On My Way to Sunny Florida 2013

My sister and I decided to visit my brother and his wife who live six months of the year outside of Arcadia, FL.   A good friend of mine, Mary R., decided to travel with us so she could visit her parents in Port Charlotte, FL.  I am just going to give the highlights of each day.

January 25:  Long travel day because of taking a ‘not so direct’ route from Orlando to Port Charlotte; I will find a shorter route upon our return.   We delivered Mary to her parents and journeyed to Punta Gorda where we checked into the Four Points by Sheraton, our hotel for the week.   Bob, Edith, and I went to dinner @ The Oyster Bar in Fisherman’s Village (within Punta Gorda).  Tomorrow we are going to going exploring.

January 26:  Bob, Linda, Edith, and I went to an RV show during the morning and explored the flea market at Ft. Myers  in the afternoon.  In the evening, we had drinks on Bob’s patio and dinner at El Pirata Mexican Restaurant in Arcadia which had very good food.  We drove back to the hotel around 9:00 pm.

January 27:  Bob, Edith, and I walked the park in Arcadia this morning.  All four of us went for a tour with Babcock Wilderness Adventures outside of Punta Gorda.  This is 91,000 acres of farmland;  we saw all the different environments and lots of animals.  We started with the cattle and ranch horses and moved on to the wild turtle, turkey, deer and herons before several pools with a huge number of alligators.   Great tour with an excellent guide who had a wealth of knowledge.

Friendly Alligator

Friendly Alligator

Look at those horns!

Look at those horns!

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful water creatures

Beautiful water creatures

Are we having fun yet?

Are we having fun yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a late lunch at Beef O’Brady’s so we made it back to our hotel in time to watch the sunset.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Gorgeous Sunset

Gorgeous Sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 28: We got up early for a nature cruise to Pine Island; Bob did not go with us.  The lunch was excellent but we did not have enough time to eat and explore before we had to board our boat.  Edith got notified by the animal shelter in Las Cruces, NM that her ‘Mama’ cat (who got lost early December) had been found so she spent time trying to make arrangements to bring Mama home.  We had dinner at Bull’s Eye BBQ in Arcadia.  It seems like we have been on the go since we arrived so the decision was made not to go shopping in Sarasota the next day.

January 29:   After taking a walk, Edith decided to rent a car and go to New Mexico in order to retrieve Mama; she left around 2:30 pm.  I walked to Fisherman’s Village (about 1.5 miles) from the hotel; went through the shops but did not see anything worth having.  Linda & Bob came in for dinner; we ate at Whiskey Creek.  Tomorrow we are traveling to the Atlantic Ocean.

January 30:  On the way to see the Atlantic Ocean, we stopped and looked at campers.  It was great to view the ocean; we walked along the beach and had fun watching Charlie (Bob/Linda’s dog) swim in the water.

Walking the beach

Walking the beach

 

Charlie likes the water!

Charlie likes the water!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ate at Lunker’s Sports Bar on our way back; it was very late by the time I got back to the hotel but did take the time to pack for my departure the next day.

January 31 and February 1:  After checking out of the hotel, I met Mary plus her mother and sister for breakfast @ Perkins.  After saying our good byes, we headed to Bobs’ where we printed out our boarding passes.  Then we were on our way…heading to Orlando for an overnight stay @ Howard Johnson’s.  It was an early night since we had to get up early the next morning.  We were on the road to the airport by 5:30 AM.  After returning the rental car and getting our bags checked, we ate breakfast.  Got into Cedar Rapids by 10:00 AM and Joe, Mary’s husband, met us.   Beauty and Cutie, along with myself, were glad I was home!  Another good trip with great weather, lots of nice walks, and wonderful company.

Holidays in Tucson, AZ (Part 3)

December 29:  Today we are driving to Silver City which is an historic town about 2 hours from Las Cruces.  On our way, we stopped at City of Rocks State Park.  The rocks forming the city were produced by a large volcanic eruption 34.9 million years ago.  It was an awesome sight!

City of Rocks

City of Rocks

When we got to Silver City, we discovered many of the stores were closed; must be ‘slow’ season.  After lunch and more disappointment, we decided to find the museum in Deming where Brian wanted to see the ‘silver sprike’; this sprike signified the meeting of two railroads.  Once we found the museum, we had 12 minutes to find it before the museum closed for the day which we did.  Tomorrow we are heading north.

December 30:  After checking out of the hotel, we headed to Alamogordo and the White Sands National Monument.  This is another place I have been to a few times before but it is always enjoyable driving through.

White Sands Monument

White Sands Monument

After lunch, we continued north toward Three Rivers Petroglyphs where there are over 21,000 of them; another enjoyable walk on a great trail.

One of many petroglyphs

One of many petroglyphs

It was time to say good bye to Edith; she was heading back to Las Cruces while Brian and I were continuing north to Iowa and home.  We drove to Tucumcari, New Mexico and stopped for the night.

