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
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...
Waking up before alarm goes off at zero dark thirty a.k.a. 2:00 a. m.: check Hot shower and a shave: check Cooler iced and ready for action: check Last minute items loaded in truck: check iPod loaded with tunes and podcast for the trip: check Tall Tall cup of coffee which I will regret later: check Carry the sleeping beach angels to the truck try not to wake them or they'll turn into devils: check,check Say goodbye to the dogs, cats and other family members not fortunate enough to deploy on this mission: check, check, check Load the wife in the truck: no need to check she wouldn't miss it for the world even if it meant sleeping overnight in the truck! So we deploy this mission on time actually 1 hour earlier than we would mormally leave. Everything is going great until! We live in a rural area it's about a 40-50 mile drive over back roads to get to the interstate we need to get on. No problem, ac...
One of our Beach Angels "Taylor" had a rare find while on Captiva this year. She found an Imperial Venus shell! Thanks to "Shellady" for confirming the find. "Taylor" A.K.A Beach Angel Imperial Venus 2015 You might remember the story I told you all awhile back about Taylor's fascination at a younge age with collecting rocks. To most of us just plain old rocks. She would collect them from around my Koi pond, NaNa's garden or sometimes maybe in the middle of a gravel parking lot. ...
S0 I have been up around 6 all week. This morning was no different except I needed to be extra quiet because sometime during the night I got room visitors. There were two Beach Angels sleeping on my floor! Why they would give up their bed for the floor beats me. Looks Comfy doesn't It So with camera in hand I headed down to the dock to capture some shots of the Sunrise. I would normally have my photographer in tow but due to her bum ankle I'm on this mission alone. I wanted to also head over to the Beach and walk down to Blind Pass. Another First this year capturing more Sunrises than Sunsets For some reason when it comes to the ocean I'm like that kid you tell to stay out of the water puddle. If I'm near it I'm gonna get in in it. What usually starts out as ankle deep ends up being knee deep in no time. Just me and the relaxing sound of the waves to serenade me as I put on my best "Shell Whisperer" impressio...
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, ...
We are staying on Grassy Key, it's one of 13 islands that make up Marathon. The house is right on the water on the Gulf side. The view from our house The water in this area is relatively shallow, and the pier on the right is part of the property. Looking forward to some stunning sunsets. I hope to see plenty of wildlife as the waters here are very clear, and it's easy to see the bottom. The house on Marathon The street we are located on is very quiet and the houses next to us are vacant. It makes it feel like our own little personal paradise. After getting things unloaded, we go out to check out the pier and about halfway down the pier, we ge...
Is it a destination? After all, as the name implies you might think of it as a physical location. Perhaps it’s a State of Mind. Your self-reflection reveals a calming relaxed state and that makes you happy. It could be a memory t hat thought that’s locked deep inside your mind. It could of happen yesterday, last week , or 20 years ago something from a past time. It was special then and when the times right that memory comes to you like it just happen and it makes you smile; it is taking you to your “Happy Place”. It could be an activity. It brings you great joy. It's not something you take for granted its special. For me it’s all those things. The destination: 26.527578, -82.194817 those coordinates will take you to my “Happy Place” also known as Captiva Island Florida. Some good friends introduced us to this island paradise years ago...
So I found something I forgot to put on my Beach Bum requirement list! BUG SPRAY, Don't forget the BUG SPRAY! On Sunday our arrival day we got a text from the rental company saying the house was ready for check in early. The office is not open on Sunday but they have an after hours key pickup. This was great news, so as soon as we arrived on island we stopped and picked up the house keys and proceeded to the house. One small issue with the keys, they don't open the door! Thankfully they did have an afterhours phone number and John the maintenance man was about 1/2 hour away, he was able to get us into the house. In the time we are waiting for John the no-see-ums proceed to snack and continues to snack on me the next day as well. My legs look like I got measles. Just a price a Beach Bum has to pay for paradise. Benadryl itching cooling spray is a god send, no-see-ums are not. Leg Measles! A.K.A. No-See-Ums Our first week a...
Well as you can guess by the title of the post it is 4th of July. Now close your eyes and concentrate real hard. Can you hear it? The sound of the surf. I'm posting today from the beach. Looks like today will be the best beach day so far. Carol and I started the day off at Amy's Over Easy for some breakfast. The crowds were already gathering for the annual 4th of July parade. Carol says "B is before P" so beach it is. We finished breakfast about five minutes before the parade was about to begin. We headed back to Captiva. Besides if all the people are at the parade the beach will be all to ourselves right? WRONG! The beach was packed I have never been here and seen so many people. Doesn't matter though its still a beautiful day. Today we even got to set up the beach canopy so I knew we would be in for a longer visit. Its funny watching all the people come to the beach. You have the minimal...
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....
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