Breakfast on Captiva

Glenn and I went to Captiva as planned for a picnic breakfast on the beach. Breakfast was simple...bagels, cream cheese, etc...and a yummy, slushy juice drink that included some fruity alcohols. I pretended it was a mimosa. In any case, it was delish. The water was pristine and a perfect temperature unlike that of Sanibel which has been super warm since we've been here. We spent a couple hours on the beach and then visited Jensen's where we saw at least four manatees...looked like a mama and babies. We rode around the island just a little and then headed back to Sanibel for the rest of the day. A good time was had by all. I hope to make a point to do this again next year...not necessarily for Father's Day, but because it's a beautiful beach to visit.

We will be leaving Sanibel tomorrow and heading up to Sharon's to pick up Sparkle. I can't wait to see her! I am sure Sharon is anxious for her to be picked up as well...ha! I'm not in a hurry to get home really. But it's time....

Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day. Glenn and I are heading to Captiva for a picnic breakfast on the beach. We haven't had a chance to go to Captiva yet this trip. We'll ride over to Jensen's and see if we can spot any manatees while we are down there.
Today Glenn went to visit Santaguida over at Bonita Beach. He seemed to enjoy the short time over there. I enjoyed my alone time on the beach!
Things are getting pretty quiet around here. Jodi and crew left last night, both kids sobbing into their blankets when they left. The Sass crew left this morning....always a sad time. Next year, Glenn and I are thinking we'll come a few days early but plan to leave when everyone else does. We are planning to leave Monday afternoon for Sharon's and will spend a day there, grab Sparkle, and head home. I'm not in a hurry but I'm pretty sure I have bills to pay!

Time Flies

Just when things are really hoppin', folks have to start leaving the island and heading home. That's the part I hate.
Yesterday we lost "the nurses", today we lost Chris and Niki and fam as well as the Kuseks. Tomorrow night we lose Jodi and John and fam. Saturday we lose the Sass clan. McClevey/Bartletts arrived today. Don't know yet when we are leaving but it will likely be Sunday or Monday. I'm in no hurry.
Tomorrow is a big snack day at the pool....everything that is left comes out! Can't wait.

Two Little Fish Learned to Swim

This was a very exciting day. Both Gracie and Anabelle tossed off their floaties and decided to swim with no assistance. Both can go quite a distance with no help. Two more kids learn to swim here on the island.
Yesterday Sharon and Sparkle came for a visit. I missed my puppy and it was great to see her. It was very nice of Sharon to drive all that way. We took her around the island a bit, hoping that maybe she'll come back in her RV sometime for a few days. They only stayed over one night and took off this afternoon.
There was a huge party in "the nurses'" condo during the World Cup game this afternoon. I didn't watch the game but stopped in for the important part-the snacks. I did, however, hear the excitement erupting when the US scored. The pool activity was rather rowdy today but lots of fun. The whole group was out well past six this afternoon. The beach was so beautiful tonight. I could have stayed out there all night in my chair I think.
Yesterday I had my cell phone tucked in my bathing suit, waiting for a call. Later, I took Aly out into the water and happened to look down and see my phone floating in the water. I think it's pretty much ruined. grrrrr.... It's not very old either.

Turtle Spotting

A couple nights ago, Mary, Chris, Niki, the girls and I took a walk on the beach. It was such a spectacular night....breezy, no no-see-ums, stars as bright as I've ever seen them. A little ways down the beach, Chris spotted some turtle tracks in the sand with his flashlight. We quietly followed them to see if there really was a Loggerhead nesting and sure enough, we saw her. She was huge, sitting there quietly in her nest. We quickly moved away so as to not disturb her egg laying. We walked down the beach a ways and when we returned, we saw her tracks indicating that she had returned to the sea. Unfortunately, the next day, the nest was not roped off by the turtle spotters. It is likely that our presence disturbed her and she fled. What a rare sight they are to see though. We are still hoping that perhaps there are eggs under the mound but it is unlikely.

Todd left Tuesday. He was sad, I was more sad. He called last night and said he might just fly back down this weekend. No word on that yet.

