The Freezer with Jo-Anne 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, Jo-Anne 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. It was really great to see them. I worked at Cabell Midland High School with Jo-Anne from 1994 until I left the school in 2007.  She and I were close friends at the school and did a lot of outdoor adventures together on weekends.

We sat on the back porch and visited with Jo-Anne and T for about an hour. Since we had all missed lunch, we decided to have an early dinner at The Freezer. Jo-Anne 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.  We are really glad that they have a nice place there and can maintain their active lifestyles.

Mary, Steve, Jo-Anne & T

After visiting until nearly 5 pm, Jo-Anne 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.