It's Sunday here, the last day of a long weekend. Lots of people will be driving and flying the unfriendly skies today in their journeys home. We are glad to be staying put here in our "home base" of Fort Myers.
Looking back on the past week, here's a summary of our goings-on.
Monday Nov. 23 -- Sanibel Island
This was probably our most eventful day. We got to Sanibel at 9 a.m. and started with a leisurely breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe on the more laid-back eastern end of the Island. I had pancakes and sausage, and Dawn had the "Lighthouse Special" omelet, which has turkey, broccoli, fresh mushroom, and cream cheese in it. From there, we drove to the Matthew-Bailey Shell Museum on Sanibel-Captiva Road, where we had a fun time learning about shells and the two types of mollusks -- gastropods and bivalves -- that inhabit these parts. From there, we took a drive through the Ding Darling Nature Preserve. Very pleasant, but the bulk of the birds still have not arrived yet from their migrations from points north. Next, we went to Bowman's Beach and walked along the surf line for about an hour. Unknown to us, the beaches of Sanibel had been hit with a "red tide" about a week ago that washed tons of fish up onto the shores. Bowman's Beach had actually been closed for a couple of days due to high bacteria count. Apparently it was "all better" by the time we had arrived because lots of people were walking in the water, and a few brave souls were even swimming out in the surf.
Having worked up an appetite by then, we went to Casa Ybel Resort and had lunch by the pool -- grilled Grouper for Dawn, and crispy tuna tacos for me. Dawn pronounced her Grouper "just OK" while my Ahi tuna (seared rare) tacos were delicious. Our bill with beverages came to $50, so this was one of our more expensive lunches. We sat by the pool after lunch playing cribbage and watching the activity around the pool. We crossed back over the Causeway around 4 p.m. and back to the apartment.
Tuesday Nov. 24 -- Sand Sculpting
Today, we went to a sand sculpting competition to see the work the artists had done. The competition had been going since Nov. 20, and suffered a pretty bad setback over the weekend when the area (including us) got some serious rain. It melted or at least damage all of the sculptures, and the artists had to hustle to rebuild. A couple of them apparently gave up, and all that was left of their work was a big pile of sand. But most of the sculptures had been rebuilt. Here is one of our favorites:
Organizers haul in 1,000 tons of sand for the competitors to use, and the 16 "solo master" and 10 "doubles team" artists came from as far away as New Hampshire, Canada, and even Portugal to compete for cash prizes. It's amazing what some people can do with sand and water, and obviously a lot of time on one's hands because I don't think the job "Master Sand Sculptor" pays very well ;-) but I do admire these men and women who have found a way to avoid actual work.
Tuesday night, I reunited with my friend, Nora, from Fort Myers. We met last season on one of the online dating sites, and have remained friends. We hooked up at the Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar off McGregor just before the Causeway. Guitarist Mary Winner was performing, and she is a good friend of Nora's. We were joined by about 8 other friends of Nora's, many of whom I had met the previous Easter Sunday at a gathering over at Nora's condo. It was great to see her again and listen to some music.
Wednesday Nov. 25 -- Tamale Day
Wednesday are "tamale day" at a restaurant just up the way from us called "La Casita," so we went there for lunch, our first visit to this favorite restaurant since arriving here. The restaurant didn't disappoint, as we each got two tamales wrapped in corn husks, along with beans, rice, salsa, and chips. The who bill came to $24 with tip, so this is a fantastic value. We might make Wednesdays "Tamale Day" on a permanent basis!
Thursday Nov. 26 -- Thanksgiving
Today, we watched the Macy's Parade, then it was off to the Sunflower Cafe off San Carlos Blvd. for a restaurant Thanksgiving. The kitchen here is so small, I could not imagine cooking up a turkey dinner, so we simply went out. Many other folks had the same idea, because the restaurant parking lot was packed. Despite this, we got in right away, and both ordered the traditional turkey dinner. Despite the meat being cut from "turkey rolls," it was quite tasty, and the portions generous. We topped off the meal with pumpkin pie (included in the price) and coffee. This bill came to $20 apiece, with tip,and I don't think we could have bought the ingredients for that price, plus we didn't have to clean up the mess.
