I headed home to Naples to spend my Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends and it turned into a week long trip that ended with a great day of surfing. It's always nice to come home to familiar faces and meet some new ones along the way. I grew up in Naples and spent most of my time hanging out at the Naples Pier. The fishing is great and when the conditions are right you can catch a wave or two as they start to break out by the bait house. Back when my family first moved to Naples in 1972 it was a very small town but times have changed and so has Naples. It's all grown out now and traffic is a nightmare but if you take a little time to look around you can still see things that bring back those small town memories. Sitting on the boardwalk just north of the pier I ran into some old friends, the kind you have for life and it was fun to catch up on old times. Like me they were there to watch another spectacular sunset and maybe catch a glimpse of the elusive " green flash ". Most of the old beach homes have now been replaced with concrete mansions but the beach has stayed the same. A majestic Bald Eagle perched on a tree top above us as he scanned the water for a last minute meal. Seagulls and Frigates were heading home to roost for the night. While the sun continued it's march towards the horizon a spider went to work building a web with hope of catching his dinner for the night.

A cold front had passed through dropping the temperature just low enough to keep the tourist bikinis off the beach but powerful enough to bring on the surf. The waves break ok at the Naples Pier but just a short drive up I-75 can find much better surf. Fortunately I have a friend that just happens to have a beach house up that way with a fun little break right behind it. He was already on the phone trying to get me and a few others to come up and get a session in and there was no way I was going to turn that offer down. It's a great location with a beautiful beach and no crowds. It's even a dog friendly beach so I could let my dog Rusty play in the surf which was a huge plus. With a half dozen friends surfing the fun waves close to shore it was easy pickens with my camera and the kind of surf session I dream about. Hanging with friends in a laid back atmosphere on a cool beach.