Another sign that Spring is here in full.....reverse migration. Yes, all you poor folks still dealing with cold NE weather making your way down South to enjoy a taste of what's to come, albeit months from now, in your world. We, of course, love this part of spring as much and more than any part of the year less our first beach day. The first beach day is a cherished and celebrated event that puts the entire family in a great mood in light of the many trips that lie ahead. Anyway, back to friends and family.
My folks firmed up plans this week for their visit in late April. Jennifer's folks were on the phone finalizing plans for their Easter pilgrimage to Daytona with Nancy and Larry. And, we had a surprise visit from our good friend Jeff. Although we razed him about leaving the better 2/3rds of his family in DC, that was apparently not his doing and promised a return trip with Mer and Sam. I told him the more clients he can pick up in FL, the better. We love the company. We enjoyed sharing the hustle of a Cheek family weekend with him and look forward to seeing the whole family in months to come.
Little else to comment on, my March Madness bracket, picked in the waning minutes of time prior to tip off of the first game and with "0" research has proven strong through the first couple rounds. Not a minute of reading led me to believe I would yet again have a slightly rough go at it this year. I'm not known for making it too far past the sweet 16 with any hope of winning. I think this bodes well for the "throw a dart" method used for this years analysis. I will admit I was a homer in some areas, mostly in the finals picking UNC (rough choice given I pretty much bet chalk to the end). Go Heels. Still remember a few trips to UNC from the burg hoping to extend a weekend with Kipp to watch UNC play in the championship game. That was decidedly driven by my desire to be on campus when such a big game was celebrated. What a party that must be! I wouldn't know since it never happened during my college tenure. Regardless, with no connection to any other school, it was an easy pick.
Busy weeks ahead, but little going on in the family. Steady diet of soccer, hockey and swimming for us. Mix in a little zoo and that takes care of it. Keep your fingers crossed that I might sneak out to hunt a redfish or two. Catch up with everyone again soon.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Soccer Superstar
Alex scored his second goal of the season yesterday. Our kid that "loves soccer", which we've always interpreted as loves getting a treat after the game and trophy at the end of the season, may have taken a new step. His goal included a couple dribbles, a blocked first shot, and a second shot over the head of the defender into the net. I gave him a standing O! Nothing better than a proud papa! We're proud of him no matter how he plays, but it sure is fun when does something cool.
Spring is in the air
A couple weeks ago it was just a promise of things to come. This weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sat and Sun of 80 degree highs and 60 degree lows. As expected the lawn will need some attention, but that also means the remainder of the landscaping is starting to come out of it's "cold" weather shell! Funny we live our lives so in tune with our surroundings. No coincidence that the pool heater has been pumping the natural gas the last two weekends as well. We enjoyed a full day of soccer, skating and swimming with friends yesterday. Today will likely be a zoo day followed by more swimming and Wii.
The warm weather gets Dad in a good mood as well since the dolphin (mahi) and tuna should be working their way in our direction. Itching to get offshore. Ahhh, if we could just get a little rain. The combination of three months in a dry air cycle, the addition of hot sun and you get very, very dry Florida.....fire season is here. Only a couple small ones to date, but keep your fingers crossed, it's shaping up to be a potentially bad spring.
The spare bedroom is also warming up for the spring season, a few bookings are on the calendar, but there's always room for more. If you're around, drop us a line and check out a night at the Cheek's B&B
The warm weather gets Dad in a good mood as well since the dolphin (mahi) and tuna should be working their way in our direction. Itching to get offshore. Ahhh, if we could just get a little rain. The combination of three months in a dry air cycle, the addition of hot sun and you get very, very dry Florida.....fire season is here. Only a couple small ones to date, but keep your fingers crossed, it's shaping up to be a potentially bad spring.
The spare bedroom is also warming up for the spring season, a few bookings are on the calendar, but there's always room for more. If you're around, drop us a line and check out a night at the Cheek's B&B
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Kayak Day
Jennifer, the always wonderful Mom that she is, gave me a hall pass last Sunday to take advantage of a couple hours of the perfect kayaking weather in Florida right now.