Today there were two major events-the annual fishing trip and the annual pasta dinner. A few peeps came back happy after the fishing trip. Michael was lucky enough-or skilled enough-to have caught the biggest fish, winning him the pot of money. Meghan had a nice catch. But a few came back feeling dejected with a zero count for them. Better luck next time. Mary, Jodi, Gracie, and I went to breakfast. The mimosas were wonderful.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the pasta and meatballs tonight. After dinner we spent a little time on the beach but it got pretty still out there. We did find lots of live lightening whelks. The kids were thrilled to see those and anxious to throw the live guys back to live. Mary is such a great teacher when it comes to shelling. The kids are learning the names of lots of the shells from her. They follow her on the beach like she is the Pied Piper of shelling.

Sharon is coming to visit tomorrow and bringing Sparkle. We'll show her around the island a bit and maybe she can come back with her RV sometime on her own. I think she'll like it a lot.

And the Group Grows Again...

Yesterday afternoon was arrival day for "the nurses". This year that includes Meghan, Melissa, and a new nurse, Michelle. It's always fun to see them again, and to top it off, they bring the best snacks to the pool during our almost daily snack time.
Sadly, Todd leaves tomorrow. It's been so nice having him here this long so I can't complain. But we always hate it when he has to leave. He took Glenn and I to the Jacaranda for dinner tonight. Yummy as always. Last night the whole fam and friends went to Matzaluna. There is a slight possibility that I may have one family photo that is decent. It happens to be on Mary's camera though. The males in the family (with the exception of John) are big pains when it comes to photo sessions so it's never an easy task.
The weather has been incredible....hot, sunny, and there was even a teensy breeze on the beach today. We also had a fairly low tide this afternoon which made it easy to hang in the shallows with a drink. Anabelle hurried up to me when I first came out and said "Mimi, there's a party out there!" And she was surely right. There's always a party around here somewhere!

The Group Grows

More friends arrived today....The Sass Clan is here!!! We spent a great day at the beach and pool, ate in, had coffee at the beach, and everyone gathered here for a little euchre

and socializing. It's like no time has passed since we were last together.

The Fam is All Here!

Today, the rest of the crew arrived. Jodi, John, and the kids were scheduled to go to Disney today and head to the island tonight or tomorrow. Toby has been pretty much a wreck for the last couple days that "everyone" is down here but them. So last night, he was in tears because he did NOT want to go to Disney World...he just wanted to go STRAIGHT to "Florida". Gracie was in full agreement. So Jodi and John were faced with the decision-to go, or not to go. After talking to Aunt Sharon and hearing that the weather was predicted to be very poor in the Disney area today, they decided to go with the plan that the kids were pushing for....keep driving and get the heck to Sanibel FAST. So they arrived early afternoon today and for a few days, all of my family is here together.

All the kids had a great time playing in the pool and at the beach today. Toby definitely prefers the pool to the beach, but was most agreeable because he was just so happy to be here with everyone. The girls all seemed to be fine wherever they were. Toby is swimming like a fish. Anabelle and Gracie have both taken off their floaties a few times and are gaining confidence in the water. By the end of this vacation, I suspect that both of them will be pretty brave in the pool. Aly still has tubes in her ears so we are all very cautious to keep the Peach's ears away from the danger of splashes. She has the cutest little pink earplugs in to help in that effort.

Tomorrow our friends will start arriving. Right now, this island is extremely quiet. I suspect that things are going to liven up a bit very soon. We don't like other people's noise and activity, but we all love the times when all of us are together making our own noise! Not to worry...Dwight will keep us all in check. His greatest fear is getting kicked out, as though it has happened a lot in our time here. There is a new security guy here. Mary and I will work hard to get on HIS good side!!! Laurie is going to be late this year. She had the former guy wrapped around her little finger!

