Diving In

We have had a couple of crazy weeks here.  Last weekend my sister Barbara and her hubby came for the weekend.  We had not seen them for over a year and in that year, Gary Bilek had a very serious accident.  It was a great relief to see him so well and rested.  We had a chance to golf, see some of Cape Coral, and Fort Myers Beach.  Unfortunately the fishing trip we planned for Sunday had to be postponed due to hurricane-like winds.  So on to Plan B, the dog beach.  Unfortunately it was high tide and there was very little beach.  So we headed to Fort Myers Beach and after sitting on the beach for a few hours, we decided to take everyone to one of our favorite dives, Bonita Bills.  So I started thinking what constitutes a "dive bar?"  I guess for me its a place where you don't dress up, you can bring your dog, the beer is cheap and the locals hang out.

Bonita Bills is definitely a dive but the music was great, the sun was shining and the beer was cheap.  We had a wonderful time with Barbara and Gary before they headed back to their rental up by Orlando and then ultimately their trip back to Minnesota.  They have to come back for our "postponed" fishing trip next year.

The Garys, both born early September but one year apart, who's older?

So when we were trying to decide how to celebrate Easter with Mary and Pat, Mary came up with the idea that we should head to Marco Island.  This area is about 1.5 hours south of us and Mary knew just the dive to take us to.  We ended up at Stan's Idle Hour in Goodland which is right outside of Marco Island.  This place fit the definition of a dive bar perfectly and it was packed.   I'll let the pictures tell the story of this place.

Kay and I at Stan's.  Kary walks around in different outfits during the day.

 

Kay in a new outfit, advertising for Island Woman which of course we had to check out.

 

Celebrating Easter Stan Style.

 

"Well Behaved Women rarely make History."  Something to think about.

 

Bikini Babe walking around with her pet monkey, Wally.



 

So, we ended the day at Snook Inn, a popular place in Marco Island, really not a dive but worth seeing.  The weather could not have been nicer, the company better and the search for more dives continues. 



On observation deck at Snook Inn, Marco Island.


Happy Easter Everyone!!!!  Margaret

 

Happy St. Patty's Day - The Garage is Done!

On January 28, 2013, Gary started working on our garage.  Without a basement in Florida, the garages here become the catch all for anything that doesn't fit in a closet or under the bed.  Its amazing all the stuff you accumulate over the years and simply cannot part with. 

Working on garage cabinets and yes that is a dog buggy.

Our garage was as outdated as the house so Gary had his work cut out.  This would have been a big job for an empty garage.  Ours was full.  So Gary started working around most of our stuff building the cabinets to store the stuff we seldom use.  The cabinet making took about a month and we finally can hide the stuff we cannot give away.

Gary working on another wall of cabinets.  Table saw in middle of garage.

The garage floor was next.  Gary had a really really hard time deciding how to fix the floor,  it was between tile and epoxy.  Since this coincided with the pope selection, we decided to go with the smoke signal.  Black for tile, white for epoxy.  White smoke finally billowed from a plane we saw one day and we could rejoice in the epoxy decision.

Garage floor after cleaning.

Everything had to taken out of the garage and stored outside while Gary had to thoroughly clean the floor before applying the epoxy.  This was probably the hardest part and we were especially concerned that the chemicals would be really strong but surprisingly they didn't smell any worse than the nite following the chili contest last week.

Cabinets and floor finished.

After waiting a day, he carefully applied the epoxy.  This has to be done pretty quickly because it dries fairly fast and the mixture only lasts 2 hours before it is no good.  As I watched from the couch, I made sure he didn't take any breaks.

Will it ever look this clean again?

So now the garage is complete and all our stuff is put away.  Its kinda fun now to open a cabinet out there and actually find stuff.  Kinda like Christmas.  Margaret

Swamp Buggy Races

Larry, Tammy and Gary checking into membership.

Yes, there are vehicles here called Swamp Buggies and they race every once in a while.  After seeing them I don't think there is anything else you could use them for.  The track is supposed to resemble a swamp altho it is more like a race track filled with water.  On Sunday we headed out to the Redneck Yacht Club with Larry and Tammy and we fit right in. 

Not knowing what to expect, we were in for an afternoon full of racing, stalling, starting, stopping, water spraying, kettle corn, beer and even a couple buggies that crossed the finish line.

Two big buggies at starting line.

The buggies are mostly two different types, the big ones that have an easier time getting thru the deep part of the track. 

Two big buggies almost to finish line.

Then there are the jeep buggies.  These are more fun to watch because they all basically get stalled in the deep water and have to work to get themselves out.  After sitting in water up to their necks, they usually get the buggies moving but their makeup is just a mess. 

Jeep buggies at starting line.

The weather was sunny but it was in the 60s so it was pretty cool and to watch these drivers and their passengers submerged in the water just made us cold.  Its just not something I would be anxious to do even in the hot summertime, we have gators here people and those buggies probably woke a couple up.

Jeep buggies at first deep spot on track.

There is even a royal court and at the end of the race the winner gets to throw the queen in the water.  It just makes you wonder why anyone would want to even compete for that.  Must be the tiara.  Unfortuately, we had enough by intermission so we missed that part. 

I have always loved a good demolition derby but I think the buggies have captured my heart now.  Margaret