I dumped the boat in around 6:45 in the Banana River (second body of water you pass over between our house and the beach) and paddled North. The relatively cool water temps still keep things quiet in the morning. Think about how motivated you are to get out of a warm bed into the cold house at the crack of dawn. Fish are no different. They all stay put until the sun climbs and gets the flats "heater" turned on. So, I was ready for long paddle and didn't mind that there was little to fish for in the first couple hours. There's always so much to see in the Lagoon. This time of year we become the equivalent of the Miami Airport, but for bird immigration. Thousands of birds flying overhead all morning long. The greatest show was a covey of ducks that had a white underbelly with black top wings. They don't glide well, so there is rapid flapping. The sun was just right so when they opened their wings, they blended into the sky and disappeared. On the down flap the black wing flashed. There were probably 500 birds and you can imagine the sight. It was sparkling.
I was lucky to paddle past a couple of white pelicans, strange visitors to the Space Coast. Their smaller cousins, the grey variety, are most common and always around. The much larger whites are common 30 miles to the South, but we are definitely a N boundary for the bird. Don't get your global warming ire up. Although they are rare, they've been taking spring vacations to our waters for many years.
Next came the largest school of manatee I've ever seen. Must have been 30 of them eating the seagrass and generally just hanging out. Fun to sit and watch until one curious, 200# mammal bumped my kayak....makes you remember how small you are. Gentle creatures can still unnerve you. I spent most the rest of the morning enjoying watching others fish, something mesmerizing about watching the rhythm of a couple fly fisherman wind and throw. Flats boats poled along the shore, mostly just scaring up stingrays and puffer fish (always plentiful in the river). I paddled back as the wind started to pick up. I hit one of my favorite canals, and as usual there were schools of small seatrout patrolling the docks. Unfortunately, a pair of dolphin made reservations for the same restaurant that morning. I couldn't get more than two into the boat before they showed up and wrecked the buffet. Is is fairly amazing to watch two dolphin corner a school of fish and chow down. They, like their friends the manatee, made some curiously close runs by my kayak to let me know seating for people is limited at this location. I managed a couple more fish and headed home. Good call as the wind picked up again and paddling became work. As many of you always hear, fishing is so much more than catching fish. Days like this one move the purchase of a boat way up on the priority list. The only improvement to the morning would have been sharing it with the boys.
What an amazing day.
I dumped the boat in around 6:45 in the Banana River (second body of water you pass over between our house and the beach) and paddled North. The relatively cool water temps still keep things quiet in the morning. Think about how motivated you are to get out of a warm bed into the cold house at the crack of dawn. Fish are no different. They all stay put until the sun climbs and gets the flats "heater" turned on. So, I was ready for long paddle and didn't mind that there was little to fish for in the first couple hours. There's always so much to see in the Lagoon. This time of year we become the equivalent of the Miami Airport, but for bird immigration. Thousands of birds flying overhead all morning long. The greatest show was a covey of ducks that had a white underbelly with black top wings. They don't glide well, so there is rapid flapping. The sun was just right so when they opened their wings, they blended into the sky and disappeared. On the down flap the black wing flashed. There were probably 500 birds and you can imagine the sight. It was sparkling.
I was lucky to paddle past a couple of white pelicans, strange visitors to the Space Coast. Their smaller cousins, the grey variety, are most common and always around. The much larger whites are common 30 miles to the South, but we are definitely a N boundary for the bird. Don't get your global warming ire up. Although they are rare, they've been taking spring vacations to our waters for many years.
Next came the largest school of manatee I've ever seen. Must have been 30 of them eating the seagrass and generally just hanging out. Fun to sit and watch until one curious, 200# mammal bumped my kayak....makes you remember how small you are. Gentle creatures can still unnerve you. I spent most the rest of the morning enjoying watching others fish, something mesmerizing about watching the rhythm of a couple fly fisherman wind and throw. Flats boats poled along the shore, mostly just scaring up stingrays and puffer fish (always plentiful in the river). I paddled back as the wind started to pick up. I hit one of my favorite canals, and as usual there were schools of small seatrout patrolling the docks. Unfortunately, a pair of dolphin made reservations for the same restaurant that morning. I couldn't get more than two into the boat before they showed up and wrecked the buffet. Is is fairly amazing to watch two dolphin corner a school of fish and chow down. They, like their friends the manatee, made some curiously close runs by my kayak to let me know seating for people is limited at this location. I managed a couple more fish and headed home. Good call as the wind picked up again and paddling became work. As many of you always hear, fishing is so much more than catching fish. Days like this one move the purchase of a boat way up on the priority list. The only improvement to the morning would have been sharing it with the boys.
What an amazing day.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
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