Tulipmania on Our 21st Anniversay

Enjoying the tulips on our 21st Anniversary

Twenty-one years ago today I married a wonderful guy - my dear Richard!  Today we are in the Netherlands and rode bikes through the gorgeous tulip fields and toured Keukenhof, the most beautiful spring garden in the world.  It was a great way to celebrate our wonderful lives together and we are both grateful for each other.

We also found a few hours to tour the Rijksmuseum, which was full of masterpieces by Rembrant and other famous artists.  We finished the day off with a wonderful dinner at Pompas.  Check out all the pictures by double clicking
Photos .

Amsterdam - May 6

Hotel Fita Amsterdam - We arrived on schedule, actually a few minutes early, at the Schipol Airport, breezed through passport control and customs, had our railpass validated and caught Bus 197 for 5 euros each.  Our stop was just about two blocks from Hotel Fita, #37 Jan Luijkenstraat.

We walked past #36 and #38, no #37 in between!  Number 37 is about a block and half down the street. One wouldn't want to try locating by street number in Amsterdam! I had a Google Map with the hotel location marked so this wasn't really a problem.

Our rooms were ready although we buzzed the door a little after 9 AM.  An elevator just big enough for two skinny Americans and nothing more delivered  us to our 4th floor room - very nice with a view of a roof garden across the street. 

We rested a bit and walked over to Museumplein and the Van Gogh Museum.  The line for the museum was a block long but I had purchased e-tickets for 12 PM on-line. We walked in at 11 AM.

For dinner, we walked to a restaurant on the edge of Vondelpark just a few blocks away from the hotel.  West wind blow at least a chilly 25 kts.   Lots of tulips in bloom.


Photos

Visitors from Perth Australia

Last November 2014 we visited Perth, Australia with the Friendship Force, a wonderful travel exchange group.  We were surprised that our Perth friends, Linda and Colin, visited us last week.  What a journey - they had to fly Perth to Sydney, Australia then to Los Angeles, onto Dallas, finally arriving in Ft Myers. 



On an airboat ride in the Everglades

We had a wonderful time visiting ECHO, the Everglades, and Boca Grande. We threw a welcome party here so that they could meet members of our Southwest Florida Chapter.   Linda and Colin are now visiting Friendship Force clubs in the heartland - they are in Oklahoma City.  We are so glad they came here and hope we can meet up with them again on another Friendship Force Exchange. We were so happy to connect with them!

Catching Up on Punta Gorda Life

Mom wearing her Easter Bonnet

Easter Sunday at Sacred Heart - We arrived 40 minutes early to find almost every seat taken. Worshipers continued to flow in lining the walls and spilling out into the vestibule. Father Jerry began by asking all the children to make room for adults by coming forward to sit on the steps of the sanctuary. Eventually children moved to the back of the sanctuary and adults sat on the steps. Three chairs sit on the sanctuary. Father Jerry selected one parishioner to sit with the Deacon and himself.  Still people stood all along the walls and spilled out into the vestibule.

Oddly enough Father Jerry placed a gift bag on the alter before beginning the service.  He is a creative individual but we had never seen a gift bag on the alter before.  Following  a one minute homily, Father Jerry picked up the gift bag and turned to the children.  He told them, "Someone gave me an Easter Egg but I didn't open it. Do you know what happened?  It hatched into a chicken!"  

For a second I thought a live chick would pop out of the bag, but Father Jerry pulled out a big fluffy yellow chicken and placed on the alter!.  Then he said, "The chicken told me something; do you know what it said?"  With that and a push of a  chicken switch, the chicken began to dance singing, "If your happy and you know it, clap your hands."  We all joined in singing this amazing Easter message.  

After mass we took Miss Marie to the Isles Yacht Club for lunch. 

