Adventure Logan

Venice Boat Parade

Over the last 9 years we have managed to see the Venice Boat Parade every year and it never disappoints. We have seen it from several locations – 2 years from the path behind Publix, 1 year on the north jetty, 2 years on the south jetty,  and 3 years across from Nokomis Beach. This year we missed the usual friends who have attended with us on other years. They were the “good old days” when we set out many lawn chairs days in advance – and when we had a picnic to mark the occasion. So when we were faced with a decision about going to the parade last night, we decided that we would try yet another new location. The 27th Annual Boat Parade was a success and we are happy that we made the effort to see it. After supper we headed downtown and parked on Venice Avenue – then walked to the 41 and up onto the North Bridge. The vantage point from there was great as we not only saw the boats individually but also because of the height we could see the other boats winding their way down the Intercoastal. For those who have enjoyed this event in the past, you were missed – we hope that we have a crowd with us next year to enjoy the fun.

Gearing Up For Christmas

Although the sun, sand and palm trees do not match the typical “wintery Christmas” of Canada, I can say that there is no limit to the decorations here. I have begun the task of doing my annual “decking of the halls”. Unfortunately, we will not have our usual large group here for Christmas but those items in the bins so carefully labelled and stored in my shed just have to be used.

Tonight we joined hundreds of folk for the annual Venice Walk – which is held every year. We got into seasonal mode and headed for Venice Avenue to mill around and see the sights. It is a very festive occasion and it is fun to see the store front windows and the entertainment groups who were set up along the street.

There were some interesting vehicles as part of the event.

The free wine and treats (chocolates, cookies, peppermints, and kettle corn) were much appreciated.

Our favourite part of the night were the dogs as Venice is very “dog friendly” and there were tons of them to see.

Here are three that I managed to photograph. This gorgeous Cavalier is named Annie.

Then there was Amber

Shelby with her flashing collar

There were lots of fun items to see but this one really caught my eye.

Settling In

We have been here for almost 2 weeks and are slowly getting into our Florida routine. The weather has been super – most days are high 70s to low 80s. While that is great, it has impeded some outdoor work plans. Dave and I got rid of all of the overgrown plants out front – thinned them out, gave some away and replanted for a fresher look.

Then we disposed of the 6 large planters on the side which were also very overgrown. In their place Dave laid a row of patio stones which has cleaned up the side considerably.

I rearranged the patio area – bringing 2 chairs out from the lanai and moving the other things around.

Dave has  bought 8 lawnscaping timbers which were needed between our property and Dottie’s next door – the ones we put there 7 years ago are rotten. We need to work on the back yard yet but that is really just some weed killing and furniture placement.

I have gone to one Red Hat lunch – the gals range in age from mid 70’s to 90’s – so I get to be the baby of the group. They were so excited that I was back for the winter and are anxious for Liz and Marilyn to return too. They are all very busy ladies and certainly remind me that I should be more active.

Dave has been golfing with his guys at Lake Venice Golf Club. He wears his boot and manages quite well – rides the cart as per doctor’s orders. He has had the boot on for 28 days so the end is coming up. I am impressed with how compliant he has been.

We also got together with Carol and Stephen Hiltz for lunch – finally! It was great to catch up and have sometime for ourselves. Hopefully we will be able to meet many more times in the new year when they return after Christmas. There is a golf game and shopping in our future. Guess which Carol and I will be doing!

After nearly 2 weeks (and the weather has been fantastic) , we made it to the beach. There were lots of people around town for Thanksgiving so we weren’t going to come over until they had left town. So we made a plan the night before to go to the beach no matter what. It never disappoints.

Last night we finally made it to my favourite pizza place – Ntinos. The pizza was worth the 6 month wait for sure.

Happy Birthday Dave – Day 1 in Florida

Our first day has been a busy one – first it was Dave’s 68th birthday so he was happy to be in the sun. He is wearing a walking boot as he has a stress fracture in his right foot ( 2 bones) and he was getting annoyed with the pant tucking he had to do in Nova Scotia – so the shorts are a blessing. We spent the day getting some of the many set-up tasks done. First on the agenda was the outside as we had our car stored under the carport which is actually our patio. Dave sprayed for weeds – they grow like wildfire during the summer and we dragged all the outdoor furniture out. Tomorrow we will work on the planters which all need to be reworked. So we saved the best for last and went to “our beach” to celebrate tonight. The temps were around 81 F (27C) today so it was a perfect sunset and supper at Sharkeys.

Happy Birthday Boot Boy

So much sand so little time

On Venice Pier waiting for our table

First sighting of the beach

Venice Pier – Feels like home

Beautiful sunset

Enjoying the first mango bango of the season

Annual Trek South

Yesterday we headed South for the winter. While we are happy to return to our little beach house, we will miss family and friends who are staying in Nova Scotia this winter.  Our flights were on time and we had no problems in either Boston, Atlanta or Sarasota. Since we left at 1PM we arrived here later than usual – although I really preferred the late start. After arriving here at 9 PM we got our rental car and headed to Venice. Things all appear to be good – we will see if our car works tomorrow when we reconnect the battery. After a quick trip to Walmart for a few groceries for the morning, we watched the news and Dave headed to bed. I will follow shortly! Glad to be here and looking forward to getting into our routine. The forecast for the next week is for 75-80 degrees. Today (it is already Wednesday) is Dave’s 68th birthday so hopefully we will see the beach and celebrate a little!

