Kayaking Through Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve

We loaded the kayaks up on the car yesterday, and took a drive north about 40 minutes to a place north of Palmetto, FL called Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve.  We found a place to launch the kayaks, at Bishop Harbor Boat & Kayak Launch.  The launch is very sandy, so the only boats launching were very small ones with little motors.  The area is filled with mangroves and channels that wind through them, but then opens out into Bishop Harbor, open water that flows out to Tampa Bay.  At first we kayaked out into the Harbor, but it was quite windy and so we spent more time wandering through the mangroves than out in the harbor.  While kayaking, we saw lots of water birds, but no manatees or dolphins.  The water was mostly too shallow for dolphins, but manatees have been known to be hanging out in the Harbor and surrounding mangroves.  No luck for us this day.  The daytime temperatures this past week have been in the mid to upper 80s, so being out on the water was refreshing with the breezes and the coolness of the water. 

Today we will do some grocery shopping, clean up/organize things, and beginning packing up. Tomorrow we move again to a campground near South Bay, on the south end of Lake Okeechobee.  It is called South Bay RV Campground, has full hook-ups for $25 a night, and access to the lake, but no major grocery stores, good restaurants, etc.  We will be there a week, so we will see how it goes.  If nothing else we can explore the Lake Okeechobee area.

A Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my 68th birthday.  I was blessed with lots of birthday greetings by text and on Facebook, as well as a singing phone call from Mary Smith and Caroline.  After a yummy breakfast, Gus and I took a long walk along the nature paths, followed by time to relax and finish a book I have been reading, followed by another long walk in solitude (Very peaceful and reflective), and finished off with dinner at Jim & Terry Jones' home in Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota.

Yes, that is an alligator in the photo above.  

Canopy Walk, Bike Ride

Late afternoon we took a bike ride down to the bridge and then to the canopy walk.
There were few people around at the end of the day so we enjoyed a peaceful walk to the towers. After climbing the towers to the top we were attacked by hundreds of flies, but only at the very top. Needless to say we did not stay up top to wait for sunset because of the flies.

This is the 1st tower that takes you to the suspension bridge to the large tower. 

The suspended bridge between the two towers....no more than 4 people can be on it at one time.  It does sway and bounce. 

This is the view from the top of the tower. 

Another view...looking down

And this is the view looking up from under the tower. 

Hanging Out with Gus

The past few days, Gus and I have gone for many long walks in the park. There are several trails that follow the river and wind through the woods or past the cabins, keeping us off the main road through the park.  It is good for Gus, and good for me.  Jim went with us on one walk today, but his hip and back were hurting when we got back.  He's resting both now. 

Yesterday we went to Costco to look at laptop computers.  Jim's Toshiba laptop died two days ago. It was my work laptop purchased in 2009, before I retired from Powhatan Schools, and Jim took it over 5 or 6 years ago when I got a Dell touchscreen.  We left Costco with a new Dell laptop for less than $700, including 3 yr warranty.  It will take him time to get it all set up, but we got Chrome installed last night, which is a start.  I told him it was his birthday present, since his 70th is next week. 

The weather is hot and humid this week, with highs in the upper 80s and humidity at 75 to 80%.  This morning before our long walk we spent a few hours adjusting our travel schedule so we can head home mid March instead of mid April, to help the kids out.  JC is in ICU with pneumonia,  a partial collapsed lung, and other issues.  We are hoping for the best but expect that he will not be well enough to deal with the boys for a while. 

Marie Selby Botannical Gardens

After several people recommended this place, we decided to spend an afternoon there.  Because we have a family membership at Lewis Ginter Botannical Gardens in Richmond, our cost to enter the Gardens was only $5 each, far better than the $25 cost for nonmembers.  The Gardens are located on the waterfront in Sarasota, south of the Ringling Museum, on about 15 acres of land, much of it donated by Marie Selby. She and her husband lived on the property for more than 50 years and her house is now a part of the Gardens, used as a museum of art.  Gauguin is the featured artist this year.  These gardens have been open to the public since 1975.  The gardens themselves are compact but beautiful and include the Tropical Conservatory, a Bonsai exhibit, a Fern Garden, a Koi Pond, and a Banyan Grove as well as a Desert Garden and a beautiful waterfront setting.  We spent about 2 hours there wandering through the various gardens and enjoying the views around us. 

