"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." ~ George Elliot

Home sweet home

We made it back home safe and sound, though the flight was a lot bumpier than I would have liked! Indianapolis was exactly as we left it, cold and rainy, as if time had come to a halt while we were gone.

We saw the most incredible sunset from the plane. I'm not sure I've ever seen a sunset from the sky. We flew over some thunderheads in Georgia and they were illuminated in orange like big snowy mountaintops. Once the big orange ball disappeared, the sky was lit up in colors like a horizontal rainbow that went on forever. I wish I could have taken a picture of it, but from my position over the wing the resulting photo would not have done it justice. So I just decided to sit back and enjoy it and try to imprint it in my memory.

We're going now to rescue our puppies from doggie camp. Hope they made us something really cool in the craft class. :o{}

Happy Earth Day!

Going home

Our last day in paradise! :( We fly out tonight. We have to be at the airport around 5:30, so we still have most of the day. Probably will spend some of it at the beach. This is always the worst part of vacations...going home. Actually the worst part is going back to work. That is really going to suck with a capital S. But I miss my puppies terribly and can't wait to see them. We will get them from doggie camp in the morning. We got the weather report for the next week. YUK! Makes going home even harder. We'll make the best of our last day. It's been a fun, eventful, and relaxing vacation. Of course we ate way too much and drank too much, but that's what vacations are all about. It's was great to see Eric's family again and they've all made it so enjoyable for us. Now they need to come up and see us.

We're on our way soon, so this will be my last post. Hopefully the plane will get us home safely.

Eagles and sharks and rocks...oh my

Casperson Beach, Venice Florida

Yesterday we spent mostly trying to recover from our trip to Captiva. (I think a doctor would call it withdrawals)

The morning was cloudy and a little cool, so Eric helped his dad trim trees. In the afternoon it cleared up and we went to a nearby park called Cedar Point, for a hike. Eagles nest here every year and they close off some of the trails. But we heard the distinctive eagle call and ventured part ways down a trail to see if we could get a peek. We saw what we think was either a female bald eagle or a golden eagle right above a huge nest. He/she was keeping an "eagle eye" ;) on us. Also saw hermit crabs, a gopher turtle and some egrets.

This morning we made our annual pilgrimage to the Venice Rookery in Venice, Florida. This is a small little island sanctuary where hundreds of birds nest every year....Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Anahingas, Comoronds, and various other birds I couldn't identify. Photographers flock here every year from all over the country to watch these birds in the annual breeding rituals and to raise their young. It's truly amazing to watch.

Lunch was at Sharky's at Venice Pier, one of my favorite places to eat. (www.sharkysonthepier.com) We stuffed ourselves which called for a long walk on the beach. We saw a spotted ray from the pier like one we saw in St. Martin. Casperson beach is nearby and is a unique beach with many rocks along the shore. The picture above was taken at this beach.

All in all...another beautiful day in Southwest Florida!!!

Island Time

Sunset on Captiva

Island time, a slower pace...

We headed out for Captiva Island on Sunday around 1:00. (I know I said the other day that we were going to Sanibel, but that wasn't correct.) Me, Mike, and Eric loaded the Sling Shot (that's Mike's boat) with supplies where it was docked at Palm Island Marina, then cruised out to pick up Sarah from where she works on Boca Grande (on Gasparilla Island). We headed south for Captiva.

The sea was a little choppy on the way down. I think he said waves were about 3 feet. They could have been 10 feet for all I knew because I immediately started getting seasick. I wasn't sure whether I would or not, since I've not been out on a small boat in the ocean. I should have taken Dramamine. We've been out on Mike's boat before, but not for long periods of time. I kept hoping it would go away, but it didn't. Luckily Mike keeps a supply of Dramamine on his boat so he gave me one. My stomach didn't settle down until we reached the inlet near the end of Captiva Island (almost 2 hours later).

We docked the SS at the Tween Waters Marina without much problem and found our rented slip which would be home for the next 2 days. We opted to stay on the boat at night instead of getting a room at the resort; with the slip rental we were able to use all of the amenites at the resort ~~ swimming pool, hot tub, fitness center, and showers. There are a couple of restaurants and shops at the resort, so we really didn't even have to leave the resort. Since we didn't have transportation other than the boat, that made it convenient.

Capitva Island is a very narrow piece of land on the northern end of an island with Sanibel at the southern end. The Tween Waters Inn enjoys the marina on the bayside and the ocean on the front side. So we had the best of both worlds.

Even though we really didn't have to leave the resort for anything, we still wanted to explore. So we went on several very long walks, first down the road to find the "town" and more restaurants and shops, then back to the resort along the beach. We were told it was about a 1/2 mile walk along the beach...and what a pleasant walk it was. We ate lunch one day at RC Otters and tried out the gator tail appetizer. YES, I did try them and they weren't bad. Can't really explain the taste. It was okay, but the texture was a little weird.

Sunset on Capitva Island was spectacular....but, then again, I haven't seen too many sunsets I didn't think were spectacular.

