Florida 2019

 Florida 2019

Friday, December 28, 2018

My bags are packed, just to put my toiletries in my overnight tomorrow morning.  I was relaxing, watching TV, when I remembered that I had one piece of fairy food in my china cabinet.  I took one bite and broke my front tooth.  I called an emergency dental office, but at 8:30 p.m. there was no way that they could take care of me.  The receptionist suggested that I call tomorrow morning if there would be an opening, but with no guarantee; it is a walk-in operation.  I called Peter and we will just go with my broken tooth and hope to find a dentist in Bonita Springs.

Saturday, December 29, 2018  7:56 am.  Mileage, 16216.16

We are leaving on a bright clear day towards Jefferson to have breakfast before visiting Lilly.  We stopped for breakfast at 4 Sisters in Jefferson before visiting Lilly.  Peter had a plant to give to a very frail Lilly.  We had a nice short visit and were back on the road at 10:15 am.

Driving was smooth with no incident or misdirection.  Traffic was moderate and the roads were excellent.   We stopped for gas at the Hen House Restaurant expecting the menu to be loaded with chicken dishes.  The special of the day was pot roast, and there were maybe two other items that included chicken. We each had a hardy bowl of chili that should tide us over for a while.  I drove for the next few hours until it was getting dark when Peter drove the last hour to the Candlewood Suites in Paducah.  We had trouble finding our hotel expecting a Holiday Inn logo.  It was off the road that had very little lighting.  The room has everything for housekeeping, which we put to use.  We had beer, Polish sausage, summer sausage, salad, egg, cheese and apple, with Laura's cookies for dessert.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

We were up at 6:30 am, made coffee in our room, cleaned up and packed up the car.  After gassing up, it was already 8:00 am, and since we were in a hub with plenty of food choices, we had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel.  I started driving at 9:15 am, until a gas station 2 hours later when Peter took over the driving.   57 degrees at 11:30. Driving continues to be good, with some backups near larger cities.  We were rerouted near Nashville.  We had occasional stops, alternating driving with some occasional misty drizzle, but nothing of consequence.  We are getting hungry, having had only a light breakfast, and we're both looking forward to the Mandarin restaurant we were at last year.  As we were anticipating this great meal Peter noticed a Golden Corral, but "unfortunately " we were in the wrong lane.

We got to a very nice Holiday Inn Express in Macon, GA on the bypass.  We got to our room and located the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant 17 miles away.  It was worth the trip. While we were looking over the menu Janice called; she thought we were still at home.  I started out with a dry martini and ordered pea pod shrimp; Peter had green pepper beef.  I polished mine off with just some rice to spare, which Peter combined with his take-home.  We had a very enjoyable day. 

Monday, December 31, 2018

We were up at 5:30 and were down to breakfast by 6:15. There was a nice assortment to choose from.  We are on the road at 7:15, very foggy and dark.  There was a fog advisory from Atlanta to Macon.  With the fog was light mist, just enough to put the wipers on the lowest setting.  I drove when the skies cleared with stops along the way.  Even though the temperature was high enough for a picnic, we decided to pass on a wayside picnic.  We'd have to take things out of the car and set up our lunch.  Hamburgers at McDonald's would fit the bill nicely.  We got a call from Patti that we should not arrive before 5:30 PM.  We were making very good time so we'd have to figure out how to kill some time.  We got to Publix at about 3:30, got our supplies, then drove to Doc's to have a beer for Peter and a wine for me until sunset at 5:45.

When we got to the condo, the sunset group was still out, so we had a nice reunion.  It really is nice how we are welcomed.  What a transformation in our condo:  the entire bathroom is redone and we can't use the shower for 24 hours, that's probably why they wanted us in later.  New bed spread, and I think carpeting in the bedroom. As we are unpacking we had to go on the patio to watch the fireworks, what a great show.  I'm so glad we could come in a day early. I've got champagne cooling, but no way are we going to wait until midnight to welcome in the New Year after being up since 5:30.  So we popped the bubbly and enjoyed some snacks before hitting the sack.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

I had a very restful night, the bed is very comfortable.  We had a light breakfast of cereal, because we'd be at the brunch at 10:00 am; I thought it was 11.  Peter said that couples were already taking down platters of food, so I got busy and made a platter of summer sausage, cheese spread and crackers.  We met Tom and Patti, and a number of other people that we knew.  We sat with Colleen, her son Terry and his wife Doreen, who was very talkative about her brother stationed in Germany, her German heritage, and suggested places to go while we're here,  especially Shark Valley and Tigertail.  We started putting chairs away and cleaning up  by 11:15 am.  I looked up some dentists that I'll call tomorrow.   I wrote to Annika.  We are having trouble getting the TV to work.  I managed to get one channel and we're afraid to turn off the TV for fear of not getting started again, so it was on all night.  

