Ruby Tuesday-Bouncing Noah

Our oldest grandson, Sam, loved this bouncy swing when he was little. Noah inherited it when he came along and it became one of his favorite things too. I can't believe either of them were ever little enough to fit into this thing.
OK, I know you are all busy checking out everyone's Ruby Tuesday but take the time to bookmark me and drop back to check out my blog. I am a retired Special Ed teacher who now spends most of her time on Sanibel Island, Florida which is a Sanctuary Island for wildlife. I volunteer for a wildlife hospital. I am also the proud grandma of 5 wonderful grandkids and brag about them often!! I also have a blog called Branches and Roots where I talk about genealogy and my ancestors. OK, enough about me. So if you really want to see red go to Work of the Poet

Happy Birthday Ann

March is birthday and anniversary month in our family. Both of my children and both of their spouses have birthdays in March plus our anniversary is also in March. Today just happens to be the birthday of Ann, our son's better half.

The first time I met Ann, I just knew that she would be my daughter in law. She fit right into our family. She will probably hate me, though, for posting this and these pictures of her. But I just want to let her know that I love her like a daughter.

Ann is the mother of our oldest grandson, Sam, and our granddaughter, Erin. She is a great mom and has raised two wonderful kids.

Poor Ann never was into sports but she married a sports nut. Then she became the mom of two kids who inherited their Dad's and grandmother's love of sports--and in doing so she became a Soccer Mom, a Basketball Mom, a Softball Mom, a Baseball Mom, a Snowboard Mom etc etc etc.

So, Ann, I just want to wish you a very Happy Birthday and thanks for being my daughter in law.

With love,
Mom R.

Stuff

I have spent 16 hours volunteering this week at that place which I'm not allowed to talk about! Wouldn't you think that by spending that much time driving around the county picking up patients, spending hours and hours educating people about wildlife and then 7 hours today on my feet feeding and caring for poor defenseless animals that I would be able to mention the name of the place? Nope. So, those of you who used to read my blog know what I'm talking about. Those of you who are new to my blog--sorry, but I'm not allowed to talk about this place. But, despite all this, I still enjoy what I do and wouldn't give it up for anything--even if I can't talk about it!!! Also, no pictures. I have lots--just can't show them. Sorry.
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Our friend, Bob, was down visiting this past week. We had a ball and despite the weather turning cold and preventing us from doing a couple of things, he said he enjoyed his visit. We were going to take an Airboat ride but didn't think that zipping around a lake in 50 degree weather was to our liking. Then we decided that maybe we would go to see the Edison/Ford Winter Homes--but apparently so did everyone else in Lee County. No room to park and mile long lines so we decided against that. So, what did we do? We went to Walmart. Now where else should one take their guests who are visiting from the frigid north? We did buy some adult beverages though. We did have one really enjoyable evening where our friends, Steve and Diana, joined us and we went to the Osaka Japanese Restaurant. Great food and lots of laughs. From there we of course had to go to one of our favorite ice cream spots. And wouldn't you know that the day Bob left, the weather turned a lot warmer.
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I talked to our Japanese daughter on the phone today. I've mentioned her before. In fact I mentioned her in my son's birthday post. Juri came to live with us in 1983. She was an exchange student from Japan and was having problems with her host family. Our son, Dave, had become friends with her and asked if she could move in with us. She came to us Thanksgiving week and was with us until around the 4th of July. She went home to Japan for a couple of years then came back to attend the University of Toledo and then on to Parsons School of Design in NYC. She remained in NYC, met and married Rock, and is now an artist trying, like every other artist, to sell her works in this sagging economy. She is leaving on Monday to travel to Dubai for several weeks where she will have a one woman show as well as having some of her works in a group show. She will also be giving a lecture at the American University there. Hopefully, the economy isn't sagging quite as badly in Dubai!
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I'm really sad about the hockey team which I have followed for about 25 years now. Our son went to Bowling Green State University (the one from Ohio not Kentucky). While there, he got us hooked on college hockey. In 1984 BG won the NCAA National Title. From 1985 until I retired in 1998 we traveled all over the country following the team. We traveled to Maine twice, Toronto, Buffalo, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, the UP of Michigan to name a few. For years my hearing impaired students wrote weekly letters to each member of the team and made posters that were hung outside the locker room. Players would come and visit my classroom. Some of the players even got college credit for working in my class with my students. The coach, Jerry York (who is now head coach for Boston College and one of the winningest college hockey coaches in the country) even came to visit. I became friends with many of the players and their families. One of the players who I got to know pretty well, Dan Bylsma, was just named Interim Coach for the Pittsburg Penguins. Hockey was our life. But over the years the program has gone down hill to the point that they have finished in last place in the league 3 out of the last 4 years. There is even talk of doing away with the program. It really makes me sad that this once powerful team which was so much a part of my life has become so poor. I really, really hope that the university sees fit to keep the program, get rid of the current coach (a former BG player by the way) and hire someone who can lead this team back to where it once was.

So, there you have it. Just some stuff that has been on my mind today.

Happy Birthday Dave

My boy turns 45 today. Geez, where do the years go?? When did this little guy turn into the man he has become today? That smile is still there--well yes, he does have a few more teeth now than he did in this picture but that smile is still there.
He was a great big brother, even though he had his sister believing she was adopted for years!

He never really brought home any strays but fortunately he found us our Japanese daughter, Juri. He made friends with her at school, found she was having problems with her host family, and asked if we could take her in. We did and she became a part of our family thanks to Dave.

Dave also brought Ann into our family. She just happens to have a birthday this week too. Happy Birthday Ann. And the two of them gave us 2 of our 5 beautiful grandkids.