A Rainbow Day

The Road to Sanibel

This is Day 2 of the trip to Sanibel 2010, year # 34 for us. We are currently in the mini van on I-75 and I’m trying out my new device that the kids bought for me that gets me internet wherever I am. I’m loving it!
This is our first trip in our new mini van and I have to say, it’s a great ride. We seem to have lots of room and it’s very comfy. Todd is with us on the trip down and so far, I haven’t had to drive at all. WHOOOOPPPEEEEE! He’s a regular driving machine so between Glenn and him, I haven’t been asked to jump behind the wheel. I’ve taken a couple naps, finished a book, and watched a movie. This is the life.
Even though he was all for driving straight through to Sanibel, Todd stopped last night just before the Florida border to spend the night at a really nice Holiday Inn Express, definitely a step above what Glenn and I usually select. We had a really nice breakfast there, then went down the road for the traditional free glass of orange juice at the Welcome Center. Then we drove on down to Micanopy, another traditional stop that Glenn and I never miss. Not breaking these little traditions is definitely a sign of aging I’m afraid. Oh well.
We have kind of been in a race with Chris, Niki and the girls all the way down. They left the night before us with their fifth wheel and stopped a couple nights and at this time, they appear to be about an hour ahead of us. I’m thinking we may be able to overtake them before we get to the island but it depends on who is driving. If Todd takes over soon, I have no doubt we will beat them to the beach. Glenn and I seem to have moved into retirement mode and are rarely in a hurry to get places. We have learned to enjoy the ride to wherever we are going almost as much as the final destination. The kids are definitely not of that mindset yet! Jodi, John, and the kids will be making a mad dash for the island after a day at Disney later this week. So the whole fam will be there for a few days together.
So at this point, we are probably about 2 hours from the beach. That’s two hours driving time…we will stop at Walmart to grab some groceries before we head to the island. Not only did I watch a movie on the way, I also put in one of my home videos that had lots of photos in it from many years back of our Sanibel trips. Wow, we have had some fun times there. Seeing pics of the kids when they were so little playing on the beach brought back so many memories. Many of the photos included some very dear friends that we have made on that special island. For those of you who will be joining us this year, we will be waiting on the beach, among the shells, tropical birds, watching the dolphins, drink in hand. Hurry down…and be safe.

Packing Frenzy

Yep, I'm officially there....in packing frenzy. I'm determined to be packed and ready ahead of time, not staying up until some ridiculous time the night before we leave, trying to have everything just right. Thus, the frenzy.
My goal of this posting is just to make sure I still know how to do it. We will be leaving for Sanibel in a few days, traveling in the new mini-van, not the RV. The mini has two DVD players, a new toy for me, so I'm planning to kick back and watch some movies while Glenn and Todd drive me to Sanibel! Sounds like a great plan, right? This year marks the 34th trip to Sanibel for our family. Let the good times roll.

Final Posting for Trip to the Keys

OK, don't get me wrong-Glenn is awesome at driving the motor home. I have never had any concerns about being safe, etc. with him at the wheel This said, I must add that each and every time I move out of my navigator's seat he somehow ends up in a precarious situation. Such an incident will be described as follows:
We departed Todd's at about 11am. It was a fairly decent temperature- like sweatshirt weather. I'm not sure exactly where it happened, bt at some point the temperature began to drop. I might even venture to use the word "plummetted". The white stuff began to fall. Glenn starts looking frequently at the digital thermometer, checking the outside temperature. He is getting nervous about our pipes freezing since he decided against doing the winterizing at Todd's as I thought had been previously decided upon. Eventually he pulled into a roadside rest and emptied the water tanks. He used all the RV antifreeze he had brought along which apparently was not enough. He decides to pull off at a Walmart to purchase more. While we had been stopped, I had moved to sit in the back and work on editing some photos. I was in the middle of something so I continued working as he drove. I heard him mutter something about Walmart and he pulled off the interstate. Soon I heard curse words, something about "losing Walmart". By the time I closed up the computer and returned to the navigator's seat, we were on a dark road that had turned into one lane or less, heading up a steep hill that soon turned into a dead end! When towing a vehicle, meeting with a dead end means only one thing-get out, unhook, and Deb drives the jeep while Glenn finds a way to turn the RV around in a very small space. So he exits the RV, the step breaks as he goes down, nearly sending him to the ground. (more curse words) He unhooks the jeep, turns it around, and I get in, ready to head out of the narrow spot that we are in. Oh, did I mention that it's freaking freezing????? So Glenn drives the RV forward to see if the drive we are in has a spot to turn around. I no longer have sight of him in the rear view mirror. I wait and wait, getting a little nervous about what he met with as he proceeded. At this point, I don't even know what STATE we are in! Finally, I see the headlights behind me and we got the heck out of there, a bit muddier than we were a few minutes before. We drove and drove, finally finding a parking lot that we could use to hook the keep back up to the RV. As Glenn opens the door to the RV to come back to the jeep, Sparkle ran out and took off across the parking lot with Glenn in hot pursuit. It becomes evident at this point that she needs more practice on her "come" command. As I got out to assist in the chase, my glass case fell out of my pocket and rolled under the jeep- no easy feat to recover that. Glenn finally snatched Sparkle, returned her to the RV, and got things all hooked up. Sparkle received a lecture about running from us and wouldn't even look at us for several hours. We proceeded down the road, found another Walmart, and got everything taken care of. We located a truck stop that had an RV dump and were able to empty the holding tanks and all was well. During the entire drama, I was pretty much chuckling to myself. We weren't on a time schedule and no harm was done- well other than the broken step. However, I will say this- if there was any possible way that I could have been remotely to blame for any of it, the whole story would have gone altogether differently and I know for sure that it would have included tears by me! In conclusion, I can only say- THANK GOD I DIDN'T DO THAT!!!
This concludes another summary of a trip with Glenn and Deb.

