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.