Sunday, March 6, 2016

Fish On!

March 2016

We were working so hard fixing our “beach house” we hadn’t taken time out much to play. So one day we did take an afternoon off and play golf. It was nice to get away from the painting and laying floor although we knew we had more to do.

A Bit of Water and Sand


We spent the next few days finishing up the rooms. The weather hadn’t been the greatest so having our little remodel project was okay. The winds and rains were pretty strong and we did have a couple tornado warnings with one touching down within the county. The nice thing about it was the sunset one evening. We managed to get outside in time to get a few pictures of the color and the clouds that looked like a thick wavy blanket.

Blanket in the Sky
Sunset over the canal


The weather was finally nice and the work done, yahoo, so we loaded up the boat and went fishing for the day. We launched out of Ft. Pierce since we have had success in the river there catching sheepshead.

The day was gorgeous with not too much wind and some cloud cover. I caught the first nice sheepshead we could keep and Steve decided to catch a catfish. He ended up catching two. These catfish you don’t want to keep. Unlike the catfish we have at home, these are considered trash fish here. I guess because that’s kind of how they taste.


Not What We Want Although Fun to Catch
Captain Steve 
 Finding a New Spot
The Spectators


Steve did start catching sheepshead as well, but he also found this funky looking guy. We have had a few of these in the past take our bait too. Oh well, it’s not what you catch but the fact that you’re catching something to begin with, right?!
Funky Looking Fish
  
We got home with seven sheepshead this time. Steve cleans the fish and I clean the boat and gear. I am so okay with that arrangement! We shared this catch with our neighbors across from us. Victor and Carole have been great and easy to get to know. They will head home sometime in April so we have been picking their brains on the close-up process for the house. It will be interesting to see how our little place fairs during the summer.
 Fish Cleaning Station
I guess we were pretty tired of working as we played golf a couple days after fishing and went to the beach on another day. I could get used to that schedule much easier than painting walls and putting in floors! I think Steve could too!

You’re probably wondering if Izzy is having any fun too. Well she is as we try and either take her to the dog park every day or throw her floppy a few times a day right outside our door. We have two empty lots next to us so that’s Izzy’s private playground right now. She’ll be sad if they get filled with homes.


  
We’re not sure about snow-birding this far from home but decided to give it a try. So if you need a winter get away be sure and let us know – we have a guest room and would love to have you come visit SIT!

Will keep you posted as to what’s next for our Florida adventure here on the treasure coast.


What Were We Thinking?


January 4 – March 1, 2016

Well I haven’t really taken time to sit down and compose our latest adventure. I am not sure if it is due to time or the simple fact that we have been a bit busy with cleaning, organizing, buying, and remodeling.

You are probably thinking what in the world is she talking about as they are in a 5th wheel trailer. Well, we decided to bite the bullet and bought a small older mobile home in a park along the Indian River. We are in a town called Vero Beach which is just north of Ft. Pierce. We started looking some when we first arrived and kept coming back to this one park. The advantage of this one is you can actually launch a boat and kayaks from here, go about 2 miles and be at a nice beach and 3 miles will get you to a huge dog park. I don’t think Izzy is complaining too much about it either.
 
The Indian River
We were fortunate enough to find a small boat as well that just fits in the carport. I feel bad for Big Red as we have to park him down by the clubhouse. It’s a short walk from the place so not too much of a sacrifice!

Our Florida Boat


Back to the place – it is a 2 bedroom 2 bath home that had some updates completed already. It survived the hurricanes however there was some water damage in the paneling that wasn’t taken care of during the kitchen remodel the previous owner did. At first we were okay with that for now. Our attention was first going to getting it clean so we could move in.

Our Beach Bungalo


We moved our clothes and fishing gear in and bought the house essentials needed to get settled. We spent the first night on January 24th. We enjoyed getting the boat out a couple of times for some fishing shortly after that and had some good keepers. Izzy had to supervise the cleaning process. I guess since she didn’t get to go with us she thinks she has to inspect the catch.



I took some pictures of the place when the owner was still in and then after we moved in. As you can see it is a bit different now. Especially since we did decide to go ahead and replace the carpet that was in the bedrooms with new flooring and since we were doing that we took care of the water damaged walls in the master bedroom. I guess fixing places up is in our blood. I think it is slowing draining out though!
Kitchen
Living Room 
 Florida Room
 Master Bedroom Before Us

Florida Room Turns into Work Shop
 Guest Room New Floor

Will be gone soon
 Progress New Walls and Fresh Paint
The Finished Product


So now you know what we have been up to for the past couple of months. Not necessarily fun but certainly much more fun than having to go to the office and shoveling snow! Don’t go too far away as you can read a bit more about our time in Florida.