Our Pedal & Play Rest Stop Team pose for a picture

Pedal and Play  Richard volunteered to run a rest stop for the Pedal and Play charity event here in Punta Gorda.  Steve Johnson, the event organizer, asked me to make the rest stop "fun."  What?   I decided to play off the "Who Put the Hit on Ponce de Leon" mystery ride.  Click on the link below to read all about it. 
I made up labels for water bottles reading:

Fountain of Youth 

 Spring Water

Bottled in Punta Gorda by PnP

A Juan Ponce de Leon Discovery

Since 1521

            

Photos       Story

 

Joanne celebrating her birthday on cruise

Cruise North  We joined Bob and Jackie Whitaker for a cruise north to Sarasota passing through the  Boca Grande Swash Channel coming and going and Big Pass coming back.  We stayed at the Field Club for two nights where we celebrated Joanne's birthday. Constance and Bill drove up to join the Whitakers and us for a birthday dinner.  Also, we stayed at the Venice, Bird Key and Sarasota Yacht Clubs. We anchored for the night on the way up and the way back along the ICW off Cayo Costa. 

Out on the Gulf with a light wind we sailed smartly along with our new Flexfold prop creating less drag than our old fixed blade prop. We were quite pleased.     

Glow worms in the Keys

Glow worm circular mating dance

We were intrigued when we heard about a unique event at one of the Isles Yacht Club's cruiser meetings - kayaking to view Glow Worms in the Keys!   What ? ?
From shallow and grassy bottoms on the bay side of Islamorada arise glow worms that put on a light spectacle.  This happens like clockwork 40 minutes after sunset 2 or 3 days after a full moon. 

Some of our friends cruised to the Keys in their boats and others, like us, drove down.  After a lovely early dinner, we drove over to Islamorada Marina to launch our kayaks.  We paddled a few hundred yards to the grassy flats and waited patiently. 

Suddenly all around us, female worms about 1/2 inch long rose to the surface glowing a neon green in the dark water. We watched as bright green dots, the males, zoomed straight toward the females.  Some females attracted multiple males. Each female released an iridescent plume of eggs as she and her male cohort(s) spun round and round.   It it is truly amazing! The action ended in about 20 minutes.  Following the glow worm show, we paddled through mangrove tunnels. In open water, brilliant stars filled the sky above us.   What a fun evening for all.  Check out some of the paddlers!

 

 

 

 

 

Changing of the Watch - PGIslander Style!

Outgoing Commodore smiles as he does his presentation

The PGIslander's, our boating group, honored Richard at their Change of Watch on January 22nd.  Richard had a fun time presenting his farewell talk, kidding Gene, the incoming commodore, by telling him that he is now the "Master  Mechanic" of the club's Fun Meter. 

Everyone was entertained by his fast moving show and the crowd cheered and laughed.  There was much appreciation for his contribution of making the monthly meetings a video slide show extravaganza that helped move the meetings along.



Over 180 club members attended

Richard also had many clues with prizes for those solving them.  Usually the clues identified a local cruising destination.  Richard received a gift that only a sailor in skinny waters could appreciate - a handheld depth meter!

We all enjoyed a sumptuous pot luck meal with bountiful desserts.  Personally, I was so glad that Richard led the group and I got to be Mrs. Commodorable 2014!  It was fun!


Holidays

We had a wonderful Christmas!  Listed below are the utube videos of our boat all decorated out.  We participated in the largest boat parade that our town, Punta Gorda, has had in quite a while - 52 boats participated!   It was extra special in that my sister, Mary, and brother-in-law, Alan, arrived from Indiana just in time to join us and our boating club friends for the parade.  There were throngs of people along the shoreline and we had such a fun time shouting Merry Christmas, Ho Ho Ho, etc. to everyone! 

My sister, Claire, and nephew, Zach, also arrived later from Portland, Oregon.  We baked everyone's favorite cookies, shared dinners with Cousin Bill and his wife, Carol, from Naples and Cousin Constance and Bill here in town.  We rode bikes on the Punta Gorda Pathways and saw some great movies (Wild and Unbroken).  Lots of wonderful memories!


Lighting of the Fleet

Boat Parade Video 1

Lighting of the Fleet & Boat Parade