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It all started on Friday night with the club meeting. What a great time that was guys. The only bad part was that everyone left too early. After the meeting, VJER (Vic) drove us back to Angleton and we had some fun with his dogs. He has 3 beagles named Bailey, Bella, and Boo. They're my surrogate pups since I don't have any now.
Saturday was a little ugly to start with. Just as I got to the launch, it started raining. Vic was to arrive soon, so I just loaded up and launched the boat and waited for him. The ride across Cold Pass was a little wet with all the violent wave action. We got a little done on the prep, but it was pretty miserable out, so we didn't want to take the wall out and be miserable all night. We did score a sack of oysters and Vic did them up on the pit for an appetizer. They turned out great! I did a rack of ribs and we had a good time just hanging out waiting for Tres to arrive. By the time he got to the dock, it had cleared up nicely, but it was still cold. Tres played some music for us while we dined. We finally hit the sack to prepare for the coming day.
Sunday morning was just gorgeous. What a difference a day makes. I cooked up a big breakfast in the skillet and we did some relaxing before hitting the hard labor. We got to work busting out the wall, windows, and rebuilding the studs. Vic is a real pro with this stuff. He got the new windows in on the kitchen side and installed the new door to perfection. Tar paper went up next. As usual I played go-fer and kept to my own little project of removing more dry wall. Tres and Vic worked great together and got a lot done. Vic's buddy Dean came out for some fishing as well. Dean is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and a really great guy. He really loves fishing, though his disability keeps him from doing it as much as he would like. This was his first attempt at coming out to spend the night and fish under the lights.
I had to get back to Angleton to take care of my sick cat, so I was gone for a couple of hours, but it gave me a chance to pick up more food for the crew. When I arrived at he dock, Tres was having a little trouble with the boat. It was a comedy of errors that relatively inexperienced boaters run into. When we got away from the dock, he accidentally left the stern line overboard and it got wrapped in the prop. DOH!
I got it ironed out and he learned a lesson.
When we got back to the camp, I was amazed at all that got accomplished. I also realized that I hadn't cooked lunch for them. OOOOOOPS. Got to feed the work crew! I got dinner started early with fajitas on the grill and Vic did his char-grilled oysters again. Talk about GOOD! We set the lights out and the guys caught about 8 good keepers. It was nothing like last weekend, but it was good. Tres played some of his new songs. I always love just sittin' and listenin' to someone play a guitar. I don't know how to play any instruments, but I sure do love music. Dean got to hurting too bad to stay, so Vic and I took him back to the dock. I sure was sorry that he couldn't stay. It really makes you think about how much Veterans have sacrificed for us.
The next morning I cooked up another breakfast and we all enjoyed the beautiful morning. We got to work and I actually made myself useful by taking down the living room wall. They got the Hardie board over the kitchen wall while I did a farmers boil. Shrooms, corn, potatoes, and sausage. It was my best boil yet in my opinon. I wish we had crabs in it, but it was great anyway. After a late lunch, it was time for me to head back to Angleton to take care of Fat Albert. I could hardly believe it when I returned, but Vic and Tres had gotten the whole front wall done. Vic had to head out to catch the Texans game, but he was meticulous about getting everything done before I took him to the dock. At the end, he was working by lantern light.
For dinner Monday night, we had filet mignon with my special shrimp sauce and some leftover corn from lunch. It was great! Sure would have been even better with some of Vic's oysters though.
Tres played another concert for me as we did some first class relaxin'. Eventually we set up the lights and with his first several casts, Tres landed nice keepers. He was throwing bait and I arties. My keepers were few and far between, but the action was still pretty steady. We started getting snobby as the box filled up, keeping only fish over 20 inches. Tres got a 24 incher, which to his memory is a personal best. At one point, I got up to change rigs and he brought up another keeper. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a faint glimpse of a disaster, then darkness.
The generator strained, then the breaker tripped. I went upstairs to shut it down before coming down to get the story. Tres was unhooking a fish when his foot hit one of the legs of the light stand. SPLASH. Well, the lights are done for. I was going to give him a bunch of trouble for it, but I could tell he felt bad enough. Fishing was over for the night, and we had 18 nice trout in the box. One good thing about it was we had time before we hit the sack for some more music. Tres hit the sack, but I was wired, so I busied myself with little things. I noticed a storm approaching from the South, so I spend a lot of time getting things out of the weather and enjoying the lightning show. I finally hit the sack hard about 4am.
I awoke to a crash this morning at 8am. Again what a difference a day makes. The beautiful weather of the previous two days was now but a memory. The thrunder storms ened around 10:30, so our egress would not be delayed. Tres and I spent a bunch of time cleaning the place up and headed out at noon. I always hate leaving the place, but it sure gave me a great deal of satisfaction to look back and see all that got accomplished. Huge thanks to Vic and Tres for working so hard to get 'er done.
All that's left on the outside is trim, caulking, and paint. The deadline for the Ghost Camp looms as well, and I'd like to really concentrate on it through Christmas. But for now, I'll take a break and head home to see my family.
As we round our way to Thanksgiving, I'm reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for. As I make my way home to celebrate the holiday with my family, I'll leave y'all with this. Blockade Runners has come a looooong way since the carnage of Ike. I am so thankful to the folks here who have given your time, sweat, and in some cases blood for the place. It's all really coming together and soon it will be a place where we'll be able to enjoy ourselves without busting our butts constantly. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Many pics to follow.
