The Reluctant Snowbirds

We had a great surprise this past week when some long lost friends from St. Cloud, MN called and said they were headed this way.  Kathy and Steve are the parents of Ted's childhood best friend and we spent a lot of time together when the boys were in sports back in high school.  In fact, we saw them every weekend but just like all things, that changed and we lost track of each other.

The boys are still great friends but Mitch's parents stayed in central Minnesota enjoying their retirement and we headed south.  We should be thanking the Minnesota Twins for bringing these friends back to us.  Steve is a HUGE sports fan.  In fact,  I am pretty sure he would have to be locked up if he couldn't watch or read about some sports team every day.

We spent Saturday on Good Time Charters out of Fort Myers Beach.  This charter takes you into Estero Bay which is a feeding ground for dolphins and we saw at least six including a mother and calf.  There was also a rookery in the bay full of egrets, pelicans, frigates, probably a sparrow or two. 

Then we headed to our favorite local dive, Bonita Bill's.  We have never seen it so packed and we found out why.  Peppermint Patty was DJing.  Most of the 60+ crowd found their way to the dance floor and it was late afternoon.  I am pretty sure it cut into some nap times.  We could give those 30 somethings a run.

We plan on spending more time with them this week before they head up to Panama City to join some other snowbirds.  Now we just have to work on getting them here on a regular basis.  I think the weather (80+) may help, we see it is in the teens this morning in Minnesota.  And maybe the Twins too. Margaret

Its Nicer in Naples

Last weekend the weather was perfect here, 80s and sunny so we gladly accepted an invitation to go boating in Naples with Adele and her husband and some friends.  Before we got on the boat, we watched some kids go by in their floating classroom  learning to sail. 

Not long after that, we watched someone using a jetpack on the water.  He went up in the air and then back down to the water.  Not sure what this sport is called but I'm sure it has some crazy name.

Then we were off on the boat for the day.  We viewed the mansions in Naples from the water and since Adele and her husband live in Naples year round, they were able to give us some history on the houses.  Unfortunately they don't live in one. 

On Sunday, we spent time with Mary, Pat and Mary's sister, Betty, who is also my cousin. She lives in Milwaukee and unfortunately is a Packer backer.  We let her in the house anyway.  She can't help it.   She lives in Milwaukee. Betty was able to enjoy the beautiful weather here for her whole visit. 

Yesterday (Valentine's Day) the weather turned nasty, rainy and cold.  As we enjoyed a beer and chicken wings at Hooters for our Valentine celebration, we watched it pour outside. Yes, Gary took me to Hooters for Valentine's.  The romance hasn't ended even after all these years.

Today is cloudy and we don't expect the nice weather to return until early next week.  Its almost like Milwaukee.  I gotta go find some cheese. Margaret

Where has the time gone?

Its been a little over a year since I started this blog and so much has happened as we settle into our new lives in Florida.  People wonder how we like living here full time and we both would honestly say we love it.  Yes, the summers are hot but now we have a pool so who cares?  And the beaches are all really close so we can go there too and if we get really lazy, we can just turn up the AC.   When we check the weather at our house in Minnesota, we realize how good we have it now.  I think it was 20 below or something this morning.  We play a guessing game every morning just to remind ourselves that even if it cools off a little here, its not so bad.

As I work in the area, I come across different things and sometimes I actually remember to take a picture for my blog.  Since my blog is always somewhere rattling around in my head, I try to take my camera everywhere just in case.  And I got a couple of things I want to share.

Just in case we decide to make the pickup camper our permanent home, we have a place to go when the port a potty breaks down or the kitchen faucet falls off in my hand.

And then I came across this ad and of course I thought of Gary.  He is planning on calling them about a dock even tho we don't live on water.  He's such a boy scout, always wants to be prepared I guess.

At one of my grocery stores on Pine Island, the cats have a spot all to themselves.  They are always hanging around whenever I visit and I think that's pretty cool.  Don't tell Mojo and DeDe about the sign please.

Last Sunday we drove over to Sanibel for the afternoon, it was a perfect day, sunny and warm and Sanibel is so so pretty.  I think the girls liked it too.

 

 

 We'll be thinking about you as we brush the sand off.  Margaret