Bob & Elizabeth's Excellent Adventure: Fun in the Sun!

Although the power cord I ordered for my computer 2 1/2 weeks ago has still not arrived, due to the generosity of my friends, Bonnie and Glen, who lent me a cord, I'm back online in the comfort of my own home! I'll be updating as soon as I can. For now, check out the photos in the photo gallery of Bob and the 'Lookers' Beach Volleyball team! The album is from the Sandsculpting Festival which I blogged about mid-November.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful friends and family! Even though we are not with you we are thinking of you, today and everyday!

We were fortunate to get a Thanksgiving invitation from one of our new friends, Tom. Tom and his wife, Maryann, hosted an all day Thanksgiving Potluck for 26. Their home has a very long carport where we all sat a a very, very long table. Maryann had it festively decorated with a fall themed runner, pumpkins and candles. Very nice. The food was a delightful mix of everyone's favorites - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, chicken and dumplings (this was homemade and amazingly good!), sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, etc. The list goes on and on! After dinner we had a double elimination tournament of washers and another of bean bag toss. Then on to dessert. My contributions were lemon squares, walnut brownies and triple chocolate cookie bars. Mmmmmm! After dessert on to the Scavenger Hunt. Tom and Maryann put together a list of items from around the park, divided us in to teams of 4 and then sent us off on or way with our bikes and a 1 hour time limit. OMG, it was soooooooo much fun!!!! My team found every single item on our list and got back 20  minutes early. The judge checked off all our items, yep, he confirmed, we found them all. He then turned over our paper and asked to see our photos. Photos? What photos????? Yikes! We didn't see the list of required photos! Off we raced, pedaling furiously, to snap as many as possible. Alas, we just didn't have much time left and were only able to get a few. Even so, we came in second place, having been beaten out of top honors by only  ONE point! Can you believe it??? ONE stinking point! Oh well, better luck next year.

Scavenger Hunt over, it was time to put on the feedbag yet again. Yessirre Bob, we ate the whole shebang a second time. Guess we'll have to step up the exercise program for the next few days. LoL. Finally, seven hours after arrival, bellies full of good food and hearts full of good cheer, it was time to head for home. Pictures to follow as soon as I am back on my own computer!  

Turns out my computer is not quite dead (although I wish it would just go, it is definitely on its last legs!) just the power cord died. So I bought a new power cord on Ebay for 8.99 and am awaiting its arrival. I am still using the free computers at the park for the time being. So as soon as I get my cord and can blog from the comfort of my own home I will fill you in on the past few days and the amazing times we have been having - renting a pontoon boat with 8 frieds and cruising down to Lover's Key, the funny fish Bob caught, the great Happy Hour we had at our house after the pontoon trip, the Indian Creek Happy Hour at Iroquois Hall, the wonderful invitation we received for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Hope to be back online at home in the next day or two. See ya then!

My computer died so I am using the freebie in the park's computer room. Updates will be few and far between until I get a new computer. Not sure when that will be as I am too busy with all my classes, games, happy hours and friends to leave the park. lol.

