To The Rock!

All systems are now 'go' for my trip to The Rock.
WooHOO!

Newfoundland has always been one of the places I'd like to go but never found the right way to get there. It's a long way from Ontario!
Drive?
Fly?
Rent a car?
Where to go?
What to see?
Arghhhh?
Too many decisions.

I know I want to see puffins, and iceberg (or several), get screeched in and kiss the fish. I'd like to attend some kind of musical event, a kitchen party or pub night and I'd love to have some real fresh seafood.

In the Toronto Star a month or so ago there was an ad for travel to Newfoundland. They were advertising two types of tour companies and one of them caught my eye.

CapeRace. (www.caperace.com)  for those who might be interested to find out the real scoop.
An 'eco-cultural' tour.
Okay, so what's that exactly?

It's a personalized, sort of formatted, tour that is self directed with places, people and things to see as well as an unlimited mileage vehicle that's included in the price. Also provided are 3 homes to stay in along the way. There is hiking, biking, sightseeing and tours in any order I want, when I want. This is going to be a blast. This tour answers all the questions I have. I have decided to fly to St. John's, as it's a very long drive! 3 + hours by air is much easier I think.

I received my tour book yesterday, via Purolator, wrapped in fishnet with a fish identification tag with my name and date of departure on it. Okay, that was way cool and I think it is just the first taste of the interesting things I'm going to experience on this adventure.

I fly out on June 14th and return on the 23rd. Just chock this up to another adventure to finish the year. I'm so looking forward to it. It's such a different life there and I want to meet the people and enjoy their hospitality as I have in other parts of the country.

When I come back there will be one more week at L'Ann's End then it's back to work. I've been doing chores every day at the cottage and there is an endless list of things to make prettier or just fix. My gardens are looking fabulous and the recent rain we had is making a big difference to it's growth. My roses will start to bloom shortly, though they are a little shorter than they should be due to the very dry spring.

My newest toy is an e-bike, actually and e-scooter! I was finding that driving the beloved Equinox the 2 kms from the cottage to The Man's place was not the best thing for the gas mileage and the trips into town (1 km) were dumb too. So, I researched and found that a new dealer of E-bikes opened up so off I went to test drive. After a few glitches I am very happy with my Key Lime Green Gio 60 watt e-scooter. It has lots of storage capacity, easy to ride, and is quite fun to ride too. The battery has lots of capacity and one day I put 60 km on it before the battery indicator dropped to half. Neat! It tops out at 35km/h which is just fine thank you and it can go on the rail trail here and the bike lanes too. It reminds me of my days on my moped, nicknamed The Orange Bomb, for obvious reasons. This is a great addition to my transportation needs. Okay, and it's a fun toy too.

That's the news so far. I've been toiling away at challenging things like, reading books, watching the Diamond Jubilee (yes, I did get up at 4:45 AM today to watch the Service of Thanksgiving) and hanging out with The Man. Eastlink Cable has been installed at L'Ann's End and now there are 58 channels to surf. The antenna did noble service for 13 years but with the change to a digital signal, and the supposed converter box that didn't work to bring in a signal, I relented and have cable at the cottage. Ho hum.

26 Days until I complete my Leave of Absence.
What a ride it's been.
Cheers all!

A review of Memphis

Okay I'm going backwards a bit here but I finally looked through all my Memphis pictures, labled them and put them in their own file folder. Sometiimes this takes some time and I finally found (made?) the time.

So, Memphis Tennessee...
Why am I hearing a Paul Simon song right now..
Anyway, Memphis
On the mighty Mississippi, with a bridge to Arkansas.
Beale street.
Graceland
Sun Records
Awesome BBQ and fried chicken
And ducks in the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel

And folks that's just about it.
Really.
There isn't much else.
There might have been a long time ago. Maybe not so long ago but there isn't now.
I don't think the time of year had anything to do with it.
It was weird at times that there just wasn't anyone around.
Sad really.

On my "bucket" list of things was to go to Graceland. Though not a huge Elvis fan I appreciate his humble beginnings and his rise and change in the music industry.
On the way to Memphis I had booked a night in Tupelo, Mississippi. I didn't know at the time of booking that this was Elvis' childhood home.
So I had to wander around what has now become a museum.