I went down to the pool and was in the water for an hour before Peter came down.  It was very sunny, the water great.  I read by the pool and moved in the shade until about 4:00 PM.

  Bob came to get our TV to work and it was simply pressing the very tiny TV button, not the power button.  We were using other remotes and never would have figured out such a simple solution.  We watched the Rose Bowl game and during half time warmed up Peter's take-home Mandarin Chinese dinner, which was sufficient for both of us with rye bread, grapes, cookies and hot tea.

Wednesday,  January 2, 2019

Another beautiful day awaits us.  While Peter was walking, I answered a knock on the door where two men offered us a doughnut, a very large piece of bakery; one of the men was John.  After an omelet with vegetable, yogurt with banana and a piece of the bakery, I called and was able to get an appointment at Pelican Landing Dental tomorrow at 8:50 am.  It is some distance away, and Peter suggested we ask Janet the manager if she could suggest a dentist when we pay our condo fee.  She made a suggestion, I called, left a message, called back and they could take me on Friday.  I'll keep my original appointment.  I spent time in and out of the pool on a gorgeous day.

Thursday,  January 3, 2019

We were at Pelican Landing Dental early to complete paper work.  The facility is very large with many dentists, receptionists and staff.  After the hygienist took X Rays, Dr. Eric assessed my damage and gave me some options of what should be done; I did not choose the implant for $7000, which would extend a couple of months of treatment.  I would need a root canal and fortunately the specialist was in today, if I cared to stay.  I definitely wanted to proceed.  We had breakfast at Early Start which confirms my aversion to having breakfast at a restaurant.   It was noisy and the Belgian waffles were soggy.  We had plenty of good coffee and water and good service.  We were back for the root canal at 11:20, with a lot of assurances that it should be no problem.  I had excellent attention and felt no pain.  We were leaving about 12:30.

We swam and stayed at the pool until it was time to drive to Lovers Key State Park for some music on the beach.  We parked and walked some distance to where a tram took us down to the beach where a large number were gathered.  We found a picnic table and Peter bought a couple of hot dogs while we listened to blue grass/folk music.  We watched the sunset, then walked back to the tram.  It was a nice little outing.

Friday, January 4, 2019

We have the most useless coffee maker.  The water doesn't flow through or else spills on the counter.  Peter thought he had figured it out, but we still had water/coffee messing up the counter.  We are planning to buy a different one.

Spent time in the pool on a sunny, warm, breezy day.  We drove to the dental office for my 3:30 PM appointment.  Good thing it was at 3:30 and not 3:20 as I thought, otherwise we would have been late because we were  following a garbage truck and we were barely moving on our road. I was taken immediately when I walked in by Terry, who got me ready for Dr. Eric.  The injections were more painful than the previous one for the root canal; he injected in the front and back.  Then came the drilling.....very, very long.  Both Terry and Dr. Eric said that I was a very good patient and Dr. Eric appreciated how I held so still.  I got out after 5:00 PM with a temporary crown and a numb mouth.  We went to Goodwill next to Winn Dixie and  bought a 12-cup Sunbeam coffee maker for $6.00; hopefully we'll have better luck. Then we went to Mel's Diner on Tamiami and waited about 30 minutes for a table.  That place was packed.  I ordered a $3.00 martini and Bay Shrimp; Peter had blackened salmon.  Mine was very tasty.  A woman across from us, who looked almost Iranian, asked if we got corn muffins.  She gave Peter one and said he reminded her of her father.  Then she gave us two more, which were very good.  When we got home I just rested on the couch.  My mouth is rather sore.   I took a few baby aspirins before going to bed.

