Trip Diary: (only land travel) for
February, 2009
Feb. 1-10; Docked at Ft. Myers Yacht
Basin, FL: Sunday
morning we drove 24 mi. to attend the 11 AM service at
Punta Gorda FUMC with Purdue colleagues Warren and Judy Stevenson.
After a fine lunch at Giorgio's we enjoyed an afternoon of conversation at
the Stevenson's, returning to the boat just in time to watch the Super Bowl.
Purdue alums Phil and Helen Goodrich from Minneapolis drove down from their
Punta Gorda winter rental Monday. After lunch aboard, despite
intermittent rain showers, Phil drove us to Sanibel Island; we even took a short beach
walk before rain resumed. 
Our auto tour of the large Darling Wildlife Refuge revealed lots of
birds, especially white pelican with their black under-wing feathers (shown on
one in the flock) and pink
duckbill roseate. 
A lone Anhinga (water turkey) 
allowed us to get quite close. Finally, we enjoyed dinners at the Island Cow
before returning to the boat for conversation and dessert. Larry started
changing oil and filters in the main engines Tuesday before Rotary and
then finished the job after returning. The rain was gone today, but 15-20
mph north winds are bringing another cold front. The forecast is for an
inland freeze Thursday evening. Wednesday morning Larry began the
difficult job of removing the 70 lb. almost inaccessible inverter/charger while
lying stretched horizontal beside the port engine; Lola began baking for dinner. It was 3 PM before
removal was completed. At 5:30, Bruce and Bonnie,
Phantom of the Aqua, came over for dinner aboard. The official
Thursday morning low in Ft. Myers was 31 with NNE winds still 20 mph!
Heating with only the quieter electric registers in lieu of heat pumps,
the salon temp. fell to 60. Ideal conditions for sleeping
in. After working on finances most of the afternoon, we drove to
Origami for Japanese dinners.
Friday was another day for tourism. We drove 45 mi. north for lunch
at the Nav-A-Gator Grill,
a unique restaurant on the Peace River. We
had dined
there with Warren and Judy
Stevenson on our first loop. Then, with a warming trend finally starting,
it was on to the fine beaches of Boca Grande/Gasparilla Island to shell, relax and enjoy the Gulf.
Saturday morning was devoted to boatkeeping chores: laundry, web updates,
etc. Following a light lunch aboard, we walked a block to the huge,
8-block high-quality arts festival. This 2-day event, which usurped our
reserved on-street parking space for 3 days to accommodate tent booths, was
thronged with people. With temps in the mid-70's, we continued walking to
Publix (a 1 mi. from the boat) for a few groceries. Of course,
along the way we enjoyed mid-afternoon refreshments at
Bennett's Fresh Roast. Larry, recovering from 3 days battling a
cough/cold, spent the evening working on taxes. Lola ironed and then
joined in the tax work. Following the 4 block Sunday walk to the 11
AM service at First United Methodist
Church,
we continued downtown to Ichiban's for our second excellent, inexpensive
meal there. Monday started very early as Larry left at 5:45 AM to
walk 5 blocks to the Harborside
Event Center, joining a few thousand people waiting for free tickets to
Tuesday's President Obama visit/speech at that location.
Unfortunately, that effort was in vain. The announced 1,500 tickets were
gone before he reached the head of the line (which began forming before noon
Sunday!). Among those disappointed ones leaving, he overheard one say he
had waited unsuccessfully 10 hrs.; thus, Larry didn't feel too bad about his 3
hrs. After loading the car for Wednesday's departure, we drove to a late
lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise (including their unique Chocolate
Nachos) before returning to once again seek temporary parking for the car; this
time to accommodate road/parking limitations for the presidential visit.
Tuesday was mostly devoted to packing the car for the journey home.
We did take time-out to watch President Obama's motorcade to arrive and depart 3
hours later.
Wednesday,
Feb. 11: To begin our return to IN for routine medical exams in the proper
fashion, we stopped at
Bennett's Fresh Roast for breakfast as we departed at 7 AM. The next stop
was Tampa to leave the inverter/charger for repair at
Lazy Days RV center. After driving 600 mi.,
we stayed just
north of Atlanta, GA in Smyrna.
Thursday,
Feb. 12: With only 200 mi. travel to visit granddaughter Samantha in
Knoxville, we had a leisurely departure and a pleasant drive. Nursing
classes kept Sam from joining us until 1:30 PM. This allowed time for Lola
to shop a bit at Turkey Creek on the western edge of Knoxville as we
arrived. After visiting at the motel, Sam drove us to the
Copper Cellar for
fine dinners.
Feb. 13-23; W. Lafayette, IN:
Following breakfast with Sam Friday, we departed for home. We
reached Noblesville, IN by 4 PM. This allowed 25 min. to visit daughter
Sandy who was babysitting great-grandson, Gabe. This short visit enabled
us to enjoy a pizza dinner with Keith and Sharon Hawks at
Monical's in W. Lafayette.
