Today is Saturday the 14th, and it's an absolutely gorgeous day out here. The heat and humidity have broken, and the high today is supposed to reach 80 degrees, which is normal for this time of year. But it will be short-lived. We are supposed to be back in the oven again on Monday, with high 80s to low 90s. Everyone around here is baffled as to why it has been so warm. There are worse things.
It's been a busy week .., but fun busy. I'll pick up where I left off.
Saturday 11/7 -- Goodbye Big M Floating Casino :-(
I bought the Yamaha Clavinova piano. The folks who had it for sale live in the Reflection Lakes community, a short hop from my place. It was purchased by the original owner as a "mood piece" for a home, and hardly ever (if ever) played. Perfect cosmetic and playing condition. I didn't haggle, and paid their asking price of $600. I called a delivery service, and it will be delivered Wednesday for a fee of $75
We learned the sad news today that the "Big M" gambling ship sailing out of Fort Myers Beach, is no more. Apparently, the boat left for the summer to go to its usual sister port at Myrtle Beach, and without telling anyone here, decided not to come back to FMB for the winter, citing dwindling revenues down here. What a wicked shame. This was something that I really loved to do, and sailed with them weekly, rarely missing a turn. And Dawn was really looking forward to it as well, having done one sailing with me over last Christmas. Holy cow, where else could you get a five hour sailing out on the ocean on a nice ship for $5? I guess there were too many people like me who took advantage of the bargain sailing but didn't spend enough time in the casino. We will be hard pressed to find something to fill the gap with something of equal value.
I fixed lemon garlic shrimp over linguine for dinner, and it was delicious, topped off the peach sorbet for dessert.
Sunday 11/8 -- No Packers for Dawn
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We bought a Sunday paper today, hoping to look over the rental listings, only to find there are no rental listings, only homes for sale! Bummer. But I guess Craigslist and other Internet venues have take over that category, so we will search there. A preliminary search finds that the pickings are pretty slim right now, as "high season" is in full swing and most landlords have their properties occupied. My friend (and former landlord) Heather informs me that we will have much better luck as we approach then end of high season in latter March and April.
Dawn was looking forward to watching the Packer game (against Carolina Panthers) today, but the Fox network does not run the Packer games down here, at least as channeled through Comcast cable, So while doing a workout at Planet Fitness, I was trying to use my phone to find a sports bar around here that aired the game. But by the time I did, the game was too close to being over. So we'll try again next Sunday (Packers v. Detroit Lions) at the "Sandy Parrot," which apparently shows the Packer games, and has quite a few fans from Wisconsin in weekly attendance.
Monday 11/9 -- Eatin' Out
It was an eating out kind of day; we had both lunch and dinner out. For lunch, we went to DG Chinese, at a strip mall along 41, just a short hop from the apartment. This is the place that has great Dim Sum, but for this time we just opted for one of their $7 lunch specials. For dinner, we went to Mel's Diner for Grouper. Best deal on Grouper around. For $12.99 you get an 8-ounce fillet on a bun, served with fries and coleslaw. Nice to be back at Mel's again!
Tuesday 11/10 --- Shaken, Not Stirred
Busy day today. I did a workout at Planet Fitness, and I took a load of laundry to the wash-n-fold because our washer is still broke, but scheduled for service today. Brought back a smoked beef brisket sandwich from "BurgerCue" on McGregor to the apartment for Dawn and I to share for lunch. Appliance guy came at 3 p.m. and found our washer had a broken drain/spin switch. He had one on hand, and replaced it. We are in the laundry business again! The bill came to $202, which I wrote a check for and Bob (the landlord) is supposed to send me a check to reimburse me.
That evening, I had a dinner/movie engagement with my meetup group, so left for that around 4:15 p.m. and met up with the group at the "British Open Pub" in Bonita Springs for 5 p.m. dinner. I had a couple of beers, and something called a "Cottage Pie," which is their version of the shepherd's pie, only made with beef instead of the usual lamb. It was served in a crock, and was delicious. Afterward, we all adjourned to the Prado 12 Cinemas, just a short hop away, to see the new Bond flick, "Spectre." It's been getting mixed reviews, but as a die hard Bond fan, I really enjoyed it. Afterward, we stopped for ice cream at "Bob & Teryl's Ice Cream" right next to the theater for a post-movie treat. It was great seeing all my meetup friends, and all the people from last season remembered me. We had a really nice time. Got back to the apartment about 10 p.m.