This is Elvis' first home. His parents and he lived here (his twin brother died at birth) until they moved to Memphis due to financial problems.

We don't hear much of Elvis' "old" music played now, except if you listen to the Elvis Satellite stations, but his influences were not what we expect.

Once out of Tupelo there isn't much around except expanses of field and forest. Then POW! you're in Memphis.
The city is like any other, good and bad spots. I didn't know where to stay when I started to think of Memphis but was advised to stay at the historic Peabody Hotel downtown. I enjoy the old style hotels with their marble lobbies and old style charm. The Peabody is no exception.
There are ducks in the lobby. Ducks???
See, in the late '30's live decoys were used for hunting and the managers of the hotel were out hunting. After a few wobbly pops out in the field it was decided that the decoys would be let loose in the hotel lobby fountain.
They liked it there.
They stayed.
There are now ducks that are raised by a local farmer that stay in the hotel for just about 2 years then they are set free.
The ducks have a pent house apartment.
The ducks have a parade ceremony at 11 am to the lobby and at 5pm to their penthouse.
There is a duckmaster who corrals them and walks them to the elevator.
Really, I'm not kidding.

This is one of the Peabody Ducks. There were 3 females and one male that enjoyed the fountain.

The Duckmaster is telling the history of the Peabody ducks to the crowd, and what a crowd it was. After the talk, the ducks walked!

Off to their penthouse for the night. Nice life for these guys.

This is the floor, yes, floor of the elevator in the Peabody. The duck theme is everywhere.

Right, so enough ducks for now. Onto all things Elvis.

This statue of Elvis (standing 10 feet tall) was on Beale Street but due to parts of him disappearing from time to time he was moved to the Memphis Welcome Centre! Even there he's alarmed, if you touch him bells go off!

I had made friends with the concierge at the hotel, Mr. Charles. He looked out for me and suggested things that I might like to do during my stay. I had mentioned to him that going to Graceland was a must and I didn't want to drive so he hooked me up with a tour bus that was already running there, along with a stop at the Memphis Visitor's Centre. Miss Michelle was our driver and between her deep southern drawl and her personality the tour was such a hoot. My nickname was O Canada as I was the only Canadian on the small bus. There were people there from Holland, Spain, Austria and Germany and one couple from Missouri. I didn't know that Elvis never toured Europe, he was there only for his Army duty. Europeans are fascinated on what Elvis is really all about. It was fun to hear their remarks.

Graceland is a historic landmark but still considered a private home. It's Lisa Marie's. As Elvis left everything to her it is the foundation that she created and is managed by her mother (Elvis wrote Priscilla out of the will when they divorced). The enterprise now consists of the house, the maintainance of the museum part (the lower floor) and the upkeep of the upper floor that is not open to the public and used by Lisa Marie and Priscilla if they so choose.

The large circular driveway leads to this majestic front entrance.

This is the formal living room. The couch on the very right was probably 12 feet long. The stained glass was amazing. Everything was in cream colours.

The pool was a normal kidney shaped affair, nothing fancy. The Memorial garden is behind it.

This building was Elvis' racquetball court (he loved the sport and built his own court in the backyard) which, after his death, was converted to house all his awards and costumes.

The number of awards was overwhelming. They also were in a basement area as well. They were so numerous it was incredible. Gold and platinum records, Grammy's, Country music awards, achievement awards, you name it!

The memorial gardens are really quite peaceful, they are just beyond the pool area.

 The story is that after Elvis died he was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetary in Memphis but it was found that some grave robbers were planning to removed Elvis' remains. Elvis' father, Vernon petitioned the city to have Elvis buried at Graceland. He then arranged to have his wife reinterred beside her son. There is a plaque memorializing Elvis' twin brother who died at birth in  the memorial garden. Now Vernon and Elvis' grandmother are interred there as well. The flower tributes arrive daily from all over the world and are left there until they weather then are removed by staff. Many people linger in this area for quite some time. Some were even crying. It was interesting.

