Stephan’s “natural alarm clock” woke us up before the automatic coffee pot started. He had fishing on his mind. We drank a cup of coffee and were out the door at 5:40. My understanding was that I was only going to drop him off, so I didn’t even bother getting dressed. I got in the truck in my nightgown and robe only to find out later that on our way to drop him off, we were stopping to purchase ice, squid, and minnows. O.K.
So we get to the bait shop and it’s not open yet; opens at 6 am. This gave Wagner and Stephan just enough time to load up the cooler at the ice machine. Phillip greeted us and helped Stephan transfer all his fishing stuff onto the boat.
We returned home and after reading to Wagner for a bit, I dozed off for a morning nap. Afterwards, we ate breakfast and then went to do some shopping in PC. Wagner wanted to take advantage of the model sale at Hobby Lobby. He was very happy with the deal he got on two airplane models.
When we got back home, we ate some sandwiches and then headed out to the beach to meet Suzette. After visiting for a bit we noticed that her friends were located just a short distance from us. Amy was there with her 13 year old daughter, Tiffany and another friend, Beth was lying out while her daughter played in the waves with one of her school friends. We relocated our towels, etc. so that we could visit with them knowing the young girls would persuade Wagner to join them in the water. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he was bobbing in the waves with them and having a great time.
We spent a few hours on the beach and then drove back to the campsites to see what the fishermen had brought home. Stephan hooked the biggest fish of the day BUT it broke his 125 lb. test line. They all caught several large red snappers but had to release them as they are not in season. The spoils included some large grouper and mangrove snapper.
One of the fishermen, Andy, is a chef who is in the process of opening a new restaurant just outside of Tallahassee. Andy took up a collection and while he went to the grocery store to get the items we still needed for dinner, we went back home to take showers. We returned to the group for an incredible dinner. Andy blackened some of the fish and had all the extras to make fish tacos. He also prepared fettuccini Alfredo, spring rolls and a casserole which included the grouper and some crab meat. I took along some homemade balsamic vinaigrette to complement an extraordinary tossed salad. The spread also included loaves of French bread, watermelon, beer, wine, and soft drinks.