Wonderful Weather Week

This last week might have been the most perfect weather week we have ever had in Florida, this trip or any other.  It was sunny every day with high temps in low 80's and the lows around 70.  Absolutely, positively beautiful Florida weather.

I worked about 6 hours a day Monday to Friday and spent the afternoons at the beach.  On Monday, we met up with Ira and Darlene Shubel, retired out of Local 252, and Gary and Patty Smith, working his way to retirement.  We met up at Lazy Days South.  We feasted on chicken wings, peel and eat shrimp and oysters.

Ira and Gary gave us some Lane Snapper which they had caught earlier that day.  We put it in the freezer and cooked it on Wednesday night.  It was so tasty.  Thank you Ira, Darlene, Gary and Patty for the fun time on Monday and for the fresh fish!

Our favorite beach here is Curry Hammock State Park.  It's only 2 miles from the RV park and it's never very crowded.  They have a campground which is always full.  They also rent kayaks (although we've never done it) and if it's windy, there are kite surfers there.

On Friday, we had a late lunch at Burdines.  Lots of people rave about this place so we had to check it out.  The view is awesome, but the food was just so, so.  The kitchen was very slow (it took about 45 minutes for our food even though we got there at 2:00), our burgers were cold and the order of fries (which thank God we had decided to share) was enough to feed at least 4 people.  I'm glad we tried it, but I don't think we'll go back.

I went to sunset every night, either with Doug or with Jesse.  I never tire of watching the sun set over the water.  There's always someone to chat with, and you can't beat the fresh air, salty breezes and the awesome view.

We did skip the beach today and went for a drive down to Big Pine Key.  This is where the majority of the Key Deer are.  They are endangered and the current estimate of their population is between 700 and 800.  This is the only area where they are found.  They are a white tailed deer and the males are about 30" tall.  We drove back near the refuge and didn't see any.  When we turned around to leave, we finally spotted one.  This is the exact same thing that happened to my sisters and me last March when we went looking for them.

Other than missing the Pig Races, it was a fantastic week.  We'll have to remember the pigs next year.

A cup of coffee is calling my name and I guess it's time to think about fixing some dinner, too.  After all, a girl can't survive on coffee alone.

Here Comes The Sun

This last week sure had a mixed bag of weather.  Sunday and Monday were pretty nice.  Here are some of my potted flowers which brought smiles to my face all week.

Then things started heading south on Tuesday.  Wednesday was cloudy and cool and Wednesday night brought heavy rain that woke me in the middle of the night.  On Wednesday, we worked a jigsaw puzzle.  Man, we are some party animals!

Thursday was windy and cool but it cleared somewhat right before sundown.  Jesse and I did sunset at the docks.

Thursday night was even cooler bringing record low temps to the Keys. Yesterday was still a tad on the cool side and cloudy.  This morning, finally, the temps are on their way back up and the clouds are trying to clear out of here.

Other than working mornings Monday through Friday (and the occasional evening), it was a slow week.  I also read two books;  Stephen King's Revival and John Grisham's Grey Mountain.  The dogs got lots of walks and my hooded rain jacket got a work out.  The extended weather forecast looks good, highs in the upper 70's to low 80's with 60's for lows.  I need a natural shot of vitamin D and hope that the sun will provide it soon.

Here Comes The Sun

My better half just made a fresh pot of coffee and a cup is calling my name.

One Particular Harbour

Well, dang gone it.  I just realized that it's been almost two weeks since I've written.  There's only one way to catch up and that's to do the abbreviated version.  Here goes.

Monday, February 2 we visited with some friends from the Ann Arbor area who are in Ft. Myers.

Tuesday, February 3 we left Ft. Myers for Tampa to hook up with Doug's brothers, Steve and Pat, and Pat's wife, Shelley.  We stayed at Lazy Days RV Park.  Great place.  Steve, Doug and I went to the Hard Rock Casino where Doug and Steve made small donations and I left with some of their money.

Wednesday, February 4 we visited with Steve and stocked the frig.

Thursday, February 5, we had a great dinner at the Marriott Waterside and saw Bob Seger in Tampa.  Rock on!

Friday, February 6, we left Tampa for Homestead where we stayed two nights at the Miami Everglades Resort.  It's in a rural area with lots of agricultural land surrounding it.  Loved this place.

We left there Sunday, February 8 and drove to Marathon where we are staying at the Jolly Roger Travel Park.  We have stayed here before, but never for as long as we will be here this time.  We'll be here until March 24.  Sunday night, we watched our first of many sunsets here.

On the afternoon of Monday, February 9, I did the unthinkable.  I spilled a Diet Pepsi into the keyboard of my laptop.  With the help of my sister, Gloria, I ordered a replacement, it arrived on Wednesday and on Thursday morning, the local repair shop All Keys Computers installed the new keyboard and I was back in business by 3:00.  I highly recommend this shop.  They did the job the same day, the price was reasonable and the employees were very nice.  The owner is from Muskegon!

On this trip I have been working remotely about 5 hours a day in the morning but because I was temporarily out of commission, I made up for lost time by working Thursday night, Friday morning, Friday night and Saturday morning.  I'm finally caught up.

There was a big Valentine's Day Dinner at the pavilion tonight so instead of watching sunset here, we headed down to Seven Mile Bridge.  What a sight!

We saw a small Coast Guard boat.

There was a wedding taking place.  How romantic!  Valentine's Day, at sunset on Seven Mile Bridge.

Here's a little tune from me to you. It's easy to feel that way here.

One Particular Harbour

Sunday will come quick so I'm off to pour a fresh cup of coffee and have a piece of Key Lime Pie.

