Monday - February 27

Warm, sunny, breezy day......change in plans for today.    Our Canadian friends, Ron and Lois who winter in Punta Gorda were coming for lunch and boat ride, but both have been sick with the crud - colds, coughs, and chest congestion!    So they cancelled - bummer, but certainly understand and hope they'll be well soon.      We're "hoping" we can meet up with them somewhere, sometime on the east coast.

 

We exercised, I did laundry and Mark got a haircut and ran a few errands.   Later this morning I went for a long walk.    Not that windy inland, but sure blowing strong here at the marina.

Mark worked on his boat projects and at 4:00, we drove downtown and met Shirley and Dick at the Skybar of the Firestone Grill.    Shirley and I went all thru grade/high school together (she was one year younger) and what fun we had this afternoon just yakking away reminiscing over some cool drinks in such a gorgeous setting this warm afternoon.    They are in Naples for February, but down to the last day!

Pat, Shirley, Dick and Mark

Pat and Shirley

Shirley and I are Sublettians and I hope I'll see more of her this year!   We said our good byes and  they drove back to Naples.   Mark and I walked around a bit and had dinner at the American Standard,  new place that was so so.....with so many GOOD places downtown it's hard to choose, but had heard a good review about this place, so...

Some of our kids are on the move tonight - Michael to London; Annette, back to IL and Philip returning to FL.










 

Sunday - February 26

Up and going on another perfect day.....we went to Bennett's to pick up some donuts for Mike and Claire and off to the beach.    Stopped at Heavenly Biscuit for breakfast (always sooo yummy) and then to visit our friends.

 

Heavenly Biscuit - always busy, always good!

 

We were stopped in heavy traffic on our way to the beach, but thought it was just usual beach traffic, although surprised that at 8:10 on a Sunday morning it would be backed up so much.    Turns out the bridge had been closed for several hours due to a shooting on the beach!   We were lucky we didn't have to turn around?

 

So, we so enjoyed a nice leisurely visit with Mike, Claire, Ruth and Evan on their lanai and then stopped briefly to see Paul and Kathy.  

 

Evan, Ruth, Mike, Claire

They loved their first Bennett's donuts!

Paul and Kathy

 

  A few more stops and finally back to Catrina.    Mark changed clothes and started working on a boat project (never ending)!

 

We picked Beth up at 3:30 and off to Cape Coral.    So sorry John couldn't be with us, but not feeling well.     We met PDQ owners, Vinnie and Lori at their home, had a nice visit on their boat (which was formerly owned by John and Beth) and then went to Fathoms for wonderful dinner sitting outdoors by the marina on a lovely evening!

 

Vinnie, Lori, Beth

Present and past owners of Island Time

 

What a busy, fun week this has been and just 3 days left here in Fort Myers before we

 move back to the east coast.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday - February 25

Gorgeous all day long but the winds really picked up in the afternoon.    We met Allie and Owen at The Rebel for breakfast (good food, slow service); then gave Allie and Owen the Bennett Donuts experience to take on home.

 

Back to Catrina for a nice boat ride chatting along the way!   So fun to be together and share this pretty day!

 

Pat and Allie

 

Owen and Allie

 

Back to the marina for drinks and dessert.    They left around 3:15 but we are planning to meet in IL in mid May.   Will be checking with you, Jane and Joe about the best date.

 

Mark and I went to 4:00 Mass at St. Francis Xavier and then to WalMart where I got a new fitbit (this afternoon as I was tying up the line (rope) on the cleat after coming in from our cruise with Allie and Owen, the line got caught under my wrist flipping my fitbit into the water - such a sick feeling seeing that go flying!!!    UGH !!!!    ARGHHHH!!!!

 

Back to Catrina on an absolutely beautiful evening (still windy) for leftovers (4 boxes) and a nice quiet evening!

 

Exciting for Luke to wake up in IL this morning and see snow for the 1st time.    Annette and Philip are in NC overseeing their new home building status so Judy and Dave have Luke and Maeve.   He was excited, but wasn't enough for a snowman and didn't last too long!

 

Brooke and Ryan are enjoying DC this weekend!

 

The reflecting pool on the mall....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday - Februay 24

Cloudy and dreary in the morning, but later the sun came out and sooo pretty.    We exercised and then drove to the hotel and in 2 cars we drove to Crave for wonderful breakfasts

 

I had Oscar salmon with asparagus and crab, scrambled eggs, hash browns and rye toast!

