Feb. has Valentine's Day and only 7 more weeks of winter

Holy. Did we pick a good winter to travel down south. I feel sorry for the people in the northern climes.

We had a great day with Mike Csoke on the  5 of Feb. He arrived from his home in Largo and spent the afternoon with us before traveling to Naples to meet with other friends there. During lunch and a pleasant afternoon   by the pool,we caught up on all the latest from our acquaintances up north(friends and fellow workers and fellow "Largoites").  It was nice to see Mike again it's been a long time. Nice car!!!

Happy birthday to our son.

On the 7th we went down to Naples to the golf super store. We had coupons from Subway(cheap advertising here) for the Aces Classic. We got weekly passes for the tournament for $50,that's for both of us.
While we were there, we decided to take in a quaint cafe supper on 5th Ave(the main drag). We parked across the street from Cafe Luna,so..why not check it out. We're glad we did. What a deal. Supper for two,with a bottle of California Melrot,for the low price of $29.99. It was really good. I had the chicken parm and Aprille had chicken(go figure) in a white wine sauce. Then a nice walk to the beach.

We went to the Lee county gun show with our friends Bob and Janice  Sunday the 9th.
That was entertaining to say the least. I was impressed with the quality of he attendees. They were not the "rednecks" I was expecting. It was EASY to purchase a weapon of any description. Including what would be prohibited in Canada. For instance, mace,tasers,brass knuckles,automatic weapons switch blades.
The picture below is on me holding an antitank rifle. That could come in handy a the condo NOT!!!!

I was at one booth where a patron wanted to buy a hand gun. The vendor asked for his Florida drivers licence and his gun permit( not that hard to get). The patron said" I have my licence but not the permit" to which the vendor replied"well, let's see what we can do about that".

Our scheduled cruise on the 12th was cancelled. On purpose.
I'll make it a short story.
There was a $15/day parking fee in West Palm(we would be gone for  5 days).There was transportation to the hotel the Grand Lucayan,$17 each,then there was the tourist tax of $9/each/day on the island. Then the kicker. The hotel was NOT all inclusive.
Have you ever been to the Bahamas. The prices are insane. So...we decided to blow off the initial sailing price to save many hundreds.Too bad, so sad.
Next time you hear a of deal this good. Be careful!!! The fast talking agents may leave out some"fine print".

Ok. Good news. Ulla and Kevin are coming down for 9 days and the weather reports look fantastic. They both need some fun in the sun.

On 14th,Valentine's Day, I went down to Naples the the Aces Classic golf tournament(that's Champion's tour) and all the big names were there(except Fred Couples, sorry mom, I couldn't get  his autograph)
These guys are good. We entertained Bob an Janice for a Valentine's dinner and drinks(of course).

On Sunday,the 15th, Aprille and I went back down to Naples to see the final day of the Aces Classic and we had a great time. We were there for almost 4 hours.I wish I was rich. What a beautiful course and the homes surrounding the venue make you want to salivate.

What a finish. A three way tie at 16 under for the last three some. Triplett,Langer and Waldorf.. Triplett won with a par on 18. Way to go Kirk. This venue, like the LPGA allowed you to get up close and personal. Rocco Mediate never stops taking. They were all very receptive and responsive to the gallery.
There were two Canadians in the field. Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge.
The "champions" are apparently allowed to take advantage of  golf carts(who knew). I must say,not all the players took advantage of the option.

I now have a Florida fishing licence(oh yea I mentioned that already) and on Wed ,the 12th,we went over near the Sannibel cause way(on our side,so it was free) and had a nice picnic lunch. In the car. he wind was howling.
I was, going to fish but it was blowing so hard, I decided against it. But I will catch a Florida fish.
My knee is back to (maybe 75 percent) I strained it during a work out. Go figure. I should be A1 by Sunday the 22nd.

See ya

Waiting for Valentines Day

Well we have to make some definite plans now. We are only 4 months away from our lease expiring and we are returning to Canada in May to be there for June 1st.
We were up north the last few days looking for other options in Punta Gorda,Port Charlotte,Englewood Sarasota,Venice and Bradenton.
Bradenton is apparently to cut off longitude for the subtropics(and we like those temperatures). We found a beautiful place at the Palms or Cortez(furnished with all the utilities included) for $1,000/mo. but unfortunately the owner was looking for a long term lease.
On or way back home from Bradenton,we stopped at  Dunkin Donuts in Punta Gorda, for a coffee and donut(no really!! I ate a donut..it wasn't Horton's let me tell you) and I'll never have another coffee there either. I actually threw it out after three sips. Anyway I digress. We asked if we could have he coffee in a china mug as we were staying n and the waitress nearly fell over laughing. She actually called the girl on the drive through over to hear this. "We don't have a dishwasher here and I don't do dishes". So we had to explain ourselves and the Horton's experience from Canada. A good diversion for our trip home.

All is well. My gout has been acting up so that interferes with some activities(like golf) but it should be cleared up by Thurs. Love those drugs.
We had a super bowl get together here with Ken, Krista,Sandra John and Maurice.
What a feast we had chile,ribs,wings,garlic bread,spinach dip vegggie tray,wine beer, taco scoops salsa and guacamole (whew!!) and we had a great time being arm chair QB's. Too bad about the excitement factor. Poor Manning Payton.

We should be home by the last week in May. Maybe sooner for a short visit to deal with U.S.A. restrictions on our 6 month limitation(just in case) and to deal with some financials re the house (upcoming)sale.

Today (tues. 4th)we plan to have lunch at the beach near Sannibel causeway. 

A fishing licence is about to happen today and we are waiting patiently for our cruise  on the 12th.

Apart from that, all is good.