The girls out number the boy 2 to 1 in this family. As retirement has officially kicked in, we'll share some thoughts, memories, and life's lessons along the way. As we travel down Lifes Highway!
Dolphins anyone??
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Fun with Flipper and the gang off the coast of Sanibel Enjoy
So Tuesday we spent on the beach. The nice thing about being right on the beach is you seem to spend much more time on it. We have logged quite a few hours on beach time this week. Since we only see it once a year the more time soaking up the sun and the surf the better. On Tuesday morning we got out early Carol wanted to see if she could get some pictures of the sunrise. We are not on the best part of the island for sunrise or sunset pictures we are spoiled from spending so much time on Captiva where sunset especially, is worshiped. One beach Angel (Taylor) was up for the task the other Beach Angel (Lexi) did one of her favorite things SLEEP! When we hit the beach like a kid and a mud puddle I'm drawn to the water and automatically go into treasure hunting mode. I looked up and Carol and Taylor are gone. They were on a mission to find that sunrise and it was some where down the beach around the bend. A quick check of my pockets, ...
It's been a rough week this week. While I generally keep my blog on the lighter side. My words come from my head, but my desire to write comes from my heart. My heart this week has felt both pain and Joy some of which I'll share with you today. On Monday Nov. 20th I'm on the mends from a rough couple of days on what looks like could be a precursory strike from a future Kidney Stone. Spent a couple of days on pain meds, telling myself I'm not going to the ER. Carol's been battling the crud and been coughing a lot for the past week. We get a visit from Kristine, our daughter (technically Daughter-in law) but we adopted here years ago when she moved down here from Oregon to carve out a life with our son Ryan. In her selfless manner, she's here to deliver a spare nebulizer to her Missouri mom, who's been fighting the crud. Why? Because that's just who she is. She didn't visit for long, and we shared a few passing comments about her not wanting...
The adventure continues as we head further south, down to the keys. Home base this week will be Marathon. On Monday, we have a trip planned to Dry Tortuga National Park. That is pretty much the only thing that has a time commitment to it. We're just going to let the week play out and see what each day brings us. We drove through Fort Myers Beach on our way to an overnight stop in Bonita Springs. I think due to the higher concentration of houses and businesses on FMB the devastation was extreme. We stayed in a house on the south end FMB back in 2019. Below is a picture of that house taken in March of this year. Bottom floor blown out, and what you don't see in this picture is the whole back of the house is gone. Beach house FMB March 2023 When we drove by, all that is left is an empty lot. Property on FMB is selling for the same dollar evaluation post hurricane Ian as it was before hurricane Ian, house or no house. There's no do...
Posting a little later today sitting out on the lania listening to the thunder roll and having a glass of Liquid Lubrication. Strawberry/Plum wine 2008. (It was a very good year). As you regulars on the forum know I enjoy making homemade wine. This one was actually made by a friend of mine. His name is Gil. He's the one that introduced me to the art of winemaking. Strawberry Plum 2008 Gil is best described as one of those country boys that can survive. He's does it all from making his own deer sausage to turning various fruits into liquid lubrication he makes some good stuff! The first time I saw him making deer sausage I was a bit perplexed he was using the camper on the back of his old Ford pickup as a smoker. I thought the darn truck was on fire when I first saw it. Some of the best deer sausage I ever ate. Before I get to todays agenda I should back up a bit to dinner last night....
At the end of February, my life has changed. No more 9 to 5 for me, every day is a vacation as retirement has officially kicked in! My blog has been mainly devoted to our experiences on some small islands in southwest Florida, Sanibel and Captiva Island. While I hope to still visit and share more experiences from this magical place, I will be sharing other trips and experiences as we continue to navigate along Life's Highway. Before, it seemed like I only wrote about the annual trip to that special place. My intentions were to share a bit of humor and to memorialize some of our precious memories and life's lessons we learned along the way. Most recently, I have become a Soccer PaPa. No, I don't drive a minivan, I'm not overly vocal when sitting in the stands, and I'm not jumping up to dispute the referees calls (although I have questioned the lack of a call from time to time). My gosh, since when has soccer become wrestling at the Chase? ...
This trip only came about because of a suggestion from my co-pilot. While Yellowstone was mentioned in our initial conversation, I didn't want to fight July crowds in Yellowstone. We plotted out this path instead. I'm so glad that we did, Glacier National Park is an amazing place. This was technically just a road trip, we were basically just passing through the area while making our way back home from Oregon. Our path exploring this area would take us along the Going-To-The-Sun Road. It's a 52-mile route that takes you West to East through the park. I would consider going back sometime. The raw, undeveloped beauty of this area, leaves one without words to describe the impression it has left in my memory. Coming from a guy who has spent most of his vacations at the beach, you know I was impressed. The views are jaw dropping. We were up early and at the West Glacier entrance before 6:00a.m. We made a reservation and purchas...
We Today is our oldest Beach Angel "Lexi's" birthday. They grow up so fast. we looked back on some pictures and videos from vacations past they are filled with many great memories of our time on Sanibel/Captiva. We made a little video to celebrate Lexi's special day. We also made up a little display box to safely store Taylor's rare shell find she has told everybody about her shell. I have no doubt she will have this shell for years to come.
So Sunday started off with overcast skies, a quick thank-you to the man upstairs for giving us such a beautiful place to be, and breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe. Best seafood omelette on Sanibel hands down. When we got back we were in "Beach Mode". Not Marshawn Lynch "Beast Mode" but Carol lets getting moving, time to go to the Beach Mode. Since the skies were still overcast we weren't in full Beach Mode which means we didn't take all the usual stuff. For those of you that have been with us you know how much of the usual stuff we take! I would have to rate this as one of the best Beach Days for the Beach Angels that I can remember. Our spot on the beach has a nice sandbar running just out from the shore line and it made for Boogie Board heaven for the girls today. The Beach Angels 2011 The beach angels 2017 It doesn't seem like that long ago we would have to take them up after a couple hours for an afternoon nap. Ok, t...
It's been awhile since I posted on the blog. I usually only post when we're on a trip. No trips recently, just navigating down this road we call retirement. I do however have some thoughts to share with you if you care to listen. This past Sunday looked like it was going to be one of the last warmer days for a while as we drift into the colder months towards winter. We decided to fire up the grill and partake in one last summer ritual with some barbecued ribs. As I'm out on the deck, it's late in the day the sun is falling and there's this warm glow off the horizon. The silhouette of a lone squirrel is jumping the treetops, making its way to settle down in its den for the evening. The evening is peaceful, there is a hoot owl in the distance calling to its mate. I walk over to the window, which is directly in front of the kitchen sink. There she is head down hard at work washing dishes. She doesn't detect my presence, so I press my nose up against the window,...
OK! Its time to blow the dust off this blog and get ready to share our next adventures in Paradise. In my book Paradise is Captiva/Sanibel Florida. A place where we call our home every one-two years for a week away from the daily grind. I'm drawn to Captiva so that is where we set up our home base for the week. We also seem to zero in on Laika Lane. We have stayed at several of the houses on Laika lane over the years and this one will be no different. This one is a Cutie! Our group this year will be the usual suspects. My granddaughters, the beach angels. My daughter, wife and a new rookie to Sanibel/Captiva my daughter's boyfriend. So the truck is washed, waxed and ready to load. Its become somewhat of a ritual to put a coat of wax on before the trip. Some say its because I want to have a nice looking vehicle to start off on the trip. In reality it makes it easier to clean all the love bugs and other unfortunate insects...
Comments