Another Beautiful Beach Day, but Last Day with Barry and Deb!

Ken and I were up around 6:45, cooked breakfast, and got ready to go to the beach.  It was a warm sunny morning and we were excited to have another day at the beach.  Ken emptied the tanks and then we headed to Wal-Mart, about 2 miles from the CG, to get a few groceries.  Wal-Mart will be more of a trip when we are at Pine Island!

By 9:30 we were on the beach at Lowdenmilk Park in Naples  It was alittle cool when we first arrived, but in no time the sweatshirts were gone and bathing suits were the attire of the day!  Ken got his 10,000 steps by walking the sidewalks of Naples checking out all the huge homes and beautiful condos and hotels.  I read the 1st hour and then took a long walk on the beach.  This beach has so many kitten paw shells of all sizes and some different colors.  I find it interesting how each beach seems to have a "shell specialty"!  We enjoyed eating our packed lunch and relaxing by reading.

Just a few photos of the "small" houses in Naples!

Ken walked to Naples Pier from Lowdenmilk Park, about
a 5 1/2 mile round trip!

It is a beautiful beach with so many kitten paw shells of
all sizes!

Back to Waldo to shower, vacuum, and Ken made a double batch of sex on the beach via Deb's request.  She thinks Ken makes the best drinks!!!!  I would agree!  We left at 2:45 to go to Deb and Barry's CG.  Deb was cooking dinner for the 4 of us.  We had a nice time sitting outside chatting, then having a delicious dinner complete with key lime pie, followed by 3 games of Skip-Bo of which the women won two!  Go ladies!!!!  We gave them a gift card to Starbucks, just about their favorite place to go.  Mocha Frappe here they come!!!!  

We got to enjoy this hawk while sitting
outside at Barry and Deb 's!

This bird was visible while we were
sitting outside too!  Looks like a bluebird
to me, but I am not good with
"bird identification"!

We left around 9:15 after sharing a wonderful week with special friends.  We appreciate their hospitality and willingness to show us new places and old favorites around Naples and Marco Island.  It was a special time!  Looking forward to a repeat meeting next year!

Here We Go A Kayaking!BaB

Another beautiful day in Naples!  We woke up to plenty of sunshine and around 53 degrees.  But it warmed up quickly to about 74.  Ken and got to Barry and Deb's CG at 9:45 and the 4 of us drove to the parking lot behind the Naples Zoo at Gordon River Greenway Park.  We launched our kayaks from there and went through some mangroves.  We actually paddled for about 3 hours from the Naples Zoo to Tin City.  We did take time to stop and eat our packed lunches in our kayaks.  The boats (yachts) that are docked near Tin City are amazing. Naples is known as an affluent area and if boats are any indication, the area is extremely wealthy!  It was a very beautiful and relaxing paddle.  It was the 1st time Ken and I have been in our kayak since last January, so we were tired by the time we had our kayak dried and loaded in the CRV.

This park was just opened this year.  Has beautiful bike
and walking trail.  Great place to launch kayaks!

The beginning of our paddle.  A narrow pathway, but quiet
and serene!

Barry and Deb make kayaking look easy.  She pedals and he
paddles!

Barry just glides through the water!

Deb makes pedaling look effortless, but we know it
takes leg strength!

These beautiful condos with fancy shops on the 1st floor are
so colorful  and the 1st thing you see when crossing the bridge
into Naples.  Tin City is on the other side of the bridge!

So many pelicans near the eating places at Tin City!

Just a small boat!

...and a few more small ones!  Their dingys  would be
nice size boats for most of us!

We pulled into a boat slip to eat our lunches!

Another picture of the pretty condos!

Near the end of our paddle!

We thanked Barry and Deb for the fun time, but declined their invitation to go out to eat together.  We were too tired, had leftovers that needed to be eaten, and wanted to start to get ready for our departure early Sunday morning.  We will get together with them tomorrow afternoon and Deb is making dinner for the 4 of us. Then we will enjoy playing some games.  We will be sad that our time with Barry and Deb will end tomorrow evening.  We always have such a special time with them and look forward to it every January.

Ken and I spent from 3:30 to 5:30 cleaning up outside Waldo and drying and packing up our kayak.  After showers and having dinner, we enjoyed an evening of relaxing and going to bed early.  Seems like today's paddle is something we are not used to doing.  

A Great Beach Day!

