Barb offshore with Kingfisher Fleet and mate, Matt holds one of the 15-grouper caught and released by Barb!
APtravelnews-Dec. 20th, Punta Gorda, FL.-Offshore in the Gulf of Mexico–It was a laid back day and the seas were laid down too! Mostly calm with a 3-foot following sea as we headed out from Port Charlotte towards where concentrations of ground fish held among rocks and bottom cover. Our quest: catch em up and release the ones out of season (grouper) but take some porgies and Key West large grunt and a snapper or two for dinner for our group. Successful by end of day, yes and yes! The Captain and Mate performed their jobs perfectly! The Captain found the fish, the mate assisted us all in uhooking, baiting the hook with shrimp and cut fish, we Barb, yours truly and Bob Nesoff, writer from New Jersey pulled on some fiesty fins that of course in no way wanted to visit with us, topside. We got a workout, pulling and reeling them in. Yes, it was great fun for us all! None of the fish that shouldn’t have been kept were and they all scampered back to their bottom homes with only a tiny hole in their lips, much less damage than a gal or guy with a piercing in their tongue, lip or elsewhere, unmentionable! Take a fishing trip or excursion with the King Fisher Fleet. For info.: www.kingfisherfleet.com located at the Marina at Fishermen’s Village on Punta Gorda. Stay tuned-next up will be our fabulous adventure at the 90-thousand acre, Babcock Wilderness!
A Remora fish. It has a suction-cup head and it sticks by “vacuum” to larger fish and travel with their hosts picking off the crumbs of the larger fishes (sharks, marlin, etc.) meals. A very interesting specialized fish!Looks a bit rough, but it wasn’t this time! Just nature turbo-charged at its best!
Waterfront dining is a given in Punta Gorda. Fish, shrimp, lobster conch salad, pelicans soaring by, being “easy breezy” residents say in Punta Gorda and throughout the Islands of Charlotte Harbor area!
APtravelnews-Bob and Barb “on the Road Again” December 19th, Punta Gorda, FL.—Holidays are celebrated family-style in the wonderfully diverse Southwest Florida communities that comprise Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands. This year we were invited to join in on the festivities, and what a terrific experience it was. We enjoyed moments in the “Twilight Zone” of brilliant lighting, driving us back nostalgically by lighted sleigh and sailboat to a time when we had our family all around us during the Holiday Season, but only interrupted by the vagaries of what the future does to all of us!
Of course when you travel, having a quality, enjoyable, laid back yet fun and youthful atmosphere in and around your accommodations, is tantamount to making everything as perfect as it can be. The rooms, the giant Tiki Bar on the Harbor, the meals and the extremely friendly staff at the Four Points by Sheraton Punta Gorda Harborside (WWW.fourpointspuntagordaharborside.com)were a precursor to one of the finest adventure weekends Barb and I have experienced in our many visits all around the USA. Stay tuned for more, but go: www.CharlotteHarborTravel.com for much more information about this spectacular place in time and space! Again, Stay Tuned, much more of our adventure to come!
The open and modern registration and lobby opens up directly into their cocktail bar and restaurant. The food was great! The beer on tap was too!Barb relaxing in a quiet room at the Four Points Sheraton Punta Gorda, HarborsideHoliday time in Punta Gorda, FL.
Safe and sound, the young “bar rider” is standing pretty on his dads back area. Supported by dads core strength the weight is so perfectly distributed that dad can do this all day long!Contact PIGGYBACK RIDER for your own brochure with all details@ info@fullsailintl.com
APtravelnews– December 27th, Port St Lucie, FL – Bob & Barb —we were at the International Gift Exposition in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and met a dad comfortably walking the aisles with his son. What immediately came to mind was: “No dad, my feet are tired” “OK where is my son now” the young boy was riding piggy back while standing up just behind his dads back. I chatted with this father and asked him where he purchased this PiggyBack Rider and why? He confirmed what I was already thinking: He said that these days, when out on the trail or going shopping (when he has to) he wants to know where his child is at all times. He takes a ferry, he travels, goes kite flying, fly fishing and enjoys a whole array or outdoor pursuits and wants to share this with his son. When his child gets tired and complains his feet are hurting, voila this PiggyBack Rider allows him to stop the whining and let them both enjoy the journey, short or as long as it might be.
