Marguerita Grill

After a breakfast of omelets with ham, peppers, onion and cheese, Mark and I drove to Strickland’s Convenient Store for three dozen live shrimp.

Mark with a ladyfish

One the boat was loaded with our gear we headed out into the Gulf before 8 am. Mary and Cindy walked the dogs around the neighborhood. Mark used the Florida Marine Tracks software on his new Lowrance navigation device to stay in deeper channels with fewer hazards. He had to purchase this GPS in addition to the Garmin that came with the boat because Florida Tracks is not yet compatible with Garmin. We went through a lot of very shallow water including the spot near the Live Shrimp boat where we hit a rock earlier in the week but this time with no problems. Even though we were well out in the Gulf of Mexico, the water was still less than 6 feet deep.

Mark with a fish on

We caught a large variety of fish including catfish, sea trout, redfish, pufferfish, lizardfish and ladyfish. Only one sea trout was suitable for eating so we put it in the live well. We had a little trouble with the Minn Kota trolling motor. It would work perfectly for about 20 minutes then would shut down. After waiting about 15-20 minutes it would work fine again. The motor has a two-year warranty so Mark will contact customer service next week to see what the problem might be.

By 2 pm we started back toward the house stopping at a spot where we had luck fishing when we were there on Tuesday. We caught a few more fish then came back to the house where we cleaned the one legal sea trout then got ready for dinner.

Mark's coconut shrimp

Mark drove us the short distance to Marguerita Grill where it was a special event honoring veterans and first responders. We ordered margaritas and listened to the announcements inviting anyone who isn’t proud of America to leave by the back door which is at the Halls River. They then played Ray Charles’s “Hit the Road Jack”. Wait staff distributed small American flags and asked everyone to stand for Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA “. Representatives from a veteran’s charity came around to each table selling drawing tickets for several prizes. Mark recognized them as the couple we saw at the hardware store yesterday.

Stuffed local flounder

Mark had coconut shrimp, Cindy had a steak, Mary had the Aspen crab cakes and I had stuffed flounder. We all enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere at Marguerita Grill.

Once back at the house, Mary and Cindy continued their cribbage games while Mark and I watched an episode of Master Distiller challenging contestants to make a ginseng moonshine. By 9:30 we were all ready for bed.