Ken and I only got up at 8 - I guess we needed some extra rest!  We took our time getting ready, having breakfast, packing our lunch, talking to Noela (miss them), and then left the CG around 10 to head to the beach in Naples. Unfortunately we got a bit lost on the way ( I don't know why we didn't use our GPS) and drove too far north.  I was on the phone with Melissa and Ken missed the left turn to the beach.  This navigator failed to do her job.  I did have a nice chat with Melissa and so glad to hear that her mother is doing great and well on her way to recovering from the brain aneurysm.  We are so anxious to meet up with Chuck and Melissa on Pine Island March 1st.  It seems like such a long since we were together!

We were on Lowdermilk Beach near downtown Naples by 11 and it was a perfect day.  In the 70's with total sunshine and very little breeze!  I thought we were going to relax and enjoy reading on the beach, but no!  We decided to take a walk and forgot to stop! We did get to see some dolphins up close and personal! We walked all the way to the Naples Pier (they had a bathroom there) and then back to our chairs, a total of 12,000 steps!  By then it was 1:20 and past time for lunch.  When I was done eating I had 15 minutes to read before leaving the beach at 2.  So much for relaxing and reading!

Lowdermilk Beach is very picuresque!

I liked our spot on the beach, but I didn't get to sit in my
chair very long, much less read!!

Enormous houses in this area!

This dolphin was feeding very close to the shoreline!

Every bird has his own post!

Saw several starfish on the beach, but they weren't too lively!

This is the Naples Pier!

Not too many shells for pendants on this beach, but I have
to be sure!

We stopped at Wal-Mart for a few groceries and were back to Waldo by 3.  John and my sister Cindy were coming for supper at 4, so we showered and prepared for their arrival.  We had a very nice evening enjoying dinner together and then playing Skip-Bo (women won), Pinochle (men won), and then Sequence Dice with another victory by the women!  We had a fun evening and so glad we could finally spend an time with them.  They left at 9:15 and I started working on this blog.

Good to be with Cindy and John!

Local Market and Bike Riding

Ken and I only got up around 7:30, just needed a bit more rest!  Talked to Lanie and all is going well with their family.  It is very cold in PA, but they didn't have as much snow as expected.  We were on our way to Barry and Deb's CG at 9:15.  The 4 of us had to drive separately to Marco Island because of taking our bikes, but our 1st stop was at the Wed. morning Farmer's Market in Marco.  It gets so full, but it should - they have wonderful vendors with lots of fruits and veggies ( I was able to get my favorite oranges - honeybells), fresh baked breads and other goodies, jewelry,  cheeses, sandwiches, and beautiful cut flowers.  We really enjoyed walking around and making a few purchases, especially the fruits and veggies!

So many different fruits and veggies!

Always a huge crowd at the Marco Island Farmers Market!

So many good looking cheeses!

The cut flowers were beautiful!

t

Tomatoes everywhere!

Hungry yet!

Bouquets even included Ken's favorite, Bird of Paradise!

We left from that parking lot on a bike ride through old Marco Island founded in 1870.  Marco Island really is a beautiful place with so many scenic areas.We stopped riding to have lunch at a great pizza place, Joey's.  This is the 3rd year we have stopped there for pizza, and it is worth it!  Their specialty is a thin crust pizza with ground Italian sausage.  Ken continued with his diet and had a delicious salad.

We thought we should but this lot and put Waldo on it.
Barry and Deb would share it for their Airstream!  Don't
think the neighbors would be too wild about it!

Entering Historic Old Marco!

Not a bad setting, huh????

Love all the greenery!

Time to relax in the sunshine on the dock!

Wow, Ken's favorite bird is in Marco!

A beautiful shot of Marco Island!

Don't forget to stop at Joey's when in the area!

What do you think about the purchase we made today????  \
We are going to tow it behind Waldo!!!!

We rode about 6 1/2 miles, then loaded up our bikes and went back to Barry and Deb's.  Ken and Barry took a walk around the CG while Deb helped me make a greeting card using the Iris Folding method.  We made a heart shape and I really enjoyed it.  It is like piecing a quilt.

My 1st attempt at Iris Paper Folding!  It was fun and
I'm proud of the result!  Thanks, Deb!!!

We were back to Waldo around 4:30 and then took a walk around the CG, getting Ken his 10,000 steps. Did talk to my sister who had a Dr. appt. today and it appears she may have a tear in some ligaments or tendons (I am not sure which one), so she has to stay off the beach.  She has a splint type cast to keep her foot immobile until she has a cat scan on Friday.  She had put a lot of weight on that foot while trying to heal from her hip surgery.  How does it happen that when you fix one thing something else gets hurt in the process? Doesn't seem right!!! 

We had a relaxing evening and are looking forward to going to the beach tomorrow.  It is supposed to be in the mid 70's with a low of 47 tonight!