It was a relaxing day but the best part was the Baby Back Ribs Donnie made for us. Actually Joni worked on them too but Donnie was the grill master. As usual I ate too much but it is impossible to stop with such great tasting food. We finished the evening playing Dominoes.
Sunday 1/8 we went to Frannie's house (Joni's sister) for a belated Christmas dinner. Frannie spent Christmas up north so she had to have another Christmas with her family in Florida. We had a lot of fun visiting with family, opening presents, and of course eating. We did watch the Bronco's win the game which I'm sure made my niece Elizabeth and her dad Kent happy. (They live in Colorado and are avid fans.)
Thank you Frannie for including Bev and I as part of your family.
Monday 1/9 we had to get up before the crack of dawn because we were taking a boat ride to Cabbage Key Resort Island. You can see Bev heading for the boat located on the Jug Creek Pier. (Jug Creek was named for the jugs of booze bootleggers hid in the creek from the revenuers.)
The tide was out so as you can see the water just off the pier is shallow. The pelicans are wading around looking for breakfast. I guess the boat doesn't need much water.
Below is a view from the boat as we left the pier.
Along the way we stopped at Cayo Costa State Park to drop off some people going to the beach for the day and also campers that will be tenting on the Island. God bless the people who camp in a tents.
The next stop was Cabbage Key which is a neat little Island Resort. It has a few rental cottages, nature trails, observation tower, gift shop, and a great little restaurant & bar. The Island is owned by Rob & Phyllis Wells who have lived on and maintained the unique charm of the island resort for the past 30 years.
Owners Home
Rental
Cabbage Key Restaurant
The restaurant has a famous Dollar Bill Bar which has dollar bills covering the walls and ceilings. Click image to enlarge.
Yes, it is really covered with dollar bills and Donnie and I didn't take any. There are two rooms covered with dollar bills and they estimate there is about $70,000 on the walls and ceilings. The staff says about $10,000 fall off each year which they give to charities. All the bills are signed and dated so you can't take them off the walls (to pay your bill).
You know we had to have lunch at the restaurant and the food was great.
We had a great view from the restaurant.
After lunch we walked to the Historical Cabbage Key Water Tower to check out the view.
The Cabbage Key Water Tower is the last standing original water tower in this area. Years ago, many of the neighboring islands had water towers similar to this one. Some of these towers were made of steal where others, like this one, were made of wood. Of these towers this one is the only one not destroyed by hurricanes, although the tower did sustain heavy damage during Hurricane Charley in 2004. The tower, which is approximately 60 feet high and holds over 6,000 gallons of water, was completed in the early to mid 1930's.
There was a great view from the tower so we all climbed the 41 stairs to the top.
We were on the island for about 1 1/2 hours then back on the boat to head home. Along the way we passed multi million dollar vacation homes owned by the other half.
Don and I relaxed in the sun on the boat ride back.
Back at Don & Joni's we relaxed and had another great meal. Evening arrived too soon and it was time for Bev and I to say our goodbyes and head back home to Peace River.
It was an amazing weekend, we always have a very enjoyable time when we visit Don & Joni. Thank you both for being such great hosts and friends. We are looking forward to being with you again soon.
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