We had the best, best, best time ever yesterday, sooooooooo much fun! The day started with meeting Peggy and Greg for a trolley ride down to the Holiday Inn on the beach to view the Sandsculpting Festival. This event was free last year but this year they imposed a $5.00 fee to get in to the VIP viewing area. The four of us opted to stay out of the VIP area and just view the sculptures from outside of the fence. Hey, call me cheap if you like but $5.00 buys a pitcher of beer and we have our priorities! Unfortunately, the sculptures were all angled in such a way that from outside of the VIP viewing area we weren't able to thoroughly check out the intricate beauty of the sand art. Oh well, saw them last year. This years event was much smaller than last year with fewer sculptures and a smaller attendance. Many people in our park boycotted the event due to the new fee. After viewing what small part of the event we could see for free and walking around the vendors booths (each got a FREE nylon backpack sack that we can use to carry pickleball paddles, pool towels, etc. from Geico) it was time to head back to the Times Square area for drinks. Hey, I know it was only 2:30 but don't judge me - it's always 5:00 somewhere! Rather than get back on the overcrowded event trolley, we decided to walk. We started walking and walking and walking. Man, oh, man - this is a looooooooooooong beach. Walking and walking and walking. Our destination (the turqouise walls of Lani Kai) doesn't seem any closer. Walking and walking and walking. Now we're getting parched. Walking and walking and walking. It's a good thing it was a partly cloudy day cos in this 86 degree heat we would have melted in the full sun. Walking and walking and walking. We're definitely ready for a little refreshment right about now but this end of the beach doesn't have any bars. Walking and walking and walking. Whew.....finally our first oasis- Junkanoo bar! In we go for some ice cold beer, buffalo shrimp and island bread. While we were waiting for our order a commotion was heard and in pranced a bevy of beauties - exotic dancers from the local gentleman's club attires in skimpy volleyball outfits. Out they ran to the beach volleyball court. Well, Bob decided this was the team for him! Alas, girls only were allowed on the court but they did take time out for a nice photo op with him. Unfortunately, I had already transfered  the photos of the day from my camera to the now dead computer so no photo of Bob with his new team.  Phot op finished, we decided it was time to move on. Our destination was much, much closer now. Just before we reached it we stumbled across rows of chairs set up on the beach occupied by people in elegant dress. Yep, a beach wedding. Nice! We were lucky enough to arrive just in time to watch the wedding march. The bride had a beautiful billowy dress and carried birds of paradise, my fave tropical flower. It was beautiful. And, yes, I did take pics but again, that pesky dead computer ate them! Anyways, on to the next stop in our beach pub crawl. The Beached Whale had some great drink specials going on so we forgoed Lani Kai and headed to the deck of the Whale. $5.00 pitchers, $5.00 wings - how can you beat it??? One hour and several pitchers later we were off to our next stop - Mantanzas Inn. Our friend Amy (remember her? We went to Mucky Duck with her and Dave a few weeks ago) is bartender here and we spent a happy hour with her and her delicious pina coladas. At this point we had already missed the last 8:30 pm trolley so we might as well continue making merry at S.O.B., the Smoking Oyster Brewery. Only a quick one here and then Greg whipped out his phone and called a taxi from his speed dial contacts. Hmmmmm, I think he's done this before!

Well, I have been neglecting my blog, haven't written in over a week, actually, so you probably think we have been sitting on our butts doing nothing. Not so, not so! The problem is just the opposite - we have just been too darn busy for me to find much computer time! I have decided either I need an extra two hours a day and an extra two days per week OR I have to cut sleeping out of my schedule! So today is a quick catch-up of the events of the past week.

Every day is a pickleball day. Bob and I get to the court between 8:00 and 8:30. I concentrate solely on pickleball while Bob splits his time between pickleball and volleyball. My pickleball game is coming along slowly but surely but Bob has just exploded into an amazing player. He is playing hard and enjoying it. After pickleball it is time for the pool and hot tub. A few laps and a nice jacuzzi soak are just what the doctor ordered after a hard game. Next week I start the 'Sweating to the Oldies' class. So that will mean pickleball from 8:00 until 10:30 then rush over to STTO from 10:30 until 11:30. I also start Yoga soon but I'm not sure of the date yet. After Yoga class the instructor gives each participant a warm towel for their face and a neck  and shoulder massage! How nice is that?!? Afternoon is for bike riding. We typically weave in and out of every street and take about an hour ride. Often we'll spy an eagle gliding overhead as we pedal. Wednesdays I deviate from the routine and skip pickleball for line dance class and just dance up a storm. My friends Peggy and Bernice also take the class so we should be a hit at the next Happy Hour with our line dancing moves! Peggy also knows a resident here who teaches an informal line dance class on her patio several days a week so I am anxiously awaiting the first session.

Last Friday was the Halloween Dance at Siesta Bay. Bob and I were 'Killer Bees'. Note the stlingers and antenaes. It was a fun costume and a very fun night! Plenty more photos of us in costume on the photo gallery page.

Sunday at pickleball the group invited us to join them at Bonita Bills Waterfront Bar. What a cool place! Located right on a wharf, the seating area is directly on the bay. Water lapping gently on the wood, boats bobbing against their moorings - what a setting for an ice cold pitcher of beer, eh? A one-man-band played some awesome dance music and we just had a jolly good time.

Tomorrow, Sunday 11/8, (Happy Birthday to my Mom), we are headed down the beach to the Sandsculpting Festival with Greg and Peggy. And speaking of birthdays we learned a funny coincidence last night when Peggy and Greg were visiting - Greg and Bob share the same birthday! No wonder they get along so well.

We have made some good friends already this season and have been caught in a social whirlwind. Life is good!  

