Time For Kingfish

The King Mackerel or Kingfish is a migratory, schooling fish that can grow to 90 pounds.  It has great power for short runs and can leap out of the water like a billfish.  In short, they can really smoke your fishing reel's drag and give your upper body a good workout.  They visit North Florida for an extended summer when the water warms to 70 degrees and higher. You never know what you are going to catch when ocean fishing but a Kingfish is a pretty good bet.  As a kid in South Florida years ago you would aim for Sailfish, Dolphin, or Cobia but would not be upset with the seemingly more abundant Kingfish.  Nice thing about this area, you do not have to go far offshore to find them.  The biggest one I have caught here was just a long cast from the beach.  The Pelicans help you locate the bait pods and the hungry predators are usually already there.  I have been chasing Kings for a long time.  The picture with the skinny kid wearing the snazzy hat is me with my mom back when all boats were wood.  The other pictures are  more current from St. Augustine. 

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FREE St. Augustine Beach Concert Series

This is the twelfth year for the "Music by the Sea FREE Concert Series" which starts Wednesday May  14th. and continues thru Wednesday September the 24th. This year 21 different bands will be preforming along with 21 different eateries furnishing food for purchase in the pavilion.  Each Wednesday offers a different band and a different food option with a lot of variety.  Food starts at six and music starts at seven.  If I buy my date dinner we sit in the pavilion for really close to the band seats.  If we choose not to dine we bring our folding chairs and beverages and sit in the sand.   Parking is also FREE till full at the Pier/Pavilion parking lot on historic A1A in St. Augustine Beach.

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The Lowly Rowboat

As a kid growing up close to Lake Erie after World War  II there were rowboats everywhere.  They were used for everything from recreation to commercial fishing and for search and rescue.  People with big money had inboard motor boats while the average Joe had a rowboat.  Large outboard motors had not been invented or reached the general population yet so a10 hp. motor was a big deal.  You could buy a boat ready made by a company like Old Towne or you could do what my dad and uncle did and build your own.  As a young lad I was shown my uncles latest boat which he was quite proud of.  It was completely submerged in about eight feet of clear water in a small lake.  I must have made lots of points by saying "that must not have been made right if it's sunk like that" not realizing that a wood boat has to soak for three days so the wood swells up and they don't leak.  The first picture below is my parents in the stern of dad's pre WW II rowboat.  After the war he purchased a 7.5 hp. Champion two cylinder which allowed him to zip threw an inlet much faster than rowing.  But he still kept the oars on board  just in case.  The next picture is my mother letting me inspect the bottom of the family boat.  The last picture is the family out for a Sunday ride.  I am the cool guy in the center holding on.  They got many years of use and great memories out of that old home made boat.  Maybe I need to build a rowboat that will hopefully float after a good soaking.

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Skiing at the Beech

We were born up north where the weather gets cold.  Barbara could ice skate to school and I could almost see Canada on a clear day.  The idea of being confined inside till summer was out of the question.  I was fortunate that two ski resorts were within an hours drive from our family home.  This clearly had something to do with my affinity for gravity sports.  I was a member of the Ashland College Ski Club, participated in intercollegiate slalom racing, started the New London High School Ski Club,  taught my children how to ski, and probably spent too much time and money on the hill.  After a three year absence from skiing due to a back/knee thing I finally felt well enough to give it a try.  Much to Barbara's surprise everything worked and we had a great time.  YES!

 We choose Beech Mountain North Carolina for the trial by ordeal.  Ski Beech is touted to be the highest ski area east of the Mississippi at 5506 feet of elevation.  The revitalized area offers a high speed quad lift, an alpine village with an ice skating rink and lodge, and a new Umbrella Bar at the top of the mountain offering great views and craft beers.  Not Utah or Colorado but much closer with adequate snow making and grooming for a truly enjoyable experience.  http://www.beechmountainresort.com/

Brought to you by: Team Gledhill, Prudential Network Realty Buying or Selling Property in St. Johns Co? Call 904-874-2588 or email info@teamgledhill.com

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Thanksgiving with the Third Graders

Grandson Luke is a third grader in the St. Johns County School System.  We were invited to his Thanksgiving Day celebration which also included lunch.  Some of the children were dressed as Pilgrims and some as Native Americans.  They gave us a little history and sang a few songs before serving lunch.  Several classes were involved so lunch was served in the larger capacity art room.  Luke was pared up with a kindergarten student earlier in the year in a symbiotic reading program that lets third graders act as big brother/sister mentors to the younger children and we were pleased to have Luke's partner join us for lunch.  The third graders served lunch to all the parents and grandparents and we were mightily pleased with their efforts. The only tense moment was when the whipped cream in a spray can dispenser handled by a third grader decorated my pumpkin pie!!.  It worked out fine.  Easy to see why St. Johns County Schools earn such high ratings.  Thanks to the teachers for their hard work and the parents for their support!

   

Brought to you by: Team Gledhill, BHHS Florida Network Realty Buying or Selling Property in St. Johns Co? Call 904-874-2588 or email info@teamgledhill.com

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Pomenade the Waterfront on the New Seawall

Barbara tells me that I am an inexpensive date.  All one of us needs to say is " a cookie and a coffee " from  one of the many sources downtown and we are ready for a walk in the historic section of St. Augustine.  One of our favorite routes is the waterfront along the bay.  Historic homes and buildings to the west and the waterfront and boats on the east.  The views are great and many times we even hold hands.  This used to be necessary because the old seawall was narrow and the street was wide and we can both have clutz attacks.  This is changing, however, with the construction of a new seawall which is being constructed 12 feet further out into the water.  This newly constructed seawall will protect the historic old seawall along the bay that was originally started by the Spanish in 1696.  The section being fortified in the pictures is from the 1833 project  which was built by West Point Military Academy graduates.  The wall is also higher to protect the city from water intrusion during tropical storms.  The best thing for us and other pomenaders is the nice wide walking path between the old now interior wall and the new higher outer wall.  We may not have to hold hands to walk the wall, but then again.        

Brought to you by: Team Gledhill, BHHS Florida Network Realty Buying or Selling Property in St. Johns Co? Call 904-874-2588 or email info@teamgledhill.com

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Annual Boat Migration

This time of year one notices that the lift bridges like the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine are getting a lot of use.  Boat traffic increases in the fall as northern boaters come south to take advantage of our relatively warmer weather and sunshine.  Some owners have their boats transported south on semi trailers for large boats or trail small boats behind their cars or RV's.  The really large vessels, however, get to navigate the north/south boat highway that runs down the east coast of the United States.  The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway was conceived by Congress in 1826 as a way to assist commerce.  The idea was for a system of natural waterways and dug canals to be so connected that vessels could navigate without the hazards of the open sea.  Smaller non ocean going vessels could be used to haul freight from New York to the Gulf of Mexico.  Today around 3,000 miles of inland waterway exist allowing boats to travel from Boston, Massachusetts to Key West, Florida.   You can even cross the state of Florida at around Stewart on the east coast to Fort Myers on the west coast crossing Lake Okeechobee.   Railroads have taken a lot of the commercial traffic leaving the waterway for pleasure boaters.  As a guy who has spent his life around boats this migration is like a very enjoyable parade.

Brought to you by: Team Gledhill, Prudential Network Realty Buying or Selling Property in St. Johns Co? Call 904-874-2588 or email info@teamgledhill.com

"Sharing Our Community with Buyers & Sellers...One Snippet at a Time"