A Very Active Day!

 I got up at 6:15 and got ready to go to play pickleball.  I forgot that they only start playing at 8.  So I packed my lunch and fruit for Ken and I.  Ken was up at 7 and we left to go for a walk around the CG.  From 8 to 9 I played pickleball and had a great time.  Ken has a sore heel, so he wants to give it a rest from pickleball.  While I was gone he did some clean-up and got things together for our trip to Gasparilla Island and the town of Boca Grande.    

Ernie and Noela picked us up at 10 and we put our bike rack and bikes on their truck and headed to Gasparilla.  It is such a beautiful, upscale area.  We parked at 9th Street and then rode bike into Boca Grande.  From there we headed to the end of the island to Gasparilla State Park, where we walked the beach and checked out the lighthouse.  By then it was lunchtime, so we rode back to the truck, got our lunches, and enjoyed them while sitting on the beach.  We found a few sharks teeth, but very few!!!

We checked out the beach as soon as we got to Gasparilla!

Standing on the wall at Gasparilla State Park!

From Gasparilla State Park you can see over to Cayo Costa!

The current day lighthouse!

Riding from the park towards the 1928 lighthouse!  It is fairly
rusty and in need of repair!

The Cuban Locust trees were beautiful and unique!  Look
like Banyon trees!

This is the old Railroad Station in Boca Grande!  There is a
Cafe and other shoppes!

The trails and roadways here are amazing!  We were on the
bike and golf cart trail, to the right is the walking trail, and
the roads for cars are on either side!

The beach had lots of shells and pretty white sand!
Lots of waves too, which is unusual for the Gulf!

Noela found a beautiful live starfish that she threw back
in the water!

This is a large Spanish type home right off the beach!

Back on the bikes to head back to Boca Grande to get some "Amish Ice Cream". Don't know what part of it was Amish, but so it goes!!!!  Then we rode to the other end of Gasparilla to the Harbor.  We were back to the truck by 4:30 after riding about 15 miles.  Made a stop at Wal-Mart for groceries and got back to the CG at 6, happy but tired.

Ken and I made large salads for dinner, showered, and relaxed.  All of this activity had us tired!!!  Maybe we need to slow down tomorrow!

What a Relaxing Day!:

Ken and I were up at 6:15 and got ready for an early morning walk with Ernie and Noela.  We were at their site by 7 and off we went.  There is a path to follow behind our CG and you can go through 2 nearby housing neighborhoods without going out on the highway.  It is a very nice place to walk.  Ernie had a route that he said was exactly 1 hour and sure enough, at 8 we were back to their campsite.  Ken and I went back to Waldo to get ready to go to Church.

It was a beautiful sunrise!  I'm not used to getting up early
enough to see it!  

We went to a contemporary UM Church about 15 minutes from our CG, the same Church we had attended when we were here last fall.  Again, it was a very positive experience  We were back to the CG by 11.  Talked about our plans for the day and we decided it was a day to just relax and enjoy the NFL football game.  (We had told Ernie and Noela yesterday that we wanted to watch these games!)

Since game time was only around 3, we changed and moved our chairs into the sun.  When in the shade, the air was just a bit chilly, but the sun was great.  We spent time reading, ate lunch, and then returned to the chairs to read some more.  I did spend about a 1/2 hour on the phone with Melissa.  They were on their way back to Nashville in their motorhome after flying out late Thursday night to San Antonio.  Yesterday they had a "snag".  Their air horn started "blasting" and would not stop when on a major interstate.  They spent from 12:30 to 5:30 until Coach Net technicians arrived.  In the meantime, Melissa had posted questions on the internet asking for any help in how to turn off an air horn.  When the technicians couldn't solve the problem, she suggested to them a solution she had received from a fellow camper via the internet.  It worked and Chuck and Melissa were back on the road. Yeah for the internet and fellow campers!

I also talked to my sister to see how they liked their new location.  She and John moved to Fort Myers Beach area into an Encore Park for the next 2 weeks.  It is a great location, but a large percentage of the park is permanents, and the sites are so close.  I know they will enjoy being close to the beach!