DC Stopover

After leaving St.Augustine, we traveled north on I95. We decided to stop in DC and see Todd. We ended up arriving at his place about 4 pm, after some near death experiences in traffic getting there. It was nice to see his current residence and spend some time with him. Glenn pursuaded him to go to Murphy's for dinner in spite of Todd's reluctance. Glenn insisted on having the Jamison Steak for dinner and Todd finally relented. So we had dinner at Murphy's and coffee at one of Todd's favorite coffee houses, Misha's. We spent the night at Todd's house and departed at 11 am Monday, heading for home. At this point, we have been gone for three weeks, longer than any previous trip in the RV. It was in the 60s in DC.

Photos from KOA and St. Augustine Beach

Sparkle was scared of all the birds but she wanted just a bit closer

Don't know what kind of bird this is, but it looked like a snake in the water

These almost looked fake!

Just chillin'

Glenn and his new friend, Eddie Paolucci

Our home on the beach

Sandy Sparkle

A Little Bit of Paradise

We spent a little time at the KOA campground before we checked out. The small lake just outside of our site was full of splashing fish....big fish. Glenn tossed a line in for a few minutes but no luck. Sparkle and I walked around most of the lake checking out the huge variety of birds there. Pretty impressive. We left before 11 a.m. and headed straight to the beach. As planned, we pulled the RV and jeep right out on the beach. The wind was blowing so we set the RV up as a nice wind break and positioned our chairs. The rest of the day was spent on the sunny beach of St. Augustine. It was truly amazing. We ate our lunch, had a little beer and wine, chatted with a few people, fed seagulls, and laughed at Sparkle running all over the place, chasing the birds...and a few people. It was like having a home right smack on the ocean.

An interesting man in his caar approached us, wondering where in Ohio we were from. He was from Akron and couldn't believe that we were from Lima as he is a part of a three piece "band" that just accepted a booking in Lima. After some conversation, we have figured out that his group will most likely be playing at the Italian dinner at the Civic Center on Palm Sunday. He is 77 years old and quite a character. After he left, Glenn called him on his cell and invited him back to "our place" for a sandwich. So we spent som time getting to know Eddie Paolucci, an interesting little Italian man from Akron, Ohio. We have planned to meet again at the Italian dinner.

After Eddie left, we spent some time on the beach watching the fog approach. It never actually fell to surface but it was really cool to see it coming in. There is no doubt we will return to St. Augustine Beach. If I could, I'd camp right there on that beach and skip the campground and the hookups. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and we had everything we needed within three feet of where we sat. Life was good. Before we took off, we showered the sand off, bathed the pup, then reluctantly took off to places north of us...where it is rainy and cold. We stopped at a Flying J for the night....all three of us were completely exhausted from our day at the beach.

Today we drove through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and we are currently stopped at a Flying J again, watching the Vikings play the Saints. Tomorrow we are heading to Virgina to spend an evening with Todd before we move on toward home. We are anxious to see his current home and spend a little time with him.

