Not a Beach Day Afterall :(

  Woke up this morning to very heavy cloud cover, but warmer morning temperature... about 60.  John did his morning routine and I went to the pool and hot tub to do my exercises.  John joined me about 10:30.  We talked with a couple people while we there.  It's so interesting to hear people's stories... where they're from, when they started RVing and why, how long they're here, and where they have been. And they're full of recommendations for things to do in the area.  There's a little Tiki Hut poolside that serves lunch Tues, Thurs, and Sat.  Today was Taco Tuesday.  For $5.00 I had a huge taco salad and soda.  It was very good! Since we weren't going to the beach we decided to go shopping for bathing trunks for John and to find a place for him to get a new hair style.  I also needed an accompaniment track for the song I'm singing in the Talent Show on Sat night.  The lady in the pool had suggested Bealls for swimwear so we headed there.  As chance would have it... there was a Christian Music store right across the street...and a Costco, too!  We found a bathing suit for John at Bealls, a CD for me at the music store, and some new pool towels at Costco.  But they didn't have the bread we usually get in PA.  Oh, well, 3 out of 4 isn't bad!  We got back about 6:15 and, by the way, John's hair looks great!  And, of course, I didn't have the camera ( I'll get a pic tomorrow).  We ate leftovers and then called our granddaughters, Emma and Ellie and then headed out to the activity room for Card Bingo.  Instead of using Bingo cards a team of 4 each get 13 cards (evenly dividing a deck of playing cards).  The caller calls out cards one at a time and if you have the card you take it from your hand and put it in the middle of the table.  The first person to be rid of all their cards wins the pot.  Each game cost 25 cents.  It really is fun!  Now I know what you're all thinking..." Oh, my, John and Cindy are getting old... they're playing Bingo"!  Well, guess what... we're playing regular Bingo tomorrow night, too!  On the way back we played a game of shuffleboard.  John won, but I think it was because my left hip keeps me from balancing correctly and aiming correctly, so, naturally my shots are off!  When we got back John messed with the computer, did some reading and then went to bed.  I worked on our blog post while waiting for Chicago Fire to come on after the State of the Union address, but that never happened.  I talked with my son, TW and my daughter, Heather and our grandson, Cooper, finished up the blog post and went to bed. Again, I apologize for no pictures.  I'll try to make it up tomorrow when we go to Bonita Beach.

Let's Hit the Beach!

   Looks like a great beach day, so while John did his morning routine I packed our lunches and took Kylie for a walk.  When he got back he cooked breakfast and then we walked up to the front of the CG to check out the pool, exercise room, clubhouse, and office.  While we were in the clubhouse one of the events coordinators talked me into signing up for the talent show on the 24th!  Rhonda called to let us know that she forgot she had to be at a meeting at work at noon, but Kevin and Heather would be going to Sanibel earlier, so we could meet them there.  Rhonda, James, Megan and Ellie would all come together a bit later.  We left about noon and made a stop at the Ace Hardware store just a few doors down from the CG hoping to get a "Florida Snow Shovel".  We were in luck... they had them.  We also got a medium sized kitchen sieve to use in the dry sand.  Then off we went to Sanibel Island.  The view from the bridge you travel across to get on to the island is breathtaking! (we will eventually get a picture, I promise).  It's only about 10 miles away, but we didn't get to the Gulf Side City Park until about 1:00.  The traffic on the island is very heavy and there are no traffic lights, just stop signs and traffic cops.  Kevin and Heather were already there.

I think Kevin is on the phone with Rhonda trying to
find out how close she is to getting here

  Rhonda and crew arrived about 45 minutes later. 

Great beach loaded with shells

 

 

Neat clouds!

 

 

I love how the sun glistens on the water!

It took me a few tries to master the Florida snow shovel, but after I got it I had a ball! 

Me and my "Florida snow shovel"

There weren't very many large shells to be found, but there were a lot of neat small ones.  I even found a small starfish!  John found some nice sized ones while taking a walk, and he gave them to Rhonda.  Little Ellie had a good time... she is so cute.  It's hard to believe James is the father of a 2 yr old...she adores him just as much as he adores her! 

Isn't she a cutie!

Little Ellie, Maw Maw Rhonda, Mom Megan and me

Maw Maw adores Ellie, too!!

"Look what I found, Mommy"

   We all left about 5:00 and I realized that I was so busy looking for shells that I never ate lunch!!  So I ate my sandwich as soon as we got home and John ate his leftover Chinese from yesterday.  We got showers and then we went next door to the "Love Boat Homemade Ice Cream Shop".  The line was so long it wound around just about the whole inside of the shop, but it was worth the wait... delicious!!  On the way back we saw a truck in the CG parking lot that had a sticker on it from Hondru /Etown.  That's where we got our Jeep, so we will be on a mission to find out who owns it.  Wouldn't it be something if we know them?!?  I worked on our blog post, John read, and then we went to bed.  Looks like tomorrow will be another beach day..yea!

Moving Day!