Friday,  January 5, 2019

I had a restful night and my tooth feels as natural as my own, with no pain or discomfort.  We had oatmeal for breakfast.  The coffee maker worked fine, but I need to use a larger filter, also the plate does not keep the coffee warm.  Peter needed to pay his AAA credit card and thought it was the bill for our trip.  I checked my AAA account and my payment was rejected again.  I called customer service and I did not enter the entire account number.  The agent put in the correct numbers and I should be all set.

We went to the Farmers Market on a cool, windy day.  We bought a pretzel and squash; I was really looking for a larger zucchini for stuffing, and a woman said she'd have one next week.  Peter used the rest room at De Romo's and came out telling me what a great place it was.  It looked like a restaurant, but it had a deli, butcher, bakery and many special foods.  We bought a shrimp salad and a kale salad. 

We were on our way home when Peter had to turn back when he asked if there was anything else we needed.  Back to Publix for a few more items. 

The wind is pretty strong on the beach, Peter closed our balcony door.  I'm doing some laundry. That shrimp salad was really loaded with shrimp, no pasta, and the kale salad was good, too.  That, together with the pretzel, was a good meal.  I watched PBS, then we watched the Cowboys beat the Seahawks.

Sunday,  January 6, 2019

Up early with French toast for breakfast.  I programmed the coffee maker last night and we had good coffee when we woke up.  Church was packed, still decorated for Christmas.

We stayed later to take pictures.  One man took our picture and another noticed that the first man held the phone crooked and offered to take a better one. 

Cool morning,  breezy. The air was cool, but the pool is warm, where I swam for an hour and sat in the sun.  I got a little too red.  We watched playoffs and saw the Bears lose by a heartbreaking missed field goal.  We were watching the Golden Globes, but I could not relate to the people or what films were nominated or won.  Went to bed early.

Monday,  January 7, 2019

I slept like a log, got up well rested.   It is starting out as a beautiful day. We are considering a different location for next year, perhaps Alabama; shorter travel, later in February, and not an entire month.  We were in and out of the pool.  A very pleasant day, ending with sunset.

Tuesday,  January 8, 2019 

We did shopping at Ace for some hardware to take out the squeaks in the bed frame, Dollar Store for a couple of items and Publix for more groceries, including a broasted chicken.  We were in the pool until about 3:30 when I started to fix dinner.  Our meal schedule is difficult with irregular times and trying not to eat too much.  I found some nice properties in Alabama to rent by owner.  We joined the group for a lovely sunset.

Wednesday,  January 9, 2019

A clear, cool morning,  should not get up to 80 degrees.  I made reservations for two weeks in February, 2020, for a condo in Gulf Shores, AL.  Peter played bocce ball and his side lost by one point.  It was a perfect day to go to the Naples Botanical Gardens, slightly overcast and not too hot.  It was magnificent.  There were glass sculptures throughout the gardens balancing on balls in water. 

There were many horticultural areas: Caribbean, Asian, succulents, Florida and some outlying trails.  We walked until about 1:00 PM, then stopped for lunch at the café.  We each had a salad that we ate outdoors, and then we continued to finish our visit.  The sun got hotter, but it was an ideal day.  Peter really enjoyed it also.  Peter went down for sunset, but didn't stay long; not too many there and it was cold.  I made chicken sandwiches and we played dominoes.  Peter won by one game.

Thursday,  January 10, 2019

52 degrees at 8:00 am, sunny.

Good thing we did what we did yesterday.  It's good to capitalize on the day. Got up to only 60 degrees and very breezy. I stayed in all day; Peter ventured poolside late afternoon until it was time to go to Fig's Grill for the early bird special: two entrees with a bottle of wine. Peter had lentil soup, I had Caesar salad.   Peter had pasta with meat sauce, I had linguini scampi, I took a lot of linguini home.  It is a very long evening because we ate so early.  I'm having a hard time keeping my Kindle upright, Peter is watching TV in the bedroom.

Friday,  January 11, 2019

Today looks like it will be a lot warmer than yesterday.  Alice called to play pickleball at 1:00 pm;  it really warmed up by then.  There were only the three of us, so we just practiced hitting the ball back and forth with Alice and me against Peter.   It was a good workout for an hour.  The pool was pleasant enough to be in for almost an hour, then some sunning.  I fixed a light supper of left-over pork chops, a couple of fried red potatoes,  and watermelon before joining the sunset group, it was lovely.

