal limit.  We released them immediately. Kenny caught the only keeper, which was a 21 inch redfish.

Mark retrieving a snagged lure

We fished until the sun was setting around 6:30, then we took the boat back to the dock behind the house. We once again hosed the saltwater from the gear and boat including purging the engine’s water pump. Kenny cleaned his redfish, and we put the equipment away.

We invited Kenny and Jodie to come for fish tacos for dinner in 30 minutes. We cleaned up quickly and came to dinner.

We enjoyed the redfish tacos and the roasted vegetable mix that Jodie brought. We had margaritas that Jodie made and had great conversation over dinner.

After dinner Mark, Cindy, Mary, Kenny and Jodie played cards, while I sent pictures to Kenny and caught up on this journal. We are looking forward to seeing Joann and T tomorrow for a visit then dinner at The Freezer.