Friday, the last day

Our last couple of days have been cold by Florida standards, not bad by midwest standards.  I can still ride my bike, still walk on the beach, and sit by the ocean. And cold here is in the 60's!
I found and bought a lightweight cart for Blaze.

It's all aluminum, holds 150 lbs, and folds flat.  Not so good for long walks, but great for the beach and for the park when we get home.  Blaze isn't quite sure where to sit, so some modifications with pillows will have to be made.

But at least she can easily walk in and out of it by herself!
Ah, the things we do for our furry children.

I never get tired of watching the sunsets here.  This is from the beach access across the street where we are staying.

A fun little selfie with the image of the sunset in my glasses!









We had a great last dinner at Doc Ford's with Pam & Jane, and have cleaned the van, started loading the van, and cleaned the house as much as possible.  Tomorrow we will load up, grab breakfast at the Heavenly Biscuit, make a quick stop at the Ft. Myers dog park, then on the road again.  It's been a wonderful two weeks here, there's something to be said for stepping out of your life and experiencing things in a new light.  

Next stop, Macon, Georgia!

A little more...

We also visited the Ding Darling Nature Preserve on Sannibel.  It was cloudy and a bit rainy, but we found a few friends.  Check out the REAL pink flamingos!

Here's an up close Osprey.  and he stood still so long we had a little fun.

A last breakfast this morning at the Heavenly Biscuit!  Squirt and Blaze are relegated to the van. Poor pitiful Pearl, no homemade cinnamon rolls for them.

Paige decided these beach shoes are done!  

January 15, 2014

Absolutely beautiful weather on Sunday!  So beautiful, Frank and I played golf at the nearby Fort Myers Beach Golf Club.  It was a perfect day, in the low 80's and a course full of palm trees and native birds.  It's not often I play golf and stare at egrets!

We didn't necessarily play that well however!

But we loved the view.

Later that night we took advantage of the clear sky and watched the sun go down at the beach.  I never get tired of watching.  That's Squirt who seems to be admiring the view too!

My sister Paige arrived for a quick 2-day break from winter.  We made the most of being in paradise!

She accompanied us to the dog beach - Frank snapped this photo.  Gee, I guess we are related....

Blaze has many admirers from both ends!

Ahhh, why don't I just rest here.

A rare shot of Squirt at the beach, she's usually running and elusive.

Paige & I rode bikes down to Times Square, the heart of Ft Myers Beach, and walked on the main pier there.  As you can see, the birds seem to like all the attention and pose for all the tourists.

That evening we had a wonderful dinner at the Bayside Bistro - scallops, butter fish, and shrimp.  I sent this photo to my bunco pals that were meeting that evening.  Couldn't help myself.

On Tuesday, we went on an incredible ride that is called the Sanibel Thriller.  OMG, what a blast!  These are before and after photos - yes, the wind is quite a hair stylist!

The most incredible part of this tour of Sanibel and Captiva islands are how the dolphins love to play in the boat's wake.  My friend Pam had recommended we sit in the last seat on the boat so we had a great view of them.  It was breathtaking to be so close to them and see just how playful they are.  Our guide told us to yell and cheer when they jumped, the more noise we made the more they would perform.  Enjoy a tiny bit of what we witnessed! These are photos that both Paige and I took.  Frank took video, which captures the beauty of the movement of the dolphins that you can only glimpse through still photos. 

This is a mama & her baby!

Paige says watching the dolphins has made her year, and it's only January!

We had to celebrate the ride with dessert at the Island Cow on Sannibel.  I had a wonderful Key Lime Pie, but Paige, well she really enjoyed herself!

Before -

AFTER!

I think we managed to have a fabulous time and partake in much of what Florida has to offer in a mere two days!  Sorry you had to go back to the tundra!

After a couple of rainy days, it finally feels like we are in Florida!  We made use of the rainy days and ate breakfast at the Heavenly Biscuit, did some shopping, hit a few antique stores, ate more fish.

Frank at the Heavenly Biscuit.











But enough is enough, and by Thursday it was delightful!  Pam picked me up and we ate lunch at one of our favorite old haunts, The Cottage.  With the sun peaking out, we sat looking out over the beach and soaked in the warmth.  We spent the afternoon hanging out by our pool, how nice to sit outside in shorts - I can't believe how much I am enjoying the humidity!

