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.