Home Sweet Home

The DeLands kindly got up early to drop us off at the Punta Gorda airport, which incidentally greatly expanded since the last time that they were there.  A no frills flight on Allegiant got us to Cincinnati around 9:30, and after retrieving all our bike baggage, we were greeted by this lovely driver.  Thanks Marla for taking time out of your spring break to pick up your parents! 

In summary. our first Tony transporting Joan tandem ride was a joyful success!  We appreciate all of you readers that followed along on our journey and your cheerful comments.  In the same feeling of support that was expressed to us by people every day of our ride, we leave you this fitting Irish blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face; 

the rains fall soft upon your fields 

and until we meet again, 

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Shark teeth hunting to Bud's Fish Fry

Tony's View

We started today out with First Friday mass at St. Maximilian Koble. Afterwards, we went out and looked at the statues in the memorial garden. We found one with a tear running down the nose, so we took a picture to share. Joan was in that picture with Theresa, but cropped herself out because she had her eyes closed. We then headed back to their house for another terrific Bud breakfast.













With full bellies, Bud took us on a 2 1/2 mile hike down this cool bike path to see an empty eagle's nest. Despite being empty, it was a neat nest with great views of it. You can see the nest right above Joan's head. This way Joan could be in the picture. On the way out Joan found some big pine cones to bring home via the Theresa express. She held them out and away from her in case some critters came crawling out so she had time to drop them.

We then went to Englewood Beach to hunt for shark teeth. Nearby Venice is considered the shark teeth capital of the world so they say. In the picture you can see Bud explaining what they look like to me. As you can see in the picture I was excited. The beach was also a good walking beach, but the funny thing was that I think I was one of the youngest at the beach. We then went to a flea market and I got a new pair of cycling sunglasses.




We went shopping, oh yea. We did go get some gelato. I had key lime and banana cream flavor. Funny thing is, Theresa had already bought gelato and had some in their freezer. So being the great guest I am, I ate some for breakfast this morning and just because I had to, I suffered through another bowl after dinner. Yes, I had it three times today. Ken would be proud of me, or maybe jealous. 
When Bud and I were avoiding shopping and taking a walk, we walked by the Cathedral. We stopped in and they had Eucharist Adoration going on so we said a few prayers. My prayers were that shopping would soon be over. My prayers were answered.

Back at their house and being that it is Friday, they had a fish fry for us. It was Red Fish which Bud just caught before we got here. It was so good and different than fish we get back in Ohio, at least that is what Bud told us. Again, we are so fortunate to have such nice friends who take care of us. As everyone knows, I am a pain in the butt, so when people are nice to me, you know they had to go out of their way.

Joan's View

Yes, today was our last day in sunny Florida, and I got to put my toes in the sand one last time before we head north. We are feeling extremely blessed. We had a great bicycle experience and we got to spend time with some wonderful people. I truly enjoy getting to experience the lifestyles of others which we did in several different ways, from life on the road living out of 2 bags to the uniqueness of Key West to the snow bird life of Port Charlotte. It's all good!

At the DeLand House which is not in DeLand, Florida

Joan's View

Bud in the morning hours greeting his frequent visitor that nests nearby, a Blue Heron.

Although Bud claims that his distant ancestors founded DeLand, Florida, Theresa & Bud chose Port Charlotte for their winter home. Bud is a fisherman and he says Port Charlotte is better for catching fish. 

The day started out with Tony observing Bud as he fished in the channel right out the DeLand's back yard. Once I got up and joined the others, Bud made some yummy stromboli omelettes. We devoured them and headed out to see the town. Our first stop for Theresa & I was the Puenta Gorda Art Center to check out the art show. Theresa is an artist so I like to learn from her when we go to those type of places. Theresa & I proceeded to Fishermen's Village, a shopping area which features lots of local artists' creations. The boys, meanwhile, had gone to the Peace River Wildlife Center to check out eagles and other local wildlife.  We met up and decided to get some late lunch. We found a local eatery called Manatees Pizza and better yet, they had 1/2 off pizza on Thursdays! 

Back at DeLands place, Bud & Theresa took us on a nice walk to the ElJobean Pier where Bud does quite a bit of fishing.  After returning, they took us to their local housing association "Thirsty Thursday" get together. Tony even snuck in another walk around the neighborhood and some nearby RV parks. We then came back to their house and let the boys win a few games of euchre and that was draining, so we had to call it a night.

Tony's Side Notes

It was fun hearing all of Bud's fish stories while walking around today. It is neat hearing about all the salt water fish. I think Bud needs a boat or even a kayak to get better opportunities. When Bud and I went to the Peace River Wildlife Center we saw and heard some Laughing Gull. They sounded like they were laughing when they make noise. Bud and I were cracking up listening to them. There were some other birds that made it sound like we were in Jurassic Park. Bud is a big fan of Jurassic Park. I thought it was funny when the retired folks got all excited by the 1/2 off pizza Thursdays. Check out their smiles. We made Theresa go get a neighbor's scale so we could get the bike cases back to 40 pounds. We started at 55 pounds and finally we got them down to 40 pounds since that is Allegiant Air's weight restriction. We have some fun things scheduled for tomorrow.

