Lunch at the Museum Cafe

After waking at 5:30 we did our morning language lessons and had hot beverages. Mark and Cindy were up not long after us. Breakfast was cold cereal then Mary and Cindy took the dogs for a morning walk while Mark and I launched kayaks to fish in the Mason Creek area and around the islands. We caught a few fish using the live shrimp that we bought on Tuesday morning. Mark’s bubbler kept them oxygenated and lively. We also used plastic baitfish imitations and plastic shrimp baits pulled behind floats that rattled and clicked to sound like feeding fish. We caught some small sea trout but mostly catfish.

We returned for lunch and drove to the Museum Café near the Yulee Sugar Mill in Homosassa. The small building includes a printing shop, framing shop and a museum of typewriters, adding machines, Linotype machines and printing presses of all ages. The owner, Bocat, has a ton of personality and an infectious smile. In addition to running a printing business and restaurant, he is a musician and painter.

We all had the Cuban sandwich special with various sides. I had yellow rice and black beans which was very good. The Cuban sandwiches were quite good although we have had better in southern Florida near Tampa or Miami.

After lunch, Mark and I installed a motorized wheel on his boat trailer which will allow the boat to be positioned in the garage when they leave for the summer. We were surprised at how easy the wheel was to install and use. It appears to work well in moving the trailer. The motorized wheel mounts on the trailer tongue and takes the place on the standard front wheel on boat trailer tongues. Because Mark didn’t have a ½ inch drill bit, we had to run into the Ace Hardware and found the bit quickly as well as some double sided mounting tape to place a garage door opener at the front of the garage. When we were leaving the store, a young couple saw us and suggested that we go to Marguerita Grill tomorrow night since the proceeds were going to veterans and first responders. We were already planning on going there on Thursday evening so we said we would.

Wyze security camera

Once the wheel was installed, we positioned several Wyze battery cams at the front porch, in the family room and on the front of the garage. We struggled to find a place with a strong Wi-Fi signal since the garage is constructed of block and has a steel roof. Mark also bought Wyze solar panels to power the cameras. The cameras had to be repositioned three times before settling on one of the front porch posts providing a clear view of the driveway and boat trailer.

Mark made a salad with marinated chicken breast with toasted garlic bread for dinner which we all enjoyed. After dinner, Mark and I took a kayak out to fish in Mason Creek out toward the Gulf. We took the last of the live shrimp for bait and were pleased that his small Bucket Bubbler was keeping the shrimp active. We cast around some of the small islands catching a few catfish in the brackish water. Mark’s pole anchor worked well in the shallow muddy water. When we were leaving, I pulled the pole out of the mud and the kayak tipped completely over, spilling us and all of our gear in the shallow water. Although the water was shallow, the mud was very deep, and we struggled to get on the bank even though it was just a few feet away. Once the kayak was righted and our gear loaded, we rinsed as much mud off us as we could and continued fishing. We paddled across the bay and caught several fish including a large ladyfish that gave Mark quite a fight including several jumps into the air. We caught an undersized redfish and several catfish. Mary and Cindy paddled out to see the sunset and visited with us briefly. By then, the no-see-ums were out, and we had washed most of our insect repellent off when we capsized so we paddled back to the house with the ladies.

We bathed and got clean clothes then watched an episode of Moonshiners on Philo before turning in.