Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2008: 4  

  Saturday, January 19, was a very warm and humid day. After breakfast, we stopped by the office for a roll of quarters before walking to Oakes Farm Market for a few items. When we got back we saw a couple of guys throwing a softball across the way. We went over to chat with them and Bill was invited to show up for a Tuesday/Thursday softball league. Bill calculated that the last softball game he was in was 35 years ago, but it sounded interesting. After lunch, we drove to Wal-Mart to try to get Bill a glove, but they had nothing for left-handers. We drove to Sports Authority and chose a glove from a meager selection. We also bought a softball and some conditioning oil. After lunch, Bill oiled the glove to get it ready. Later in the afternoon, we took a 3 mile walk. During dinner, we viewed Tarantino's "Death Proof" which Bill loved and Cathy hated (a little anti-Atonement?). Rain started during the evening.

  Sunday started early for Bill, when, at 1:45 AM, a gust of wind during a heavy rain storm pulled the awning out of the two forward de-floppers and loosened the tension knob in the forward strut. The awning started flopping loudly. Bill put on raingear and a headlight and headed out into the wind and rain. He had to go through several steps, but was able to retract the awning in about 15 minutes. We got back to sleep somewhat after 2:00 AM. We got up at the usual time. After breakfast, Bill ran for 3.2 miles while Cathy walked. It was chilly and windy. We ate lunch inside at Castaways and had blackened grouper sandwiches. We went to Starbucks to read the paper, have coffee and get out of the wind. We went to see "There Will be Blood" - a tour de force for Daniel Day Lewis, who should handily win the Best Actor Oscar. During dinner, we viewed some of "Puccini for Beginners", a bad try at a knock-off of "Sex in the City" with a group of lesbian friends. We also watched a good bit of the NFC championship game, "Ice Bowl II."

  Monday morning was chilly and breezy again. Cathy did laundry while Bill worked on the computer. Then, Bill fast-walked for 6.5 miles while Cathy walked 3.2 miles. After lunch, we shopped a Publix while Bill sipped on a cappuccino. We went out for an early dinner at the Mangrove Cafe, where we stumbled into the Early Bird Special. We returned home in time to view the Democratic Debate, which John Edwards won.

  On Tuesday morning, after breakfast, Bill found out that he can't throw any more. He also can't catch or hit, but he can run, although he sprained his groin a little. Bill played his first softball game in 35 years with a group of guys in an over 50 league. A couple of the guys seemed pretty young, but most were about Bill's age. After the game, Bill worked on the computer for a while. After lunch, Bill went out on a fishing paddle up the Gordon River. When he neared the end of the river, where it turns into the Golden Gate Canal, Bill caught a small Crevalle Jack. As he was reeling in the fish, the kayak drifted up to a dock. A young woman was talking on her cell phone on the lawn near the dock and was surprised to see Bill there. Bill explained about the fish. She was very nice about it and took a couple of pictures, asked Bill for his email address, and emailed the photos. The lady's name is Diana Mei and she has a website for her bedding design business. Bill got home around 5:00 PM, cleaned up, and headed in for a shower. We grilled burgers for dinner and viewed "Mighty Heart" which was a bit more of a chick flick than Bill likes.

  Wednesday was a beautiful, hot, humid day. It was just the kind of day that brought us to Naples as we were on a warm weather quest last year. After breakfast, we walked down to the Bayfront complex which we had been curious about. We explored the area for a while and then went into the realty office and asked to see a unit, which was for sale for $625,000. It was a very nice unit and we like this area of Naples a lot, but the condo fees amount to $8,000 per year and property tax about $7,000. It can't hurt to look, though, so we made an appointment to see another couple of units on Thursday at 1:00 PM. We walked over to Tin City and ate a good lunch at the newly opened Pincher's Crab House at a good open-window table on the water. We walked back via the produce store. We went out for a kayak paddle and explored the lower part of the Gordon River for a couple of hours. After cleaning up when we got back, we went to Happy Hour at the Gazebo and enjoyed some conversation.

  Thursday was foggy most of the day. Bill went for his second day of softball where he was stiff and sore, but still enjoyed it. After the game, all of the players went to Beef O'Gradys for some food and lots of beer. Bill didn't drink or eat anything, but joined in the animated conversation. After lunch, we drove to Bayfront and went with Tom McCarthy, the realtor, to view 3 more units. One of them looked pretty good, price $695,000, but even though it would probably sell for $595,000, the condo fees and taxes make it too expensive. We drove to the Naples Conservancy to check on various boat trips. During dinner, we viewed "Eastern Promises", which is a very good movie, but quite brutal. We also watched the Republican debate, which was mostly boring.

  Friday was a nicer day. We started with breakfast out at Starbucks. When we returned, we noticed that the truck battery was completely dead. We figured that it was drained by our cell phone chargers and not charged by our electrical hookup as we thought it would be. The "emergency start" button didn't work because the battery was too dead. We drove to NAPA and bought a battery charger which Bill hooked up to the battery. We took a slow walk afterwards, since Bill was still pretty sore. We left the charger on during lunch and early afternoon and found that there was life in the battery after the charging. We changed and drove to view "No Country for Old Men" at a theater. We liked the movie, but Bill was confused on why it wasn't considered a comedy when most of the other Coen Brother's movies are considered comedic. From the theater we drove to Venetian Village to eat at Maxwell's on the Bay. We drank in the bar before eating an excellent seafood dinner. When we returned to the RV, we viewed "Snatch", which was OK, but we didn't watch all of it.

        Bill and Cathy