Cloudy, Warm Day in Venice!

We woke to a few rays of sunshine and 59 degrees.  In a very short time it was in the 70's.  We enjoyed a delicious cooked breakfast (Ken was busy while I got ready) and then we took a walk around the CG.  It really is a well-maintained CG with so many activities and wonderful facilities for those activities.  I would guess that about 2/3 of the park is permanants with park model homes that have added rooms, porches, and sunrooms.  They all seem to take pride in their homes.

Ken and I decided to play 18 holes of miniature golf here at the park (a nice course) and then some shuffleboard.  Again, Ken won all the games.  I am getting a bit frustrated, cause I know I am better than that!!!!!!  We were back to Willie in time for lunch at 12:45.  We ate outside and then Ken went on his computer to check out our accounts.  I packed up my jewelry "stuff" to get ready to go to a class at Mermaid Design Studio here in Venice.  I took a class from Lynne several years ago and looked forward to having her give me some tips again.  I have been pretty much self taught, so it was great to be able to take a class where just Lynne and I would work together and she would answer my questions by demonstrating how the technique should be done.  She makes all of it look so easy.  I really learned some shortcuts and new ways to do many of the things I do regularly when making my earrings and pendants  So glad I took the class.  Probably will take one more before heading home.

Ken had gone for groceries, cleaned up Willie, and prepped for supper while I was getting instruction.  What a guy.  He picked me up at 5 and we headed back to the CG.  We played a game of Upwards, and I finally won!  Yeah!!!!!  Then we worked together making supper and cleaning up.  This has been a fun-filled day!

I plan to spend the evening practicing the new things I learned today!

Beautiful Day in Venice!

We woke to 59 degrees, but the sun was out and it warmed up quickly to the upper 70's.  We left at 9:15 to go to a free RV Show about 35 minutes from the CG.  It was sponsored by an RV Dealer that sells Itascas by Winnebago.  The price was right (Free) and we thought it would be fun.  We did have a good time, but still confused about what we like!
 
Left there and went to Stumps Pass State Park, a nice beach south of Englewood.  We spent the afternoon there "working" on the beach.  I needed more shell pieces for my jewelry making.  We also had fun looking for sharks teeth.  Another successful day, but the teeth were pretty small.  Really did enjoy our time on the beach!

Stumps Pass State Park and this is the beach!

Busy doing my job!!!!!

Lots of shells on this beach!

Stately blue heron!

Ken caught this photo of the dolphins!  I saw
one leap about 6 feet out of the water!

An osprey!

Digging for sharks teeth!

Back to Willie by 5:45 after coming back by way of the coastline.  Nice drive.  It had cooled off and the clouds had rolled in.  Sounds like tomorrow could be a partly rainy day. 

Enjoying the Venice Area!

Yesterday, Thursday, was a very windy and mostly cloudy day so we decided to do some errands.  We checked out a possible area for storing Willie when we head home for the holidays.  It is very close to this CG and appears to be a good place for storing.  Then I went to see Lynn who has a bead shoppe here in Venice.  I had taken my 1st wire wrapping class from her several years ago, and had decided to see what other classes I could take while in the area.  Had a nice visit with her co-owner, Jennifer.  I am going to take a class on Friday afternoon where I can just go with questions and ask for help on somethings I am making that could use some "refining".  Looking forward to it.  Then I might also take a class on beading utensils that are used for serving pieces.  Should be fun and informative.

Then Ken and I went to one of my favorite places, Sonny's for a pulled pork sandwich.  They are the best!  On to RV World, a huge RV dealer in the area that we usually stop at every year since they carry Winnebagos.  We spent way too much time there checking our the new floor plans in the Class A Motorhomes.  Enjoyed our visit, but it just gets confusing.

Back to Willie for an evening of relaxation.

Busy 1st Day at Venice!

After eating breakfast outside, we decided it was time to take a bike ride on the Legacy Trail to downtown Venice.  We needed one of those delicious blueberry scones from the Upper Crust!  So, we hopped on our bikes and rode them 1 mile from the CG to get on the amazing bike trail.  Several years ago they built a bridge over Route 41, a very busy road in Florida, that is just for bikes and walkers.  It takes you into downtown Venice. 

Great morning for riding the Legacy Trail!

1 of 3 bridges on the trail into Venice!

 

We enjoyed walking around the town, eating our scone, and checking out the painted dolphins and turtles.  Don't know who paints them, but they are certainly well done! 

This was my favorite painted turtle!
His Back!

His Front!

Quite a scene on the back
of this dolphin!

We rode from downtown Venice Island out to the South Pier, a very nice ride, and then stopped at Venice Beach.  Left and rode to the Visitors Center to get more information on the happenings in the area.  Back to Willie by 12:30 after riding about 12 miles!  Ate lunch and then drove to Nokomis Beach.  Time for me to "go to work" and start collecting shells.  Ken also wanted to find more sharks teeth.  Both of us were successful!  We did a lot of walking on the beach and got back to Willie around 5:30. 

Entering downtown Venice Island!

Sitting along the South Pier!

Nokomis Beach!

Today the morning was very sunny and warm (84), but it really got cloudy this afternoon.  Still warm and great to be on the beach.

Looking forward to making jewelry tonight and watching who is left go on The Voice.  There are many talented singers on that show!

Left Pine Island and Drove to Venice!

After saying good-bye to all of our friends, we left Pine Island around 9:30.  Ed stopped by to check all the lugs on our tires to make sure they were tight.  What a guy!

