Category Archives: Florida

What better way to get ready for the New Year’s celebration but a trip to the theatre just down the road.

…to see…

It was a great live dance road show.  Not the competition we see on TV.  The professional dancers danced their hearts out for us and told us their individual stories.  Several were from poor families in Russia, Ukraine and South Africa.  The common thread was their parents believed in them and gave them the support and encouragement they needed when they needed it.  In some cases like the dancer below, they had to overcome an abusive situation to persevere and succeed.

It was hard to get in as the event had been sold out for weeks.  The last day a few tickets became available so we were able to go.  It was a great evening!

Marie is now checking out the yoga schedule for January.  Pass times for Dave include golf.  There is an executive par 3 course just a few kilometers away that has some great discounted rates.  Dave has played there twice so far meeting some nice people and enjoying the beauty and wildlife.

And of course there was time for another trip to the beach. There are 4 beaches within 30 min: Fort Myers (best people watching), Bunche Beach (best tranquility), Sanibel Island (best shelling) and Cape Coral Yacht Club (best parties).

We then headed to our local go-to pub for half price pizza night as we get ready for New Year’s.

We made it to Florida on Dec 17 unscathed.  We welcomed the return of the warm sun and the gorgeous foliage and summer smells.  The weather has been spectacular – setting some all time high temperatures in December and being the warmest place in North America north of Mexico.

Our 2 bdrm. condo is delightful and fully equipped.  Everything is clean and well thought out by the owner.  She was very helpful in quickly getting us hooked up to internet and answering our questions.  We are very pleased.

We hit the beaches and pool.  In the days leading up to Christmas there was absolutely no traffic.  We went to Sanibel Island (20 min), Fort Myers Beach (15 min) and Cape Coral beach (10 min).  There is only one other couple staying in our 8 condo building at present.

We made it to church on Christmas Eve – it was packed.  A 10 piece choir ensemble complete with pounding organ, violins and much volume added to the beautiful service.  It is good to be back in this place – Church of the Resurrection.

On Christmas morning we opened a few gifts and then headed to Fort Myers Beach.  Thinking everything is closed, parking will be free etc… were we wrong.  It seems the thing to do in Fort Myers on Christmas day is go to the beach.  It was as crowded as March Break.

We enjoyed a great day and headed home to call Kyle and text Michelle.  All was well with our loved ones and they were having a great Christmas too.  Looking forward to Michelle and Tim’s visit with the boys in Feb and to Kyle and Ashley’s wedding in May.

Had a surprise visitor – Marie’s nephew Bradley drove down from Inglewood.  He is on holiday there with his wife.  Marie’s brother Kevin will be coming down for a visit and we will do New Years together.

In general Christmas by our standards is low key here.  There are a few decorations and lights around.  We were not inundated with flyers, sales, Boxing day etc.  They don’t even do boxing day here – it’s an English thing.  Anyway, no complaints.  Bye for now.

It has been a great winter stay down here full of sunny days, friends, healthy food, peace and downright fun.  We head for home with mixed emotion- happy to be soon seeing our loved ones and friends – sad that it is all over for another year.  We have secured a rental for next year so are already thinking about coming back God willing.

In the last week so so we took a few pics to say goodbye for now.  Thanks for following our story.

Bye bye …

…pier walks

Fort Myers truly is the city of palms.  From the Royal palm lined McGregor Blvd above, to the numerous palm varieties in everyone’s yard to the palm sheaves given out on Palm Sunday at church.  Here are some typical varieties of palm trees in our immediate neighbourhood.

The Royal palm can grow to 80 feet in height.  Smooth gray-white trunk topped with a green crownshaft and a long luxurious frond.  They are sought after in landscaping of houses on large properties and lining roadways and walkways.

The Coconut palm can grow to 50 feet tall and produces coconuts at random times after 6 to 8 years.  The coconuts take a year to ripen.

The very common Queen palm is fast growing attaining 40 feet.  Inexpensive, they are very popular and produce orange fruit which drops and can be messy.

The Latania comes in a red and blue variety and has gorgeous fan shaped fronds that grow to 8 feet across.

The Canary Island Date palm is sometimes also called the Pineapple palm.  The crusty thick leaf scar pattern and huge crown of stiff leaves are reminiscent of a pineapple.

The Washingtonia  palm is also known as the Mexican fan palm have very beautiful trunks and rich fan like plumage.  They are a favorite with builders and can grow to 100 feet tall.

The Foxtail palm is known for its smooth gray trunk, bright green crownshaft and big tufted fronds that each resemble a foxtail.

On Palm Sunday I was curious to see what would happen.  The ushers brought out several bundles of palm leaves wrapped in clear plastic.  They gave them out as we exited the church.  It is safe to say that they were not too worried about running out – they could have grabbed more growing not 20 feet from the door.  The City of Palms – no more appropriate place to be on Palm Sunday.

We moved across the street for March to a 2 bedroom unit as we could not stay where we were as it was booked for March.  It is much more fancier inside and out.  Here are a few pics – lot’s of room for visitors if you want to fly down for a stay!

While the unit is nice, it is a little more pricey.  The pool water is at 32 deg C and the pool get’s very crowded in the PM.

People are very friendly.  We met Alice Marie next door as we were moving in.  Two couples from Ottawa and a bunch of nice people from Wisconsin.

Our walk to Walmart is only 5 minutes now and it’s about the same distance now that we we had before to walk to church.  Bigger TV, better A/C, nicer beds.  We are really enjoying our new abode.

Oh yeah, and the pizza place is much closer!