Well the Vikings just lost to the Saints so Glenn is going to bed muttering some pretty ugly words. We will head to Virginia in the morning. This will likely be the final posting until we get home, probably Tuesday. Well, it seems I am unable to upload any more pics at this time...once again, more pics to follow.

Camera Cords Found! Pictures as promised...

Just a few of the gators seen on Rt. 41

Some of the gargantuan tarpon at Robbie's

Robbie's, home of the infamous tarpon

Tarpon going after the dead fish Glenn was tossing them

January 22nd

After a great breakfast, we said goodbye to Kathy and Tim, packed up stuff to take back to the RV and said goodbye to Sharon. It was really hot when we left there, even more so because Sharon's AC is temporarily down. It stayed hot and sunny as we left Mulberry, headed through Orlando, around Daytona, and neared St. Augustine. As we neared St. Augustine, it appeared that something was on fire in the distance. There seemed to be a heavy cloud of smoke in the distance over the whole city of St. Augustine. As we actually entered the area, we realized that it wasn't smoke, but fog! We opened the window to discover that the temperature had dropped considerably. We checked into the KOA at St. Augustine Beach, relaxed a minute, then took off to explore the beaches. The fog was heavy over the ocean and the beaches looked ominous, but beautiful. We found a couple places where you can drive out on the beach so we took off in the jeep and rode down the nearly empty beach. We rode into St. Augustine and looked around a little. It's a really cool looking city, still lit up with lots of white lights, I guess maybe left from Christmas. I'm not sure if we'll spend any time in the city this trip, but our plan for tomorrow is to check out of the campground, drive to the beach in the RV and pull it right out onto the beach and just hang out for the day. It will be like having a condo on the beach, just for a day! We are really hoping for a pretty, sunny, warm day. When we leave the beach tomorrow, we'll start moving north, toward home. We've never been gone this long in the RV. The weather at home sounds miserable and we don't have any immediate responsibilites, but the grandkids are there and we are missing seeing them at this point. Too bad we can't just fly them down for a few days! And then there's Lucky Dog...can't have him thinking that we deserted him. I'm sure he is liking having Sparkle off his back for a while, but he's probably missing his "dad".
Photos of St. Augustine will be posted when I find the darn camera cords!!!!!!

Just Hanging Out (Jan. 21st)

Our plan for today was to go to the pool at Sharon's park after we did a little shopping and errand running. Well we got carried away looking at stuff for Sharon's new place and we no sooner got back to her place and the raindrops started trickling down. Glenn hung out with Tim part of the day and spent some time hanging blinds in Sharon's place and doing a variety of other odd jobs that he could take care of pretty easily. He had one mishap trying to shorten a blind that lead us to another trip to Lowes after another great dinner by Sharon. So Tim's wife, Kathy, Sharon, and I took off for Lowes while Glenn and Tim rode around in the golf cart and drank beer. By the time we returned, we were all in need of a nice, cold margarita. We stayed up chatting and planning stuff for the new winter home, spending Sharon's money with every new idea that came up. Spending other people's money is so much fun! Sharon and I took Sparkle for a nighttime walk around her park, looking in windows for ideas as we went!

Gators Gators Everywhere!!!! Jan. 20th

This morning we pulled out of Key Largo and headed toward my sister's place in Mulberry, Fla. We traveled Rt. 41 which borders the Everglades. I LOVE that road because it is jammed full of gators and really cool birds. I saw at LEAST 100 gators and 5 TIMES that many beautiful birds. It's really hard to get good photos of the birds because Glenn can't pull over very well in the RV since it's a two lane road. So I just take a lot of shots and hope some of them have birds and gators in them! I would LOVE to post some of them if only I knew where my camera cords were.
We got to Sharon's by dinner fortunately because she had beef and noodles cooking. YUMMY. We had a great meal topped off with dessert and spent the rest of the night chatting with Sharon and Glenn's buddy, Tim, who lives in the park next to Sharon. Oh, and did I mention that we drank margaritas all evening??? mmmmmm.....
(gator photos to come later)

