Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2008: 14  

  Monday, November 17, started out at a chilly 50 degrees. The wind had dropped a bit, so Bill put up the awning after breakfast. The sky was a beautiful, cloudless blue as we began a bike ride into Naples. It is a little tricky trying to avoid the heavy Naples traffic, but there is a way, utilizing an under the highway pedestrian path to cross Route 41. We rode to the beach to check on the existence of bike racks and then rode south to Gordon Pass. We rode back to the Fishing Pier and parked the bikes. We walked out on the pier and then into the historic district. We stopped at Bad Ass Coffee for some caffeine. We arrived back in time for lunch outside after Bill put up the awning. We chilled out for the early afternoon and then went for a 3.5 mile walk in the late afternoon. We eschewed Happy Hour and hung in the RV watching T.V. for the night.

  Tuesday morning was chilly enough, at 50 degrees, to cause us to use our supplemental heater in the air conditioner. After breakfast, we lifted weights and then went out for a walk/run. Bill wore his heart rate monitor and used it to help with his pace for 3 miles. It was a perfect day for a run - sunny and cool. The little toy bear, that Bill won in a naming contest on a blog, arrived. At the same time, Bill's camera broke down with grainy, discolored images. Bill has wanted another waterproof camera and selected the Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera. The price on Amazon.com was the best he could find for the silver model. He found a couple of places that had the green model for a bit less, but who wants a green camera? We grilled burgers and chicken for dinner.

  Wednesday started at 46 degrees. Cathy went to an exercise class while Bill rode his bike to Oakes Farm for a few produce items. We both walked into 5th Avenue to Starbucks as the day warmed slightly. After lunch, we took off on a shopping trip. We started at the main Naples Visitors Center looking for a map that showed the bike lanes in the Naples streets. Then we went to a Coldwater Creek in the still under construction Mercado in North Naples. We continued with a stop at Bike Route, a bicycle shop, still looking for a map. Next, we went to Beall's Outlet for a Hawaiian Shirt for Cathy for Saturday Night's Luau. Finally, we were through. After dinner, we joined 10 others for an evening of Euchre. This was our first time playing, but Bill tied for second place.

  Thursday morning warmed to 50 degrees for starters. We lifted weights and then went for a walk/run. Bill thought it was a perfect day for running. We drove to Cathy's doctor for her appointment. Cathy got a new blood pressure medicine and a script for a blood test. After lunch, we drove to Publix via Starbucks to drop off prescriptions and to do some shopping. After we returned, Bill called Beach Camera and griped about his "expedited shipping" being so slow with the new camera due on Monday. Eli, the customer service representative promised to do something to get the camera here on Friday. We'll see. Bill took off on his bike and rode just beyond the intersection of Routes 41 and 951. He wanted to see if we could comfortable ride our bikes to the Isle of Capri and Marco Island. As far as he went, it was an easy ride on sidewalks and bike paths with no riding in traffic. We stopped at Publix to pick up prescriptions on our way to a good dinner at Carrabba's. We sat at the counter of the open kitchen and enjoyed watching the activity.

  Friday was warmer. Bill watched the FedEx tracking for the new camera and saw that it had arrived in Naples early in the morning. He hung around most of the morning, waiting for the camera to arrive, but it didn't. Finally, around 11:30 AM, we walked to Castaways Restaurant for grouper sandwiches for lunch. Then we walked into downtown Naples, looking for leis for Saturday night's luau. We stopped at Starbucks and walked the length of 5th Avenue, looking. We finally found some appropriate necklaces at the Shell Shop on Naples Island, in between two flows of the Gordon River. We stopped at Oakes Farm market on the way back. We checked in the office during mid-afternoon, but no camera had arrived. Bill checked the tracking again on the computer and found that it had been returned to sender. He checked our Visa account and found two charges for the missing camera and no credit. He called the customer service for Beach Camera and found that it was closed before 4:00 PM. He went on the Beach Camera website and couldn't find anything about the order number. In frustration, Bill fired off a couple of emails to Beach Camera customer service. Bill called the Wicker Guest House in Key West for a room for Wedesday, Thursday, Friday of the next week. We had quiche for dinner.

