Paddling in Morris Creek

We woke at 5:30, had our morning drinks, did language lessons and ate a slice of toast before taking the dogs on a 90-minute walk in the neighborhood and up to the nearby wildlife observation tower. When we returned to the house, we had scrambled eggs and bacon for a late breakfast.

Mark and I took off in a kayak to check the pinfish trap and to try fishing in Mason Creek. The wind was a lot calmer than when we were out yesterday evening, so it was easy to reach the trap which had no baitfish. We paddled around and fished a little but did not catch anything. Mark had a large fish follow his lure to the boat.

We got back to the house around noon, ate quesadillas from leftover chicken, and then Mark and Cindy left for the boat dealership. They took a test drive of the 20’ Xpress SX20 boat, which they purchased at the end of the test drive. The boat will be ready for pickup on Tuesday after the Bimini top and power poles are installed. The boat will be great for Mark to fish in the near shore areas around Homosassa. It will be outfitted to be able to comfortable fish 10 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sage sunbathing on the dock

Mary & I stayed at the house since a mattress for the Murphy bed was delivered by UPS this afternoon, and we did a little laundry. Mary knitted while I showered then basked in the warm sun. It was nice to just relax a bit this afternoon. I called Steve Minor and planned a visit to Sebring for lunch on Saturday. It will be good to see him and Marcia.

Mark & Cindy returned after purchasing the boat around 5 pm so Mark, Mary and I removed the mattress from the box but not from the shrink wrap and got it up the spiral staircase. Once the mattress was on the Murphy bed, we opened the vacuum bag holding the mattress and were shocked to see it grow from an inch thick to a firm mattress over 12 inches thick. We were impressed with the quality of the mattress and the fit of the queen-sized mattress on the Murphy bed.

We took the dogs on a shorter walk in the neighborhood then came back to the house for dinner. Cindy made beef and broccoli over rice, which was delicious, and we all had seconds. After dinner we did our evening language lessons, watched an episode of Serpent Invasion on Sling TV then an episode of Astrid on PBS. Everyone but Mary slept through a good bit of the hour-long Astrid episode. We planned an all-day kayaking trip to Cedar Key for tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun. Cindy watched a little more television, but Mark went out to the patio for a sauna while Mary & I turned in.