February 11-17, 2012

Saturday, February 11th

This was a day of rest for us. I must have strained a muscle in my leg and walking any distance is difficult. However, since the traveling bug I retrieved from an earlier cache was in a race to the Tampa area, we needed to “drop” it in another cache. We found “Shady Seclusion” cache north of Ft. Myers and left it there with hopes that someone else would take it on its way.

Sunday, February 12th

We awoke to a very chilly morning--45° at 7:00 a.m. The high temperature for the day was 59°. Most of our long sleeved shirts and pants have been packed and stowed away for the past month. Even so, it was reported that the warmest place in the continental United States on this day was Ft. Myers, Florida.  I am really glad that we were here!

We worshipped at Bethlehem Lutheran Church this morning. It is a small congregation—attendance the prior week was 68. They have only one service on Sunday and it is at 9:00 a.m. The pastor was away this day and the service was led by Rev. William Miller who grew up in Ecuador while his parents were missionaries there. He played his guitar for some hymns and when we sang “Amazing Grace”, his wife sang one verse in Spanish. It is interesting to participate in different styles of worship in the Missouri Synod churches and yet be familiar with the Order of Service.

 

After church was over, we went to a breakfast buffet and then to the movies and saw "Star Wars Phantom 3D”. Both of us were extremely disappointed in the 3D special effects. The previews and ads were much better quality. 

Monday, February 13th

We were very happy that warmer weather returned to the area. We spent most of the day on the beach at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreational Area. This was our second time at this particular beach. The high temp today was 72° which was ideal for sunbathing—not so great for swimming—at least not for me, although I think the water temperature remained a steady 66°. Fewer people were at the beach today and it reminded me of our early days spent on Oak Island in North Carolina.

Seems like we have been to this beach so often that Cordell has a “buddy” that keeps him company from time to time.

Tuesday, February 14^th—Valentine’s Day

Back to the beach today and Cordell’s “buddy” was there again. The water in the gulf is such a pretty blue. Still a tad too cold for me, though.



I really am impressed with the landscaping that I see all around Florida. There is a neighborhood that we often pass and the area screening it from the highway looks like a garden.

After we left the beach, we stopped by a Pizza Hut for dinner. A young couple came in and it was obvious that this was their Valentine’s dinner for she was dressed in a short red dress with red high heeled shoes and he was wearing a red shirt. I did a load of laundry after we got home and by 9:00 p.m. we both had trouble keeping our eyes open until it was “decent” time to go to bed. So that was how we celebrated Valentine’s Day.

Wednesday, February 15^th

We couldn’t resist going back to the beach again today. The dolphins were very visible and active in our area. At high tide, one came particularly close to the shore. They obviously were feeding because we could see small fish jumping out of the water.

We stayed to see the sunset and it was plenty warm on the beach. The park closes at dusk but the Ranger told us that we were allowed extra time after the sun went down.



 We stopped for dinner and by the time we got “home” both of us were beat. We also were a little red from our day in the sun, but it was the first time we got sunburned since we’ve been here.

Thursday, February 16^th

We decided that it would be best for us to stay off the beach today and out of the sun. So we loaded some coordinates and went geocaching. I am always impressed by the different ways people have hidden caches. One of them was in a hole that had been drilled in a post and covered with a reflector. I am encouraged that we were able to find this one.

We stopped by an outlet mall that we had passed several times while driving to other places. I liked the way that areas of the mall were designed with fountains and plants—all outside.

Friday, February 17^th

I woke up this morning thinking that it was Saturday instead of Friday! We went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary which was established to protect the largest remaining stand of ancient bald cypress left in North America. It is owned and operated by the National Audubon Society which dispatched wardens in 1912 to protect egrets and other birds from plume hunters. At that time one ounce of plumes from a nesting egret sold for twice as much as the same amount of gold.

Corkscrew reminds me of the Cypress Swamp in Calvert County, only much larger.

We walked the 2.5 mile boardwalk that meanders through the sanctuary. There are lots of signs posted along the boardwalk and we received quite an education. There is not a mosquito problem here because there is a mosquito fish that feeds on the mosquito larvae.

We saw an anhinga actually feeding in the water and now we understand better the reason some people referred to it as a "snake bird" for it can resemble a snake swiming in the water.

Almost 200 bird species are permanent or temporary residents in this sanctuary.



We stopped at a place named “Pinocchios” because they sell Italian Ice Cream. They also have gelato, sorbet and sherbet all of which they make fresh on their premises. It was hard to decide what I wanted to eat. Pinocchios advertises that they do not count dips or scoops nor do they weigh their ice cream and they serve generous portions. I chose a Sanibel Krunch sundae. Cordell got a dish of cherry vanilla ice cream. We should have bought one item and shared it because neither of us could finish what we were given!