Travels with Gunther and Kara

Man; 4 days since I posted anything…sorry about that but things have been sort of busy with a lot of not too exciting things.

Monday was Connie’s parents birthday and anniversary so after her doctors appointment in the morning (routine women check up stuff) we headed over to West Palm Beach to visit them. When we arrived she was happy to see that the crucifix and flowers she had ordered for Harry and Anne’s gravesite had been installed.

We spent some time there visiting and catching her parents up with things in our live, telling them we missed them, and all that stuff. Here’s a picture of Connie while she was talking to them.

Tuesday and Wednesday were work days. Neil did some work around the house, maintenance, cleaning, and the like while Connie worked. Not much interesting there.

Today was our trip up to the Tampa RV Supershow…it’s about a 120 mile drive from here in Seminole but we headed off about 0830. After stopping by a furniture store that sells Restonic mattresses so we can get our mattress replaced by New Horizons with something softer than a board we had lunch at Wendy’s and then hit the show. Didn’t buy anything while wandering through the exhibit halls but we stopped by the New Horizons booth and took a look at their new show model. There are a couple of modifications/upgrades that are very attractive so we will very likely get them installed in early May when we pass through Junction City, KS to get some warranty work done. Wainstoteing and chair rails in the living room slide look really nice as do some upgraded switches for our Multiplex lighting system which we’ll also probably get done.

We also met Jack and Danniele Mayer who Neil has had some back and forth email discussions with during our pre ordering and specification defining process…nice to put a face to the name at last.

We headed home…got here in a drizzling rain with temps in the 60’s and headed off to the Elks for dinner (Thursday is Taco Night). Unfortunately today is the monthly meeting which means no food is served today…so we had a pitcher of beer and a frozen pizza for dinner. We’re headed off to Bingo at the park in a bit and will have some popcorn and donuts to supplement our dinner.

Cyas.

After a breakfast of left over baked potato wedges with a fried egg on top we headed off to Mass. Connie was the cantor and sang marvelously as usual. Afterwards we picked up groceries and then came home for lunch. After that we wandered up to the park entrance road and searched for about 20 minutes until we found the kayak drain plug we lost from the top of the car as we left for church (long story…short version is we left it up there when washing the kayak out after yesterday’s paddle).

Neil went for a long bike ride while Connie watched the US National Cyclocross Championship on her laptop then he went to the pool for awhile to cool off.

Dinner was a rotisserie chicken from Walmart, leftover noodles from the other night, and a salad…and I’m thinking freshly made cookies for desert.

Tomorrow Connie has a OB/GYN appointment in the morning then we’re headed over to West Palm Beach to visit her parent’s grave site since tomorrow is their birthday and wedding anniversary. She also wants to check on the flower vase and crucifix we asked to have installed on the crypt and make sure they were installed correctly. It will be a long day but she’s looking forward to a visit with them.

Cyas.

Not much going on the past couple of days…Connie worked, Neil ran and hung out at the pool, Neil rearranged the rope lights we have under the coach, it rained one day, Connie had a doctors appointment, and Connie got her nails and hair done.

All that being finished yesterday…today was fun day. We took the bikes out of the car, transferred the Sea Eagle kayak into it and headed off to Koreshan State Park which nestles up to the Estero River a bit south of Fort Myers. We inflated the boat, attached the new rear skirt to replace the failed one under warranty and hit the water about 2 hours after low tide. The river doesn’t have much current and we wanted to take advantage of the incoming tide on our return trip back up-river to the launching point. Most of the way down the Estero is pretty narrow; maybe 40 feet or so as it meanders past some houses, a small marina and a couple of resorts. Pretty early in our paddle we came across a Yellow Crowned Night Heron…not a species you see all that much during the day. We got this nice shot of him from about 12 feet away.

You can easily see both the black eye patch as well as the yellow on top of the head that gives him his name along with the Bear Bryant Houndstooth inspired gray checkering. The neck is retracted in this shot…this is usually how you see this species. Shortly after this shot we got this one of him with his neck extended so you get somewhat more of the typical heron profile. He’s about 30 inches tall with his neck extended like that and we were maybe 15 feet away for this shot.

Continuing on down the river we ran into a Great Blue Heron

then stopped in the wider portion of the river about 3 miles down from the launch point for a quick snack. No place to pull over and beach the kayak but the current was pretty much nil at this point so we just drifted for a few minutes while we ate then headed back towards the take out point. The river down here is much wider; maybe 150 yards or so.

After our snack we headed back up-river which is the top of the two pictures above. Shortly after that we saw some White Ibis over on the right bank

and then a bit later a Great Egret.

This was the last we saw on the river as it was almost 1330 by this time and the afternoon party traffic was running up and down the river. We got back to the take out point and deflated and stowed the kayak then headed out of the park. On the way we saw an endangered Gopher Tortoise on the side of the road so Neil stopped and ran back to take a couple of shots. The tortoise was snacking on the little white flowers you can see in the first shot.

This specimen was maybe 15 inches long and just sitting by the side of the road.

