Key Largo SCUBA trip

On August 15 Carol and I drove to Key Largo so I could go SCUBA diving a couple of days, Spiny Lobster Season opened on August 6 and I wanted to dive for some and see if I could get a few. Prior to going I tried to find a dive shop that did lobster trips but fond none so I was gong to do dives on wrecks.
After we go there I drove around and finally found a shop that does lobster dive trips and arranged for  2 dives on Friday. On Thursday I did a dive on a wreck and one on a reef looking at the fish etc.
I got a little disappointed on my first dive because I turned my camera on to take pictures of the wreck and it would not function correctly. When I got back on the boat I found out that it had flooded!! So I am contacting the maker of the camera to  have it sent in for repairs.
I did get a couple of pictures when Carol and I arrived at the motel. It was the most unique motel we have ever stayed at. It had 2 floors with a bedroom, large sitting area and bath on the 2nd floor. The first floor had a sitting area, a full kitchen, balcony and another bath. Quite apparently these units had been apartments or condos at one time. There was also a pool for the guests.

As you can see the view is great and even though we did not use the kitchen much, it was nice to have a full refrigerator.



The dive on Friday for lobsters was a lot of fun. Three of us dove together and it was not long before one guy spotted one. We all helped capture the rascal as the lobsters are not happy about being caught. When they scoot away, they really go fast. They hide under coral and in the nooks and crannies of it. After catching it, he measured it and it was of legal size so it was a keeper. We did not see any more on that dive but we were the only group that came up with a lobster.

On the second dive we moved to another reef and I spotted one under a large chunk of coral and we nearly got him but he shot away, never to be seen again. Near the end of the dive the other guy spotted one in a hole in some coral and we could not get him. The holes in this coral group had a maze of tunnels and he got out of our sight,

We did see other interesting sights such as a large Moray eel hiding in the coral. That thing was about 9 inches in diameter at the head. We never saw how long it was because he would not come out even with all of our coaxing. One of group looked under a  ledge for lobster and came face to face with a 4 foot nurse shark. It swam away without bothering anyone as they are usually quite docile, thank goodness.

All in all it was a very good diving trip and I am definitely going beck to chase after lobsters again

Carol's Birthday

Yes, today was Carol's birthday but we will not say how old she is at this point.  I told her I was taking her to dinner but we were to stop at Gus and Marilyn's for a "drinky po" before dinner. In fact it was to be a surprise dinner for her at their place. Gail, Carol's sister, Angelo, Ernie and Sonya also came to make it a special evening for  Carol.

Marilyn served her great appetizers and then we had dinner of her special pizza. As usual it was a great meal.

Of course after the meal there was the traditional birthday cake. Carol seemed a little overwhelmed with all that was going on but she was still able to blow out the candle on the cake.

It is great living here in Riverwalk and having such great friends around us.

Birthday celebrations

With Jim's birthday on August 1 and Carol's on August 10, we arranged for a birthday dinner to celebrate both at one time. Gus and Marilyn Lopes provided the transportation to Fleming's in Sarasota this past Sunday.
Fleming's is a fine restaurant that has excellent serviced and superb meals.It is especially nice to go there on Sunday as they have a prime rib special that is Gus's favorite. They also do some nice things for the birthday celebrants one of which is taking a picture and giving it to you before you leave.

They also gave both Carol and Jim a box of four chocolate truffle candies that are really good. Then they top off their gifts with a $25.00 gift card to each of us for use in their dining room in the future. You can hardly go wrong if  you go to Fleming's for your birthday!!!!
There is no doubt we will be back many more times in the future even if it is a bit of a drive and a little on the pricey side. It is well worth it. 

The Big Double 7

Yes, Jim hit the big double 7 yesterday!!! Yep, 77 years old and still going strong. The body is getting a little tired and sore at times but the mind is still 18 years old .... most of the time anyway! As an example, Jim has 4 SCUBA dives scheduled in Key Largo later this month. How many 77 year old guys do you know that still SCUBA dive??
We celebrated Jim's birthday by going to dinner at Portafino's Restaurant with Gus and Mayilyn Lopes. They were nice enough to give a bottle of Champagne as a birthday gift.

But this is not the end of birthday celebrations. On Sunday, the four of us will be going to Flemings, a fine place for dinner in Sarasota. We will be celebrating both Jim's birthday(again)  and Carol's birthday (August 10). Flemings is a superb place to dine and we always enjoy our times there. Their special on Sunday is Prime Rib and Gus really likes that.

CHILLIN' OUT

We decided to use one of our timeshares that was in the RCI bank, to take some time to relax. We went to our nearly local timeshare, Lehigh Resort,  in Lehigh Acres, only 70 miles away. It is inland from Ft Myers and is a laid back resort with not much going on in the area. They do have plenty of activities at the resort to keep you busy though. The resort is well kept, well run and a pleasure to be at.
Since it so quiet around here, we drove down to Ft Myers Beach and wandered around there for a while. It has been several years since we  have been there and it is still a nice beach town. We also had a good lunch at the water's edge.

Being here will also give us the opportunity to go to the Ft Myers Elks and dance to the music of Jerry Dycke, one our favorite entertainers. That is on tap for this evening.
We will be home tomorrow after a relaxing, and rejuvenating week!!

Our new Portrait

We are so lucky to have the great friendship of Gus and Marilyn Lopes. And now we find out that Marilyn is a great artist as well a superb chef.
She recently made the portrait you see us holding in the photo below.

I know you cannot read the poem she added to it so I am putting it here so you can read it clearly.
.

We cannot see,

We cannot pee,

We cannot chew,

We cannot screw,

Our hearing stinks,

Our memory shrinks,

No sense of smell,

We look like hell.

The Golden Years are here at last ......

The Golden Years can kiss our ______ !!!!!

And here is  close up of the picture so you can see it more clearly.

It sure is wonderful having friends like them!!

Father's Day

Carol and met with John and Mary Lou Serafin to go to dinner today to celebrate Father's Day. I have known John for about 70 years ... yes, 70 years!! We were both raised in Trafford, PA and lived about 1 block from each other. John was 2 years ahead of me in school but the class size in Trafford at that time was about 45 in each class. Every one knew everyone else in  our town of 2500, at least by name if not personally.
We chose to go to Rosebud's for our dinner and here we all are waiting for our dinner.

Since we have known each other for such a long time we spent much of our time talking about the "good old days" and everyone we knew in Trafford. It is amazing that we can spend so much time talking about such a small town!!
All of our dinners were excellent and Rosebud's is a superb place to have dinner in our area, Carol and John had veal liver and onions which may sound strange to some people, but all of us like it. Maybe that is some of the Trafford heritage!!

Here we are again, toasting each other!!
It was a wonderful way to spend a special day with special and wonderful friends.