International Market of Naples

Maybe not really so international as the name implies, but oh what a wonderful time we had exploring the tight and narrow isles of Naples International Market. We visited the store without knowing what to expect; was it really international and there would be all kinds of unique and even bizarre items for sale? Well, not really. But it really was a terrific international market- as in Mexican and Central American fare! It was a flashback moment in time for us. It reminded us of our five years of living in Honduras. Way more like "Eldons" and "Warrens" on the island of Roatan than we thought could possibly exist here in America, let alone the upscale neighborhoods of Naples, Florida. Vegetables and fruits that we used to grow when we lived on the island- but haven't even seen since. Especially Apple Bananas. Tiny sweet and succulent bananas with a hint of apple. Fruits more delicate than any fine bottle of wine- at least for my taste. Plantains, the kind we grew and ate every day while we were there on the island were displayed all over the store in great variety. Root crops the names of which are hard to remember because they change from island to island. Mangoes and avocados the size of your head. Peppers in every size and color and degree of heat and sweet! This evening our "fruit bowls" are newly decorated with items we can hardly wait to taste. New markets are just fun. Nostalgia comes where you find it; embrace it when you do.

Glade Running

Having escaped unscathed (say that thee times fast) the recent tornado watch in Naples, we headed into the "Glades" to do some research on three camp grounds that could possibly be destinations for future visits to the area. We have previously not had a centrally located launch for in-depth Everglades exploration and activity. All three of our prospects were very nice. One had not yet opened (scheduled to open VERY soon); one has been open a short time only, and one has been around for quite a while. In the coming slide show they will appear in the order I just described: Naples Motorcoach Resort, Everglades Isle, and Chokoloskee Outdoor Resorts. Everglades Isle, on the water in Everglades City, spoke the loudest to our tastes in Florida Camping and the roughly half price special they have on at the time of this writing, encouraged us to book a month plus with them right off- so we will be staying there as we leave the Keys, mid February to mid March. Anyone seeking space in Florida at a reasonable price should call them right off. Usually by now it is too late to get open space in Florida at any place and any price point, let along drop dead gorgeous water front slips (including dock) for a very reasonable rate. The facility is beautiful and wonderfully appointed. At this time, their reservations are wide open- That won't last! Ask for Susan if you call.

Florida Weather Watching

Eight hurricanes in two years was at least part of the reason that we "sought higher ground" than our Cape Coral home several years ago when we embarked on our supposed 5 year plan of full time travel in an RV. Not that we didn't love the weather here most of the time, and especially in the winter when it was pretty cold elsewhere. And not that we didn't and don't love being by the water- the sea, the river, the lake, whatever- we do. But weather watching when severe storms are forecast can be stressful. Florida has more than its share. And who needs that?

But it seems that weather, severe and otherwise, finds you where-ever you go- at least it does us! We've been in floods in the Dakotas (you ever see an ocean there???) and in the mountains in Canada and along the small streams in North Carolina, and, come to think of it, just about everywhere else we have gone. So should we be surprised to find ourselves in yet another tornado watch in southern Florida after a day and a half of heavy tropical downpours. Oh probably not, but we didn't have anything else terribly important to do today, so why not stress over Florida weather. Myself? I don't have to turn on the weather channel- ever. Marilyn will do that at each and every time there is the remotest possibility of severe weather in our area. Therein lies the principle difference in our thinking. She wants to know that she and the coach are about to be tossed and turned and abused by whatever it is that is headed our way. I'm pretty sure she believes that advance knowledge of the inevitable will somehow lessen the severity. I have already faced my own personal inability to change the weather- so I prefer, especially in the dark of night- to sleep through whatever it is I am about to sleep through. I do not wish to hear the harsh and grating jazz of the weather channel OR the static cyber noise of the NOAA weather radio lulling me into restless sleep, so if she must watch or listen- I'm off to bed. Even motor coaches have pocket doors!

She will prepare in vain. I will report after the fact. What a team! So at this point with a couple hours left in the watch, here is what is going on. Our non water front campground is, at this very moment, waterfront real estate (per photo). I sincerely hope, this being Naples and all, that the management will not come around in a golf cart and hit us with a sur-charge for waterfront access lots. Also, the guy across the street lost his awning and wind break in last night's heavy rains and high winds. He never bothered to fold it up, so either Marilyn forgot to tell him what the Weather Channel watch and warning was saying, or he has replacement insurance and needed a new one anyhow. That's my guess, owing at least in part to the duct tape I see at a couple places on the frame........


I am tempted to tell you that Marilyn is "keeping her eyes on the weather," but she had a sty that had to be lanced yesterday at the eye doctor (talk about cute), so technically, she is just keeping an EYE (that is to say one only) on it for now. One wonders if she is only getting half the picture, so to speak.

