Cape Coral and Cabbage Key with Don & Joni

Saturday 1/7 we headed back to Cape Coral to spend the weekend with Don & Joni. The weather was great and we always enjoy the scenic trip down Highway 17.

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.

The boat left from Pine Island and took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Cabbage Key.

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.

It's Getting Warm Again.

The last few days it has been very cold here at Peace River and everybody has been hunkered down including us. It has been below freezing at night and our electric heater has been running non stop. Thank heaven for my electric blanket.

We finally got a reprieve with the temperature so yesterday I connected the water and sewer to the camper. It still wasn't balmy but warmer. Today it is 72 degrees and everyone in the campground is sitting on their patio enjoying the sun. I spent time on my bike riding around the campground and down the trail by the Peace River. I even stopped by the campground store for ice cream.

On the Peace River some water birds were enjoying lunch.

We have a nice site here, Bev is close to the activity center so she can line dance and hang out with her buds. I enjoy sitting on our patio under the trees with the Spanish Moss.

I spent the day fixing one of our day/night shades. They are a pain to fix because the string running through the shade has a complex path back and forth through the different sections. I have repaired them before by repairing the string but this time I have a repair kit with new string. Because of the valance it is tough to get the shade down and then reinstalled. I hate day/night shades especially since I very seldom use the day section, our windows are dark tinted. I would rather have just plain old pull shades and maybe someday I'll replace them.

Last night Bev played bingo while I stayed back at the camper watching TV. My back was sore from bending over the darn shade for so long. I didn't want to sit in those uncomfortable metal chairs.

My back feels great today so Bev and I will be heading for the entertainment tonight. They will be having karaoke and of course you know Bev will be line dancing to the music. I sing in the shower so I probably will not make a fool of myself singing to the group.

Tomorrow we will be up early (not to early) to head back to Cape Coral to spend the weekend with Don and Joni. Donnie will be doing Baby Back Ribs on the grill which is always a hit. We love spending time with them and of course Maggie.

To Cape Coral for New Years Eve - Winter comes to Florida.

Saturday 12/31 we were up at the crack of dawn heading south to be with Don & Joni for the New Years weekend.

We followed Highway 27 south and shortly after we left the campground we saw a couple of hot air balloons flying over head in the clouds and haze. They almost looked like a mirage or ghost balloons without any color.

There is always a lot of traffic in the Orlando area but once we were out of the area the traffic on Highway 27 eased up and it was an enjoyable scenic trip.

They do have a lot of cattle in Florida and if your not driving by orange groves you are driving by cows.

Of course we passed orange groves after orange groves.

And there are the never ending number of trucks hauling oranges to the processing plants.

Just before we arrived in Coral Springs we passed by this large Walmart distribution center.

New Years Eve Don, Joni, Bev, and I went to a small family restaurant Little Sicilly (their spelling). The food was fantastic and if Bev and I lived in the area we would be their regular customers. The rest of the weekend we relaxed, played Domino's and ate constantly. Of course I did get my puppy fix with Maggie.

We had a lot of fun and it was hard to leave but Monday morning it was time to head back home to our camper at Thousand Trails Orlando.

Last night winter came to Florida with a vengeance. The temperature dropped to 34 degrees and the wind rocked us all night long.

Today (oh it's cold) we were up early and on the road to Peace River in Wauchula, Florida. Our maximum stay at each campground is three weeks so we have been moving back and forth between Orlando and Peace River. We will be here for 3 weeks then back to Orlando. This weekend we will be visiting Don & Joni again and the trip from Peace River is only one and a half hours instead of three hours from Orlando.

Winter is here with us in Wauchula. It is 3:00 pm and the temperature is only 50 degrees. Tonight it's suppose to go down below freezing. What's up with that? This is Florida and it is suppose to be warm. We will not be sitting out on the patio or riding our bikes today. When we got here I only hooked up electricity not the water or sewer (oh it's cold). We get the water from the on board tank when it's freezing because I don't want the water hose to freeze. It is a great clear day though even if it is cold.