A Bolt, A Trip Around the Sun and Fishing

This last week, we had sunshine and warm temps but it was very windy.  I worked every day, did the usual housekeeping details, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. and finished the book "Winter of the World".

On Wednesday, we discovered that we had a 1/4 X 20 bolt in the rear tire of the car.  We were amazed when the tire shop pulled it out and showed it to us.  

Two weeks prior to that we had an 8 penny nail in a front tire.  We were very lucky in that neither tire went flat.  How we managed to get these in our tires is beyond us.

Wednesday evening we joined in the hump day gathering at the club house.  It was our first time up there since we arrived here.  It's a beautiful facility with a large room, outdoor pool and very large patio and kitchen.  They sold tickets for a dinner of prime rib sandwich, fries and cole slaw.  They only sell 200 tickets and they were sold out.  There had to be about 300 people there. We met some new people and had a nice time.

Friday was my 60th birthday.  I've always liked every age I've been and I honestly wouldn't want to go back and relive any year.  It's always an adventure no matter how old I get.  The only thing I find odd is that in my head, I don't "feel" like I'm 60.  I can't say how old my head feels, but it's not 60.

To celebrate my birthday, we first went to the Seminole Casino Immokalee where we made a small donation.  It was fun and the coffee was good, but the slots weren't paying.

We then headed further south to Everglades City to visit with our friends Erol, Larry and Robin.  These beautiful flowers were from Doug, Erol, Susan, Larry and Robin.

We sat on the deck and watched the sun go down.

Robin and Larry made a great dinner of salad, stone crabs, asparagus,corn and baked tomatoes.  They also had a beautiful birthday cake.

To quote one of my favorite musicians "Just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun". - Jimmy Buffett.

Saturday morning, we went fishing.  On our way out of Larry's channel, we saw these sculptures in a neighbors yard.  The gator is wood and the Native American is metal.

It had been windy all week there too and the fishing hadn't been good, but we gave it our best try.  You know what they say: "The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad."  ~A.K. Best.  We caught a couple of ladyfish (threw them back), a couple of catfish (threw them back), a blue crab (threw him back) and a couple of trout that were just under size (threw them back).  

We saw these white pelicans while we were fishing.  They tend to be northern birds in the summer but winter over in the Gulf of Mexico.  They are the longest bird native to North America.  This was the first time I had ever seen them.

Earlier in the week, there was a Wood Stork hanging around the RV park.  It was the first time I had seen this bird.  Two firsts in one week!

Because we didn't catch any keepers for our dinner, we went to a great little restaurant in town called Camellia Street Grill.  It was a fun "Old Florida" type place with lots of style.  Live music, great food and outdoor dining beside the river.

Thank you Doug, Erol, Larry and Robin for a great weekend.  You made my birthday one I will remember for many years.

We drove back to Ft. Myers this morning where we will be for two more days before taking off for another adventure.  The Super Bowl just ended but not the way I had hoped it would end.  Time for a consolation cup of coffee.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I hate to repeat myself, but another week has come and gone.  Time flies by so fast, yet when I reflect on this last week, it was full of adventures.  I worked every day, we had a couple of afternoons at the beach and we visited with family and friends.

On Sunday, we met up with Doug's niece, Mandy, her husband, Mark, and their two boys.  We had dinner at Famous Dave's and had a nice visit.  I only realized now that we didn't get a new photo with them.  Here's one we took back in September when we saw them at our sister-in-law's house in South Carolina.

On Tuesday, we had a SW Florida IBEW Local 252 Retirees Reunion at the Fish House in Bonita Springs.  Tom and Michelle Pahl, Jeanne and Stan Kasprzycki, Stan's sister and brother-in-law (their names escape me now) and Doug and I all met for dinner and story telling.

Rick Murphy is in the area but wasn't able to join us because of a prior commitment.  If you are a 252 retiree and reading this, please let me know if you are in this area in the winter and we'll be sure to include you next time.

On Thursday, we drove to the Ft. Myers satellite office of Local 349, Miami.  Those of you that know Doug know that he almost always wears an IBEW shirt.  Whenever we are travelling, we always stop at a Union hall so he can buy a shirt (or five).  Local 349's jurisdiction stretches from coast to coast down here which is why they have an office in Ft. Myers.  This office is not only the business office, but also has a training facility.  When we got there, we met Adrian who is the instructor.  As I recall, he topped out in 2002 and became the apprenticeship instructor in December, 2013.  He's been to the NTI in Ann Arbor.  Small world, huh?

We spent about 45 minutes talking with him.  He is energetic, well spoken and truly understands the meaning of brotherhood.  We meet the nicest people when we visit Union halls across the country and Adrian is a great example.

We did grab a few hours at the beach a couple of afternoons to get the proverbial "bump"on our tans.

When we go to the beach, we always take sandwiches.  For those of you who worked with Doug, yes, he still loves his Lay's potato chips and always takes them with us.  One particular day, he had them in a baggie and had left it laying on the blanket.  We were wading in the shallow water looking for shells,  When I turned around, there was a seagull pecking away at the baggie trying to get to the chips.  I informed the gull that chips weren't good for him and he should go look for some fish.  Even though I put the chips up, he stayed close by.  I don't know if he wasn't giving up on the chips or if he liked the fact that I was talking to him.

It's been a good week and the weather has been great.  That is, until now.  With the dip in the jet stream that is bringing snow to the north, it is pulling up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico which is bringing us some rain today and cooler temperatures.  But that's okay with me.  It will give me a Saturday to sit with my book and my ever present cup of coffee.