Monday, January 5th through Friday, January 9th

Monday, January 5^th

Today we made a trip to Cape Coral which is known as a "Waterfront Wonderland". With over 400 miles of navigable waterways, it has more miles of canals than any other city in the world. We saw many different styles and ages of homes on this peninsula and I saw one that I believe I would like to have for my winter quarters.

 

 

We found 15 geocaches here. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go to the one named Gator Slough Canal. It was part of a series placed by our friend, Brian a/k/a Pilot searcher, and we needed to get information from each cache in order to figure the coordinates for the final cache. Thankfully, we did not have to get close to the water for any of those caches. We are unfamiliar with most of the terrain in this area so we were not sure if we should be on the alert for alligators or not.

 

 

 

The ammunition box at the final location had a padlock on it with three keys attached. It took us a few minutes to discover that each key had a number stamped faintly on it which was the combination to the lock.

 

 

Tuesday, January 6^th

We received several messages and reports this morning from family and friends, that there was snow in Maryland and parts of Virginia. The schools in Mount Airy were closed. We were grateful to be in this warmer climate and couldn’t help sharing the view from our lanai this morning.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, January 7^th

The cold north air finally made its way to Florida, although it is was warmer here today than it was in the northern part of the state. The average temperature in Fort Myers for January is 72°. We have had high temps in the mid 80’s so I suppose it is only natural to experience some cooler weather for a while. Anyway, I can’t complain about temps in the 60’s when it is much colder at home.

 

 

We visited Bowditch Point Park which is part of the Lee County Parks system located on the north end of busy Fort Myers Beach. We have been to this area a few times in the past years, but never knew that this delightful park was here.

 

 

Fort Myers Beach is situated on Estero Island which is a barrier island or bar. We learned that barrier islands are very important to coastal areas to protect the mainland from storms, erosion and to provide shelter for boats. The Fort Myers shrimp and fishing industries would not be here if a barrier island did not exist.

 

 

Bowditch Point Park is 18 acres, 7 of which are a developed park for passive recreational use and the remaining 10 acres are a restoration/preserve area. Its highest point is approximately 22 feet above sea level. We found the hiking trails to be very easy.

 

 

This park is considered a very high usage, family oriented destination, offering sandy beaches, shaded picnic areas, fishing coves, boat dock, butterfly garden and tortoise area along with a viewing area with an amphitheater style seating arrangement for enjoying the vistas of Sanibel Island, Gulf of Mexico, San Carlos Bay, Bunche Beach, Punta Rassa, and beautiful sunsets.

 

 

We walked around a shopping area which had some interesting statutes placed around the grounds.

 

We also saw a snowy egret which didn’t seemed concerned with all the people who were around.

 

 

I was amused when I saw what appeared to be a full service medical care provider for women!

 

 

There was a small shop that advertised souvenirs. We went in there to see if there might be anything we would like to buy. I saw some postcards and then a glass display case that had paraphernalia for electronic cigarettes. Then I wandered over to a shelf that had shot glasses and remembered that Cordell wanted one that he can leave at the condo. They all seemed to have inappropriate pictures or messages for a person of my age and disposition. Finally, I spied one that I thought would be acceptable. When I told Cordell that I saw one that had a nice palm tree on it, he chuckled and gently advised me that it was not a palm tree at all, but a marijuana plant. I commented that I definitely was in the wrong store and the young clerk smiled and agreed that some of this merchandise was not desired by all people.

 

We ate lunch at a café named Truly Scrumptious. We had been there two years ago with our niece, Alyson. I enjoyed my plate of chicken salad and fresh fruit for it was truly scrumptious.

 

 

Before we returned home, we spent some time at Lovers Key State Park. They have a series of geocaches that have questions inside the containers. Once we answer all the questions, they will award us with a specially designed path tag.

 

 

For years, Lovers Key was accessible only by boat and it was said that only lovers traveled to the island to enjoy its remote and solitary beach. A haven for wildlife, the island and its waters are home to West Indian manatees, bottlenose dolphins, roseate spoonbills, marsh rabbits, and bald eagles. The two mile long beach is accessible by boardwalk or tram and is popular for shelling, swimming, picnicking, and sunbathing. We will definitely return here when we can spend the day and soak up some of this Florida sunshine on the beach.

 

Thursday, January 8^th

It was another cool morning here today, so we took the opportunity to catch an early matinee at the movie theater. It was the last day that "Unbroken" was being shown. I had read Louis Zamperini’s book after seeing an article about him in Parade magazine. I was looking forward to seeing this movie and was not disappointed in it. There have been some criticisms made because a lot was left out of the film. But, it would be an epic movie if it showed all that he wrote about. I don’t know that I would have been able to show the forgiveness that he did.

 

Friday, January 9^th

The temperature this morning was still a bit chilly so we ventured out in long pants and layered in tee shirts and over shirts. We have found that the air warms up quickly once the sun is up. We were surprised that by 11:30 a.m. we were too hot. We always carry extra clothing in our car, so we quickly switched to shorts.

 

 

 

We need to walk every day for our health, so today we took a walk along a bike trail looking for a couple of geocaches. We saw an area that had some beautiful big trees that seemed to be draped in Spanish moss. Again, I imagined my tree house built in one of those beauties.

 

 

We visited 4 thrift shops and everyone one of them had a lot of people shopping in them. We bought one wine glass to replace one that I broke here at the condo. I needed a heart shaped tin to replace a geocache I had placed here in Fort Myers last year. There had been a vehicle accident at the site and my cache went missing. I bought the original container last year around Valentine’s Day. You would think that since the stores seem to put their holiday merchandise out well ahead of time, that it would be easy to find a heart shaped tin. But, I have looked in a lot of stores and haven’t been able to find the small one that I need. I was happy that Cordell found several of the tins at one of the thrift stores and even better they had the letter “B” on them. It will be a perfect replacement container for my cache that is named “I Left My Heart in Fort Myers”.

 

 

 

We stopped in Walmart for a couple of items and Cordell caught me tasting a sample of a breakfast pizza. I know many people eat left over pizza for breakfast, but it is not something I have ever liked. But, this frozen pizza that is heated in the microwave has eggs, sausage, bacon and cheese on it and I really liked it. I probably won’t eat it often though because it is high is carbohydrates and I have to be careful of how many of them I consume.