Comfort Inn & Suites Naples

... with Claire at Olive Garden; took Agnes and Cliff for a ride to Captiva Island so they could see the Bubble Room Restaurant; swam in the Gulf and beautiful swimming pools at our RV Park and at their Condo, had a great dinner of barbecued ribs prepared by Claire on our last night here; and were lucky enough to see dolphins playing in the Gulf and a most amazing sunset over the water! Whew! packed a lot into a week, didn't we?

Så er vi ankommet til Florida. Vi ankom igår og fandt et billigt motel med pool. Så efter en lang køretur, var det perfekt at kunne tage en svømmetur i poolen. I dag har det været ca. 35 grader, så jeg har sat pris på aircon idag. Vi var dog ude på stranden og fiske og bade lidt. Lau fangede en babyhaj, men ellers har der ikke været noget held. Det er helt rart at have en lidt mindre proppet tidsplan nu, så er der mere tid til at komme helt ned i gear. I morgen står den på køretur til Miami

... a dollop of booze and it was enough to send us into a scrabble frenzy where I emerged victorious in the battle of the words.

Im typing this blog on an Apple Mac with a HUGE screen and free net access, geek heaven. Tomorrow we leave for Clearwater with a stop in a an outlet mall in the hunt for cheap levis and then onto Sarasota to fill Nics art gallery craving. The heat is still tremendous and I have some impressive white bits...

... and about. Check your room before you go to sleep, turn the air
conditioning off for a moment and listen for the high piercing sounds
of the insect. Take a look around to see if there are any mozzies
taking a snooze on your wall.

We got up early today and drove to Sanibel Island. For those who haven't been there, Sanibel & Captiva Islands on the Gulf of Mexico have some of the nicest beaches around, and Sanibel is known for fantastic shelling.

While walking over the inland waterway to get to Bowman Beach, the girls spotted a manatee and watched it amble under the foot bridge we were on and swim off into the distance. The tide was ...

We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Courtney's, then checked out. We drove to one of the public beach access areas and headed out to do some more shelling. We found more treasures! The girls went out at first in just shorts, but that didn't last long. There were signs on the roads to watch out for gopher tortoises...but we didn't see any!

We then drove on to Lake City to stay at the same Comfor Suites...still very nice!

... I had a half-dozen oysters on the half shell and a grilled grouper sandwich. It was tasty.

Katie and I went back out to the beach at low tide and found some real treasures. Sarah was still not feeling great, so she watched cartoon network.

We had planned on going back out early for the next low tide (it was at 5:30a.m.), but it was storming. Which was actually a great thing because it meant the shelling even at high tide was going to be good.

... the dry season and there has been a drought. Ranger Chris was a trifle patronising but perhaps that is the American way. The heat blowing across the sawgrass plains was searing - cold drinks were very welcome! The hotel was the best La Qiinta to date: a beautiful pool with water temp in the mid 30s. Drove through Naples - very upmarket - to the beach. Water was warm and the sand silvery.

... 3pm was spent on the Marco Island Princess, again, with the Soap Stars from Guiding Light, As The World Turns and All My Children. Much fun was had by all! Don't miss this great fundraising event next year! The stars won't and neither will I. Michelle Sandy Your Travel Concierge of Naples 239-403-7703 YTCNaples.com Michelle@YTCNaples.com

... walkway. We saw alligators, blue herons, (inc. one who was fishing: stabbed fish with beak, then tossed fish into the air for swallowing), anhinga birds drying their feathers a foot off trail, turtles, fish, etc. We walked out every trail overpass. The Mohagany Trail was a large hammock of mahogany trees. Many spiders had constructed webs along the elevated trail. They had brightly colored green bottles with ...