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| Barb and Steve on the Beach |
This is also an Encore park but it is very tight in here!!! Took us quite awhile to get to the point where we could hook up to utilities, even though this is a pull-through site. Yuck!
We do seem to be in the thick of things, though, and are just a drive over the bay to Barb's condo. Estero Island is cool, and lots of activities. We spent New Year's eve with Barb and Mama Jane and watched a lot of fireworks from all over the mainland and other islands!
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| Mangrove Crab |
Well, Cathy limited the suspense of when she would fall down, by doing so on January 2nd and scraping her elbow all to pieces. Luckily no other injuries! Took a tour of Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Captiva Island.
We have eaten quite well, and Barb and Steve have an established assembly line process for fresh shrimp!
Mama Jane has been hospitalized for a week, so no touring while we visit with her and run errands!
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| Denise and Joe |
We met some old friends for dinner and then went sailing with them the next day! Thanks to Denise and Joe for getting Cathy and Steve out onto the water! It was great fun.
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| at the saloon |
Barb, Steve and Cathy went geocaching on Pine Island, then had lunch and drinks at the Ragged Ass Saloon.
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| gators!! |
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| feeding time! |
We took a trip to Naples to see the Del Webb community. This one is a planned city around a Catholic College. Very interesting. Also toured the Naples Zoo. Cathy fed a giraffe, and we saw a Malaysian Tiger. The alligators were fascinating. They were trained to come out of the water onto the beach, by name, so the keepers could check for injuries. One tap on the snout, and they backed up into the water again.
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| Daylight when they started |
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| Still at it at nighttime |
Steve and Cathy Berry came for a visit, so it was nonstop cards (pitch) at Barb's place for a few days. From morning 'til night, cards, cards, cards!!!
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| not interested in meeting new people! |
We took a trip to Everglades City for an airboat tour, and only saw pelicans and racoons while on the ride. We saw many alligators in the roadside canals, though, on the way back while on Alligator Alley!
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| look at this wraparound porch! |
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| in one of the biggest bouganvilla bushes! |
We toured the Ford and Edison winter estates! Very cool. Edison was trying to find a substitute for imported rubber, in case we were cut off from our supply during time of war. He planted many different plants to find which could produce the substitute, so his estate is covered in plantings. One banyan tree provides over an acre of shade!!
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| chickens run loose in Key West! |
Also took an Express catamaran trip to Key West! What and experience that was! Cathy got to pet many polydactyl (6 toed) cats from Ernest Hemingway's estate on the island. She was in heaven!
