A day with Bryan & Monica

December 26-27, 2009

One extra day with Bryan and Monica

It’s been awhile since I have been able to post so I want to tell you about the extra day we had with Bryan & Monica.

Holly, Matt and Judy all left on Saturday, December 26^th. We were thankful that M&B stayed so that we could be weaned gently from all the fun and activity of having family around.

Mark and Bryan played some golf as Monica and I walked along for part of it and then took rides for the last 9 holes. We were able to get some interesting pictures of the wildlife. We finally saw an alligator in the wild at one of the ponds on the course. We are convinced that he was real – although the birds seemed to have no fear and we didn’t even see this guy wink or twitch.

We later took an Estero Bay cruise in the dinghy. We learned that this was not a throughway for bigger boats with more than a 4 foot draft. We found several marinas that we had heard about – Snook Bight and Salty Sam’s. We also probably saw the last manatee still in the bay area. Most manatees had moved up river or to the warm water outlet from the power company because of the impending chilly weather.

Sadly, Monica and Bryan left for Miami on Monday morning so that they could spend a day and night there as they had a very early flight out on Tuesday.

This was a great first two weeks in Florida

Christmas Eve, 2009

December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve

What a great day we had. This is the day the Earles celebrate Christmas. Ours started out with a big breakfast of Mark’s specialty, chipped beef on biscuits (SOS). We filled up with enough fuel to keep us going ‘til dinner.

The guys set out to pick up the fresh seafood (ahi tuna, jumbo Florida pink shrimp, and scallops), while the ladies went to make reservations for Christmas morning buffet at the Holiday Inn. That is where we found the colorful ‘gator. We all met at Smuggler’s Cove, a miniature golf course. Mark and I thought it might have been high school when we last did this. The little course had live alligators, but they were not hungry as it was too cold. (This fact was comforting to me after kayaking in ‘gator country not too long ago). We all did well, but Bryan again showed off his skill and came in with the best score.

After golfing, we moved back to the boat – I started meal preparations while Mark took the ladies out for a tour in the dinghy. They were in luck and found dolphins. We have been told that there are two pods of dolphins that live in Estero Bay. Matt and I prepared the ahi tuna for cooking and peeled the shrimp. The menu consisted of seared sesame tuna (http://ezinearticles.com/?Seared-Sesame-Encrusted-Ahi-Tuna-Steak-Recipe&id=1161596), shrimp and bacon wrapped scallop kabobs on the grill, wasabi dressing (http://www.johndoe.org/jquan/recipes/salad/wasabi.html), pickled ginger (http://www.gardenguides.com/1436-ginger.html), cucumber coleslaw w/o green pepper and celery (http://www.idylwildefarm.com/Salad%20-%20Cucumber%20Coleslaw.htm), and grilled vegetables with cheesecake or key lime pie for dessert. The family loved the meal so I have included links to the recipes here. Maybe you all will enjoy as well.

Gift giving is always fun and this night was no exception. We had found little local items for the kids and Judy such as handmade soaps and sponges for the ladies and chamois for the guys from Tarpon Springs. As you can see it didn’t take the guys long to find alternative uses for the chamois. We received a Kindle reading machine with two downloads from the kids and a subscription for 12 books from audible.com from Judy. What perfect gifts for us as we travel on the boat – we can hardly wait to use them.

We attempted a family photo after the frivolity. It was too dark and with repeated attempts, we couldn’t get a good one. I have included two that we did take – can you spot the difference between the two? Which one do you like better?

Happy 60th Birthday!

December 23, 2009

The second half of this day was our trip to Punta Gorda to tandem hang glide. We rushed from fishing to get into swimsuits and shorts and pack warm clothes for the event. Our experience was with Paradise Hang Gliding, Inc. Holly had been doing business with Scott Trueblood, owner and hang glider instructor, for several months trying to arrange the “big surprise”. Our boat captain was Travis Elms, and our pilot was Alexander Cuddy who is in competition and a tandem hang glider instructor. More information can be found at www.paradisehanggliding.com.

You might wonder how hang gliding happens in Florida where there are no mountains to jump from. Well, we get on a boat with a hang glider tethered on a back platform. After fitting into the tandem “cocoon”, the boat speeds up into the wind and the hang glider glides up to 2500-3000 feet while still attached to the boat. With a signal, the pilot of the glider releases the hang glider and then the real ride begins. Landing, in this case, is a gentle splash in the bay as we float on pontoons near the waiting towboat.

Well, it was my party so I decided to go first. I was excited and anxious all at the same time. Holly went next and Monica was last. We were spooled out and then released. The sudden quiet as we were gliding on our own was remarkable. The view from one half mile up in the air was phenomenal. It was amazing to see the real view of Grateful’s travels through this area as opposed to the charts I had been reading just a few days ago. We did not see dolphins on this trip up, but Alex said that just recently he had spotted a dozen sting rays. Then we all had our chance to “drive” the hang glider with Alex as back-up. It seemed pretty effortless when Alex was driving, but took some strength to make the turns. I think the best part was when Alex asked if I was ready to have fun and then we took a dive. I was amazed I had air enough to scream. Our landing was surprisingly gentle and both Monica and I stayed relatively dry – Holly landed as wave slapped her in the face. The towboat stayed nearby and quickly arrived to pull the glider and us out of the water. Pretty funny watching us taking baby steps in those cocoons.

