March 5th: Visit to the Murphys and Naples

Mychael's boat, center in back

Mychael's boat was safe and secure anchored in front of Banana Bay and I was getting Yesterday's Dream ready for me to live in. 

I had told Mychael to just keep working on it and I would do the cleanup when I arrived. The inside had basically been a construction zone for three weeks so there was a lot of cleanup, but it was worth it. By the time I left to go north the boat was in pretty good shape. (See previous blog)

Punta Gorda, where George and Nancy Murphy now live, is about a 6 hour drive. Naples is about an hour south of Punta Gorda. I drove to Punta Gorda Monday and spent the afternoon, night and morning with the Murphys. 

George and Nancy Murphy,
in front of their boat Murphy Tug

The Murphys were our boat neighbors at Banana Bay for 6 years. Nancy made wonderful brownies! Linda's favorite! I remember sharing many other special treats but the brownies took the spotlight. It was fun to get together in person. We had talked on the phone but in person is so much more fun. 

Their new home in Punta Gorda is very nice and nautically decorated, of course. George doesn't like seafood but Nancy does. So I brought some Key West Pink shrimp with me. They are the best and Nancy supplied other great food to go along with the shrimp. George had chicken. I can't understand a boater that doesn't like seafood! And of course Nancy provided a wonderful chocolate something dessert.

We spent part of the evening looking at boating pictures from years past. It's great to be able to view them on the television screen. So many fun memories of us and our Banana Bay friends.

The accommodations were very comfortable. I had a very nice bedroom, complete with a very cool lighthouse lamp, a great bed and my own bathroom! I'll be back.

We ended the visit by going to breakfast before I left to go to Andy and Helen's in Naples.

I had almost seen Andy and Helen earlier for their 50th wedding anniversary party. I went to Ohio planning to attend, but the Omicron variant was running rampant so they wisely chose to cancel at the last minute. I did, however, get to visit with my sister Julie and husband Jim in Cleveland. Also stopped in St. Louis to visit with my niece and family the Toracks.

So I finally made it to Andy and Helen's new winter home. It is quite impressive. It's in the Mediterra development. In case you are looking for more info, here is a website that has a lot more info and pictures. Mediterra

Andy and Helen's winter home

Fortunately, when my niece Christi Torack, who lives in St. Louis and recently retired heard we were gathering, decided Florida sounded like a great place to get together. So she joined us. She is a lot of fun! When Christi arrived later in the first evening, she was told all food was fair game. She found a box of wonderful dark chocolate sea salt caramels. Fortunately, there were a few left for me to taste the next day. I think the rules might change for the next visit. Also, my cousin Marialice and her friend Emily were doing a double visit. They were coming to see my New York cousin, Helen Kollar, who just happened to also buy a place in Mediterra. So of course we all ended up getting together several times.

Here are pictures of the house:

The living room has lots of room and is very comfortable.

And of course there is a very large television.

There is a lap pool on a very nice outdoor screened in patio. There is also a hot tub which is where we tended to gather.

The view from the house to the back

I brought some Key West pink shrimp for one of our dinners. We knew Marialice, Emily and Cousin Helen would be joining us Thursday so we saved the shrimp for that dinner. Everything was very tasty. We even ate in the dining room! I made them on the grill and they were great.

While I was there we played pickleball a couple times which was fun. Also walked around the neighborhood. Helen knows I like frogs so she said we need to walk past the frog fountain. Frog fountain? whatever, sounded like fun. Turned out to be quite the fountain. Here is a picture of the fountain and a description of the history behind it.

From left, Christi, Emily, Marialice
Andy, cousin Helen and Helen

Our whole group went for dinner to a Mediterra private restaurant on their private beach. Naples can be very crowded so it was nice not to not have fight the crowds. 

Sunset from the restaurant balcony

We sat outside, had a great dinner and watched a beautiful sunset from a high deck overlooking the beach.

On my way home I took Alligator Alley. It's a perfectly straight highway but not a freeway. Much nicer drive. I stopped at the Everglades visitor center to see the alligators. They are typically 6 to 15 feet long. They don't do much but it's fun to see them and it breaks up the drive.

I was happy to get back to Yesterday's Dream and spend time with friends I hadn't seen in two and a half years!