The Call of the Fish

Didn't I tell you that I thought there would be exciting adventures to share?

Here you see Howard with his first catch of the day.

According to Marty, he and Howard set up the rod, put on the two hooks and casted.  Before Marty could even get a chance to set up his own rod, Howard was claiming to have a hit, and, sure enough, he pulled in those fish in record time.  He must really be the Fish Whisperer!

Marty finally did manage to reel in a few of his own

And he claims that between the two of them, they brought in over 50 fish.  I suppose that he was so busy catching that he didn't have time to actually record the evidence, so we'll have to take their word for it.

This morning, Howard is eager to try 3 hooks on the line to see what happens.  Guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow's update to see how that works out.

After the elated fishermen returned and cleaned up, we headed out to Grayton Beach State Park to check out the Dune Lake that is located there.  It's only a short distance down the road, and out travels took us over a couple of the dune lakes, by bridge,  on the way, all quite beautiful.

Once arrived, we headed out on the marked trail.  Here you see a photo of our hostess, Jennifer, with the Gulf Side dune in the background. 

And here is the lakeside view from the opposite direction.  

So we are actually walking along the strip of dune that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the lakes that are inland and are fresh water. 

On the sides of the dunes, one can spot thees holes, surrounded by dozens of tiny foot prints.

That is the home of the Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse.  The DVD that we had watched the night previously had shown video of this creature hopping about the dunes.  The closest we got to one was this photo on a display board.  

Too bad, because they looked quite entertaining on film. 

But we certainly weren't lacking in visual entertainment.  We learned that there are slash trees in the forest that were once used for making turpentine.  The trees are slashed and the resin removed and distilled to make the product.  These are no longer used for the industry as this is a protected area now. 

Along the way, we passed through Sand Live Oaks that form a canopy over a path.  Marty and I are standing just at the entrance.

Just inside stands this Prayer of the Woods

The path was fairly easy to follow

And marked arrows are always convenient

\

Here you see Marty posing Gulf Side

And Howard on the lake side

Entertaining fellow, for sure.

Along our travels we spied a Dahoon Holly

A marshmallow flower standing among the grasses

And loads of butterflies having a field day.

We finally made it down to the beach.  What a spectacular sight!

I managed to snap this photo on the walk to the car park where you can see the Gulf in the background. 

Just gorgeous!

On the way back to the house, we just had to stop for some refreshment.

We took a quick stroll through Rosemary Beach, which is an upscale community with a European theme. 

Picture perfect!

As was agreed, the men made dinner.

A great ending to yet another fabulous day at Naturewalk!

Relaxing at Naturewalk

Yesterday began as usual.....with Marty and Howard heading out the door bright and early to satisfy that early morning call of the fish that Marty claims to hear.

And..... a couple of hours later...with them walking back into the house, empty handed, but smiling at the prospect of "almost" having some success.

Things were a bit different this time, however, as it soon became obvious that Howard himself had suddenly experienced at least a whisper of the fish calling his name when he announced that he had stopped on the way back from the beach with Marty and had bought himself a fishing license.  AND, his plan was to was go out later that day to buy a fishing rod.  Of course, it didn't take any encouragement whatsoever to get Marty on board with that decision.

Let me just say that there were some very excited men in the house later in the day, and today should certainly be an exciting one for the two of them.

But that will have to wait until tomorrow's blog.

Yesterday was yet another beautiful day, with bright blue skies speckled with some clouds, but just enough for a break from the sun.  After the men returned from their morning adventures, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast together when I noticed some activity across the road, where the nature walk to the ocean actually begins.

I forgot to mention that there are these exercise stations located throughout the community, and one just so happens to stand within easy view of the house.

As I was sipping my coffee, I noticed a woman with a clipboard in hand, looking like a drill sergeant, recording how many chin ups her husband could do at the exercise bar.  Howard tells me he saw the man stop after two, as he didn't hesitate to get up and peer out the door to watch.  I, on the other hand, stuck with the more discreet approach, although I must admit that I found the whole scene to be quite entertaining.  Not too many dull moments around here, that's for sure.

