Taste of Pine Island and Cindy Walsh

Yesterday we ventured out to Pine Island for Taste of Pine Island. It was held on the baseball field at Phillips park. It was a nice little town fair with lots of vendors and several food vendors. Really enjoyed the three dollar margaritas! While there we got to listen to the Skeeterland Band, a great bluegrass band. Then we watched Dogfish with special guest, Cindy Walsh. The music was great! Cindy did her award-winning "Gimme Grouper, Gimme Grouper" and "The Road to Matlacha" - my two favorites. Cindy and Dogfish also did several covers which were great. The whole event is put on by the Pine Island Kiwanis and proceeds go to local charities and schools. This is an annual event and I highly recommend it. There's even things for kids to do, so it's fun for the whole family. Nothing like going to an outdoor neighborhood fair in January! Never did anything like this in Chicago!

Skeeterland.....
Dogfish.......
Cindy Walsh.....

The only criticism I have is that there should be more food lines available. I ended up getting a slice of pizza because the line for beef sandwiches was about 20 deep and I didn't want to wait that long. Other than that everything was perfect - even the weather.

Today, we took it easy. I did a little dock casting and caught nothing. But it was a great day nonetheless!

I read this somewhere: If life is a journey, this must be the destination! Absolutely!

Life is SOOOO GOOD!!!!

Bill

Big Bass and the Yard Dogs

Yesterday was a great day. It started with me catching Bass No. 3. This one was about 17-18 inches and probably weighed about 5-6 lbs. Unfortunately no pictures, because I left the camera in the house and Susie wasn't available to bring it to me. So this becomes an undocumented fish story, but it's true! This guy really fought and I didn't think I'd be able to get him onto the dock. Our neighbors were out and saw the fish and were very impressed! I now have a tape measure and a gripper/weigher that I will have with me whenever I go fishing, along with the camera!

In the evening we took Susie's best friend, Jeanette, to Icabod's for dinner and the Yard Dog's show. Jeanette is hard to describe. She's a pretty blond, quick witted, a bit quirky, and very sweet lady. But she hangs around with Susie, so that should tell you something! She enjoyed the Yard Dog's very much. They put on another great show and the sound was very good at Icabod's. Icabod's is a different kind of venue for the Yard Dogs. We're more used to seeing them play at Tiki Bar kind of places and usually overlooking some water. But the audience seemed very receptive and they'll probably be making a whole new set of fans at this venue.

Susie and Jeanette at Icabod's:

Today, we just took it easy. Spent about half the day sitting out on the dock and throwing my little lure into the water, hoping to catch that big one again. And we fed the local little striped fish some bread. Started a feeding frenzy. I'm going to focus on catching one of those and getting some pictures for a positive ID.

Deb and the Dynamics at the Ragged Ass Saloon

Yesterday we ventured back out to St. James City and saw Deb and the Dynamics playing at the Ragged Ass Saloon. They played outside and the crowd was bigger than we expected. It was an eclectic crowd. There were lots of bikers, vacationers, locals, senior folks (including us), and younger people. Everyone was having fun and enjoying the show.

The band plays rock and blues predominantly and their instrumentation is great. Deb has a deep, gravely voice (when she wants it to be) and delivers every song with high energy and fun. This is a polished and very professional group. We've seen them a few times now, and people have to get up and dance during the shows. Deb and the Dynamics and the Yard Dogs may be the two most popular bands in SW Florida.

After the concert we went over to Woody's Waterside again for dinner. I chose the burger and fries and Susie had the Grouper Reuben. Food was great again.

Today, I think we're going to take it easy. We're looking forward to seeing the Yard Dogs this coming Friday at Ichabod's in Fort Myers. We've been to Ichabod's once before and it will be interesting, and entertaining to see the Yard Dogs playing that venue.

Next Sunday we're either going to Pine Island for the "Taste of Pine Island" or to the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers for their "Gumbo Fest". Haven't decided yet. There is something going on in the Lee County area almost every day.

