Sadie Hawkins Day?

While listening to the Early Show this morning, I heard one of the hosts say that today is Sadie Hawkins Day...Not. Although there are many who wanted this to be that special day created by cartoonist, Al Capp, this is actually the wrong date. November 15 (the birth date of my granddaughter and my soon-to-be daughter-in-law) was the actual day that he created for the ugliest girl in Lil' Abner's Dog Patch to literally catch a man, all of whom were running very hard to escape her (Do you remember the cartoon?).

Today is actually Leap Year Day, a day that I have told is an extra day every 4 years with the purpose of balancing the seasons. It is often used as a day for Sadie Hawkins event and back when it was probably a much appreciated day. Dances, etc., were held (and maybe still are) which gave the girls a chance to take the initiative with the guys. Hmmm Looking at today's society and the past 20 years, girls don't need a special day; such a practice is absolutely unnecessary. (I should know because I had two sons who were often called or visited). Why not? I don't have a problem with that.

Anyway, enjoy your leap year day; there won't be another for 4 more years. Ask my brother how much he enjoys this day. He's a Leap Year Baby turning "16" today! He's single too, so watch out, Joe, you may get caught!

Events of the Day

Today turned out to have some interesting events happening. First, we went with my brother and sister-in-law to Camping World and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. When we left there, we were unable to drive to our exit on the interstate due to a terrible three-truck accident. 50 + gallons of diesel fuel was spilled and the last I heard , there was still clean-up going on. The good thing is that everyone was able to walk away unhurt (after a visit to the hospital for a checkup). It took us three times as long to get back to our park. That's okay; sometimes we need to stop, take it slow, and think of others.

Tonight, while outside talking with a neighbor, a friend came by looking for someone who had the same kind of RV as he did. It seems that they locked themselves out and had no key with them. The other guy's key wouldn't fit; however, they were able to get in through an unlocked window. I understand how he could have locked himself out; he's scheduled to go to the hospital tomorrow to have the batteries changed in his defibrillator (?). He's been quite worried about it because it's using up his battery and that's the only thing keeping his heart beating they say. If it stops, so does his heart. I pray that all will go well with him. There are troubles everywhere and people with health problems can be found wherever we go.

Another Cool Day in South Florida

I got a big chuckle watching the morning show on NBC when their weather announcer jumped into the ocean on his surf board. He was about to freeze here in the 40-degree weather! Now, they are sending him to Phoenix and I hate to admit it, but I hope it turns cold on him there too! They sent him here from Detroit I think it was thinking he would see warmer days. Actually, it is a beautiful sunny day but very cool for the South. I have done nothing today but stay inside; however, I do plan to get out in the sunshine when I finish this blog.

Some of our friends have tickets to the Red Sox/Twins game this afternoon. I had wanted to go with them but the only available tickets were sitting on the grass or standing, and I didn't prefer to do either of those.

Tomorrow, another RV show begins in the area so we may try to go to that. Most of our friends are going to LaBelle to meet with members of their RV club. We don't belong to that because we have a different make.

I have to go take a friend of mine out for her birthday lunch now.

Cool Temps a'Coming

I have been riding into the wind today. Rose and I decided to ride our bikes the mile and a half to the Sears store and the wind blew so hard in our faces! We had to stop and rest 3 times! I was quite happy to finally arrive there and have a few moments to sit down and rest. We shopped there for a hour or so before making the trek home. There is a Little Caesar restaurant inside the Sears but we decided to ride back and have a sandwich instead. The ride back was most comfortable and enjoyable because we were riding away from the wind (giving us a subtle push).

Tonight, we went to play Bingo as we always do on Tuesday nights. I won a small door prize and also one of the Bingo games. Each game tonight paid $17; I didn't have to share my winnings with anyone tonight. My friend from Indiana won two door prizes of $10 each. I was happy for her.

