(Not Too) Deep Sea Fishing
I’m so tired right now that I’m hyper. It’s 1:10 a.m. Now I know how Max feels after he skips a nap!
We got up shortly after 4:30 a.m. (yep, that’s why I’m so tired!) and drove to the harbor in Destin, Florida. Richard gladly left us there and took Max back to the campground with him. Richard would rather do just about anything than ride on a boat offshore (he got seasick once). And, Max is too young to take out, just in case he inherited that seasickness gene.
The rest of us jumped aboard, only to learn that the seas would be very rough and would get worse throughout the morning. So, they weren’t going to take us very far out. In fact, we drove for two hours to get to the first spot, but we weren’t any more than a mile or two from land. We could see it quite clearly, though all those huge hotels look the same from that distance. The sunrise was gorgeous! And, they were right! It was pretty rough! We were bouncing all over the place!
We caught a few fish, but they weren’t very big. Frank hooked a huge shark but never got to see it. Ali saw it when it came up to the boat and estimated it was about 4 feet long. It’s head was wider than a basketball. It bit the line and broke loose before Frank could see it. He fought SO hard to catch that fish, and was very, very disappointed when it got away. I reminded him that’s why they call it fishin’, not catchin’.
One of the mates on the boat told the kids that sharks urinate through their skin and that’s why they stink so bad right after they’re caught. (I can’t stand the smell and never eat shark meat.) I was intrigued and looked this up online. They don’t exactly pee through their skin. It’s much more complex than that (and makes a great homeschooling lesson for the children!). If you are so inclined, you can read more about this topic HERE.
We came back to the harbor around noon and Richard and Max were there waiting for us. The children got to feed some of the fish skin to the pelicans, who will take it right out of your hand if you let them. I wouldn’t let the children do that…cause we want all the kids to get back to Maine with all their digits intact.
We stopped for some frozen bait on the way back to the campground so the children can do some night fishing from the pier here. The weather is absolutely stunning! The kids are begging us to stay one extra day and we might do it. Our spot here is right on the water. You can’t beat sitting by the white sand and ocean while sipping your coffee and answering email each morning.
Our Navarre, FL photos are HERE.