Oh my....(we gals also had mimosas or bloody marys).

Vicki, Ron, Linda

Bob, Mark, Pat

 

After we ate, the guys went on to the Fleamasters Flea Market (HUGE) and we gals shopped at Preppy in Paradise.

 

We met them at the flea market, browsed and bought a few things

 

Ron, Bob, Mark waiting for the women!

We all dressed in black 'n white today

 

They left around 2:30.   We had so much fun these past few days!!!!    Mark and I ran a few errands and then back to Catrina.   Took a short nap and then met Allie and Owen at Los Cabos - sooo good to see them (they drove down from North Port) and we chatted away and enjoyed great margaritas (GOLD with fresh oj and Grand Marnier).

Allie and Owen with their gold margaritas

After dinner we went to the rooftop bar of the Hotel Indigo (they are staying here tonight) and had drinks overlooking beautiful downtown Fort Myers.   It is a gorgeous evening and we just had thee best time with these dear friends!

Allie and Pat on the Hotel Indigo's rooftop





 

 

Thursday - February 23

Beautiful day...we met the brothers and wives at their hotel (Legacy Harbour Inn and Suites) and got the tour of their suite overlooking Legacy Marina.   We walked to Bennett's for donuts/breakfast sandwiches and coffee.    Everyone loved the donuts.   Sat outside and enjoyed our breakfast.   We girls were off to shop and had so much fun boosting the Fort Myers economy.

 

We had lunch at the Wisteria Tea Room - oh so yummy!   And then more shopping before we finally returned to the marina.    Enjoyed some drinks at Pinchers, and then got 3 delicious appetizers to go and brought back to Catrina.   

 

The guys had gone to the Lee County Manatee Park and had lunch at Ford's Garage downtown before nap time!

 

We played 6-handed euchre - the siblings against the in-laws with the in-laws winning 2 out of 3 very close games!    Lots of fun!!!

 

They headed back to the hotel at 9 - a very fun day and looking forward to meeting for breakfast...

Mark and Linda were so color coordinated today!

o

Enjoying our appetizers

 

 

Wednesday - February 22

What a day.....lots of rain all morning!    We exercised and Mark went to Bennett's to bring donuts back to Catrina for breakfast!    Oh...they are soo darn good!

 

Denny and Deb (my cousins from Punta Gorda) came at 11 followed by Bob, Linda, Ron and Vicki.    Fun catching  up with everyone over lunch at Pinchers and then back to the boat.     Nice surprise that the rain has stopped and occasional sunshine, sooo, we took Catrina out for a ride.    The skies were threatening again just before we docked and eventually, more rain came, but we did get the boat ride in and had a good time!

 

Siblings/cousins

Denny, Pat, Ron, Bob

 

We sat on Catrina and played 6-handed euchre......Denny, Vicki and me beating Linda, Deb and Mark 2 out of 2.    Lots of good laughs!

 

We left at 5:30 for the Prawnbroker and all enjoyed a delicious meal at one of the oldest and best restaurants in Fort Myers.

 

Bob, Linda, Pat, Mark, Denny, Deb, Vicki, Ron

 

Said our good byes to Deb and Denny - so much fun to all be together.  

 

Tomorrow....shopping and lunch at the tea room - not sure what the guys will be doing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - February 21

Enjoyed more birthday greetings after I posted the blog last night - Luke did facetime with me while taking a bath and being silly!    And then heard from Drew and Davis....a great birthday indeed!

 

Yesterday we went to The Biscotti Café for breakfast.....not the Bistro

(not sure where that came from)?  

 

It was a cloudy start to the day....I had a 9:00 dentist appointment to get my new crown.    Dr. Baxmann is so nice as are all his staff.    Off to Target for some piddlies and my free Starbucks cinnamon dolce latte (birthday treat).

 

Back to Catrina where Mark was working on boat jobs.    I left at 11 and walked downtown to get a manicure.   Mostly cloudy all day....

We had a few errands to run late afternoon and then visited with Joe and Bonnie from Michigan at their RV park.    We met them several years ago (actually Mark met them in Charleston while I was shopping).    We've kept in touch off and on, but had not seen them in a few years.
Really enjoyed being together and catching up!

Joe and Bonnie

At 5:30 we went across the street to Parrot Key for the Gatlin dinner show.   There were 13 of us and we had so much fun....as always Darryl and Andrea put on a fantastic show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday - February 20

 Absolutely gorgeous day and it's my birthday!!!    Mark and I looked forward to a day of just "us" and we enjoyed it very much!