This morning we got the dogs back to the dog park - they sure enjoy the water, the beach and of course the pets from other humans.  Then we got the bikes out that were here at the rental house.  One of the tires was completely flat even after blowing it up the night before. We hauled the bike down to the repair shop, got a new tube, drove back and we got on the bikes to explore.  Oh man, another problem with the bike!  I had a workout worthy of an Olympic athlete trying to crank those pedals.  the back wheel dragged like a something holding it back.  I eventually made it the two miles back to the bike shop who informed us the bike really wasn't worth repairing.  Probably a bearing.  Fine, so rented me a new bike for the week.  What a difference having two unencumbered wheels to ride on!  We biked down to Towns Square (in Ft. Myers Beach).  After a walk on the beach, a little people watching, and admiring the latest batch of souvenirs, we biked home.  The wonderful husband took the van and went back and got the other bike, so I could sit by the pool and read a bit.  What a guy.

Before I discovered what a junk bike this was!

                                                 Frank and I at the Barking Shark for lunch!

Go south my friends!

This is how our big day started - Frank had to snow blow the driveway so we could get the van out!  I really did not want to pack the van by walking through the snow at the top of the driveway.  Luckily, it worked, with such light, fluffy snow, we had no problems driving out. After Frank cleared the driveway that is!

Goodbye cold weather!

Are we there yet?
Squirt stood for hours having no idea we were em-barking on a 23 hour road trip.  She finally laid down late in the afternoon, giving up all hope of reaching any fun destination.  Blaze, well, she's always along for the ride no matter what.
We arrived in Memphis about 7 in the evening, the weather in the teens but at least not 4.  We stayed in a very friendly dog hotel and there were so many dogs, we had to maneuver around so they all got to pee in the limited grassy area.  What a pain to load so much crap in the hotel room, but we brought a lot of food that we didn't want to freeze.  We and the dogs were exhausted after the days drive, and slept pretty good.

Ok, we're getting the hang of this traveling thing, the pups have banded together and shared the same seat calmly.  We found a dog park outside of Chatanooga, TN, and Squirt ran her little butt off.  She needed it!  Having never been through Chatanooga, it's quite hilly and I think Squirt had a bit of car sickness.  I changed seats with her so she could be in the front with the window down some and she seemed to perk up.  Today's goal - Adele, GA, just north of the Florida border.

Our first glimpse of green grass!!!

Our poor van, it's taken the brunt of snow, rain, and salt treatments.  We'll find a carwash once we reach Florida and the temperatures rise about freezing. It's still cold but not as bad as the midwest we left behind.

Day two is no big deal now, get out and pee, sleep.  Sounds like our day too, Frank and I trade off driving every couple of hours to keep sleep at bay.
We finally arrive in Adele, a small out of the way place but quiet.  We can walk to a Sizzler restaurant, our first meal out.  Yes, it was worth bringing the food in the cooler, it lasted until the end of the second day.  I also discover the Hampton Inn has a fenced in area just for dogs.  Fabulous!  I chase the dogs around and make them run.  As it happens, it feels good for me to run too!

OMG, it feels like heaven!  Hello Florida!

Squirt found a better view on top of the suitcases!  She recognizes all the green stuff too!  Are we there yet????

Our Florida home for the next two weeks. Screened in pool in the backyard (well it IS the back yard).  Decor of the house nothing great, but the rooms are large and spacious.  Ok, it's drizzling drain when we arrive, but the temperature is in the 70s so we don't care much.

Sunday!  Our first full day of vacation! It's lovely out, so we take the dogs and walk down the road to our nearest restaurant, and yes, that's a grouper sandwich for Frank!  It tastes fabulous.

This is a great view of a palm tree I see when I manage to look up from stuffing myself with grouper.

Even the dogs are allowed to hang out with us on the outdoor patio where we eat.  They love all the other people milling around and are sure they are only there to get pets.

We brought Blaze's cart, she can't walk long distances anymore, but she sure loves to go!  It's a hard life for this dog :)

Sunday night, we meet Pam & Jane for dinner, and I snarf my first oysters of the trip.  Yum yum.

And then the envy shot, we walk on the beach and watch the sun go down.  No matter how many years or how many sunsets I witness here, I can't get enough.  That's Pam in the shadow, and that's the sunset in all its glorious color in the background.