So that's the news for now. And either I report more, later, at another time...or the weather watch finally takes me out, and you can make up your own mildly humourous recountings of violent weather in the future! Storm Stories marches on!

Bath Time For Buster

Buster? The affectionate name for our Dutch Star. Of late, focus has been on doctors, dentists, repairs, insurances, and other non fun and non-feel-good kinda stuff. So here in Naples where the park is not only nice, but also paved, it is the time to wash and wax without facing the reality that one day of rain would make it look like it had never been done at all. The time was right for Buster to get a bath. In the past, we have always done the entire process ourselves- four days of washing and waxing and two weeks or more of recovery from wax on/ wax off. But a good price quote and much less time needed to complete the process encouraged us to do our part, but also hire a professional to do the heavy lifting. And not that it should or did have anything to do with it- but this IS Naples and every coach in the park is an upscale rig. Prevosts and Country Coaches to the left and right- all of them spit polished! The time and place had both arrived. One day. I like it!

Drag Net,, Pot Lickers and Bagel Chips 101

Back to the condo on the beach today for "lessons". Marilyn demonstrated bagel chip making and pot sticker (or pot licker as they call them) preparation in the 11th floor ocean view kitchen while down on the beach the rest of the gang worked up an appetite dragging and checking out the contents of the seine being worked in the surf. It was a little like "Iron Chef Meets The Outdoor Channel." Florida played Florida State on the TV.......and a good time was had by all. The sun set on the beach (and on Florida State) on this day. The sunset on the beach was beautiful. The football game? Maybe not so much! All too soon our time on Ft Myers beach draws to a close and tomorrow the engine will rumble and the wheels will roll down the road. Next stop....Naples, Florida.

New Resident "Left-Overs"

No matter how absolutely splendid Thanksgiving is... we always relish the left overs the next day.

Several years ago when we first came to Cape Coral we joined the "New Residents" club. Some 30 of us started out in the group, which like many groups do, dwindled over the years as folks moved away or just moved on.... But before that happened we formed a core group that was, and will always be good friends. We played together, worked together, fished together, helped each other move and tackle projects- just the kind of things friends do. So this Thanksgiving metaphor of "left-overs" all came together at one of the Ft Myers Beach Bars- Junkanoo- where we had met at times in the past. While the group is smaller now, we are no less enthusiastic for having a good time, and that's just what we did on this occasion. Cocktails and light fare at sunset made for a perfect time to reunite. An old toast, some talk of the past, some plans to get together again somewhere, sometime to come. New Residents. Old friends. The left overs are always something to look forward to......

Doggie Beach Holidays

Not to be outdone by the "people persons" in her life, Abby decided to travel to Doggie Beach, on the southern tip of Lovers Key State Park, Ft Myers Beach, Florida for her annual day after Thanksgiving celebration with a few of HER friends. Life is good on the beach. Ah, the smell of the warm salt water and all those other wet four-legged creatures running this way and that in the gentle surf. Another day of celebration! Hey, everybody, let's shake the water off!

Thanks On The Beach

It was a great way and a great place to give thanks on the official day of Thanksgiving- on the beach at Ft Myers Beach with a few of our former neighbors and their family and friends. The day started off a bit on the overcast side, but that didn't deter anyone and in short order the clouds blew away and the sun came out strong.

Carl brought his mean green beach caddy machine, made from recycled materials to resemble a John Deere piece of equipment. It carried among everything else, a long seine which was placed into service right off the bat. The fish and crabs we hauled in drew a crowd in a big hurry and the beach party was off and running. The only thing missing- Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and truthfully, we didn't miss them all that much.

The fish we caught were used for bait for the surf fishing poles. And for feeding the gulls and pelicans. And for putting in the sand buckets of kids who filled them with water so they could have a fish for a short time before returning them to the sea. And for an appetizer for Bruce Elliot, who never met a sushi he didn't love.

Now if you are thinking he just posed for the shot and didn't really consume the still quivering sardine, then you simply MUST watch the slide show today VERY carefully....

Meanwhile, Bruce, THE fishing fashion plate of the entire beach, rigged his pole with a bobber that perfectly matched his shirt. Coincidence? No way! He's the Man!

In Alaska by now they are fishing through the ice (inland) or in and among the ice (salt water), but it's still open water here in Florida. But there are those among us who can't decide whether this is summer weather or winter weather, hence the combo clothing used by our surf fisher-persons:

The master sand sculpture practitioner took time out from his team's creation to try some boogie boarding. "Dude, You missed the Boogie Board!"


