More fishing!

The weather cooperated, the calendar was clear and we were ready to fish!  Richard headed south to join us. 

Captain Frank said the Nauti Nole was leaving the dock at 7:30AM.  It was a little cool, but it warmed up very nicely.  And it seemed there were lots of other boats who wanted to take advantage of the beautiful Sunday.

We spent quite a while dragging the lines and listening to captains chattering on the radio.  It was getting a bit discouraging as we were hearing about dolphin and sailfish bites.  Patience paid off and we finally got a bite!  It was a small bull dolphin.  While it was only one, it was better than none!

Back out again tomorrow...and I'm wearing my lucky shirt!  (Let's hope it works!)

Thanksgiving 2009

For several weeks, we've been looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving with Frank's brother and sister-in-law, Ray & Bonnie and their family in DelRay Beach.

Bonnie is the consummate hostess and no detail escaped her!  The grown-up and kids' tables were beautiful!

Celeste, Mary-Alice and Mattie checking out 'their' table! 

These guys don't want to waste too much energy getting ready for the feast!

Frank and I wanted to introduce the Jones Clan to a game we've played the past few years at our neighborhood Thanksgiving - The Thanksgiving Plate game.  (Everyone has to pick a plate from a selection of random plates and come up with a story of how that plate ties to or was at the first Thanksgiving.)  Everyone was a real trooper and came up with some great stories! 

Mike and Ray listen as Doug tells his story of the landscaping Pilgrims.

Joe tells his story of the wheat and balance beam.

Megan tells her story of the Mexican plate.

And they were handsomely rewarded for their efforts. 

Uncle Doug and Mattie sharing the Snuggie.

The girls had their own contest and had to color turkeys.  It was too difficult to pick "the best one" so all three got prizes.

The girls had their own contest - coloring turkeys! 

But it was too difficult to pick 'the best one' so all three got prizes.

A light-up Slinky, power bubbles and Etch-a-Sketch.

Then it was time for carving the turkey.  Big Brother Frank showed the 'young uns' proper technique.

Ray gets his weapon of choice ready.

Frank carves the bird 'old school'.

Son-in-law Joe observes and helps with plating.

What a spread!  Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, glazed sweet potatoes, rolls, gravy, and asparagus.  Then for dessert we had pecan pie, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheese cake!  If anyone went home hungry, it was their own fault.  Everything was de-li-cious!

Thank you Bonnie and Ray for including us!  We look forward to the next big celebration - Mike and Jenn's wedding!

No, I'm not a giant...I had on heels and Bonnie had on flats.  :)

Curse of new uniforms - ended! (Just barely)

Today was the last home game of the season for the Seminoles.  We were all a little anxious about the game because the team was going to be wearing new uniforms.  "But these are the fancy new Nike uniforms", you say.  Well, the previous two years when the Seminoles have worn different uniforms, they've lost the game. 

For the past few days we've been watching the weather and at one point, it was forecasted for 100% chance of rain, during the tailgate time and the game.  We were well prepared, including foul weather gear and rain boots.  We also scaled back the tailgate since there would only be a few of us and it was a shorter tailgate time.   

The tailgate was great! A little overcast and cool (a refreshing change from the sweltering heat we've experienced this summer.) And no rain!

Leann, Lynne, Sarah, Beverly, Ron, Bob, Joanne, Frank and Rick

This was also the last home game for Mickey Andrews (Defensive Coordinator) who is retiring at the end of the season after 26 years and there was a special tribute to him before kickoff. 

Because we got into the stadium earlier than usual, we were able to catch the Marching Chiefs Drum Corp who were warming up under the stadium.  Oh the acoustics! 

We were able to get into the stadium in time to check out the new uniforms and participate in the "Thank You" to Mickey.

Whew!  The uniforms weren't as red as they appeared in pictures!

Ben, Brianne, baby Ben, Donna and Jon

Coach Mickey

Ron & Frank

Beverly, Sarah and Lynne

Part of the ceremony for Mickey including him handling Chief Osceola's spear and planting it into the center of the field.

