Moving North

I mentioned previously what an awesome find at the beach Janice and I had with all the shells left by the recent storm.  We both braved the early morning hour, rain and wind to gather gorgeous conch shells plus a few others.   It was the last week Terry and I would be in Southwest Florida and that close to the beach so I drug him back two more times in the next three days. 

The first time back it didn’t just rain, it poured.  Needless to say, we were both soaked.  However, I still had a great time walking the beautiful beach and collecting more beautiful shells. 

We were just about the only people on the beach at that time.  It was nearly deserted.  It’s not often you can luck out and find a deserted beach in Florida during the winter but that was the case and only because it was raining.

We ended up going back one more time and that was Saturday, the day before we were due to head a little farther north.  The sun was shining and the beach was pretty full of others walking in the sand, picking up shells and even fishing.  What a great day any beach day is.

Saturday was also the park-wide garage and yard sale.  The idea was to be out by 8 AM in order to grab the best items at the best price.  We ended up with a couple good ones for sure.    However, the place was packed not only with residents of the park but also locals who drove in to snag a few deals.  Getting around was difficult because the narrow roadways were packed with walkers, bikers, golf carts and cars.  

We were part of the bike crowd and found it much easier to get around but also had to be pretty cautious …. remember many of these were seniors who moved at a snail’s pace and some even hesitated to look before moving.

Our bikes (Terry’s is the electric one .. not mine)  -----

Then, dinner time rolled around and Jerry and Janice treated us at Doc Fords in Fort Myers Beach for our “Last Supper”.   This restaurant had come highly recommended.  The recommendation wasn't wrong.  It was a great place to eat with a perfect location,  great food and very good friends.  We loved it.  Thank you so much.

Look at the size of the baby back ribs on this plate!!

While we ate on the outside deck we were also entertained by the pelicans.

We had one more beach stop on the way back to our RV park and it was an awesome stop.

And, that was just about the end of two glorious months in Southwest Florida with wonderful friends.  We’d had a great time spending it at a beach, playing shuffleboard, cornhole, kayaking, biking, happy hour or just getting together and yakking.    That time was over.  It was time to move on and that we did Sunday morning.  We said our goodbyes to Jerry &  Janice and  John & Sharon.   Actually, we said “See you later” instead of “Goodbye” because we’ll probably meet up with them during Bluebonnet season in Texas as we continue our journey west.

We were only going less than 100 miles north.  After a short distance on the freeway we were soon on two-lane back roads.  The road took us by farms and patches of orange trees.   Just like most areas in this part of Florida, we could tell the area had experienced quite a bit of rain.  Water ran down the freeway and even some fields were totally under water.  At places the run-off  nearly covered the roadway.  However, the traffic was gone and we were happy to have left the crowds behind even though we knew that part would only be temporary.  At least for this week, we figured there wouldn’t be any traffic jams.  

 
Our destination was Wauchula and the Thousand Trails park there.  We discovered this park had also been subject to heavy rains.   Our selection of sites was very limited as many were just mud beds.  The river was nearly at flood level and the current strong …. no way would we put a kayak in it as we had planned.  For now we’re stuck in a site without full hookups so we’ll just have to see what happens from here. 

----  The good thing is we have no one on the east side of us!








After finally getting set up we headed into the town to check it out a little.  There really isn’t much to check out but they do have Walmart and a Dollar Tree.  Heading in that direction guess who we passed …… Tina and Jeff!   Well, we knew they were in this area but didn’t expect to see them so soon.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them over the next few days.










Heading back through town we really got to see what a main street looked like without a traffic jam   (This is for Jerry). 

Look no traffic!

For now we have no idea how long we’ll be here.  It may only be three or four days or it may stretch to a week.  After that we’ll be in traffic again as we head back towards Orlando.  This time we’ll bypass Disney World.  Remember we did that in November.  This time we’re visiting Harry Potter World at Universal. 

‘Tis life on the road.