The Sea Provides--Good Eats by Hand, Hook, and Spear

We have been in the Bahamas just about two and a half months and with our last week of good hunting, we realized that we've had lots of sea-provided meals in a short time, especially when we consider just how long we have stayed in national parks during that time! 

We don't eat a lot of reef fish due to ciguatera risks and personal tastes (not to mention that Nassau grouper season doesn't open until March), so we focus on lobster, conch, and pelagic fish. Here's how it's been going so far!

We didn't start hunting until we hit the Exumas this year. First up, conch in Highbourne Cay! We failed to keep count how many over our two days there as we gave some to friends, tossed some back, and ate a few.

A sweet spot of ours south of Highbourne gave us our first lobsters! (J-1; T-1)

After several weeks in the no-take Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, we found conch near Black Point Settlement.

Woo hoo! Big lobster haul on the sound side near Black Point. This was way more than we needed so we gave one to a friend as all three boats represented on the hunt worked the reef hard! (J-3)

A quick conch snack at Rudder Cay.

Two lobsters out at the Brigantine Cays (F-1; T-1) and a few (I think 2 or 3?) conch from near Lee Stocking Island.

Whoa, conch! We had another great haul near Lee Stocking.

After some time in George Town (we don't usually hunt there as there is just too much going on and way too many other hunting boaters all going to the closest legal reefs) we got crabby in Calabash Bay, Long Island!

Calabash bay continued to provide lobster! We got three on this hunt, with Trent scoring this monster! (F-1; T-2)

Fish on! We finally hooked up on some mahi mahi in the deep water between Long Island and Conception Island.

And back at Conception Island we found a few more big guys! (J-1; T-1)

Wait, did I say we don't hunt when we're in George Town? Well, conditions were decent today and Trent wanted to spear with a buddy of his...SCORE! We had a lovely lobster dinner! (T-1)

We will continue to hunt, especially in March as it's the last month of lobster season, but also the start of Nassau Grouper season! Can't wait to see how we do as the menu shifts more to fish!

~Jo, 1st Mate

Western PA lake life and Niagara Falls!

When we tied up for an extended period in Maryland it was with the intent to get out and travel. We recently made good on that with a trip to western Pennsylvania!

Our military life blessed us with many colleagues who became friends who became family, and last week we visited our friend, "Aunt" Patti, at her family's lake house in PA! We had traveled to D.C. to apply for Katreina's student visa, then stayed in the northwest suburbs with family so it was an easy hop up to the lake! While the weather was a mixed bag with summer storms (we even lost power for a bit the first night!), we had a fabulous time enjoying lake life! We boated (on a pontoon), swam, the kids used a pedal boat, but most of all we enjoyed games, meals, and good times with friends old and new. It was a perfect escape and we really enjoyed our first trip to this part of the country.

Absolutely LOVING lake life with Patti and Judy! Pontoons, peddle boats, rafts, drinks, and friends. <3

Lake house life also included rotary phones, mini golf, card games, ice cream, a little indoor skateboarding, and this damn bottle of King Cake vodka.

While we were there, Patti talked us into taking a day trip to Niagara Falls which was only a few hours away. I had been when I was a kid, but Frank and the kids had never been so we went for it! It. Was. AWESOME! We hit Cave of the Winds before the crowds filled in and had a blast! Then we basically spent the day walking along the American side until the heat got to everyone. It was a quick trip, but well worth it and we all have plans to return (to the Canadian side!).

Cave of the Winds was a hit!

We walked all over Goat Island, Three Sisters Islands, and the trails around the falls on the U.S. side.
The surprise? Schoellkopf Power Station No. 3...loved getting down on the river's edge there.
So much more to explore on a return trip!

After helping with a few projects at the house, we said our goodbyes and headed back towards Maryland. But there was one last important stop on this journey--Primanti Bros. in the Strip District in Pittsburgh! This is another experience that I felt Frank really needed so we braved the baseball-day line and had a mid-afternoon feast before finishing the journey back. While the crowd kept us from being able to sit in my favorite seats at the grill counter, the experience was just as delicious as I remember from the Steelers/Patriots games! And yes, vegetarians (especially lacto-ovo veggies) CAN eat here!

There are many Primanti's, but this is the "real" one! DO NOT "edit" the sandwich! It comes with potatoes, slaw, and tomatoes and should definitely be eaten like that!