The trip to Venice was uneventful, except we missed the turn into the CG and had to drive about 6 miles out of the way.  Oh well, we are now at one of our favorite places in FL - the Royal Coachman CG in Nokomis (right near Venice).  This CG can have some challenging sites to get into, but we got a large site with no trees making backing in relatively easy.  We set-up rather quickly but got hot - it was 86 degrees.  Quite a bit better than those cold temperatures in PA!  I suggested it was a good day to go out to lunch because we needed groceries and it was past lunch time.  I wanted to go to one of Ken's favorite places - Casey Key Fish House!  He loves their grouper sandwiches.  He thought it was a great idea!  What a joy to return to a place with great food and an incredible setting. 

What a setting!

After a delicious lunch, we headed to Wal-Mart to do the necessary grocery shopping.  Back to Willie by 4:15.  At 5 we decided to drive to Nokomis Beach to watch the sunset and I wanted to look for some shells.  Hadn't been on any beaches since arriving in Florida that had shells.  It was a beautiful evening on the beach and we were so excited - I got shells, Ken took gorgeous photos of the sunset, and he found sharks teeth.  Wow!!

Ken does such a wonderful job with his sunset photos!

Treasures at the end of the day!

Back to Willie to have salads for supper and watch The Voice.

Just a little side note!  My dad, Bill Althouse, was in an article either in the Sunday News or today's Lancaster Paper discussing his involvement in WWII.  They even included photos of him Now and Then.  Ken and I went on the Internet to read the article, and I was thrilled with the great job they did interviewing my father.  Larry had called me to ask if my dad would consider being interviewed, and then his next question was whether he was "capable" since he was 89.  I told him he was "sharp as a tack" and would do a good job.  I think they worked well together!  I am very proud of him and so thankful that of the 2 in his company that came back alive or without injury he was one of them. 

Last Full Day on Pine Island!

Yesterday, Sunday, was a fun-filled last full day on Pine Island.  Ken went outside to check the tires and noticed the newly repaired one looked low!  So, he checked all the tire pressures and realized that it was 15 lbs. light.  He was hoping that they under inflated it when it was repaired.   It had Ken a little uneasy!

After cooking breakfast outdoors (it was 75 already) we went over to Sandy and Ed's park model to check it out.  They had asked us to stop by.  It is only about 1 1/2 years old and they have made it their "custom" home.  What a wonderful Florida residence for them.  Sandy is the activity director at the CG, so they live here from October to June, spending the other 4 months in New York living in an RV.  They are such wonderful people. 

We decided to take a walk around the CG and kept stopping to talk to friends.  We were thrilled to pass by Ed and Pat's Airstream and discover that they had just arrived a 1/2 hour earlier from Pittsburgh.  They had driven 1200 miles in 2 days and Ed is 82 years old!  Pat is probably close in age, but they have so much energy and enthusiasm for life.  I play tennis with Ed and he beats me most of the time.

Then we stopped to talk to Ernie and Noela from Canada.  Another nice visit.  We had planned to take a long walk on the island, but it was now past lunchtime.  So we stopped at Willie, ate lunch, and then decided to ride bike instead of walk.  We rode to the center of the island and stopped at Tropical Point, a very small beach and place to launch a kayak.  Then back to Willie after riding about 11 miles. 

Our new friends, Ernie and Noela!

What a great bike trail!

Gotta love the Palms!!!!

Never noticed this painted pole before!
A gal is painting a pole!!!

This one was new to us also.  Beautiful
horses heads!

This is the "big" beach at tropical point!

We played Upwords and Pinochle and Ken won both.  I just don't get it.  He must be cheating!  After the games, Ken checked the tire and it was fully inflated.  Thank goodness!  Did a little preparation for tomorrow's departure, but we were not in a hurry to leave in the morning.  We only had 70 miles of driving to our next destination - Venice! 

A Craft Show Day!

Ken and I were up to the 6 AM alarm to get ready to go to the craft show at the Lutheran Church here on Pine Island!  We had done all the loading last evening!

We were at the church by 7:15 and started setting up.  It was 70 degrees, sunny and a bit breezy.  We were outside, but in a protected area - didn't need to set-up our canopy.  Makes set-up much easier and quicker!  There were about 40 crafters and probably 25 were jewelry.  Not what we wanted to see!  Fortunately, mine was a bit different than the rest.  Nobody was wire wrapping pieces of shells!  Ken and I were pleased with the sales at the end of the show, which was only from 9 to 1 - a nice short day!  We will be doing a show here again in Feb. when we return to Pine Island.

On our way back to the CG, we drove into the development neighboring the CG where eagles nest every year.  Ken was so excited to get a picture of an eagle in the tree!  Passed a lady from North Dakota that is here at the CG every year and had a great time talking with her for about a 1/2 hour.  She is a minister who delivers the sermon in the Church service here at the CG each Sunday. 

What amazing birds!

When we got back to Willie we re-organized the "stuff" in Diesel and in his toolbox.  Ed wanted to surprise us and remove our spare tire and put the repaired tire back on Willie while we were gone, but he was unable to find the tool needed to remove the repaired tire from underneath. He came over soon after we got back.  Ken and Ed switched the tires and now Willie has matching wheels again!  So nice of Ed to bring his jack and tools to do the job!

To relax, Ken and I played another game of Upwords and I finally won!  Then we walked over to chat with our new Canadian friends, Ernie and his wife that came here from Topsail.  We both shared our camping adventures and laughed a lot when we talked about our "challenges" and misfortunes with our 5th wheels and trucks.  What crazy stories!  We spent about 2 hours chatting and having a great time drinking wine and sharing!  What wonderful folks!

Then it was time to make a few phone calls, check our e-mails, post on the blog, etc.

Hard to imagine we will be leaving Pine Island on Monday.  We always meet the greatest folks while we are here and reconnect with others.  Must be what keeps us coming back here year after year!!!