February 28

Today we left Fort Myers Beach, but took with us so many fond memories (and calories) of happy times with friends/family visiting, shopping, eating and just hanging out together!!!!    And despite the COOL temperatures, February was just great FUN!

Leaving Salty Sam Marina this morning.

We traveled 5 hours up the intracoastal and our friends, Harry and Sharon in Placida came out and waved as we passed by............

Sharon and Harry in front of their condo

And then, once in Venice, we passed by former dockmates from Racine who now winter in Venice.   They were outside their home taking our picture and I took one of them and also bikers from Quebec who just happened to be riding by.

Bob  and Carol in their backyard which is on intracoastal taking our picture as we cruised by

Catrina cruising on the intracoastal in Venice

Bob and Carol were waiting for us at Crow's Nest to help tie up (always appreciated).   We visited with them and then off to Pelican Alley for delicious lunch.  

Carol and Bob

Later, we washed the salt off Catrina and then walked to Epiphany Cathedral downtown (about 1.5 miles)  The sunshine felt good, but the walk back after 5:30 Mass was a little nippy!    Ahhh, but the exercise felt good!

Mark and I enjoyed some good phone chats today with my Dad, his parents, my Aunt Dorothy for her 88th birthday, our neighbor, Marty, my friend, Brenda who is dealing with some serious knee issues and son, Michael out in NC where it's chilly, too!

Can't belive February is almost gone.....tomorrow off to Longboat Key.

February 27

Rainy, chilly Saturday........we left for Punta Gorda around 9:30 with a few stops along the way.....today we are at the State Farm Retiree Luncheon at the Elks - nice crowd and fun visiting with friends and former co-workers of Mark's.     It rained hard (coming down horizontally) with strong winds as we arrived.    But inside, was warm and cozy with lots of chatter and delicious lunch.

We had planned to meet boating friends on top of the Wyvern Hotel in downtown Punta Gorda afterwards (last year we had a warm, sunny day).    But............not to be this year, so Plan B was put into action and Roger and Carol invited us to their lovely condo (Glen, Paula, Mark and I).   We enjoyed wine and snacks and visited as we looked over the Peace River.     We went to the Laishley Crab House downtown for dinner - big crowd and had a wait, but all worth it.    My crab bisque and crab quesadillas were awesome!     Glen and Paula brought us back to Catrina around 10ish.   Roger and Carol will deliver our car to Longboat Key on Tuesday when we all gather again........tomorrow, we leave Fort Myers Beach and head to Venice.

Roger & Carol, Mark & Pat, Glen and Paula

Laishley Crab House, Punta Gorda

February 26

It was a gorgeous Friday here in Fort Myers Beach with clear blue skies and warm sunshine - still in the 60's, but sure felt good!    I ran some errands and brought lunch back from Panera and we sat on upper deck(bridge) and enjoyed good food, wine and SUN!!!

Our friends, Glen and Paula brought Fran and Ed to see us and Catrina this afternoon and what fun catching up.    Fran and Ed are visiting from WI.     After a few hours of chatter, we went to The Big Game for supper and yakked some more while watching the Olympics from all the various TV's here, there and everywhere!

Paula, Glen, Fran and Ed outside "The Big Game"

While I was up north for 3 days, Mark's brother Tom came for a visit.   They went boating, out to eat and enjoyed good brotherly bonding time!

Tom

February 23-25

Hi all.....back from a whirlwind trip to IL and really packed in a bunch!    Flew out of Fort Myers to O'Hare at 6 AM  on Tuesday morning.  I took the bus to Rockford where Mark's parents picked me up.   We had lunch at Culver's and then I was off to see my Dad.   He's in a new room and it's so nice and sunny, with a good view of street traffic and the kiddies playing on school playground.    My Aunt Marian (Dad's sister) and I had a nice dinner at the KC's and then I spent the night with her and visited while watching the Olympics.

Dad and friend, Clarence

Aunt Marian

Spent the morning with Dad and after lunch, left for "Home Sweet Home" and first got a much-needed haircut, then visited Marty, our neighbor.   Spent the night with Anne and Patrick and thoroughly enjoyed Liam and Connor for my Grandma Fix.

The boys help me open birthday present from my Secret Pal (cute pj's and robe)

Connor, Liam, Anne, Patrick

I left at 7:15 Thursday morning and after quick stop at Starbucks, I was back on the road to see Dad. 

 My nephew, Todd was also visiting...

Dad and grandson, Todd

Grandma & Grandpa C

I left at 10:30 to meet Mark's parents and they took me to Rockford to catch the bus and then onto O'Hare.    I arrived back in Fort Myers last night!

