Bruce's Travels

Got a call Thursday night about 7 p.m. from "Josè" about the used bike I had for sale on Craigslist for $50, the Upland beach cruiser, which turned out to be not a good choice of a bicycle for me. He spoke with a pronounced Hispanic accent, and although his English was adequate, it was halting at times as he searched for the correct word or phrase. He said he was from Lehigh Acres, about 20 miles from me (give or take), and he wanted to look at the bicycle, and said he would call the next day to get directions. Bigoted visions starting appearing in my head about how this would play out, like how was this guy going to get here (no car?), and would he try to pay me off in oranges or tomatoes. I figured I would not hear from him again. By god, I got a call from him the next morning, asking for directions, and I directed him to the strip mall by my apartment, and asked if he could meet me in front of the "Dollar General" store. (This, by the way, had nothing to do w...

I am on Sanibel Island today, on another achingly beautiful, sunny Florida day. It's still a bit chilly now in the a.m., but temps are supposed to get into the mid 70s for a high. I have just finished breakfast the "Over Easy Café," waiting 20 minutes for the proverbial "single person's table" by the restrooms, but it wasn't too bad. Neither the chair nor the table were wobbly, and there was an extra partition concealing the actual doorways to the washrooms and keeping the bouquet contained therein. Breakfast consisted of one their homemade cinnamon rolls as a starter, and as the main event a bacon/tomato/swiss cheese omelet, with home fries and multigrain toast. Washed down with plenty of good coffee. Just under $20 with tip, which is fairly typical for a proper breakfast here on the island. The last couple of days have been relatively quiet, and brought on to great degree by kvetchey bowels, which is probably more information than you want, but there...

I have to tell you about the Publix sub, as in sub sandwich. Its status, while not legendary, is nevertheless well known in Florida, and has even been the subject of many Florida travel guides and blogs as one of the best meal bargains around if you are in search of cheap eats. Basically, what you have here is a fresh, made-to-order sub in the deli department of most (probably 99%) of the Publix stores throughout Florida. There are four "standard" subs, but my two favorites are the "Everything" (with ham, turkey, and roast beef), and the "Italian" with the usual cold cuts (prosciutto ham, salami, and capicola). You get your choice of fresh bakery roll, and can add condiments/dressings to your liking, This Saturday, I had an half-size "Italian" on a multi-grain bun, with a thin swipe of brown mustard on one side and mayo on the other. Lettuce, tomato, green pepper, and onion. A splash of oil and vinegar, and a shake of oregano completed my maste...

Windy and rainy here today, so much wind that the trees rattling in the back yard woke me from a sound sleep at about 4:30 this morning. I played around on the Internet a bit, and then finished my night's sleep with another four hours in the recliner -- damn that recliner is comfortable and has lulled me into many an afternoon cat nap! Thursday I had a 9:20 a.m. appointment at "AutoNation," the giant Toyota dealership here in Fort Myers, for a 10,000 mile scheduled maintenance, the first service on the car. This consisted of an oil/filter change, chassis lubrication, tire rotation, and safety/fluid level check with top-off on fluids if necessary. This is completely paid for by Toyota. Toyota recommends synthetic oil on the Prius, and this is what it came with, so I'm sticking with the game plan. The "oil" is more expensive, but is offset by the fact that it lasts 10,000 miles instead of the usual 5,000 for "real" oil. The dealership treated me ve...

I'm sitting in the dark at a derelict outdoor movie theater turned flea market in North Fort Myers with a flashlight strapped to my head, drinking a barely passable cup of coffee. I have spent the last half hour roaming the grounds with this small beacon attached to my head, searching for vintage watches, and have so far found none. Selfie, with snack bar in the background To the average person, this would seem nuts. But to an avid watch collector, this is just another day, chasing down another "lead" passed on by a fellow collector: "You might find some watches at the North Fort Myers Outdoor Theater Flea Market." But as I am sitting here, with another hour to go before the sun rises, it occurs to me that most any person looking at this photo would think "nerd" and not be too far off the mark! Anyway, hello to everyone. The above was the scene Wednesday morning. And while I didn't find any watches, I did find some "wraparound" ...

Hi everyone: Here's recap of the cruise Julie and I took Jan. 12-17 aboard Royal Caribbean's "Brilliance of the Seas"  Bruce with Brilliance on the left (Vision of the Seas on the right) to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. If you don't want to read the long version, the short version is that we had a wonderful time. The 2 full days at sea were totally relaxing; our ports of call were fun. The weather was cooperative most of the time. The food and drink were both delicious, and we both returned plumper. Monday Jan. 12 -- We left Fort Myers about 9 a.m., arriving at the Port of Tampa Bay at about 11:30. I valet parked the Prius for about $20 more than self-park for the convenience, and the fact it was misting. Passed through security and the check-in quite quickly without incident, and were on board by 12:15 and immediately made our way to Deck 11 to the Windjammer for the "welcome aboard" lunch buffet. By this time, the weather outside was f...

