We heard that we could catch our own shrimp near where we live in South Florida. Shrimping comes only in February and March during the full moon. Then there has to be the correct wind direction and weather work together to bring the shrimp into the bay and up to the surface for shrimping.

Watching YouTube & Asking Locals to Learn to do Shrimping

There is so much content on Youtube with instructions to learn how to do almost anything. We searched for videos of people shrimping in our bay. We found several and watched so we could figure out what supplies we would need and when to go. One of our favorite fishing and shrimping YouTube channels is https://youtu.be/PvAUNouXnUU

Shrimping Persistance Equals Shrimp Caught in Net

Then we went up every night for a week during the full moon in February. Finally one night there were a lot of people on the docks with shimp nets and green lights in the water. We learned that that is our best clue as to whether the shrimp are in the bay. Sure enough there were shrimp. We watched as the fisherman dipped their nets into the lighted water when they saw a shrimp drift near to the dock. Then the fun was on as they tried to outwit the shimp and get them in the net.

I had no idea that shrimp had such long feelers (that is what I call them, others call them antennas). They can feel the net near and they literally skip across the top of the water and jump out of the way of the net. Even then many fisherman caught enough shrimp for a nice dinner. We decided we would be there ready to shrimp in March.

I always like to be sure we are doing things correctly. We made sure we had the right fishing license, a proper net size and knew the limits. We again drove up to the bay several nights during the full moon, except for one night when we could not go check. Guess what? That was the big night for shrimping. When we went the next night and heard the fish stories or should I say shrimping stories from the other shrimpers we were sad we missed it. We did get some shrimp that night. Enough for supper. Fresh caught & cooked shrimp have a great flavor.

We removed the heads and then fried them in olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper. Oh, wow they were tasty.

This was our “Doing Someing New Together” Unique Stay Vacation activity.

Doing something new made us laugh a lot. We had something new to study and learn about together. We also had all kinds of new conversations. Having something new to do together is always a great boost to our relationship. We are ready for next year.

Fishing not Catching?

When booking a fishing trip consider the difference between a private fishing charter and a shared fishing charter. The most significant difference is the fishing time guaranteed to each person.

I hear fisherman say; “There is a reason why it’s called fishing, and not catching!” Sometimes even the best fisherman spends a day fishing and still doesn’t catch anything.  That is still ok because they got to fish. There is just something about holding a fishing rod in your hand waiting for that tug on the line that keeps a fisherman at it for hours, whether they are catching or not.

On the other hand, imagine if you paid for a fishing trip and you never get to fish? That wouldn’t be fun. In fact, it would be very disappointing. Well, that happened to my husband & son last year.

My husband and son went on a shared fishing charter where each of the 6 people on the fishing boat paid 1/6^th of the trip cost.

Once they were out on the ocean, they found out that they had to draw straws and that gave them the order that they would fish in. Once the first person caught a fish then the next person would get to fish. They went on a half day trip and neither of them got to fish.  Only the first and second person got to fish. The first and second person caught a big fish that took a long time to bring in so no one else had time to get their turn.

That is disappointing to those who don’t get a chance to fish even though they paid to fish and took their valueable time to go fishing. I have heard of a lot of people in this same situation.

Want a New Result…Make a Different Choice

This year we decided it would be worth the extra money to charter a private fishing charter trip. My son was here during one of the worst catching weeks of the year. But he loves to fish so we chartered the fishing trip anyway.

We found Captain Tom Hinterschied Fishing Charter on Trip Advisor. His contact was at fishandhuntflorida.com The captain was local and very knowledgeable. Both Father and Son got to fish the whole time.

The private fishing charter was a set price for up to 6 people. There was only the two of them but even if they had taken other family or friends to make up to 6 people, they would all have gotten to fish. We felt the price was budget friendly compared to others with the same size boat. Captain Tom shared his knowledge of fishing with them. They ended up catching kingfish.

So How Did it Go?

My son was so excited to have fished on the half day fishing trip where they got to fish and do some catching too. They were very happy with the high-quality live bait that he provided as well.

Meet Captain Tom

Some questions to ask before you charter

Is it a private fishing charter or shared charter? If the other people of the shared charter don’t show up do you have to make up the difference in price with the remaining people in the charter?

What is the best time of day to go fishing for the type of fish you want to target?

What type of fish have they been catching in the last few days?

Do they use live or dead bait? What type of bait do they use?

Where does the charter go out of? You don’t want to spend a lot of your time getting out to the ocean.