Southeast Florida had its problems today, more specifically with their electricity. We were spared those problems; however, there was one area just South of us in South Fort Myers that lost its power. I think at first the school children were frightened but relaxed when they found out that there was no danger. Another problem in the country today was at a small college in Virginia, Ferrum College. I heard that a gunman was spotted entering a building there so the college was locked down. I think these situations are terrible. It's a shame that our children and grandchildren can't go to college/school and feel safe. And, of course, the shame extends to faculty and staff who work to train our children and their dedication is met with such frightening encounters.

Tonight, the temperature is supposed to drop dramatically. It has been in the mid-80's for the past several days; however, we are being told that the high for tomorrow will be about 59 degrees. That's cool for South Florida.

Riding with the Wind

I have already completed part of my bike ride for the day, 3 miles of it anyway. Sometimes, it's very difficult to get going and today is one of those days. The wind has already come up and that makes riding into the wind a chore. Don has been out with the guys and is gone again. He probably rides 15 or more miles a day. One of the guys fell off his bike this morning and Don said he took a pretty hard hit. I heard that he was talking to some ladies who were taking their walks when he almost ran into another cyclist. Sometimes it is difficult to keep riding when there are folks who want to carry on a conversation with you. Of course, that's part of the pleasures in being in the park; everyone is so friendly, so eager to become acquainted, so free to stop and enjoy a few minutes with complete strangers. Tis a shame that the whole world can't be this way: free to talk to strangers and feel safe to be out on the streets.

RVers are moving out again this morning; however, the park is still showing its "No Vacancy" sign. It always stays that way through the month of February, part of January, and a few weeks into March. Most of the snowbirds start heading to the far north in early April. I will miss them when we leave here on the 9th.

A Visit to Cape Coral Yacht Club

It has really been hot today in South Florida, a very warm 83 degrees! I rode my bike 6 miles before the winds started blowing and I really got overheated. I have enjoyed the warm days, however, and now it's supposed to cool off some, down to the upper 60's I think.

We went a different direction this evening. A couple of our friends went with us, first to Five Guys for burgers, then to Cape Coral Yacht Club to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the clouds moved in and we missed the sunset by about 10 minutes. It was still a beautiful place to see, to walk the beach and the pier but we were too late to get any photos. Next time we will try to get there earlier. It is a nice place to visit, to watch all the yachts come and go, to fish (they were catching Snapper today), or to sit and enjoy the breeze and enjoy the scenery of Ft Myers and Sanibel Island.

We are entering the countdown time to be in Florida now. I miss my family and friends that we left behind; however, I will miss my friends here when we leave in a couple of weeks. I plan to cut off my internet next Monday so I'll try to keep a faithful posting until then.

A Day of Festivals

This has been a lazy Sunday for everyone at the park I believe; well, maybe not everyone. The ones with motorcycles (at least a dozen) went for their group ride to LaBelle, to the annual Palm Cabbage Festival, or, better known as the Swamp Cabbage Festival. I wasn't sure what that was, so I looked it up on the computer and learned that this cabbage comes from the Cabbage Palm which is the state tree of Florida. Some guys here were saying that the cabbage comes from the roots; however, my source said that it comes from the center of the tree, about 3 feet from the bottom. It is white, cylindrical , and has the texture of cabbage; my source also says that it is actually the leaves that have not sprouted that are inside the trunk, something called the "boot". The locals cook it with fatback I heard, and enjoy the taste which I never heard them really put a handle on. I think they serve it with cornbread and beans. We didn't try to go because some of the roads around there were blocked and we didn't want to fight the traffic. Maybe next year we will give it a try.

Across the street at the Shell Factory, the Chili and Rib Festival was going on. That was well- attended with several vendors selling their best versions of chili and/or ribs. Many of the partakers are complaining with indigestion/heartburn tonight.

I have been suffering from a sinus headache much of today so I did no bike riding. I did attend church, however, and that was enjoyable as ever. We had a Gideon there today who did a good job of reporting of their activities with Bible distributions. I cannot believe that schools in Florida will no longer allow them to come on the campus and talk with the fifth graders as they used to do when I was in school (They are allowed to stand on the sidewalk, I'm told). I looked forward to their visit and I still have my little New Testament that I received from learning some Bible verses. I think they have a wonderful service, with 100% of their contributions going to the cause; all the workers/members are volunteers.

