Mother/Daughter Weekend Part 2

I'm back on land (never really left, just felt like it) after having a wonderful time, a very special time with my kids.

Highlights:

I caught a 32 inch redfish that was too big - I hope you are impressed! I have a bruise on my tummy from the pole to prove what a fighter my fish was. In Florida there are strict rules on the size of a fish if you want to keep it. Mine was too big to keep. V. on the other hand got one that was beautiful, perfect for keeping, but our captain told us redfish only really tastes good if you eat it freshly caught. I wanted S. to have some when I got home, but if it wasn't going to taste good...so we ended up throwing them both back. Most fisher people do the catch and release thing down here, and are sensitive about the fishes condition when they release them. It's not too good to play with a fish until they are exhausted then let them go only to be lunch for a bigger fish. Sorta defeats the purpose of catch and release, don't you think?

A. caught 32 catfish. I thought catfish were northern fish, but those little buggers are down here too, spitting and cussing the same way...must be cousins.

50 SPF sunscreen really works - not a burnt body between us!

If you are out in the sun all day it's cooler if you wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt, especially if they are from Curtis Wright Outfitters in Weaverville, N.C.

Fishing is boring, but, as A, says, catching is the fun part. Just give me a pole and let me reel in a fish and I'm good to go.

I swam in the gulf and didn't have a heart attack. Of course V. was right there with me. I have a Jaws thing, from being traumatized by the movie, and unfortunately I have passed it on to A. I know this because she didn't even put her little toe in the water the whole time.

It's tough to maintain a diet, I suppose any diet, when your favorite junk food, in my case Cheetos, is sitting on the counter in easy reach of a greedy little hand. But I did pretty well maintaining the raw thing...thank goodness wine is considered raw (not by the purists, but I'm far from that). I was greatly comforted by my friend and raw foodie Joan, when I talked to her on Friday and she was noshing on a gyro while she was in NYC for a convention...oh, so easy it is to stray.

It has been three years from when hurricane Charley blew into Punta Goarda and you can see from these pictures of Mangroves that they still haven't recovered. The ones on the left are how they should look, the ones on the right are how they do look. Just like the experience of Katrina, unless we see it first hand we don't really know the far reaching consequences of the storms.

Finally...wear sunscreen on your lips if you are going to be out in the sun for any amount of time. My lips have lost their menopause pallor, but the chapping, cracking and flaking from being sunburned isn't worth it!