Hard to believe we have been here almost 4 weeks and we haven't even been to the beach yet. Well, Monday night it was time to remedy that! We rounded up our freinds, Dave and Amy, grabbed our fishing poles, champagne and a small picnic and headed to Bowditch Park for sunset. We arrived around 5:30 to a gentle, balmy breeze fanning us as we walked down the soft, white sand. A few beachgoers dotted the sand, beach chairs tucked in here and there amoung the driftwood. The boys immediately got to work, casting their lines and getting their rods secured in the sand, ready to catch the big one. Poor Bob. To his dismay his reel was eroded and unusable so he had to turn to his puny lake rod. Any self respecting ocean fish would just laugh at this inadequete equipment. But, we were there more for the sunset, champagne and company of friends rather than the catch of the day. Thankfully, because all that was caught was a nice hunk of seaweed. After setting up the poles we got down to business - time to pop the corks! Along with the champagne we enjoyed a light picnic dinner. Yumm! As we ate an egret paced back and forth between our snacks and our bait bucket. A non-discriminating diner, this bird, he didn't care if his dinner was surf or turf. He ate it all. We sat for a spell, watching the sun set beneath the clouds. The clouds added some depth and dimension to the sky and looked like mountains rising out of the sea. As soon as the sun set, the mosquitoes attacked even though we were covered in spray.. Eeks! Time to go home. As we were packing up our gear a dolphin swam in the shallows just off shore about 20 feet. A nice night.

Our old patios tables were trashed back in New Smyrna Beach this past spring so time for some new ones. I wanted some sort of folding table so it fits in the storage flat for travel. I also planned on painting the tables a bright, tropical orange so I didn't want anything fancy nor did I want to pay top dollar. Bob and I looked through a flea market, thrift stores, Walmart, Big Lots etc but did not see anything that would suit us. The need for tables was strong - we needed a place for our guests to place their glasses during our upcoming Happy Hour next week. So we finally decided to go to Walmart Monday afternoon and buy the wooden tray tables we had previously dismissed. Luckily, Monday morning Bob and I were out biking prior to the shopping expedition and, lo and behold, what did we see - a woman carrying two perfectly good wicker patio tables out to the trash! Bob asked her if we could take them and she said we were welcome to these gems. We took them home and discovered, to our delight, that the legs pull off and everything stacks flat for travel. What could be better than FREE patio tables that stack for travel??? Why, orange free patio tables that stack for travel, of course! Today was the big paint party. Armed with a can of pumpkin orange gloss spray paint and a can of flamingo pink we turned our patio into a tropical delight! I started out giving the tables a good scrubbing. Next they dried in the sun. Bob then primed them and applied 3 thin coats of the orange paint. While he transformed the tables I worked on three formerly navy blue luminaries which my Auntie M gave for for Christmas a few years back and a terra cotta flower pot my mom gave me this summer. The luminaries first got a coat of pink on the outside and then a coat of orange on the inside. The pot was sprayed pink with the plant still in it. Poor plant, I was trying to save time being a little lazy. After the tables dried we assembled them and set them in place with a pink rubberized placemat on each. A potted plant in the center of each table compliments the tropical theme. Luminaries are scattered around the seating area. The flamingo tablecloth covering the picnic table sets off the tiki umbrella. Two foam parrots dangle from the twinkle lights wrapped around the awning arms. The gazing ball I made in AZ two years ago sits on a newly painted stand. Cassandra, lantana and salvia vie for attention in my flamingo planter. Ixora, croton and bird of paradise add to the tropical ambiance. A deplandia is crawling up the 'Welcome to the Beach' sign. Well, gotta go - my patio is calling me!

For some reason, the rest of my patio photos won't upload to this entry. However, they did upload to the photo gallery. So check out the rest of our patio there.

I had a great exerience this summer with rebates on alcohol and now rebates have become a new passion. My free products in the past 2 months include- Pepperidge Farm crackers, Resolve Carpet Cleaner, 2  750 ML bottles of Polar Ice Raspberry Vodka, 1.75L Pearl Pomegranite Vodka (not free - after rebate cost $2.99), 1.75L Pearl Vodka unflavored (not free - $2.99), 1.75L Captain Jack Coconut Pineapple Rum, 1.75 L Sweet Carolina Tea Vodka, Vitamin blueberry shampoo, Vitamin blueberry conditioner, and, deal of all deals, a buy one get one free sale on Organix Pomegranit and Green Tea Conditioner that also had a rebate. I got two bottles free from one rebate slip! Sweet! Everywhere I go I now keep an eye out for rebate hang tags. Try it, you'll like it!