We have just enjoyed the UNC-Wake Forest basketball game and will now watch some of the NASCAR race (I think that will go on all night! My guy ($88) is in 40th place now since he was involved in an earlier crash. I need to get me a backup choice since Jr. so often doesn't do well. I'm thinking that he has to start improving if he's going to remain one of the young guns.

Enjoying the Winter

We returned to our RV home about 9:00 PM last night after having a wonderful visit with Don's sister, brother-in-law, and niece. They have a very beautiful home which includes an indoor pool! Surrounding the home was a beautifully-maintained yard which our niece planned, including Christmas Palms, banana trees, and even a small flower and vegetable garden! It is very impressive, located in an aeropark. Attached is their two-bedroom guest house in which Don's sister and brother-in-law live. It's a perfect size for two people: 2 bedrooms with adjoining bath, den and kitchen.

We didn't know that one of our grandsons was in the area yesterday. He is stationed at a navy base not too far away and he had to visit a dentist. He probably wouldn't have had time to see her anyway.

Yesterday, some of my kin left on a trip abroad. Even though I wouldn't be seeing them, I will miss them. And, my daughter-in-law will be flying to Phoenix, AZ, soon too. Everyone seems to be enjoying the winter by going somewhere else. I think that's great when one can do that!

All-in-all, yesterday was an enjoyable day. I hope yours was too.

Taking a Day Trip

It has been a warm, beautiful day in Florida. A great sale was going on downtown, so several of us had to hit that for awhile. Then, tonight, we had to go to our weekly Bingo outing. One of my friends won the jackpot of $150, the biggest jackpot of the evening! I'm glad for her. Last night, my sister-in-law won $80 and last week she won $135. I think it's about my time to win a big one; I have won several small ones so I can't really complain. One of my friends who goes with us hasn't won yet so I'm pulling for her now.

Did you see the lunar eclipse tonight? We had front row seats at our site and the night was perfect for observing it. Don and I sat outside with our binoculars and enjoyed watching the changes that occurred. It was so funny to see people going by on their golf carts while staring at us and wondering what we were doing. I guess they didn't listen to the news; therefore, not knowing about the eclipse. Looking at the moon through the binoculars caused it to look like a balloon suspended in midair; a wonderful sight to be sure.

Tomorrow, we will be going on a day trip to Wellington, suburbs of West Palm Beach I think. Don's sister and brother-in-law live there with their daughter, so we are going to spend part of the day with them. I think it will take a couple of hours or more to get there so we won't be back until sometime tomorrow night. I will try to take some photos if possible.

Fed Up With Line Phones

I was unpleasantly surprised this afternoon when I received my local phone bill. I was told that my bill would be the same as at home upon putting my home phone on vacation which I did the same day. And then I received an outrageously high phone bill today just for here. When I asked them about what I had been told, they said they didn't know anything about it. Well, I am very upset and will be discontinuing my phone service here early. I will let you know when but it will be soon. When I do cut it off, I will have no more internet service; nevertheless, I can't stand this bill and prefer to discontinue the whole thing. I will miss blogging and receiving emails from friends but I don't have a choice in this situation. I haven't decided exactly when I will stop the service so I will let you know when I do. For all you friends who read this blog, please just use my cell phone; we will enjoy some even better communication. I have plenty of minutes to use and it is a local call for you folks at home. We are even considering taking out our home phone completely and going wireless. I wonder if any of you have done that. I am definitely going to do something different about internet when we get home in March. I really don't know what, the suspense is getting to me, too. I am fed up with line phones; they are way over-priced, so it's time to make some changes.

