Ari-NaNa
Ellen is visiting Jessica and baby Ariana this week. Florence will make landfall tomorrow evening in North Carolina. Jessie lives in Bluffton SC, across from Hilton Head. Hilton Head is under evacuation orders. It is looking like Bluffton will get some good rain and a bit of wind, but will escape the brunt of this one. North Carolina may be in for a shock.
Ariana, who will be one year old November 24th, is very cute. This is quite a statement coming from a guy who thinks all babies are lumps of farting, burping, crap machines. She is cute. Better (or worse depending) is she looks from some angles EXACTLY like Ellen’s daughter Kirsten! I know Kirsten will have a boat load of comments on this one. I provide one,just one, photo in my defense.
Now why is Ellen in South Carolina? Well because Ryan is not in SC. Who is this Ryan? He is an inveterate fisherman, love of the waterman, and father of Ari-nana. He’d be home if he were not in Tampa. What’s he doing in Tampa? Of course he is looking for his next project (buying a boat to convert to his concept of “the perfect boat”) and on the side doing some FISHING! Of Course, you say.
Florida Fishing
I have been a fisherguy for most of my life, when I can get a break from work and responsibility. I’m hoping to get some time in for fly fishing in Montana soon. But back to Ryan. He and a group of (very lucky) guys went fishing while in Tampa and came back with a huge sword fish. I’ve gone marlin fishing and got zero, nada, nothing. Marlin is not a particularly good fish to catch, they’re not good eating. They do fight well, or so I’m told. But if you like fish for dinner, don’t go with Marlin. But swordfish? That’s a great eating hunk of seafood. It’s wonderful. And these refugees from South Carolina who ingloriously and unceremoniously left the path of a world class hurricane to go, what? Fishing? These guys caught a swordfish. Not just a small dumb-ass teenaged swordfish, but the one pictured below. I am sooooo jealous. So jealous. But my personal feelings aside, this is one great fishing trip guys. Ryan is center behind the dorsal fin. Congratulations All!!