Wow, we spent last weekend in Steinhatchee, Florida and the scallops are very good this year.  It seems that FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) did a count before the season and found over 180 in the area they scanned versus last year it was around 50. Big Difference!!!
 

This trip we stayed with some friends that have a beautiful home here in town.  Our trip started at the Sea Hag Marina - this is the place we stay at every year.  Sea Hag Marina has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years.  BP can be thanked for a portion of that as they provided this small fishing town the ability to recover and grow.  New things keep coming to this marina - it's very popular!
 

We leave the marina by boat and head out to the Gulf. It's a beautiful blue sky day - water is calm as we head out.
 

One of the boathouses along the river before getting out to the Gulf of Mexico.
 

It's minimum wake for a short period of time....
 

Looking back at the Sea Hag Marina area - it was very busy this past weekend.
 

Once we found the scallops this past weekend, it was easy 'Easter egg hunting'.  Using the Nikon Coolpix AW130 camera, Jim took a few pictures underwater before picking up the scallop and dropping it into his bag.
 

The water was clear and we were in shallow water.  In some cases, just a couple of feet and had to be careful not to stir up the muck.
 

They seem to like the brown/gray moss like plant.  Here you can see the turquoise eyes on the outer rim of the shell.
 

We went for a golf cart rides both evenings, but the second evening was 4 adults and Jimbo.  Jimbo was having a little bit of second thoughts on how fast the ground was going past as he looked at the road.  He did good overall, but not sure he is going to jump on the golf cart fast next time.  But, we did get one really cool surprise! A barred owl flew into one of the trees in the 'back woods' area of Steinhatchee.  Here's a picture of the owl looking back at me.
 

At the end of the first day, we watched the sunset at the parking lot for Roy's, a local restaurant.
 

Until next time...