Good Friends are Great Keepers

I didn't get to the Edison Electric Festival Parade last night; we were just too tired plus no one else had planned to go. It's such a hassle trying to get a parking place and a watching place. People go down to the streets along the parade route and mark with chalk their sitting areas. Our neighbor went down and reserved her spots (she has a sister who is very heavy and cannot stand); I think she had to pay $50 to rent the space for 4 people to sit. I don't know where they ended up parking. Another neighbor went down on their motorcycle (they decided they wanted to ride in the parade I think). It is well worth going down to see at least once; it's very beautiful. Rose and I went back out to the big flea market yesterday morning and we were caught in the traffic of parade floats coming in (at least we were able to see them even though there were no riders). Now, if I had company from home to come down, we would take them down to see it. People who plan to stay in the motels nearby during that time do have to make their reservations in plenty of time.

Today has been church day. Once again, we had a wonderful service by Pastor Jon. His topic today was Psalm 36. I was able to gain much insight from this psalm. Three of the pastor's children played their violins during the offertory. What talented children they are! We will miss them when we leave and we only have two more Sundays to enjoy his sermons. He really knows how to bring the Scriptures home.

I only rode my bike about 5 -6 miles today. The winds came up and it's very difficult to ride into that. I finally gave up until tomorrow. I also went to Cape Coral with a friend from Indiana this afternoon. It's really nice to have friends from so many different places. I have learned that there are very nice people everywhere who make wonderful friends, some real keepers!

I made 10!!

YES!! I actually rode 10 miles on my bicycle yesterday! I was so proud of myself! And so was Don, so proud, in fact, that he took me out for dinner last night (I think he would have taken me anyway since it was Valentine's Day). I had to take a hot, hot shower to work out the kinks before going to bed. Yet, I was so proud when I awoke this morning, that I thought I would try it again; I had so much incentive! Well, I rode for 5 miles, then my friend wanted to ride to the yard sale over in the other park; that was fine, though, since that was a half mile over there. That made me ride 6 miles, so I came back to our park and rode another one and a half. That's as far as I got today because my back was hurting so badly and I also had to go to the beauty shop. Now, I have taken another hot shower and am soon to go to bed and hope it has improved tomorrow. I know that I have been overdoing it but that's the only way I can get used to riding. My doctor wants me to exercise, either walk or bike and I choose to bike. I'm having a ball too!!

Tomorrow is the big Edison Electric Parade. If I go down, I will get some pictures to post, but am not sure that we will. We have been and it's such a crowd there.

It's What Time??

I have already ridden 8 miles on my bike and plan to hit 10 if at all possible. (I don't think the rain will detain me today since it's a beautiful, though cool, sunny day. I was sleeping so soundly this morning about 4:00 AM when, all of a sudden, the covers were pulled off me and a light was shining directly into my eyes! What a way to wake up! Don was standing over me as he asked, "Have you seen my glasses?" At 4:00 AM? I wondered! Why would I be seeing his glasses? Well, he was awake and had decided to get up but he couldn't find his glasses. When they weren't on the bedside table, he decides to wake me up by looking all in the bed! I told him that he did not have them on when I came to bed and he was already asleep, so he must have taken them off. The room was 63 degrees at that time, but he was bent on my getting up and helping him look. He said, "Let's pull back one sheet at a time and look carefully." This we did; then, he decides to look on the floor between the table and the bed. There they were, in fine condition. By this time, I was wide awake! Now, I have been up, taken my long bike ride, went out to breakfast with PA friends, visited the local pharmacy, and now back home telling my tale. And, it's only 11:30 AM! What will I get into the rest of the day I wonder!

Stormy Weather

We had the stormy weather all night last night. I mean, it rained buckets! However, this area was also in a drought as is North Carolina and a few other states (I hope they got a lot of rain yesterday and will get more today). We were not sure whether we should go to Bingo last night because they were predicting tornadoes everywhere in the area; in fact, we were in a tornado watch when we left. There are no parking places at the hall (well, there are 4 but I knew they would be taken), so I couldn't drive down. Don said we would be safer there than in the RV's, so Rose, Sandy, Doreen, and I decided to go on down while Etta and Sandi decided to forfeit the evening's fun. Actually, I'm glad that I went on down for a couple of reasons: we had no tornadoes, only heavy rains while we played; and, I won 2 games, one of which I had to split the pot with two others. Anyway, I won $32.00 and that's three times more than I spent. Tonight, we will try again in the adjoining park.

