Galveston trip on Sunday

Linda and I went down to Galveston on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day and we thought we needed to be outside.  We packed our cooler, fishing gear and reading material and headed south in the convertible.  There was plenty of traffic, apparently we weren’t the only ones who noticed it was a nice day and decided we should be out and about. We finally found a place to park along the seawall and carried our sundries and equipment out onto one of the jetties.  We had to settle for a spot in coach because all the first class spots were filled.  Linda read her book and I drowned my already dead and frozen shrimp, but there was a strong breeze, the sun was out and it was around 80. We were good.

At one point Linda went pack to the car, while she had the trunk open, a car load of, shall we say, “morally deficient young people” hurled packets of BBQ sauce at said wife and open trunk.  They exploded spattering everything including Linda.  They didn’t even have the decency to use Sonny’s.  I of course was oblivious as I focused on dragging my shrimp across the bottom at exactly the right speed.  This was also the time that the first class fisherman were packing up.  I was eyeing their spots with greed and anticipation.  I had not caught a fish yet, they caught plenty.

As they walked past me vacating their position at the tip of the jetty, I handed my pole to two little kids who were walking on the jetty with their moms.  I proceeded to try and gather our belongings and move to the most covetted position on the rocks.  Where was Linda when I needed her?  (in a bathroom with her shorts pressed up against a hand dryer).  As I arranged my chair and dead shrimp, excitement erupts around my previously uninspired fishing pole.  Mom and kids are reeling in “my” first catch of the day.  I actually thought it was great, I used to have fantasies like that when I was a kid at the beach.  The only problem was, remember I said there were two kids?  Well one of them had caught a fish and now the other one really really really wanted to catch a fish.  My prime spot was just waiting for me, all I needed was my pole . . . . wait!  is that my chair?  It had blown over and was headed for the water like one of those newborn turtles.

The moms decided it was time to leave, now they give me my pole.  I got to the chair before it’s final swansong, threw out my line and pinned the chair to the rocks with my substantial girth.  Just then, I hooked one.  I looked back and Linda was walking towards me.  I was so excited about not losing the chair and catching my own fish I failed to recognize the recently applied giraffe pattern on her shorts.  She let me have my moment then told me about her adventure.

Now more people came to fish MY jetty but I was the alpha fisherman.  I was pulling them in and they were the ones with greed in their eyes.  Then I got a subtle but strong tug on the line, I yanked up fiercely.  I was pulling it in, it was strong but not a lot of fight.  My rod was bent over, everyone was watching.  “I think it’s a stingray” I said to my wife.  I pulled it to the surface.  It was  . . . .?  A kite.  My alpha status took a little hit.  Later, I would quiet the snickers when I hauled in a Shovelhead Shark, they look a little like hammerheads but aren’t nearly as mean.  This one was only about 2.5 ft long but hey, it was a shark.  It was getting dark.  My work here was done.

We packed up (leaving the trunk open as little as possible), put the top down and drove home after the customary stop at Taco Cabana.  All in all it was a really good day.