Wednesday 11/11 -- Veteran's Day --- Dinner in Naples
Piano delivered about 10 a.m. Two guys and a big Budget Rent a Truck. Piano was in perfect condition. Awesome to have a piano down here to stay in practice.
In my ongoing search for decent pizza down here, Dawn and I tried LaMotta's Italian Restaurant and Eatery, by the wash-n-fold laundry off of San Carlos. We ordered a small pie with sausage and mushroom. It was just OK, Sufficient cheese, but crust was supremely soggy in the middle part of the pie, which was a bit of a mystery, but I think the sauce was too runny and maybe the mushrooms were soaking in a water bath and weren't patted dry before putting on the pie. A single waitress was running the whole show, including waiting tables and cooking. The only other employee we could see was "Carmello" who must have weighed in at 350 pounds or better, and was seated at the cash register playing with his tablet computer the whole time, occasionally taking customers' money. I don't think we'll be back. My kingdom for a decent pizza down here.
This evening, we were invited over to Karen's and Craig's (Dawn's friend) in Naples. We left around 4:15 p.m. and made the 40 mile or so trip to their place inside a gated community there. They have a beautiful 3-bedroom home there (four if you count their office room) and an in-ground pool which is right off their living room. We brought a couple of salads, and they furnished rest, which was a big 8-ounce burgers on the grill with toppings. We brought fresh fruit, and a pear/Gorgonzola lettuce salad. There were chips and deviled eggs, for dessert Karen made scratch biscuits for strawberry shortcake. Margaritas all around, and all the beer we could drink. We had a very lovely dip in the pool before dinner. It was great meeting Craig for the first time, and Dawn had a chance to catch up with Karen and Craig. I took four watches from them that needed various servicing, and this of course will give us an excuse to get together with them again!
Thursday Nov. 12 -- Damn the Heat, Let's Go to the Beach!
In spite of the heat, we decided to go to Fort Myers Beach today. We left around 10:30, and secured a couple of chaise lounge chairs and umbrella by the Gulf Shore Grill, one of our favorite spots for lunch. We both swam in the ocean, beautiful temperature, and we watched the endless parade of people walking, jogging, bike riding, etc., up and down the beach. Chair and umbrella rental came to $24 for the day. I finished the book, "Following Atticus" and enjoyed it very much. Lunch was fried Grouper fingers and bacon-wrapped shrimp at the Gulf Shore, washed down with a couple of rum 'n' Cokes. We sat on the beach for a while after lunch, then packed up and took a short walk up the beach to the "Sunset Beach Tropical Grill" which used to be the "Top O' Mast" bar. My, they have really fixed up the place, and I hardly recognized. They have built a huge deck over the former "sand pit" which was always an eyesore on the beach. Menu looks terrific, and lots of happy hour specials. We will be back.
Friday Nov. 13 -- Farmers' Market and Flea Masters
Today, we went to the farmers' at Lakes Park for breakfast, and each had a bagel sandwich and fresh fruit salad, and coffee, and it was delicious. I met up with my buddies from the "Peckerheads Bicycle Group" and it was great to see them again, and Dawn enjoyed seeing them again as well. We bought some fresh guacamole from one of the vendors, then returned to the apartment. We headed out to Flea Masters at about 11 a.m. Due to the ongoing heat, we only visited a couple of vendors, We went to the watch repair guy to drop off Karen/Craig's watches for repairs/battery changes. We then visited Chris the Book Guy to exchange pleasantries, but bought no books this time. We then had lunch at one of the food vendors and each had a fried clam platter, and it was delicious.
Back at the apartment, we each took a nap, then had chicken/cheese quesadillas with the fresh gauc we bought that morning. Delicious. Watched TV. What a sad, sad day in Paris. What is the world coming to?
Saturday Nov. 14 -- Aching to Get Out
I am finishing up the blog, while Dawn is trying to pick insurance off the health.gov website for 2016. We really need to get out and enjoy this day with rare comfortable temps. Perhaps we'll go over to Lakes Park and walk around.
Hope everyone is doing OK!
Love,
Bruce & Dawn
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