Saturday,  January 12, 2019

We were out of the house by about 9:15, heading to the Farmers market.  We bought a lot of nice produce; I hope not too much.  Next, we went to the tennis and pickleball store and bought fanny packs to hold pickleballs.  Alice had one and they really came in handy instead of shagging balls so frequently.  We bought a newspaper at Ace, and finished our shopping at Pubix.  After lunch we sat at the pool but didn't go in.  I made a hardy chicken salad  that we had during Divisional playoff games. 

Sunday,  January 13, 2019

Another gorgeous day.  We went to 9:30 mass and stopped off for the paper. I returned Jay's call while he was running his car at my house.  He said that Dolly craves attention and won't stop circling his feet.  He also found a brush to groom her. I wrote to Annika and read the paper. We went to the Bonita Springs Art Festival, did a lot of walking through almost all of the stands. 

I bought a cute print of a toilet roll. 

We got home just in time to watch the Saints beat the Eagles 20 - 14.  Relaxed the rest of the evening.  It was a long day.

Monday,  January 14, 2019

Very cool and breezy.  Stayed indoors all day.  Had to escape to the bedroom when Peter Skyped with Lothar. They yell like they are trying to  communicate without Skype.  Played dominoes. 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Bright and breezy.  Played pickleball with Alice and Deanna. Did laundry, nothing much else.

Wednesday,  January 16. 2019

Peter played bocce ball, but obviously didn't do well because he came back in a grumpy mood.  Cheryl from AAA called while he was gone and apologized for not returning my call yesterday; she said she had problems.  Peter was on hold with Walgreen's for a very long time to have his prescription refilled; we decided to drive there.  We paid the balance of our Ireland trip.  It didn't take long to get to the pharmacist at Walgreen's, but there is a delay in getting it refilled.  We picked up a free paper at Ace, but that was the last "free" one.  Peter got a battery for his watch at Batteries Plus, then almost $100 of groceries at Publix. But that included beer, coffee and spices.  I think we should be tapering off in the future.  I made a big pot of TexMex chili that should provide a few meals.  We went to the Wednesday sunset group with a bowl of grapes.  There was a nice assortment of appetizers; you could fill up if you wanted to.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

A nice sunny day, we had to remove our jackets playing pickleball with Alice and her house guest John and Deanna. The game was testy at times with Peter's criticism of my play and my deriding his score keeping.  Alice wanted no talking during play.  We had a light lunch then headed to the Six Mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers.  We paid $3.00 for 3 hours of parking.  We joined a docent-led tour, then realized it was only for people who signed up. I went back to the starting point and got a self-guided tour booklet that explained features along the way as we went from marker to marker.  It was an absolutely perfect day for this outing.  We walked along a boardwalk that went through wetlands, ponds, various vegetation, with sightings of wildlife along the way. 

A woman spotted a black snake that most eyes would have missed. 

The trail was about 1.5 miles, very level with outlooks at various points.  People with disabilities had no difficulty.  We were there about two hours before heading to the Three Fishermen Restaurant in Fort Myers.  It was early, but we each had a drink, taking advantage of Happy Hour; I had a Margarita, Peter a beer.  We sat outdoors, and it didn't take long for the place to fill up. We finally ordered scallops for me, blackened salmon for Peter with another round of drinks.  Mine was delicious except for the beans from the can; Peter took half of his salmon in a box.  We picked up Peter's prescription at Walgreen's and were home by about 7:00 pm.

Friday,  January 18. 2019

The day started out cool.  Peter took his daily walk before breakfast, then played bocce ball.  I drove to Pelican Landing Dental for my 11:40 am appointment.  After following a garbage truck at my last appointment, I took no chances and left very early  and got there at 11:20. I was taken earlier.  The hygienist had difficulty removing the temporary crown, and was pulling pretty hard, when Dr. Heisser took over by splitting the tooth.  The new tooth feels great and smooth.  There was some cleaning up and adjusting, also an X Ray.  But I am very satisfied. 

