Our Last Full Day at Manatee

   John and I both slept in until 8:30 although I didn't get out of bed until about 9:15.  Bonnie and the gang had invited us to go to Manasota Beach with them and then to Farlow's Restaurant in Port Charlotte with Ernie and Noella, but we wanted to go to the Starfish Co. for "lupper" today, so we stayed in the CG.  After a "dippy" egg breakfast  I started another battle with the computer.  I spent almost 2 hrs trying to get the blogs done, but I LOST the battle.  John even got ALL the laundry done while I fought the darn thing.  He also rearranged some things in the storage areas under Harvey so we can help Bonnie and Ken bring some of their things home for them while Waldo stays in Florida for some service.  Then you won't believe what I asked John to do!!  No, it's nothing risqué...he touched up the roots of my hair.  We were both more scared than each of us let on, but he did a great job...at least to the untrained eye!  We'll see what Michele has to say when we get home.  We left for the Starfish Co about 2:30 in the Jeep with the top down.  That was fun!  This restaurant is one of our favorite places to eat in this area.  Bonnie and Ken had introduced it to us a few years ago when we would fly down to Florida and send a week with them.   It is out back from a little seafood market and on a wharf.  You order at the window and then they bring your food out to your picnic table in a cardboard box.  We arrived at 3:15...a time that we thought the restaurant wouldn't be too full.  Well, the line to order was very long and it took 1 hr and 15 minutes for John to get to the window.  We got our food in about 10 minutes and it was well worth the wait.  John had breaded grouper and I had breaded gulf shrimp.  They both came with hush puppies, coleslaw and FF.  Both meals were absolutely delicious!!!!!

Long line at 3:15.  Winds the whole way around
to the left and back again to get to the order window!

 

Full house!!

 

This egret was posing for me and then...

 

...he suddenly spotted something very important
in the water under the deck of the restaurant!

 

Those are all pelicans on the roof of that boat.
Guess they're all waiting for the next fishing boat to come in.

 

These 2 guys are being anti-social, but waiting
for the same thing!

 

 

 

This blue heron was waiting, too...on one foot.
It's hard to see, but it's curled up under him.

 

I suppose this pelican is drying out his feathers.
He was right behind John on the dock by our picnic table.

  When we got back I called Mom to see how the move back into her remodeled room went.  She said that 2 nurse's aides helped her all day and that they were a God send.  She was all in by 3:00 and very glad to be back! She also feels better after having a pretty bad cold the last 5 or 6 days.  She had been quarantined the last 3 days not even being able to see Dad.  Then I got a call from Heather and Cooper.  She had a stress test and US today.  All looks good and the baby weighs about 6lbs 10oz...that's a 2 lb increase in 4 weeks!  If you do the math she'll probably have an 8 1/2 to 9 lb baby.  Cooper would like a baby brother.  Heather has not wanted to know the sex of the baby until delivery.  So we'll all be surprised!  Bonnie and Ken knocked on our door at 7:30 to head over to Melissa and Chuck's for cards.  We played 5 Crowns first which the men won by 5 pts.  Melissa needed some mouthfuls of canned Redi Whip to get her thru that game.  And then we played Skip-O.  After a few more squirts of Redi Whip Melissa and the girls were finally victorious! (even tho the guys had 14 skippies to our 6!!)  We called it a night at 9:45.  We said our good byes because we are all leaving tomorrow morning.  (Bonnie and gang are going to Southern Palms CG in Eustis and John and I are going to Terra Ciea CG in Palmetto).  It was a lot of fun spending some time with them!!  I worked on the blog which finally behaved and John read.  He went to bed about 11:00 and I finally finished the blog at 2:00.