FTJ, Entry 49: Sanibel & Captiva, Then on to Sarasota

OMG - check out the Bald Eagle we saw on our last day in Fort Myers Beach -- at the top of a tree right in our campground! AMAZING. What a thrill for this bird lover.

Before we left Fort Myers Beach, we decided to drive through Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Very lovely places. Sort of ticked us off we had to pay a toll of $6 to get over the bridge to these isles, but you quickly forget that when you walk out on Sanibel Beach. Well worth it.

Both islands were very upscale and Captiva in particular was quite impressive, with one waterfront  mansion after another hidden from the road. You can just catch glimpses of their immense facades and 5-car garages from the highway.

Some small homes we could see on the road on the islands. The biggies were hidden!

We also drove through the JN "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Bird Sanctuary. A bit of a disappointment, although we saw quite a few birds off in the distance, including some scarlet ibises.

Below, if you look closely you can see there is a pelican in a tree (never knew they roosted like this!), and a couple of nonchalant storks who posed for our camera.

Sun n Fun in Sarasota

So now here we are at Sun n Fun RV Resort in Sarasota. Cannot get over 1. how big this park is; and 2. how spread out everything is around here -- Sarasota seems to go on for miles and miles in every direction.

Beau wants to post some photos of the big and beautiful RVs here that he drools over daily. They are impressive. We will put them in the next blog.

Last night,  we drove up to Oldsmar, FL to see Dave and Joyce and get our free teeth cleaning. Wow! What an impressive practice Dave has built, with something like10 assistants, hygienists, and technicians. Afterward, we saw their beautiful home (the sale of which is final on Feb. 15) and took them out to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, the Cop Shop. 

We are all pretty hyped up about the forthcoming trip we are taking together.

We are warming up slowly here...65 today, low 70s by the weekend. We'll take it!

Tanks, Panky

P.S. from Beau: This blog is boring! (Except for Dave and Joyce, of course!)

FTJ, Entry 48: Beaching It Again

It has been a while.  I remembered I was going to post a few pics of where we were in Naples (Crystal Lake RV Resort). Here they are:

A very upscale lakefront RV park, indeed. And we had our own laundry room right on the site.

And here is a collage of the Naples beach and pier. It is truly a beautiful town.

Two Weeks in Fort Myers Beach

We have been in Fort Myers Beach for 11 days now. Our campground, sigh, is once again more like a mobile home park with RV sites -- but we have a large grassy site and the facility is neat and in very good shape, with friendly people. The beach is 2 miles away and beautiful - hard sand, and Buddy is allowed on it. 

View of the town center, Fort Myers Beach, from the bridge.
Cute honky tonk look with beach bars and funky shops.

The Ft. Myers Beach sand is sugary and white,
yet hard as asphalt by the water. Great for walking.

We've managed to blow our budget for the month with some repairs and improvements to Harvey the Marv-ee RV. He got a stabilizer bar and new shock absorbers (mainly for safety and an improved ride). Topping it off, the mechanic discovered that all our batteries were shot.

Another lesson learned: Do NOT run the inverter while hooked up to power at a campground. Apparently, it melts your batteries. Never mind how much all this cost. Jeesh.

In general, we have been taking it easy here at Fort Myers Beach. But we'll check out Captiva and Sanibel Islands before we leave. Why not -- we're here!

Oh - I don't think I blogged about our new pals Dave and Joyce (whom we met during our Key West stay) joining us for our cross-country trek. Well, they are definitely IN. We are so excited. They will meet up with us in March in Orange Beach, AL, and then on we go to New Orleans! From there it is westward ho, my friends.  

As we all agreed, it is more fun--and much safer--to travel with another RVing couple. You always have that support system on the road, you know?

We will confer about the trip with Dave and Joyce next week when we get our teeth cleaned (for free) at Dave's dental practice. Thanks, guys -- cannot wait to see you!

A note about our weather. Overall, it has been super. Mid/high 70s and sunny. But we had fog and some rain yesterday as a cold front came in. Today it is going to be in the 60s. Not complaining -- we know what has been happening up north. Brrrrrr. Big warm hugs to all of you freezing your you-know-whatses off.

Before I sign off, this message comes from Beau: GO JETS!!

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 47: Farewell to the Keys

Last week we said a sad farewell to the Keys. We will miss Key West especially.

Before we left Key Largo, however, Beau decided he had to try the "all you can eat" stone crabs at a local restaurant. He ate 22 while I watched. I was semi impressed. Thought he would eat more of them!

We also went to Key Largo's bird sanctuary, which, although small, was highly entertaining. The sanctuary is really more of a rescue operation, housing various types of birds that have been in distress or injured somehow. It was great to see the birds up close, but I felt bad for them in their cages. And the place stunk to high heaven, as you can imagine.

A one-legged anhinga

Love the way the cat is eyeing the heron....

