January 27 - 30, 2014. Old Friends, Bonita Springs, Golf and Shopping.

When an old friend and I reconnected last summer we talked about getting together in Florida during the winter, since he and his partner spend six months here and I, of course, had no intention of  spending the winter at home.  Norm and I go way back and so it was great that we were able to spend the day with him and Frances in Bonita Springs. We had lunch together, great conversations, a golf court tour of their park and a stop at the Bonita Springs Beach. We left that afternoon with plans to make our get together an annual event.

                            

                                    With Norm at Bonita Springs

On Monday we decided to go golfing at Bird Bay where I somehow managed to play one of the best rounds I have ever played. The return to warmer temperatures and sunshine added to the enjoyment of the game.

Tuesday was another golfing day. This time there were four of us and we played at Lake Venice. This is a very popular course with us snowbirds, especially after twelve o'clock when the rates go down. Waiting in line, not only to pay but to wait for carts was certainly no hardship as the weather was the best it had been for quite some time. It took five hours to play 18 holes. Along the way there were some wildlife sightings: two alligators, one albino raccoon, a variety of birds and a nest of eagles near the eighteenth hole. 

                                 

                                            Critters on the golf course 

Today's weather  returned to unseasonably low temperatures, clouds and rain. Since we are leaving Venice on Saturday morning, it was an ideal day to start provisioning for our ten days at Fort de Soto. Lunch at Panera, one of my favourite places for soup and salad rounded out the afternoon. 

Although some days have been cool, it is still much warmer than it is in northern Florida and other southern states where ice and even snow have brought some cities and towns to a halt.  This is definitely the place to be.

January 20 -25, 2014. Sometimes it's all about the food.

Although walking, biking and golfing continue to be part of our active lifestyle, we three have been doing a lot of cooking. Since it has been a bit chilly and we have lots of time;  looking for recipes, making lists,  shopping for food, cooking food and dining out have been some of our favourite pastimes. In fact, I think we made a list of "places to eat" on the first day we arrived in Venice.

We seem to have fallen into a natural rhythm of taking turns preparing meals. I have favored  vegetarian, while both Janet and Michelle have chosen seafood. Recent ingredients have included, among others, fresh ginger, garbanzo beans, coconut milk, shrimp and tilapia.

Seafood has been the food of choice at The Myakka River Oyster Bar and at Robbie's Reef. Brunch at the very popular Peach's breakfast restaurant was delicious and very reasonably priced.  Black Gold Coffee Roasters has great coffee and on site made truffles in several flavours.

                                       

                                   View from our table at Myakka River Oyster Bar

Today Janet and I went to the Art and Craft Festival which took over a couple of blocks in downtown Venice.  My favourite booths were all food related. Purchases were made at the kettle corn booth, the peanut brittle booth, the funnel cake booth and the home made, gluten free pasta booth. 

The weather forecast indicates warmer weather is coming our way. Perhaps our focus will switch back to more active pursuits.

January 11 - 18, 2014. Hot and cool in Venice.

Not every day in Florida is hot and sunny. Some days are cloudy and cool. The weather forecasters like to make a big deal about cold fronts, often referring to the approaching cold Canadian air. These past few days we have had unseasonably cool weather....12 to 15 during the day and as low as 7 at night. 

During the past week we golfed, shopped, biked, cooked, walked, went on a road trip and had a visit with a good friend.  We played nine holes at Lake Venice last Sunday; our first golf game this winter. 

                      

   

Most of our shopping involved trips to Publix, while our bike rides often led us to coffee shops for cappuccinos. 

Our good friend Catherine drove down from Jacksonville to visit for a couple of days. It was great to spend some time with her at Casperson Beach Park. It was too chilly to look for shark's teeth, but we did enjoy a walk through the park and on the beach.

Arcadia was the destination for our road trip. Janet had been curious about it for a few years and so we tagged along, driving inland to visit this town, known for antiques, orange groves and an annual rodeo. Since it was not rodeo time, nor one of the once a month antique fair days, the town was very quiet. However, at the highly recommended Mary Margaret's Tea Room it was very busy. The owner, dressed in top hat and tails noted our name and we waited about twenty minutes for a table. Although the service was slow, the food was delicious. A stroll through one of the many antique stores completed our visit to Arcadia. 

               

The next few days are going to be warmer...back up to at least 20 and so tomorrow just might be a good day for golf.

January 6 to 10, 2014. From Fajardo, to Venice, via Auburn.

Having been in Puerto Rico for 21 days, the condo felt very much like home. I had to remind myself that the incredible ocean view, warm breezes, bright sunshine, and stunning beaches of Puerto Rico were temporary and that vacations do come to an end. Although the climate and accommodations were wonderful, the best part of the trip was spending time with family, particularly my daughters and their spouses. 

              

Although our flight to Atlanta was delayed we felt fortunate to be getting on a plane as we encountered people at the San Juan airport who had been stuck there for days due to the extremely cold, snowy weather in the north. We experienced our own blast of what felt like Arctic air as we walked from the airport in Atlanta to the shuttle bus. The temperature was around 12*F; unseasonably cold for Atlanta. The car doors needed an extra tug to open as they were frozen.

