A Quiet 4th

When we moved down here full time, I really looked forward to the 4th and the celebration here on the island. We were here about 10 years ago and had enjoyed the parade and fireworks so much. When I found that the parade was on Saturday the 3rd instead of the 4th, I was a bit disappointed. I volunteer in the CROW clinic on Saturday mornings. I know I could have said I wasn't coming in but all of our students were going to be gone to be in the parade which left only 4 people besides me to man the whole place for about 3 hours. That and the fact that in a couple of weeks I'm leaving for a month, I didn't feel it was fair. So I worked instead of going to the parade. And, believe it or not, I wasn't at all disappointed. I had a great morning with the skeleton staff and the critters.

It didn't look for awhile that Sanibel was going to have fireworks because they didn't have the funds but some caring and very gracious residents chipped in and raised enough money to purchase the fireworks. The causeway seems to be the spot where most people go to watch the fireworks. When we were here before, that's where we went so that's where we planned to go.

It rained or was really gloomy most of yesterday so it looked like the fireworks might be a washout. But it cleared about 7:00 so at 8:00 we decided to head to the causeway. Just as we were leaving we saw a faint but beautiful rainbow.I had really wondered about going to the boat ramp to watch the fireworks but figured with no C parking pass we couldn't go there. But as we were passing the Chamber of Commerce I noticed people parking there and walking down to the foot of the bridge. So we pulled in and joined the crowd. We couldn't have found a better spot!Traffic across the bridge to and from the causeway islands was non stop. In factit piled up and was almost at a standstill. Sanibel's Finest kept driving back and forth announcing that there was no parking on the bridge. I had forgotten from 10 years ago but there were a LOT of private fireworks being launched out on the causeway islands. I don't always feel too safe around those kinds of fireworks so I'm glad we didn't go out there.

Someone kept shooting off flares which actually were pretty amazing since they hung up in the sky for what seemed like forever.The sky was beautiful as the sun was setting. By the way, the fireworks were launched just in front of the tall pole you can see in the pictures. (I think it is an osprey nest.)There were tons of boats gathered out in the water to watch the fireworks. After dark, it looked like a small city out there. The fireworks started about 9:00 and lasted for about 20 minutes. It was a wonderful display. Unfortunately my pictures don't really do it justice.

I'm sure practically everyone has seen the quote from a letter that John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail. He had envisioned the celebration to be on the 2nd as that is when Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence from England. It was signed on the 4th which is when we now celebrate.

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Many years ago, I had the extreme pleasure and privilege to direct the musical, 1776, at the Fort Findlay Playhouse in Findlay, Ohio. I love that show, the music, the characters, the story, the history etc. One of the songs that always stuck in my head was "Is Anybody There" where John sings "Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?" And a verse in that song paraphrases his letter to Abigail.

I see fireworks! I see the pageant and
Pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free forever more

Well, John (who just happens to be a very distant cousin of mine), you guys did a great job for those of us who followed you. Thank you and thanks to all of the men and women who serve and who have served not only their country but all of us by keeping this country free forever more.

Catching Up

Forgive me for not posting for awhile. What with Christmas and family and friends visiting, I didn't have a lot of spare time. So, I thought I would catch you up a bit.

First of all, there's nothing like Christmas on Sanibel. Every business decorates. Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures but here are a few from Jerry's Shopping Center.

The tree at Edison Mall was gorgeous also.

Dave, Ann, Sam and Erin came the evening of the 23rd. On Christmas Eve, we went to Doc Ford's for dinner. Since lots of people had made reservations, we had to eat outdoors but with heaters and bug spray--we didn't mind at all.

Forgive the blurry picture but it's the only one I have of the family on Christmas Eve.

My fish sandwich. Yummy.

Doc Ford's Nachos

Doc's Beach Bread--to die for!

Taquitoes.

Since the grandparents slept in, we didn't open presents until about 9:30.

Sam, Ann, Erin and Dave

Since we had Thanksgiving dinner at Steve and Diana's (our friends), Christmas dinner was at our house. We also invited our next door neighbor who was alone. We had 9 people on our deck. Luckily the weather was great for eating outside. Don't know where we would have all fit inside! I didn't get any pictures of our meal but got a picture of Diana and me. Since Erin made the 7th grade basketball team at her school, she and I went shopping to find some new basketball shoes for her. Part of my Christmas present to her. Unfortunately we didn't find any shoes but we did see these Afro Ducks. Ann and Erin flew back to Ohio on the 29th since Ann had to be at work on the 30th and Erin wanted to go to a New Year's Eve party. On the 30th, our friends Rick and Marta and our godkids Eric and Kelly joined us. That afternoon we watched our beloved BG Falcons in their bowl game against the Idaho Vandals. It was a great game but unfortunately we lost by 1 lousy point! Everyone left yesterday so now I am kind of going through withdrawal. But we will be going out to San Diego on the 12th to see our daughter, son in law and grandsons. Can't wait. We will come home on the 22nd and on the 24th our friend, Bob, comes for 2 weeks. Busy, busy, busy--but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy New Years everyone.

Celebrating the Holidays

When it comes to holidays, my 3 grandsons are lucky. They have the best of both worlds. Their mom is Christian and their dad is Jewish which means they get to celebrate all the holidays. I'm borrowing/stealing these pictures from my daughter. They were taken yesterday.