Our Last Week

One of the things we enjoy most about May is the water temperature at the beach – 80 degrees – and the fun we have there everyday. Those pesky Snowbirds are mostly all gone so the parking is plentiful and we have our pick of shoreline spots. The aqua water is going to be hard to leave. I love the birds that we see at the beach and never tire of taking shots of them.

Then there is the fun of beach picnics – hate to have the last one of the season – but it was lots of fun. We headed to our favourite spot by Sharkey’s and really enjoyed the meal and the sunset.

This evening we headed to our favourite pizza spot – N’tinos – for the last pizza of the season. We have enjoyed the winter here in Paradise and look forward to returning home and seeing family and friends.

Snook Haven

Snook Haven is a rustic fish camp themed park on the Myakka River. The original Tarzan movie was filmed on the river. On Sundays they have live entertainment and it is always an interesting place to people watch. A gal from our park is in a retro band “Robin and the Retros” so we decided we would head there to watch her perform. It was a great afternoon of music and laughter.

Robin and the Retros

This gorgeous cardinal landed on the picnic table next to us – must be a sign of good luck don’t you think.

This guy swam slowly by as we enjoyed the afternoon.

Close up of that very long alligator

Karen, Nancy, Carol, Carol and Liz

Hodge Podge

Time is winding down here in Paradise so I thought I would compile a few pictures that I took and present them here. They are stand alone and didn’t make it under any of the previous posts.

Our annual outing to Rosebuds – where they serve the best prime rib ever! We decided that we need to make 2 trips there next year.(L-R Earl. Liz, Georgia, Dave, Danny, Carol, Marilyn, Molly, George, Karen – Dan took pics and Gerrie and Dennis got cut out by mistake)

In for a cool off on April 11 – more days like that one to come!

Dave with Justin and John Cluett when they visited 2 weeks ago.Sunset at Sharkey’s Beach

We went to supper at Burgundy Café and then walked up Venice Avenue for an ice cream fix.

 When the gals finally met up with the guys they were leaning on a garbage can!

I love it when the pelicans come to the beach – this one landed in front of us.

When we head to the beach, we pass a house where they have their parrot out on a stand. There is a sign telling passersby that his name is Arthur.

Liz pointed out this sailboat and suggested that I try to take the pic when it was under the Venice Pier.

Savannah, Georgia

Last week after our day at the Masters we travelled to Savannah, Georgia – Trevor and his friends flew home from there. On Wednesday afternoon we toured the city on a hop on hop off trolley. I wish I had a recording of the commentary but to say the least it was interesting. Savannah is a beautiful riverside city with 22 “squares” that have been there for years (1851). The tour travels through the historic city and we got to see beautiful architecture and amazing iron works. Sadly I cannot name each of the structures that I photographed, but you can see from the pictures that it is a stunningly interesting place to visit.

Carol with the Savannah River in the background.

Dave with Mariners Fountain in the background.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

This picture shows an original dueling field – which is now a childrens sport area.

Savannah City Hall

Telfair Hospital

Dave Goes to the Masters

On Monday we travelled to Augusta, Georgia (6 hours away) to meet up with Trevor (my nephew) and his two friends Steve and Sean. Every year we put our names in for the Masters lottery which dispenses tickets for the practise rounds and full rounds. Last year my sister won “the chance to buy 2 tickets for a practise round” and Trevor and Mark used them – this year Trevor won 4 and Dave was included in the fun. Our drive was uneventful except for coming across a motor home which had just burst into flames on the side of the road. As we came along, the people (6 of them) who were in the motor home were walking quickly away from it with their bags in tow.  (Look to the far left of the pic and you will see them) It was a little scary as most motor homes have propane tanks and we wanted to be clear in case they blew.

We arrived in Augusta at about 4:30 and met up with the boys who had flown into Savannah that morning. After checking into the motel we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then back to the motel. The guys crashed as they had been up since 3 am for their early flight to New York. On Tuesday morning they headed to the course which was about 1 mile away  – and spent the day there enjoying the course and all the golfers that they saw. Dave was most impressed with the organization which he says he has never seen anywhere else in his life. (10 times more organized than Disney). Even in the men’s washroom you are asked “sitting” or “standing” and then directed to urinals or toilets. He says the grass was so even, green and weedless that he wanted to take his shoes off and walk on it. The guys looked for weeds over the whole course and saw none. Unlike most events, the food and drink were normal prices (maybe even less) – beer was $4 and sandwiches ran from $1.50 – $3. There are no brands except Masters brand so all drinks, chips, and pastries were packaged as Masters. Needless to say we will be trying for tickets again this year – maybe someone will be lucky for the 3rd year in a row!!!

Ticket to the practise round

Dave and Trevor with Hogan Bridge in the left back corner

Although the photo quality is poor, here is a shot of Dave in front of Butler Cabin where they give out the green jacket.

Trevor, Sean and Steve

Bernard Langer

Martin Kaymer

Davis Love III

Adam Scott

Jason Day

David, Trevor, Sean and Steve

Trevor and Carol before he left for home