It is finished

We hit the road early Thursday morning, driving from Florida to Missouri on the first day. We had trouble finding a motel room because they were all occupied by utility workers who were repairing damage from the ice storm we narrowly avoided on our way south two weeks earlier.

The next day we drove all the way to the farm in Marshalltown, where we were greeted by a driving snowstorm.

It was lovely the next morning but without the balmy temperatures we'd grown accustomed to.

Now we are back in Minneapolis.

Black birds in the rigging of an Apalachicola shrimp boat

We spotted them plucking morsels from the nets. The sign on the boat said No Insurance, enter at your own risk.

Patriotic spectacle outside the Piggly Wiggly in Port St. Joe

U.S. Highway 98, on the way to Port St. Joe

Sea trout

Jen and I rented a canoe at Cape San Blas and spent the afternoon paddling around St. Joseph's Bay. I caught this sea trout in about two feet of water on a shallow running Rapala.

Harassing the fishes of the Gulf of Mexico

In the last two days, I caught a mess of these fish--whiting--in front of the Barnacle.

It is a pretty simple thing, kind of like going after channel cats on the Mississippi. You just throw out a a hunk of shrimp on a three way rig (with a two ounce weight) and sit back until the rod tip moves.

I also discovered that whiting are delicious, with sweet and mild fillets. I attribute this to the fact that shrimp are the whiting's favorite food. Of course, by that logic, my flesh should be tasty as well, as I am also a glutton for shrimp.

Eastpoint

On the way back from the forest, we poked around in Eastpoint, an oyster town across the bay from the city of Apalachicola. It was a busted out place, with a lot of hurricane damage and a store that specialized in the sale of furniture from foreclosed homes. Needless to say, I liked it.

That's an oyster boat below and behind it smoke from a big controlled burn that got a little out of control.