Dave inherited my love of sports and is a Cleveland Indians, Browns and Cavs fan even when it is hard to love some of the Cleveland teams! He has also helped coach Erin's softball team for several years now. And he can often be found sitting in the ski lodge while Sam is out on the hills snowboarding. (I guess he just hasn't gotten into snowboarding!)

I still can't believe that it has been 45 years ago today that you arrived. Happy Birthday Dave. Thank you for being the best son a mother can have. Love you lots!!

Captiva Cruise to Useppa Island

We try to go on a Captiva Cruise at least once a year to either Cabbage Key or Useppa Island. And we usually do this when we have company. So of course with company here, we went on a cruise last Friday. We had taken him on a cruise to Cabbage Key last year so we took him to Useppa this year. (Or should I say he took us--thanks Bob!)

The trip was packed. There was a large group of Red Hatters along also. We were lucky enough to be the first ones on the boat so we got the choice of seats on the upper level. Unfortunately coming back we couldn't sit up top because it was filled but it wasn't so bad really--it got really cold and windy up there and a lot of people came back down where it was warm.
The trip leaves from South Seas Plantation--excuse me South Seas Island Resort (they changed their name). This is a VERY gated community on Captiva island and the only way you can get in there is if you are staying there, live there, or are going on a Captiva Cruise. If you are on the cruise, you go through the security gate and immediately pull into a parking lot. Then a trolley picks you up and takes you to the boat. Hurricane Charley pretty much wiped out South Seas and the boat was anchored at McCarthy's Marina on Captiva for several years following the hurricane. The following picture is of Land's End at South Seas. These buildings are pretty much all new since Charley. On Sanibel and Captiva, we often refer to pre and post Charley.
It's always interesting what you see out on Pine Island Sound. Many of the islands including Useppa and Cabbage Key do not allow cars. In fact some of the smaller island don't even have electricity or city water. They use generators and dig their own wells. This barge kind of gives you an idea of how they move stuff around. This was probably coming back from North Captiva.
Pine Island Sound is only about 4 feet deep in most places. They have dug a channel for the bigger boats like the Lady Chadwick. When you get on the boat, they always give the mandatory safety speech about where to find life jackets but then tell you that if the boat sinks, just go to the upper deck and have a Bloody Mary (they have yummy ones!!!) until help comes. There were lots and lots of boats on the Sound Friday including some beautiful sailboats under full sail.
Until 1926, Captiva was one big long island. Then a hurricane came through and created Redfish Pass so now there is Captiva and North Captiva. On Friday the 13th, 2004 when Hurricane Charley roared through it cut another pass which is called Charley's Pass. We joked about it now being Captiva, North Captiva and North North Captiva. Charley's Pass is beginning to fill back in now but it is still dangerous for boats to go too close because of all the trees that were blown out into the sound.
North Captiva is quite unique. The only way you can reach it is by boat or by small plane. I know of one lady who lives there and works on Sanibel. She takes her boat to McCarthy's Marina every morning, gets in her car that is parked there then drives to work. Then in the evening she repeats the process. Not sure I would want to do that is lousy weather! There is a tiny little grass landing strip for small airplanes. Apparently this is one of the most dangerous airports to land at because you come in and take off right over the water and there isn't a whole lot of room for error. In the picture below you can see one plane parked on the beach and another one just starting to take off.
The first stop the Lady Chadwick makes is at Cabbage Key. Those who are going there get off the boat while those going to Useppa stay on. Cabbage Key is a unique little island. It was owned by the author Mary Roberts Rinehart. The main house is now a restaurant and there are several cottages which you can rent. Fishermen used to come to the restaurant and hang a few dollars behind the bar which they could use if they didn't have any money when they returned. Today, people still put their names on a dollar bill and hang it on the walls. There are thousands of dollars hanging there. Any money that falls on the floor goes to charity. Cabbage Key took a hit from Charley. It is amazing though--there is a little greenhouse there that never lost one pane of glass.
The rest of us traveled on across the sound to Useppa. Useppa is a private island and unless you own a home there or are staying at the Baron Collier Inn, Captiva Cruises is the only way to get on the island. We had a very nice lunch in the hotel then went to their excellent little museum. The museum covers the Calusa Indians which used to inhabit this area and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Useppa is where they trained for the invasion.
We had about 2 1/2 hours on the island and then got back on the boat for our trip home. It was a very relaxing trip and we were greeted by our feathered friends when we arrived back at the dock.

Pub Crawling Sanibel Style

So, the Sanibel Crawlers met and crawled today. We were joined by our friend, Bob, from Michigan. The Crawl consisted of Tink, Tootie, Gary, Cheryl aka Sanibel Lover, Tony aka Mr. Lover, "Chuch" aka Mr. Snowbird, Bob and me aka Snowbird. We met at Biddles for lunch and adult beverages.

OK, so this isn't the best picture of everyone and Tony aka Mr. Lover, was off playing video games. And of course, I'm taking the picture, so I'm not included in the group picture.

We had good food, good adult beverages and good company.

After we filled our tummies we moved on to the Sanibel Grill for more adult beverages and some calorie filled desserts (which I neglected to get pictures of.) It was waaaayyyy tooooooo cold and windy to Pool Bar Crawl today.

Of course when Tink is along, she is mobile blogging so I have to come home and check into her blog to find out what we have been doing all afternoon!Our friend, Gail aka Sandpail Gail, sent the ladies necklaces which we all opened and wore today. She made the right choice for all of us--a turtle for Tootie, a seahorse for Cheryl, Tinkerbell for Tink and an owl for me. Thank you Gail. We missed you and wished you were here to crawl with us.

We all had a great time even though a couple of us were still a little hung over from last night--I'm not naming names but some people (not the Snowbirds) did a little too much karaokeing (is there such a word) last night. You know who you are!! Hee hee.