I made jewelry and Ken worked on our route for our trip out west while we watched the Seahawks vs. Packers game.  What an amazing finish!!!  I like both teams, but I think I was leaning towards the Packers.  None the less, it certainly was an exciting game.   

Before 1/2 time, we skyped with our daughters and granddaughters.  They were all together for Sam's 6th Birthday!  What a special time!  We are so proud of all of them - spoken like a Mom and Grandma! 

Ken cooked chicken and salmon on the grill and I made salads.  Now we are enjoying the Patriots/Colts game.  I would like the Colts to win this one, but it's not looking so good for them so far!  

This really has been an usual day for us - not being busy most of the day!  Felt rather good.

A Beautiful, Sunny, Mild Day in Florida!

This was a perfect beach day.  Ken was up early to do his devotions and I crawled out of bed around 7:45.  We cooked breakfast, packed our lunches, and got ready for the day.  I also talked to my mom who is just getting over a bad case of the flu.  Her whole building at Masonic Homes is quarantined! Fortunately her flu was short lived, as she was actually feeling "drained" but a lot better within 36 hour.

Ernie and Noela picked us up around 11 and we headed to Stump's Pass to spend the afternoon on the beach.  No parking at that location, so we went alittle further north to Englewood Beach.  What a fun time.  Ernie and Ken walked all the way down to Stump's Pass, getting about 2,300 steps.  Noela and I didn't get too far from our blankets.  We would sit on the beach and go through the piles of shells looking for sharks teeth.  I found about 100 using this method.  There is something addictive when looking for sharks teeth!

Englewood is a beautiful beach with lots of shells
and sharks teeth!

Ernie enjoyed watching the blue heron!

These pictures were taken as Ken and Ernie walked from
Englewood Beach to Stump's Pass Beach Area!

This is the path towards the end of the Lagoon!

This is at the end of the Intrecoastal Waterway where there
is an inlet leading out to the Gulf!

Large osprey nest complete with the osprey!

The osprey is leaving the nest!

I love this photo!  Good job, Ken!

We left the beach around 4 and headed back to the CG.  Ken and I relaxed for a short time, showered, and then walked over to Ernie and Noela's 5th wheel for a drink.  We enjoyed looking at some of their photos from several of their camping trips.

We were back to Waldo by 6:45 and made dinner.  Spent the evening relaxing in Waldo.  This was just a great day and we are really enjoying our time with Ernie and Noela.

A Slow Down Day!

What a bad night's sleep!  I never fell asleep until 3 AM!  Not sure why, but I just couldn't sleep.  So, when Ken got up around 7, I told him to just let me rest.  Ken was on the phone and I could hear the click of the pickleball paddles on the courts that are near us, so sleep ended early.  Then Ernie and Noela stopped by and I decided to join the party in my PJ's.  Glad I did, for we had a really nice visit until about 10:30.  Somehow I missed breakfast - not a bad thing!!!

Ken and I spent time talking to the pharmacy at Costco regarding the 87 pills that were not included in the prescription we picked up yesterday.  We will be able to pick them up at the Costco in Sarasota which is about 35 minutes away instead of the 1 1/2 hour drive to Tampa.  Then Ken spent time on his computer dealing with our health insurance.  It can get so frustrating!  I had a good talk with my sister and then around 2:45 Ken and I left to drive to Placida to talk with the lady in charge of their upcoming craft show.  Not a nice person - so negative.  I do understand that it is an Artist, not a crafter show.  My product was not up to her standards - too easily reproduced.  I was really fine with that, but not with her and her rudeness!  Happy not to be working with her!

From there Ken and I headed to Venice Beach to meet Eberlys and Zapfs for a hymn sing on the beach while viewing the sunset.  Ken and I got there early, so we took a walk on the beach.  Turns out the hymn sing on the beach was cancelled, so the 6 of us left to go to Pop's Grille along the water at Nokomis Beach.  It was fairly cool and breezy.  We were able to sit at one of the outdoor tables with a fire pit in the middle.  Still cool, but the fire helped to keep it comfortable.  By the time we left around 7:30, we were chilled.