I am not as sore this morning as I had thought I would be, thank goodness for that. Now, I can ride again (I think. The clouds are all around us now and I think the rain has already begun. Yes, it's raining lightly now I suspect it will pick up. The tornado watch was dropped an hour ago and the severe weather had been dropped; however, we are expected to get some showers and storms. I'm expecting a great day though and hope you have one too.

Pushing 10!

My cardiologist and my family doctor would be very proud of me today I think, the reason being that I have ridden my bike a total of 6.8 miles so far. I wasn't sure that I would be able to get off the bike after that very long and tiring trek! You have to understand that I just have a regular cruising bike with no gears. The great part is that the terrain here is almost flat; therefore, I can ride much farther. I could have coasted some in places but I didn't give in to that temptation very much (only a very short distance, maybe 1 tenth of the entire trip). I did this alone so that I could go at my own pace, a pace that is somewhat faster than the friends with whom I usually ride. After I came back to the RV, I drove the car around my route to check the mileage. I was so surprised when I found out how far I had ridden because one of the guys told me that it was probably around 4 to less than 5 miles. I know that I will be be so tired and sore tomorrow that moving will be somewhat difficult. Nevertheless, I am proud of my accomplishment and hope to improve this record in the near future. I really don't have to ride it all in one trip though; I will try to make 3 more miles before the day is over. That will make me be pushing 10!

Tonight is Bingo night again. It really comes around so quickly which means that life is in such a hurry! I wonder if I will have any good luck tonight.

Nothing of Interest

Our friends from Pennsylvania are finally here and they have purchased a brand new beautiful motorcoach! They are considering going full time when they sell their place in PA. We enjoyed eating breakfast together today.

The winds have been so high today that we couldn't do much outside; therefore, I have nothing of interest to write about. It's been a usual Monday: washing, buying groceries, and nothing else. I heard that I missed our Baptist Women's meeting at home. I did talk with my sister awhile and learned that one of my nieces became engaged this weekend. That's great news! But, that's all I have today.

Lee Co Community Band

We just returned to the park after enjoying a Sunday afternoon at the Lee County Community Band Concert (that's Lee County, Florida, by the way). They are really great. The amazing thing is all of the members are over 40 and most of them are over 60 I'm sure; yet, they can really play. Their emcee is Norman Jones who does a wonderful job. Special guest today was Jimmy Nelson, a great ventriloquist. One of his sidekicks is Farfel, the dog. You may remember the Nestles Chocolate commercial in which Farfel sang the little song, "...Nestles is the very best: Chocolate". Norman told the story of Peter and the Wolf as the band played; quite good.
The band performs each month at the Cape Coral High School to a completely full auditorium (1000 + I would guess). The concert is free to all with donations accepted. If you are ever in the area I would recommend you attend. The next concert is scheduled for March 9 at 3:00PM. We will be returning home that day and will be unable to attend. We look forward to attending again next year, though.

Coming home from lunch today, we had to sit through 3 lights while hundreds of motorcycles were escorted by. They were going to the Shell Factory but we don't know the occasion.

It's been another fun day in sunny South Florida.

Pinchers at the Market

We started off the day at 6:00 AM as people started arriving for the annual park yard sale. We had great weather for the sales thus bringing many people to the park. Doughnuts and coffee were offered this morning and hot dogs were served for lunch beginning before 11:00 AM. It was a great day. At 1:00 PM, friends from home arrived and we enjoyed their company until 4:30 or so. That was great seeing folks from home. Their son lives nearby so I hope, whenever they visit, they will choose to come back for a visit. They are a very nice couple.

I have to tell this funny (to me) story, not to my friend. Yesterday, in the Flea Market, Lois and I were strolling along looking when this man came up behind us and said in a gruff voice, "Excuse me, Girls! As he scooted by, he pinched Lois on the Behind! Then, as he came up behind me, Lois said he had his pinchers working and ready; however, I moved out of the way in time that he withdrew them before touching me. I didn't even know anything about it until Lois said, "Do you know what that man did to me?" I couldn't help but laugh at her even though she didn't think it was too funny. She said it happened so fast and he moved on that she didn't have time to react. I can't help but wonder what she would have done had she had a few seconds to react! (I'll never know!)