At this writing, I now can think of dozens of reasons why this dad invented it and mom approved! American ingenuity at its best, this item is great for children 2 and half years old, and older kids up to 60-pounds in weight. The PiggyBack Rider is the worlds first and only, standing child carrier, and it functions similar to a standard backpack. The unit has a shoulder-strap mounted sturdy aluminum foot bar. With integrated grab handles and a safety harness for security. The excellent idea works just excellent! In use, the child’s weight is distributed at your body core, allowing a natural upright walking posture, while children love the height advantage, rest and quality time with their mom, dad, or relative. A great reason for using this carrier is that it’s also a platform for a child to be able to bond and learn about all manner of outdoor pursuits, safely! Dad and mom can show and tell in hobbies such as bird watching, fishing, archery as just a few examples as well as a child have a great advantage in viewing street events like parades and visits to the zoo, etc.
The padded unit with a chest strap, features four secure hand holds, and a child safety harness that tethers to the carrier as well as also sporting a wide spaced bar for stability. This carrier is designed as a unisex item, so mom or dad can use it. The whole item is only 3-pounds-about the size of a rolled up towel and fits in a custom carry bag.
See my next post showing some Hollywood movie folks enjoying their unit, while their kids are enjoying being up close with mom and dad and loving it! Take a look at their website: www.piggybackRider.com or go ahead and order at: 301-541-3744 also go info@piggybackrider.com and go “ride the bar.” They have new colors and there are Deluxe models and standard models.
Imagine never have to stop and wait while your child dawdles and doesn’t keep up on hike or at the zoo!
My “Good Old” new Buck. If your into knives, you never have enough models to use and admire!
APtravelnews-Knoxville, TN.-September 21st–Without a doubt, the knifeand all its iterations (swords, spear heads, sharp blades, both fixed and folding) for a myriad of needs down through the history of man on earth, is probably the most important evolving innovation in history. Today, knives are used and also collected by millions of people throughout the world (I just sent a collector in Germany, a military Swiss Army Knife style item from the 1930’s) Today, knives are also big business, very big business indeed! Knives are a multi-billion dollar business-all manner of folders and hunting style knives are bought in shops, mail order, on e-bay, Amazon, privately through collectors, etc. Frankly, as an outdoors oriented person who fishes, hunts, plays with throwing knives and hatchets as a hobby, or any other of mine, and others pursuit in the outdoors, or of course, indoor sports such as carving, I wouldn’t leave home without my trusty blade. For today, I’m profiling a few knives that would work for anyone heading out on a hike, to fish, hunt, camp or just have with them for even the mundane opening of a letter, box or cutting a thread or rope. The following three knives are all hunter, (will profile folders at a later date) non-folders:
Buck Knives have always been a standard of excellence and when I first met Buck Senior, he told me that “excellence is always what we strive for to be the best at what we do to make “keeper” knives that become heirlooms.” This Buck Omni Hunter is part of Chuck’s family of sportsmen and womans knives. Specs: 7 ¾ overall with a 3 ¼ 420 HC Stainless Drop Point blade. Handle: Black rubberized thermoplastic with a lanyard hole. Heavy Nylon belt sheath MSRP: $45.95 www.buckknives.com
Kershaw Antelope Hunter ll, is a fine tool of a knife it comes in hunter orange and black. You can trust the finger grooved co-polymer handle to stay firmly in your hand through the thick and thin of blazing your trail.Specs: overall length is 8 1/8 with a 3 5/8—8Cr13 MoV Stainless steel blade. Finger grooved Co-polymer handle in orange or black. It comes with a leather belt sheath MSRP: $34.95 www.kershawknives.com
Shrade SharpFinger comes in a brown, orange or camo handled stainless steel knife. I personally have an originally made knife for the past 3-decades and think it is the most ergonomic knife in my collection. As its namesake says, it is really like an extension of the index finger allowing precision in cutting open a fish or any cutting job at home or on the trail. A great knife to carry anytime! Specs: 7-inch overall length full tang for strength. The 3 ½ stainless steel blade is Cr 17 MoV High Carbon. A through- the- tang -lanyard hole. MSRP: $25.95 www.taylorbrandsllc.com
Shrade always comes through! This neat knife is one I carry often around the farm!Taylor Made Kershaw, a fine knife that works for anyone needing a reasonable priced non-folder!
