On Gray's Pond: Thinking of Fish

As the month of June slowly winds its way down, I become more and more anxious over the trip to Florida in just two weeks. It is going to be an exciting time. It is going to be a very busy time. In case you couldn't tell, it seems that, other than family, the thing I love to do most is either work on fish ponds or actually be fishing. Florida provides lots of opportunity for the fishing. Beach fishing (where you get to try to catch one from the sand and not get blinded by the nearby bikinis), Pier Fishing (where you can catch anything from crabs to sharks - and not that kind of crabs Jason), and deep sea fishing. I talked to Amanda and Scott yesterday and they were telling me about their recent exploits off the coast. Scott has become quite the shark wrangler. My goal isn't to catch anything specific, but rather to just catch something that puts up a great fight and that is also BIG.

We will leave home for Pensacola Beach on Friday, July 3rd. We are going to drive straight through. That means that Walt will be driving while everyone else in the car watches a movie or sleeps. Hopefully we will arrive at our destination a while before sunrise so that I will have the opportunity to sit on the beach and watch the sun rise. Because everyone else in the car will have slept well, they will all take off and do something fun, and I will take the opportunity to catch up on a few zzzzzzzzzz's. Of course we all know what happens on the evening of the 4th. I don't know in which direction we will be looking, but I do know that we will be watching the fireworks pop somewhere. After that the FUN BEGINS.

I don't know if I will be fishing that night or if I am going to wait until the morning, but to me, the fishing is what it is all about. I plan to hop on the kayak - - go out just past the breakers - - cast out my line - - paddle back in to shore - - and wait for the big one to hit the beach. So that means that most of Sunday will be devoted to fishing. On Monday, I plan to devote most of my day to ..... Fishing.... and spending some time with the family at the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Tuesday is a different story. That is Jamie's big day. I will be at Jamie's disposal the entire day. I know that I will be setting up huts, lights, tables , chairs........... The highlight of the day will be when I pass the hand of my baby girl off to a young man who has won the hearts of all of us. I'm told that is when the real partying will begin. I'm still not certain how much of it I will be doing, but I do plan to have a great time.

Wednesday, I'll be back to my usual vacation schedule, hopefully joining Amanda on the boat for a day out on the big blue. If not Wednesday, then on Thursday. I plan to continue this fishing pattern until they drag me off the beach and force me to come back home.