Bruce's Travels

Sunday Feb. 26 My friend, Carol, has been emailing me about attending "Greekfest," which is being held at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 8210 Cypress Lake Drive, which is about a mile and half from the condo (I can bike it!). It is the final day of the festivities, and they are open from noon until 5 p.m. today. I get to the fest at about 1 p.m., park the bike at a nearby Baptist Church, which is the overflow lot for Greekfest parking (interesting arrangement there, don't you think?). I walk the remaining quarter mile because the sidewalks on Cypress Lake Drive are a sea of pedestrians, and I thought it was too dangerous to bike that last quarter mile. I pay the $5 admission, and immediately head for the beer concession and order up a Bud in a plastic cup. Carol calls me on the cell, and tells me she is inside the gate, and I reply, "I know because I can see you." She is about 10 feet away from me. We start by riding the carnival rides. Neither of...

Saturday Feb. 25 I spent the greater part of today sending and reading emails, and thinking about a couple of goals I would like to achieve, seeing as how I have just a little over a month remaining here. First, I would like to write and complete a watch article for the NAWCC. I know it will not be long before Diana, the editor of the association's magazine, will be contacting me and asking about an article for the May/June issue of the magaine. I sloughed off for the March/April issue, so I want to write an article for the next issue. I start formulating an outline in my head, do a little searching on the Internet, and make a few notes. The other goal is that I would like to lose an additional 10 pounds before coming back home, hitting an "honest" 220 pounds that I can maintain. By honest, I mean the scale reading 220 fully fed and hydrated, not just 220 on an empty stomach and after a workout when I've sweated off three pounds. If I can do this, that will be 55 ...

Thursday Feb. 23 - Friday Feb. 24 Thursday Feb. 23. Not much going on today. Just more or less lounging around the condo, reading, surfing the Internet and catching up on the blog. I do manage to get in a good workout in the evening. I am having an interesting email exchange with (niece) Kris at the moment. She has bought a Kindle, and we are comparing notes on the usage of the device, and on reading in general. Way to go, Kris! I didn't think you had the patience or the attention span for it, but I"m glad you're finding it interesting. I also get an email from Dawn that my car insurance bill has arrived -- $324.50 -- that Dawn will pay out of my checking account and mail me the new "proof of insurance cards" down here in Fort Myers. There's just no escaping the mundane (and often expensive!) realities of life "back home" even as I enjoy a little slice of heaven down here. Friday Feb. 24. I went to the "Fleamasters" flea market today, ...

Wednesday Feb. 22 After breakfast, I head over to Office Depot to print a label and then to the post office to mail a 14 pound box of junk watches to the eBay winner in Hong Kong. This is the box that Dawn shipped me, and I'm happy to be rid of it and not have to lug it home. It brought $75.55, and it's a good thing I put a protect bid on it in my friend Mario's name, or else the guy would have got for $11.55, which would have really pissed me off because that's about what it cost to have Dawn ship it to me. I "pieced out" another three watches from the box, and got $39 for those. So I figure I grossed about $114 for the box of watches, plus I got three watches out of there to give my friend, Carol, as a gift. These "bulk lots" of watches used to sell really well on eBay, but they have run their course and people just aren't interested in them any more. So I won't be buying any more of this kind of stuff unless I can pick it up dirt cheap...

Tuesday Feb. 21 Well, today is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and I can think of no better way to spend it than at Fort Myers Beach. I've invited Carol to spend part of the day with me. I slather myself with some sunscreen, and set out on my bike (with new cushion gel seat!) at about 11:30 and arrive at the beach at about 12:30. I settle in at a bar called "Top O' Mast." They are famous for their "Rum Runner" which is about eight bucks or so, but it's served in a souvenir glass, which you get to keep. They are strictly a bar, but offer food through a restaurant called "La Ola" (translation: "The Wave") which is across the street from them. It makes things a little confusing, because your drink waitress is different than your food waitress. And the food waitress has the added task of running back and forth to fetch food. But I guess it all works out. I rent two beach lounge chairs and a shade umbrella from yet a third company, which has ...

Monday Feb. 20 Today, I am off to Naples for a little investigating, and to meet "Cami," a woman who approached me on Match.com and would like to meet. (If you click on the link, her reference is toward the bottom of the page). I finally get on the road at 10:30, arriving in Naples at about11:30. It's only 32 miles, but it takes me an hour due to heavy traffic on Highway 41, the highway that everyone down here loves to hate. It's been described as a "six-lane Cuisinart" of a highway, where "bad drivers from all over the nation gather to tailgate and rush, only to wait impatiently at the next stop light. ... an unbroken strip of of tacky, plasticized commerce stretching 200 miles from Tampa to Naples, jammed with traffice that only slows when sirens scream and ambulances come to strap the broken and bleeding onto stretchers and cart them away." I'll definitely take I-75 back, but going there, I want to take the "scenic route" and s...

Saturday Feb. 18 - Sunday Feb. 19 Saturday. It's a beautiful day for a bike ride today, but first I must mail a package to an eBay customer. He bought a copy of Rene Rondeau's Hamilton watch identification guide. I bought this at the Daytona Regional watch/clock show for $20, and sold for $180. Ka-ching. I'm very happy with this, and wish I had a deal like this every week. I knew the book was worth some money. I grab my trusted Murray coaster bike, and head over to the John Yarbrough Linear Park bike trail , which I referenced earlier in this blog (click on the link for my entry describing this bike trail). I notice the tires feel a little bit soft, so I stop at a "Mobile" gas station, but they want a dollar for air. Fuck that. So the next gas station, a "Hess" service station, has it for free, so I give the tires a little boost. Does anyone but me remember the days when just about any gas station had air, and the air hose was located where it was su...