Graceland is not a palacial, lavish home. It is a home though, and strangely you can get a sense of what it was like to be in "the day" when Elvis was king. The museum and memorials all recall Elvis in his hey-day. Not the "end times" when he was larger and strung out on chemicals. The rooms in the home are of a normal size, with normal furniture and it's like 1977 just stopped this place in it's tracks. The ceilings are low and very low in the basement where, it appeared, Elvis hung out with friends and associates.
There is an office set up in one of the back garages and he had horses on his property (as it wasn't really in Memphis when he bought it). The home was built in the 20's and had the name Graceland already and that was a condition of sale that the name would not be changed.
After he bought Graceland he asked his parents to move in too. Vernon was involved in Elvis' bookings and appearances.
The "jungle room" is really a sunroom that has shag carpet and green astro-turf on the ceiling and leopard print upholstery. I think this is where Elvis did a lot of singing and practicing. The TV room downstairs has low ceilings, yellow and blue leather furniture, a wet bar in the corner and 3 TV's all on, showing different shows. Elvis loved TV. There was a small record player in the corner and some 45's piled up. His sound system was nothing earth shattering. Just a couple of speakers on the counter!

Pictures are allowed throughout the whole complex but without a flash and I have yet to get a full handle on how to do that properly so the pics are a little grainy but you get the idea.

The Elvis Foundation also has all of his cars and planes on display too. They have a very well organized empire created so all fans can get a real sense of what he was like and what his life was like. I am so glad I took the tour, I'm so glad I made it to Graceland to really see what it's all about. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, if you were an Elvis super fan or just an interested party like me.

Right, enough now on this post.
Beale street and Sun Records for another time.
As I go through all of this I realize how truly neat it was to be at Graceland and see what one man, from a humble start could make for himself.

Grand Finale?

Two months to go.
I can't belive it's been 10 months since I was last working full time and not travelling/roaming full time.
But there's one more destination that I've wanted to include since the beginning of this pilgrimage.

The Rock.
Newfoundland.
The "beginning" of Canada.
Where the icebergs float by and the puffins nest in crags and the people are fun and hospitable. (and have awesome accents that I just love listening to).

In the Toronto Star on the weekend there was an ad for CapeRace. A travel company that seemed to have all the answers to my questions about getting to see my puffins and ice bergs.
I won't say much about it here because there's nothing "set in stone" and I don't want to jinx it. Safe to say it looks like my goal/dream of getting to Newfoundland may actually come true!

I have not been sitting around since I arrived home from the US. My little home, L'Ann's End, has been in sorry need of some TLC so that's what I've been doing.
New shower curtains, new pillows, a hammock to hang, new picnic table; hauling wood inside, donating old books to the library, filling propane tanks, cleaning the whole place from the ceilings down, discarding old "cottage" clothes and the list goes on.
I still have the siding to clean and the gardens to tidy up but those chores will have to wait until the weather gets a bit warmer!

Today I actually (finally?) got a post office box here in Southampton. I have everything mailed to Toronto but over the past little while the mail person there has had some frustration trying to get the mail to the correct recipient. I even bought a metal mail box to hang on the outside door so our mail doesn't get squished, rained on or ripped. It has helped but I think it's time to get something up here. So, today I am pleased to say that I have box 1371 in Southampton for my mail, what ever I decide to have mailed here. When I eventually do move up here I will have my post box already. Nothing like getting things organized early!

As pictures are always enjoyed I have included some here.

I call this "Traffic" , I count 4 different sets of footprints here.

The next are a series of pics from around the Saugeen River mouth near the cottage. It was a nice evening and I thought some early snaps were in order.

This is the west range light, guiding mariners into safe harbour of the Saugeen River. It's an iconic design of range light on the Great Lakes. The green light at the top can be seen for miles out in the lake. The fog horn is activated by request to the Coast Guard these days. I can still remember the days when it was activated by the density of the air (foggy = heavier air) and it was a such a neat haunting sound but now, not so often. Of course the challenge as a kid was to stand under the fog horn while it was going on. Yup, been there, done that! :-)

This is an April sunset. A little different than the summer sunsets as the air isn't as warm so the colours aren't quite as dramatic. It still a special picture and I really like it with the small waves coming in. This is a quiet Lake Huron. I'll post some pictures of a wild Lake Huron (when it happens!).