On the way back Tuesday, we took our time and enjoyed the sunshine. The sea was a lot calmer (and I took a Dramamine before we shoved off), so I enjoyed the trip back a whole lot more than the trip down!!

Even though we've been off the boat for about 12 hours now, I still don't have my land legs back. Everything is still rockin' and rollin'. ;)

AHHH...another beautiful day in Southwest Florida!!

Setting sail.

Today we're "sailing" down to Sanibel Island on Eric's brother's boat. Actually, it's not a sailboat, but it just sounded good. ;) We're cruising down this afternoon and we'll stay 2 nights on the boat. We'll have access to a marina with a pool. So, I'll be out of touch for a few days. It's supposed to be another beautiful day, though we'll probably freeze our tails off tonight. This weather is crazy!!! I hope we don't end up like the passengers of the USS Minnow. ;)

Bon Voyage!

More of the same.

Another beautiful day in Southwest Florida!

We started off the day again with yard sales. Actually we went searching for an estate sale. We found it, but it was the estate sale that wasn't. (what a joke)

Our Goddaughter Nicole and her husband Jason drove over from Orlando. Us, Eric's parents and Eric's sister all drove over to Punta Gorda for the annual Block Party. Punta Gorda is a little town that was nearly devastated by Hurricane Charley last August. I didn't think they would have their block party this year, but they apparently were determined not to be deturred by Charley. Parts of the town were gone and almost every single building had some type of damage, but they carried on. We saw Dennis Lee who is a local favorite here in Florida. He is a nutty guy who sings and is just entertaining as all get out. When my mom and dad used to come down in the winter they, along with Eric's mom and dad, would follow him from the state fair, to the strawberry festival, and the block party. I guess you'd say they were groupies. Also, Herman's Hermits were playing there this year, but not until the evening, so we missed them...darn. ;)

We headed back to Mike's house for pizza and a pool party. But it was too cold to swim so we just had pizza. I can't believe how cool the evenings have been. I didn't bring warm clothes so I'm freezing at night.

Mike is doing much better. No more pain so far. He's taking his doctor's orders very seriously and drinking lots of beer. It seems to be working. ;{)

Another beautiful day...

Yesterday we started out the day garage saling. One of my favorite pastimes that's shared by my in-laws. Eric, unfortunately, isn't too fond of it. But we all suckered him into going and we even let him drive. ;) The ironic thing was that he was the first one to buy something. We didn't find too many treasures, but had fun looking anyway.

Dinner last night was great. Eric's mom is a wonderful cook and always plans great dinners while we're here. Most dinners have a theme. Last night was Mexican night. We pigged out on tacos, burritos, muchos nachos, quesadillas, and...of course it wouldn't be complete without Margaritas!!! YUM!

The downside to the day was that we had to rescue Eric's brother Mike from the hospital last night. We came back from a business trip Thursday night with excruciating back pain, which he found out was kidney stones. EEKKK...poor guy. They send him home with drugs, told him to drink LOTS of beer, and to roll those stones out of there. Even gave him a little funnel to catch them in. We brought him home, filled him full of Mexican food and made him drink beer, just as the doctor ordered.

It was a bit cold today for Florida, but we managed to sit in the sun for a while. But when a cloud came in we nearly froze!

You can check out more Florida pics by clicking the link on the right side of the page.

A day at the beach..

Sunset at Englewood Beach.

Toes in the sand, cold drink in hand,
soaking up the rays, it's a drop dead gorgeous day!

Sea breeze in my hair I love the salty air,
blowing through palm trees seagulls floating on the breeze.
A perfect day at the beach!

We spent about 4 hours at the beach today at Stump Pass State Park. Took a walk through nature trail through mangroves and palms. Saw some damage from hurricane Charley last year. Spotted an eagle sitting in a dead tree not far away. The closest I've ever been to an eagle. Very cool. Yes, I got a picture, but didn't have my telephoto lens (drats!) At the end of the peninsula we saw dolphins playing in the channel that leads out to the gulf. We walked back along the beach in the surf. We caught the sunset, though there was a fierce wind off the ocean tonight. We just about got sandblasted. What a perfect day! Photos are coming. There was a problem with the site I use to host my photos and it's down for maintenance. But I'll be able to add them later today. Have a wonderful day!

Hello from sunny Florida!

Another beautiful day in southwest Florida!!! That's what my Dad used to always say to me when he and my Mom spent their winters in Estero, Florida, just a little south of here. They would call in the middle of December when we had snow on the ground and tell me how warm and sunny it was in Florida! #$%!@! Used to drive me crazy! So guess what I said to him when I called to let them know we arrived safely. ;)

Flight was okay, as flights go. But I have to say, as much as I hate to fly, this flight was about the smoothest ever (of course I had some help from Jose.) ;)

I had planned to have my toes in the sand by 2:00, but it didn't happen. Of course, we're staying with Eric's parents and we have no car, so we just have to go with the flow. We stopped at Snook Haven on the way here from the airport and had lunch (Cindy, tell Kelly I had a drink in her honor at lunch.) This is a known biker hangout during certain seasons. No biker's today though.

Tomorrow we're getting in some quality beach time!!!!

Adios for now.