    Today we moved from Pine Island to Fort Myers RV Resort.  It's about a 50 minute drive and closer to the beach... yea!!  John got us all unhooked and cleaned up outside while I batted down the hatches inside.  We enjoyed our stay on Pine Island and will definitely return in the future!  We hooked up the Jeep and off we went about 10:30.  We missed an exit on the way, but other than that it was an easy drive.  It was pretty neat to go past things we recognized from former trips here to visit with Bonnie and Ken.  We even passed the last Holiday Inn Express we stayed at in Cape Coral.  That was before we had our own RV!!!!  It almost doesn't seem real yet.  Anyway, we arrived at the resort about 11:30 and shortly after checking in we were met by a gentleman in a golf cart who was going to escort us to our site.  The sites are pretty small so he asked John to take a trip with him to the site to show him how to get there and the plan to pull in.  During their trip he asked John where we were from and when he found out we were from Lancaster Co. he told John that he has camped in Hershey and Manheim!  Now wasn't that a coincidence.  I was so nervous following Harvey in the Jeep around the tiny roads, but John did a great job navigating the turns and pulling into the site!!  We will most likely get to know our neighbors pretty well, because our patio areas face each other and literally touch each other.  Jim and Janine are newbies at RVing and jumped into full timing right away after Jim was forced to retire from CPA work.  They have a 15 yr old schitzu (sp?-even spell check didn't recognize it!), so Kylie will have a buddy.  They are very friendly!  The neighbors, Mary Lou and ? (I forget already) on the other side are very nice, too.  He must have had the same throat or vocal chord cancer as my Dad because he talks as though he has a very bad case of laryngitis, just like my Dad does.  We got all settled in by 1:30 and John took a little walk while I made lunch.  We set up everything outside to watch football.  I had nice conversations with my daughter, Heather and my sister, Bonnie.  We made it through the 1st half and then got cold (our site does not get the afternoon sun) and I got sleepy.  I took a nap and woke up halfway through the 3rd quarter.  John was watching the game in the bedroom and came out when I woke up saying, "well, this one is over".  The score was 19-7 at the time and just after he said that the Seahawks scored and then scored again!  Who would have ever thought they would end up winning that game!!!!  We were both rooting for Green Bay.  We decided to go out for Chinese and do a little shopping.  When we got back we watched the next game... how disappointing... and then went to bed.  Tomorrow we plan on going to the beach on Sanibel Island with Rhonda, Kevin, Heather, James, Megan and Ellie.  It should be fun!

Lido Beach Here We Come!

    Looks like the weatherman got it right, so we packed our lunch and met Rhonda and company at Publix about 20 minutes from the CG at 10:00.  Rhonda took us across the road to show us the lot she bought in a gated community called Cape Harbor.  It's a beautiful development with upscale, mostly stucco homes with gorgeous tile roofs and a golf course  She hasn't made up her mind yet as to whether she will build there or not.  Then we left for the Lido Key beach in Sarasota.  I called my mother to find out how her dentist appt went yesterday only to find out that she couldn't go because she got the intestinal bug that is going around the retirement home she and my father live in. As a matter of fact the whole building is quarantined!   She feels better today, so, hopefully she's on the mend. It was a long drive to the beach, about an hour and 45 minutes, but well worth it.  The beach was like cornstarch and the water was different shades of turquoise and very clear.  The sun was warm and there was a slight breeze.  John took a walk and I basically stood in one spot about a foot into the water and found a few nice shells.  We ate our lunches and then all of a sudden the wind direction shifted and it got really chilly even though the sun was warm.  We were all wrapped in towels and sweatshirts and decided to leave about 4:30.  Poor Kylie is probably back at Harvey with her legs crossed!  We made plans to meet at Sonny's Barbecue at 7:45 for supper.  As usual it was delicious!  Then we walked next door to Hurricane's to spend a few minutes with the manager, James, Rhonda's son.  Her other son, Evan, called Rhonda while we were there, so I got to talk with him, too!  We all made plans to go to Sanibel Island on Monday for another beach day.  The weather is supposed to be good!?!  We got back to Harvey and Kylie about 9:45.  John went to bed and I worked on our blog post till about 1:00.  I better get to bed because tomorrow is moving day.  We need to be out no later than 11:00 am and there are a few things we need to do to prepare.

The powdery beach and beautiful turquoise water at Lido Beach

 

The sailboat looks so pretty in the water against the sky

 


Not sure what kind of bird this is, but it was
different from the others

A view of Sarasota from the bridge

An anonymous friend I made while tied up in traffic on the bridge

The clouds outside of Cape Coral made an interesting pattern

Beautiful sunset skies over Pine Island

Kevin, Rhonda, Heather, me and John as happy as
barbecued clams after dinner at Sonny's



Seems like old, fun times spending time with Rhonda again!

Rhonda and son, James at Hurricanes where he is manager

.

Here Comes the Sun...Finally

   The sky was full of clouds again this morning when we got up and it was chilly... low 50's.  It is supposed to clear by noon, but we'll see.  John did his routine while I had breakfast and played on the computer waiting for the sun to peek through the clouds.  I should have gone to the pool anyway to do my exercises, but I couldn't talk myself into it because I was chilly inside the RV!  I must have been pretty cold, because I decided to vacuum to warm up.  But I couldn't find the vacuum cleaner!  John came back right about then and got it out from under the RV.  So I vacuumed and warmed up.  John wanted to go to the pool because he promised we would see the sun by lunchtime.  I caved in.  Well... it peeked through a bit but didn't really come out until about 2:00.  Then it was beautiful!  