 

So many celebrating today including my brother, Bob (75), cousins, Dave, Michelle and Amy, and friends, Kay, Fred, Shelly and Judi !

 

We have several favorite spots in Fort Myers to have breakfast, so started out by going to  Crave (not open for President's Day)?    Next stop...The Sweet Bean Café (closed on Mondays), but 3rd time was a go and enjoyed a great meal at The Biscotti Cafe sitting outdoors.

 

Then we were off to run a few errands and checked out several RV parks for next year where we might want to be with Daisy for 2 months,,

 

We found a beautiful park (Cypress Trail) north of here, so we shall see!    It is a fairly new facility and really nice!

 

We stopped downtown at Scoops on First for some yummy ice cream and back to Catrina.    It was a nice quiet afternoon reading our books and relaxing.

 

Great chatting with my kids, facetime with Blair, Brady and Brooke and text messages from Luke, Liam and Connor.

 

Connor has bronchitis - on meds as of this morning and hope he's soon on the med

 

Maeve is sharing her day with Grandma!

 

 

7 months today

 

We went downtown tonight and walked around - happening place as usual.   We had drinks at The Twisted Vine and then pizza/pasta/chianti at Capone's.     Great ending to a very special birthday!!! 

 

Thank you for the e-mails, text messages, facebook wishes and phone calls....
💗 to all!

 

 

 

Sunday - February 19

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK

Our favorite son-in-law doing what he loves!!!

 

Bright sunshiny Sunday, but 98% humidity after all the rain!    I walked, Mark went to Publix for a few things and turned Catrina's air on!

 

Maeve had baby oatmeal for the 1st time this morning!

 

Aaahhh, here's our happy girl (hat and a little wave)

 

Another perfect day - our friend Paul from Sanibel came aboard.   We visited, had lunch at Pinchers and then nice boat ride.  More visiting, said our good byes but enjoyed our time with him so much.   We reminisced about previous fun times together with Margie, caught up with our kids and grandkids and all the goings on back in Bloomington!

 

Paul just chillin' on a gorgeous day

 

Mark and I went to 6:00 Mass at St. Francis Xavier and then settled in for the night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday - February 18

 Pretty day and off to the McGregor Café (2.6 miles) on our bikes to meet John and Beth for breakfast.    This is a favorite for all and we sat outside and enjoyed delicious breakfasts (all different)!   Our bikes were locked up and we rode with John and Beth to their home (had a load of laundry in Mark's back pack which they suggested we "come on over after we eat, do some laundry and visit"!)   As always, such a good time hanging out in their lovely home and got a load of laundry washed, dried and folded.    John gave Mark a tour of their condo complex, pool, clubhouse, etc

 

John and Beth

 

They took us back to the Café, we said our good byes and rode back to Catrina.    Around 2ish, the wind picked up and radar did not look good.    We had planned to go to 4:00 Mass (ride our bikes), but thinking we'll wait till tomorrow.     Tonight is the big Edison Parade of Lights.  We've heard so much about this thru the years, but never been.    We didn't want to give up our parking spot here at the marina/restaurant, so that's mainly why we were doing the bike thing today AND getting some exercise.   

 

Pretty pink flowers near the big gnarled Banyan tree

 

Luke and Maeve are with Mommy at their other grandparents and here are some new pics...

Mark and I laughed at this - sooo not our happy Maeve....must be the hat?    Ha!

Loves standing and enjoying the sunshine on the pretty porch

Luke is off and running before rocket is launched by Pa and friends

 

Sorry to hear Connor is not feeling well and running a temp.   Liam won his hockey game this afternoon 9-4 and scored 2 goals!!!

 

Had some rain around 5:30, but around 6:30, we put on the rain gear grabbed the umbrella and walked downtown for the parade.

.     Although there was some drizzle off and on, there were  huge crowds (expecting 200,000).    We were glad we were on foot and didn't have to bother with parking and all the traffic.   This was the 79th annual parade and a police officer told us he cannot remember a single year where they had rain!!!    We got some iced coffees from The Rebel and tried to figure out where we wanted to watch the parade.

 

You could get tickets ahead of time online for $10 apiece (all going to the charity of your choice from several to choose from).    And that guaranteed you a chair.   We were behind this large area and just before the parade started, a nice lady came up to us and said they had 2 extra seats that they weren't using and would we like to sit with them?    YES.....