Oh - and we stopped at the Hurricane Memorial, which commemorates the devastating storm of 1935, which killed more than 500 people, with winds of 200 mph and extensive flooding.

On to Naples

We arrived with no problem at our next destination, Naples. We stayed four nights at Crystal Lake RV Resort -- another misnomer, in that it is really more of a "park model" (a more genteel name for a trailer) resort than an RV resort, but I am splitting hairs.. The big difference for us personally was that this park was decidedly upscale. Gorgeous landscaping, a beautiful clubhouse and several pools, new residences, all surrounding a small lake. Will add a few photos of the park next time.

But for some reason we both agreed that as a place to stay it lacked appeal. Too homogenous? Too perfect? No soul? I think all of these play a factor in our emotional reaction to the town. It is truly a manicured and upscale setting, though. And there's a lot of $$$ there, for sure. I did like the Saks and Nordstrom's, but they're too dangerous! We are on a budget--sort of.

While in Naples, we visited the nearby locales of Goodland and Marco Island -- finding the wild and wacky Stan's Idle Hour on Sunday at Goodland. They have all kinds there, including Stan, who tells very racist and mildly dirty jokes before the band plays. The special dance there is the Buzzard Lope, but we didn't see anyone doing it.

What can I say?

Buddy was underwhelmed by the spectacle at Stan's.

The crowd at Stan's seems to be mainly...well, older. Like us!

Stan's bandstand

Hope you are not snowed in up north. Hear it's a pretty bad storm.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 46: Getting Beyond the Big Letdown

Now we know. We are spoiled. Staying at a luxury resort in Key West for a month has ruined us. When we got to this Key Largo campground, we were both depressed. We expected an RV park, not a trailer park with some RV spaces. 

Still, we have our own dock and tiki hut...like I said, we are spoiled.

view from our dock

Anyway, we have at last recovered our good humor and are back to having fun, regardless. Yesterday we rented a center console at John Pennekamp State Park and Captain Beau was SO happy to be out on the water again. He did note, however, that snorkeling was somewhat alarming, in that he was swimming with a large group of very big barracudas!  He counted about 15 of them in the space of about 50 ft., many of them 3 ft. or better. They just kept their eyes on him as he passed, and they leisurely swam away as he got closer.

I decided to skip the experience.

View of the "bowling alley" channel to the Atlantic in John Pennekamp Park.

The colors are fantastic! Like the Caribbean.

Paying Scott for the boat -- gulp!

Today we pooled it -- the weather here has been fabulous -- low 80s today, low humidity. We practically had the pool to ourselves -- can't beat that!

Here are some other photos we have taken in the Key Largo area:

Larry the lobster, Buddy and me -- actually, we don't know this
crustacean's name. We were not introduced.

The lobster sculpture is outside a funky artist
colony/retail center called "The Rain Barrel."

This restaurant gives free sunset cruises every night!

blurred sunset, but still pretty cool

At Sundowner's restaurant

A squadron of pelicans, taken out the RV window.

More pelicans...can you tell I love 'em?

Finally, pics of our little boy:

Buddy went for a grooming and daycare while we were at John Pennekamp Park...

...and came back looking neat and clean and jaunty in his new bandanna!

Ain't life grand? Big hugs to all.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 45: New Friends for a New Year

So our New Year's Eve plan to go downtown and witness the Key West craziness went pfffft! when we found out that parking was $50. The crowds -- it gets shoulder-to-shoulder we heard -- and the traffic, plus the ripoff -- it was just not worth it. Beau was bummed, I was a bit relieved.

But the good news is that we met another great couple -- Steve Salka and Lori Cole. Very nice, very interesting people with whom we bonded immediately. Steve is a retired Navy man and Lori is a wonderful singer. Check out her website. Her bio is filled with amazing facts and accomplishments, such as singing notable commercial jingles, as well as the National Anthem for the Chicago Bulls.

What a talent! Her album, Never Too Late, is a compendium of 40's era ballads, very romantic -- and Lori's voice is a velvet revelation. To me, she sounds a bit like Rosemary Clooney. Just beautiful. 

A great looking couple!

Lori and Steve live on a ranch in Colorado and have another place in Arizona. I think they have other homes as well (I can't keep track of these things -- my mind is going!). We hope to visit them in Durango when we get there in the spring. 

Lori and Steve spent the evening with us New Year's day, and Beau fed everyone a big gooey baked penne dish. Great fun!

We are making such interesting new friends on this trip. Too bad we have to leave them all behind -- at least until we reconnect again.

Today we are off to our next stop, Key Largo Kampground & Marina. I am sure it won't be as beautiful as Bluewater Key, but I think we may be able to rent a boat, and we will definitely visit John Pennekamp State Park.

We are in Key Largo until the 7th of January. Then we start up the west coast.

Hope all of you had a happy and healthy New Year. (And Barb and Bob, we missed ringing in 2011 with you!)  2011 already -- jeesh!

Tanks, Panky