What a terrible thing to do to seafood. This buffet was the big deal of the day for me. I’ve driven 300 miles from Ft. Myers Beach to get here. I’ve eaten here and ordered off the menu and had delicious broiled fish and the mid day buffet was great, too, with lots of local food (catfish, fried okra, greens, neck bones, butter beans, and good grease!). I’ve known the seafood buffet was on Friday evening and have been waiting for the time I’d be here then. Now I’m here, all the food is local, but the shrimp, frog legs, cat fish, oysters, and scallops are all fried. I filled my plate twice, hoping to find something flavorful, but everything was obviously cooked in the same old french fry grease. They should know better. There should be a law against putting seafood in grease. What a shame, disappointment and waste of wonderful delicacies. Well, so much for that; I’m heading for Shired Island, where I’ll overnight.
    When I got there I found a parking space with a view of the river in The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Preserve’s (http://www.fws.gov/lowersuwannee/) lot and headed to the beach for a walk, looking forward to kayaking tomorrow. In the past I’d watched the hermit crabs defend their territory sumo wrestling style, plucked mullets from little tidal pools away from seagulls, that thought they’d be their lunch, paddled to an island where there were wild pigs, and saw a shark cruising the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off this island, which is southeast of Tallahassee in Florida’s panhandle near the mouth of the Suwannee River.  Back in the late 1990s this was pretty well off the beaten path, but now there’s a MegaMart just down US Rt. 98!
    The next morning drizzling rain met me as I stepped out of my nest (a slide-in camper on a PickUp Truck) and then the no see’ems attacked! I headed towards the beach hoping to escape the biting. On the beach there were few bugs, because of a stiff breeze, which tossed another monkey wrench in my plans. Paddling the kayak into a 15-20 mph wind is tough and too risky, so a walk is a better idea. Hopefully the wind will die down. Maybe I should just move on till I get into better weather.  That’s how I deal with circumstances that don’t cooperate in my meandering. This is just a short stop over on my way west, anyhow.
    Then, I noticed a campsite right on the beach. There was a $20/day fee, but what a wonderful view of the Gulf I’d have from my “picture window.” I’m staying, an absolutely grand decision. I’ll probably leave before the man shows up to collect the fee, anyhow.  I scrapped kayaking, too much wind, in favor of a walk along a Spanish moss-laden dirt road and trail. On the way I crossed a bridge where two elderly local guys were fishing with a purse net. I thought it was a bait net, but no, they said they were fishing for mullet or anything else legal that gets into the net. A mullet is a delectable plant eating fish and what the locals make into fish dip. I listened to their stories about the days they caught thousands of pounds of Red Fish with a seine net before they were outlawed.  I asked if any blue crabs were in these waters. They said a couple. I told them they were king in the Chesapeake Bay.  As I left I said jokingly I’d take any extras they caught. On the way back they gave me three mullets.
    Now, I had the ingredients for the fine meal I’d hoped for from the buffet yesterday. I’d bought a pint of oysters at a shucking plant on the way here. I hadn’t gutted or scaled a fish for years. There was an old wooden fish cleaning stand on the beach, but it was filthy and I might catch my death from it if I used it, so I walked down the beach. I didn’t want anyone to see if I screwed up the fish, plus they looked a little small. I have no idea what the size requirement is. My oyster shucking knife worked well as a scaler and I used my paring knife to slit the underside of the fish and cut the head off with the gut still intact at one time. The last time I did this it was a “walking” catfish in the everglades and the fish was still alive after being disemboweled! The mullet were very slippery and a rubber glove would’ve come in handy, because one shot out of grasp into the sand.  There was plenty of gulf water to rinse them though. I’d taken some conch meat out of my freezer to add to my dinner. I sautéed the mullet, conch, and some of the oysters together. I made a mess of fried potatoes with diced onions & green pepper.  I had a grand meal. Plus, I’d put several ACBs in the freezer to chill. What a feast and gorgeous view the Gulf of Mexico.