After we finished breakfast, we decided to walk down to the beach to sit for awhile.  What a picture perfect day!

You may have noticed the jellyfish floating in the gulf in my first blog.  Warning flags continued to fly in the wind as we made our way down to the beach, although there were a few people who chose to brave the waters in spite of them. 

How convenient that every entranceway to the beach has the color code explanation displayed on the walkway. 

Purple = water pests.  Good to know, don't you think?

As you can see, the surrounds were beautiful, and for the record, the only fish that Marty saw yesterday were on his shirt. 

At least he's still happy!

The sun actually was pretty hot, so we headed back after a couple of hours and enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing around the house, which is exceptionally easy to do.

The guys had their fun shopping for dinner, as they are in charge of the evening meal today, and as I mentioned earlier,  their shopping adventures led them to fishing nirvana where they left with a nice new rod in Howard's hand.  Excitement abounds!

Last night, I was determined to get down to the beach to see the sunset, as I had only managed to glimpse the beauty over trees the first few nights, so Marty and I headed down to watch.

We were not disappointed!

Today's plans are to head out to Grayton Beach to see the Dune Lakes,  While we enjoyed our dessert last evening, we watched a DVD detailing the 15 Coastal Dune lakes in Walton County, which is where we are staying.  Thsey are fresh water lakes within several feet of the ocean, separated only by narrow dunes.  Sounds like another interesting adventure, don't you think? 

So, with knowledge in hand, we head out later to see one of the lake areas first hand.  I just hope I'm not expected to remember all of those lake names! 

I'll bet you just can't wait for tomorrow's blog!  Until then......

Touring the Gulf Coast

Yesterday's adventures began with Marty and Howard setting off for the beach for some early morning fishing.  Marty didn't catch anything, but Howard tells me that one guy was lucky enough to grab a fish.

Obviously, he didn't stick around long enough to pose with his prize.

After enjoying a lovely breakfast together, we set off on another Naturewalk adventure.  This community features some beautiful amenities, and it is surrounded by forest imbedded with trails that offer a beautiful walk.  So we headed out on foot to explore the surrounds. 

There is a lap pool which is heated for year round enjoyment.

(We weren't quite sure if this guy was just beginning his morning exercise or finished with his laps.)  

And another pool for families to enjoy, and there is a hot tub in the corner as well. 

Outside the recreation area, we began our stroll through the Naturewalk community.  

 We saw cat tails already finished with their blooms.

A Yaupon Holly

and more beautiful butterflies.

And these Muhly grasses which adorn much of this community.  

We then ventured out of the community onto a trail that runs through the forest. 

Look closely, and you'll see the arrows on the tree marking the path, although I do believe that we headed the opposite direction at this point.

Here you see the one millionth tree planted as part of the preservation of Point Washington State Forest.  Not quite sure who did the counting, but if they went to the trouble to make a sign, then I can only suppose there is some record of that achievement. 

Later in the day,  we decided to make a trip to Eglin to see the United States Air Force Armament Museum.    It surely wasn't hard to spot with so many airplanes out on the grounds on display. 

At one point, Eglin was the largest air base in the free world.  

The inside was fascinating, budding with military history, 

with special tributes to men of the 96th BG,during World War II.

There was a P-47 Thunderbolt

P-51 Mustang

complete with flyer

There was even an A-10 Warthog trainer  where I spotted this guy 

Here you see the "Fat Man" which was the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, resulting in Japan's surrender. 

I was amazed at the size of it.

Another fascinating display was a secret POW escape map that was actually printed on the back of bicycle playing cards.  It gave details of where a POW should and should not travel once free from the camp. 

There were no details stating how successful this venture was.  

The second floor featured some interesting aviation history, and went into some depth of World War I, II, Korea

all the way to present day.

Outside there stands a memorial to Purple Heart Recipients.

As you can see, there was certainly quite a bit to see, and before we knew it, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that we had 15 minutes to clear out.

So we hopped into the car and headed to Grayton Beach to the Craft Bar for dinner.    Lovely ending to a lovey day.