Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2009: 7

  Monday, February 23, we got up early and headed to Everglades City for Bill's kayak/camping trip.

Cathy had an interesting week, including the campground Mardi Gras parade where she marched as a clown.

  Thursday, Cathy drove back to Everglades City to pickup Bill and arrived at 12:30 PM. Bill had already unloaded his kayak, so Cathy packed the car while Bill and one of the others on the trip loaded the kayak on top. We joined the kayakers at the Camellia Grill for lunch on the water. We stopped at Starbucks and Publix on the way back to the RV. When we got back, Bill unpacked the car and dealt with the items that needed immediate attention. Bill then enjoyed a long, hot shower. We drove to dinner at Bonefish Grill. We weren't too hungry, so we split a tuna entree. Bill headed to bed a bit after 8:00 PM.

  Friday was another beautiful day. We went for a walk/run where Bill ran for 5K. We packed the car and headed north on I75. We stopped at Starbucks near Fort Myers for a light lunch. We arrived at Bob and Marianne's house in Belleair at about 3:30 PM. We all went for a walk on the sand at Clearwater Beach. Marianne made a delicious shrimp scampi for dinner. Afterward, we taught the Bialas' how to play Euchre. We played for a while. Bill went to bed, while the other three watched the late news on TV.

  Saturday, we went to the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City. This is a huge fair that lasts for ten days. The day was hot, but a strong breeze kept it comfortable. There was a world class array of junk food available. Bill couldn't eat or drink anything in the midst of all the grease and sugar, but the others ate a junky lunch. The highlight of the day was the pig races in a mini-stadium. We headed back to Belleair around mid-afternoon. We enjoyed a good meal at the E & E restaurant in Belleair. Afterward, we played Euchre.

  Sunday morning was cloudy, rainy, and very windy. After church, we ate a late breakfast at Maggie Mae's in Belleair. We had to wait a half hour to get in, but the food and service didn't warrant the wait. We left around 1:00 PM for the drive back to Naples. We stopped at Starbucks and Publix on the way back. Later, we enjoyed dinner with Tom and Jean at Sushi Thai Too on Fifth Avenue. When we got back to the RV, we watched "Lost" and "Taking Chance" on our DVR.

  Monday, March 2, started out in the 40s with a strong north wind. We went for a very chilly walk/run where Bill ran for 5K. We and Tom and Jean drove over to Jack and Sue Beatty's rental condo in two cars just before noon. We all went in town and parked in the new garage there. We enjoyed a good lunch at the Mangrove Cafe. Tom and Jean headed back to the campground. The rest of us took a short tour of the shopping areas near the Beatty's rental. Then, we all returned to the campground. After Jack and Sue toured Tom and Jean's RV, the four of us drove to the Isle of Capri and Marco Island. We dropped them back at their condo during the late afternoon. Paula and Ed Kline, our friends from West Wildwood, called. They are staying in Marco Island and will visit us on Tuesday morning. Back at the RV, we ate dinner and attended line dancing in the clubhouse. Afterward, we viewed last week's "24".

  Tuesday started in the mid-40s and didn't really get warm all day. The sun shone brightly, but the dry air and the breeze made the day seem chilly. Bill worked on cleaning the stowing camping gear in the morning. Our friends Paula and Ed Kline came over from their month-long rental on Marco Island. They arrived around noon with two of their friends from North Wildwood, Tom and Jean, who have a condo in Marco. We chatted and showed them around the campground. After our friends left, we ate lunch and then walked downtown to Starbucks and Oakes Farm. When we returned, Cathy started working on a quiche for dinner. After dinner, Cathy went over to bridge, but yielded her seat to a newcomer. We viewed the two-hour "24" from Monday. During the night we ran our auxiliary heat as the temperature dropped.

  Wednesday was a warm day at last. Cathy went to her exercise class. Afterward, we went for a walk/run where Bill ran for 5K. After lunch, we drove to the post office to send in Bill's application for the Seven Mile Bridge Run. Then we drove to Jack and Sue's condo. Jack drove with Bill navigating as we checked out the town dock area and the Third Street area. We continued north to the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club, where we checked out the restaurants. We drove to the Bayfront Resort, parked, and had a drink at the outdoor bar. Bill called Chrissy at the Rock Creek office to ask her to scratch us off of the euchre list. We returned to our RV so Bill could dress in warmer clothes. Cathy called for a reservation at Bonefish and we headed over there for the usual good dinner. We didn't get back to the RV until around 9:30 PM. By the time we showered, it was bedtime.

  Thursday had the kind of weather we come to Naples for. Cathy did three loads of laundry to kick-off the day. Later in the morning, we went to Starbucks and Publix. Then, we stopped at Jack and Sue's condo to reimburse them for some expenditures on Wednesday. We continued on to the Sunshine Ace Hardware store to buy some Gulp bait for fishing. We had lunch and then defrosted the refrigerator and freezer. We walked to the beach at Fifth Avenue and lay on the warm sand for an hour and a half. We got back around 6:30 PM. After a good pasta dinner, we watched "Lost" on our DVR.

  Friday was warm and breezy. Bill rode his bike to Bad Ass Coffee while Cathy went to her exercise class. Afterward, Bill went out for a four and a half hour kayak paddle down to Dollar Bay. When Bill returned and showered, we chilled out for a while on our patio. We grilled burgers for dinner.

  Saturday, we got up at 5:10 AM. We ate breakfast in a Starbucks on Tamiami Trail North on our way to the MS 5K Run at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. The morning was cool and perfect for a run. Bill ran the 5K at an average pace of 9:14 minutes per mile. Cathy went along to take some pictures. After we returned, we went for a 3.7 mile walk. Bill deployed our awning. After lunch we went to Starbucks and Publix for some shopping. The rest of the afternoon was low key and we chilled out. We picked up Sue and Jack and went to Carrabbas for a good dinner at a high table. We dropped by Sue and Jack's condo for a while afterward.

  Sunday, we started getting used to Daylight Savings Time. Bill did the Sunday Times puzzle in 86 minutes. The morning was cloudy, but warm. We did a 3.7 mile walk along the airport path and then rode our bikes on the same way. We drove over to Jack and Sue's condo and then joined them and Dick and Jill Scofield and friend Claire on a lunch outing to the outdoor cafe at the Naples Beach and Golf Club. It was a beautiful day and the food was good, but expensive. After we parted, we chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. We had grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner while we watched our DVRed Bill Maher show.

        Bill and Cathy