February 22

Rained some overnight and early morning, but mostly nice and sunny big part of the day.   We went to 8:00 Mass and then to Rail Splitter for breakfast.    Cleaned Catrina some, did laundry and caught up on e-mails.    Packing the warm woolies for my trip to IL tomorrow.   I'm flying back to see our parents and get a Grandma Fix from Liam and Connor.   Back in touch soon!

February 21

Warmer and sunny most of the day.    We went to 11:00 Mass at St. Columbkille and then had lunch at McGregor Grille (excellent shrimp quesadillas and burgers).    Got some things organized on Catrina and then at 5:00, left for Connie and Steve's and fun time with their son and family, Connie's sister and long-time bridge friends.    We had snacks and wine and then pizza and salad followed by birthday cake for Sue and I.   Sue's birthday is the 24th.   

The Birthday Girls

Brad (Connie and Steve's son) and family - Kylie, Leslie and Braden

Sweet Braden with his Daddy

Sharon, Sue, Pat, Vicki (Connie's sister), Connie

Steve, Jerry, Mark, Brad and Harry

We girls played dominoes after the birthday cake/ice cream - Sharon is the new DQ!

Thanks Connie and Steve for a very enjoyable evening!

February 20

Today is my birthday and what fun!   Mark and I left at 8:00 for Venice and met my brother Bob (his birthday, too.....he's 6 years older) and Linda.    We gals hit the shops of Venice (love this town) while the guys did their thing.    Had a wonderful lunch at the Crow's Nest and then more shopping!    We helped boost the Venice economy and then they were off to Lakeland and we, to Fort Myers Beach and Catrina.   About to call it a day (a year older and wiser - ha)!!

Thanks for all the great phone calls, e-mails, e-cards, etc.    Great chatting with all my kids, grandsons, friends, neighbors, and special treat that my Dad called!

The Birthday Kids

Bob and Linda

February 19

Happy Birthday to our son-in-law, Patrick!!!   Here he is with Anne and the boys...

Today was cool and cloudy - Mark did maintenace on Catrina and I did some tidying up, washed windows (that salt is the pits - vinegar is the only thing we've found that works 1/2 way decent)!   I got a manicure in the afternoon and then our friends, Paul and Kathy stopped by with their daughter, Elizabeth and granddaughter, Sydney who are visiting from IL.   Enjoyed sweet Sydney...

Sydney, Elizabeth and Kathy

Tonight we were with Barb and Roger at their condo and then to Rodes for delicious dinner.    First time for us to eat there and found another winner!    Enjoyed lots of chatter and then on our way back to Catrina discovered I had a missed call and voice message from Ryan....missed his call last night, too.  

 He's in Hong Kong.

February 18

Cool with off and on sunshine today....long-time friends (we all played bridge together for many years) came for the day.   Connie and Steve now live in Fort Myers and Harry and Sharon are visiting from back home.    We cruised to Captiva Island and had lunch at The Green Flash (another winner).   

Great day of visiting and just enjoyed being together!     At night we went to the Parrot Key for dinner (very good) with huge crowd and listened to Frank Turino - sooo talented!    He sings all our favorites and sounds so like the real singer.   He did a great impersonation of Elvis, costume and all.     Here are some highlights of our day...

Connie and Sharon enjoying the cruise

Mark, Steve and Harry studying the menu at Parrot Key - Mark is really contemplating this???

Sharon, Connie, Pat, Mark, Steve and Harry

Sitting in the tent at Parrot Key enjoying Frank Turino

Steve and Connie on the dance floor

Harry and Sharon giving it a whirl on the dance floor

February 17

Today was a work day for Mark and he tackled his Catrina "to do" list with vigor!!!   I went shopping and found out that it was "customer appreciation day" at Bealls - a real zoo!!!!    But I came away with some good bargains and saved lots of $$$ as everything in store was an additional 20% off from already sale-priced items................what a DEAL!!!!

Claire and her daughter, Emily who is visiting from Wisconsin stopped in to deliver our mail and visit.    I did 1 load of laundry and we left around 5:15 for dinner at The McGregor Cafe - very good, followed by 7:00 Mass at St. Columbkille for Ash Wednesday.   Stopped at Publix for few groceries and now good to be back on Catrina where it's warm & toasty!

We seem to be warming up one degree per day............whatever it takes to get up to more NORMAL Florida temps.