The cold snap lasted a couple of days in Auburn and so we bundled up with hats, gloves, and vests to walk the dog. However, it never seems as cold in Auburn because when the sun is shining, which it is a lot of the time, it is brilliant sunshine with clear blue skies. Jackie doesn't seem to mind the low temperatures and eagerly waited for her lead to be attached each time she saw  a hat go near my head. 

Our friend in Venice had invited us to stay with her for the month of January and so after a couple of days in Auburn we said our "see you in the spring" good byes and exchanged heartfelt hugs we hit the road for the nine hour drive to Venice. My new van, "Precious" is a pleasure to drive on the highway. Unlike my Westy, it has a speedy 8 cylinder engine which can easily handle the US Interstate highways. 

                                   

We arrived in Venice shortly after 6 and were greeted with hugs and a delicious meal. It wasn't long before we changed into shorts. Ahhh...back to warm temperatures. January will be spent hanging out, biking, golf and whatever else come our way. I love retirement!

January 5, 2014. Cabezes de San Juan Laguna Grande.

  

This night tour is an ideal way to experience bioluminescence in one of the handful of places in the world where this phenomena takes place. Basically, bioluminescence is triggered by dinoflagellates, oceanic plankton which are  able to generate a blue/green  illumination when water is disturbed. Dinoflagellates are incredibly delicate microorganisms and are very sensible to the environment conditions such as balance of salt in the water, local climate, deepness of lagoon, air, light and water pollution. 

We left the nature reserve at 7 pm, seated in an 18 passenger trolley, driven by our English speaking guide, Carlos. We stopped along the way to listen to the sounds of the many Coqui tree frogs that inhabit the nature reserve. They begin to sing when the sun goes down and they sing all night long. 

The trolley took us to the Fajardo lighthouse, build by Spaniards in the 1800's. From atop this hill we could see many constellations as well as a spectacular view of the lagoon and the coastline. Our guide talked about the  light pollution and it's affects on the lagoon as well as the history of the area.

 Fajardo Lighthouse photo taken by Patti!

We walked 7 minutes along a boardwalk, mostly in the dark and ended up at the lagoon where we were given long sticks to disturb the water and experience bioluminescence. Fortunately, conditions were good and we were able to stir with our sticks and watch the water sparkle and shimmer. It was quite amazing. 

I now understand why visiting one of Puerto Rico's bio bays is a must on any tourist's list.

  The lagoon in the daylight.

December 31, 2013. A Day on Isla de Vieques.

After trying to get to Vieques by ferry last week and encountering an impossible, never ending line at the ticket counter we decided to take the 10 minute, $35 flight to get to the island. We boarded a 10 seater and after getting safety instructions from the pilot, the props were fired up and we taxied down the runway. What a fun flight. It was my first time traveling on such a small plane...so small that we were seated by weight. 

 

Vieques is most well known for its beaches. They are truly spectacular with soft white sand and crystal clear, warm water. Sun Bay Beach was almost deserted when we arrived, except for about 17 horses grazing in the field behind the beach. Nolan picked up a coconut that had fallen from one of the many palms lining the beach and was able to break it open so that we could enjoy the milk and the soft textured, sweet meat. 

  

 

After enjoying the water and lying in the sun, it was time to walk to the small town of Esperanza via the beach. Along the way we picked up a pocket fullmof beach glass. We settled on a small restaurant, enjoyed our piña coladas and waited and waited for our lunch orders to arrive. After waiting for well over an hour, two of us had to leave to catch plane back to Cieva and so were forced to cancel our order. The others were taking a later plane and got their food shortly after we left.

We were lucky to find a taxi within about 10 minutes. Back at the airport, we discovered a small open air cafe serving drinks and food. Since we hadn't eaten since breakfast we were ready to eat just about anything. Fortunately there were two local guys sitting near us. Seeing our dilemma as we perused the menu they quickly recommended the fried vegetable dumplings. We took their advice and were glad we did. 

We were again seated by weight on the flight back. After 10 minutes of spectacular scenery from the air, we landed in Cieva where Joanna was waiting to take us back to the condo. 

What a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve.

December 27, 2013. El Yunque National Forest.

We started the day early, thinking that we could catch the ferry and go to the island of Viques for the day.unfortunately, the line for ferry tickets was very, very long and our chances of getting aboard we're next to impossible. And so, we switched to plan B and headed for the El Yunque Rain Forest for a hike to be followed by a swim at Loquillo Beach.

The El Yunque Rain Forest is a cool, mountainous, sub tropical rainforest.

The true sub tropical 'Rain forest' occupies very little area in Puerto Rico, only a single, crescent shaped, band on the windward side of the El Yunque mountains. It lies wholly within the El Yunque National Forest Reserve. This life zone is characterized by an annual total of 3,400 mm of rain. 

The trade winds blow from the north east and these mountains ( 3,500 ft elev. ) are in the north easternmost part of Puerto Rico. As the warm moist air rises when it meets the mountains and cools off, it dumps the rain...and intensifies the  wind. 

We hiked the steep Mt. Britton Trail which ended at an observation tower from which we could see the ocean when the mist cleared for a few seconds. The hike down was much easier than the trek up.

A stop at the beach for a swim was very refreshing. 

When we returned to the condo I made malanga chips. Malanga is a root vegetable native to the tropics. When I saw it Ralph's (the local grocery store) I was intrigued and decided to buy it and then figure out how to cook it. Thanks to online recipes, the chips were a hit.

Tomorrow: Seven Seas Beach.