Sunday at the Beach House

Today we went over to the beach house that Sam and friends rent in Marathon. We love sunny days by the pool watching the boats and dolphins go by.


Sam and friends, Lisa and Brad have been coming to The Keys in March for the past 8 years. This year, John and Laura, friends from Indiana have also joined them.

Fred and Tex spend the entire time from noon to dark fishing off the pier. Fred caught puffer and pin fish and some keeper mangrove snapper. Tex is really a fisherdog and will not leave Fred's side--he barks when the bait goes out and when the fish come in on the rod.

What a beautiful and relaxing place!!!

Saturday at the Flea Market

Florida has lots of flea markets. When in The Keys, we go to Big Pine Key flea market on Saturdays to get fresh veggies and whatever else we can find. Lots of fun and we run into people from our RV park--even ran into some friends that we met last year from Michigan who are staying at another park and made arrangements to meet up next week with them.


You can even buy your underwear at the flea market.

My brother, Sam, arrived by noon and we met up with him and his friends, John and Laura for lunch.

Fred enjoys a cold Corona.

The Drive to The Keys

Lots of alligators along Alligator Alley through the Everglades.




We are always "shocked" when we first see this water--it takes our breath away--it is sooo beautiful!!!


Some of the old bridges near Bahia Hondo SP

Shelling on Sanibel Island

We have the "Sanibel stoop" after the last two days of shelling. It is amazing how many kinds of shells wash up on the beach here. We found this place last year and couldn't pass it by this year. The front made it cold and windy but we found great shells. (2 buckets full--who knows what we will do with them, but it is like hunting for treasure.) Also lots of live sea urchins mixed in with the shells.



I found that it was easier to get down in the shells even though I was soaking wet.


Fred found this star fish.

I found this one but wasn't about to touch it.

Then off to WalMart to stock up before our trip to the Keys tomorrow. We won't see another WalMart for a month--don't know how I will survive!! Already I am complaining---no thin sandwich bread--we experience this in almost every state except Texas--I just don't understand eating all that thick bread. Also Texans seem to be the only ones who eat their chips (potato, tortilla, or Fritos) without flavoring. When we had our MH worked on, the techs had to unload the cabinet over the washer. I had my Dorito stash there and they both wanted to know where I got plain Doritoes---they had never seen them!! I had a problem finding plain Fritos today.

Shopping...Shopping...Shopping

We are in Fort Myers, and it is a shoppers haven. Two malls, lots of new shopping centers everywhere, and the best outlet mall. (I don't even like outlet malls, but this one is good--has a great Chico's outlet.) I spent the day going to as many good stores as I could before I had to pick Fred up. I didn't have nearly enough time!!! But I found some great buys and even got Fred some great clothes, too. Even got some things to decorate our site when we get to Marathon.

What a Cold Ski Show!!!

After the shopping, Fred and I went to a ski show at the outlet mall. We had a front come through today so it was cold out in the wind. I can only imagine how cold the skiers were! They are state champions and put on a great show even with all the rough water.




The skiers ranged in age from 6-53.

Exploring St Armand's Circle and Siesta Key

St Armand's Circle is a shopping and restaurant mecca by the coast in Sarasota. We went there to eat at Columbia's, a Cuban restaurant that has been in the area for 104 years. This was our first experience with Cuban food and we really liked it. --Salad prepared tableside with their famous garlic dressing, Cuban bread, criollo for Fred (shrimp sauteed with garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes served over rice), and palomilla for me (thin grilled sirloin topped with onion, parsley, and lime juice over rice). Their yellow rice was really delicious with tomatoes and green peas in it. Thanks, James, for telling us about Cuban food. We hope to try more in Marathon.



Down by the waterfront, we saw this aluminum sculpture "Unconditional Surrender" based on a famous photo from WW II. It was 25 feet tall.



Then on to Siesta Beach --absolutely beautiful!! We had heard so much about the quartz sand, and it was amazing--just like Destin and the beaches around it up in the Panhandle.


Everyone just relaxing and flying kites on Siesta Beach.