When the fish are running....

April was a good month for fishing  this year! And so far May isn't too bad either. Last Spring was a little slow, so everyone is enjoying the bounty this year. For those of us who don't actually do the fishing... fish....we are enjoying the numerous cookouts, parties and impromptu "Happy Hours" and fish fries. It's been great! The funny thing is, many times on the day that the guys (and girls) actually catch fish...by the time John gets home, gets everything cleaned up...boat(s) fish, gear, etc...he's not that interested in cooking...hahah so this month  we have also had many pizzas from the local Pizza Hut or steak dinners up at Texas Roadhouse. We used to laugh when my brother Mark did the same thing...hahaha who's laughing now?? hahaha

Back on April 1, 2016, our friend Devon

 had a party at his house after an especially good tuna trip that he and some other friends had gone on. As always, there was plenty to eat and drink and tuna prepared many different ways. Lots of desserts, vegetables and sides to go along with the fish.

We also had a get together at our friend Josh's restaurant "Cabana Shores". He set aside a group of tables for his family and some friends and again we had lots of tuna and mahi mahi prepared a couple of different ways. Fish tacos, tuna lightly seared with some of Ron's delicious wasabi sauce, and just plain old seasoned grilled fish.
More than once other friends went out fishing...but came over here to clean their share of the fish...which meant there was always a bag or two of fresh fish for us.

John cooked up a batch of Ron's recipe "Dolphin Parmesan". It was tasty!... perhaps not quite as perfect as Ron's...but considering this was only the second time John made it...it was pretty good. No complaints from me...that's for sure!!!
As in past years...the neighbors all get a fillet or two when we have a lot. We vacuum pack most of what we keep...and then John likes to spread the wealth . We figure that way when we have a big party...no one is going to get to worked up about the cars parked all over the place over the music we might be playing. hahaha

More than a few times we have met up with friends at LongDoggers...where they are willing to fry or sear up some of our fish for us.(...we call ahead to make sure it's not too busy) We always give a bag to the kitchen staff :)
We have also met up across the street from LD at Al's place for a small party.

After we ate and drank a bit in Al's back yard...we walked across the street to have the guys sear up the rest of the wahoo and tuna.

                    served with a little soy sauce, special wasabi dressing and mango salsa.

Amy was excited to catch a fish...it's been a while...she's up in Boston area currently.

sunset during our little party

Ben's good friend Amy was in town...and she went out fishing with John and Ben. They had a good day on the water and that called for "Happy Hour" at our house. Bring your own drinks...we supply fish and music of course...hahaha Nothing fancy...but it sure was fun!!!!

cameras flashing...got to get the photos!

The weather was perfectly spring like...not as hot as it can sometimes be in April and early May around here. Good friends, good food, good conversation......lots of good times!!!! Again...really nothing fancy at all... in most cases it was just a group of us getting together to share and enjoy some fresh fish. No fuss...no big preparations.....very relaxed. It almost makes me feel like I have a social life...hahaha, because for the most part you can find us at home or maybe out on the bike path in the afternoon/evenings around here. For a month or two life is exciting...then we go back to our daily routine...and that's okay too.
And now I'll finish up with these pictures of a BIG fish caught yesterday by John, Charlie, Joe and Don.

60th birthday trip for Charlie...he was happy

It was bigger than me...approximately 5ft 7inches long and it weighed approximately 54 lbs!!! John and Al, Vinnie and Mike B are in a tournament that starts this Wednesday...so the parties might not be over just yet. :)   and that's a good thing!

Good Intentions

As the song goes "It's hard to rely on my good intentions"......because I've been meaning to write, but some how I always manage to find other things to do. It's not that I've been so busy....I haven't, but it has been SO nice out lately...sitting inside at the computer is not a high priority. This morning, I woke up after a great night's sleep, last thing I remember is I was dreaming about some sort of party...hahaha....how could you not wake up happy. hahahah
As April comes to an end ,I realize (again) how fast time seems to be slipping away. So the I-pod is on the dock, I'm rocking out and enjoying my coffee (and the birds out back)...and I'm going to try to get motivated.
Back on April 9th...we attended a wedding. We have known the bride since she was 2-3 years old. It wasn't a BIG wedding, so it was really nice to be included on the guest list. And boy did she get lucky....the weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect for a wedding at Sebastian Inlet Beach Park.

Courtney and her family spent many weekends down at SI State Park, fishing, boating and swimming on the sandbar, etc, so it was the perfect place for her to get married.

For Courtney...being by the beach, with  her feet in the sand, guests in short sleeves and flip flops....it was just the type of nice relaxed celebration she had hoped for.

It was so relaxed...they had a hard time getting half the people to come inside and eat! hahahah The brides parents and family made the dinner and all the appetizers. Naturally there were fish dips and fresh fish salads, along with the usual fare. For dinner, Mike make Seafood Alfredo,; made with plenty of lobster and crab that he caught.  Everything was delicious, made even better because we all knew the time and effort Mike and Denise spent getting all together for Courtney's big day.

our little friend Julia ( this picture was taken by her grandmother Georgette)

My hair was kind of a mess...because it was breezy down on the beach...but no one was paying attention to me. I had the perfect "beach" dress...laughed when I heard the colors were coral and blue....I was waiting for a chance to wear this dress!

"Uncle " Steve

The back deck was a great place to sit...before and after the wedding. Before...you could watch all the activity as people gathered around where the ceremony was going to take place. If you didn't want to watch the people you could watch fishermen, boats and beach goers nearby.

                              or you could be like the bride's nephew and play in the sand. :)

            The actual ceremony was pretty brief...the bride's brother-in-law was the "official". The groom had a hard time keeping it together...that was sweet.

                                      And then it was time for the celebration and dinner.

big sister and her family

other big sister and nephews

happy Mom and Dad knowing their daughter has found a great guy

Aunts, cousins, friends

 

As you can see we had a nice time celebrating with Courtney and James and their family. Her family is like me...they like celebrating! We have been to many parties at their house over the years. As we get older, the parties have gotten a bit smaller  and less crazy...hahaha but always fun! It's always nice to be part of a special celebration like a wedding.
We had to laugh at one point...we were talking to some other guests and the woman said..."Okay...I am officially getting old"...(the younger guests were enjoying the open bar and fooling around on the deck) and her first thought was "Oh that's not a good idea, maybe they shouldn't do that" hahaha.
I have to admit...the bride and her friends were having a pretty good time...and it's been a long time since I've been to a wedding where guest were drinking like that....but no one was out of control and they were having a great time....so I guess it's true...we are getting a little old. hahahaha
That was the highlight for the month of April. Last week we went to the annual Art Festival; and it was okay...enjoyed watching the people as much or more than I did looking at the artwork.
Next month we are headed to another wedding in TN...it should be interesting. we don't know the bride that well...but Brenna is in the wedding and it was nice of her to include John and I. While we are there...we'll skip over to visit John's sister and her family in Knoxville and Pigeon Forge. We get to meet our great nieces...so I am looking forward to that. Haven't been to TN in May in a very long time...so that will be fun too. Just a couple of weeks after that we head to upstate NY to celebrate with my nephew and his wife. They got married back in October...but few family members were able to make it...so we will enjoy celebrating with them in June! I feel like I am on the "wedding circuit"...almost like the wedding crashers...hahahah (We'll see how many times we hear " Celebrate!"or whatever that song is called...hahaha )
*they did not play it at Courtney's wedding  :)....her music tastes (and her Dad's) are more similar to mine...hahhah...however someone did try to "booty" dance with me...I just played dumb...HAHAHAHA John got a kick out of that.....hahha