Our "Netmaster", Bruce, took some time to give some cast netting lessons to a young boy and his dad who were clearly interested in all our fishing activities. The teacher and the student both did well and yes, fish were caught!

I'm usually behind the camera, but I stepped in front of it just this once to document that I was in fact there, having an absolutely great day....

L to R: Trace, Michelle, Bruce and Bruce Elliot- The Waddells, our former next door neighbors in Cape Coral and now, at least for this week, our neighbors on Fort Myers Beach.


We played all day, had an amazing group effort Thanksgiving extravaganza (with the Waddells as the group hosts and main kitchen staff) then hit the beach again for sunset and photo ops. Today's slide show will expand on these still pictures and give you a full look at our Thanksgiving Day at the beach. A wonderful day. A busy day. But not too busy for giving thanks......THANKS ON THE BEACH.

A Rainy Day Instead

It didn't bother us to have a rainy day at all. We SHOULD have been at the eye doctor and had those final checkups, eye drops, etc. where bright lights are best to avoid anyhow. Only much to our surprise, when we arrived at the office, a very surprised receptionist apologized profusely as she informed us that the doctor was out for an appointment of his own, and although they THOUGHT they had already informed us...in fact they had not. So back to the beach and stroll in the drizzle. Unlike the other day, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. That's nice too.. So just a few pics to document the day "that wasn't." A friend answered my Facebook posting to say "So...the eye doctor couldn't see you today?" yea, well!

Things You See At Ft Myers Beach

There's a lot to see at the beach. Some of it is expected, but some of it is not. Same is true of people in bathing suits- some expected and some most assuredly not. But all of it's good. Well, sort of.......
you see not every body belongs in every suit. But if your attitude fits the situation, well then, that's pretty much what the beach is all about. I think. I mean even the birds are into Sweet and Low these days. Seems a bit extreme, yes?

So consider the beach:
A penny (from deep in the sand) for your thoughts....
some red coconuts as promised on the sign
a lifeguard heron
a laid back watch dog, kites carrying cargo
past a bird on a wire-
the hot tin roof
with big ideas and little fish
tight jeans and tinier swim suits
that call for cameras, tattoos, window shopping.
Funky beach chairs large and small
palms, hibiscus, frangipani flowers
with a Geico gecko hanging out of a plastic pipe...
smiley faces and sunbrellas,
tikis with beer bottles and sun painted silhouettes
over dancing waves rolling in.

It's all at the beach,
and it's all in the slide show if you watch close enough.....

Life's A Beach or...... Bird "Flew"

No swine flu here. But lots of birds "flew" as we arrived in Ft Myers Beach, Florida, and took our first stroll down the beach. It's way early in the season, so for now it is not crowded. The weather is delightful. Bare footin' is the order of the day...and on the white sugar fine sands of Ft Myers Beach it is a very easy and pleasant beach to walk on. No oooooos and ouches here. We set up camp at the Red Coconut right on the beach. The sea breeze was delightful. November has always been our favorite month in this state, and so far we see no reason to re-evaluate that opinion.



After sunset we strolled across the street to an old hangout of ours from the days when we had a house nearby in Cape Coral, Junkanoo- a beach bar downstairs with a rather elegant outside beach dining restaurant, Anthony's, upstairs overlooking the white beach sands and the gentle, for now, surf. We had a long casual dinner and just enjoyed unwinding seaside. It's a Sunday. That means it's a Marilyn-does-dessert day and we wrapped up the day with a hot coffee and a tiramisu. Just perfect. Full, full. Tomorrow is a day to relax and enjoy, then full steam into the dentist chair and the eye exams the next couple days. Is that any way to get ready for Thanksgiving?

Here's a little slide show to share the day with all of you....

A Thru F

So if A is for Alaska and F is for Florida- Game, Set, Match,.... to Gundyville. Another round trip in the books!

93 degrees in the sun. 75 in the shade. Spanish Moss hanging from the Live Oaks. Bug guts on my windshield. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Florida!

Last several times we returned here from adventures out and about it felt OK but not like a homecoming. A vacation in Vacationland. This feels different in some way yet undefined. We are excited (not necessarily to deal with docs and dentists and the like) to be back and see good friends much missed, but hanging in there with us all the way and all the time. The sun drenched landscape is welcoming. Feels good. Water is clear. Sky is blue. Storm is gone. Air is warm. Body is relaxed. Music good on the surround sound- Reggae! Prepare for Florida, the (left) West Coast, the Keys, the Friends, the Surf, the Fish, the Gators.


