First coast trip of the year!

I HAD to start this blog with pics of our Bull Reds!

We had a great drive to the coast. We started a little later than we would have liked, but better late than never. Mia had us pull over in Lockhart for some dinner, and we found out that buffets work well while on the road. Daryl sat with Mia while I fixed her a plate and went back for mine. Then Daryl went and got his stuff. Mia ate some broccoli, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, a meatball or two, a little pork roast with carrots, cottage cheese n pineapple and for dessert she had a nilla waffer. Variety is Mia's middle name. We hit POC around 11pm. Gpa and Memaw where already asleep, but Nana (Grandma Dee has adopted this name for herself, and Mia can already say it) was there to greet us with hugs n kisses! Mia went to bed pretty quickly so the rest of us got to hang out with a beer and chat.

Up early the next morning for some breakfast tacos compliments of Gpa. Mmmm he's a great cook. Mia loooooved her taco. Oh, we brought her little booster seat, so she was able to sit at the table with us like the big girl she is. After some little hints and tips on how to handle the wee wild one, we were off to the boat! We tried a couple of spots and used live crabs as bait...well, they were alive until we cut them in half :) I've never used crabs before, but didn't have much luck. We went over to the jetties...I LOVE driving that gorgeous powerful boat! I could do it all day. Daryl free shrimped while Tom and I used some light weights, um..we were wrong. About 10 sec after casting, Daryl's shrimp had passed him by in the current, and landed him a whopper of a Bull Red! It took about 10 min to get that baby in, and a lot out of Daryl. Tom grabbed the net and I grabbed the camera. It was a 30 incher! That's pretty much the limit on a keeper...bigger than that then they get wormy..but they're good to throw back and let 'em breed!

Then Tom was up next. We had to take turns, bc the fish were only biting on one side of the boat, and it took all of us to get 'em in! Tom caught a beauty and had a blast trying to get him in the boat. It kept taking out his line, then he'd have to reel him back in!

We ended up catching around 7, but only kept 3...one each, bc there's a limit to big one's you can keep, plus we only keep the meat me can eat. Those damn fish fought so hard! One time I had a HUGE one on my line, and I fought with him for a good 10 min before Tom came to my rescue and helped me pull back my rod, then he'd drop it down quickly as I raced to reel the red in before Tom helped me pull back again. The fish was so strong, he kept running out my reel to where I only had a few feet left before he took my whole line! That whopper ended up going under the prop and cutting himself loose! Oh, the one that got away! (there are BUNCHES of pics in the Flikr thing)



We got back hot, hungry, sore and tired! While the guys stayed back to fillet the catch of the day, I walked back to the house for some Ziploc bags and what did I see when I rounded the corner, but Little Miss Mia on the deck with her Nana waiting for us. Dee had seen the boat pull in and stood Mia up on a deck chair and played with the wind chimes until we came home. What a sweet thing to come home to. While we were gone all morning, they had some fun, too. Mia spied Memaw's piece of cheese, and stomped over to her and (I would hope) politely asked Memaw for some. Tom BBQ'd the fish and we had a feast. They were sweet enough to grill a burger for me in case I didn't dig the fish. I love them.

The next day, Tom and Daryl spent a lot of time waxing the boat and some other maintenance. The girls hung out inside eating some sweet buns that they bought from a local baker lady. Mmmm. Mia had a bath 'cuz she was stinky from all that playing, then after she brushed her hair, she and Nana had a duel...hairbrush vs packing tube!

Before we left, Mia was able to take a nice long nap. She woke up full of energy...not good for a 4 hr car ride...so up and down the stairs she went!

We got home last night safe and sound. Daryl and I loved climbing into bed, sinking in and hoping that our muscles would relax enough to let our sore bodies get some sleep!

BTW, I think Nana BROKE Mia! All she wants to do is play, play, play with me! We normally play some then she'll go play on her own with her books and toys, then we'll read, then she'll go off again. But not today! She was stuck to me like glue just wanting to play with me. I'm taking her back to Nana!