Dea's Visit

January 30 - February 6, 2010 Dea’s Visit

Since we were staying at Ft. Myers Beach for an extra month, my sister, Dea, came to visit. The weather did not cooperate and we had clouds and rain for much of the time. That didn’t dampen our spirits, however. We were able to get in two rounds of golf, a dinghy tour that encompassed exploring the back bay and a daring excursion into the gulf, lots of cards, fresh fish, good breakfasts and ice cream!!

Dea came in late Saturday night around 11:30 pm – good grief! But it made it easy to borrow Geff and Mary Sue’s car as there was no conflict for car usage.

On Sunday clouds were moving in and it was cool so Mark, Dea and I decided to play golf. Mark straightened out his drives and Dea and I enjoyed the dayJ Monday it rained so Mark slept in and Dea and I played cards. Tuesday was more of the same. We managed to get walks in – some on the beach – in between raindrops.

Wednesday was another cool day with sunshine. We played golf with Geff and Mary Sue – the ladies in a threesome and the guys were paired up with two other guys. This was a glorious day and the golf course was a wildlife preserve after all the rain. The ponds were filled with ibis and pelicans feasting. A huge bald eagle ran along the course grazing in the puddles. Later he took up residence on a lone tree along a pond while an alligator soaked up the sun on the opposite side.

On Thursday, Mark went to a golfing outing with Geff, so Dea and I took the dinghy (with my new Yamaha motor that I got for my birthday from Mark) out to explore and enjoy the perfect day. As we were looking around the islands in the back bay area, we saw dolphins. Later we ventured out into the gulf. The waves were manageable so we hurried down to the “dog beach” where Porter could play off leash. Well most dog owners had the same idea and it was a busy place. Porter tried to engage the goldens and labs in play, but they were too busy retrieving their tennis balls. It didn’t put him off and he ran back and forth in the surf along the beach. Suddenly, he was sniffing and circling in the water – I didn’t know dogs would do their duty in water up to their necks. I was trying to figure how to pick it up when I started to notice lots of underwater dog “doots” rolling along the sand with the tide. Maybe that’s why there weren’t many people in the water with me. We followed the channels back to the marina and were pretty proud of ourselves for accomplishing this little trip on our own.

Friday was another rainout so we played lots of pinochle, then used G & MS’s car to run errands and get fresh lobsters for our meal. Fabulous! Mark cooked on the grill and we ate until we could no more.

It was great to have Dea come to visit – we love to have company. She saw the rare dolphin come into the marina channels and manatee as well, and she loved seeing green palms trees and sandy beaches. She left to go back to the white and chill of MN this morning.

Dea's leaving has signaled to Mark and me that we need to begin planning the next leg of our trip. There will be more on that once we have figured it out. As much as we have loved it here in Ft. Myers Beach, we are feeling it is time to move on.