Sunday, January 10, 2016

Wow That Water Is Warm

December 16 – 31, 2016

SIT continues to enjoy our time on the treasure coast. We were able to get another fishing trip under our belts. Well we didn’t have belts on but we did have success with catching some red drum (also called red fish) that we could keep.

We had fun catching quite a bit of fish this time in the morning, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep all of them. That’s okay since we can try again when they are in season. Regardless what we caught was quite tasty!
 Nice Sheep Head, Yum
Nice Snook Steve, Too Bad You Can't Keep It
Big Fish Tory Strikes Again
 Hanging Out As The Fish Are Cleaned
Maybe They Don't See Me

We were fortunate enough to have my brother and sister-in-law, Rod and Mary, with us beginning on the 22nd. I picked them up from the airport and then the next day we all went to Largo to visit Uncle Al and Pat. We surprised my Uncle for the most part. He had not seen them for many years. Izzy had fun too as Pat loves having Izzy over.
Love My Uncle
The Bailey's

We spent the rest of the time showing them around the area, with the first place the pier/jetty. Steve and Izzy have a routine of coming here most mornings to talk to the fisher people and see how the catch is going.  We managed to get to a couple of beaches, one of them a dog friendly beach so Izzy could enjoy the sand and water. Rod was surprised at how warm the Atlantic was as compared to the Pacific Ocean. Might just have a convert here!

Steve Explains The Happenings

Yuck Too Much Salt
Just Enjoying The Day
 Oh That's Warm
Beach Selfie

Rod and Mary took off for St. Augustine for a couple of days to check out the town as well as visit a friend Rod knew from high school. I forgot to ask him if he looked the same! Before they headed that direction we had a great motorized kayak tour. The company that provides this tour year round have developed the motorized kayak so anybody can get into one and steer. Although I was glad I was the person and in front in charge of the paddle!

In Complete Control
Rod and Mary Staying Upright

You get to tour through mangroves, around islands, and possibly encounter dolphins and manatees. We didn’t find any dolphins or manatees but did enjoy the day, learning about the vegetation and spotting some waterfowl on occasions. The best part is nobody fell out of the kayak! I was pretty sure Steve was going to try and dunk me just because Rod was there to laugh!
Taking a Nap
 I Said Left Turn Mary
Don't Come Any Closer
Hi
Watch Out We'll We Be Coming Through
How Come I'm Paddling?
This is Fun
When Rod and Mary got back from St. Augustine we went to the movies. The force was with us as we battled along with all of the fighters. I won’t tell you any details of the new Start Wars movie as I don’t want to spoil it for you if you choose to join the force. I think Izzy is part of the force especially when she wants to play with her floppy!

You Have To Let Go If You Want Me To Throw It Again


We also toured the Navy Seal Museum that is here in Fort Pierce. The original training spot for the Seals was here. The museum is very well done and informative. As you wander through it you get a feel for how tough it is for someone to become a Seal especially since they go through about two years of training before they are even done with the program.

I Am Learning A Lot
 Watching The Film
 This Would Be Fun On The Beach
 Learning About the Dog's Training
 Mark V Operations Craft
One Mean Boat
Now That's A Big Plane
                                                                                                             
Some of you might remember Captain Phillips? Tom Hanks played him in the movie if that gives you a hint. Well, the museum has the lifeboat that Captain Phillips was held captive in by Somali pirates on April 8, 2009. The Navy Seals rescued him on Easter Sunday April 12th, truly a wonderful story to remember.

 Captain Phillips Was Held Here

There are a lot more things to explore around here as well as get our kayaks wet even though they are not motorized. Well, I guess they are with muscle power!


Stay tuned for some exciting news I’ll share in SIT’s next post!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Fish On and Other Stuff


November 17 – December 14, 2015

Did someone say rain? We arrived on Thanksgiving and got to enjoy a few days of sun, but that didn’t last long.

The next couple of weeks we had drenching rainstorms and winds, so we kept ourselves entertained getting out when it stopped and looking around the Fort Pierce and Vero Beach area. We are trying to see if we might want to make this the winter get away spot for SIT in the future.

We have had some nicer weather the past couple of weeks including record breaking heat. Oh and that pesky thing called humidity. That is a bit different for us so you look for shade and enjoy the breeze. Hanging out by the water does help.

We played 9 holes of golf on a course that is not too far from where we are staying. I didn’t take any pictures this round but don’t worry, we will be playing more golf.

We took one fishing charter as we are trying to learn the good fishing spots in the intercoastal water way. We had a great time and caught more fish we couldn’t keep than we could, but the ones we could keep taste wonderful. We will head out again with Dustin our guide.

Dustin our Guide
 
Tory's Big Fish 16.5 "
Sheephead

Our Catch


We are trying to learn the water a bit in order to take our fishing kayaks out. Hopefully we can have success fishing from them. For me my goal will be to not fall out when I cast!

