After waking up a little late, we had a cold cereal breakfast then took the dogs on a walk around “the cube” but because of the heat and humidity we wished we had walked them earlier.
The kayaks and gear were already loaded on Marks pickup so we drove the 16 miles to Ozello where we found the boat launch on John Brown Road. We were able to launch a little after 9:30 am. There was a strong wind blowing in our faces making progress paddling very difficult. In addition, we crossed several bays and other large bodies of water.
We paddled around many of the islands, oyster bars and mangrove growths as we made our way north back to Whittington’s house. As we paddled, we saw ospreys, young bald eagles, some herons and egrets. Several brown pelicans were diving for fish.
By the time we arrived back to the dock behind Whittingtons house, we were exhausted, and arms were sore from paddling against the wind. The time was close to 2 pm by the time we pulled the kayaks up on the dock.
Mark and I drove back to Ozello to get the pickup and see some of what was in the small town of Ozello.
Back at the house, Mark and I modified the door to the new corner cabinet to better accommodate the swing out shelving. It was a fairly straightforward job changing the direction that the door opened.
We all showered, changed and got ready to go out to the Marguerita Grill for dinner. We met neighbors, Kenny and Jody from Minnesota. We ordered three pitchers of Margaritas for the six of us. I ordered the Captain’s platter and Mary had the Aspen crab cakes then helped me with the platter. The owner, Sam, came around to tables welcoming everyone and checking that everything was good. Flags were passed our as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA” and veterans were recognized.
Back at the house, we refrigerated our leftovers and relaxed before bed.
After waking early, we walked the dogs before the forecast heat in the mid 90s hit.
After returning to the house, we drove to Home Depot for some 2X4s and four swivel casters. We planned to build a stand for the generator to keep it above potential flood damage. We wanted the stand to be about 4 feet tall and could operate without being removed from the stand. The stand was very easy to build and seemed to work well.
While we built the stand, Scott came to the house to complete installation of the kitchen cabinets and the vanity in the first-floor bathroom. Scott is the person who rebuilt the house before Whittingtons purchased it.
Mary had a great idea for lunch, so we drove to The Freezer to get two full orders of steamed shrimp. We sat at the back porch and enjoyed the peel and eat shrimp.
As Scott worked, Mark and I gathered the kayaks and paddling gear to be loaded into the pickup later this evening. Once Scott finished with the cabinet installs, Mark reconnected water to the vanity.
We needed a few plumbing items and a short section of baseboard for the bathroom. We were able to get everything quickly at Home Depot. On the way back, we stopped at Publix for a few items. Back at the house we cut the baseboard sections to length and nailed them in with the pneumatic nailer.
Dinner was a garden salad with boiled shrimp leftover from lunch.
By the time we were able to load the kayaks and gear into the pickup, the no see ums were bad so we loaded quickly and got the boats strapped down.
Cindy had the makings of ice cream sundaes out so we had an excellent dessert. As we ate the sundaes, we watched two specials from Idaho Public Television. The first program highlighted the many species of pollinating bees. The second program was on an Idaho project to make wildlife crossing overpasses at some of the state’s highways where collisions with wildlife are most common.
After waking around 5 am, we did our morning language lessons then went down for a breakfast of cold cereal and toast.
Mark needed to run a few errands so we took the recycling to the county transfer center. We stopped at the Sportsman’s Wholesale to get a little gear for fishing. Our last stop was to the bait shop at Strickland’s Convenient Store for three dozen shrimp.
Back at the house, we had ham on sourdough with potato chips.
Kenny, from across the street came over about 4 pm and we headed out in the boat. Mark’s use of the Florida Marine Tracks program was very helpful in preventing hitting rocks or oyster bars in the shallow waters. We moved around many of the islands at the edge of the Gulf but didn’t have much success. Kenny caught a nice snook but it wasn’t quite large enough to meet the legal limit. Mark caught a red drum that was too small and had to be released. Finally, Mark caught a sea trout that was within the length acceptable to keep.
By 8 pm, we gave up and came back to the dock. Kenny cleaned Mark’s fish while Mark cleaned the boat and I cleaned gear and put things away.
Cindy had made an Asian chicken salad with toasted Raman noodles and grilled chicken breast. We finished with some of Cindy’s homemade brownies.
We were awake before 5 am, had our morning beverages and did our language lessons then went downstairs where Mark had made oatmeal. Mark had arranged a fishing trip this morning with Kenny from across the street and several of his friends who were also involved in the iron mining industry in Minnesota. Kenny would be in Mark’s boat with us and his friends had their own boat. They would show Mark some of their favorite fishing locations in the area.
As the departure time neared, the less confident I became that I had the stamina for a 6–7-hour fishing trip. I felt like I was getting over whatever was bothering me this week but still wasn’t quite right. Mark left to pick up Kenny around 11 but I stayed upstairs and napped most of the morning. Mary and Cindy worked outside moving plants to areas where they might not be damaged when the house is lifted. They also relocated many monarch larvae to milkweed plants with more leaves.
We had deli ham sandwiches on sourdough with potato chips for lunch. Mary and Cindy showered after lunch then we all went out to run errands. We stopped by a gas station but saw prices had raised 40 cents overnight so we decided to put off filling up until later in the week. At Walmart we got a few grocery items and some postcards for the grandsons.
We returned to the house where I called Huntington Federal savings Bank and made arrangements for some banking to be done next week.
Mark and his neighbor, Kenny, returned around 6:30pm having caught only one fish in the seven hours that they fished. The others from their party in the other boat caught nothing as well. They reported that none of the boats that they observed appeared to be catching fish. Kenny filleted the 18-inch sea trout while Mark and I emptied the boat and rinsed seawater from the gear.
When we went inside, Cindy had warmed to the leftovers including the seafood from Stumpknockers for dinner. We found that the air fryer made the fish and seafood very crisp and delicious.
After dinner, Mark and I sat on the dock behind the house and used the leftover shrimp and cut bait to catch several catfish from the canal. My first cast produced a large cat that gave me a great fight.
We came in around 8:30 to shower, clean up and prepare for bed. I took what I hope was my last dose of Nyquil. We watched a few minutes of an old Johnny Carson show on Roku then turned in.
