Keeping “busy”.

On Saturday, we spent some time in the Port Charlotte area which is about 40 miles north of our condo. There is a geocache placed on the Barron Collier Bridge. Cordell had diligently worked on a puzzle, that when solved, gave the coordinates for locating the cache.

 

 

The bridge is 45 feet tall and crosses the Peace River. We walked about .4 mile one way. It was breezy, as I imagine it is most of the time, given that the land is flat, there is open water and there are cars constantly driving by.

 

 

 

Cordell found a little hand crafted cache container that was so well hidden I didn’t even see it when I looked right at it.

 

 

There is a small park at one end of the bridge on Sand Point. It is very nicely landscaped with various plants, trees and shrubs identified. Tables are available for picnicking. A launch site for kayaks is available with dedicated parking for vehicles used by kayakers. We saw a few people fishing. Plans for the future include erecting two piers.

 

 

We visited Chester Roberts Park which consists of .32 acres on the waterfront. It has park benches and a canoe/kayak launch.

 

 

There was an informational sign posted that explained the Hickory Buff Pioneers. After the end of the Civil War, Confederate and Union soldiers decided to stay in the area for the warm climate, as well as for political and financial gain.

 

 

 

We found another cache on a pier where the boards along the side were so crooked that it almost gave me motion sickness as I walked on it. As with so many places we have been, I am sure there are some gorgeous sunsets here.

 

 

Sunday, we were back at Hope Lutheran Church.

 

 

Pastor Browning always uses some humor in his sermons. He was talking about the various reasons people disagree and the confrontations that can result.

 

 

Coffee hour outside in the middle of February is a whole lot different than coffee hour at our church back home in Maryland.

 

 

 

Monday was a day of beautiful Florida sunshine. We spent some time at the swimming pool. The water temp is always warmer than any of the pools at home during the summer.

 

 

Cordell has decided that margaritas on the lanai seem to taste better than anywhere else.

 

 

Yesterday, we spent some time in the Punta Gorda Nature Park which has been described as a hidden jewel that lies within close proximity to residential areas and commercial establishments. This 19 acre park is a unique recreational area located in the center of Punta Gorda Isles, the largest residential community in the City.

 

 

 

Unlike many nature centers and wildlife preserves in Southwest Florida which are only accessible by car or boat, this park is easily reached by foot or bicycle.

 

 

We noticed a mail carrier eating her lunch in the park as were a few other people.

 

 

A portion of the park is beautifully landscaped and again, many trees, shrubs and flowers are identified.

 

 

 

Several outdoor activities including, walking, bird watching, photography, environmental education and wildlife observation are available. We took advantage of one of the hiking trails to look for geocaches hidden among the palmettos.

 

 

We had a nice lunch at a local restaurant in town.

 

 

While driving around Punta Gorda we saw a really cute mailbox

 

 

 

Fun, fun and more fun!

 

Last Friday, we enjoyed viewing some of the wild life from our lanai. Ibises are a common sight in our neighborhood as well as many other places in this area. We have seen them in parking lots every now and then.

 

 

The great blue heron usually spends more time on the island across the lake, but today he was fishing right before us.

 

 

We ventured out to run some errands and I couldn’t resist going back to the K-Mart store that will be permanently closing in March. There were some wonderful bargains and I returned with the intention of purchasing something to put in the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that I pack with my granddaughter every fall. Since the greatest need is for children in the 10-14 age range, I have decided that I will pack one for a girl and another one for a boy. We use plastic shoeboxes so that the children will have something more substantial in which to store their possessions. Since the boxes are clear, we always include an article of clothing to conceal the contents. I was able to get two shirts at drastically reduced prices for my children.

 

 

There are palm trees just about everywhere here. My personal favorites are the Royal Palms which can grow up to 100 feet. We often drive on McGregor Boulevard where an estimated 1,800 of these trees line the roadway.

 

 

We saw some young Royal Palms at one of the shopping centers.

 

 

On Saturday, we met our local friend, Brian, and went to a storytelling event at an arts center very near his house. He invited us for dinner and afterwards, he and Cordell spent some time discussing very important subjects like smartphones and geocaching apps. I checked out my e-mail.

 

 

 

 

We really like eating our lunch outside.

 

 

We stopped to find a few geocaches along our way back to the condo. Sometimes, we are sitting on top of a geocache that other people never know exist.

 

 

Even though properties are constantly being developed in southwest Florida, wilderness type areas still are nearby.
 

 

 

We took a short hike along a trail at the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University. We were delighted to see a large hammock placed along the way. It had words carved into the wood frame which stated that it was placed in memory of Roger Clark. It also said “Relax in Peace”. I didn’t know if this message was addressed to Roger Clark or people who might use the hammock, or both. Since it was Sunday, there were hardly any people at the university and it was indeed very peaceful at this site.
 