 

So, we sat next to Steve and Marilyn from Minnesota and thoroughly enjoyed all the festivities, all the decorated floats, many high school bands and on and on it went, followed by a very good fireworks display!

 

Back to Catrina - big day and so glad we can say we saw the parade!

 

 

 

 

 

Friday - February 17

Chilly morning, but warmed up and just gorgeous1    We exercised and our friends, Margaret and Paul from Bloomington (winter in Bonita Springs) came aboard for a fun visit.   We had lunch at Pinchers (great again) and then went out on the river for a delightful afternoon of

cruising and chatting.

 

Margaret and Paul

 

Said our good byes and later, walked to Legacy Marina where Paula and Glen were entertaining their boating friends on the dock.   14 boats came this weekend for the Edison Parade of Lights and more coming tomorrow.    We enjoyed meeting several couples and visiting over wine and appetizers.    Around 7:30 when it got much cooler, Glen, Paula, Mark and I walked across the street

to Steve B's (funky place we stopped at before when bike riding).   The others had burgers and I had a brat - all very good.    Said our good byes to Glen and Paula until next year!

 

Beautiful sunset at Legacy Marina

Glen and Paula

 

Very fun day with the Nelsons' and Vetters' who just happen to know one another (their daughters were on swim teams together back in high school!)

 

 

Thursday - February 16

Cool and dreary for start of the day....we rode bikes down McGregor and then downtown stopping for coffees at The Rebel.    Back to Catrina (5+ miles on the bikes).    

 

Last night when we were sitting on the boat visiting with our friends and it was sooo windy, Fred noticed something flying past the entry door....Mark grabbed the boat hook (we realized it was our Catrina mat) and tried getting it, but....

 

Mark thought we would be able to retrieve it today when the tide was low.   But then a diver showed up on the dock to clean the bottom of the tour boat beside us.    He put on his wet suit, jumped in and went down and had it just like that!   Yeah....nice guy who will come to clean Catrina's bottom on March 1st.

 

Sun came out late morning and another pretty day!

 

Later this morning we took a drive in the car past several of the tall condos along the route we pass when taking our guests out on Catrina.    Thought it would be fun to have a little more knowledge about interesting sites along the way.....now we know a bit more about these places and their price after checking on the internet.   

 

There are so many interesting things happening in downtown Fort Myers.....yesterday I found a "bartending school"!    Now that was a new one!

 

We left the boat around 1:45 and ran several errands and then to Sue and Jerry's.   Sat on the patio visiting, drinking wine and then had a wonderful home-cooked meal (Italian Beef, potato salad,

fruit salad, and brownie sundaes)!

 

It's chilly out....to be 47 by morning (just a little Florida cold spell)!

 

 Maeve and her Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - February 15

Sunny start to the day with light winds.   We exercised and then took off for downtown on our bikes.    Had a delicious breakfast at The Rebel Coffee and Tea House (connected to Hotel Indigo, Allie and Owen).    I found this cute place which serves breakfast, lunch and happy hour drinks and appetizers when I was meandering downtown several days ago!  
It's a winner (been here, Beth and John)?

Mark's waffle

Back to Catrina and whoaaa....the winds were really strong as had been predicted (that "wind" symbol has been on our phones for today).     Mark started in on another boat project and I walked back downtown to have the gel polish taken off my nails.  The nail tech was Megan Elizabeth from New York but now a Floridian for 7 years.    I told her that our 4th child was going to be Megan Elizabeth if we had a girl, but Ryan Patrick came along, so we named our boat Miss Megan.

Today in the news......2 years ago in July, Davis (our favorite red head) attended the National Flight Academy at the Naval Museum in Pensacola.    The new schedule for 2017 is out in their flight magazine and guess who was one of the featured pictures???

 Way to go Davis!!!

And Doug, Charlotte, Mark and I were featured in the PDQ Rhumb Line newsletter.
This was taken at the PDQ Rendezvous in Stuart on January 14th.

Philip accompanied Annette, Luke and Maeve to Chicago this morning where her parents met them.    They will be staying in IL several weeks.   Philip will finish the last-minute packing, having house cleaned and then moving on....North Carolina coming soon!!

2 couples (boating friends) came at 4 for drinks, snacks and chatter.   We stayed inside the boat instead of on the bridge cause the winds were still blowing very hard.  At 6, we left for Cape Coral and had a wonderful dinner at RumRunners
 (my seafood pot pie was sooo good as were  all the entrees).