The shuffleboard tournament was in progress when I got back.  Peter played one round and he made it to the second, after which he was eliminated. We stayed until the finals past 3:00 PM.  By that time we were both pretty hungry, but didn't know if we wanted a light lunch or a hardy supper.  We settled for chili that I thinned with some V8.  We sat at the pool until a gorgeous sunset, but didn't join the group.

Saturday,  January 19, 2019

I was dressed too warm for pickleball; I got pretty heated up playing with Alice and her friend John,  along with Peter.  It was more laid back than last time, with no harsh words.  We played for little more than an hour.  We cooled off in our condo until we went to the pool.  I was in the water for an hour.  The air was cool coming out, with the sun hidden behind clouds.  The forecast for tomorrow is much colder, so we had to take advantage of the day.

Sunday,  Jan 20, 2019

It thundered during the night and Peter got up to close the outdoor blinds; we had a little water, but not much.  The rain stopped by the time we went to church but it was still cold and very windy. 

The waves were strong and the palm trees were bending. We did a little shopping.  I wrote to Annika, continued reading Financier that I downloaded yesterday.  It took longer than I expected since I had to enter the condo's wifi code.  We watched the Rams beat the Saints, but couldn't watch the Chiefs against the Patriots because CBS was still off our system. I used Peter's leftover salmon to make a hardy salad for supper.

Monday, January 21, 2019

A very cool day, made use of it by getting a manicure.  While I was making my appointment, Tom Breyer called about arranging payment and next year.  Before he had the chance to quote the price, I told him that we are making other plans for next year.  No further discussion.  We will pay our balance at the pot luck party on Thursday.  Peter took me to my 1:00 PM appointment to K & L Nails.  The operator convinced me to get a dipping powder manicure; I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was quite a different procedure.  Instead of putting polish on my nails, he first put a clear coat and dipped each nail in powder. He repeated this with a minute under a light for each hand.  It was a very nice job.

We sat by the pool for a while in the afternoon.

Tuesday,  January 22, 2019

Pickleball with Alice and John.  I sat by the pool before lunch; it was getting too hot.  After lunch  I went in the pool. it was too cold.  I was freezing in my wet suit and went indoors.  I made Oriental Beef which took a while, but should last a couple of meals.

Wednesday,  January 23, 2019

Peter played bocce ball and seemed pretty satisfied with himself. It got to 80 degrees by 2:00 PM, just as forecast.  I went in the pool before it got that warm, and the water was cold.  We sat at the pool after lunch until we took a ride to Fort Myers Beach and dinner at Heidi's. 

 We were warned of a 26 minute traffic delay.  It took us an hour to get there in extremely slow and completely stopped traffic. Heidi's is very neat and Heidi greeted us warmly.  I had a pilsner beer, Peter had a bottle.  The special of the day was Burgundy beef with spaetzli and red cabbage, Peter had meat loaf.  There was nothing left on my plate, it was so delicious. 

We also shared a strudel and took a cup of liver dumpling soup home.  We stopped for fruit on the way home.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Stormy morning, a good day to do laundry.  The appliances are so slow it took me most of the day to do just four loads. It cleared up as the day progressed, but we stayed in all day.  There wasn't even enough time to go a movie.  Ended the day with dominoes.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Peter played bocce  ball. I sat at the pol with my jacket on and finished my 15th cap.  I made a celery salad for tonight's January party; I was pleased with the results, even though it wasn't Laura's recipe.  I paid Tom the $3500. balance for our rental.  We had a full table with Tom, Patti, Mary, Bob, Jean, Gaspare, and a couple from New York. We were there a total of two hours. I was comfortable with long pants, double jackets and shoes and stockings, not sandals.

Saturday January 26, 2019

Pickleball with Alice, John and Deanna.  Peter was really hot in one game, but fizzled when we played together.  The day was gray all day; we stayed in.  Heavy rains are forecast for the weekend with strong winds, but Wisconsin has dangerously cold weather.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Rain going to church, after church, all day long, sometimes heavy.  We had to keep the blinds down which made our condo dark. We did some light grocery shopping after church, keeping our pantry on the slim side so we don't have to take too much back with us.  We watched the Pro bowl game and didn't do much else.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Cold morning; too cold for bocce ball. We took a walk and my calves hurt.  We played two games of shuffleboard and I won them both.  I was having trouble pushing far enough until I discovered that I had more power by taking a longer stride with my left foot. The sun struggled to come out, but we are escaping Wisconsin's record breaking freezing temperatures. 