No cooking on the grill while it's this cold so tonight I guess we will just have to eat out. Did I mention that we like to eat out?

Trip to Downtown Orlando and Silver Springs

Wednesday 12/28.

Happy Birthday to my oldest buddy Wayne. I don't mean he is the oldest in age (although he is quite antique) but I have known Wayne longer than any of my other friends. I have known Wayne for almost 70 years. Actually Wayne is more than a friend and although we are not from the same womb he is truly my brother and I love him dearly.

Today we took a ride to downtown Orlando. We have come to this area a number of times over the years but never went to downtown Orlando. I guess we were not attracted to downtown and the traffic but now it was time to check it out.

There were a few nice parks downtown but we didn't get out to walk around and just took pictures from the car.

We are glad we took the trip even though the traffic was bad downtown and there was a lot of construction. We took the northern scenic route to Orlando and made good time but took I - 4 back. Route 4 was grid lock the whole way.

This week is the main tourist season and the crowds are everywhere. All the attractions, including Disney, were filled to capacity and they had to close the parks because there was no room to let any more people in. The people inside the parks had to wait hours in line for rides. People interviewed on the news were complaining that it cost a fortune to get in and they could only get on 3 rides the whole day. News helicopters were taking pictures from above and the people were jammed in like sardines. They even kept the parks open later than normal because of the crowds. What a mess trying to leave the parks at the end of the day. Bev and I are sure glad we decided not to go to Disney this week.

On the way back we passed the Holy Land. I believe this is a religious theme park because they have entertainment and attractions. We have not been there but I checked it out on the Internet. If you are interested google Holy Land Orlando.

From the grid lock on Route 4 we were able to see the balloon rising from Disney Downtown. It is a large balloon on a tether giving rides. I believe it rises to 400 feet.

Back at the campground I checked out the RVs on display. Every week they have a different dealer in the area displaying their rigs. It was fun checking them out but nothing interested me.

After I checked out the rigs it was time relaxed on our patio. As you can see below we are on a corner lot and I get to see most of the people in the campground walking, riding golf carts, or bikes. Of course when the many little dogs walk by with their mommies and daddies I get my puppy fix.

This is the view I get from our patio.

Thursday 12/29 we took a ride to Silver Springs. We followed U. S. 27 north instead of the Florida Turnpike and the scenery was great although we did hit a lot of traffic and construction along the way.

Many years ago Bev and I went to Silver Springs and we wanted to see if had changed. Did it ever change!

When we first went the only attraction was a cruse on the river in a glass bottom boat. The glass bottom boat offers a view of the underwater life in the 99.8% pure waters of the Silver River. Along with major formations there are dozens of species of fish as well as alligators, clams, craw fish, shrimp, snails, six different kinds of turtles, and tiny fossilized shells from 70 million years ago. Along the shores we saw monkeys leftover from a Tarzan move filmed many years ago.

Today along with the glass boat tours there are amusement rides, wildlife exhibits, botanical gardens, shopping and dining. Of course the admission price has to reflect all this.

To enter the parking lot we paid $7.00 just to find out how much the main entrance fee was. 

We did take these pictures walking from the parking lot to the main entrance.

Yes, that is me by the sign. See the alligator below, he must be waiting for visitors to feed him.

Yes, that is Bev ready to head for the entrance.

To enter they wanted another $31.95 per head with our senior discount. I THINK NOT! We will just have to live with our memories from the past so we left.

On the way back home of course we had to eat so we stopped at a Chili's in The Villages. Thank you Pam and Kent for the coupon to Chili's.

The Villages are billed as Florida's friendliest retirement hometown. Everything a retiree needs is in this community.

It was an enjoyable trip even if we didn't enter Silver Springs. It's always good to get back home to the camper and put our feet up.

Tomorrow 12/31 we will be getting up at the crack of dawn to head down to Cape Coral to spent New Years Eve and day with our dear friends Don and Joni. Thank you for inviting us, we really enjoy your company.