Ethan putting the star on top of the Christmas tree.Luka lighting the Menorah.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at our house was both traditional and non-traditional this year. First for the non-traditional. We usually transport patients to CROW on Thursday mornings but since there were no area Vets open today to accept patients awaiting our transport, we were the ones who had to spend the morning meeting finders and rescuing. As we were making one of our trips over the causeway, we spotted a guy on a motorcycle right in front of us, stop and pick up an injured bird. We pulled over and with his blessings, took the bird, put it in a carrier and took it to CROW. He was so happy since he had no towel, no way to carry the bird and had no idea other than "I couldn't let the bird just lay there and suffer" what he was going to do with it. We also went to the beach for a bird rescue too. Very busy but fulfilling morning.

Then in the afternoon, we went into Ft. Myers to our friends, Steve and Diana's. We have spent the last 5 Thanksgiving together so it has become very much a tradition. Diana made the turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, dumplings and pie. I supplied the rest. Steve was designated as the Turkey Carver. It didn't take much carving since it literally fell off the bone. The dogs got their own Thanksgiving feast, complete with a little bit of turkey. Here are Robin, Fargo and my buddy, Cooper, watching and waiting. Apparently Commander was being more patient and didn't make it in the picture.After dinner, we all relaxed, each in our own way. The guys continued watching their James Bond marathon. Nope, no football for us! And Cooper or "Coopie" as I call him, relaxed with his mama. Me? I just enjoyed relaxing with friends, both the human and canine kind. Here's hoping all of you had a great Thanksgiving--traditional or non traditional. Now, it's time to get ready for the next big holiday at your/our house be it Christmas or Hanukkah. Some members of our family are lucky and celebrate both!

A Big Weekend

This past weekend was a very busy one for us. We headed down to Columbus Friday afternoon where we met up with Dave, Ann and Erin. Erin had a soccer tournament in Dublin on Saturday and Sunday. Her first game was 9:00 am Saturday morning. Unfortunately, her team lost but she looked played pretty good.
Since Erin is on the Travel Softball team as well as the Travel Soccer Team, she had both soccer and softball games that day. She opted to skip the soccer game and play in the softball game, so Ann drove Erin back to Twinsburg (2 1/2 hours one way) for her softball game. Two of her soccer teammates were also on the softball team but didn't go back for the game. After the game Ann turned around and drove back to Columbus bringing Sam with them. Now that's a great mom!

While they were spending 5 hours in the car, Mr. Snowbird, Dave and I headed to German Village. German Village is a lovely part of Columbus with beautiful old homes, shops and restaurants. We walked around for awhile and spent about an hour is a HUGE bookstore. As you can see by the picture, there are 32 rooms. Amazing! Hey Mikey, if you are reading this, we thought about you but we didn't know your address.

We then headed to Schmidts Restaurant for lunch. They are known for their sausage. Yummy food!
The guys had a German Beer Sampler along with their meal.

We headed back to the motel for awhile then went to the Polaris Mall and walked around. Yeah, the guys actually walked around the mall. We didn't buy anything but it was fun looking. We weren't terribly hungry but decided to get a drink so we went to The Pub. A great British Pub with lots of atmosphere and adult beverages. We also shared a sandwich. Then back to the motel where we met up with Ann and the kids.

The next morning we headed to Erin's 8:30 am game. (Now that's dedication folks when you get up that early for a soccer game!) They won the game and were pretty happy girls. Back to the motel to pack and check out. Erin went home with a friend so the rest of us headed to COSI. COSI is a really great hands on Science museum. We spent a couple of hours there then headed back to the motel to pick up our car. We stopped at the grocery store just as a HUGE thunderstorm hit. Mr. Snowbird, Sam and I were in our cars while Dave and Ann were stuck in the store for about 20 minutes.

Then we headed north to Creston, Ohio to Dave's old roommate's house for a Memorial Day picnic. Also there was another roomie, another college friend and Dave's very best friend since childhood. It just amazes me how these guys have all stayed friend all these years. We then headed on to Twinsburg to Dave's.
On Monday, I took Erin shopping for her birthday present. It is a custom that I give her money, then take her out to shop and have lunch. We had a great time together even though she didn't spend all of her money. Then back to Dave's for a cookout and later a fire and S'mores. We headed back to Findlay on Tuesday and got busy on "selling the house projects". It was a long weekend but so much fun. We got to see family and friends. Isn't that what Holidays are for?

Easter Pictures--Just a Little Late

I took lots of pictures when Mr. Snowbird and our friends, Steve and Diana, and I went to the Old Captiva House at Tween Waters for their Easter Buffet. I forgot all about them until I downloaded some pictures from camera today--and there they were! So, a tad late but enjoy anyway.

We sat in the room with the desserts and appetizers. I got lots of pictures here but none of the main meal. But trust me, the main course was as delicious as the appetizers and desserts.

A gorgeous ice sculpture--not such a gorgeous picture of it, however.

Lots of yummy shrimp, crab claws, oysters, cheese, crackers etc etc etc

The dessert display. You couldn't take what you wanted but had to ask the waitress for your dessert. She did give us an extra, though, since we wanted to try all of them. How does one choose???
After dinner, we walked across the street to the beach.

And of course, Diana and I can never hit the beach without looking for shells.

A great time was had by all and we have already decided where we will eat next year's Easter Dinner--and Thanksgiving--and any other holiday that comes along!!