Tonight, seven of us went to Capone's for a spaghetti dinner. That is a good place to eat although the price has increased since last year (that is expected; however, the amount of food received is less. They are going to get you going and coming!)

Flea Market Day

This was a fun day for me. I was able to spend time with a friend from home, a big surprise. I introduced her to the very large flea market here. We only had 2 hours to look around, less than half the time we needed, actually, to do the place justice. It would be easy to spend an entire day or two there because it is huge. I hated that I had to rush back to keep an appointment. I wish I had been able to take her tomorrow instead; however, we are having our big yard sale here in the park and Don has a few things to put out for sale. I was excited, though, when I received a call telling me that she and her husband would be coming over tomorrow to spend time with us. I look forward to that visit.

Sunday is the Edison's Children's Electric Parade. I have never seen that one but I may try to see it this year. I have been going to the big Edison Electric Parade which will be next weekend. They really put on a fantastic show with every float lighted beyond belief. Perhaps I will get some photos of that for the blog.

Waiting for a Fish Fry

Some of the guys have gone deep-sea fishing today and we are waiting for them to return with lots of fish so that we can have a neighborhood fish fry. The ones left behind all went out to eat lunch together. As an update, the guy whose car was rammed by the flying tent went to the garage today to get an estimate of damages. I was surprised to learn that the repair bill would equal $1500.00 plus at least 5 days of car rental. He took the estimate to the park office to inform them of their responsibility but I haven't heard the response yet. This could get to be pretty sticky situation.

Yesterday, I received a call from a friend from home who is in the area visiting her son. That was a real surprise. We may get together before she returns home. It's always a nice surprise to hear from home folks.

Tents-a-flying

Some of the girls and I went shopping this morning to take advantage of the extra 15% discount for senior citizens (By the way, I didn't buy the Crocs today; instead I found something else that I preferred; perhaps I will buy some later). While we were gone, a park worker and one of our neighbors decided to put up a tent to use at the big park yard sale coming up on Saturday morning. Today is a very breezy day (not nearly so bad as the areas where the tornadoes are but very windy). I hate to say that these men are not too smart; let's just say they didn't use good sense. They put up this very big tent and used absolutely no stakes to secure it. Now, many of us ladies said something about this not being a safe-looking contraption. Don told them that he was glad to see who had done it because someone may want to sue them when the tent went flying. What do you know; sure enough, the thing went flying, landing upset down on top of a very expensive motor coach. It didn't stay there, though; it was then hurled across a man's car leaving scratches and dents all over it. Needless to say, the car owner is furious. Now they are telling him to get it fixed and they will pay for the damage. Roy says he will not go without a car (after all, he just got out of the hospital on Tuesday-prostate cancer, and will have to continue visiting the doctor regurlarly. They offered him their beat-up old van that doesn't run half the time, and, of course, he turned that down. We don't know what will develop from here on out, but you can believe that there is an angry couple in the park today.

Crazy Crocs

We thought the big sale with an additional 15% for Seniors was to be held today at the Beall's store; however, when we started shopping, we learned that the extra 15 % wasn't to be given until tomorrow. We talked with the clerks and they agreed to let us choose our things and they would hold them until tomorrow. I guess you now know where we will be heading in the morning, don't you? I found a couple of cute things for the grandchildren and I didn't want them to disappear. Also, I decided to put away a pair of those ugly, ugly crazy Crocs! I have been threatening to get some for a long time but I laughed about their ugliness for so long that I felt like I shouldn't wear them. Everyone who has them say they are so comfortable, that you won't choose another shoe once you wear them. Well, I don't want that to happen, but I thought just stepping outside they would be good to have.

We went down to the Bingo tonight. None of us won a game; however, I won two $10 door prizes. I'll take those because now I can play tomorrow night and still have a little left over.

