17 Mar 2014 - Where will I put all the stuff?

Water Lilly in the Asian Garden at Naples Botanical Gardens.

There were HUGE Tarpon fish hanging around the dock in Key West, waiting for fish scraps.

Leaving Key West in our (considerable) wake.

Sue and Wayne at Clam Pass waiting for sunset.

Our landlady sent us an e-mail today: she has rented the condo from 2 Apr so must recant her offer to let us stay an additional week. It's a disappointment but we will probably take a few extra days to travel home and visit a couple of places on the 'list'. As much as we'll hate leaving, the pull of home is starting to creep in. The bottom line however....if there is a major snow storm in Ottawa on 31 Mar, I will be living on the beach in Daytona!

Al and Sue (Jen's parents) spent a few days with us last week and we enjoyed having them so much. They had been with friends in Orlando and came down  to see us. We got to the beach so that Sue could collect some shells which I suspect will re-appear on their beach at the cottage in order that 4 little girls can also enjoy the experience. The weather was fantastic and we got to see the baby Osprey that are growing every day.

We also took the Key West Express to.....Key West....for the day. We had to get up early and be on the road in order to get on the boat in Fort Meyers and it was quite a trip! The boat is double-hulled (like a catamaran) and holds about 400 people. There were 4 jet-like engines that pushed it through the water at nearly 50 mph, which really moves it through the water. It took about 4 hrs to get there and we were comfortable in nice seats and watched movies and snoozed. Once we got there we took the tourist train through town to see all the sights and then had a nice lunch. There were 2 cruise ships and therefore lots of people traffic to navigate on a very hot day. We got back on the boat for the trip home and as much as we enjoyed it, agreed that if we did it again, the visit would be for a least 1 night.

The visit to see the Manatees was less successful...they were nowhere to be seen when we visited Manatee Park. Last year they were jammed into the pool near the power plant but not a one this year! The water was also dark...not sure if it was the water or reflection off the bottom...so we would have had a hard time seeing them anyway. I must look on the blog for the year we went and see if perhaps it was earlier and/or the weather had been cooler which traditionally draws them to the power plant for the warmer water. We got over the disappointment though...Sue and I hit the outlet mall and the guys did Bass Pro Shop. She had a couple of items she still wanted for the little girls....they will be the best dressed kids in Ottawa and Aurora....and we had a nice lunch at the mall.

Al and Sue are so easy to be with and the time went all too fast. Wayne and I sure have lots of fun together and love to do lots of things together but after a couple of months here we were both happy to have someone else to bore with our stories. Al and Wayne go to the gym regularly at home and putter in the workshop so they were happy to catch up and make promises for new goals at the gym.

There were lots of St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the area but I've had a bit of a stomach bug which required me to be 'close to home' so we didn't get to enjoy any green suds. Tomorrow is the Major Haircut Day...I'm getting it sheared off as the first of a few experiments in easy-peasy cuts for Africa. We are back in Ft Myers to get one more set of baseball tickets for Friday and I think it will be our last visit for this year. There are a few place we still have to go....the Naples Zoo, Sanabel and Pine Islands, and any restaurant in Tin City. Oh...and the town called Ava Maria (honest to God....lol).

We got to video visit with our babies this week. Ty and Tori were so excited to tell us all about their holiday in Mexico and Gillian and Olivia giggled and laughed and blew lots of kisses. Olivia is starting to talk and now says 'Papa' so there were two very excited Grandfather's when that came out. Tori turns 4 this week, Ty has more empty spaces than teeth right now and Gillian is evidently missing her Honey.

There are only a couple of more meetings of the writer's group before we all leave for our homes 'up North'. One girl actually lives here but the rest of us just come for the winter. The Botanical Gardens is closing for the summer to finish up some major renovations and we are hoping that they will find a room for us to meet next winter as we have convinced them our Writer's Group will enhance the garden's vision of promoting the arts. It has been so rewarding and enjoyable and I will miss the girls.

That's our life in Naples. Hopefully the weather at home is showing some...any...sign of improvement. Until next time, hugs and kisses all around.

CONDO UPDATE: landlady just sent another e-mail and we are good to stay until 3 Apr so potential Daytona arrest for vagrancy has been eliminated.