Our Last Day on Manasota Beach for this Trip!

Ken was up at 7 and did some reading and working on the computer.  I only arose at 7:45 as I had stayed up until about 12 last evening.  I made breakfast, cleaned up and then talked about what we wanted to do today.

We called John, my sister's husband to wish him a Happy Birthday.  His birthday is the day after hers.  We had a nice chat. 

Happy Birthday John!!!

 Our next call was to Chuck and Melissa to see if they were able to get their slide fixed yesterday and move onto the place where they were getting their shattered bedroom window replaced.  They had planned to leave Alliance late yesterday, but had to wait and leave early this morning, giving the caulking a chance to set.  The glass company was measuring the window as we were speaking and they will find out later whether the new window will be delivered quickly or if they will have to return to get it replaced after Thanksgiving.

Today was supposed to be a sunny, warm and breezy day, so Ken and I decided we should go to the beach.  We headed to Caspersen Beach, but due to severe erosion, there is very little beach area there. 

The road to Caspersen Beach!

The water at Caspersen was so clear....

but the beach erosion so severe.  Very little place to sit in the sand!

So, we got back in the CRV and went to Manasota again to look for more shark's teeth and shells for my jewelry making.  It was another delightful day on the beach and we probably found another couple hundred shark's teeth.  Loved it!

And here we are at Manasota Beach, one of our favorites!

Ken took these photos when we were leaving.  Beautiful!

We left the beach at 5:30 stopping at Wal-Mart for a little fruit for the rest of our stay in Florida.  We are trying to get the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry as empty as possible before heading back to PA and we are doing a fabulous job if I do say so myself.  We will have very little to take home.

Just as we got back to Waldo, we had a brief rain shower while Ken was grilling.  After dinner and finishing the dishes, showers were needed!  

I did talk to my mother today and dad said he is feeling much better since they stopped his pain medication.  Hallelujah!  I also talked to my friend, Jackie, and all is well with her and her family.  

Ken went back to the BR to watch TV and read while I enjoyed The Voice.  I went to bed at 9 to read and write in my diary.

It has been another great day.  Can't believe we only have 2 more days in the Venice area!

Shark Tooth Hunting on Manasota Beach!

Ken left Waldo a little before 7 to look for a roseate spoonbill and any other special birds he could find.  A lady here at the CG had told him of several "water areas" where she has photographed a roseate, so Ken was excited.  Unfortunately, he did not see one.  He also drove to the Rookery, where there are usually nesting egrets, herons, etc. and he enjoyed watching the Snowy Egrets feeding.  They drag their yellow feet in the water which scares the fish that are swimming nearby and makes it easier for them to grab them out of the water.  They were almost extinct before laws were enforced to protect them. 

Love these photos Ken took of the snowy egret "hunting" for fish!

What a technique!

He also photographed egrets, herons, and woodstorks.   

The rather "ugly" woodstork!

Egret

Blue Heron!

Great Blue Heron

Red shouldered hawk!

I had gotten up about 7:45, got ready, did some exercises, clean-up, and then started breakfast. He returned around 8:45.  We had a delicious cooked breakfast and then had a long phone call with my sister, Cindy.  We sang Happy Birthday to her and then had a great chat about so many subjects. 

Happy 61st Birthday, Sis!  Love you!

After the 51 minutes phone call, Ken and I took a walk around the CG.  It is an amazing place with so many permanent park mobiles in a separate area of the CG.  The amenities and location make this a special CG so much so that they have a 6 page waiting list to get in if you want to be here in Jan., Feb., or March.  It is crazy!  There is a protected area in the CG for the gopher tortoises. We saw several of them in that area while taking our walk!

The gopher tortoises in the CG

A lot of the CG looks like you could be in the islands!

We left the CG at 11:30 to go to Manasota Beach stopping first to see the house that Lloyd and Deb Eberly bought here in Venice in October.  What a nice place in a great location.  They are going to love it!

We were on Manasota Beach from noon to 6 and it was a perfect beach day - sunny, breezy and around 84 degrees.  Both of us spent most of the day searching for sharks teeth and it was a success time.  We found several hundred of them!  We stopped looking long enough to eat our packed lunches, but then it was time to search again.  Once you start and are finding a lot of them, it is so hard to stop!  We had a "ball"!

What a gorgeous beach day!

Not overly crowded!

We did sit in our chairs around 5 in preparation for watching the sunset.  What a gorgeous sight!  The sky was so orange and there weren't any clouds on the horizon.  Ken text Melissa and told her they better hurry up and get to the beach if they don't want to miss the beautiful sunset!  Ken used his good camera for the 1st 3 photos and I took the last 3 on my phone.  Thought I would include all of them!

We got back to Waldo at 6:15 and Ken grilled chicken and a pork chop and we also had salads and quinoa.  So good!  Then he went on a "mission" to clean sink drains, fan covers and screens, spigot filters, etc.  While he did that, I called my friend, Polly, and we had a very nice talk.  She is one of my Curvette friends back home who graciously allows us to keep our bikes, bike rack, and our craft canopy in her basement whenever we are home.  We are grateful!

We watched The Voice and I worked on our blog.  Cindy called and said she didn't want to alarm me, but they visited Mom and Dad today and he was very confused.  It appears that it may be the result of a new pain medication they started him on about 3 days ago (he tends to be very sensitive to medication), but the other concern could be a kidney infection.  Cindy talked to the nurses and they are stopping the medication, but it could take a day or 2 before we know if that is the "culprit".  We certainly hope so!  The good part is that Dad knew he was confused and mixed up.