Saturday was a little ugly to start with. Just as I got to the launch, it started raining. Vic was to arrive soon, so I just loaded up and launched the boat and waited for him. The ride across Cold Pass was a little wet with all the violent wave action. We got a little done on the prep, but it was pretty miserable out, so we didn't want to take the wall out and be miserable all night. We did score a sack of oysters and Vic did them up on the pit for an appetizer. They turned out great! I did a rack of ribs and we had a good time just hanging out waiting for Tres to arrive. By the time he got to the dock, it had cleared up nicely, but it was still cold. Tres played some music for us while we dined. We finally hit the sack to prepare for the coming day.
Sunday morning was just gorgeous. What a difference a day makes. I cooked up a big breakfast in the skillet and we did some relaxing before hitting the hard labor. We got to work busting out the wall, windows, and rebuilding the studs. Vic is a real pro with this stuff. He got the new windows in on the kitchen side and installed the new door to perfection. Tar paper went up next. As usual I played go-fer and kept to my own little project of removing more dry wall. Tres and Vic worked great together and got a lot done. Vic's buddy Dean came out for some fishing as well. Dean is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and a really great guy. He really loves fishing, though his disability keeps him from doing it as much as he would like. This was his first attempt at coming out to spend the night and fish under the lights.
I had to get back to Angleton to take care of my sick cat, so I was gone for a couple of hours, but it gave me a chance to pick up more food for the crew. When I arrived at he dock, Tres was having a little trouble with the boat. It was a comedy of errors that relatively inexperienced boaters run into. When we got away from the dock, he accidentally left the stern line overboard and it got wrapped in the prop. DOH!
I got it ironed out and he learned a lesson. When we got back to the camp, I was amazed at all that got accomplished. I also realized that I hadn't cooked lunch for them. OOOOOOPS. Got to feed the work crew! I got dinner started early with fajitas on the grill and Vic did his char-grilled oysters again. Talk about GOOD! We set the lights out and the guys caught about 8 good keepers. It was nothing like last weekend, but it was good. Tres played some of his new songs. I always love just sittin' and listenin' to someone play a guitar. I don't know how to play any instruments, but I sure do love music. Dean got to hurting too bad to stay, so Vic and I took him back to the dock. I sure was sorry that he couldn't stay. It really makes you think about how much Veterans have sacrificed for us.
The next morning I cooked up another breakfast and we all enjoyed the beautiful morning. We got to work and I actually made myself useful by taking down the living room wall. They got the Hardie board over the kitchen wall while I did a farmers boil. Shrooms, corn, potatoes, and sausage. It was my best boil yet in my opinon. I wish we had crabs in it, but it was great anyway. After a late lunch, it was time for me to head back to Angleton to take care of Fat Albert. I could hardly believe it when I returned, but Vic and Tres had gotten the whole front wall done. Vic had to head out to catch the Texans game, but he was meticulous about getting everything done before I took him to the dock. At the end, he was working by lantern light.
For dinner Monday night, we had filet mignon with my special shrimp sauce and some leftover corn from lunch. It was great! Sure would have been even better with some of Vic's oysters though.
Tres played another concert for me as we did some first class relaxin'. Eventually we set up the lights and with his first several casts, Tres landed nice keepers. He was throwing bait and I arties. My keepers were few and far between, but the action was still pretty steady. We started getting snobby as the box filled up, keeping only fish over 20 inches. Tres got a 24 incher, which to his memory is a personal best. At one point, I got up to change rigs and he brought up another keeper. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a faint glimpse of a disaster, then darkness. The generator strained, then the breaker tripped. I went upstairs to shut it down before coming down to get the story. Tres was unhooking a fish when his foot hit one of the legs of the light stand. SPLASH. Well, the lights are done for. I was going to give him a bunch of trouble for it, but I could tell he felt bad enough. Fishing was over for the night, and we had 18 nice trout in the box. One good thing about it was we had time before we hit the sack for some more music. Tres hit the sack, but I was wired, so I busied myself with little things. I noticed a storm approaching from the South, so I spend a lot of time getting things out of the weather and enjoying the lightning show. I finally hit the sack hard about 4am.
I awoke to a crash this morning at 8am. Again what a difference a day makes. The beautiful weather of the previous two days was now but a memory. The thrunder storms ened around 10:30, so our egress would not be delayed. Tres and I spent a bunch of time cleaning the place up and headed out at noon. I always hate leaving the place, but it sure gave me a great deal of satisfaction to look back and see all that got accomplished. Huge thanks to Vic and Tres for working so hard to get 'er done.
All that's left on the outside is trim, caulking, and paint. The deadline for the Ghost Camp looms as well, and I'd like to really concentrate on it through Christmas. But for now, I'll take a break and head home to see my family.
As we round our way to Thanksgiving, I'm reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for. As I make my way home to celebrate the holiday with my family, I'll leave y'all with this. Blockade Runners has come a looooong way since the carnage of Ike. I am so thankful to the folks here who have given your time, sweat, and in some cases blood for the place. It's all really coming together and soon it will be a place where we'll be able to enjoy ourselves without busting our butts constantly. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Many pics to follow.
Attached Files
LIVIN THE SALT LIFE 
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