Faraway Florida

 

 

 

 

Well we have settled into life here on Florida's Emerald Coast. CJ was able to find a job working for the county doing landscaping and I am loving my time at the optometry clinic on base(I will ask about taking pictures on base but for now you will just have to use your imagination).

CJ has also been able to pick up some side work with a man from church who does tile work. He is very proud if this beautiful mural that they were working on in a large summer home is Destin.

 

There is not as much to do here as there was in Tulsa but we have been able to find a few good things. One of our favorite activities is Goofy Golf right around the corner from our apartment.

It's an old school putt putt course that has been a community staple since the 1950s.

In our 2nd week here my sister Erica came to visit and she loved it too!

Hello Erica! This girl got a hole in one on number 18 and won us a free round of golf!

By now we have played this course so many times we are starting to develop a strategy for each hole.

We have also been to the beach quite a few times. The beautiful white beaches that this area is known for are about 5 minutes away from our apartment. 

 

After a few trips to the beach however the sand gets kind of annoying and simply laying around basking in the sun gets a little on the boring side, especially for CJ who does not understand the allure of a good book. So he has been finding lots of other beach activities to keep him busy. I know what a tough life we lead.

 

You've got boogie boarding.

 

 

Kite flying.

 

 

 

And fishing which is by far his favorite.

Here he is on free fishing weekend getting a feel for surf fishing. He didn't catch anything but he did get stung by a jellyfish so that was exciting.

Sometimes the water is dirty with seaweed but usually within a few days is clears up again.

 

His second time out fishing was at the local pier where he spotted this big guy, and my fear of going above waist deep in the ocean was confirmed.

About a week later he was able to get a fishing license and go out fishing with a guy from church, he caught his first Florida fish(did you know there are catfish in the ocean?) and a shark! 

Here we are on a gloomy stormy day. CJ has modified his fishing gear for heavier fish and can man two poles at once. The waves were big and strong on this day so it was fun to stand in the surf and get beat up a little.

 

Double trouble with two poles to watch.

 

Salt water catfish, who knew?

 

What could be waiting in those waters? On this day something big was on CJs line and snapped it. In his fisherman imagination it was one monster fish but we'll never know.

 

This is a sand flea, a lot of fishermen use them as bait. They literally look like ginormous white fleas and they burrow in the sand so it's a catch as you go kind of bait. Sometimes CJ gets a whole bunch in his pocket and I think that must feel weird but he says they aren't too squirmy.

 

I enjoy just sitting and watching CJ fish and seeing the waves crash. Oh and being official photographer.

There aren't very many places to ride your bike around here that don't involve traffic and angry motorists so that has been a bummer. The only place to ride safely and carefree is on base on a seldom traveled road that leads to the ranger camp. CJ has been riding there after work a lot of days as well as riding on the mountain bike trails also on base to prep for his big race in Traverse City this November. 

One of the first things we did when we got here was to explore a bit of the base here( Eglin AFB). We went to the base exchange and shopped around a bit. We are now the proud owners of a Keurig!We have also started buying our groceries at the Commissary since the prices are really good especially for meat and produce. Plus they have a huge variety of items to cater the varied tastes aquired by our men and women in uniform while traveling around the world.

Another cool spot on base is the outdoor recreation home base. It sits on a nice private beach and you can rent paddle boards, kayaks, and other motorized boats for a fraction of the cost it would be off base. The group that runs this area also plans a lot of family activities like family camping and movie nights as well as glamping for the ladies and moonlight paddling in the bay. We took CJ's parents out for a moonlight paddle when they came to visit and it was so beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been pleasantly surprised by all the base has to offer to families. There is a riding stable, a craft and pottery room, a wood shop, a do it your self garage with a helpful mechanic on duty, a boating and sailing club as well as a bowling alley and lots of planned events for families to attend. Everyone on base is really nice and willing to answer questions and point you in the right direction.

Well that's our life here in a nut shell. Off to clean the house so I can feature out humble abode in the next post.