The Day of the Tarpon

Today was another awesome weather day. We headed over to the beach again. Today I opted for sunscreen.
As we sat on the beach soaking up the rays, we repeatedly saw little fins surfacing. They looked too small for dolphins and weren't the right color. We heard people around us guessing what it was...that was humorous in itself. After a while, we struck up a conversation with a couple teenage girls who informed us that what we saw were tarpon. The girls were "locals" and very friendly and informed. I was attempting to wade out closer in that ice water to get a better look. Again, I gave up but the girls told us of a place down the road where you can see them up close as well as feed them. They even made a phone call to find out the exact mile marker for us to find this place.
So after dinner we headed down to Islamorada to a place called Robbie's at mile marker 77. Sure enough, there were tarpon to be seen as well as fed for a small fee. These fish were the biggest fish I've ever seen that close. They were swarming all around the docs. We purchase a bucket of dead fish and Glenn tossed a couple in. Wow, they were all over those things!!!! These things were FEET long. I tightened my hold on Sparkle's leash just a bit. She would have been a great dessert for those monstrous things! I have some great photos of them, but unfortunately I can't find my camera cords to upload the pics into the blog. I know they are here somewhere!!!! When they resurface, I'll post pics of the gargantuan tarpon we saw.

Over Anxious? (jan. 18th)

Because I was without easy access to internet for a few days, I prepared posts and will enter them all now that I am connected, at least for a day.
Today, the 18th, we are at the state park...John Pennykamp...in Key Largo. It's a nice park, beach is very mediocre but it is, nonetheless, a beach, and the weather is great We got up this morning and drove down the street to The Blue Cow coffee shop for coffee and a little breakfast. It is a gorgeous day, sunny, warm...perfect. We poked around a while in the area and then headed back to the campground and over to the beach. Glenn immediately began lathering up with #30 sunscreen. I'm thinking hmmm....I need to get a little color so I'll hold off. Well THAT was DUMB. I never felt the sun burning right into my skin. When does one learn??? It never hurt and turned tan soon, but honestly, what am I thinking??? Way too anxious to get a bit of color I guess.

The snorkeling here is supposed to be awesome...there is a huge coral reef off shore. I had my equipment, (stop laughing!) and I really wanted to take a look, but the water was too fricking cold!!!! I really tried, but just couldn't do it.

The Cutest Dog in the Keys

Moving On up the Road

Glenn and I at No Name Pub

Dollar bills hanging from walls and ceiling at No Name Pub

Our whole group waiting for a table inside

The group enjoys dinner at the Pub-Glenn, Lou, June, Gwen, Larry, Kris, Craig, and Deb

Today was our last day here at Sugarloaf. Tomorrow we are leaving for a state park in the northern keys....John Pennykamp Park. I can't believe our time here is up already. I hate leaving our friends already. They all have time left. We have the time, but this place is really expensive and the state parks are about 1/3 the cost so it's time to go.

We went to the flea market today. It was really nice but I was SO hot. We bought a few little items and then went with the group to the No Name Pub for lunch. Lou, the singer that Glenn "performed" with, and his wife June, joined us. Then we spent the afternoon in the pool drinking umbrella drinks. Today's drink was provided by Craig- peach daquiris. YUM. Tonight we went to the Seafood Festival in Key West, then came back here for the entertainment in the pub. The guy was good, but there was a lot of activity going on besides him with the patrons there. It was hard to know where to look. In ring one, we had the lovebirds, who should definitely gone back to their RV and continued their activities because we were all sick of watching them make out and then some. In ring two was the old man who was yelling at his woman for kissing a young stud, presumably gay, and very VERY drunk. They were imitating the couple in ring one I think. Ring three had Glenn and Craig's new friend, the Viet Nam vet who had lost several body parts in the war including a leg. He hobbled in extremely drunk and proceeded to fall off two stools. Ring four was a young man-maybe 35- and his girlfriend-probably 55-60. They were slow dancing and she was giving him lessons on how to do it sexy I guess. In the meantime, the guy sang on, and the couple in ring one just became more and more obnoxious but it was so hard NOT to watch them. Oh, and ring five...that was Glenn and the bartender. Glenn got busted for bringing his own beer into the pub even though all five of us at the table with him also had carried in our own stuff as well as several people around us.
It was a very busy time. A good time was had by all, especially the folks in ring one. wow.

It is likely that after today, I won't have internet for a few days. Thus, my exact whereabouts may be in question for a while. Ta ta til then.