I once found gold in the parking slips in Orlando Thousand Trails Park models gravel while giving Cosmic Bob a panning lesson- not expected, against all odds. Real gold is the friends who stayed put when we went off seeking gold and adventure as best we could find it. What joy comes to heart being back to share some time with them all ...again. The miles roll on, the states come and fade in the rear view mirror, but the faces of friends stay in the mind's eye...and are always up ahead somewhere.

In The Beginning...

Back in Thousand Trails, Hershey (actually the camp is in Lebanon but only a short hop to Chocolate-ville) and still licking wounds from the last big Alaska trip- but gaining! Had the occasion to sit at my old 'puter and look back at some of the nearly 6000 digital pics I took since our full time travel adventure began three years ago. This is one of my favorites (Marilyn's too for obvious reasons) That first post was made in November of 2006. It went like this:

Shake Down Cruise:

Back In The US of A

There are some days when if you didn't have bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. I suppose a day or two like that every once in a while wouldn't be too bad, but it seems like the last half of our cross Canada trek was one day like that after another. I mean: my eyeglasses broke down the middle , my windshield is cracked, my door awning quit working and had to be pulled off the coach, floor tiles cracked when the coach twisted from an excess slope at a campground in a province that is otherwise flat, went to bed one night in a wooded camp site and woke up to find the coach sitting in 8 or so inches of water from overnight heavy rain...and then had the rear axle sink into the soft sand thereby leaning the back slide awning up against a nearby tree that should have been removed a long time ago and damaging it way too much trying to extricate the coach from the heavily wooded campground, which in turn made the slide impossible to open now. Did I mention that the pots and pans are in the closet which cannot now be accessed behind the closed slide? So shopping trips are limited to buying supplies that can be grilled (we can still get at the grill) or eaten raw. Mmmmm. Celery and lunch meat. The Magic Fan ceiling fan crapped out too. Bummer! There's more, but what the heck....

So it feels like "limping home" at the moment even though we are still rolling. At least at this point! All these concerns made the drive by Lake Superior seem less than superior to me. Lake Huron and Ontario much the same.

Our first look at Lake Superior:

There were literally thousands of small lakes in addition to the "Great" lakes too. Below is a look at the GPS passing through Ontario- more water than land or so it seemed.


Back in the USA, nothing had really changed as far as the conditions I just told you about- BUT, it felt a little better to be in the homeland. Help is much closer here, or so it seems, than it is in rural Canada. Right now- that's a good thing. We crossed the border at Niagara Falls, put the concerns behind us for the time being and headed off to see the falls. Parked on the US side, walked across the Rainbow Bridge ( you'll see from the slide show why it's called that) and strolled along the Niagara River to the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls as well. Then down the canyon wall to the river to ride the Maid of the Mist into the spray, the fury of the base of the falls. What a ride!




I'll close today with a slide show of the stroll by the falls....

Amber Waves of Grain

Saskatchewan and Manitoba are one big wheat field- at least from what we saw crossing Canada on Rt 1 and flying right along. Flat. That is except for the place we parked in a couple nights back, which was a downhill slope just steep enough that the coach couldn't level out properly and we did some damage to tile and trim when the slide outs wrenched putting them out...and then immediately right back in. Too late, but nothing to stop us or put us at risk, so on we go.


If you check out the Provinces Visited map you will see we have now added Manitoba and also Ontario where we landed tonight at Anicinabe Park on Lake of the Woods. In contrast to the recent provinces we have visited, Ontario is more like the Canada I know from the past. Big trees, lakes everywhere, rich greens and dark blues under a pastel blue sky- very beautiful. Below is the view out the front window of the rig at our first stop in Ontario. Had a nice walk down to the lake- boating, fishing, snorkeling, swimming all going on down at the lake...


The rest of our journey through Canada will be around the area of the Great Lakes and we are really looking forward to that.

Dino-topia

We had hoped to visit the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum on our last day in Alberta and Drumheller, but the museum had just moved to its winter schedule (closed Monday) and since it turned out to be a little further from our campground near the HooDoos than we realized, we decided we could not fit it in Tuesday morning before continuing on. Instead we walked around town, which is loaded with dinosaur replicas of all shapes and sizes. There are plenty of fossil shops, other museums of a lesser stature that the Tyrrell, and other attractions. They have a neat suspension bridge nearby so we took a walk across that and the Red Deer River. Neato. A couple stills and a slide show to mark the occasion.

I told Marilyn to get out of the way of the T-Rex, but would she listen???



Then on to Saskatchewan today. Another province added to our Canada map. Looks a lot like the prairie states so far- hot and seemingly very dry as well. Nothing in particular to write about yet....

HOO DOO: You Think I'm Fooling?