Sunday January 12 Julie arrived yesterday (Friday) and we are preparing to leave on our cruise tomorrow. We spent part of today at Lakes Park and rode a dual recumbent bicycle around the park which was very much fun, and a good workout as well. After that, we went to Pincher's Crab Shack at the downtown marina and had a lovely lunch of fried clams (me) and broiled grouper (Julie). We came back to the apartment and watched the remainder of the Packers/Cowboys game because Julie is a Packer's fan. We are just hanging out now; I'm doing a load of laundry, and finished packing my suitcase and (carry-on) backpack. We may go out for a light bite before bedtime. OK, I took a little break from this entry, and Julie and I headed down to Mel's Diner, where we split the special of the evening -- a roast pork dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, and salad. It was plenty for the both of us, and we each got a mini dessert -- creme brule for me, and a mini chocolate...

Tuesday January 6 It arrived today. A gift from my friend, Amy, that will likely forever change the way I cook pasta. It's a "Fasta Pasta" cooker that cooks all types of pasta in the microwave with no boil-over (guaranteed) and eliminates the need for large cauldrons of boiling water. I used it tonight to make a fantastic fettuccine carbonara where the "sauce" consists of crisped bacon, a little bit of sauteed onion for flavor, egg, and heavy cream. What's not to like? Here is a photo of the finished product: There's supposed to be parsley on this to give it a little color, but the grocery store was out. Trust me, though, it was delicious! My only complaint is that I didn't think of this device myself (it's utterly simple) and make the millions of dollars I'm sure its inventor is making! For dessert, I had black cherry sorbet, which was perfect compliment to the rich pasta. It was all very delicious, and I've already downloaded...

Sunday Jan. 4 Greetings from aboard the “Big M” floating casino on Fort Myers Beach. Yes, it appears I cannot get enough of these $5 ocean cruises, complete with gourmet fare of a Bumble Bee tuna salad kit, beef jerky, energy bar, Payday, free coffee-like substance, and $1 Cokes from the bar to sustain during these next five hours. It’s sunny and already 75 degrees, headed toward a high of somewhere around 85. Yesterday, after a smoothie for breakfast, I made a Publix/Walmart run for a few needed groceries, with sea scallops as the center piece for my dinner that evening. I also stopped at the New England bakery and bought a loaf of bread right out of the oven. I got back to the apartment, and whacked off a generous heel of the still-warm bread, slathered it with butter and strawberry jam, and downed it with a cup of java. Surely, this must be the food of angels, or at least a top item on their menu. Picked up a batch of mail from my mailbox at Omni Pack-n-Ship, including ...

A quick post today after the long one yesterday ... Topped the air in my tires on the bicycle and biked over the Lakes Park farmer's market, where I had breakfast of a bagel sandwich, a pint of strawberries, and coffee. The strawberries were from a different vendor this time, and were the size of golf balls. Imagine ... strawberries a hand fruit! They were awesome. Met up with the "Peckerheads" (retirees' bicycle group) and we had a few laughs and shared stories. Dawn, a couple of the guys asked about you and whether you had a good time here. Biked back to the apartment. I boxed up two watches from the website and sent them out. Looks like I sold four total from the sale coupon I offered on the website. Drove over to Fleamasters where I searched for a book on Fordlandia, the failed city in the Amazon jungle funded by Henry Ford in an attempt to secure a source for rubber for tires. I'll look on amazon dot com for that one. Chris, the book guy, did give me an e...

Happy 2015 everyone! I hope the new year brings you all health, happiness, new adventures, and even a few surprises (of the pleasant variety, of course!). God knows there's a lot of shit going on in the world, from cop killings, to journalist beheadings, to a North Korean lunatic just itching to drop an A-bomb (anywhere, doesn't matter). The media would have us believe the world is being Fed Ex'ed to hell in a handcart. But don't believe it. I'm not saying to bury your head in the sand; just keep it all in its proper perspective. Eighty-seven percent of people are good, decent, law-abiding folks. Another 12 percent are assholes who we wouldn't want to befriend, but with whom we must interact due to job or other circumstance beyond our control. Still, they wouldn't kill anyone, at least not on purpose. That leaves only one percent of truly whacked-out mo-fo's who, unfortunately, are thrust into our faces on a daily basis. All I'm saying is life is a s...