Circus Sarasota 2019

Circus Sarasota holds performances from the middle of February through early March each year.  We were lucky enough to be in the area this year to catch a show.  It was incredible, the best one we have seen.  We sat in the 3rd row of the Mezzanine, Section 2, seats 1-4....perfect seats for the show.  We invited a couple from Redeemer who now live in Sarasota to join us, and were happy to share this time with them.


Ambra Andrine performed with her horses combined with aerial stunts.  Her father was the ringmaster for this event.  



Hans Klose and his dog act was on America's Got Talent ...no pigs this time but excellent performance nonetheless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2xAvHPNVbQ



Valerie Inertie performed with a spinning wheel.  It was beautiful to watch!
Here is a YouTube Video of an earlier performance she gave.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRngX7cg6X4
  




The Kolev Sisters are a hand balancing act.  They show incredible strength and balance in their performance.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmm2WI3JcNk

   
The final performance of the night was by the Ringmaster, Joseph Bauer, Jr, on the Wheel of Destiny.  There was even a PBS interview with him some time ago showing what his performance was like.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RbXm2zusZg

Hermann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions

North of Myakka River State Park is a Ranch where Lipizzan horses are bred, raised, trained and shown.  On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays they are open to the public for a few hours and provide a show  from December to April.  After that they are on the road to all parts of the country to present these horses and their talents, as well as the talents of the trainers.  This continues to be a family business. The horses are beautiful and the trainers/riders are very skilled, including a girl about 10 years old.  We saw the show yesterday afternoon from 3 pm to about 5 pm.

After the horse show, we drove into Myakka City for gasoline (much needed!) and found a small local restaurant/bar for dinner.  It was not a fancy place...clearly a local joint...but the food was excellent and definitely home cooked.
  

 After dinner, we drove back to the park and saw a beautiful skyline as the sun set over the lake. 

This was our last night with Neil & Kat, who left to head home today.  Having no cell service for them (AT&T), a granddaughter in need of a home, and missing young grandchildren drew them to head home early.  We enjoyed traveling with them, and will miss them, but knew that we would be parting company about this time. 

Moving on Again - Myakka River State Park

We headed 80 miles north to Myakka River State Park on February 12 (I have been a little behind in my blog).  Neil and Kat did the same. When we arrived at Myakka and started setting up, Sharon & Dennis Anderson arrived soon after, to visit for a while.  After some conversation we realized there had been some miscommunication, and Andersons wanted to stay two nights with us.  After realizing that signals had been crossed, we worked it out for them to stay with us for the two nights.  Neil & Kat joined us for dinner as had been previously planned and we ate up the Keys shrimp along with a big salad, some homemade bread, and some apple strudel for dessert.  There was plenty of food to go around. 

 We are in a large pull-through site, site 62, at Myakka although there are other sites that are even larger here.  We have full hook-up here, so laundry will be done and we can take showers in the RV.

Wednesday, Feb 13, was a very rainy day so we watched TV, including a crazy movie called A Thousand Ways to Die in the West.  It stopped raining early afternoon so we were able to get out, walk around and take a ride down to the lake, etc in the afternoon.  After dinner, we went over to Neil & Kat's RV to play some Mexican Train.  Everyone had a good time.  Thursday morning after a hearty breakfast, Denny & Sharon packed up their things and headed to Lazy Days to pick up their RV, hoping that all was repaired and now working.  

Enjoying the Florida Coast Waters

Lovers Key State Park has an expansive beach that we visited 3 times while at Koreshan.  Neil & Kat joined us on our second visit, then Kat and I went back to walk the beach one more time before we left Koreshan.  

 Kayaking through the Naples waterways was relaxing with calm waters and beautiful homes to look at.  These homes are valued at between 1.2 million and 3.5 million dollars....a bit too steep for our budget.

After a full day on the water, we all opted to go out to dinner, making a second visit to Carini's Pizzaria & Trattoria in Bonita Springs.  This time we actually ordered pizza and it was excellent!  (Last week when we were there for dinner, there was a special on ribs, so the men ordered ribs and Kat and I ordered other things.)