December 31 and January 1:  Left New Mexico on very icy roads.  Stopped at Hooker, OK for some t-shirts.  The roads improved as we neared Kansas.  We spent New Year’s Eve in Empora, Kansas at a Comfort Inn.    January 1 saw us on the road quite early and we arrived at my home shortly after noon.  It was good to see Beauty and Cutie!  Overall, it was a great trip; Greta and Steev were quite gracious and they made my first Christmas without Tom quite special.  And I was certainly glad Brian traveled with me in both directions; he did a great job driving in difficult conditions.  And, as always, it was great to be able to spend time with my lovely sister.  But it is great to be home!

 

 

 

 

Holidays in Tucson (Part 2)

December 24:  Had a fun day!  After taking a walk and doing some additional shopping for the stockings, we headed to Tubac, AZ for lunch and more shopping.  Tubac had a great shopping area!  Went to Tumacacori Mission which we explored and took lots of pictures.  Volunteers were putting out luminarias all over the Mission grounds and buildings; they were going to light them at 6:00 which made us wish we would of come later in the day.  Greta made a Christmas Eve meal of tamales, beans, and salad; it was excellent!  The only thing which would of made the day more perfect was if Tom could of been here.

Tumacacori Mission

Tumacacori Mission

Greta and Steev at mission

Greta and Steev at mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 25: This is the first Christmas in 38 years that Tom was not with me to celebrate; I am very thankful that Steev and Greta have a busy day planned.  After opening presents, lunches were packed for a picnic and we headed to Arizona Desert Museum; even though I have been there before, this is always an enjoyable adventure and a wonderful way to spend the day.  It was interesting to discover many people there even though it was Christmas Day.  When we returned to Tucson, Greta’s sister and her family joined us for an evening meal.

Resting in the Afternoon

Resting in the Afternoon

Arizona Desert Museum

Arizona Desert Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 26 and 27:  The day of the 26th was spent shopping, eating, and reading.  In the evening, Steev and I went to Winterhaven’s Festival of Lights; it is a neighborhood where everyone puts up light displays outside their homes.  It was like walking into Winter Wonderland; some very beautiful displays.  The only regret was we did not have enough time to see everything.  On the 27th, I was departing Tucson and heading to Las Cruces, NM to spend time with my sister.  After having breakfast at Mother Hubbard, good byes were said and I headed out.  Arrived in Las Cruces mid-afternoon; checked into the motel, called Brian (who was staying at the same motel), we gathered in one room until Edith arrived and we departed for dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

December 28:  While Edith slept because of the working the night before, Brian and I decided to do some exploring.  We went to the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum which covers 47 acres; they have done a very good job of preserving the history of New Mexico’s agricultural development.

This little guy liked the rafters in the museum

This little guy liked the rafters in the museum

After lunch, we went to Mesilla within Las Cruces; it was a major trade center and stopover for anyone traveling between San Antonio and the west coast during the 1800’s.  It now is a shopping destination for tourists.  The Basilica of San Albino (part of Mesilla) is a beautiful church where, upon entering, caps or hats must be removed.  That evening we had pizza delivered and watched football.

 

Holidays in Tucson, AZ. (Part 1)

This past holiday season my nephew, Brian, and I traveled to the southwest for the holidays; Brian to Las Cruces, NM while I headed to Tucson, AZ to spend time with Steev, Greta, and their dog Josie.  Since this blog is new to me, I am going to attempt to provide a daily accounting of activities.

December 19 & 20:  The weather forecast was not looking good; winter storm warning for Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.  We decided to leave home early with encountering some heavy ‘slush’ around the Missouri border and sleet around Kansas City.  Brian has been doing the driving with makes me thankful!  We spent the night at Comfort Inn in Lenexa, Kansas.  I am hoping Beauty and Cutie are doing okay in their new home (my bedroom) for the next few weeks.  We left on the 20th with 3″ of snow on the ground and ice underneath so very slow going for the first few hours.  Stopped for the night at Best Western in Guymon, OK.

December 21:  We arrived at Socorro, NM shortly afternoon; this is where my sister, Edith, was meeting up with Brian.  After Edith arrived, we went to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge; it was a great place with fox, cranes, owls, hawks, geese, ducks.  At sunset, we watched flocks of fowl settle in for the night; it was quite a sight!

Edith and Brian in happy mode

Edith and Brian in happy mode

Sun is going down

Sun is going down

December 22 and 23:  On the 22nd, Edith and Brian headed to Las Cruces while  I went to Tucson where Steev, Greta, and Josie greeted me with open arms and egg plant sandwiches.  Check in at the Best Western Royal Sun resulted in an upgrade to a suite which was very nice.  Went to Old Town Artisans for a couple short sleeve t-shirts because weather much warmer than I thought.  December 23rd was Steev’s 44th birthday and I am very anxious for him to open my present of a quilt made out of his father’s t-shirts.    After a long walk, he did open his presents and liked the quilt!  Went to brunch and then Steev/I went to the “Hobbit”;  three hours of  action.  That evening, after delicious soup/salad fixed by Greta, friends of Steev’s came over for cake/ice cream.  A very enjoyable day and evening.

Steev's birthday party

Steev’s birthday party

Steev's birthday quilt

Steev’s birthday quilt