Labor Day - 2026

Today we honor the American labor movement and the contributions of workers

THANK YOU !

 Said our good byes and hugs to Bob and Donna.....we enjoy them so much!   Donna is planning to come to Fort Myers in January and then back with our other sisters in March.

Bob and Donna

I took Ruby thru the car wash and filled her up with gas.    We had lunch and moved Big Red and Flo and she's ready to roll outta here tomorrow after Catrina is out of the water and put in storage.   I'm leaving in Ruby in the morning and Mark will come later - we'll meet up in Shipshewana, IN and meet my brother Bob and Linda, cousin Dick and Mary for 2 days of fun in Amish country.    We'll be arriving at KK on Thursday.   Will take a few days off from the blog.

Jeanne, Mark and I walked downtown and met Dave (dockmaster) and Cana for drinks at The Bait House - we met Dave's cousin and hubby and other friends.

Pat, Mark

Jeanne, Dave, Cana

Beautiful sky over the Portage River (viewed from Flo) our last night...

Sunday - September 6

 It was a spectacular day here in Port Clinton - sunny, breezy and low 70's.    We cleaned the cushions from the bridge and all the navy window screens.    Great day for drying.    After lunch we ran some errands and then a quiet afternoon on Flo.   

Just a few more things to finish up tomorrow and then that's it for the season!   Catrina will come out of the water on Tuesday.

We said good bye to Dennis who left for home....and then picked up Jeanne, Bob and Donna and off to Gideon Owen Winery where we met the rest.    Unfortunately, Christine was not feeling well so went home and not able to join us.

Great dinner as always...and lots of chatter...

Mark, Michael, Bruce, Bob, Dave, Cana, Chris, Donna, Pat, Jeanne

Boat sisters - missing Teri who is recovering from knee replacement

Chris, Donna, Pat

One final pic before we all leave for the season

Michael and Chris, Bob and Donna, Mark and Pat, Jeanne, Cana and Dave, Bruce

Michael and Chris were driving home (3 hours) - I'll see Chris in March when the sisters come to Fort Myers.

Our college grandsons had a good weekend of football with Illinois, Iowa and Notre Dame all winning their season opener.    Brady was at Lambeau Field in Green Bay (home of the Packers) tonight - what a thrill!

Saturday - September 5

Dreary day but a few little bursts of sunshine.    Cooler today with a high of 78 but humidity was still high. 

Mark changed the oil in the generator - another messy job but one more thing off the list!

Our euchre buddies, Todd and Cindy from CT are back in Fort Myers for a week - they live in Colorado or Georgia.    Cindy wanted to play euchre sometime this week.....sorry, still in Port Clinton but definitely when we're back this fall!

Michael and Chris (boat sister) arrived.    They are staying on Bruce and Christine's boat this weekend.    We all went over to see their new sailboat - wow....it's a beauty - 44' Jeanneau.    Had a fun visit and Bruce made delicious Aperol Spritzes/

Mark and I left to go to 4:30 Mass where we saw Bob and Donna (boat sister).    Last mass for us with Father Jonathan till next spring.    We went downtown to the "P" festival and enjoyed our perch and cole slaw + shared a piece of peach pie and ice cream.

Back to the marina and Dennis had arrived after a week-long vacation in Canada and Michigan with his brothers and a friend.    We sat under the tent and visited.    Later some of us were on Bob and Donna's "So Blessed" - lots of laughs!    They are a crazy bunch!   Said our good night's and back to Flo....till tomorrow!

Mark and I had our first date 61 years ago tonight - September 5, 1965 at the Tri-County Fair in Mendota, IL.

Friday - September 4

Loaded up the car with laundry on this rainy morning with thunder, lightning and heavy rain at times.    There was a let up around 9:30, so we were off to The Orchard Farmstand (a favorite of mine).   I saw online that they have their breakfast sandwich (bacon or sausage, egg and cheese on English muffin and hash browns for $5 from 7-11.)    And they have the specialty coffees. 

Gosh, water standing all over the place......enjoyed our breakfast and coffee and then onto the laundromat for last time this season!    3 loads later we were on our way home with the rain still coming down.

Quiet afternoon with rain off and on.    Around 4, we decided to go for a walk....whew.....so humid.   We walked downtown and back.    Visited with Bruce for a bit....he came up tonight for the long weekend - Christine will join him later.    They are from the Cleveland area and have a sailboat "Job Site"!    Maybe the weather kept others away, but we know more will be coming tomorrow.

So, here we are with the start of Labor Day weekend - hard to believe!    The "Perch, Peach, Pierogi, and Polka Festival" is happening starting tonight thru Sunday.    The Knights of Columbus put on this event downtown always on Labor Day weekend and this is the 21st annual "P" festival.   We plan to go tomorrow.

Thursday - September 3

 Hopefully this is the last of the HOT days!   Lots of sunshine, hot 'n humid!

Mark ran some errands and when he got home, I left for the coffee shop and a to-go latte and then a mani/pedi with Danielle.   Said our good byes till next spring.

On home and Mark was changing oil in the engines - got that messy job done but thankful he can do it and save a bunch of $.   Took him over 2 hours.    Also changed AC filters.

I was using our apple corer to cut up an apple for lunch and while the apple slices come out perfect, I  "somehow" cut my thumb - those blades are SHARP.   Lots of bleeding and thought it had stopped but no...a band-aid, followed by gauze and tape and lots of paper towels applying lots of pressure - arghhh!    Finally used some of the "Seal Wound" which Mark keeps on hand if/when he nicks or cuts himself while shaving.    That did the trick to stop the bleeding, but when he sprinkled this brown dusty stuff on, OUCH>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>holy moly, did that hurt!    What an ordeal....one of those "I can't believe that just happened" moments!!!

We got me all cleaned up and after lunch, Mark (my great nurse once again) was off to run more errands.   

Late afternoon, the sky was getting dark to the west. We decided to put Ruby and Big Red inside the building.    I went to Rich's for some chicken and sides.   I got Ruby tucked away safe 'n sound and we decided to head to the biggest building which has solid heavy-duty walls between buildings.    We met Jeanne as we were walking and she and Roscoe were going into the building where her RV is.    Radar looked nasty!

It was a doozy of a storm - very heavy rain and strong winds.    It came fast and furious.   Lasted almost an hour.     Went back to Flo and enjoyed our supper as the sky became nice and bright again!