Well MERCY BOOKOOP!

Y'all know I don't leave the Ponderosa that much. I'm a homebody. I've tried to change. It hasn't worked. I love my house. I love the farm. I love the dirt road. I love everything about this place. Well maybe except that the phone goes out every time it rains. But hey- who needs a phone anyhow. But there does come a time when you need to get away so they tell me. So, when the Teacher of the Gifted invited Pete and I on a fishing trip to Apalachicola Bay, we decided it might be a nice last blast before summer's passed. Y'all remember the Teacher of the Gifted, right? We were friends before the great lab fire, but after, when our friendship had been literally forged by fire, we became good friends. That's a good thing since she and her husband have a kickin' camper and boat! I love the CS Lewis quote about friendship. He says, "Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, WHAT? YOU TOO? I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!".  Ahhhh so true. Beth makes me laugh. A lot. And she won't tell if I pee on myself. Because I know the true story of the Maxway pants and I will tell it. 

So anyhow, we set off to St George Island on Friday of last week. Beth and I pulled the boat and Pete and Timmy pulled the camper. We camped at St George Island at the state park. It was a really nice area and we enjoyed the beach there. The first night there we met Betsy, or as her French mother pronounced it "Bedzee". Bedzee and her "Bonne maMA" as she called her, cooked our dinner the first night there. I just attract good folks I guess. We had a nice dinner with perfect strangers that we'll probably never see again. The funniest part of the night was when Bonne maMA told us "Merci, Beacoup!" (Thank you very much). Timmy replied "Mercy Bookoo". I swear it sounded just like that. Imagine "Mercy Bookoo" with a Washington County accent and you'll have it. Poor Bonne maMa just looked at him perplexed. 

I told Addie Belle we were going to catch some scallops and cook them for dinner one night. She gave me some good advice before we left. "Y'all better pack a sandwich". It's a good thing we did. We found like 8 scallops! It was fun though. Something I'd never done before.

Friends are good... if they have a boat, even better! 

I'm not sure where Pete learned to snorkle. He looks like he's genuinely pissed off with those elusive scallops. 

Good thing we didn't depend on Beth for dinner. She had a hard enough time keeping up with her chap stick. 

Pete found this AWESOME conch shell. I wanted to keep it for my mantle but we were afraid we'd end up in a Cuban prison for taking Florida wildlife. Since there was a big G on the front of the truck, I was doubly concerned so we threw it back. 

Pete and Timmy tried their best "Old Man and the Sea" impressions...

On Wednesday, we went shark fishing. Y'all know I don't give a wet whistle about fishing. It is fun watching people reel in sharks though! It was REALLY fun to watch Beth hurdle the bench in the boat to catch her first shark. If she'd have fallen I would have wet my pants. That's how friends are I think... you know... you trip up and they help you up. Then they trip you again.

Poor Beth got tired trying to teach Timmy to fish. 

I got my shark! Sort of.. while the guide held the rod and I reeled when he told me to!  I just remember Beth yelling HELP HER TIMMY! DON'T LET HER FALL IN! I must have looked like a total nut trying to reel that stupid fish in.

We had a great time. It was just what the doctor ordered. Now I'm not leaving the compound for a few days. Mama and Daddy left for a bed and breakfast in West Virginia for a few days, so it's just us around here. We're slowly getting used to the idea that school is starting soon. I've had a fabulous summer but I must admit I am getting used to the idea of a sweatshirt, football, and a crock pot.