Well, it was a very special day because it was the 40th birthday of our youngest daughter, Jamie. How can that be???? So, we sang to her and had a nice phone chat before heading to the church's Food Pantry. It was another special day helping our clients and then having lunch with our friends that help there. That evening we enjoyed playing cards with Ernie and Noela.
That Saturday we went to a Craft Show on the streets of Punta Gorda with Rick and Joyce and then the 4 of us ate a "lupper" at Hurricane Charlies on the water, and then stopping at the bridge that goes over the Peace River to look for lizards and watch the sunset. Then back to our home to play double deck Pinochle which the women won handily!
The following week was a busy one starting on Monday by calling Samantha to sing and wish her a happy 11th birthday. We met Brian and Donna at the Hometown Grill for breakfast at 9 (she lives in the apartment under us in PA) and then they came back to see our Condo. That evening Ken went to Celebrate Recovery and I drove to Harbor Lakes CG to play pickleball. So good to see many of the friends we made there when we camped. Tuesday morning Mick and Susan, friends from Church, came to hang a border in our guest bathroom and we certainly appreciated their willingness to do that project. After lunch Ernie and Noela arrived and the 4 of us went to Joshua Orchards for oranges, grapefruit, and tomatoes. I had made a pot of white bean chicken chili for dinner so they joined us and we spent the evening playing Hand and Foot, which the men won!
The remainder of the week was our regular routine with the Food Pantry, lunch with helpers that worked there, and quiet evenings at home. Saturday Ken and I did some things at the condo and then headed to Venice to attend the Craft Show on Miami Avenue.
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| Lots of people at the Venice Craft Show! |
At 4 we arrived at the clubhouse at Frank and Barb's for their annual picnic and a retirement party for Barb. She retired after 30 years of working as an airline attendant for Delta Airlines - quite an accomplishment. We had lots of good food, but it was a chilly evening and we moved indoors for dessert, thank heaven! Ken and I were so cold by then! At least half of the people that attended were friends from LCBC back in PA that were visiting or are now permanent residents of Florida!
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| Thanks for a great time, Frank and Barb! |
Sunday was another phone call singing Happy Birthday to our daughter, Lanie. We are getting quite talented and good at singing that song!!!! After a good and uplifting time at church, we spent the evening playing Hand and Foot with our friends, Burt and Pat, who also live in our community and go to the same church here in Florida. It was a fun time even if the men won!
The week of the 27th was another fun filled, packed one! Monday morning Ken was busy on the computer and then at 8:50 realized that we were scheduled to help pack school hygiene kits for the students in the Charlotte County School District at 9. We raced to the sight where they pack and had a good time helping, even if we were 10 minutes late!
That evening was pickleball for me and CR for Ken. Tuesday Ernie and Noela were here by 8:45 and we loaded all our bikes in Ernie's truck and headed to Sanibel Island for the day. We hadn't been there for about 2 years and were excited to go back. It was a perfect day for riding with calm winds and the temperature in the upper 60's. We rode through Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve, to the beach, and then drove to OC Otters on Captiva for lunch outdoors. That is the place we always eat when we go to Sanibel and as per usual, we really enjoyed our lunch! It always takes a while to get off the island because there is only one bridge to get to the mainland and traffic really backs up. We decided to stop at The Loveboat Ice Cream Shoppe in Ft. Myers for their delicious homemade ice cream which was fabulous. We only got back home at 7, after a very long day!
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| Love seeing the white pelicans! |
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| Blue heron! |
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| Heron and Ibis |
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| Tri-colored Heron |
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| Yellow crested night heron! |
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| Only saw 2 alligators! |
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| Walkway through the Mangroves! |
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| A little hard to see this iguana! |
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| Bowman Beach on Sanibel |
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| Lots of shells! |
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| What a colorful restaurant! |
Wednesday both Ken and I were extremely tired, so after his men's breakfast, we spent most of the day and evening just relaxing at our condo. Because it was the 5th Friday of the month, there was no food pantry, so Ken and I decided to go Manasota Beach on Thursday afternoon. They predicted sunshine after lunch with temperatures in the mid 70's, but that never happened! We were there from 11 to 1:15 and the sun never appeared and it remained in the 60's with a breeze. We were really cold by the time we left but we did have a good day shark's tooth hunting, even finding some seaglass! I had never seen the Gulf so rough with lots of rather powerful waves! That evening I played pickleball at Harbor Lakes and Ken had a relaxing evening at home.
Friday we met Russ and Darlene, former neighbors of ours when we lived in Akron, PA, for breakfast at Hometown Grill and then they came back to see our Florida home. We were together about 3 hours and it was so nice to "catch up" on life. Ernie and Noela came to visit around 6:15 and finally the girls won Hand and Foot!
It has been a busy 2 weeks but we are loving every minute here in Florida. We feel so blessed!
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| Ken and I took a walk around the back of our condo community and all of a sudden came upon this very large alligator about 10 feet from us! Quite a surprise! |
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