 

 

On Monday, we made another trip to the post office so I could mail some packages back home. Several birthdays for family and close friends are in February. I checked out the restaurant that advertised cucumber lemonade the last time we were here. Today’s special was beet lemonade! I had a hard time believing that people would willingly drink this, let alone buy such a beverage. But the server assured me that not only was it a popular drink, but that it actually tastes good. I took her word for it---no proof needed.

 

 

 

 

I saw some plant stand/garden seats that I like very much. If we only had more room in our Explorer, I would have purchased 2 or 3 to bring back home.

 

 

A yellow happy face figure is used when a log is written for a geocache that is found and people often make comments about getting a smiley. Today, we saw a huge smile that we would like to bring home with us.

 

 

I wasn’t smiling when we stopped to look for a geocache near a lake in an undeveloped area. Several previous cachers mentioned in their logs about a “big boy”; hearing a big splash in the water and seeing a familiar head. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that there must be an alligator in the vicinity. We knew we would have a bit of a hike after we parked our car. However, I did not expect to see two alligators sunning along the bank and I was hoping they were just logs at the edge of the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

As we got closer, it was very obvious that they were alive. I couldn't stop visualizing the ones we have seen at the Naples Zoo that come up to the keepers for food when their names are called. Even though I was a bit nervous, we continued on and both of them slid back into the water. But, I did keep a watch over my shoulder until Cordell found the cache.

 

 

We celebrated Valentine’s Day by finding a very special geocache named “This Cache is for Lovers.” It was our 4,000 find and we wanted it to be made on a unique cache. The description provided by the cache owner encouraged us to share this adventure with someone, tell them how much we care--be sentimental, mushy, even.

 

 

This was indeed a cleverly made and placed geocache—a bison tube on the end on an artificial tree in a pot on a stand among outside tables at a restaurant. We had to wait until after the lunch rush was over to even try to look for this cache.

 

 

 

I wrote in our found log that we have been married for 53 years and part of our success is that every day is like Valentine’s Day to us.

 

 

On Wednesday we had another interesting adventure. We were hiking on the Cypress Dome Hiking Trail which is part of the CREW (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) Land & Water Trust. Six miles of trails loop through pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, wet prairie, popash slough, and two beautiful cypress domes.
 

 

 

 

Information signs posted just off the parking lot gave us something else to think about—bears and panthers. Not sure if I prefer them or alligators!

 

 

We hiked a little over 1 ½ miles. It is hard to think of this as hiking because all of the terrain here is flat, not like the hills and mountains of Maryland.

 

 

Unbeknownst to us, there had been a control burn conducted there about a week ago. All the black burned places were quite a contrast to the typical lush green growth we are accustomed to seeing here in Florida.
 

 

 

There were 9 caches in a series placed along just this one trail. Since most of them were metal ammunition boxes, they survived the fire, but the contents inside were melted and charred. We put replacement logs in the caches so the next finders will be able to sign their names.

 

 
 

 

 

 

This series of caches were named Florida Fun Facts and the cache owner wrote some interesting facts such as:

 

Among the 48 contiguous United States, Florida has the longest coastline. Official measure puts Florida's General coastline at 1,350 miles,

 

Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Elevation is just 100 feet.

 

Florida is the largest producer of citrus fruit in the United States--second in the world.

 

Key West has the highest average temperature of any city in the United States.

 

The Saint Johns River is one of the few rivers that flows North instead of south.

 

Everglades National Park is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles co-exist.

 

No matter where you are in Florida you are never more than 60 miles from the ocean.

 

By the time our adventure was over, both of us had soot pretty much from head to foot. We always carry extra clothes in our car and this was one time we were glad we had them not only so we did not get our car seats dirty, but also because we made a quick stop at the store on our way back.

 

 

After we returned to the condo, clouds rolled in and a 30% chance of rain materialized. We were glad that it didn’t rain while we were in the middle of our hike.
 

 

 

I was especially glad to be in this part of Florida yesterday morning when I looked at my weather app and saw the 33° difference in the temperatures between here and Dunkirk.

 

 

 

 

We spent part of the day with Brian trying to find a geocache that we couldn’t locate earlier in the week. Cachers had found it after we had our unsuccessful search, but we came up empty handed again. But we did find a handcrafted cache that was fun.

 

 

Brian needed to stop by some of the caches he owns to do some maintenance. He has placed many unique and challenging caches that he has crafted. This one is at the bottom of a pipe. The coordinates take cachers to a tree several feet away where they find a grappling hook with a rope attached. Then one must figure out what to do with that hook, which is to drop it into the pipe, snag the cache and pull it out.
 

 

 

And so our day ended with another of God’s gorgeous sunsets.