Izzy is having fun since Steve can give her a run most days from the RV park. The RV park doesn’t have amenities but is in a good location for walking and heading to the waterfront.

Steve and Izzy will go to the fishing pier most mornings and check out the action. He is getting excited about trying to fish from there as he is custom making a fishing cart that will carry the gear, ice chest, and bait. We will hopefully try it out soon. Us westerners need a bit of acclimation before we spend 8 hours out there.
Making Rod Holders


Project Steve

We decided to stay here as we were going to be helping at the KOA as camp hosts. Unfortunately the owner hired another couple in September so we aren’t working for them right now. I don’t think we mind too much, since this gives us our freedom each day. We may end up helping in the near future, but won’t crush us if we don’t. I think Izzy probably likes that best too.

I will give you another report in a couple of weeks. Maybe I will have some pictures of Manatees and dolphins that hang out in the river close to the RV park.

Also, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you are able to spend it with either family or friends or both!



SIT Cruising Again


November 16 – 26, 2015

Well, it has been awhile since The Life and Times of SIT was established, but guess what we are at it again.

We loaded up the fifth wheel and hit the road on Monday, November 16. We were heading to the Florida coast for a few months to see what life might be like on the Atlantic for longer than a couple of weeks at a time.

We took a different route to head east than our previous journey and it was nice to see new country. We traveled through Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and were only a few miles from Four Corners, but we decided to keep on driving.

Fall Colors Still


We hit one new state from when we did our two year trip. Oklahoma hosted SIT for a night. The part we traveled through was actually quite pretty. We did encounter wind, but heck we had wind pretty much from when we left home.


Oh Boy!

We were targeting to be in Milton Florida on Sunday the 22nd to drop some things off for some friends and see John and Mary Ann, however Big Red decided it wanted a break. We ended up broken down on the highway about 30 miles southeast of Hattiesburg Mississippi on a Sunday. Funny, how breaking down on a Sunday, at the beginning of a holiday week can definitely change the dynamics.

The good news is that we were able to get towed eventually back to Hattiesburg and get the truck fixed on Monday. The challenge was finding a way to tow the trailer since any of the tow companies we called couldn’t tow both. Luckily one of the RV parks in town had someone willing to come get Steve and the Trailer. Izzy and I headed into town first with the truck and hung out at the RV park we were getting the trailer towed too. Well long story short we ended up at a different RV park, but got to eat dinner before midnight!
 
Are We There Yet?

We enjoyed a short visit with John and Mary Ann and we hit the road Thanksgiving morning. We targeted to get to Fort Pierce Florida around 4:00 in the afternoon however we had another hick-up that day. Needless to say, we learned the mileage limitation of the truck, and we had leftover chili I made for our Thanksgiving dinner.  So Thanksgiving was a bit different for us this year, but the main thing is we made it safe and sound and are very thankful for everything and all of you.


I will be sharing what we are up to throughout the winter so be sure and check back!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Wind and Wave Action




October 2015



We hadn’t really gotten out and traveled since we returned from our adventure and knew we wanted to explore Brookings Oregon so we loaded up the poles, golf clubs, and Izzy and took off for 10 days.

The RV park was across the street from the harbor and a great area to take Izzy for a walk. There was a fishing pier near-by which peaked Steve’s interest.
Our View
A Pet For Izzy Maybe

I was excited about meeting up with my college girlfriend, Edi, again as she and her husband, Mike, and their dog Luna were coming down to hang out with us for a few days. Oh I was pretty excited to check out the sites too!

Luna Izzy's New Friend

We had fun exploring the coast around Brookings and the dogs enjoyed some free time on the beach. We spent a day working our way up the coast and even had decent weather. The views were amazing and the beach was fun to walk along although we didn’t find much for tide-pools.

Enjoying the Hike
Peaking Through
 A Tad Rocky
 Arch Rock
 Mike and Edi
 Mike and Steve Hanging Out
 Posing
 Beauty
Such a View

Steve decided fishing for salmon in this spot wasn’t going to pan out. We did get a golf game in after Mike and Edi headed down to California.
A Gorgeous Course
Not Too Worried About Getting Hit by a Golf Ball

Since fishing was still on the agenda, we headed out of Brookings and went to Winchester Bay for a few days. We were close to here once before when we went to Florence.

Our RV Spot Mate

Steve talked to the people fishing right at the RV park as they were having some success in catching salmon. The hard part is you need the right pole especially casting into what seemed like 100 mile winds! Needless to say, the challenge was there and the fish decided they didn’t like Steve’s hook. Oh well, he tried!
A Bit Windy
No Bites Yet

We headed home a different route and spent a night in Sisters Oregon. The RV park was quite large, and Izzy had a blast hanging out by a pond as well as keeping an eye on the wildlife. I think they were keeping an eye on her mostly.
 His Home
Keeping an Eye Out


We had a nice trip and really enjoyed spending time with Edi and Mike. I know Izzy had fun too as she has a new buddy. We’re pretty sure we will meet them again on the road!