Fort Myers with Family

Amanda and Dave

Kaia

Roger here...  We have been to Fort Myers, Florida many, many, many times.  My parents wintered near here in La Belle.  Dear friends of ours have a house in Naples.  This is not unfamiliar territory.

The total purpose of this visit was to spend time with our daughter, Amanda; her boyfriend, Dave; and our granddaughter, Kaia.  That we did.

The Visit...  

Amanda and Dave both work at the Edison Country Club.  Their conveniently located apartment is on the golf course.  Their back patio backs directly onto one of the fairways.  Anyone who knows Amanda knows that she feeds any animal that she sees.  The ducks below come to their patio for their daily handouts.  They also follow Amanda around the golf course where she carries food for them, and the squirrels, and the crows, ad nauseam.  I watched Dave feeding them while we were there.

Dave showed us around on his golf cart.  (Decorated  for his beloved Baltimore Ravens -- Dave is the ultimate sports fan. -- D.)
  He stores it behind the apartment.  It is a beautiful course, and well cared-for.

The four of us had lunch at the Edison, where Dave is the kitchen manager.  The food was great.


We took them back to see our new airstream at Franklin Locks, where we were camped.  We tried sitting outside, but it was the middle of the day and SO hot and humid that we crammed inside before heading back to have dinner with Kaia.

While we were in the Airstream, Amanda noticed a footprint on the ceiling!  What?

Wow!  :-)!!  We figured out that it was caused when Dianne swatted the yellow flies with her flip flop that sneaked into our tiny home back in Carabelle.  We probably need to clean that up :-).

The picture of Kaia at the beginning of this post was taken at the Outback Steakhouse where she is a hostess.  She joined us for dinner after her shift ended.  She is in the pre-nursing program at Florida SW College.  

The following morning, the five of us went to breakfast at the McGregor Cafe.  Great food!  We ate outside in the shade.

Later in the day Kaia went shopping for birthday gifts for her boyfriend while Dianne, Amanda and I made a stop at Big Lots.  Amanda continues to find neat things for our new trailer....   

Dianne here:  She has a knack for finding the perfect thing.  Previously she had mailed us this cute pillow:

She knows her mother well, and sent this perfect charm for my trailer window --

And this pretty light catcher.  The charm and the light catcher throw colored dots all around the aluminum interior of the trailer when the sun hits them.  

After the shopping extravaganza Kaia, Dianne and I all went to the Bell Tower Place Cinema to see Aladdin.  It was Kaia's idea.  I fondly remember taking her to see all the Disney cartoons when she was young, so this was special.  We also got to meet her boyfriend, Dylan.  I did not embarrass anyone by trying to take his picture :-).  He seems like a nice young man.

After the movie, Kaia showed us her apartment.  I forgot to take pictures!  She has done a great job decorating it.  We are both so proud of her.  

Saying goodbye to Kaia and Amanda and Dave was tough.  We will miss them so much until we see them again.

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:

The trailer came with a magnetic white board and three hooks mounted near the door.   I added two additional hooks for our dog leashes, a clear caddy above the white board to hold a flashlight, and a stick-on tap light that dims for when I want to get up in the night without waking Roger.  The item beneath Bandido's frisbee is a fold-up tote bag that unzips into a full-size tote when needed and folds back into a neat, tidy package that hangs from a hook.  

 In our motor home, we had a big US map with stick-on states that we'd adhere when we'd enter a new state in the motor home.  That map was totally complete except for New England and Alaska.  We are starting over again.   In keeping with our downsizing routine, we are coloring in states on a small map.   I'm using a different color marker depending on the year we first visit a state. This summer will finally take in New England.

AFTER 50 YEARS....

Roger, Dianne, Judie, Bill

One of the great things about Facebook is reconnecting with childhood friends.  Judie and I went to school together, both elementary and high school in Indiana.  We had not seen each other in 50 years!  She and her husband Bill live in Naples.   We met for lunch at the Fish House Restaurant in Bonita Springs to catch up on our lives and discuss RV'ing and Airstream trailers.   We just might meet them on the road one of these days in their own Airstream.  

Our Campground --- Franklin Lock COE

We continue to return to our favorite Corps of Engineers campground at Franklin Lock and Dam whenever we are near Ft. Myers.  The RV sites here are amazing.  They are all located on an island in the middle of the Caloosahatchee River.  Our pull-through site is right on the water and overlooks the dam and the locks.

We have a covered picnic table that gives us some relief from the intense sun.  We moved our chairs from place to place following the shade.

During our stay we watched countless water craft go through the lock.

Our camping chairs gave us an excellent location for watching the bald eagles (in the distance), the manatees, the turtles, one alligator and of course the birds that were always at our site. We whimsically named the frequent visitors after people who have been dear to us.

This is Clara, named after Dianne's Grandmother Robison.  She is a little blue heron.


We named Hazel, a yellow crested night heron, after my Grandmother Norris.

Hazel hunts for food directly in front of us throughout the day.  Her nest must be nearby.

This is Audrey, named after my Grandmother Hays.

This frequent visitor was named after Dianne's Grandma McNutt.



We named the three ibises below after my aunt, my uncle, and my other aunt.  Meet Marjorie, Jack and Helen.

Here they are again.  They seem to be on a mission.

The view below is from the west point of the island a few steps away.

A large mangrove tree graces the eastern tip of the island and serves as a nesting place for a myriad of large birds --- egrets, ibises, anhingas, herons, etc. It is amazing that they all nest in the same space.

It is intriguing to watch them fly in at sunset to claim their spot.

The sunsets in this serene oasis are outstanding.

The last evening at Franklin Locks I utilized the outdoor grill at the campsite and some Match Light charcoal to grill steaks.  Nice setting.

The morning of our departure an anhinga put on a show for us.  She thrashed around under the water for a couple of minutes to capture a fish, then raised her head out of the water and tossed the fish into the air before swallowing it.  A few minutes later she spread her wings to dry.  Anhingas do not have wax on their wings like many water birds.  The absence of wax enables them to swim under water in search of prey.  The down side is that they must dry their wings before flying away.

We are currently at an overnight stop at a KOA in St. Marys, Georgia.  The LONG drive here from Fort Myers was much more exhausting than our typical four-hour jaunts.  

Stop and Go Traffic on I-4 through Orlando --- not fun

I have been negligent in posting pet pictures of the day recently.  That will end soon as we spend time with our Cinderella Pet Rescue friends, Brett and Sharon, in Lugoff, South Carolina.  Until then.