Thanks folks for reading again. I know it's been a while. Better late than never! I'll post about my Newfoundland trip news either way...

cheers all!

Home and Running!

Well folks I apologize for the lack of posting for the past week or so.
I've been run off my feet!
After driving my butt off!

Once Memphis was behind me (more on that later) I had about 17 hours of driving time left to get to good old Southampton. With a stop over in Middletown Ohio (nice place I'm sure, didn't bother to look) I headed into the land of trees with no leaves and some dry, slightly brown fields of mid Ohio and Michigan.

Surprisingly (and thankfully) the border guard at Port Huron did not want me to unpack even one thing other than my passport and let me through with only a few basic questions. PHEW! I was having a few nightmares over the possibility of unpacking the super packed Equinox to prove all I had purchased. Yes, I had all the receipts and was prepared, like a good Girl Guide, but wasn't to be. Yay!

Now it was home to Southampton and all things Canadian. Ahhh it's good to be home. I was only a little road weary.

I really enjoyed being in the US. Everyone was so nice and I have no complaints but it's something to say that I'm Canadian and proud to be and glad to be home again. Even if the trees don't have leaves on them (yet) and the ground is certainly colder than what I'm used to and the wind is a little chillier it's still home. With the warm weather Ontario experienced in March it was nice to see some of the flowers blooming away but there was still a chill in the air. Quite the contrast from the heat and humidity of Port Charlotte.

I was in a bit of a time warp.
When I left Southampton in December it didn't look much different than it does now.
But I've got a tan.
Weird.
Something to get used to.

So I spent a couple of days and unpacked everything. Looked at where it all was to go. Toronto, L'Ann's End or the house of The Man. Then there was The Man's bag, packed with all the things he had bought down there. That was fun. Kind of like Christmas again!

Then there was a trip to Toronto for some appointments, check in with The Mother, open a mountain of mail and finish my income tax. Then it was time to get L'Ann's End sorted out for another season. I will actually spend a lot of time there this year and of course there are the chores that go along with owning a seasonal property. Siding to be cleaned. Basic repairs inside, a new picnic table to be found, wood to be chopped from a tree that was cut down last year; stuff like that. So I've been running around doing all sorts of things. What's really nice is that I can actually spend the time to do things and not feel rushed because I'm only here for a few days. Nice....

I have still to look at my pictures from Memphis and label them all. That'll be a challenge but I want to include some in my next blog because it really was something to be where Elvis lived, be where he recorded (Sun Records) and watch the Peabody Ducks parade to the elevator to their penthouse for the night at the historical Peabody Hotel. I have so many good memories of the last 5 months that it's hard to wrap it all up.

I think I'll keep blogging though. The topics might be of interest, might not but it's still something that's going on in my time on my pilgrimage. I guess every journey can be a pilgrimage if you want to make it so. I have gotten out of the blogging habit and have to get back to it. Sorry about that.

Suffice to say I am home safe and sound and better for the experience of being a Snowbird.
Something about having a tan in March is kind of cool.
The Man is addicted to Florida and is so wishing he was down there right now (yeah, it's 3 degrees Celcius out and a howling northwest wind so anyone would want to go south).

Thanks for reading and I PROMISE to blog more often. Pictures too 'kay....

OH yeah, The beloved Equinox has amassed 46,450 km since it's purchase on May 4, 2011. Whew! That's a lot of touring! Awesome....

Another part of the Pilgrimage comes to a close

In a number of hours I will begin my journey home.
With a slight detour to Elvis' home first.
Ah, another check mark for the Bucket List.

It has been such a fantastic experience to be in a southern clime for the winter, or most of it.
Since my arrival in Port Charlotte I have had the best weather imaginable with only a few days of rain and that never slowed down any activities. What changed the agenda a few times was the heat and humidity. I know now I could never live in the tropics full time. I've only been dehydrated a couple of times down here but it can happen so easily. How can the body produce so much salty water? Yikes.

