W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: Rained all day today. Still warm though, but supposed to cool down and then get cold. The eagle was out on his lofty perch in the tree across the river from us all day. Even in the pouring down rain. Early afternoon we discovered water coming in around the kitchen area. Turns out the kitchen slide wasn’t out all the way so it hadn’t created a seal—because the bolt on the slide mechanism sheared off again and it wasn’t going in and out correctly. So, we’ll have to deal with that before we leave for the Keys. Left around 5:00 to meet my brother, Ron, and his wife, Jan, for dinner. A great dinner and stopped at their place for a little while and then back home. So humid our towels didn’t dry out at all, so Mike took them over to the laundry to throw them in the dryer.

View of the river from our site--on a nicer day

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: Cloudy and humid this morning. The resident eagle is still around, hanging out in the tree across the river from us all morning. He snagged a fish and sat on the pilings devouring his catch. Cleaned the front of the fifth wheel and then relaxed the rest of the day. Think it hit 86 today but it’s supposed to cool off later this week. And less humid. Not complaining though.

Our resident eagle

Devouring his catch

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: Left at around 10:30 this morning and arrived at W. P. Franklin at about 12:00. I did all the driving, so I thought I’d back into the site with Mike giving directions. Needless to say, we provided some entertainment. Finally managed to get it backed in and got set up. Really humid. After setting up we sat outside relaxing, reading, and enjoying the view. The river was like glass. Went for a walk and then came back and grilled some hot dogs. Started pouring with lots of thunder and lightning.

View of the river from our site

Sun, 11/22/09 Manatee Lake SRA, Bradenton, FL: This morning I cleaned the cabinets where we saw mouse activity and threw away the worthless have-a-heart trap. Cleaned up some other areas and then just relaxed the rest of the day. Didn’t even go for a walk. The Grisham novel I’m reading is really good. Hard to put down. I entered the Osolo Theater web site onto my favorites so when we’re here next year we’ll be able to get on-line and see what’s playing and buy tickets. A mostly cloudy and breezy day. Tomorrow we leave for Ft. Myers and the W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers park on the Caloosahatchie River.

The Tower on the Ringling Estate

Views from the tower

Sat, 11/21/09 Manatee Lake SRA,Bradenton, FL: Good news and bad news this morning. Our little mouse, Bruno, is no more. Bad news, he met his demise in the “death trap” even though we tried with the have-a-heart trap. He could have been captured and released in the tropics of Florida, but he resisted. At least he didn’t know what hit him. At least I hope so. In the afternoon we left for the Tony award winning musical, Contact. It was such a good show. A collaboration with the Sarasota Ballet, it was three vignettes about the pursuit of love and human connection. A lot of dance—mainly swing and jive. A great show. After the show we went to the Cantina Toscana for dinner, and after one vodka tonic and two glasses of wine I was swacked. Mike only had a Bloody Mary. So, he was good to drive. Back home and two Excedrins waiting for me. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Mom!

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Manatee Lake SRA, Bradenton, FL: Out to breakfast this morning and then we did the laundry. After getting that done we stopped at a huge flea market on Rt. 41. Then we did the grocery shopping. Came back and put everything away. Before we left we baited the “death trap” and when we got back the bait was gone and the trap never sprung. Why should he leave? He’s getting fed on a regular basis. Wish he’d go into the have-a-heart trap and then we could turn him loose. The other thing we did today was stop at the little museum in the historic town of Manatee. They have assembled several historic buildings on this spot. It’s part of the “cracker trail” where cow hunters drove their cattle across the state to this western terminus. The term ‘cracker’ came from the cracking noise their whips made as they drove the cattle. Very humid today. But nice.

Cracker Homestead

Oldest courthouse still standing in Florida

built in 1859-1860

The old Manatee Methodist Episcopal Church--built in 1887

Manatee Lake SRA, Bradenton, FL: Decided to kick back today. Washed out some tops and hung them out to dry. Then relaxed outside reading for a while. Finished a book by James Patterson, “1st to Die”, which is part of the Women’s Murder Club series. Like his regular books better. Started the new Grisham book, “The Associate”. Walked the pretty little trail down to the lake while Mike putzed around on the computer. Steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner. I also ordered tickets for the Tony-award winning musical, “Contact”, for Saturday. Looking forward to it.

Venetian glass in all the windows

Ringling estate