Hilary
There's always something new to learn!
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2000
- Messages
- 6,483
Cast
Me Hilary, 48. Beginning to suffer from trip-planning overload, but looking forward to seeing some new-to-us parts of Florida.
DH Jeremy, 49. Looking forward to fishing opportunities in the Keys and on the coast, but could do without quite as long in Orlando.
DD1 Rhian , 19. Looking forward to forgetting university studies for two weeks anything else will be a bonus.
DD2 Amy, 15. Looking forward to first trip to IOA , Mission Space and the Hard Rock Hotel, but not looking forward to the prospect of being ill on the flights again.
Saturday, 3rd April
Jeremy was up bright and early this morning (probably too excited about the prospect of fishing to sleep properly) and had already left by the time the rest of us surfaced for breakfast. He went down to a local public beach (Sombrero Beach) to fish from the shore in the early morning before there were any swimmers about. Im sure there was probably some other reason for the timing of it, like tides and so on, but it all gets a bit too technical for me, Im afraid. Anyway, when he came back, technical considerations notwithstanding, hed caught a Red Snapper
, and he was very excited that hed seen a manatee swim right next to him. 
Once Jeremy had recovered from his exploits and had his breakfast, we all went back to spend some time at Sombrero Beach and were surprised at how quiet it was for a Saturday. We paddled, I watched whilst the others swam (I dont do beaches terribly well) and we all sat around for a while people-watching and looking at the amazing boats coming and going. Its obviously quite a wealthy area round here!
Lunch was at somewhere wed seen advertised the Dockside Diner. It was a mistake.
I wont dwell on the details, but I hope I dont ever have to go there again
Back at the Banana Bay, Jeremy got ready for his trip out with the fishing guide and we waved him off on his tarpon trip.
Jeremy and fishing trips in Florida do not have a good record. Every time we go, he looks forward to the fishing more than anything else. Every time we go, he spends more than the time before on another guided trip. Every time we go, hes disappointed. He has caught fish, but never as many, or as big, as hed hoped. Tarpon have been a longstanding dream for him, and we all really hoped hed have a successful trip this time.
The girls and I borrowed some tennis racquets and balls from reception and displayed our tennis skills on one of the two courts at Banana Bay. Wisely, we chose the court least visible from the path our tennis skills are not a pretty sight. At least I got to explore a bit of the undergrowth when I went retrieving the ball at frequent intervals. And I remembered to check for snakes before picking the ball up. It was too hot and sticky to play tennis anyway.
After a wander round the grounds and a while at the pool, we went back to wait for the trailer-load of fish to arrive at our door. Well, it never hurts to be optimistic, does it? Im afraid the optimism was misplaced Jeremy didnt get his tarpon.
He did say hed had a good time and it was an enjoyable trip, which would have been excellent if the tarpon had been around. Best not to dwell on that, I think.
Oh well, tomorrow we head to Naples on the Gulf Coast.
Me Hilary, 48. Beginning to suffer from trip-planning overload, but looking forward to seeing some new-to-us parts of Florida.
DH Jeremy, 49. Looking forward to fishing opportunities in the Keys and on the coast, but could do without quite as long in Orlando.
DD1 Rhian , 19. Looking forward to forgetting university studies for two weeks anything else will be a bonus.
DD2 Amy, 15. Looking forward to first trip to IOA , Mission Space and the Hard Rock Hotel, but not looking forward to the prospect of being ill on the flights again.
Saturday, 3rd April
Jeremy was up bright and early this morning (probably too excited about the prospect of fishing to sleep properly) and had already left by the time the rest of us surfaced for breakfast. He went down to a local public beach (Sombrero Beach) to fish from the shore in the early morning before there were any swimmers about. Im sure there was probably some other reason for the timing of it, like tides and so on, but it all gets a bit too technical for me, Im afraid. Anyway, when he came back, technical considerations notwithstanding, hed caught a Red Snapper
, and he was very excited that hed seen a manatee swim right next to him. Once Jeremy had recovered from his exploits and had his breakfast, we all went back to spend some time at Sombrero Beach and were surprised at how quiet it was for a Saturday. We paddled, I watched whilst the others swam (I dont do beaches terribly well) and we all sat around for a while people-watching and looking at the amazing boats coming and going. Its obviously quite a wealthy area round here!
Lunch was at somewhere wed seen advertised the Dockside Diner. It was a mistake.
I wont dwell on the details, but I hope I dont ever have to go there again
Back at the Banana Bay, Jeremy got ready for his trip out with the fishing guide and we waved him off on his tarpon trip.
Jeremy and fishing trips in Florida do not have a good record. Every time we go, he looks forward to the fishing more than anything else. Every time we go, he spends more than the time before on another guided trip. Every time we go, hes disappointed. He has caught fish, but never as many, or as big, as hed hoped. Tarpon have been a longstanding dream for him, and we all really hoped hed have a successful trip this time.The girls and I borrowed some tennis racquets and balls from reception and displayed our tennis skills on one of the two courts at Banana Bay. Wisely, we chose the court least visible from the path our tennis skills are not a pretty sight. At least I got to explore a bit of the undergrowth when I went retrieving the ball at frequent intervals. And I remembered to check for snakes before picking the ball up. It was too hot and sticky to play tennis anyway.
After a wander round the grounds and a while at the pool, we went back to wait for the trailer-load of fish to arrive at our door. Well, it never hurts to be optimistic, does it? Im afraid the optimism was misplaced Jeremy didnt get his tarpon.
He did say hed had a good time and it was an enjoyable trip, which would have been excellent if the tarpon had been around. Best not to dwell on that, I think.Oh well, tomorrow we head to Naples on the Gulf Coast.
)