Life is soooo good!

Bill

St. James City, Pine Island

Yesterday was a great day. It was a little cool (60s), so long pants and long sleeves were in order, but we ventured over to St. James City on Pine Island for the first time since we've moved down here. I've been hearing of a few "must see" restaurant/bars down there where they have live entertainment regularly. Pine Island is a relatively small island only accessible by land from Cape Coral. It sits between Cape Coral and Sanibel/Captiva. The Matlacha pass sits on the east side of the island and the Pine Island Sound sits to the west. For it's size its fairly sparsely populated. Most of the island is covered with palm and other plant nurseries and some protected wild-life areas. The population is concentrated in Bokeelia on the north end and St. James city on the south end, the most populated part of the island. Because it's off the beaten track, not that many tourists venture to the island. That's good for those of us that live here and would like to see the lifestyle remain as is. But the tourists don't know what they're missing. It's a really beautiful island and the atmosphere is pure SW Florida. Of course, you have to go through Matlacha to get to Pine Island, and that's an adventure of its own.

We got to St. James City in the early afternoon and, after driving around for a bit, stopped at the Ragged Ass Saloon. It sits on the same north-south highway that all the commercial establishments are on - the only main highway on Pine Island. Did I mention there are no stop lights on Pine Island? The first thing I noticed were a small collection of some beautiful Harley's and some people sitting around the outdoor bar. We walked around to the opposite side and sat at a table over-looking their docks. Several boats came and went while we were there. It was fun watching some of the larger ones navigate in the narrow canal along the Ragged Ass. We had a beer and a nice conversation with our waitress. I never got her name (I'm an idiot sometimes) but she was great. We talked about local entertainment and the Yard Dogs (she said she designed a couple of their CD covers), Deb and the Dynamics, and Cindy Walsh (who we would later see at Froggie's Bar).

The Ragged Ass Saloon.....

Susie contemplating the tough life we're leading....

The pressure's getting to me!....

After the Ragged Ass Saloon we ventured over to Woody's Waterside for lunch. Wow, the food was great! I wasn't that hungry and I've been eating a lot of grouper lately (I love grouper!) so I decided to try their lobster/crab bisque. It was tomato based and seasoned just right. I love a good bisque. Susie had the pulled pork sandwich which was also delicious (she let me have a taste). The fries and onion rings are advertised as beer battered and they were sensational - nice and crispy. A guy sitting near us ordered the grouper rueben. It looked like about a half pound of grouper on that sandwich and he thanked the waiter for the recommendation. All in all, the food was outstanding and the prices are very reasonable. We'll be back there soon - maybe today!

Woody's Waterside.....

Sitting with all my friends....

Great Egret on the canvas tent roof....

After Woody's we needed to kill some time before going to Froggie's and seeing Cindy Walsh, so we went up to Matlacha and ventured through some of the art shops. Always fun seeing the creativity and talent some people have. I don't know about you, but I hate people with that much talent! After that we headed over to Froggie's. Got there a bit early so had to sit and suck beer till the show began. This was the first time seeing Cindy Walsh, but I had visited her web site and was familiar with a few of the songs she wrote. She performed with a couple of other guys on bass and lead guitar. They did about a million cover songs and they were very good. Cindy has a mellow smooth voice and a surprising range. For us, the best part of the show was when she sang, just her and her guitar, songs that she has written. If you ever get a chance to see her perform make sure to request her "Matlacha" song and my personal favorite, "Gimme Grouper, Gimme Grouper". We had a chance to meet Cindy toward the end of the show and bought her CD. She's a sweet lady and put on a great show. I can see why she's such a local favorite. Oh, and our unnamed waitress from the Ragged Ass showed up and joined in all the fun. What a fun lady (you can just see her profile on the right side of the picture below). And what a great day!

Cindy Walsh and company at Froggie's (taken with cell phone)....

