The Youngest Island Boy was born on the Summer Solstice and this
year his birthday fell on Father's Day.
Traditionally, we try to do something on the beach around sunset
to celebrate the longest day so this year we just rolled the
Youngest's birthday, Father's Day and the solstice into one big day
on the water.
The Youngest wanted to go play on Spectre Island so off we went.
It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to get from the boat ramp here
over to Spectre Island but the ride is gorgeous and time flies.
Fishing and relaxing were the two main items on the agenda and I
think we accomplished that with no problem. They didn't catch any
fish (except bait) but they were “fishing” not “catching” so
it wasn't a big disappointment when we didn't fill the cooler with
red fish or trout.
I love being in this area. I grew up in Perdido Key, which was pretty deserted back then and even though there are people all over, there is something about these islands that make you feel as if you're the only people there.
We swam, fished, ate lunch and then watched a storm roll in.
We were supposed to meet the Island Girl at the beach by the
Destin bridge when she got off work and as we watched the clouds
rolling in we decided it was time to start that way.
The closer to Destin we got the prettier it was and by the time we
landed the sun was trying to peak through the clouds. At least on us, back where we'd just come
from the sky was black.
The Island Girl met us there and we spent more time swimming, fishing and playing.
The Oldest Island Boy caught these little beauties with his cast net but we let them go.
I was excited to see them though and am looking forward to a snorkeling trip to the Jetties to see some bigger ones.
I'd marinated shishkabobs all night the night before and made a
salad and after a while folks started getting hungry so we broke out the little
hibachi grill and the Island King grilled us a feast.
The steak was tender and the onions and peppers were perfect.
Because of the thunderstorm that seemed to settle over parts west
of us there was no actual sunset to watch.
Didn't matter. It was a birthday, Father's Day and the Summer
Solstice and we had a great time – even without a sunset to
celebrate.
Of course watermelon always makes things better and we had a cold,
sweet one ready to eat.
Because of the storm it got dark a little early so after eating our watermelon we packed
everything up and made the trip back to the boat ramp.
It was a long, busy kind of day but slow and relaxing all at the
same time.
Not a bad way to spend the longest day of the year. Labels: Done