I didn’t think I could top the tandem sky diving that I did with Bryan and Monica for my 50^th birthday. Tandem hang gliding for my 60^th birthday was not only a rush, but beautiful as well. A big plus was that it lasted long enough to get over the anxiety and to actually enjoy the views and experience. I suspect having a pilot who obviously loved what he was doing also helped, and his enthusiasm helped us all to feel comfortable gliding through the air. All three of us couldn’t stop talking about our flight – What a thrill!!

We took pictures and movies, but Scott posted our trip on his website. You can see us on the video at: http://www.paradisehanggliding.com/?page_id=4. Enjoy!

Christmas with the Earles – Fishing Contest

December 23, 2009

We were up ready to go fishing with our guides. Contest time was set for 8:00-12:00. Our guides were out catching their own bait when we arrived at the other side of the marina. Captain and guide, Sean, came in first so he got a boatload of chics!! Captain and guide, Brad, took the guys out. Chics Rule!!!! We fished in Estero Bay – around the islands, by exposed oyster beds and by the docks – in that order as the tide went out. Holly caught the first fish – a sheepshead (not the same as what we have up north). Monica caught a coral/rock. I caught a snook (out of season), a redfish (only 17.5 inches but needed to be 18 inches), a ladyfish and catfish which apparently are not edible. We caught 8 fish in all – none were keepers. We were surely hoping the guys were having the same luck – after all, doing dishes for the rest of the week was on the line.

Alas, the guys had better luck. They, too, caught many fish, most of which they could not keep, but they did have three fish (sheepshead) that they could keep. Bryan caught the biggest fish and won the first place purse of $70.00. They said they also had a great time. Our charter fishing boats were about 21 feet long with 150 hp motors. When we were told to “hang on”, they weren’t kidding. We flew through the water. Both of our guides were great and Mark and I learned a lot about fishing on the backwaters in Florida. We both have fishing licenses and hope we get a chance to use them.

While cleaning the fish, pelicans, egret, heron and others gathered to beg for the scraps. This is not the first time they have done this. After the fish were cleaned we had enough for a tiny snack apiece. When Fish-Tale Marina manager, Mark, learned of this, he offered to bring us 4-6 fillets of fresh grouper that he had caught the day before. WOW! Now we had enough fish to bring to the restaurant on the premises, The Fish House, to have them cook it for us. We had a wonderful meal dining on our fish, but we look a little like the “fowl” we saw begging for scraps earlier in the day.

Christmas with the Earles

Christmas with the Earles

December 22, 2009

Holly and Matt were delayed 2 days because of complications with the blizzard in the Northeast so came into Ft. Myers on Monday morning. We spent the day with them and that night Monica, Bryan, and Judy came in. What a treat to have everyone together.

As you know there is very little sitting still with Holly and Monica. They have things to do and places to see. It’s a good thing because Mark and I were pretty content to sit still for awhile. So on Tuesday the ladies were off to Sanibel to rent bikes and cycle through the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife refuge. (The guys stayed back to work on the dinghy motor and to learn how to play cutthroat pinochle.) The refuge is a preserve with a five mile car/bike trail with opportunities to view various fowl and possibly an alligator or manatee. However, no one mentions the five mile trek to get to the park. There’s always the discussion about where we are and where we want to go. We saw flamingoes and other birds and fish. Alas, no manatee or ‘gators. We stopped for coffee after our trip and Bryan bought us our drinks and Christmas cookies.

Mark and I presented the Earle family with our Christmas gift: we chartered two fishing boats and guides for a guys and chics fishing contest on Wednesday, 12/23. We decided that the biggest fish would win money and the losing team with the least amount of fish would do dishes for the rest of the week. The ladies were very confident that they would win. The Fish House, a restaurant on the premises, would cook our catch for dinner.

That evening we went out for dinner – a very special dinner for me as it turned out. Holly, Matt, Bryan, Monica and Judy purchased this wonderful dinner and presented me with a surprise gift of tandem hang gliding for my 60^th (that was hard to write) birthday. They cited that I had bungee jumped for my 40^th and tandem skydived for my 50^th so I had to do another daredevil event for 60^th. YIKES! I was stunned that they had thought this far ahead to my birthday (which I was hoping to make a non-event). I was very excited to find out that all the ladies were going to hang glide with me the very next day! (Hmmm… that means we fish and hang glide all in one day – WHEW!) We had a lovely dinner (there’s always one that you can clean up, but you shouldn’t take out). Our evening ended with a few rounds of poker.