Life in Paradise

I started writing this post a few weeks ago shortly after the Looper Reunion had concluded and Pam had left me alone while she went to Arizona. Since then Pam returned and we've been enjoying life here in Florida. I'll try to get things back up to date without putting you to sleep.

Pam took off on the Monday following the Looper event. She flew from here to Cedar Rapids, Ia. where after a long layover she met up with LuAnn then, on to Mesa. They were met there by our friend Pam who gathered the two weary travelers and took them to her home.
The weather was good enough for them to hit the pool on Tuesday and then find a bar with music

I'm sure that's just water they're drinking.

Must have been firewater they were drinking!

Cheers!

Trouble comes in three's!

Beautiful sunsets.

Long desert highways.

High country lakes.

The girls soaked up the Arizona sun and Pam's hospitality until Friday when she kicked them both out! With nowhere to go they got on planes and returned home.

Pam's return flight took her from Phoenix to Houston to Ft. Myers. On both flights she had people beside her that talked to her for most of the flight. The gentleman beside her on the 2nd flight even played  Jeopardy with her on her Kindle. Seems that Pam always has someone telling her their life story when she flies. It's just the opposite for me. I barely get a greeting from my seat mates. Must be my scowling face that turns them off!

If you were wondering if I starved while Pam was away the answer is no. I was the guest of Rick & Sarah (M/V Private Affair) one night for dinner and Bru & Sandy (M/V Coconuts) another. There was even dinner on the dock one evening when John (M/V Root Beer Float) fried the fish that Marv & Carol (M/V Dee Light) brought back from their Bahamas trip. All of the meals were delicious and much appreciated.
I also stumbled down to Publix one afternoon and picked up some of their fried chicken which lasted for a couple of meals. It's amazing to me how many different things are now available in the stores for single servings. It makes it much easier for someone like me with no cooking skills to survive.

Pam returned to a clean boat with all the laundry done. Even the bed sheets! Further proving to her that she had married the right guy. At least in my opinion!

Since her return we have kept busy with a mix of boat chores and fun and even got Tourist out of the slip for a couple of days.

We found this pretzel one afternoon at the World of Beer.

Been able to Skype with the little ones.

Pam checking to make sure Bru has the lid on the blender secured.

We walked a few blocks to Pincher's where they had an antique boat display.

We even found my first boat motor, an Evinrude 3hp.

The motor rotates 180 degrees for reverse.

Last week we took Tourist down to Ft. Myers Beach to pick up John & Jean Carlson who were in town and were splitting their time between us and friends at the beach.
Our intention was to pick up a mooring ball for a couple of nights but when we arrived all moorings were full. The first time ever that we've encountered that. After weighing our options I made a call to the Matanzas Inn which has a few docks and found that they had one end slip open for the time we wanted. The price was good and the location great. Before long we were tied up and plugged in.

The Matanzas Inn greeting committee.

The first night we strolled down to Times Square to meet John & Jean.

We not only found the Carlson's but also Randy Droessler and Ron Tigges, from home  performing at one of the local haunts.

The next day we met up with everyone at the Cottage Bar for an afternoon of music and libation. There must have been 50 to 60 people there from our home area in attendance which kept the lone bartender hopping. Randy & Ron joined in the rotation of musicians as well as Johnny Walker who is from our area. The music was non-stop throughout the afternoon and good. It was certainly a fun time.

Only a few of the Cottage patrons.

Keith from the Yardarm playing a percussion box.

John standing guard at the Men's room.

I'm pretty sure the bar had a good day that day due to the drinking habits of the home folk.

After the music quit the four of us made our way back to Tourist where we grilled a couple steaks for dinner.

Sign over the Matanzas dock.

Shrimp boat returning from the sea.

Friday morning with the sun shining and the wind blowing we cast off and made our way back to Legacy. Our ride wasn't rough but the wind caused us to get a light film of salt on the boat that needed to be washed off upon arrival back at the dock. Thanks to John's help the task didn't take too long.

That evening we strolled through the art fair downtown before having dinner at Ford' Garage.

Strolling through the art fair.

Some of the art work on display.

Street side seating at Ford's.

Saturday started with a round of Pam's excellent Bloody Mary's before we cleaned up and moved on to lunch.

All we do is eat!

Now that the water temperature is cooler we were able to make a stop at the Manatee Park near the power plant to view those homely but lovable creatures enjoying the warm water from the plant.

Afterward we had to get back in time for docktails where we were entertained by John and Paul (M/V Going Yaweh).

Sunday morning came early as our guests had a 7:30 flight back to reality.
It was fun having John & Jean onboard and hope they can come again a bit sooner. They last visited us in 2012 in the Bahamas

p.s. The docktails gang of B-Dock want s a repeat performance!