Summer 23

It is summer time here in Punta Gorda and the living is easy. And HOT!

Time is best spent inside in the air conditioning in the heat of the day. Richard worked from 6:30 AM to 7:45 AM a number of days to refinish the front door at the end of session soaked in sweat. By 8 AM the heat will drain all the water right out of a person.  He also waxed the boat the same way, just a little work early each morning.  

Nevertheless, we did find a few thing to do.

Blind Pass Beach

June 7 - We loaded our umbrellas, beach chairs, cooler and wagon in the car for a morning at Blind Pass Beach. The water was warm and clear.  An on-shore breeze made for a pleasant day. We left well before noon as the day really began to heat-up. 

Ava Maria

June 16 -  We had never been to Ava Maria, the Catholic enclave northeast of Naples and a few miles south of Immokalee basically in the middle of nowhere.  A magnificent church lies at the center of the village surrounded first by attractive small businesses  and then by subdivisions and golf courses.

We met the president of Ava Maria University while searching for the Mother Teresa Museum located in one of the university buildings.  Click to read about the impressive Mother Teresa Project.

Ava Mari Village

Church Centered in the Village

The Museum 

Cruise to Captiva

June 22 - 23 - We led a cruise to Captiva, the first time we've been there since Hurricane Ian did so much destruction last September.  The island is on the mend and we had a great time with another crew of the boat named J&J motored by Jackie Engle and Jim Pase, members of our wonderful PGIslander Boat Club.  We had a delicious dinner with them at Captiva Yacht Club, which was newly renovated and their Chef prepared us an absolutely yummy meal.  We went for a swim in the Tween Waters Pool, next door, and an early morning dip in the ocean, located across the street.  What a fun weekend!  We lucked out with great weather and no thunderstorms!  Awesome time!

Pictures below of our boats and the beautiful Captiva Yacht Club.

Sunrise from Captiva Island Yacht Club - Morning Has Broken!

Dinner at 88 Keys - A few Islanders gathered for dinner at the Wyvern Hotel's  88 Keys Restaurant June 21. We enjoyed conversing with everyone and checking out the mid-week summer specials.

Monthly Game Night with the PGIslander Boat Club has been resurrected recently.  We learned a new card game and I won!  Lots of fun at the Linehan's home. 

Mary and Al Visit -   My sister, Mary, and brother-in-law, Al, came down for a few days visit to see our 102-1/2 year old Mom.  We had a great time going to Blind Pass Beach on Manasota Key.  We also took a trip down Memory Lane to Pine Island.  The highlight was lunch at Captain Con's.  We all enjoyed the coconut shrimp and grouper along with the homemade pies.  The coconut cream was delicious!

We have been beating the heat by reading indoors.  A few of the books we read worth mentioning are  Swan Light, Lessons in Chemistry and The World Played Chess

This year Fisherman's Village hosted the fireworks on the Fourth. After a dinner of pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad and several games of Chicken Foot Dominoes with Rob and Sue we drove down to an empty lot on Jamaica Way to watch the fireworks. We were the only ones on the lot while across from the yacht club, people packed themselves in. 

   

We attended a wonderful IYC Luau Party in July.