Claire and Emily

February 16

Brilliant blue skies made for a gorgeous Tuesday with friends (we all met thru boating years ago) came for the day.    Roger and Carol (Punta Gorda) and Paul and Kathy, Mark and I took off in Catrina for Sanibel and wonderful lunch at Gramma Dots.   This is such a pretty place with all the boats, palm trees, flowers, etc.    It was very busy, but well worth the wait and then cruised back to Salty Sam's and sat and chatted all afternoon.    We went to the Big Game (another bar/restaurant here at the marina) and enjoyed their awesome chicken nachos and then pizza!    I know all I talk about is delicious this and wonderful that............eat, eat, eat.....we sure have gone overboard in that department and everything is sooo good and sooo many great places to dine.    Today is Fat Tuesday......tomorrow Lent starts, so....time to curb the appetities a bit!   Wish us luck!   HA!!!

Carol, Pat and Kathy

Gramma Dots - Sanibel

Paul, Mark and Roger

Roger, Mark, Paul

Pat, Kathy, Carol

Salty Sam's Marina

February 15

Started out a sunny Monday with very light winds.    Boating friends, Roger and Barb and Glen and Paula came on Catrina and off we went to North Captiva and had lunch at Barnacle Phil's.    Then the clouds came over - chilly ride back to Salty Sam marina.    But what fun we all had catching up and chatting the afternoon away enjoying yummy brownies thanks to Barb.

Roger, Glen, Mark, Barb and Paula at Barnacle Phil's on North Captiva

Paul and Kathy came over later in the afternoon and we had drinks and visited followed by wonderful dinner at The Parrot Key and then superb entertainment by Tammy & Turino!   Two extremely talented singers who could sing anything from Sinatra to Elvis, Whitney Houston to Patsy Cline!    We thoroughly enjoyed the show for 3 hours and then everyone went home (Barb and Roger to Bonita Springs; Glen and Paula to Fort Myers; Paul and Kathy to Fort Myers Beach and us to Catrina).
GREAT day with good friends!

Glen and Paula, Mark and Pat, Paul and Kathy, Roger and Barb
Parrot Key

February 14

 Happy Valentine's Day!!!    We went to 9:30 Mass at Church of the Ascension on the beach and then got a few groceries at Publix.     Our friends, Sue, Jerry, Pat and Brenda came aboard and we cruised and had lunch (deli sandwiches from Publix).   Not much sun today and cool, but no wind, so it was pleasant!

Visited and enjoyed key lime pie and brownies and then Connie and Steve arrived.   We girls played dominoes and tah dah.......I was the DQ after a very long spell of losses!      The guys talked boats and stuff and we all went to the Prawnbroke for excellent dinner - one of our favorite Fort Myers restaurants!

Hope you all had a good day with your Sweetie and/or doing whatever, wherever...

Jerry, Sue, Connie, Steve, Pat and Brenda

February 13

 What is with the weather... heard today that 49 states (including Florida) have some snow somewhere (Hawaii is soaking up all the warmth)!

Bill and Nancy, long-time boating friends who are vacationing on their RV in Florida, came aboard Catrina for a good visit and catch-up.    We enjoyed lunch at Parrot Key and then back to the boat for more chatter.   We gave Bill and Nancy the final say as to whether we should or should not go for a boat ride and they said "No thanks"....strong winds and just downright cold today!   This has not been good weather for boating - we are fair-weather boaters and being comfortable, safe, and sensible is what it's all about!

Nancy and Bill

February 12

Very windy day here - I did 4 loads of laundry and Mark had a good day with his Catrina job list.     We went to Kathy and Paul's on the beach as the winds howled and the rain came down in torrents.   We saw their lovely condo (first visited with Claire and saw her newly painted bathrooms).    Paul, Kathy, Mark and I enjoyed wine and yummy hors d'oeuvres and then went to Doc Ford's for excellent dinner!    Back to their condo for dominoes with Mark winning!

The winds are still howling, but rain has stopped.    What has happened to the Florida sunshine and warm temperatures????

Paul and Kathy at Doc Ford's

February 11

Another sunny, cool day in south Florida.    Kathy and Claire picked me up and off we went to Publix, Ooh LaLa (fun consignment shop), delicious lunch at First Watch and some other cute shops and then back to Catrina for me and to their condos on Fort Myers Beach.  Mark had some maintenancce done on Toad (car) and worked on his Catrina "to do" list.

We picked up Steve and Connie and off we went to big margarita party at Sue and Jerry's new home in north Fort Myers.    Bunch of friends from back home and new friends - GREAT time and so much good food and drinks!    FUN, FUN evening

The Girls

Betty, Claire, Dee, Kathy, Connie, Gayle, Brenda, Pat, Sharon and Sue (our hostess)

The Guys

Steve, Mike, Scott, Jerry (our host), Pat, Paul, Mark and Harry

February 10

Cool (for South Florida - 60ish) and windy day.   Can't imagine what the folks out east are dealing with all that white stuff!!!   