Are drinks & snacks included or do you bring your own?

What other things should you bring?

What ever type of fishing charter you choose I hope you are catching and not just fishing. Remember you can’t catch if you’re not fishing.

South Florida holds so many beautiful places to learn about nature on your educational vacation. One of those places to add to your Florida Vacation is the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, in Boca Raton, FL.

Our grandchildren’s educational vacation where they learned about the nature on the Hammock Trail. The family took turns making video’s to share with their class/teachers when they got back home to school.

They were learning and practicing many skills at once. They learned about the plants, animals and bugs, videography, journalism, public speaking, cooperation, and had great family time. Education vacation travel is a great couple vacation or family vacation tradition.

When you travel don’t just run through a site or destination. Ask what to see and take time to really explore the travel destinations that you have chosen. When we asked the information desk what the best way to see thier nature center they gave us a trail guide and a seek and find game. The kids loved those. They also gave the kids a prize at the end of the seek & find mission.

Making the video’s made them not only look at the items on the Hammock Trail guide and game but they had to talk about them. They will now remember what they learned.

Family vacations are a great time for bonding and making memories. Most families have more than one phone or camera so they can make a plan and coordinate taking turns making videos and taking photos.

Have a blast traveling and learning. Education is more than sitting in a classroom or learning from a book. Make life long learning fun by getting out and experiencing nature.

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

is in Boca Raton, Florida. It is a hidden gem for learning about and experiencing the nature of South Florida. Take your grandkids on an educational vacation.

https://www.gumbolimbo.org/

Play I-Spy on Vacation and Photograph New & Interesting Wildlife that You Find?

One of the things that we love to do is record & learn about the new wildlife that we see. Most of these are when we are on vacation.

Can you find the iguana hiding in this bush?

I remember the first time I saw an iguana. I thought they were so fun to watch. Then a friend of ours got one as a pet. He had it so tame it would ride on his shoulder. But of course he had obtained it as a baby.

I was so intrigued with it that I had to have one. We had two iguanas as pets. We had Iggy that lived 13 years and the Paco that lived for 10 year. I could never believe how they would show their personality and they let you know what they wanted.

Finding this iguana on our vacation isn’t new to us but iguanas will always be interesting to us. This one tried to hide camouflaged by the dark branches.

I remember the first time we saw one and fell in love. Our iguana had a short nose and was bright green. If I find my pictures of Iggy or Paco I will post them. It was back in the day that I only had a Commodore computer and no scanner.

A note of warning. A wild iguana can bite. We had one steal a sandwich out of our sons hand on a picnic at Tulum years ago. Iggy our iguana was territorial and got made at my husband for sleeping on the bed during the day. (His sleeping place during the day) and Grabbed onto his arm with his mouth. He didn’t let go. We had to pry his jaw open. He wasn’t hurt by my husband still has a scar. Iggy’s teeth were like razor blades. Always assume a wild animal is wild and unpredictable even when they appear docile or friendly.

This cute animal is called a Coati. I loved this guy. He had a tail like a monkey, paws & a mask like a raccoon & a nose like an ant eater. He was looking for food that had been left by vacationers. We was very agile. He climbed trees and ran along the walls. We had a good time watching him. He finally found some french fries & then got lucky with a rib bone. Both of which he guarded from the birds and quickly devoured.

We were careful to keep him away from our table where we ate. He was cute but wild animals are unpredictable and not worth taking a chance over.

We saw a Mexico Blue Crane or Blue Heron on our walk along a rocky shore. There were also a pod of pelicans. A pod is what a group of pelicans are called. I just learned that. Another little fact for your next trivia game.

For more fun vacation ideas: http://www.boomerandseniortravel.tv

Off the Las Vegas Strip Dining Huge Shrimp, Steamed Clams & Oysters

Sometimes getting off the strip in Las Vegas you find some true gems. This was one of those outings.

We ate dinner at a fabulous restaurant; Briggs Oyster Co. at the Suncoast Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. I started with a Shrimp Cocktail. It had the biggest shrimp I have even eaten. Following that I had their clam chowder. It was thick and had a good amount of clams in it.  For the main course I had a Caesar shrimp salad. My mom had steamed clams, and a steak dinner.  Everything we had we loved.

We chose to eat at the bar as we could watch all the chefs cooking the meals. That alone was worth going. They had a bar of steaming/boiling pots that they cooked food in. We watched as they opened the oysters for oysters on the half shell. We also watched as they made the sushi rolls.

The service was outstanding. It was a fun night out with great food.