I'd rather be fishing.

"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope."

John Buchan

Continuing on in my pursuit of catching up to the present day on this blog of mine, I am taken back in time to when it was warm and sunny. There was sand between my toes and a fishing pole with my name on it. It was October and all was right with the temperature in Florida.
Every once in awhile there are opportunities too good to allow to pass by in life. I consider a chance to be on a boat, in the Gulf of Mexico, with a reel in my hand to be one of those opportunities.
We were blessed to go on a trip with a trip with friends to Destin. There are no for certains of getting anything in the boat. There may be several full-bellied fish in the water by the end of your trip without ever seeing their beady little eyes staring at you as you remove the hook from their mouths. But it sure is fun making an attempt for the biggest catch.
Part of the enjoyment for me is being out on the water. Blue sky, deep water, no concrete; all is well. I have an appreciation of salty water, it seems. One of my favorite quotes is by Isak Dinesen...

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.”

This past year all three have served me well.  Each has a purpose.  Times call for one or two at the same time, perhaps.  The two men who taught me to love this sport the most are no longer here on this earth.  My dad lived long enough to hear about my first fishing adventure in Alaska.  The ultimate "one that got away" story of a 40ish lb salmon that snapped my line when fishing in a remote village West of Anchorage.  He told me he had always wondered what fishing up there would be like and seemed glad for me that I was able to experience it.

Grandpa Miller passed away just this past year.  No little girl was happier than I when Grandpa said I could keep the worms we found when working in the garden for fishing later in the afternoon/evening.  He lived long enough to also hear about our family's (my second) fishing adventure in Alaska.  The one where the only thing we fished out of the Russian River was Tim.  Poor guy...

So, it seems, marrying a man who loves fishing has served me well.  And vice versa.  When all else has been considered, "Let's go fishing!" is always at the top of our list of things to do.  While not along on this particular trip, our boys both love to go fishing as well.  It's always fun to see who brings in the first, longest, largest, most strange, tastiest, etc. fish.  All are fun tales to tell once back on land.