Explanations

All right. Let's discuss. 

I obviously did not make it clear in yesterday's post that the little cement block house on St. George Island is not actually being considered as a house for us to buy. I mean, I do sort of love that funky old fifties style and I remember my stays at the Starfish with great fondness and I'm sure I would have a great time in that little house but it is not what we need and definitely not what Mr. Moon wants in a waterfront house. It's funny. When I first started visiting St. George Island, there were so few houses on it. And most of those were indeed the cement block houses, built right on the sand. There were a few wooden houses and a few houses built on stilts but it was mostly very quiet, very laid-back, very much a place for local people to go to the beach with the family. There was a hotel and it's still there, although it has doubled and tripled (at least) in size. I think all the rooms had kitchenettes, as they catered to folks who were coming to the beach to fish and hang out with the kids and there really weren't any places to eat. There was a tiny store that everyone called The Blue Store, and a convenience store where they sold gas and beer and bread and peanut butter, etc. 

Farther back than that, ranchers grazed cattle on St. George. I guess they barged them over the bay. You can still see fence posts here and there, but mostly in the water. 

Anyway, things really started changing in the 80'. I've said before that when we started renting our Starfish apartment in the summers, there was nothing between it and the ocean except the street and there was very little traffic on that. 

Now, that part of the island looks like this. 

If you enlarge the picture and look to the extreme left you can see a bright green building. That may or may not actually be the Starfish. If it's not, it's close. And see those weird buildings across the street from it? Those are what we called the skinny houses, and they started building those, one at a time, during our summers there. They are all rentals. And hell, if someone offered me one for free, I'd take it! Right on the beach with a lot more room than it would appear from the outside. 

I've stayed in one or two of them and they're not bad at all. 
But. 

It ain't how it used to be. 

Here's some of the "real" houses on the beach. And they go for astronomical prices. Someone a long time ago bought up the entire west end of the island and turned it into a development called "The Plantation" which is a gated community. 
Because of course. 
And the biggest and most expensive houses are mostly there. 

How about that charming, cozy little miniature Versailles? 

Oh Lord. Some people have more money than sense. 

So all of this is mostly just to put that little cement cottage in perspective of what's available on the island. Want to book for a vacation? I just looked up a listing for one of the skinny houses. For a mere $2,175- $3,400 a week, it can be yours! Price depending on the season, of course. Housecleaning fees and taxes not included. 

Sigh. 

So another thing I wanted to talk about was why Mr. Moon and I are looking for a waterfront house. 

Basically, we want a house on some sort of water where he can fish and we can both enjoy sitting by the water and watching the sky, the birds, the serenity that only water brings. 
I grew up in Roseland where I lived almost on the Sebastian River, right down the road from the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. All of those bodies of water were very formative in my childhood and I am not sure I would have survived without them. 

Glen grew up in Tennessee where he did not live especially close to any water but loved the rivers and lakes his family took him to and he fell in love with fishing with his daddy. He dreamed about living on the water and when he got the opportunity to move to Florida, he jumped on it. 

And here we are. Both of us loving the water so much and we are at a place in our lives where if we want to buy and enjoy a place on a river or a lake or a bay (or an ocean?) we probably can if we choose carefully. Neither one of us has any desire to live in a waterfront condo or in a tightly packed situation. We both love trees and wildlife, quiet and natural beauty. His tastes differ from mine in many ways, but basically, these are the things we love. We would not be moving there full time. This is something we've had to discuss. He would not mind that at all but I have no desire to completely move out of this house. We may be forced to by age and disability at some point but not yet. 

Besides, I can't be that far from my children and grandchildren. 

So. Here we are with our agreements and disagreements and what we are willing to compromise and what we are not. I would really love to be able to swim in any water we live on and he must be able to fish in it, and to use his boat in it. 

And that's what we're working with here. Dog Island was this place for us for many years but it is no longer really doable for us now. 

I suppose we are looking for our little cottage in the Isle of Wight (if it's not too dear.) We have scrimped and saved. 

Now. In current news, this little guy was slinking along the screen on my back porch today. 

I took the picture after he had already slithered out to the steps. Sorry that I didn't get the handsome head. I felt sure that it was not a coral snake, which is truly deadly, but a King snake. Still, I had to look up pictures and how to ID the little critter. There is a rhyme that is supposed to be helpful in this regard which goes something like, "Red touching black, safe for Jack. Red touching yellow, kill a fellow."

But who the hell can remember that? Not me, baby. 

And this one is definitely sporting the safe for Jack pattern. 

It must be a baby because King snakes get very large. 

All right. Off to make supper. 

Love...Ms. Moon

P.S. I see after posting this that some of the pictures are not enlargeable. I am sorry. Do you have a magnifying glass? It's really not that important.