Stop Whistling and Start Shooting!

Stuart, FL is the second place we have chosen to revisit on our almost 13 month odyssey.  We were here the first 10 days of April last year visiting our good friends Ernie and Carol.  I've known Ernie since high school, and TLE has known him since college.  We had a great time last year, which is why we have made a stopover on our way up the eastern seaboard.  One of our favorite breakfast places from last year is The Whistle Stop Cafe, which is just a 1.5 mile walk from Ernie's home.  Last year TLE and I would not even have considered walking that far to eat.......but then there was the Amazon.com incident which changed our perspective on walking forever.  When you average 10-12 miles per shift 1.5 seems like child's play, and really, it is.......at our pace it is about 25-30 minutes of walking.

When we said "goodnight" to Ernie the night before we agreed to walk together over to The Whistle Stop for breakfast.  About the time we were ready to leave for our walk Ernie got a business call, so he said to take off and he would catch up in his van.

Since last year The Whistle Stop Cafe has undergone a transformation....they have expanded both their indoor and outdoor eating areas.  It's is always great to see local eateries that you love flourish and expand.  As usual the food and service were excellent.

During breakfast Ernie, TLE and I were talking about self defense.  This has been an ongoing concern of ours as we move from place to place, often overnighting in Walmart, Lowe's, or Cracker Barrel parking lots.  To date we have had no incidents, but if something does happen we want to be prepared.  Right now we keep a 7 iron golf club near the door, as well as an 18" long Mag Lite flashlight.....very handy as a club.  Of course, these are only effective against someone who does not have a gun.  A number of our full time friends.......not a majority by any means, carry some fire power with them on their journeys.   I posted yesterday about a gun we are interested in, "The Judge" made by Taurus International, which fires 410 gauge shotgun shells.  Since our area of defense would be primarily inside our coach against intruders we want something that is easy to wield in tight spaces, and will STOP an intruder in their tracks.  We're talking about 5-10 feet maximum range inside the coach.

When TLE and I were first married we owned a .22 caliber Remington semi auto rifle, and a 12 gauge Smith and Wesson pump action shotgun.  We used to "plink" around with them in the desert up by Lake Isabella, CA where we tent camped back in the 70's.  We also had a clay pigeon launcher which we mounted on the spare tire of the van we had and both shot hundreds of shotgun rounds over the years.  Until Thursday I had never seen TLE shoot a handgun of any type. 

Ernie suggested that we visit the nearby Stuart Shooting Center (indoor facility) and test fire one there.  They have guns you can rent, so we got in his van and drove over a few blocks and did just that!  TLE and I both took turns in the firing lane with Ernie test firing The Judge.  It does have a kick, and is very loud, but I think this is good option for our particular situation....easy to store inside the coach, easy to put into action quickly.  We'll continue our research and hopefully over the next few months make a decision on what works best for our situation.  We each also test fired a Beretta .22 caliber that takes .22 long rifle cartridges.  TLE actually did quite good with both pistols....she even hit the bulls eye with the Beretta, and she was able to handle the "kick" of The Judge just fine.

TLE examining her target after shooting The Judge

Me shooting The Judge

By the time we finished our shooting range session it was after 3:30 and we decided to head over to Conchy Joe's Seafood Reataurant in Jensen Beach.....another place we went to last year, and really liked.  We sat near an open window sipping good beer, and munching on some appetizers for an hour, or so.

Another nice day with new adventures in the books!

Thanks for stopping by!