Fishin', sorta

Our fishing drought was finally ended today by the capture of not one but two wily denizens of the deep. Our heroic struggles against these two awesome specimens was not to be sneezed at. Bek fought her Sheephead for all of 3 or 4 minutes while I battled against my "toadfish?" for well over 4 1/2 minutes, finally boating the beast.

Stack of Stuff

A few things from the last few days that need posting but with no specific theme. To try to wrap up our (my) week (few days) with Rachel and her friends on her St. Augustine birthday getaway...

Not to overdo any one particular attraction, but we feel like taking guests to Washington Oaks is worth doing and it's proving to be photogenic in every season that we've visited. We'll see what the heat of Summer is like but so far it's been a very worthwhile stop.

Here are the girls at the plantation home that's on the property.

The roses were pretty well bloomed out but there were still many opportunities for good photos. Did you notice anything different about the last few photos? I've got a new macro lens that takes very good close-ups. It's not something you would want to use for distance pictures but it's excellent for the up close stuff. I'm still learning...depth of field, etc.

Some more... Close up: Palm Trunk

I just about tripped over this guy. He looks pretty big but was probably only 3 feet long. Oh, did I mention that Washington Oaks is close to J.T.'s (home of a really good hamburger and onion rings)?It's hard to hold back on lunch when you're really hungry knowing you're going to chow down at Ruth's Chris that evening. We managed to get away on time and got there at the appointed hour despite the time it took them all to get ready. Final touches on the ride to Ponte Vedra. The very picture of savoir-faire. Are these the same girls who jumped out of the boat that day?

The next day, a quick trip to Fort Matanzas. Matanzas translates to "slaughter". Read about it here...

.....after which we had a quick lunch at The World Famous Oasis.....

.....followed by late afternoon sunbathing on the beach. My time was short by now. Even though the girls planned to stay a couple of more days, I needed to return to the mountains, for I had promised my oldest, Sarah, that I would meet her and Kristen and Lacy and IAN in Asheville for dinner Saturday night. We had a real good visit and Ian was, as is usual, very laid back...

He's a pretty cool dude, don't you think?

St. Augustine, avec des amis

Bruno and Marie Noelle Hugon, and little Raphael (14 mos.) visited us in St. Augustine recently.

Marie Noelle (nee) Canin is a Parisian friend of ours of many years who not too long ago married Bruno Hugon and out of this marriage came Raphael.

You could not ask for more delightful guests. Marie Noelle has been to Florida (the Keys) with us before she married Bruno but this was his first trip to the states. We ate a lot of good food, fished a little, went to the beach, shopped, and did some of the tourist attractions such as the Alligator Farm.

Raphael was photographed after having subdued one of the fearsome beasts.

Communication was very easy as Marie Noelle speaks fluent English and Bruno does exceptionally well understanding English. Let's just say his English is a whole lot better than my French!

We also took a quick trip to Washington Oaks where the rose garden was in full bloom.And J.T.'s, where the burgers and onion rings were fantastic, as usual.

Au revior.

Old Florida, New to Us

Between Crescent Beach, on the southern end of Anastasia Island and Palm Coast is a section of A1A that is sort of lost in time. The first time I drove down there from St. Augustine Beach with Sarah and Paul we turned off at the first road that said "Old A1A" only to end up on a dead end road with a few houses that, I guess, were pretty close to the ICW.

A dirt road it was, that I suppose was "Old A1A". It was beautiful, with live oaks and spanish moss, typical of Old Florida. After going back out to "new" A1A we headed south again and shortly came to a state park named Washington Oaks Gardens. This section of A1A is paved but you still get a feel for what it must have been like years ago. It's only about a mile long....

Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia site from the link above:

The park's land has a rich history. Native Americans found the area a productive hunting and fishing area. After European settlement of Florida, the property had a number of owners and was used for various agricultural purposes. One owner was a surveyor named George Washington, a relative of President George Washington. In 1936, Louise Powis Clark, wife of the industrialist Owen D. Young purchased the property as a winter retirement home. She devised the name "Washington Oaks" for the property and is responsible for developing the park's formal gardens, citrus groves, and house. Mr. Young died in 1962 and Mrs. Young donated the property to the State of Florida in 1964. Her donation specified that the "gardens be maintained in their present form".

By the way, if you click on the pictures you get a full-sized version of them.

The orange and grapefruit trees were hanging full

on this beautiful January day and the fruit was ripening. We managed to find some that was ripe (after tasting some that were not quite) and I have to say it was very good, especially a pink grapefruit we ate fresh from the tree.

Across A1A from the entrance to the main part of the park is another section on the ocean side. There you will find a coquina beach. Coquina was the standard building material in the area back in the day and is still used in various forms even today. Coquina is different from Tabby, which is more prevelant on the Georgia coast but there is some Tabby in St. Augustine at the Fountain of Youth.

While we were in town Paul and I got a little fishing in. No catching, just a little fishing.

I hope we can all get back to St. Auggie again real soon.

Recipe for Near Disaster

Take one 25 year old Gheenoe that's been sitting peacefully at my sister's house at Lake Lure in Western North Carolina for years. Add a new $850 trailer and a slightly used 2007 15hp Suzuki motor bought on eBay for close to $2000, which is 10hp more than the boat is rated for. Drag all this down to St. Augustine, Florida because I have a place down there now and a burning desire to go fishing which I have rarely done and done only once in salt water. Add my Dad to the front end of this nautical missile and me at the helm, and drop her in the creek and head out to the Intracoastal Waterway. What do you get? My Dad with white knuckles and me with a curiosity about what that popping sound is at the stern of this monstrous little torpedo. When, on the return trip from the ICW, where, by the way, the wake from a passing yacht convinced me that leaving the creek and venturing out into the ICW was probably not a wise decision, I got to thinking that if the transom of this boat were to crack off from the sheer weight and propulsion of the motor that the boat would probably fill up with water pretty quickly. I decided at that point that a bigger boat was in my future if I was going to fulfill my dream of catching all those "doormat" sized flounder that my family and I are so fond of. Do ya'll know anybody that wants to buy her?