There are some days when, if it weren't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. Yesterday was pretty much one of those days. An RVers nightmare, the electronic door awning left open over night refused steadfastly to retract in the morning as we prepared for departure on a day that called for a run of about 6 hours. Now running down the road with an awning out is not the best of ideas. In fact, it's about the worst. Passing trucks, crossing bridges, passing close to telephone poles just doesn't work with the awning out. It'd be like an eagle with a 6 foot wing span trying to fly full speed into a pigeon coop. Not good for the eagle or the pigeon coop. It was a Saturday. Four hours of trying everything to get that awning back rolled up failed to produce a solution. And even though we found two RV repair services within a possible emergency commute- one had another job he could not leave, and the other guy had, get this, a sick horse, and wouldn't come out. What are the odds? So with little else to do, we got out the installation manual for the awning and DE-INSTALLED it- cut the wires, removed the mounting screws and slid that baby right off the track. Tied it all up, threw it in the car and off we went. We had started to get ready to depart at 6:30 AM. By 12:30PM we were on the road. Stress went along for the ride! Got in late, so the pull through we had reserved was gone, the power was 30 when we had pretty much planned on 50 amp. I know there are gonna be days like this, but I've had my quota for the year now, so.....

Which brings us to the destination for today. Drumheller, Alberta. Home of the Hoo Doos. An early and different form of VooDoo - where the evil spirits were believed to have turned into rocks. They call this the Badlands of Canada and for obvious reason. But the hard hat, soft sandstone rock pillars are everywhere and in every size and stage of development. Was it the Hoo Doos that gave us trouble with the awning? Who do, I say Hoo Doo you think you're fooling?




And since it was close, we opted to drive just a bit further down the road and visit the famed Atlas Coal Mine. There was a very interesting outdoor museum walk of old coal mining equipment, something on the order of what I think is planned for the new museum in the works for Chicken Gold Camp. It was great. We had a trip planned to the dinosaur museum on Monday, but the brochure says it will be closed that day, so we'll just have to see if we can still fit that in...or if the Hoo Doos have their way with us one more time!

A Bad Day For Glass...

It seems like our gigantic windshield luck done run out! For three years now we have been roaming the hemisphere with only a few repairable dings and chips- all fixable with today's glass technology. We've repeated stories on Glass Magnum out of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory who has a technology unrivaled in this day and age for repairing chips and even large cracks in windshields. But on a clear and dry day, and on a clean and dry road, a small car threw a rock at us that first chipped the windshield, then, as we watched in absolute horror, send a crack across our left side windshield at the rate of about an inch every 10 minutes or so. It was kinda neat to watch at the same time it was an ohhhhh nooooo momen. What shall we do? Rural BC, Canada- not likely o find help here! But then Marilyn saw the sign.
"Stop" she yelled.
"What, is there an emergency?"
No, just a sign for windshield repair in a small town on the side of a building reading "Space For Rent."
What were the odds? Who cares, frankly?Good fortune is good fortune... and that is what we MAYBE had. The cell phone worked. What are the odds of that here? Poor. But it did.
"Are you in business? We are on Rt 16 by your sign....."
"Yes, I can see you..."
Within minutes Cory Jackson CiCi Auto Glass Repair, Vanderhoof, BC, CA was at our service. All we had to do was pull around the corner and we were there..... He did not have the advanced technology of Glass Magnum, but at this moment that did not matter in the slightest and he was hot on the job within a minute or two. The crack was stopped from progressing to the point where it could become dangerous. We breathed a sigh of relief. Whewwwwwww. Even his wife and baby came out to supervise the job on the grand windshield. Then with less that an hour of delay, we were once again on our way.

x

Now if this was the only thing to report about glass, I would not have selected this topic for today. But you see, shortly after we pulled out of there, we noticed another crack working its way across the other side of the windshield. Where this one came from we have not a clue! But there it was...and here it is. End game for the both windshields in the long run- but hopefully they hold up til we are back where replacement is a more than reasonable option.

And even a second crack in the windshield may not have prompted me to write about this, excepting my eye glasses decided to break right down the middle as well...and this for the second time, their having been laser welded in California a while back. Backup pair? Sure. Laser welded also. Uh- oh! Notice the trend here. Pretty much all down hill?

Nope. We are crossing the Canadian Rockies. Past Jasper, and the scenery is a-ok whether your windshield has some cracks, or your eye glasses are falling apart or not. Mt. Robson is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies at over 12,000 feet...and here we are cruising on by. Is it any wonder the glass can't cut it, so to speak?

There were lots of pictures that we could have stopped to take along the way. But this was a long day anyhow and we are bookin' it back to PA once again.