This weird looking caterpillar was crawling
 around the pool area.

We left the pool about 4:00.  We were pretty hungry because neither one of us had lunch.  We had another one of our "left-over smorgasbords".  We decided to go into Cape Coral to see the movie, American Sniper.  I hope it's not too intense!  We'll let you know when we get back.  It was very good... graphic enough where it had to be, but not too graphic where it could have been.  It was a remarkable true story of dedication, tough choices and human vulnerability with an unexpected ending.  It certainly gave me a new appreciation for what our guys go through!  Oh, and by the way, I ate way too much popcorn!!  We stopped at Publix (a grocery store) on the way home to pick up a couple of things, and I was so excited to find Martin's potato rolls that I practically did a dance in the aisle!  When we got home I made some chicken salad while John watched TV and then we went to bed and read a little bit before we turned off the lights.  The weatherman has promised a sunny, warm Saturday, so we plan on going to Lido Key Beach in Sarasota with Rhonda, Kevin and his daughter, Heather.  But we'll see... the weatherman has been lying lately!

 

Sight Seeing Day on Pine Island

   The weatherman called for overcast skies today and he got it right!  The temp was about 70.  John cooked a delicious breakfast.  I talked with my sister and my mother.  Then John did his walking and exercise routine while I headed for the pool and hot tub to do some exercises for my hip.  It took us both about 2 hours, returning to Harvey about 11:30.  John got 12,000 steps in today.  He has really been diligent with his exercise.  I am very proud of him!!  We had some lunch and decided to drive in all different directions on the island to check out places we haven't seen yet.  First we headed to the north end of the island to the Bokeelia pier.  It was a pretty view from the fishing pier and we saw a few pelicans.

 

The contented pelican

 

This was as far as we could go out on the pier

 

Another pier coming out from a residential area

 

The happy couple

 

A pretty view to the inlet

 

The rest of the fishing pier that was off limits
unless you were fishing

  We took some back roads on our return to the CG and spotted an osprey nest in the middle of a field near the Pineland post office.

Looks like someone built a structure hoping for a nest, huh?

He/she looks so regal!

John yelled at it to get a different shot...
I think he upset it!

  The road winded around to the main road (Stringfellow) and we stopped at a cute little bakery.  We shared 2 cupcakes...a chocolate/peanut butter one and an orange crunch one.  They were absolutely delicious, especially the orange one! 

The Cupcake Express

Many flavors... we had the orange crunch-bottom left
and the choc p. b.-bottom 2nd from right

Assorted cheesecakes

The attached gift shop-we ate at the yellow table in the back

Then we headed east, but that was a dead end.  A bit past the CG we tried to check out a wildlife preserve, but it, too, was a dead end, so we went back to Harvey.  John took a nap while I played my word game on the computer.  I was hungry for fresh seafood so we went over to The Sandy Hook Seafood Restaurant located just before entering Malachi.  We got a seat next to the window so we could look out over the water.  John had the grouper he has been hungry for and I had shrimp scampi over linguine.  The food was very good!  We would highly recommend it. 

The view from the window out over the water

Then we went back to the CG clubhouse to play BINGO.  We didn't win any games, but it was fun.  They play weird games like any 9 numbers, kite shape with tail, and fly swatter with fly.  John is afraid he will have nightmares about it tonight!  We went back to Harvey, watched some TV, I worked on our blog post (Kylie is under the table across my feet snoring away), and then we went to bed.

Uneventful, Cool, Overcast Day

The weatherman promised a warm, sunny day today... they lied!  I got up and put my bathing suit on in preparation for going to Sanibel Island today.  BUT... it was cool and overcast and the sun was no where in site!!  My  hip was really sore this morning.  I might have overdone it in the pool yesterday.  John went for a bike ride.  I sure wish I could go, too, but my physical therapist said I should wait another 6 weeks until I do that just in case I would have to stop quickly and have to put my left leg down suddenly to stop.  That could mess up everything!!  I'll have to be patient!!!  I called my son and daughter to see how things are going in NY with arrangements for their father.  I worked on our blog posts from the last 2 days and I made pickled eggs.  If that doesn't indicate boredom, I don't know what does!!  We were hoping the sun might still make an appearance and we could at least go to the pool, but it wasn't in Mother Nature's plan, so we drove down the road to Dairy Queen instead for Blizzards.  YUM!!  That was the bright spot in the day! :(. John grilled Bubba burgers for supper and then we played Nerts and Tip of the Tongue trivia.  I creamed John at Nerts and he beat me at trivia.  I talked with my sister for a while... they are at Harbor Lakes.  John did some reading while I watched American Idol and worked on our blog post.  Then we went to bed.  Kylie is already asleep!!  Needless to say, I don't have any pictures today.  Tomorrow and Friday don't sound much better than today, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it might change.