Tuesday - What a Great Day!

I only went to bed at 11:30 last night after watching the Ice Dancing at the Olympics.  What great skating!  Ken was up early and loaded our bikes on the back of Ernie's truck for a bike ride on the Venetian Waterway Trail.  He left at 7:30 to meet Ernie while he was on his walk but unfortunately, Ernie had left earlier than usual and they never "crossed paths"!

I did my stretches, devotions, and then we ate breakfast when Ken returned.  Ernie, Noela, Ken and I left the CG at 9:15 and drove to downtown Venice where we would start our bike ride.  1st though we walked to the Upper Crust where we met Rick and Joyce to have one of the bakery's delicious scones - raspberry today!  What a nice time the 6 of us had sitting inside the bakery and having the opportunity to visit.  Thanks to Rick and Joyce for getting their earlier and getting a table for the 6 of us!

Lots of smiles when eating those delicious scones!

Ken and I are so blessed to have such great friends!

Spending time with Rick and Joyce during
out stay here in Florida has been fantastic!

Rick and Joyce are leaving very early tomorrow morning for a trip to Las Vegas, so they had plenty to do today and decided a bike ride could not be part of their agenda.  We said our good-byes and they headed home while we walked back to the truck and got on our bikes for our 11 mile ride right along the Intracoastal Waterway.  It was an extremely hot day (near 90) but there was a strong breeze.  We rode to Caspersen Beach, stopping along the way to do one of our favorite things while on that trail - feeding the Florida scrub jays!  We no sooner stopped at the area where we usually see them till they appeared.

What a scenic ride!

The 1st scrub jay showed up within 5 seconds of holding up
a peanut!

They are so beautiful!

Off he goes with his breakfast!

They are so calm!

He likes seeing himself in the mirror.  The peanut can wait!

This is one of my favorite trails for bike riding!

Some big boats go by!

On to the beach where we walked a short time along the beach and then stopped at a picnic table (the one that Ken and I have eaten lunch at many times with several of our friends) for some snacks!  Back on the bikes, returning to the truck around 2:30.  It was a great ride!

Caspersen Beach!

Lots of shells along the water, but not many shark's teeth!

Numerous turtle nesting areas!

Heading back to Venice.....

....but a needed snack first!

We made numerous stops on the way back to the CG including Detweiler's Market, Wal-Mart, Ace, and a bike shop for a spare inner tube for Ken's bike (he seems to get an abundance of flat tires!)

We were back to the CG around 4:45 after a rather long, but good day!  Showers felt great!  I worked on this blog and we prepped for dinner.

There was a knock on our door and surprise, it was Neil and Nancy Savage.  They had just arrived at Harbor Lakes this afternoon.  They were PA residents until they started full-timing about 5 years ago.  They spend a lot of the summer in PA so we get to see them during that time!

After they left, Ken grilled chicken and salmon and we ate outside.  After doing dishes, I downloaded photos and did more work on this blog.  The 4 of us decided not to get together tonight after such a busy day.  So, we spent the evening in Wilbur watching the Olympics and painting my fish!  It was another day to celebrate!