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
It was a warm and sunny day when Joe and I jumped into his Dad's car. We weren't going far, just a couple of miles down the road. The car was a beauty. It was white with a Black vinyl top. Back in those days, the Mopars were as long as a limo and had plenty of horsepower. This was the perfect car for the day. But on this day, our limo had other plans. We pulled onto Telegraph Road and got as far as the 270 overpass when the Plymouth died. There we were, two guys in tuxedos on the overpass with our thumbs out, sweating and beating feet to our destination two miles down the road. She was already there. Back then, we didn't have cell phones. There were pay phones, but the closest one was probably more than a mile away. With less than one hour to go. What would happen if I didn’t show up on time? Would she think I changed my mind? Would this be the end of what was supposed to be the beginning? The looks we got! The horns that...
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....
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...
The Bonsai represents the three virtues or Shin-Zen-Bi, which translate into truth, goodness and beauty. Saturday was our last day on the island. We ventured out on another field trip. This time to North Fort Myers area to check out Wigert's Bonsai Nursery. Not sure if I should call it a Hobby, Obsession, or Passion but I am a koi keeper. My current pond has been up for around 4years now. I have kept Koi for around 17 years. Our Koi Pond The gang I have also always been fascinated with Bonsai. I feel like the link between the Japanese art of Bonsai and keeping koi are so closely related that many Koi keepers also have a natural tendency to be drawn to the art. Since we were down in the Fort Myers area for the week I decided to check out Wigert's Bonsai nursery and maybe scratch this itch I have for Bonsai. This place didn't disappoint This was a very eye opening experience and to be fully appreciated taking a camera along is a must. As many of u...
On Thursday morning our plan was to spend a few hours at the State Park on St. George Island. The park was on the east end of the island. The terrain and vegetation is much different here compared to our island paradise of Sanibel/Captiva. We had high hopes of finding some different shells. We briefly scouted the area out on Wednesday afternoon and saw many different color variations of bivalves that we are not use to seeing on Captiva. We also found several shark eyes on Wednesday but many were too broken up to keep. The park opens at 8:00 a.m. The cost to enter the park is $6. There is about an 8 mile stretch of beach with several access and parking areas along the way. There are two large parking areas with shelters and restroom along the beach in the park and several smaller parking with access to beach along the 8 mile stretch of the park. The restroom and shelter areas were well maintained. There are a lot of dunes ...
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? ...
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...
Another trip down Life's Highway. This year our path was altered by the fact that I'm now retired and maintaining a schedule is no longer required. It feels so good to be free at last. There were no Beach Angels with us on this trip, and not our usual visit with Paradise, mainly because Paradise is currently recovering from hurricane Ian. We did stop in to check on her (Paradise) and see how she was doing. We were not prepared to see what we saw. It's been 8 months since Hurricane Ian landed in Paradise. While the people of this small community have done alot of work to clear much of the debris, the damage done is still very evident today. As you drive across the island, you can now see buildings that you never knew existed before. In the past, those structures would have been concealed in a thick blanket of tropical vegetation, which is now gone. While some vegetation is staging a comeback, the Category 4 winds of Ian and the saltwater surge...
Manatees behind Green Flash Well we made it back home. Reality is setting back in only a few short days till back to the daily grind. I have posted several pictures from the week. We get to have our annual contest and decide which ones get blown up and framed to hang on the wall till next years visit. It gives us something to look forward to while we are waiting.
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