Sunset at Nokomis Beach.  Ken took this photo from
Pop's Grille across the Intracoastal Waterway!

Deb, Joyce, ad me at the "fire table".

It was getting very dark!

We said our good-byes - Zapfs are leaving for PA on Sunday and Eberlys are here near Venice for about  1 more week.  If possible, we will see Deb and Lloyd again while they are in Venice.  We were back to Waldo by 8:15 and we watched some TV.  Doloris called from home, and we had such a good conversation.  Looking forward to them joining us in Florida in Feb. for about 10 days.  We will have such a good time!  I promised her warm weather!!!

Heading off to bed.  After last night, I need a good night's sleep!

A Bit of Driving to the Tampa RV Show!They said it wT

Ken and I were up at 7:15 and got ready to leave for the Tampa RV Show.  We have wanted to go to it for a long time, but have never been in Florida when it was taking place.  This was our chance!  So we were on our way by 9 for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the Florida State Fairgrounds.  It was another very cloudy, damp, and dreary day with the temperature in Tampa in the 50's.  We even had an occasionally sprinkle!

We spent most of our time there checking out the 2 large vendor buildings.  We have been at the Hershey RV Show many times and the amount of rigs there is amazing.  But, the number of vendors at this show is huge compared to the Hershey one and there were eateries everywhere.  It was an impressive show! Soon after arriving, we saw one of our RV friends that we met at the RV Dreams Rally in Hershey 3 years ago.  So good to see Richard and Bonnie Waltman again. They are now full-timers since July.  They are so excited about their new lifestyle!  

Our main reason for going was to get information and special deals for our trip out west.  We were able to get a few things, but not as much as we had hoped. We did get to see and chat with our Encore rep, Josh, and the Encore people could give us some info regarding campgrounds in Texas, California, and Arizona!  We did tour some RV's, especially Winnebagos.  Sat inside the one we own taking to some folks who were seriously considering buying one.  They wanted us to tell them everything about it and if we are really happy with our choice of RV's.  The salesman should have paid us for the great job we did in promoting their motorhome!  I think they will be selling a Sightseer 33C in the very near future!!!!!   We stopped at the Costco near Tampa to get a prescription filled for Ken and they told us it would take about 1 hour.  So we decided to wait and just look around the store.  We also made 1 additional stop at a Wal-Mart near the CG.  I was excited to find Captain Morgan Key Lime Rum and Seagrams Wine Coolers at $1.00 a bottle and you could mix and match them.  We only got back to Waldo at 7:30 - a long day!

It was such a disappointment and shock when we got back and realized they only gave him 3 pills instead of the 90 he was supposed to get!  Now What!!!  So, we will have to call tomorrow and hope we can get the other 87 pills at a nearby Costco.  We certainly don't want to drive back to Tampa!!!!!

We ate a late, late light supper and watched American Idol. Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow for the weather again looks pretty dreary and cooler. We shall see!

A Fun-Filled Day!

What a busy fun day!  Ken and I were up at 7:00 and on the pickleball court by 8.  Many of the regular players had gone to a tournament at Naples, so not so many folks waiting to play.  We had a good time and played till 9:30.  We hadn't played since we were here in November, so I was a bit "rusty".  Ken did very well.

We loaded up the car for the beach and headed to Mannatee Beach at 10:15. It was cloudy when we left and that never changed throughout the entire day!  Ken and I started our shark tooth hunting and did pretty well.  At 11:45, Lloyd and Deb Eberly and Rick Joyce Zapf arrived.  They are part of our small group fromLCBC, our church back in PA.  We all enjoyed hunting for shark's teeth and just being together. 

Shark tooth hunting takes lot of concentration and hard work!