Second game for QB EJ Manual.

Some friends were recognized for their generous scholarship gifts.

Ronnie & Bonnie Glazer. 

Christian & Lori Scherf (Lori's home waiting the arrival of their little Nole).

Herb & Mary Jervis

We were really hoping the Noles would win this game, not only for Mickey, Bobby, and the Seniors, but for the opportunity to make a bowl game.  The young quarterback had his ups and downs.  And it was frustrating when key plays and opportunities were missed.  But in the end, yes the very end, the Seminoles won the game!  And so, the curse of the new uniforms has been broken!

Mangia Mangia in Tallahassee

Mangia Mangia! is an annual tradition started by the Ruggeri's and for the past couple of years has been held at the Fordyce's home.  There is always a surplus of great Italian food, wine and good friends!  And this year was no different.

A lot of the people in the group haven't been to many games this season for a variety of reasons including new babies, jobs and traveling.  But this weekend was different.  Everyone was in Tallahassee for the last home game of the season.  And we all enjoyed a great time at Mangia Mangia!

Dana, Jamela, Leann, Joanne

Neighbor, Jamela, Tim and Sugar

Frank and Tim

Jon & Donna Ruggeri, Jamela

Jamela, Jon, Mike and Joanne

Ben, Brianne and baby Ben (his first roadtrip, first dinner party and first night away from home)

Scott, Samantha, Tim, Ben, Alexander, and Jon

"The Girls" and baby Ben

Joanne and Leann

Bonnie, Donna, Joannie, and Leann

Thanks Jamela and Tim for hosting the festivities!

Fall Fishing!

As mentioned in the previous post (below), we are going to be in Stuart as often as we can and fish!  (Fishing this time of year is a first for us and we're looking forward to it.)

We didn't get the boat back in time to be able to fish today so we hopped onboard Capt. Pete's boat (Rainbow Runner Sportfishing Charters).  We were really looking forward to this as Capt Pete has fished on our boat but we've not fished on his.  And we were hoping to learn a few new techniques as well as catch some different kinds of fish.  We haven't seen him since May so it was nice to catch up on all that happened over the summer.

We left the dock bright and early!

The morning was a little cool, but very pleasant.  It's always good when we see the railroad bridge open!

And it's nice to see the welcoming committee too.

It was also the first day in a while the seas were relatively calm and so, there were lots of boats heading out the inlet at about the same time we were.

Capt Pete had a strategy and we worked it!  We barely got two of the lines out when we got our first strike.  Unfortunately, we were distracted with getting things set up, lines out, etc. and we missed the sailfish.  It didn't take the whole bait, but left some trademark marks.  Not a few minutes later, after we got everything all set up, another one of the lines started to ziiinnngg.  It was a dolphin!  A few jumps and steady reeling and it was at the boat in no time.  Guess we didn't wear the fish out enough because when Capt Pete tried to get him in the boat, he wiggled off the hook.

We continued trolling for a while without any luck.  Next step of the strategy....bottom fishing.  We packed things up and headed for some of Capt Pete's secret spots.  After changing out the rods and rigs, we were ready for business.  Lines were in and we were catching fish!  Some were keepers (snapper, sea bass, porgie) and others (blue runners, grunts, pinfish) went into the live well for an after-lunch round of going after  dolphin and sailfish. 

With the right rigs, right location and hungry fish, bottom fishing can be lots of fun!

After our fill of bottom fishing, we drifted with the live bait for a while, looking and hoping for that sailfish from the morning to return.  No luck.  So we changed back to the rods and rigs for trolling and tried that for a while.  We saw lots of things including jellyfish and flying fish, but the dolphin and sails must have had lunch someplace else or didn't like what we were serving.

(Yes, those are stylish protective buffs we're wearing. 

Frank wore them alot earlier this year and I've joined the club.)

All in all it was a fun day.  We got to fish with Capt Pete, we learned some new 'tricks of the trade' and caught fish we hadn't caught before.  And it got us excited about fishing the next time we're here!