Tuesday,  January 29, 2019

Very calm cool day for pickleball, but we were shedding our jackets as the games progressed, last game with our group. I told them that we wouldn't be back next year. I did some personal laundry then we spent time at the pool, but it was too cool to go in the water.  We had 7:00 PM reservations at Fresh Catch, and after the slow ride we had going to Heidi's the other night, we left at 5:45 to be sure we got there on time.  As luck would have it, there were were no traffic delays and we got there at 6:00 pm.  We were seated immediately at a table with a nice view.  If we came for 7 we never would have seen the beautiful sky.  I had a martini, Peter a beer and we had a basket of very crusty warm bread with olive and basil.  Peter ordered blackened salmon,

I had scallops done to perfection. 

We shared a key lime pie with coffee.  We stopped at Publix for a pizza for tomorrow's supper.  It was a lovely day.

Wednesday,  January 30, 2019

Worked on cleaning up the kitchen.  Peter was able to get in a game of bocce ball.  We each have our big suitcases packed and ready for the car.  The sun made a feeble effort, but nothing promising, but it did hit 70 degrees. Bitter cold grips the Midwest.  MPS is still closed. Peter put the big suitcases in the car.  We joined the Wednesday Sunset group with Kaukauna cheese and crackers. We got robbed of the sunset with heavy cloud cover, but it was still pleasant.  Just about everyone knows that we won't be coming back next year.  We got fond farewells and some gave us credit for being adventuresome.  We took showers before going to bed and put the towels and other linens in the washer.

Thursday, January 31, 2019

When I got up at 5:30 am I put the wash load in the dryer.  We stripped the bedding and did that wash also.  We cleaned out the frig and all last minute packing and are in the car ready to take off at 7:40 a.m., 56 degrees. We stopped at Perkins for breakfast and waited a long time for our coffee and longer for our eggs, which were cold by the time we got them.  They made them fresh with more coffee.  Somebody's  car broke down was their excuse. We got a 20% discount off our bill.  It was almost a one-hour breakfast. Peter compared this to the breakfast we eat at home. Peter drove until the Georgia welcome center, then I drove the rest of the way. The entire trip was very good with clear skies and moderate traffic.  We got to the Holiday Inn Express in Macon, GA at 6:00pm.  We were putting our bags on the cart when Pam and her husband pulled up at the same time.  This is their regular stopover to and from St, Louis to the Florida condo.  After three tries our card didn't unlock our door, so we were given a suite at no extra charge.  We found a Mexican restaurant and ordered a fajita quesadilla to share; I had a Margarita. The dish was cut in two and I think my half had a more generous helping of beef.  I got to bed early, and didn't have the energy to open my book.

Friday,  February 1, 2019

I had a restful night, comfortable bed.  We had a pretty good breakfast and were on the road about 8:10 am., with ice crystals on the windshield. The sky is clear and bright,  traffic light, so far. We switched driving at the Tennessee Welcome Center, and I drove with some light sprinkles.  We gassed up at a Pilot in Murfreesboro, and had fish sandwiches at Arby, my first time at an Arby's and I won't repeat the experience.  Why people support these places baffles me. We stopped at an unusual visitors center in Paducah before going to our hotel.  It was a restored mansion and not the easiest to get to.

We rested when we got to our room. We almost could have walked to O'Charley's where I had a delicious bourbon and bacon filet, Peter had a sirloin. We were back in our room at 7:45.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Topped off the gas tank and were on our way at 8:22 a.m. driving in dense fog most of southern Illinois. I took over driving once it cleared up somewhere in Illinois and in that expansive flatland dining was scarce.  Peter wanted a family restaurant and we found Woody's Family Restaurant which was just what we wanted.  We each had burgers that came with soup, and we were very satisfied.  Once we got on I 39 we shut off the GPS because now all we had to look for was I 43.  I was driving and never saw it.  We were approaching Madison....Again!  Of course, I got an earful that I shouldn't have been driving so long.  We stopped at Lake Mills and switched drivers.  We should have been home two hours earlier.

Mileage 19679.