Traveling by Sea to the Next Place on our Journey

Tony’s View

Today we started with mass again only this time Lynne drove us by car. After mass we stuck around and prayed the rosary. It was outside on a walking rosary with a grotto of Mary in the background. See the picture that doesn’t do it justice. It is really cool. We then went back to Casa Springer and Lynne made us a breakfast for a King. It consisted of eggs, bacon, French toast and fresh strawberries. Thanks Lynne! It was awesome. It was then time to finish packing. We were, after some strategic reorganizing, able to get the bike, gear, and our clothes into 4 bags, which is the ferry’s limit on bags.  This worked because the Springers are bringing back Joan’s bicycle helmet and 3 water bottles, We simply ran out of room so another thanks goes out to the Springers. When we leave DeLands on Saturday, we will need to rearrange again to fit everything into 5 bags so that no bags are over 40 lbs. due to Allegiant airline regulations.

We then went to the Little White House for a tour. This is where Harry Truman spent time relaxingduring his presidency. This is the place for his working vacations. The stories they had were fascinating. Harry Truman is my favorite President, because he was just a regular guy in the right situation.

After that tour, we went to Fort Zachary Taylor beach. The cool part about this beach is it had plenty of shade from pine trees, and rocks to climb on. These are two of my favorite things making this beach really nice. 

 

After spending time there for a while, Steve continued to show us a lot more interesting things at Key West. We then had lunch/early dinner at Hog Fish.  I had Hog Fish tacos and they were very tasty.

Lynne then dropped us off at the Key West Express Ferry for our 4 hour ride to Fort Myers. It was a full boat and we were at the end of the line. Luckily, Joan and I found a seat together. I was thinking the sunset would be neat to see, but it was very cloudy.

DeLands picked us up in Fort Myers and took us to their house so we could mooch off someone else.

Joan’s View

The last few days were another great opportunity to experience life in a different lifestyle, Key West.  Being on the road this long, the days sort of melt together, but we definitely won’t forget the easy peasy days in Key West.  Thanks Springers!

The Great Key West Adventure

Joan's View

The day started out with bike riding believe it or not! Lynne took Tony out on some of their bikes that the Springers use to get around the island. They went about 8 1/2 miles round trip to 7:30 morning mass at The Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, and then stopped to pick up fresh mango bread. Tony taught Lynne how to "own" a lane.

Later, the Springers took us out on their kayaks.  We started in Cow Key channel and went down Riviera Canal where our fearless leader Steve took us into a cutout channel through the mangroves. It was awesome getting to see closeup all of the creatures living in the mangroves like starfish, crabs, etc. At times it got very narrow, but the Springers showed us how to push off the mangroves trees by hand to get through tight spots. At the other end of the cutout the water was full of small jellyfish. We turned around and ventured back through the mangrove trees and out into the canal. Lynne saw a couple sinking in their kayak. They then tipped with their only loss being a bottle of champagne. Together, Lynne and Steve helped them figure out how to get back on their kayak and back to the dock.

It was hot tub time after hauling the kayaks and stuff back!

In the afternoon, we cleaned up, and after Stephanie finished her days work, we picked up Jordan and went to dinner at one of the Springers favorite Cuban restaurants, El Siboney. We finished in time for the Springers to get to Aqua, a bar with a singing contest, to see one of their friends compete. I ventured out for a little shopping on Duval street and we all met up later. As we were heading to the car, Steve unbelievably spotted Jim & Tonya Thieman from Sidney.  Because we all had kids that graduated together in 2008, we called it the parents reunion in Key West.

Steve & Lynne also had another adventure when they realized that Jordan left his apartment keys in their car and his phone was dead. Long story short, they found Jordan and got him his keys.

The other pictures are of Tony disassembling our tandem at different times throughout the day and starting to pack it for our ferry trip tomorrow to Fort Myers to meet up with our neighbors from Sidney, Bud & Theresa DeLand.

Great hosts!  Great day!  Thanks Springers!

Tony's Side Notes

Yes, it was my turn to do the main part of the blog, but Joan graciously did it for me. I was frustrated taking the tandem apart. I did get it back into 2 suitcases before finishing this blog, but the packing is not over yet. You see we came with 5 suitcases when we flew into Jacksonville. However, we can only bring two bags each on the Key West Express. So tomorrow morning I have to over pack the bike bags with dirty clothes, so we can try to get everything into 4 bags. Enough about the packing stuff. I know many of you at Choice One, when you read the blog above about me getting into a kayak, thought, "what is he doing in a kayak?" I was wondering the same thing, but it was really cool and I enjoyed it after I got over the initial nervousness. Looking forward to really hitting the Dramamine for the 3 1/2 hour ferry ride tomorrow.