Lake Manatee SP (Feb 8-21)

Wednesday - Back again for two more weeks, this time in site 47, across from our last site. We are all set up and really like the site.
Thursday - We drove over to Little Manatee River State Park to see if we wanted to add it to our itinerary next year. There are only about 30 sites there, but it is really nice. The sites are a little smaller than here, but nice. It is very quiet, as the campground is quite far from the road. The Little Manatee River, as you might guess from the name runs through the park. There is a nice canoe/kayak launch and the river is quite small here. It would be a very long paddle to get to areas where there might be saltwater fishing. On the way back to the campground, we ran into friends we met here at Lake Manatee who went over to camp. Even though we were on a 10 minute visitation to the park, we stopped at their campsite and visited for a couple of hours. On the way home, we stopped at Ozzie's Buffet for dinner. It was excellent.
Friday - We drove the approximately 21 miles to Emerson Point Preserve and decided to put on the waders to fish. We talked to a couple of people who were fishing and they were not catching. Undaunted we forged ahead. After about 30 minutes, John caught a very feisty 19 inch sea trout. Joan had to settle on a lizard fish. There are very nice grass flats in the area, which is certain to bring us back here. People were saying that the fishing has been excellent here.
Saturday - A couple asked us if we liked Southern Gospel music, to which we answered that we did. They gave us tickets to the Bill Bailey's Winter Gospel Music Convention at the Manatee Convention Center in Palmetto. We saw several groups, all of which were excellent. We especially liked The Isaacs. It has cooled off here considerably, so the local farmers are covering everything or spraying to prevent freezing. It should warm back up early next week so we can get back to fishing.
Sunday - It was a wonderful service again this morning at Bayside Community. We are feeling very comfortable there and will be sad when we leave. They have many affiliate churches, so we will have to try to find them as we travel. We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast afterwards, and despite the large crowd of people, they did a great job accommodating everyone.
Monday - It got quite cold again in the night, but it warned up quite nicely. We did some cleaning, bicycle maintenance, and cooking for the evening potluck. We enjoy the potlucks mostly because it is a great way to make new friends.
Tuesday - We drove to EG Simmons County Park and due to high winds decided to don the waders and wade fish. Casting a fly in the wind was challenging and also mostly unproductive until John managed to hook and land an 18" flounder. It put up a good fight, but eventually succumbed. This time we had a stringer so he came home with us. He made a tasty addition to our dinner.
Wednesday - Back to Emerson Point Preserve Park, where we met up with Joan's brother Skip and his friend Bob to launch kayaks and fish. Skip quickly caught three trout, with one being a keeper. John started off slower with one non-keeper trout, then a ladyfish and finally a slightly too small to keep redfish that put up a great fight. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water.
Thursday - Hung around camp today.
Friday - Hung around camp today except for a trip to the veggie stand and Walmart.
Saturday - We drove about 45 miles to Alafia State Park to visit friends we met at Trackrock and have dinner with them and a camping group they have been involved with for many years. We enjoyed seeing them and meeting their daughter and her boyfriend.
Sunday - We invited a couple from the campground to come to the service and hopefully it was not too loud for them. For us it was another awesome service. Afterwards, we met a friend at Ruby Tuesday's for lunch.
Monday - It was very windy and cool today so we wade fished on the south side of the causeway near Anna Maria Island. Joan caught a couple ladyfish and hooked another, while John caught a small lizard fish. We then went to Robinson Preserve and walked.