This has been another Another Best Day!

Sad Day! Chuck and Melissa Left Today!

Ken and I were up at 7 and got ready to go to Church at Suncoast.  We had a light breakfast and then Ken "proofread" my blogs so they could be posted.  We could see Chuck outside getting ready for their departure this morning and it made us sad.  We opened our door and asked him what he thought he was doing.  He should stop right now and go back inside!  He was waiting for us to pull in our slides and for the "departure competition" to start.  Not today!  Ken and I will be here until Friday, but it will seem strange with them not beside us!

We got together at their RV and the hugs and good wishes for safe travels began, mixed with a few tears and some reminiscing.  We will look forward to seeing each other again at Pine Island in February.  We are all amazed at how much fun and how we continue to enjoy each other's company when we spend so much time together.  We are blessed!

We took a few pictures and then left while they were in the process of hooking up their CRV. 

They have moved out of their site and hooking up the CRV!

Melissa is expressing how I feel - a pout!!! 

Now it is Chuck's turn!

Ken and I really enjoyed the music and sermon at Suncoast Church today.  They were so meaningful!  

We were back to Waldo by noon and the site beside us was empty.  Looked very strange!  I went right to the laundry here at the CG with lots of clothes that needed washing.  Filled the washers and then back to Waldo to change do a little clean-up.  Then back to the laundry to put the clothes in the dryer.  During that process I left a message for Lanie and her family and talked to Noela.  She and Ernie are spending 9 days at Topsail on the Panhandle of Florida and having a great time.  We had a nice chat and will look forward to seeing them here in Florida in January.  Then I called my mother and she and my dad are doing so well.  She was also excited because Lanie and her family were coming to visit them around 1:30.  I really appreciate that they take the time to visit my parents and it is very meaningful for Mom and Dad.  I hung up quickly when they arrived!

I was back to Waldo at 1:45 with clean, folded clothes that Ken helped me put away.  Ken had made salads for us for tonight and tomorrow night and was working on the computer checking bills, etc.  After completing his computer work, he took a nap.  I recorded our expenses and then "cross checked them" with our credit card statements.  Then we both went outside and I made some jewelry while we watched some football.

Ken wanted to make supper while I continued making jewelry, so he grilled a salmon and turkey burger and grilled some onions and peppers he had sliced earlier.  What a great supper.

I did the dishes and he grilled some turkey sausage that we will enjoy for breakfast the next several days with the extra grilled peppers and onions.  Sounds like good omelets in our future!!!!!  

This was a day to accomplish some necessary "chores" and just stay at the CG. It was cloudy but warm with low humidity, so really not a beach day.  Tomorrow should be a good day for soaking up some rays and enjoying the sand and surf! No Pinochle, Skip-Bo, etc. tonight, for no one to play games with!  Where are you Chuck and Melissa!

Our Last Day with Chuck and Melissa for this Trip!!!

The 4 of us left the CG at 8 to go to the nearby park to play pickleball, but when we got there all 5 courts were full!  What was that about!  So Melissa searched on her phone and found another park only about 2 miles away, but again all of those  courts were full.  

So, we headed back to the CG to check out the one under the pavilion.  We were excited to find that court available.  It was a perfect morning for pickleball with the temperature in the mid 60's and no humidity.  We played for 1 1/2 hours and it was the best we have played since we got here.  The games were very close and there were long volleys with great winning shots - so much fun!

We went back to our RV sites so Chuck and Melissa could do a few things in preparation for their departure tomorrow morning, but by 11:15 we were walking to the office to get golf clubs and balls for playing the CG's mini golf (or putt putt as they call it in the South).  The men were victorious in both rounds.  From there we decided to stop and play some shuffleboard, something that all  of us really enjoy.  The men won the 1st 2 games and then the Hoslers beat the Gregorys.  

By then it was 2:45, so we headed back to our RV's again, changed clothes, and by 3:15 we were driving to Pop's Sunset Grill, about 3 miles from the CG, for an early dinner.  Ken and I had been there several times, but it was a 1st for Chuck and Melissa.  We were able to get a table on the deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and Nokomis Beach.  What a setting and the food was so good.  The special drink, a Mango Breeze, wasn't bad either!  We discussed our plans to hopefully head out west again next April, but doing the North West this trip.  We will be doing a lot more talking to get those plans finalized!

A very tropical type setting!

What a view!

This young heron was so close to our table!

It was fun to watch the boats go by!

I am going to miss Melissa so much....

..... and Ken will miss his sidekick Chuck too!

We returned to the CG around 5:30 and started playing games at Chuck and Melissa's.  After all, this is our last evening of games until February.  The men won Up the River but we won Pinochle.  Then we took a short break and drove to a nearby McDonald's for hot fudge sundaes - yummy!

Then we played more games in Waldo including 5 Crowns, Sequence Dice, and Skip-Bo and the women won everyone.  Wow!  By then it was 9:30 and we decided to call it a day.  

We certainly did a lot of different activities today, but each one had us laughing and having a "ball".  We are going to go through "withdrawal" when we part ways tomorrow.  These 70 days together have flown by.   Melissa figured it out and the 4 of us have been together 156 days this year and each one has been so special. Thanks, Melissa and Chuck for our time together, because we know that being with you has enhanced our adventures and made them more memorable!