We stopped by the Apple Store in Estero down the road from the state park to pick up a new Airport WiFi base station; Neil wanted to replace our 4 year old model with one that has all the latest features and better performance. After that we had a quick burger at Five Guys for a late lunch, stopped by the sports store to look for some insoles for Neil’s new running shoes (didn’t find them so it’s Amazon time I guess) and came back home. By the time we washed off the kayak and took a shower Connie was tired so took a nap while Neil put on the Broncos/Ravens playoff game.

Dinner was steak, roasted ‘taters, and sautéed carrots along with our typical wine coolers. Tomorrow is Mass and we’re stopping by to get our weekly groceries on the way home.

Cyas.

That has quite a nice ring to it…doesn’t it? What a great game the Tide played on Monday night; whipping butt on Notre Dame 42-14 in a game that was pretty much over by the first play of the second quarter when they scored to go up 21 zip. Notre Dame’s defense was helpless against the strong ‘Bama running game (heck, their line could probably start for a lot of NFL teams) and the secondary never could catch up to  our wide receivers. On the offensive side of the ball; Notre Dame couldn’t run and their QB spent most of his time running for his life.

Bama had a 28 nothing lead at the half and Notre Dame did come out strong on their opening second half possession…at least until they were intercepted at the 3 and a 97 yard touchdown drive later the rout was on. ND did manage to score a couple of touchdowns during garbage time but both were long after the game was effectively over. Here’s a shot of the winning QB heading to see his family after the game.

Brent Musbruger’s ND bias was clearly evident…it’s been along time since I’ve seen an announcer so blatantly biased (except on a school’s own network where the announcer is expected to be biased.

Yesterday was another not do much day…Neil did some more research on getting our mattress replaced and on looking for somebody to install air springs on BAT. Connie did some work. Neil went on a ride trying a different route and snoozed at the pool while Connie was getting her nails done; coming home in time for MacBreak Weekly on the TWiT podcast network. Dinner was some sautéed chicken using the Bavarian spice mixture Bryan gave us for Christmas, rice, and yellow squash for Connie, followed by Beer and Bingo at the Elks.

Today Connie has a doctors appointment and Neil is going to get a haircut after dropping her off…rumor has it that there might be kayaking later in the week although nothing firm has been decided. Neil’s thinking that dinner tonight will be pasta with chicken and sautéed garlic but might change his mind by the time dinner rolls around.

It’s supposed to be a hot day today; well into the 80’s (I know, somebody’s got to do it). Maybe we’ll do some more travel planning, maybe we’ll have a siesta by the pool…you just never know until it’s time to make a decision what you might do. 

Neil is starting to get a little bored with not enough fun stuff…but since one of the major attractions of a 3 1/2 month stay here in Fort Myers was to recharge our batteries after 6 months of travel that’s to be expected. We did get some reservations for a couple of days down in the Conch Republic (Key West) early next month. We’ve never actually been there except for once passing through as we boarded a boat for a trip out to the Dry Tortugas Islands while we were here in college. These islands contain Fort Jefferson which is famous as being the place where Dr. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned for his role in setting John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg after he shot Abraham Lincoln. Mudd might (or might not, the evidence is somewhat unclear) have been railroaded by the court system at the time and was imprisoned there until being pardoned in 1869, largely as a result of him serving as the fort and prison doctor during a Yellow Fever outbreak in 1867.

Cyas.

It was a rainy morning when we got up so we had coffee and breakfast, started a load of sheets up at the laundry room, and finished taking down the Christmas decorations since it’s the 12th day of Christmas, post Epiphany, and time for all that stuff to get stowed away until next year. After that Neil went on a run while Connie got ready for her department staff meeting which she attended via FaceTime video chat on her iPhone.

After lunch it cleared up so we just had a siesta.

Dinner was hamburgers and baked beans and now we’re plopped down in our recliners to watch the BCS National Championship Game between Alabama and Notre Dame.

Roll Tide!!

Cyas.

–Halftime Update

Alabama has totally dominated the first half; running at will and the quarterback has all day to throw the ball. Add in some poor tackling by the Irish and it adds up to a 28-0 lead at the half.

Roll Tide again!!

After coffee and breakfast we headed off to St. Andrews for Mass; afterward we checked out the kayak launching point at the Eco center near the church…looks like we can put in there and get out into the canals in the refuge pretty easily although there is an 800 foot portage about halfway through the kayak trip so we might look for something a little easier. On the way back we stopped by the Publix and got 2 fresh Tilapia filets for dinner. After that we came home and Neil went on a bike ride on what he calls his country loop near the park. This is a 12-1/2 mile loop essentially circling Seminole RV Park but it’s almost exclusively on roads through a bunch of farms and horse ranches. He usually sees less than 10 cars while on the loop ride of 42-43 minutes.

Arriving back home he grabbed his iPad and a beer and sat in the Zero Gravity recliner under the awning for a couple of hours; Connie had a nap then came out and listened to podcasts.

For dinner Neil covered the filets with finely sliced shallots, some Emeril’s Essence spice mixture, and some Panko bread crumbs…mixing up some olive oil and lemon juice to make a sauce which was poured over the fish. Baked for about 20 minutes and put some Parmesan Cheese on top for the last couple of minutes to get golden brown and delicious. Our side dish was couscous with some sautéed onions and garlic, butter, chicken stock, and Parmesan over the top. Two out of two humans agreed it was another great meal…along with a glass of wine.