Sunset on Pine Island road...

One of our best days ever! Life is soooo damn good!

Bill

Fun, Fish, Golf, Pain....

We had some good friends from Chicago, Jim and Gail, visit for about a week and had a great time with them. We took them to Bert's in Matlacha and to Pincher's Crab Shack to see the Yard Dogs. As expected, they loved the Yard Dogs. We also had some great food at Ichabod's in Fort Myers. We wanted to take them boating, but schedules and weather didn't cooperate. Went golfing twice with Jim and it was just as ugly as I thought it would be. On the second round I had a great drive on number 16, but pulled my lower back on the follow-through. That ended my golfing for that day and probably for a few weeks to give it a chance to heal. I've never experienced this before, and I do not like it!

Jim, Gail, and Susie at Bert's. Great grouper!

Susie enjoying her lobster at Ichabod's. Talk about focus!

The gang, Me, Jim, Jack, and Jim and our lovely (hot!) spouses at Ichabod's.

But the big news is I've caught fish number 2 and fish number 3 in the last few days! Fish number two was a small (7-8") Large Mouth Bass. Fish number 3 was his older brother, a 12" Large Mouth. Number 3 gave a decent fight on my light action pole. I let him swim back and forth a bit to tire him out. I got pictures and released both Bass and watched them dart away. I think 12" is the minimum to be able to keep a bass. I need to get a measuring stick to get an accurate measurement. I caught both bass on a yellow swimming lure with a greenish feather like tail and single hook. It came in my little $20 special tackle box (with pole and reel!), so I couldn't tell you who might have manufactured it, but I'll bet he speaks Chinese! I think I'm almost ready for the next tournament!

Bass number 1. Maybe about 7-8".

Bass number 2. About 12" Laid him in the grass for the picture, but he made it just fine.

Still no vacation days in retirement! Life is sooooo good!

Bill

First Fish!

Well, I knew it would happen eventually. I decided to put aside the heavy duty tackle I've been using to catch the world record bass. Instead I hung the smallest hook I could find in my tackle box, a very small split shot weight, attached a small piece of scented worm to the hook and went hunting for a small pan fish of some kind. As soon as I started casting (only about 10 feet with the light weight), I started getting nibbles. Then I had one on the hook that self-released.

This guy was watching everything I was doing, and laughing, I'm sure. He's a lot better fisherman than I am. I think he's been depleting the canal of fish around my house!

On about the 10th cast or so, my line got hit hard! My pole flexed nearly in half! I was close to being dragged off the dock! But I fought hard and managed, after facing near exhaustion, to land this HUGE crappie!! At least, I'm pretty sure it was a crappie. He was a good 4-5 inches and maybe 3-4 ounces! After Susie took a couple of pics, I released this monster so that somebody else might have the pleasure of facing this powerful fish!

I wish we had better, closer, pictures of the fish, but Susie thinks I'm better looking than the fish, so she wanted to feature me in the pictures. Love really is blind, but that's fortunate for me! Anyway, I was surprised to pull this fish from the canal since I've seen nothing but these black-striped green guys around our dock continuously and have been feeding them bread. I think they're probably some kind of sunfish, but not sure. They look a lot like the pictures I've seen of Green sunfish, but supposedly they're very rare this far south. Maybe that's changed, or maybe these are some kind of hybrids. I want to catch one and get some good pictures so I can get a positive ID. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of these guys in the water. You can clearly see their stripes, and their black eyes. They have a black ear spot, as well as a dark area toward the back end of their dorsal fin. Their tail fin has a moderate cut and has a trailing nearly white edge. Some have a definite reddish cast on their tails.

Okay, I think the bottom line lesson learned here is, not everyone will lose their virginity to a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model! So be happy and always grateful for what you have!

Actually going golfing today and Saturday. First time in a long, long time. Should be ugly, but fun! Retirement is a bitch! No vacation days!

Life is soooo good. Bill