That night, we watched the Green Bay Packers play against the Bears, and stayed up past midnight to watch the Pack get beat on their own home turf. It was damn near painful for Dawn to watch. The weather there was miserable ... raining in near freezing temps. It was kind of neat seeing Brett Favre and his player number retired. Sad to see Bart Starr, now 80, in such fragile condition, but admire him for making the effort to come out.
Firday Nov. 27 -- Farmer's Market
Today, we did our traditional breakfast/look-around at the Lakes Park Farmer's Market. Folr the first time, I rode my bicycle, while Dawn drove. We had bagel breakfast sandwiches, fresh fruit, and coffee. Delicious. We also met our friends who do their Friday bike ride. I had a wonderful bike ride ... about half hour each way. We skipped the flea market today because neither of us needed anything.
Saturday Nov. 28 -- Comcast Fiasco
Today, I got the monthly bill from Comcast, $192 and change -- and nearly hit the roof. I had recently upgraded my service following a "tech call" (which ended in no solution to my problem, by the way!) and allowed the service rep to talk me into a "bundled" package that promised to reduce my bill by $10 monthly. What she failed to tell me was that the $10 reduction applied ONLY to the Internet portion of the bill, which would be trimmed from $49/month to $39/month. The OVERALL bill, however, dramatically increased for the enhanced cable, and the new telephone line. With all the installation charges (bogus because nobody actually came to the apartment; it was all handled from a computer keyboard, I'm sure), modem and cable box rental charges, and tax, the bill came to $192.
Lying commie bastards!
Question: How can you tell when Comcast customer service reps are lying?
Answer: Their lips are moving.
It's the same all over. Charter, Comcast, Whatever. Beware the Bundle.
Anyway, I got on the phone to Comcast, and cut everything except Internet, including the basic cable stations, and I'll be back to $49/month. I then went to Radio Shack and picked up a digital antenna to try and pick up the local broadcast stations. That met with disastrous results, even after returning the "basic" antenna, and buying the supposedly more powerful "deluxe" antenna. In both instances, the signal was too week for the TV to hold any of the local stations. Guess we will have to go without our daily network news, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy, along with our CBS Sunday Morning. Somehow, I think we will survive. I did sign up for Hulu-Plus for $7.99 monthly, which will give us some additional entertainment options in addition to Netflix.
I have yet to see one of the digital antennas actually work! Just another example of our federal government fixing something that wasn't broken. Thank you, FCC!
Sunday Nov, 29 -- Checking Out the New Neighborhood, Groceries
Today, we have been lazing about. Breakfast out on the lanai with fresh grapefruit sections, scrambled eggs with home fries and smoked sausage. We are planning to take a "check it out" drive along Lakewood Blvd. by our new apartment. There is a Winn Dixie supermarket there which we will tour. Then walk a lap around Lakes Park, and then a major grocery run, as we are out of just about everything. It's a beautiful sunny day here today.
That's it for now,
Bruce & Dawn
Thanks for looping me into your blogosphere...I'm probably not using that term right. Love to hear that you and sister pone are taking a big bite out of Flour Dough.
ReplyDeleteIf you live within 30-40 miles of the stations, the digital antennas work well. I have had great luck with them in both Janesville and Milwaukee. Are you sure you had everything hooked up right... and did you place the antenna by an outside window? I've always been leery of the Bundle -- glad to hear you were able to cancel it all. Your Internet only price is about exactly what I am paying in Milwaukee. I suppose they will add taxes and other fees to that amount as well... Say hello to Dawn!
ReplyDeleteYep, had everything hooked up per instructions. All 18 local stations came in, no problem there. The problem was the picture on every station would "pixelate" and then the signal would be lost entirely for a while, then the TV would pick up the signal again, then lose it again, etc. Only nearby window is the patio, and that won't work 'cause were constantly sliding it open and closed. No other mounting option 'cause I can't drill holes in the apartment! Have to wait to move into the new place. Landlord has an antenna hooked up there, and he says works fine. In the meantime, we are surviving on Netlix, Hulu, and Pandora for tunes. Probably just as well. More reading and Scrabble. Fewer commercials and sad news!
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