Friday - Saturday, March 15-16

Friday - Mark and I were off to meet Mike and Claire at the Tanger Outlet Mall.    We all went together to Sanibel and met our friend Paul at Gramma Dots for wonderful lunch.     You have to get there early with all the crowds so able to get a table and seated by 11:15 with restaurant full and many waiting!  We had a great visit (Paul's dear Margie passed away from cancer almost 4 years ago).   Sanibel was their "home away from home" for a very long time.    And we've been blessed to visit many times over the years.

Mike, Claire, Pat, Mark, Paul

Said our good byes to Paul at 2 .....time to move on to the next activity for both the Alexanders and us.    Lucky that traffic was not a problem.   Said our good byes to Mike and Claire and on back to Flo.

 Back for a short time and then left for downtown to meet Charlotte, Doug, Beth and John at Firestone Grill for drinks on the rooftop.    Always a fun experience, but tonight, very crowded and a nasty cigar smoker sitting at the bar in front of us!!!   UGH UGH UGH!!!    Tonight is the 3rd Friday which means the March Music Walk where bands and/or other groups/solos set up to entertain on the streets.     We walked to the Lodge for an excellent meal.    It was packed and very lucky we got there early and found a booth.

Doug, Mark, John, Beth, Pat, Charlotte

The Birthday Boy - John

enjoying warm peach cobbler in a mason jar!

Doug had the funnel cake fries with raspberry sauce and Mark had Amish bread pudding

The guys were very pleased with their dessert choices!

  And then lo and behold, in the booth beside us were Joe and Bonnie from near Ann Arbor, MI.    Mark met Joe and Bonnie in 2011 in Charleston when we had Catrina heading south for the winter.   (I was shopping).   So, they've spent many winters in Fort Myers on their RV and we've gotten together with them off and on.    What a nice surprise.   Later we walked around to hear the music and got to visit a little more.

Pat, Bonnie, Joe, Mark

Sat with Beth, John, Charlotte and Doug and listened to some tunes from Elvis/Johnny Cash     They only sang  a few familiar songs while we were there.    It was a happening place - people people everywhere!    We were surprised to see puddles and wet pavement when we got home as downtown didn't get anything.

It was a busy day and we are tired so no blog tonight - but again, another fun one with all these very dear friends.

The RV's are really pulling out and leaving for the season here at Cypress Trail.    Many others are saying "we're waiting till the weather shapes up and then we'll go home"!

Saturday - we went to 8:15 Mass at St. Francis and on home.    Worked on the blog and then off to meet Roger and Carol at The Boathouse (seems to be our 2nd home these days)!     Weather sure was iffy - very cloudy, some rain, then sun, then misty rain, etc.    Despite the weather, a big crowd again and always fun to catch up with these long-time boating friends who live in Bloomington and winter in Punta Gorda.    Drove to Buckingham Farms to show them around and back to Flo.   We visited on our patio and then walked in the park taking cover under Jim and Lydia's gazebo when the rain started (2x).    Went to the clubhouse and the meditation garden and back to Flo for dessert.

Hope to get together when we're back in Bloomington in May.    A very enjoyable Saturday afternoon!

Roger and Carol

While we were waiting for our lunch at The Boathouse today, Charlotte and Doug passed by in their PDQ enroute to LaBelle where they'll store for the winter.

Charlotte and Doug on Abbottsford III

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Thursday - March 14

The mornings and evenings are so pleasant with nice temps and breezy as was the case today.    Makes for great walking, biking and lifting weights.    But mid day - whoaaa....that's when we so appreciate the AC.

After all the "attempting" to get back in shape was done this morning, plus a little cleaning of the she shed and Flo, we ran a bunch of errands including dropping off stuff at Goodwill (to make room for more stuff)!    Ha!!!

Also ate lunch at the Mix Grill and then on home to catch up on paper work, e-mails, reading, etc.

Our friends Charlotte and Doug from Annapolis spent the winter in Marathon and brought the boat back to Fort Myers arriving this afternoon.    

Tonight we all (present and former PDQ owners) had dinner at The Boathouse and a nice visit while waiting over an hour for our table.    As always, food was good and so much to catch up on!    Tomorrow we're planning to get together again...   Charlotte and Doug are celebrating the birth (Tuesday) of their new grandson!

The girls...

Pat, Charlotte (showing off new grandson, Matteo James) and Beth

And the guys...

John, Mark, Doug

Wednesday - March 13

Hot and sunny.....I did yoga and Mark exercised this morning.    I took Lydia to the airport (she and Jim's daughter-in-law, Michelle, lost her mother unexpectedly last week).   Lydia is flying home for the funeral and will return tomorrow evening.

Mark had a noon appointment to meet with our new State Farm agent (previous one retired).    I went to the margarita party and cookout at the clubhouse.   The drinks were flowing freely along with burgers, hot dogs, chips and cookies - all for $5.    What a deal!!!

Did some laundry and enjoyed the AC.    I got a massage at 5:30 (1-hour) by Debbie here in the park.   It was pure HEAVEN!!!

Walked after supper - cooled down a bit and windy!

Tuesday - March 12

Nice day for a walk in the park so that's how we started the day.   I lifted my weights and around 10:30 we left with a few stops along the way and arrived at Barb and Roger's in Bonita Springs at noon.    Ed and Fran were there already and what a fun visit we all had - been a while since we were all together.    Barb has a brand new kitchen which we all oohed and aahed over!!!

We went to Coconut Jack's for delicious lunch and then said our good byes to Ed and Fran who were meeting friends in Punta Gorda.   We went back to Barb and Roger's condo for more visiting.

Barb, Fran, Ed, Roger, Mark, Pat

Took 1 hour, 20 minutes to get home as there was an accident at our exit on Luckett Road shutting down 2 lanes.    We took some alternate routes thru the country - lots of traffic!

Played euchre tonight - always a good time!

Monday - March 11

88 today - throw in some humidity, too!    Mark exercised, I walked and rode my bike and then later, we were off to downtown and lunch at The Veranda.    We met Shirley and Dick from Dixon (Mark's hometown) who are in Naples for 2 months.    Shirley and I went all thru grade/high school together and Dick was 3 years ahead in high school.    This is our 3rd year to get together and always a good time with so much catching up!!!

Awesome afternoon at The Veranda

So we sat outdoors in the courtyard - so pretty with an occasional breeze under the umbrella and nice music.    Almost 3 hours later we were on our way with the hope that next year, we would get together at least 2x......come see where we live and we'll go to Naples and see them (with eating involved, of course)!!!

Stopped at the Java House (Mark's sweet tooth needed a fix) and along with iced coffees (and a big ole chocolate chip cookie for Mr. Sweet Tooth), we were happy campers.     Back to Flo and enjoyed the AC for a few hours and did 2 loads of laundry before venturing out to get some more exercise.

Stopped and visited with Chris and Tracy (last year's neighbors), Jim and Lydia.    Leftovers for supper.

Walked some more and got my steps for the day!