The beloved Equinox is now packed.
This is before.....

And after....

Even the back seat is utilized...

Every square inch of the Equinox has a purpose...

The space you see there is for my "hotel bag" and the Kool-a-tron on the floor behind my seat. You may notice a bungie cord holding up a Roots folding chair. This is to keep it from falling off the top of the pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid is the golf clubs hidden in a bed sheet. The club heads are wrapped in the end of the sheet as nothing drives me more nuts than a rattling in the back of the car that I can't stop. So, all jammed in and I even took it for a test drive to the gas station to fill up with my Winn Dixie discount points for a final time and take note of the sluggish handling now that the vehicle is so much heavier than usual.

My 'to do' list around the house is just about complete. Little things like deleting the search history on the computer will still need to be done. Even the two beach balls floating around in the pool for the last 3 months have been washed and scrubbed.

I've noticed a number of other Snowbirds have left. Laser Joe's place last night was in darkness, the first time I've noticed it like that in the evening. Two other sets of folks that have been here since I arrived I saw packing up a couple of days ago. Many are heading home to be back for Easter.

Wow, now that I think of it so much has happened since Easter of last year.
In 2011 I was celebrating Easter dinner at my cousin Tomas' cottage in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. What truly amazing things I have seen, heard, and done since that time.
Really, it has been a pilgrimage. I am amazed!
I guess I could call myself a "seasoned traveller" now.
Am I done travelling?
I'm not sure.
I have a lot to reflect on and what I might be able to do before this time is over but first I need to go home.
This Snowbird girl is starting her migration north.

I've been on "travelling rules" for beverages and food for the last week. If you've ever travelled as a Girl Guide or Scout you know travelling rules.

Never buy large containers of more than can be consumed before departure. I'm pretty good at it. After enough trips in Guiding it becomes part of your lifestyle and it comes naturally. So, I know I have enough orange juice, milk and cereal for tomorrow. I have enough bread for breakfast and to make a sandwich for a travelling lunch tomorrow. I have peeled all the fruit (easy snack on the road and no mess to clean up) and cut up all the celery and carrots left (hard to do in a hotel room).
My lunch is packed for tomorrow and dinner last night and tonight is "glop", a mixture of left overs (little bit of onion, hamburg patty, little bit of rice, a few pasta shells, tomato sauce, half of a green pepper and anything else I could find that might work).

Cans of pop and bottles of water are good to take because they are small and can be packaged up in smaller bags. The big containers are all gone. Woohoo!

One activity I didn't anticipate doing while I was down here was playing tennis.
Huh?
What?
Tennis? No way.

Yup, after a whole pile of years I was on the tennis court again. Not to play a real game I might say but to bash around some Penns on a court near the beach.
A friend of D's that had come down from Ohio was desparate for someone to go and hit against. Since there were no takers I sacrificed myself to the cause.
Actually it wasn't too bad. Despite the humidity being nuts (thank God for a dri-fit shirt) and being rather out of shape, I did okay.

I think it was all muscle memory.
See, I played tennis all through my pre-teen and teenage years and was kind of good for a while there.
Alas, life came into it all and between summer jobs then full time employment the tennis fanatic in me packed up and left.
(Really it was the life-long friends that I met at tennis lessons in Southampton that made me come back year after year...yes Nutty Buddies, you know who you are!!)

Being on the court again I began to remember how to hit and what it felt like to get my feet in the right place to make a pretty good shot. Right, so I couldn't serve worth a damn I did have some really good returns and even surprised myself.

But after being on the court for nearly an hour, in the sun and heat of Port Charlotte Florida I was done. Cooked, baked, over heated and parched (obviously 1 litre of water is not enough for 1 hour of working out) I headed home to pack the car.
Might as well mess up just one set of clothes in a day.
2 hours of working out in one day is good.
And it's good to be done too.

As I spend my last afternoon by the pool reading a book (why change from the norm on the last day) with a beverage I will remember all the great things that happened while I was here. What an experience it all has been.
Experience of a life time.
A Pilgrimage.

