Travels of Mark and Pat: February 2008

February 29

Happy "Leap Day"....we spent a delightful afternoon with friends, Roger and Carol. Here we are at the Gasparilla Inn on Boca Grande

After lunch at South Beach, we enjoyed the beautiful turquoise water and white sand

Carol and Roger and the Boca Grande lighthouse

February 28

My brothers and sisters-in-law came from Lakeland to Venice for the day.....here we girls are doing what we do best..............SHOP!!!

Enjoyed the Pelican Alley in Nokomis for a wonderful lunch!!!

Windy and cool in Venice - went to 8:30 Mass at Epiphany Cathedral, drove past some beaches, shopped and had lunch at Luna.

Shopped some more in the afternoon (Venice is great for this activity). We drove out to Sharkey's at night to eat again.............

February 26

Enjoyed a delicious lunch and visit at The River City Grill in Punta Gorda with Steve, Connie, Jerry and Sue (friends from the early 1970's)!

February 25

Reunion of Mid Illini boating friends at University Park, FL! What fun

reminiscing and catching up!!! Thanks Vince and Sandy for

your gracious hospitality and excellent lunch!

February 24

Spent a fun afternoon and evening with Bob and Carol (former dockmates in Racine) who now winter in Venice. Here we are at The Crow's Nest - delish!!!

February 23

We've had a very enjoyable week in Punta Gorda. Spent time with friends, enjoyed touring the city and seeing progress from Charley. And also heard sooo many tragic stories from that monster hurricane 4 years ago this August...

We had a great time at the State Farm Retiree luncheon and had lots of chatter over lunches and dinners catching up!

Lucky us were invited to 4 outings on the water during the week...putzin' thru the canals on "Tippy" with Bill and Nancy; sailing "Freestyle" (twice) with Glen and Paula and cruising aboard "Chaco" with Bob and Nancy! What a treat for us to be back on the water! Thank you all for sharing your boats with we Nomads!

We are in Venice now and.....tah dah, the fun has begun as we've checked out the downtown area and had an awesome lunch at T. J. Carney's Irish Pub!!!! We'll be here one week and looking forward to seeing some more friends, my brothers, sisters-in-law and of course.............shopping and eating up a storm!!!

February 22

Sailing with Paula, Glen and Pam

Ahhhhh...sooo good to be back on a boat again...

Captain Glen! THANKS for the great sail!

The birthday girls (Paula is one day older)!!!

February 21

A beautiful day on the water cruising with Bob and Nancy (boating friends and former dockmates in Racine). We stopped at Cabbage Key and had lunch at The Eagle Grill on Boca Grande.

Dinner with Roger, Barb, Bob and Nancy at P. F. Chang's in Fort Myers. Lots of reminiscing and laughs from our boating years at Reefpoint Marina in Racine

February 20

It's my birthday (Pat) and what a grand day! Meet Ron and Lois (friends from Canada)

after lunch at River City Grill in downtown Punta Gorda -yummeeee!!!

And here we are eating again.... with Bill and Nancy from Tennesee at Celtic Ray - fun Irish Pub with super food and entertainment!

February 19

Just before we enjoyed a ride on Bill and Nancy's Porta-Bote - FUN!

Lunch at "Porto Bello's (Burnt Store Marina) with Bill and Nancy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Patrick (son-in-law)

February 18

Did some laundry, rode our bikes thru the park and just enjoyed a "down day"....and then visited Bob and Nancy (boating friends in Racine) for a wonderful dinner and catch-up!

February 17

A delightful Sunday in Punta Gorda starting with Mass at Sacred Heart

with Carol and Roger, followed by a hearty brunch at The Isles Yacht Club.

After walking around the marina and driving thru Punta Gorda, we browsed the shops at Fisherman's Village and then Cy and Marcia joined us for Happy Hour and more CHATTER!!!!! Great to hang out with these long-time boating friends

February 16

What a fun 2 weeks in Fort Myers with good friends and lots of good eating, shopping, sightseeing, etc. We are moving onto Punta Gorda and will be at the Gulf View RV Resort for one week.

Today was the 11th Annual State Farm Retiree Luncheon at the Elks. Sure glad we were in the area for this and really enjoyed visiting old and new friends from around Florida and beyond...

February 15

Here I am with Claire and her sister, Ann at Mimi's Cafe enjoying

lunch in the sunshine, plus 4 complimentary muffins because I

was a first-time customer - what a treat! After lunch, we

checked out the shops at Bell Tower.

Had dinner with Connie and Steve at the Prawnbroker

(ANOTHER excellent dinner) followed by dominoes - broke

Steve's record with Mark winning!

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day! Mark earned lots of "atta boy" points today chauffeuring me around to some neat shops and treating me to a great lunch at Molino's in Bonita Springs.

We enjoyed happy hour with Connie and Steve, excellent pizza at Starz and 2 games of dominoes both won by Steve..............he's on a roll winning 4 straight!

February 13

We had lots of rain throughout the night and all morning. Spent a leisurely morning on Daisy with our books and catching up on e-mails. Fort Myers got 2.3". It was most welcome as this area has been very dry. Lots of sunshine this afternoon so we took off on our bikes and enjoyed the fresh air. And now this evening, getting some more rain...all in all, a nice relaxing day!

February 12

Here we are with Thomas Edison in front of the 2nd largest banyan

tree in the world at the Edison/Ford winter estates, museum and

grounds - what an interesting tour and humongous tree!!!

We enjoyed a yummy lunch downtown at H2 and then the rain came

which is most welcome here in southwest Florida

February 11

We spent a fun afternoon with Steve and Connie walking

Bonita Beach, having dinner at The Clam Bake followed by

a rousing game of dominoes (won by Steve again...)

on Daisy

February 8

Dining at the "Iguana Mia" Mexican Restaurant

in Fort Myers with Glen, Paula, Jeannie and Fred

February 7

Sailed on Charlotte Harbor with Glen, Paula and Jeannie!

Mark and I were "in our glory" with the warm breeze

and plenty of sunshine! AWESOME!

Thanks again, Glen and Paula

February 6

We went to 8:00 Mass for Ash Wednesday. Spent a relaxing, fun day with Claire by the pool, walking the beach and just gabbing away......

It was a beautiful sunshiny day - and we do feel for all the cold/snow you folks are going thru back home! Wish you could all be here with us!

February 5

Drove to Tampa in the morning and met Philip for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

Spent a fun afternoon playing dominoes with friends, Paul, Claire and Mike

and then had delicious dinner at The Fish Monger in Fort Myers Beach

February 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIAM...........

Here's Grandpa at the Fort Myers RV Resort wearing his "Proud Grandpa" shirt from Connor and Liam (Grandma received one, too).

Walked to a nice strip mall, had lunch, read by the pool and got a few groceries at Publix.