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??
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Fun with Flipper and the gang off the coast of Sanibel Enjoy
So today, my family and I got some terrible news, a close friend of ours passed away overnight. Our family is of course devastated by this. My blog has generally been about trips and experiences down life's highway. Mostly about the good times and trips we have spent with family. Occasionally I'll share a few life lessons I've learned along the way. I'm typically not an outspoken person, but the blog allows me to convey what comes from my heart, and my heart is compelled to share this one with you. Let's start off with a little about faith and me. My parents sent me to church. We didn't go as a family unit. I went with a neighbor. Dad was typically not feeling well on Sunday mornings after spending most of his day and night on Saturday at the local bar. I know he believed in god, but there were also demons that chased him through life. In his later years the alcohol and smoking took a toll on his body, he'd sp...
So the theme this year is about new experiences and first for us while here on Captiva/Sanibel. Our house this year sits on the water up the channel from Blind Pass. This is a first for us usually we are trying to get closer to the gulf but the island is narrow down by Blind Pass and it is a pretty short walk to the beach. The house is not much more than 30 foot off the water and has a dock which has led to many new discoveries for the Beach Angels. I put together a Scavenger Hunt for the Angels this year. They are getting older and I wanted to open their eyes to the wonderful world of nature that surrounds this island. The Scavenger hunt has about forty items. They either need to collect or spot the items while here this week. Lexi and I spent quality time this evening sitting on the dock and watching nature in all its splendor. From Rainbows, Osprey eating a fish and a alligator we got a little of everything tonight. Best part was just s...
So it's been two years since I've been to my "Happy Place". Now don't get me wrong it's not that I'm an unhappy guy. I have a good life and a great family. There are many things that make me happy. Anything from a giggle to a hug from any of my five granddaughters makes me happy. A cruise in my 66 with the top down and the deep rumble coming from the side-pipes makes me happy. Sitting on the porch and hearing nothing but the call of a mourning dove in the morning or a bull frog breaking the evening quiet these all make me happy. However; when it comes to going to my "Happy Place" there really only one place that does it for me and that place is Captiva/Sanibel. It's been two years since we've been here so this trip will be like catching up with an old friend. For those of you that know what it's like to find your "Happy Place" congratulations. For those of you who don't the best way I can describe it is like ...
The 30-day Beach Bum tour has come to an end. Back home to reality and Day 1 had me wishing I was back at the Beach. Why is it when you're gone from home for an extended period of time, the home has a way of reminding you that you can run, but you can't hide from the maintenance requirements of being a homeowner. The well tank decided to give me such a reminder while we were gone. The pressure relief valve decided to pop off and partially flood the basement. Fortunately, water was contained to the unfinished side of the basement. I spent half the day yesterday troubleshooting and making repairs. A faulty pressure switch was the culprit causing the system to over pressurize, I shouldn't complain it was the original switch from when we built the house but of course it waited to fail while we were gone. Thanks to Ryan, the grass did get cut once while we were away for a month, but today I'm sure I pissed off all the local frogs. I sent them running for their life while ...
The second wave of Special guest is coming towards the end. We have been blessed with sunny days. The rain has held off till late evenings all week so Adalynn, Riley, and Lucas have managed to get alot done on their Scavenger hunt. We've also logged some more Beach time. We did go back to the deeded beach access once. Its a great spot very few people on the beach there, but the the path to the beach is a challenge. So we have spent more days down at the Fulgar Street Beach access. The unloading zone is more open and less tempting for the blood sucking welcoming committee. For those of you who know our daughter-in-law (Kristine), she was in a car accident back in 2023. Today she is still battling issues with walking but true to the trooper she is she didn't let that stop her from experiencing the Gulf for the first time. All we needed was a trolling motor Mission Success-Now how we gonna get her outta there? The scavenger Hunte...
If you read part 1 of American Icon, have you figured out who, or what, is the American Icon? I gave you some hints. I started off with a picture of my 66. There were other hints as well. Like the flag video when they passed by it on the highway. Maybe the comment about eight generations of Styling, Engineering, Technology and Muscle. I'm talking about the Corvette. Bowling Green is where Corvettes are born. We were fortunate enough to get to tour the Corvette Assembly plant. Stingray ZO6 The corvette is now in its eighth generation with the C8. This car is radically different from other corvettes because of the redesign placement of the engine and advancements in handling. GM closed the assembly plant to tours back in 2024, but recently have opened it back up for limited visits. I'm of course a car guy, so a trip like this is right up my alley. I wasn't too sure how much my co-pilot would enjoy it. The assembly plant wa...
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....
Our time with paradise is almost over, but the journey continues. We will be leaving on Tuesday morning. We got a call from the condo owner on Sunday morning. We had rented the condo for 9 days. She was going to come down and spend some time after we left on Tuesday but her schedule would not allow it. She called to let us know we were welcome to stay till Friday if we wanted. How nice is that? I would have jumped on the opportunity but we have made plans to travel about 4 hours north to Fruitland Park FL to visit some old friend we have not seen in ages. We are then going to take a slower route home and stop along the way to bathe in the ocean breeze a few more times before heading back to Missouri. We have a stop planned at St. George Island FL and Gulf shores AL. We have not traveled through the pan handle of Florida before so we our planning routes along the coast. New hig...
We're back home now and I thought I would make one last post to catch up and share some pictures from the week. Have you ever noticed the older you get how time seems to fly by faster? I can remember as a child summer vacations that seemed like they went on forever. Now a week is here and gone before you know it and a weekend goes by in the blink of an eye. If I didn't know better I would swear the earth was turning faster. One thing for sure when I was a kid it was a time when things were much simpler and took longer. While technology is great, I think it will deprive some of our younger generation from some of the simpler joys in life. Things like "kick the can" and staying out and playing all day just making sure you got home when the street lights came on. The waters have been clear and full of sea life this trip. You can stand in the ocean chest deep and see your feet! We were concerned about how the week was going t...
Thursday marked another day of first for us. On Monday Don and I played a round of golf at Sanibel Golf Club. We had planned on playing a couple of times during the week and also was going to play at The Dunes. Unfortunately The Dunes was closed for aerification. We found an advertisement in one of the island publications with an add for "Muscle Car City" in Punta Gorda. Old cars is one of my passions so we decided to make a guys afternoon checking out the cars and having lunch while the girls did a little shopping. So I know the next few photos may not be something you all consider to be photo op when visiting paradise but just picture yourself cruising accross the causeway in one of these beauties from the past. Only thing missing is the surf boards My Beach Cruiser How cool is that? So if you love looking at old Muscle Cars I would recomend a trip to Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda. Besides a fantastic line up of over 150 classics Th...
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