  Saturday the stiff breeze continued from the night before. We lifted weights and did a walk/run after breakfast. Bill ran for 5K to get ready for the Hog Trot in Key West. Bill registered for the run via Active.com. Cathy's back had been bothering her and was worse on this day. After lunch, Bill rode his bike to Bad Ass Coffee in Naples where he enjoyed a cappuccino. Then Bill parked the bike at the 14th Avenue South beach and walked on the beach for a while. When he returned, he dug out a really old digital camera so that he could get some photos at the luau later. We went to the luau and had a good time dancing. Bill won the men's hula contest and Cathy took part in the women's hula contest.

  Sunday was nice, but a bit breezy. Cathy did some laundry after breakfast. After lunch, we rode our bikes to the beach on 14th Avenue, via Bad Ass Coffee. Once at the beach, Cathy settled down on a beach towel while Bill did a power walk up to Doctor's Pass, a roundtrip of 10K (6.2 miles). Bill saw two thongs on the beach as he walked. After we rode back to the park, we went for a 3.7 mile walk on the airport path. We walked over to Happy Hour, but we were so late that most people were gone already. We went to dinner at Bonefish Grill where we sat at a "high table." We viewed the season finales for "True Blood" and "Entourage."

  Monday morning was still a bit chilly. Cathy went to her exercise class. Afterward, we went for a 3.7 mile walk. We drove to Cathy's cousin Richard's condo in Naples, arriving at 11:30 AM. We three drove to the Turtle Club Restaurant for lunch. The view of the Gulf was beautiful from our table on the beach. After lunch, we stopped at Oakes Farm on the way back to the campground. Our new camera finally arrived, but was missing the supposedly included photo card adapter. We went to the campground Wine and Cheese party from 4-7 PM. Then, we drove to Best Buy and bought a xD card for the camera, because they didn't have the adapter for micro SD cards. When we got back to the RV, Bill verified that the camera worked. We watched "24 - Redemption", DVRed from Sunday night, as we ate. Later, we viewed the DVRed "Saturday Night Live."

  Tuesday had more of a Florida feel. Bill worked on a blog post about his bad online shopping experience. Then, we went out for a walk/run. Bill did 5K again, and enjoyed sweating for a change. Cathy did a small wash when we returned and Bill washed the rental car. We ate a quick lunch and then went to Cathy's doctor for an adjustment on her blood pressure medicine. We headed to Publix and Starbucks for shopping. We did some packing and then went for a short bike ride on the airport path. We went to Happy Hour on time for a change. We grilled a pork chop and vegetables for dinner. After dinner, we watched "House", using the DVR.

  Wednesday morning, we got ready to head to Key West for a few days. We got on the road about 8:30 AM. It was a beautiful day to drive through the Everglades and down the Keys. We stopped at Hobos on Key Largo for lunch and had the usual fish sandwiches. At MM 62 we ran into a big traffic jam due to a fatal accident between a police car and a tractor trailer. We were stuck for over a half an hour with the Gulf about 50 feet to our right and the Atlantic Ocean about 50 feet to our left. We stopped at the old 7 mile bridge for a walk. We finally arrived at the Wicker House in Key West at a bit after 5:00 PM. We tried to reach Mallory Square for sunset, but missed by a few minutes. We stopped at Bad Ass Coffee so Bill could get a recharge. Then we went back to the room and changed for dinner. We had the usual excellent dinner at Blue Heaven. After we arrived back in the room, we had a good soak in the Jacuzzi in our bathroom. We turned in about 10:30 PM.

This is the end of "On the Road 2008." The action continues with "Happy Holidays 2008."

        Bill and Cathy