After 3 days and 1260 mi., it was time to go to the condo and begin unpacking
and catching up on local business. Saturday was a day to
recuperate, adjust to a cooler climate and get organized for the brief visit
home. It was good to once again be in our home church,
FUMC, on Sunday. After the 11
AM service we drove 50 mi. to join sister Sharon and her husband George for fine
dinners at The Beef House in
Covington, IN. Monday-Friday were devoted to numerous activities,
including several Purdue functions and a couple of visits to the Wesley
Thrift Shop in Crawfordsville. We got a taste of real winter
Saturday when 2 in. of snow with a little ice dusted the area.
Main roads had cleared by 2:30, so we headed for Noblesville to visit grandson
Nick, his wife Jamie and great grandson Gabe.
Sunday provided our final FUMC
service of the trip, followed by brunch at
The Trails with son John, his
wife Leslie and their son Tyler. After early doctors appointments
Monday we headed for the boat. This allowed a 3:30 stop in Nashville
to enjoy a late lunch with Bob and Anne Levine, Sandpiper, before driving
till 8:30 to overnight in Smyrna, GA.
Tuesday, Feb. 24 was another long
day of driving 650 mi. That leg was lengthened 40 mi. because we diverted
through Clearwater to have seafood dinners at Frenchy's Salt Water Cafe;
we reached the boat at 8:20 PM! We had driven more than 3,000 in 12 days!
Feb 25-28; Ft. Myers Yacht Basin:
Wednesday was spent recovering from travel, acclimating to the wonderful
climate, and getting a car load of stuff organized onto the boat. We
joined the brief Ash Wednesday evening service at First UMC.
Thursday was spent shopping and e-filing federal taxes. Friday
was a day for general boat cleaning and repair projects. Saturday
afternoon Wayne and Judy Skaggs, long-time Purdue and ASABE friends from
Raleigh, NC, arrived to spend the night aboard.
Water miles traveled to date: 2,317; this month:
0
Questions or comments? Just
e-mail us.
Our auto tour of the large Darling Wildlife Refuge revealed lots of
birds, especially white pelican with their black under-wing feathers (shown on
one in the flock) and pink
duckbill roseate. 
A lone Anhinga (water turkey) 
allowed us to get quite close. Finally, we enjoyed dinners at the Island Cow
before returning to the boat for conversation and dessert. Larry started
changing oil and filters in the main engines Tuesday before Rotary and
then finished the job after returning. The rain was gone today, but 15-20
mph north winds are bringing another cold front. The forecast is for an
inland freeze Thursday evening. Wednesday morning Larry began the
difficult job of removing the 70 lb. almost inaccessible inverter/charger while
lying stretched horizontal beside the port engine; Lola began baking for dinner. It was 3 PM before
removal was completed. At 5:30, Bruce and Bonnie,
Phantom of the Aqua, came over for dinner aboard. The official
Thursday morning low in Ft. Myers was 31 with NNE winds still 20 mph!
Heating with only the quieter electric registers in lieu of heat pumps,
the salon temp. fell to 60. Ideal conditions for sleeping
in. After working on finances most of the afternoon, we drove to
Origami for Japanese dinners.
Friday was another day for tourism. We drove 45 mi. north for lunch
at the Nav-A-Gator Grill,
a unique restaurant on the Peace River. We
had dined
there with Warren and Judy
Stevenson on our first loop. Then, with a warming trend finally starting,
it was on to the fine beaches of Boca Grande/Gasparilla Island to shell, relax and enjoy the Gulf.
Saturday morning was devoted to boatkeeping chores: laundry, web updates,
etc. Following a light lunch aboard, we walked a block to the huge,
8-block high-quality arts festival. This 2-day event, which usurped our
reserved on-street parking space for 3 days to accommodate tent booths, was
thronged with people. With temps in the mid-70's, we continued walking to
Publix (a 1 mi. from the boat) for a few groceries. Of course,
along the way we enjoyed mid-afternoon refreshments at
Bennett's Fresh Roast. Larry, recovering from 3 days battling a
cough/cold, spent the evening working on taxes. Lola ironed and then
joined in the tax work. Following the 4 block Sunday walk to the 11
AM service at First United Methodist
Church,
we continued downtown to Ichiban's for our second excellent, inexpensive
meal there. Monday started very early as Larry left at 5:45 AM to
walk 5 blocks to the Harborside
Event Center, joining a few thousand people waiting for free tickets to
Tuesday's President Obama visit/speech at that location.
Unfortunately, that effort was in vain. The announced 1,500 tickets were
gone before he reached the head of the line (which began forming before noon
Sunday!). Among those disappointed ones leaving, he overheard one say he
had waited unsuccessfully 10 hrs.; thus, Larry didn't feel too bad about his 3
hrs. After loading the car for Wednesday's departure, we drove to a late
lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise (including their unique Chocolate
Nachos) before returning to once again seek temporary parking for the car; this
time to accommodate road/parking limitations for the presidential visit.
Tuesday was mostly devoted to packing the car for the journey home.
We did take time-out to watch President Obama's motorcade to arrive and depart 3
hours later.