Awesome.....

Let the cramming begin...

Well, I think I'm organized.
I mean, I've gone through all my stuff and think that I've got everything organized to cram into the Equinox.
This is going to be a challenge.

You see this is the stuff...

And this is the stuff from the kitchen....

Oh, then there is the folding bike....

And the golf clubs, golf shoes and the folding chairs....

And the Kool-a-tron...

But most importantly....

There it is. All of it. Yikes!!

I have been planning the packing part for a while and I think it's best if I take my time. I know I can fit it all in. It's just where.

If you're wondering about all the kitchen stuff the owner of Paradise wants NOTHING left behind so despite my best efforts to use things up as much as possible there is still a pile of stuff. Now this can be packed in smaller portions and stuffed where it can go in the Equinox. Some of it will not be needed until I arrive home but some might be used in transit. (Microwave popcorn for a snack after getting off the road).
The little Kool-a-tron is awesome for this. Keeps things cool that need to be. Right now that looks like just cheese slices from the fridge. Most of the hotels I have booked have fridges in the rooms but I have an AC adapter for the unit so I just plug it in and I'm good to go! Neat!

Right now it's nearly 90 F out by the pool and the humidity is off the charts again. Any work done outside is done slowly and with breaks. I can see why people are starting to head out. This weather is brutal for doing anything! Yeah, I even break a sweat reading! The ice maker gets a work out, let me tell you!

3 days to go in Paradise.

I'm not sad. It has been an awesome experience to be here.

With all the bags around I'm getting excited about being on the road again.
Sure I'm a little nervous as the weather dudes reported tornadoes last night in Texas. I hope that I'm not in a tornado alley in Memphis! Oh well, one more thing to experience on my journey.

The beloved Equinox had an oil change and tire rotation done (only $42!) and is deemed very fit to travel. I'm glad!
Imagine it's not even a year old! So far 42,000 km. Holy COW!

So a couple of days left to tour around and check things out for one last time and do some pool reading (floating on a pool noodle with the book propped up on the side of pool!) Fun!

I'll try to remember to take before and after pictures of the Equinox when I start to pack. I think it will amaze me that I'll get it all in. I know I will but yes, it will be a challenge.

Nearly on the road again....

Cheers all!



One week to go in Paradise

Well, it's finally arrived.
My last week here in lovely, quiet Port Charlotte, Florida.
My to do list isn't too long really but it's amazing all the things I've done, either with The Man, friends, family or on my own.
There are a few things left to do (other than hang out by the pool and read books) and I have a schedule for them all.

First was to finalize some shopping. With the lower tax rate down here buying clothing especially is lovely. New shoes, along with some new shirts and some nifty thermal glasses are all stored away.
I am still on the quest for a Kobo Vox eReader.
I know, I know I can get it in Canada but hey for nearly 12% less I'm going to try down here. Two more Best Buys to check out then I'm going to pack that in and just buy it at home. The book stores carry a version of it called a Nook but since I'm already with Kobo I don't want to switch products or services. Probably could but why? I'm on a quest!!

One tour I wanted to do was a trip to Sanibel and Captiva Island. This little spit of land is supposed to be beautiful and the beaches filled with sand and awesome shells. Of course there are cool restaurants on the islands too so I thought I'd make a day trip of it.

After crossing the causeway to the island. I hung out in slow traffic (only one road really) and meandered my way to the end of the island, called Captiva. I figured the beaches were going to be huge expanses of sand and sea. Not to be. They were small, very crowded and not long at all. Now were did I get the idea they were like Sauble Beach? Hmmm
What was like Sauble was the way the homes were close to the road then there were dunes on the other side of the road. Many, however, were for sale. Interesting.

Causeway to Sanibel Island

Road on Captiva Island that looks like Sauble Beach, without the palm trees!

Busy Beach of Captiva Island

Typical small road of Captiva, note the mist coming from the restaurant to the right. It really cooled you down. Awesome!

