SunSetVenice
jerrymichele
Capt Bob in back
rodeo
frogcatchingride
SandHillCranes
turkeyoncar
gopherturtle
March 2-March 10
One Step At A Time
Remember the last time about Up is Down and Down is Up? Well, I think we got that figured out, now to work on the backing in thing. Pulled into this very quaint mobile home park, Venice Ranch, where most of the homes here are probably 20 years old. Of course, the first spot we were directed to would not do so Ty had to back up a whole block and turn ‘er around to go down another street to another spot. And then the lawn chairs come out and people sit with their drinks to watch the show. Following the YouTube videos, we get out inspect the site and planned our attack. If it weren’t for mailboxes we would have been in in a snap. But no, pull in pull out can’t make the turn, yikes where did that palm tree come from. Finally, Bob (another Bob but this one speaks English) tells us that most people pull in from the other direction because they don’t have to fight with the mailboxes or tree. We try that and it is no problem. We’ll get it before the year is up.
Last But Not Least
Spent the night with Jerry and Michele LeAnderson on Englewood Island. Jerry is Ty’s sailing buddy and they have a beautiful home on Leelanau Peninsula Michigan, but it’s too cold there right now so they are in sunny Florida for a spell. Englewood Island is on the gulf side and the only way to get onto the island is by ferry. We chose to ride our bikes on the ferry because it is only $10 each as oppose to $55 for car. Besides, the island is small with only one restaurant and a small convenience store that Ty was able to get a 6-pack of Corona for $19!!!!! I might have to take away his credit card for awhile if he keeps that spending up. Anyway, had a nice visit albeit too short however we made summer plans for sailing and visiting longer.
Had another overnight stay with John and Sandy to pick up our mail and some packages that we had delivered. It is really hard to go completely paperless when we make the request to only use our email, we then get a mailed confirmation notice to go paperless. Not sure what yahoo thought up that process. Anyway John’s friend, Capt’n Bob takes us on a nice boat ride down the river that cuts through Fl. Did you know that Fl bottom half is a island? By definition an island is surrounded by water and that is the case with Fl. Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and a river/canal that was man made that extends from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Trivia answer for you! And we went to the rodeo – there is no rest when with John and Sandy.
Jerry and Michele conclude our visits with friends in Florida. Since we are hanging around this sunny warm weather till April will hopefully see my brother and wife, John and Sandy and hopefully John and Sylvia who are in the Keys as Ty and Tessa are coming down for spring break the last week of March and we will be staying in Homestead.
Venice is nice, has restaurants all along Main Street with lots of out door seating, we actually took advantage of watching sunsets then eating afterwards indoors. Found a nice 5 mile hike and rode our bikes for 18 miles down a Rails-To-Trails. Venice has a knock out train station that has been freshly painted but it is for looks only as you can’t get in, no trains anymore and no other transportation uses the facility. It is a shame really as it is so beautiful that I am sure a restaurant or something could make a go of it.
Make New Friends, Some Are Silver and Some Are Gold
Learned that saying in Girl Scouts – can’t really distinguish between the silvers and gold friends because to us they are all Platinum. Traveling around FL visiting all of our friends, the ones from old neighborhoods, new neighborhoods, no neighborhoods but friends of friends, enjoying every stay getting to know them, some again and some for the first time. Hearing about what they are up to, their families, their beliefs, their illnesses– it is what makes us blessed. Thankful really that they are all so different, many have very different point of views than us, many are much more religious than us, many are much more conservative than us and yet we love them all very much and they make us better for what they bring to our table. Good to know you friends and thankful you are in our lives.
Animal Life
We are intrigued by the birds and reptiles that we have come across. The Wood Storks and their croaky squawk, the Ibis as they roam around like chickens everywhere, the Sandhill Cranes – which are one huge bird, Turkeys on cars and Ospreys (watched one dive into shallows, come up with fish but was too big to carry off). Can’t forget the silly Pelicans with their nose dives but are so elegant to watch when they are in a flock just skimming over the ocean.
You know my thought on the Iguanas but we haven’t seen many here in Venice, maybe too far north which I don’t mind. We have seen a lot of Gopher Tortoise which actually dig holes in the ground and live there. Ty uncovered his bike to go riding and a toad was attached to his handlebars.
Still lots of alligators
Ahh Sunny Fresh
Many have asked what do we do about laundry. Most campsites have laundry facilities with washer and dryers AND clothes lines. I finally tried my hand in hanging up clothes (mainly because I didn’t have enough change for the dryer) and was pleasantly surprised how wonderful the clothes come out!! The sun is mighty hot here and a nice breeze make for a great drying combo. I don’t think I ever hung out clothes like underwear, socks, shirts etc before – always been a dryer lady.
Was It Up? No Down!
Will go to Arcadia FL for two weeks – it is more inland so we will begin to explore and hopefully do more hiking and biking. But before we could get there we had to hitch up Wanda. So we debate, up or down and down is the winner but by how much and where is the point to start measuring. So after Ty gets the truck backed in straight (he must be only looking out of one eye cause it took several trips to line up, I’d volunteer to do it, but this is the “man’s portion of the job”, we gingerly started the “coupling” process and figuring out just how far down really is. 45 minutes later (this should be a 5 minute procedure) and very sweaty from the heat we start down the road – and we learned to stow all the fly-aways inside the cab of truck. Who says you can’t train an old dog!!!
Mark Your Calendars!
April 9-16 will be in Colorado visiting family and anyone else that wants to see us. Plus, will be slepping back more stuff that we brought with us, but don’t need. We’ve already sent back our primitive camping stuff and will bring back the tent. Ty doesn’t think we will use it (thank the powers that be on that one!)