Speed Cycling

I suspect that I will be sore tomorrow. I rode 2 miles at a very high speed on my bike this morning. Later, I rode another mile at a reasonable speed because I was so tired from the speed rides. My reason for doing this was my receipt of a note from my cardiologist. He was concerned because my LDL (Lousy cholesterol) was 103 and he wants it below 100. My total cholesterol was under 185 so I thought that was very good; however, Doc's note encouraged me to intensify my exercise so I decided I should listen to him. I also have been eating Cheerios for breakfast because our neighbor in the park says that eating Cheerios lowered his LDL by 20 points. I hope it will work for me; of course, I won't know for another 3 months. I have given it some thought and have decided that perhaps my numbers were higher because the test was done just 2 or 3 days before Christmas, when eating was at its best

Big sale here tomorrow so the girls and I will be hitting the Beall's store. Bingo comes around again tomorrow night; otherwise, the day should be a rather standard one, that is unless we can find something exciting to get into. (That often happens, too)
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Super Bowl Silence

Silence; that's right, for 2 reasons. First, the RV park always goes silent after 6:00 PM, or dark, whichever comes first. Tonight I figured we would hear a little action since the Super Bowl was going on. All afternoon, we heard the folks voicing their opinions of the 2 teams. Most of the park residents were supporting Brady and the Patriots, mainly because there are so many snowbirds here from the New England states. Then, on the other hand, there are many of us here from other states such as NY, PA, MD, etc., who were pulling for the underdog. Don and I agreed that this game was the best Super Bowl game we have seen in many years. It seems that so many of them have been runaways. There were a lot of shocked folks in the park tonight; thus, the second reason for the silence: the majority are unhappy because their team lost and they are remaining very quiet. I'm happy though. I don't think my team won last year; however, the funny thing is, we get all excited and so many of us cannot even remember who won last year and especially who the teams were that actually played. Who were they?

Sanibel Snapshots

The island of Sanibel is a great place to visit, eat, and spend the day on the beach. To cross the bridge, the cost is $6.00/car. Traffic is very heavy during the winter but most drivers are very courteous. To park on the beaches, you have to pay, I believe $2.00/hour (not sure since Don went to the machine to pay).




College students love to come here during their Spring break (that's why we have already made our trip over for the year).






In the distance, you can see Ft. Myers Beach. We'll visit there perhaps one day next week (Once again, we hope to visit before the crowd gets heavier. People are beginning to really move into the area though (our RV park is now full and some are parked in the overflow area).

























A great place to visit. There is only one RV park on the island and it is expensive (as are all other things here). There are many, many sidewalks to walk or ride bikes and I think this would be a lot of fun. (I would hate to have to pay the big bucks to cross the bridge to the mainland every few days though.



This is the section of beach that Don and I chose to stoll on and to look for seashells (we only chose about 10 to keep though; not the right time of day). This area was located close to Captiva. I can recommend Sanibel and Captiva as a place to visit, if only for a day.

Lippazan Stallions

Here are only a few photos of the Lipizzan stallions that we saw yesterday. They are beautiful horses that are well trained. From the demise of the great war horses of the pre-Napoleonic era to the threat of extinction near the end of WWII, they miraculously survived.


Lipizzan stallions of Austria were first bred in Lipizza, a town now located in Yugoslavia. The horses were Spanish horses but later named for the town in which they were brought.



Gabriella Herrmann maintains the horse farm in Myakka City, Florida, where we spent yesterday afternoon enjoying their practice show. Gabriella is the daughter of the late Colonel Ottomar Hermman, the original trainer.










The Lipizzan Stallions are among the oldest breeds of horses in the world.












It is amazing to see them perform the Capriole, a move when the stallion lifts himself into the air and strikes out with a deadly kick from behind. This maneuver was used to kill enemy foot soldiers while keeping the officer safe.













The ballotade occurred when the stallion rose to his hind legs and struck out repeatedly whith his forelegs. This maneuver protected the rider also.































Beautiful!!



























If you are ever in the area of South Florida near Arcadia, I highly recommend a side trip to see these stallions perform.