Sunday - Another Gorgeous, Sunny, Warm Day!

Ken and I got up earlier than usual for a Sunday morning so we could get ready for church before going over to say our good-byes to Ernie and Noela.  So, at 7:30 we went to there site, chatted, hugged, and then watched them leave.  It has been a wonderful winter sharing adventures and life with them.

Ernie and Noela all ready to head out!

Goodbye special friends until later this year!

We decided to go to Denny's for breakfast before church because we were ready and hungry.  After eating and having a nice time talking, we went to church for the 9:30 service, visiting with many friends before and after the service.  It was a phenomenal message by Pastor Dan talking about how we handle our life  struggles (his wife is very debilitated because of MS)!  It was a heart wrenching message.

We returned to Wilbur where we changed to go to the beach and I worked on some projects while Ken rested.  We left the CG at 2:15 and headed to Manasota Beach.  We knew we wouldn't find a parking space if we left any earlier.  Fortunately someone was leaving just when we arrived.  Ken and I spent most of our time walking the beach and finding a good amount of shark's teeth and pieces of sea glass.  

We left at 5:30 and drove to the North Jetty at Nokomis Beach to watch the sunset.  Rick and Joyce joined us around 7 and we had a nice time and enjoyed watching the dolphins, boats, and birds.  Lots of hugs and sadness when we said our good-byes, knowing we probably won't see each until next November or December.  We so appreciate their friendship, encouragement and spiritual guidance.

Looking over to Venice!

Not much of a "sighting" but amazing that Ken
actually got a picture of the dolphin!

Beautiful sky from the North Jetty!

Amazing how hard the pelicans dive into the water!

The pelicans are searching for food!

Lots of people come to the jetty each evening for the
sunset!

I think these are terns!  Talk about blending in with your surroundings!  

Dive bombing pelicans!

Our great friends, Rick and Joyce!

I think a sailboat is growing out of my head!!!

It was a bit cloudy so no actual sunset, but the sky was
beautiful!

A sunset cruise sailboat!

So beautiful!

Ken and I were back to the CG by 9 and we went right to bed.  Tomorrow we need to finish packing and organizing for our departure on Tuesday morning!

Saturday - Another Beautiful Day Spent with Special Friends!

Ken did his normal morning routine and woke me at 6:30.  The 4 of us did our normal walk, realizing it is the last one we will do together here at the campground for this winter - where did the time go????  Ken took a picture of the sunrise and numerous pictures of all the birds that were along their walk.

How gorgeous???

So many beautiful birds appeared this morning!

An alligator too!

This great blue heron was busy building her nest!  They really
look too large to be tree birds!

Noela and I are getting close to meeting the guys!

A woodstock was trying to take over the blue heron nest!

Our neighborhood eagles!  We see them every morning!

We were back to Wilbur by 8:45, ate breakfast, and Ken and I left to visit Bob and Pat, the lady who had the back surgery about 4 weeks ago and then a heart attack brought on as a result of the surgery, not a heart problem.  She was actually sitting in their lanai when we got there and looked so much better than 2 weeks ago when we visited.  The surgeon is telling her it will be July before she is back to normal, so patience is tough.  We were just thrilled to see her out of bed!

What a great couple that we were blessed to learn to know
even better this winter.  Wishing Pat a speedy and complete
recovery!!

Back to Wilbur and by 11:45 Rick and Joyce were here.  Fortunately he is feeling a lot better, but still gets tired. We sat outside chatting for quite awhile and then came inside for a "snacky" type lunch.  We played 1 game of double deck pinochle which the women won.  Off to the shuffleboard courts where the women had a come from behind victory on the 1st game, but the men won the second game rather handily.  It was a lot of fun.

Back to Wilbur by 4:45 and they headed back home.  Ken and I started getting dinner organized, for we had told Ernie and Noela that we would cook dinner for the 4 of us because they are leaving tomorrow morning.  Ken washed dishes while I made salads and then he grilled pork chops, steaks, and salmon.  I also warmed the leftover beans I had made for the Food Pantry covered dish.  The 4 of us sat down to eat inside Wilbur at 6.  Ken and I did the dishes and then we all went back to watch the sunset and it was another beautiful one.  

Can you see the heart shape?

A beautiful sunset!

Another day is ending!

The men wanted to see which of us is the tallest!  I never
thought there was a question - ME!  I guess not!!!

Noela had picked up this coconut on Pine Island that was sporting a palm tree
and brought it for us to plant on our site.  Ken wanted to measure
it so we can see how much it grows till we return!

Ernie and Noela stopped to say their good-byes to Jim and Joyce before they came back to Wilbur for apple pie and ice cream which they had provided - delicious.  We played about 5 rounds of Uno and the men were ahead when we called it a win for the men around 9:30.  We will see Ernie and Noela in the morning before they leave.

I worked on this blog and Ken did the dessert dishes before we went to bed.

Friday - Another Warm Day, But Off and On Clouds!

Ken was up at 5 and did his morning routine before waking me at 6:30.  He went with Ernie for their walk while I got ready and did some organizing inside Wilbur and put my bean mixture in the crockpot to take to the Food Pantry covered dish.

I drove to North Port at 8:00 to play pickleball at the park.  For some reason it was a horrible playing day for me.  The 1st game I couldn't do anything right, nor the 2nd, but by the 3rd things were improving.  The last game was okay, but certainly nothing to brag about!  Pickleball can be so frustrating.

I returned to the CG at 10:00 and Ken was busy outside putting away the larger items - beach and clothes umbrellas, large carpets, chairs, ladder, etc.  He was one busy boy!  I showered and changed and by 11:20 we were on our way to Edgewater Church to enjoy the covered dish with our Food Pantry friends - so much delicious food!  There were 30 of us who ate and fellowshipped and Ken and I had to say our good-byes to many of them whom we won't see again until next year (we will see some of them at church on Sunday morning!)  We will certainly miss these wonderful folks whom we got to know so well this year because of going to lunch every Friday after serving the folks who come through the Pantry.  We are blessed to be a part of this wonderful service project!

What a wonderful group of people whom we got to work with
this winter at the Food Pantry!

We stopped at Wal-Mart again for a few needed items and were back to the CG by 2:00.  Ken rested while I did my devotions and worked on this blog. We took a bike ride around the campground and then stopped to play shuffleboard.  We each won one game.  The 1st game I had 10 Off 5X's in a row - so frustrating!

Back to Wilbur to have leftovers for dinner.  Ken and I rode our bikes to the back section of the CG for the sunset and to see the birds and alligator and Ernie and Noela joined us.  What a beautiful evening at the water's edge.

We see these eagles everytime we go for our walk!

A gorgeous sunset ...enjoy the photos!

Ernie and Noela came to Wilbur from 8:00 to 9:45 and we played one game of Skip-Bo which the men finally won!!!  It was a fun evening.  Noela had brought some chocolate cake for each of us.

Ken and I were in bed by 10:15, read and then off to dreamland.