Neil discovered a problem with the backup drive on our file server in the rig…he’s going to do some troubleshooting tomorrow to see if it’s broken or just needs some TLC to get it back running smoothly. 

Sure was a pretty busy day for not really doing anything.

Cyas.

Saturday dawned a little cloudy and overcast so we sat around until 1000 or so then Neil went on a run. By the time he got back the sun was out, the sky was clear, Connie was bored and they were both hungry so they picked out a place to hike and headed off for a combo errand/hike run.

We stopped by the Home Depot and picked up some more rope lights to add to the string under the rig. We ready that having these on under your rig helps keep the mice and snakes away from it and hence not in the house so we got a 40 foot string awhile back but it isn’t quite long enough so we picked up another 20 feet to add to the string today. On the way out of the Home Depot we saw a lunch wagon that was selling Italian Sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions so we grabbed a couple of them and ate at a picnic table near the Home Depot. After that we stopped by Lowes looking for charcoal since Home Depot was out (so was Lowes) then headed off to North Cape Flats Hiking Trail over right on the bay.

Heading down the trail Neil got a shot of Connie with her new hiking socks she got from REI for Christmas.

Neil thought she looked quite stylish. When we got down to the second tree you can see on the right side of the trail we saw this Eastern Bluebird up in the branch and Neil grabbed a shot before he flew away.

After about a half mile hike we ended up on the mudflats where we saw this really big hermit crab.

It was about 2 inches long and was quite feisty with his claw as Neil got close for the photo. Then we saw some White Pelicans out on the flats with another one coming in for a landing.

After that we headed back to the car as it was getting into the mid 80’s and pretty warm. On the way home we stopped by Walmart for some groceries we needed as well as the charcoal that we couldn’t find before.

Dinner was wine coolers and leftover pork roast chopped small and mixed with the Black Beans and Rice we also had left from yesterday. Add some cheese, a shot of Ranch dressing and a tortilla and it was a tasty, easy, no muss no fuss dinner.

Tomorrow is Mass and since it’s supposed to be clear and hot we will likely go lay out at the pool for awhile.

Cyas.

Connie woke up with a headache this morning and didn’t really feel better until late afternoon. She did manage to struggle along and work on our travel plans for the spring a bit after lunch.

No worries; it rained some over night and was mostly cloudy all day so we probably wouldn’t have done anything anyway.

Neil replaced a couple of burned out light bulbs, did some research on an awning sun shade…these attach to the extended awning and go down to the ground to give you sort of a one sided sun room. Helps hold down the sun a little bit in the sitting area under the awning. After that he had a run and a siesta.

We have noticed a couple of small sugar ants running around on the kitchen counter…so in the late afternoon we took everything off of the counter and sprayed some insecticide (people safe) along the back edge of the counter and the window. Sugar ants are pretty much a way of life in Florida…everybody down here battles them on an ongoing basis, so this is pretty much routine maintenance rather than an out of the ordinary invasion.

Dinner was a pork loin cooked in our Breville toaster oven along with Neil’s Rice and Black Bean combo. Onions, a can of chopped green chile’s, and a couple of wedges of lime and it was pretty yummy…wine coolers along with it made it every yummier.

Cyas.

Today was pretty much a chores day. Neil woke up with a headache about 0400 so drank a bunch of water since he felt dehydrated and took some Advil and luckily by about 0830 was feeling better. So we had some breakfast then Neil took down the outside Christmas decorations…we’ll leave the inside ones up until Jan 6 since that’s the official end of the Christmas Season. While he was doing that; Connie spent the morning working on reservations at our 2 stops between here and southern AL where we’ll visit family, reservations at Gulf State Park for a couple weeks ending the day after Easter, and scouting out parks in Alberta for our sojourn into Canada in the Spring. After the de-decorating was complete Neil went on a bike rid and then they had lunch, followed by Connie working (she’s got a bunch of stuff that needs to be done in the next couple of weeks) and Neil went off and ran 3 loads of laundry.

After that we sat outside in the Zero Gravity Recliners and listened to podcasts until it was Beer O’ clock…then headed in to cook dinner. Neil had taken a pork loin out for dinner but upon further review decided he wanted to make spaghetti instead…so he called Connie from the laundry room and had her take out an Italian Sausage. Neil mixed the sausage with some onions, garlic, tomato paste, chicken stock, and basil with other Italian spices and made some pretty good sauce. He cooked up some linguini and a couple of frozen French Rolls, spread some Parmesan Reggiano on top and it was mighty good. They’ve got leftovers which will make a nice side dish tomorrow or for lunch.

Connie headed off to Bingo at the park after dinner. Neil did some research on Jasper and Banff National Parks in Alberta, Canada for their spring visit to decide which park needs 2 weeks and which needs 1 week. 

We watched the Fiesta Bowl until we got tired then put the laundry away and went to bed.

All are tired tonight…not like we did anything too much but even in Paradise you still need to wash your unmentionables.

Cyas.