Friends from back home, Walt and Mary Jo came to visit today - we enjoyed lots of chatter and great lunch at the Parrot Key.    They left for Naples (their winter home), I went shopping and Mark tackled his job list.   We're to have 39 by morning!    Whew weeee, that's cold for these parts!

Mary Jo and Walt

Ryan called last night from Malaysia - long ways from home, but he's on his way...

February 9

Windy day here at Salty Sam Marina, but a fun time when our friends came onboard - Mike and Claire, Paul and Kathy and Paul and Margie!    We sat and visited and then went for a short boat ride and delicious lunch at Bayfront Bistro.   Had planned to cruise some more, but skies were threatening, so we came back and battened down the hatches and waited for the rain.    All of us except Mike and Mark played dominoes with Claire the "Domino Queen"!    And then the rain came...

Paul, Kathy, Mark and I spent the evening discussing cuising options next summer/fall/winter and then we went to The Big Game for appetizers and more chatter!     It was a very enjoyable day with good friends!

  Top:  Mike and Paul

Bottom:  Mark, Pat, Margie, Claire, Kathy and Paul

February 8

It was a fun "Girlie" day with my two good friends, Kathy and Claire.    They picked me up and off we went to some of our favorite shops!   And they treated me to a wonderful lunch at Mimi's Cafe for my birthday (still a few weeks away)!   We literally "shopped till we dropped"  and did our part to boost the Fort Myers economy!

Kathy and Claire doing what we do best!!!

February 6-7

A fun weekend is winding down as we watch the Super Bowl cheering on the Colts!   Weather turned cool and windy.   Saturday morning, my brother Bob, Linda and nephew Jason all came and what fun we had!   Had lunch at Parrot Key and since it was very windy,  we did not go out on Catrina.   Bob took a nap, Linda and I shopped and Mark and Jason went for a dinghy ride.   We had dinner at The Gulf Shore Grille incudng Beach Bread, a Fort Myers Beach specialty!    We played 5-handed euchre with Mark and Linda the big winners!    Enjoyed all the good eating and of course, the shopping!

Sunday brought lots of sunshine - our visitors left around 10 and Mark and I went to 11:00 Mass at St. Columbkille and then ran errands.    Had a treat at Starbucks in Target and on back to Catrina.   Mark did a bunch of odd jobs and I did laundry.    Here are some memories...

Jason, Bob and Linda

Outside Salty Sam Marina

Heading back to Lakeland

View from Catrina of the marina at night

February 5

We were up early today and got a bunch of stuff done on Catrina.   After breakfast, we gave her a good scrubbing outside till she was sparkly clean.   With the strong winds, didn't take long till she was all dried off.    I got a manicure.pedicure while Mark ran errands and then we got some piddlies and groceries at a Super Target.  

Hunkered down this afternoon as a very heavy rain came thru and lasted a few hours.   But no complaints when we know what the folks back home are dealing with and especially out East.   After the rain stopped around 6:15, we walked to Parrot Key here in the marina for nice dinner (we both had grouper - Reuben for me and fish 'n chips for Mark)!    I love grouper and this was my first since we arrived in FL.  It's just not as common on the east coat.

February 4

Today Liam is 5!!!  Wow.....he's growing up sooo fast!

Liam 5 years ago today - 2/4/05

Liam - 5 years later all tuckered out after his pre-school birthday party

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sweetie!

Spent most of today traveling on Alligator Alley (I-75) from Fort Myers to Fort Lauderdale.   Took Philip and Annette home and then back here for 2 loads of laundry and just enjoyed the pretty warm day.    We are in a great location here at Salty Sam's with 2 restaurants/bars and live entertainment each night!

February 3

Woke up to a cool, dreary Wednesday morning - walked to breakfast downtown and enjoyed a good meal at The Oasis.    Came back to Catrina and started the last leg of our journey over to Fort Myers Beach where we are now settled at the Salty Sam Marina for the month of February. 

Salty Sam Marina and Parrot Key Caribbean Grill

Turned out to be a gorgeous day.......while Mark and Philip changed the oil in the engines, our friend, Paul came and picked Annette and me up and off we went to the airport to get our car.    Later in the afternoon, we met the guys at "Big Game" a sports bar for drinks, appetizers and dominoes (Philip was the winner)!    Walked around a bit and enjoyed the pretty sunset.

Mark, Annette and Philip at "The Big Game"

Beautiful sunset over Fort Myers Beach

Back to  "Big Game" for dinner (Annette and I shared some very good pizza).   Played one more game of dominoes on Catrina won by Mark.

Ryan called yesterday from Thailand - he's on shore leave for a few days and the aircraft carrier is on its way home....yeah!!!    LONG trip as it won't come onto mainland USA till late March.