Fed, Mark, Glen, Paula, Pat, Jeanne

Afterwards we walked around the Cape Harbor area - beautiful with shops, marina, restaurants, condos, etc. and lush landscaping.    Said our good byes to Fred and Jeanne who drove on home to Punta Gorda.    Sure will be thinking of Jeanne next week as she's having shoulder replacement surgery!   Glen and Paula took us to Tarpon Point - another lovely area of Cape Coral.

We just heard recently that Cape Coral is the fastest growing city in all of Florida!    Brooke's aunt and uncle live here - otherwise, not familiar as we  have so many choices here in Fort Myers.    And the Cape Coral residents are the same with all their many restaurants, shops, etc. about
coming our way!










 

Valentine's Day - 2017

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day.....we sure did!

 

Cool, dreary start to the day....I walked and then around 11ish our long-time friends from bridge playing days (back in the early 70's) came aboard Catrina!    We had so much fun starting with lunch at Pinchers',   And then sun came out and it was another glorious day!

 

Back:   Sue, Jerry, Mark, Steve, Connie

Front:   Pat, Sharon, Harry

 

After lunch, we went cruising on the Caloosahatchee - so pretty out on the water chatting away..

 

Steve and Connie

 Sue and Jerry

Sharon and Harry

 

After our cruise, we sat on Catrina enjoying wine and dark chocolates and reminisced over the years with lots of laughs.    And then we were off to The Firestone Grill for wonderful Valentine's dinner.

 

Said our good byes and everyone went on home.   This group has been getting together on Valentine's Day for several years here in Fort Myers.    Lots of good memories!

 

We are  looking forward to being together February 28th in Naples.

 

Beautiful tulips blooming in central IL in mid February???

 

Monday - February 13

 Nice crisp morning - we exercised and then on with the day....I left at 9 to meet Claire, Kathy and Sue at Home Goods and also checked out several other shops, stopped at Starbucks for a coffee treat, more shopping and then.....tah dah a fabulous lunch at the Wisteria Tea Room!

We all said our good byes till the next outing!    Another lovely day and so fun to be with these gals...

CHEERS:
Sue, Pat, Claire, Kathy

Mark worked on taxes, read and finished his good book "Killing the Rising Sun".

We got a few groceries at Publix and I did a load of laundry!

Get ready, get set....GO

Maeve is on the move!

 

 Wishing you all a very  

 

💘💗  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY💘💗 

 

 

Sunday - February 12

Very enjoyable weekend.....we drove to Punta Gorda yesterday.   Had lunch at The Celtic Ray (great Irish Pub) and spent the afternoon, evening, overnight with my cousin Denny and wife, Debbie.    So good to see them, visit, enjoy a delicious dinner at Phil's and then some great games of euchre with the guys winning the majority.

Deb and Denny

Today we had breakfast and then the 4 of us went to 9:00 Mass at Sacred Heart.    Father Jerry is a great priest who has been there 13 years and so loved!    A slide show was shown before Mass of various people, projects and events of the parish, but also the horrible devastation and destruction the church suffered from Hurricane Charley in 2004.    And then the rebuilding.....quite interesting.

We said our good byes to Deb and Denny and drove to Fisherman's Village where we met the Mid Illini boating group (22) for lunch at the Captain's Table.    We had not seen several of these long-time friends since last year and some, not for several years.    So, lots more chatter with this special group.

After lunch (excellent) some of he group went on a 90 minute boat tour of  the Peace River and some went to the Wyvern Hotel's rooftop for drinks and others went on home or meeting more friends.   
It could not have been a more perfect day weather wise and sharing it all with these special friends made for a super delightful day!

Mark and I did the Wyvern - it's sooo pretty up there!

Here's the gang at Captain's Table for lunch

Roger, Mike. Fred, Paul, Mark

 

Ron, Glen, Roger, Leon

Pat, Viv, Helen, Pat, Sandy, Marcia, Barb, Paula, Decemma, Carolyn, Kathy, Jeannie

Carol (hostess) and Pat

We arrived back on Catrina around 4:45 and just relaxing after a busy weekend!    Great getaway and new memories - thanks Punta Gorda for all the good eating, lovely weather, etc.

Connor had an awesome hockey game today scoring 5 goals in a 6-4 win!!

Strange weather around the country....snowstorm in the east (Michael "almost" got stranded there); 79 degrees in NC today....tulips are blooming in Bloomington....it's FEBRUARY 12th????