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Hello to all, |
| Vacation at last 02/01: |
We managed to get out of town January 31st and took our usual three days to find our way to Southwest Florida. We landed at our cousins house in Ft. Myers on February 2nd around four in the afternoon.
We caught up on all the news, enjoyed a very nice dinner cooked by Janet and got a good nights sleep before we headed out the next day to locate a place to spend the next three weeks. The day we arrived in the area we made one stop at the golfing community where we stayed two years ago and found a really nice place that might suit our needs, but wanted to look at two more places before we settled in. On Saturday we went over to Cape Coral and looked at a very nice condo and while it was a super unit, the atmosphere just wasn’t to our liking. So we headed to Sanibel to take a quick look around. Fortunately we located a condo where we’ve stayed several times before and the price was right. After looking, and finding that the unit had been remodeled we had found the right spot for us to spend the next three weeks. Our condo was number 363 Loggerhead Cay, a unit facing the water and overlooking the courtyard.
The weather on Sanibel was a cool when we arrived so much of our time over the next few days was spent inside the condo working on the computer and putting together puzzles the owner left behind. The weather did improve as the days went on and before long we were riding our bikes and taking long walks on the beach daily. This year we just happened to be there when they were having a problem with stuff washing up on the beach that was called Red Algae. While we were there it eventually piled up knee deep and extended from the water’s edge back about 15 feet.
It makes one wonder how tourists are going to take to this mess and what that might do to the tourist trade which is the entire economy of Sanibel Island. As usual Mr. Jerry was able to get many photos of the wild life that is abundant along the beaches. This includes many bird photos and some scenery shots that are especially nice. The sunrises and sunsets were as beautiful as we had remembered. We are including one here for you to see. |
| A brief visit with Jerry's Brother Norm 02/26: |
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After our stay on Sanibel we drove across the state to the east coast where we paid Jerry’s brother Norm a visit. Outside of his having lost a little bit of weight we found him doing well. He showed us around his new place and we were able to spend a lot of time talking family during our visit. We also talked a lot about neighbors in our old neighborhood in Greensboro. I am very curious about who our neighbors were. I’ve also been corresponding with a distant cousin in Australia who used to live near us and we have been trying place all the families we knew when we were kids. Norm has an exceptional memory for such things and gave me many names and helped me locate where folks lived. I’m surprised at how well he can remember such things. I either never knew or have forgotten people, names and places. What he gave me is very helpful in locating who lived where in the old days. |
| Another Disney visit 02/26: |
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After our visit with brother Norm we drove to Orlando to Disney where we were scheduled for the next few days. This year we selected the Pop Century resort for our stay. It’s supposed to be the most recently constructed of the four value resorts offered by Disney. Disney World is so huge that one doesn't know where they are much of the time. We were surprised to learn that this new resort is not close to the other places we have stayed at in the past. However, everything on the entire Disney complex is a short bus ride away and we took full advantage of the free bus service while there. It was cool the first day we were there but the next few days were very nice but the weather took a slight turn for the “cooler”. However what we experienced was tons better than the weather those we left behind in Columbus was experiencing. All in all the weather and visit at Disney was nice and we really relaxed. |
| Ride back home 03/02: |
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We left Disney around 9AM. We decided not to eat at Disney and opted for some “real” food just outside the gate. We aren’t really too fond of the Disney quisine. We even preferred McDonalds to what we got at Disney. That didn't take very long and soon we found our way to the turnpike and headed north. Just as we turned onto the turnpike we popped in one of our books on tape and settled back for the long ride ahead. The day flew by and with only three stops, two for gas and one for lunch we found that the time passed very quickly. We do have just one story to about the drive that day. One of the gas stops along the way found us at a rural crossroad where the gas prices were pretty good. When we pulled up to the pump we noticed that there was a small Christian chapel located adjacent to the pumps with a large sign indicating that visitors were very welcome. If that weren't strange enough we noted that hymns were being played at the gas pumps. We both felt the need to visit the restrooms before we left and found those very unusual as well. Mrs. Gerrie asked if I felt that I was being watched when I was in the Men's room and I had to admit that it did feel like that. The whole atmosphere of that place was way out of the ordinary, sort of as if we had stopped in a foreign country or something. But we have come to understand that parts of Georgia are somewhat like a foreign country. Before we knew it we were past Atlanta and in a place called Cartersville. As I recall that is about 40 miles north of the Atlanta. That stay was an experience unto itself. We got a very nice room but before long we heard some footsteps....no, more like hoof steps on the ceiling above. It turns out that a girls basketball team has checked in and were in the rooms just above us. They were a noisy bunch and we asked to be moved. Once we were in another room on the top floor things went just fine and we heard nothing more from the girls. The next day, immersed in our book, we found the driving easy and the time passing quickly. We did encounter some weather difficulties with light snow and some freezing temperatures. However, we pushed on without incident. It turns out that our book ended just as we were driving into the driveway...what great timing. Just as we had done the past two years we drove home in two days whereas we drive down in three. Perhaps it’s that we are so rested from our vacation and when we go we are under stress. |
| End of this letter 02/28:: | |||||||||||||||||||
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We find ourselves at the end of another of our jgFamilyNews letters. Hopefully all of you are doing well as we are here. Do drop a note, email or make a call when you can.
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