The men helped us by using their "Florida snow shovels" to get
shells and things from the edge of the surf and dumping them
in the sand for us to sort through.  We found lots of shark's teeth!

Time for a break and some snacks for energy!

Lloyd discovered a new way to find shark's teeth - binoculars!!
He will probably be on Shark Tank promoting his new invention!
His target market will be us older folks with deteriorating eyesight
and ones with knees that have trouble bending.  So, you will
also need a sieve on a long handle for picking them up
once you find them.  It will be disappointing when you pick them
up and discover how small they really are!!!!!

We left the beach at 2:45 and drive to Venice to have an early dinner at one of Ken's favorite places - Casey Key Fish House.  Everyone enjoyed the setting on the dock and the foot was so good, especially the Grouper.  From there we took the drive along Casey Key Road to see the large, beautiful homes with fantastic views and unbelievable landscaping.  On to Nokomis Beach for the drum circle.  We were amazed how many people were there considering there wasn't any sun to set!!!  It was a fun day with very special friends!  We hope to see them again on Friday evening for the hymn sing on Venice Beach while the sunsets.  Hopefully it will be sunny!!!!

The Happy Group at Casey Key Fish House

Saw all these birds while waiting for our food.  Not bad!!!!

We call this gentleman "featherman".  He comes to all
the drum circle and leads the activity!

The sun never came out today, but we did get this peek
of some beautiful color at "sunset".

Ken and I got back to Waldo around 7, watched American Idol, downloaded photos, and worked on this post.  Did have a nice talk with my sister.  Plan to go to the RV Show at Tampa tomorrow to get some info that could be helpful for our trip out west.

A Phenomenal Bike Riding Day!

Ken and I were up around 7:30, made a cooked breakfast, and then met Ernie and Noela at 9:00 to go to the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail about 5 miles from our CG. The weather forecast yesterday predicted a cloudy day with showers around noon time.  WRONG!!!!  It was a gorgeous, sunny day with temperatures around 80.  The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun remained out all day.  A perfect day for a long bike ride on a paved, level trail.

We are standing on a bridge along the bike trail.  From here
we saw the alligator and lots of  BIG fish!

Here is Mr. Alligator!

We rode to the little fishing village of Placida which was such a quaint little artsy area that reminded us a lot of Matlacha or Key West.  There were only a few shops, but they had such unique, mostly handcrafted items.  We really enjoyed walking around the small area.  There was also a fish market and The Fish Market Restaurant.  We ate lunch there on the outdoor deck overlooking the water.  Each of us had a different salad and they were nicely presented and tasted great!

The fishing village of Placida is very colorful!

This fishing shacks really look like the ones in Matlacha
and Key West.  So colorful!

Ken loved the mermaid!

We got back on the trail around 1 and rode the 8 miles back to our vehicles at the beginning of the trailhead.  Along the way we saw an alligator, fish, beautiful birds, an eagles nest with momma and her 2 babies, a dolphin jumping, and an owl.  We returned to the CG around 3:30 after riding 17 miles.  What a fun-filled day!

Ken was able to get this osprey just as he was taking flight!

A snowy egret!

We could only be sure this was an owl when Ken took the
photo.  From a distance it just looked like a dark blob!
I think it is a great photo!

This photo is amazing too, for we were fairly far away
from this eagle's nest!

Now you can see both eaglets!

So many white pelicans!

Now it was time for Happy Hour back at Waldo.  While waiting for Ernie and Noela, Ken spent quite a bit of time going through all the photos he had taken (he probably had 40 or so of just the eagle!!!) saving only the best ones for me to put on our blog.  Ernie and Noela spent about 1 1/2 hours here before we separated for dinner.  Ken and I took about a mile walk around the CG and then Ken grilled salmon and a pork chop for dinner while I made salads.  We spent the evening in Waldo touching base with my mother, Melissa, Cindy, and Nancy Savage.  Hopefully Nancy and Melissa will soon be on their way to Florida.  Both of them are having some challenging times so we are hoping for the best for both of them.