Bikinis, a Tribute and Tons of Fish Porn (Part 1) (5/23/11)

“I quit… give up… I’m throwing in the towel” Those thoughts all rattled around my brain after trying to fish several times this spring only to be rebuffed due to horrific weather and even worse stream conditions. Finally a reprieve came in the form of a family road trip to Siesta Key, Florida. Average Joe Fisherman Scott has, as a company perk, access to a condo directly on the beach, giving merit to the saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know!” With my family in one car and Scott and his family in another, the plan was to have a somewhat leisurely two day drive. The end of the first day found us pulled off the highway, parked under a gas station roof, sheltering our cars from golf ball size hail as a tornado wiped out a close by town in Georgia. With Scott’s brother tracking the tornados back in Michigan, we bolted from the gas station at the first break in the weather and hauled-ass south at 90 miles per hour trying outrun the surrounding twisters. We took refuge in a small town called Cartersville. (It sounded like a nice town) In an attempt to relax, everyone thought it was a good idea to hit the local Cracker Barrel for a nice sit down dinner. After paying the bill and literally attempting to walk out the door, we were stopped by the restaurant manager who informed us that we could not leave because a tornado just touched down less than a quarter mile away and that we should take shelter in the middle of the building. Employees lowered the blinds to protect us from flying glass. Thirty minutes later we were allowed to leave and return to the hotel. After thoroughly reading the hotel’s emergency manual, everyone tried to get some sleep.

The next morning we awoke to a blue sky. The local news program told us that two large tornados went through the area, one just north and one just south of Cartersville. Cartersville turned out to be a nice town after all.

After a road trip none of us will soon forget, Florida felt like heaven. The warm weather, the soft white sand and the smell of the Gulf of Mexico never cease to amaze me. The majority of our vacation was spent on the beach.The major decisions that faced me each day while in Siesta Key were; when to toss the football, when to swim in the ocean, when to search for shells with my daughter and of course, when to fish… and fish I did!