This post is my contribution to the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt of “so far”.  

So far, my life in Florida has been all I hoped it would be. I left old things, relationships, taxes and a job that were no longer going serve me well, (or never did, lol) and found new things, places, weather, (except for the hurricanes) and a relationship that makes my heart sing. So far, the only things I miss about my life in New England are my son and my friends.

Yep, I’ve come so far, in a short 18 months. Every day is an adventure, kind of. We wake up and decide what we are going to do for the day over coffee. Today is cloudy but a nice 65°. We decided to go for a walk. We found a nice lot of land for sale. We’ve been toying with the idea of building a house together. So far, that’s all we’re doing, just learning about the market here. It’s into the future quite a ways, because we’d have to sell both our houses.

On the walk, we walked by a marine business that we drive by all the time, since it’s close to my house. There was a fishing boat on a trailer in the front driveway. It was about 50’ long. The business is owned by one of the premier charter fishing companies in the area. This boat was very narrow, only about 8’, which is super narrow for a boat that long. One of the guys came out and talked to us. He told us that this particular boat runs out 135 miles off shore, fishes for about 6 or 7 hours and runs back in. In one day. That is SO FAR to go for a day trip! But I know Dan would love to go, because they go fish in the deep water, and catch fish that most people don’t have a chance to catch. 40 lb grouper, tuna, and lots more. The guy told us the boat charters for about $3000 for 6 people, so it would be about $500 per person just to get on the boat, then you have your equipment rental (unless you happen to have fishing tackle for 50 lb fish) and tipping the guide, etc. So closer to $600 for the day. It would be the fishing trip of a life time though.

I would consider going with him on a charter that doesn’t go out so far. There’s one that goes out about 70 miles, it’s a high-speed catamaran, and holds more people so the cost gets down to about $300 per person. Not that I’m crazy about fishing, though it is fun. But I’d love to spend the day on the boat, on a beautiful Florida day, on the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Well, somewhat calm. It’s not that I’m bothered by going so far off shore. Once you’re out of sight of land you are out of sight of land and that happens in 10 to 15 miles. It’s just that I can’t justify the $600 or $700 it would cost me. I don’t like to fish enough to pay that much. Even $300 is a real stretch. I wonder if I can pay less, like $100 just to take the ride and not fish?

Dan and I talk about getting a boat, a smaller boat, like 25’ to 30’. It’s another thing that might be in the future for us. We’d both like to have a small cabin so we could stay out for a night or two.

There are lot of new plans with this new life. The days are full, and rich, and drama-free, even if we’re doing nothing but sitting on the beach, sipping tropical drinks. Or home, just working around the house, or cooking a good meal, or even just watching TV.

As far as I can see into the future, it’s a good life, so far!

 

If you’d like to participate in the SoCS prompt, please go to Linda G. Hill’s blog, for all the details.  Here is the link.  https://lindaghill.com/2018/03/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-10-18/   Have fun!!