Like many of the islands off Florida they were not intended for vehiclular traffic and the roads are very narrow. Thankfully I am so used to the beloved Equinox that navigating the tight turns and small guage of the roads is no issue but I did amuse myself my watching a gentleman manoever a large van (rental?) through the laneway beside the restaurant I had lunch at. Gotta keep your wits about you. A Smartcar would be fantastic to have here.

Captiva Island was hopping on Tuesday. It was jammed with sight seers, beach goers, gawkers and just people enjoying the visit. Nice. Everyone was having a good time. As you can see by the pictures the weather was certainly helping. It was close to 90F (30C) and with little breeze, shade was important.

I had seen in a touristy thing an ad for The Key Lime Bistro. With my continued love of all things Key Lime I had to find this place. With The Man's help the night before, he on Google Earth (love that program) at home in Southampton and me with a map in Port Charlotte, he and I found the place. Then the next day I found it for real. Boy, Google Earth is good because this place is really small and tucked back where you wouldn't see it if you were driving the main road (only road?) on the island.

Seated under the awning I enjoyed a great beverage (hey, it was afternoon by this point) and the most awesome eggs benedict made with key lime hollandaise sauce. Foodie my nature this hit the spot and then some.

Okay I had to get this drink. No, I wasn't driving right after either. Couldn't resist...

OH YUM!!

After refuelling at the Bistro and listening for a while to the great guitar player they had I headed out on a walk of the area. I did ask if I could leave my car in the tiny parking lot behind the restaurant (a real find, let me tell you). Yes! Bonus! Off I went.

The sidewalks on Captiva are so interesting, winding among the palm trees and the lovely flowers. It was a joy just to walk to the beach.

Lovely walk to the beach!

This hibiscus was the size of a dinner plate!

This is a flower not a bird!

The islands of Sanibel and Captiva were very hard hit by the BP oil rig disaster and the affects are still seen in the marine life. There is heavy advertising on the fact that these islands are as lovely as they ever were. It makes me wonder though, with the number of for sale signs that things aren't as lovely as the public relations folks make it out to be.

The dark markings on this shell are from the oil that it was sitting in close to shore last year. I know it's kind of hard to see, I was trying to be a bit artistic with this picture. Ho hum...

The land ward side of the island has white beaches, though they are very narrow and there is a lighthouse at the Sanibel end of the island. In typical fashion I took a picture to add to my collection of lighthouses around the US and Canada. Again, the beaches were busy. For some reason I started comparing it to the now favourite beach at Boca Grande. It just didn't seem the same. Maybe it was because on this side of the island you're looking at the land and large buildings of Ft. Myers.

Sanibel Island Lighthouse

Sanibel beach with causeway and Ft. Myers in the background. I love the umbrella in this picture!

So after a whirlwind tour of the island and checking out the thousands of rental places (I don't think anyone truly owns property on the islands) I headed over the causeway and back home for a dip in the pool.

I'm glad I went. I had heard so much about Sanibel and Captiva and now I know. It's a fun place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. Kind of reminded me of the chaos Sauble Beach is on a long July weekend when it's really hot!

I have put the finishing touches on my journey from here to Ontario, all hotels are booked and driving times calculated. I have one week to go. Wow, I can't believe it. Really though it's been an awesome time and I've learned so much and enjoyed so much.

I, like many of the other Snowbirds, are starting their trek north. With the recent warm weather up north many decided to leave a little early, at least that was the talk in the grocery store the other day. (I love listening to chatter in the check out line, you learn SO much!)

Me? I'm on schedule and plan to do the things I want to do to finish up my time here. Today I'm off to catch a few of the greyhound races at the track in Ft. Myers. I'm a big time spender, don'tcha know. $6 a race. $2 on what ever dog has a cool name to win, place or show.

Woo hoo! (stop laughing, all of you!!)

The Man came up with this system when we go to the Hanover Raceway to the harness racing. You know what you're going to spend. If you make something great, if you don't you know what you lost. Works for me.

I leave you with a few views of Captiva Island

My lunch spot on Captiva Island. YUM!

Captiva Island Harbour

A tanned me with a shorter haircut!

Cheers all!