W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL, to Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf, FL: A beautiful morning. We got going early and were out of there by 8:00. I drove first. We drove through Alva and then picked up Rt. 80 east and then 29 south through the beautiful Big Cypress Preserve and got on I75 heading east. Then 27 south to the Florida Turnpike. Mike saw on the map that there was a full service area on the turnpike so we planned on stopping there for fuel and something to eat. We saw signs for it and nothing about it being a left exit so I stayed in the right-hand lane. One half mile before the exit for the service area the sign said to exit left so I had to hustle over two lanes of traffic to make the exit. They could have had the left-exit indicator earlier. That was the first CF. Then I pulled in and followed the signs for diesel and ended up in the wrong lane and had to back all the way up in order to get to the fuel pump. We finally fueled up and then were told the restaurant was in that big building over there. So we parked the truck and the RV and walked over to that big building and it was all closed up. No restaurant—it had been closed for 5 years. So we got a couple of pre-packaged sandwiches at the food mart where we bought gas and then were on our way. Pulled into Lazy Lakes around 2:30. There were no empty sites around us so we had to turn around by the club house and then backed all the way over to the other side of the lake in order to get in. We finally made it and got set up. Then we drove to Bahama Mama’s for a much needed drink and something to eat. Back home and Floyd and Terry stopped by to say hello. Was still 81 when we finished dinner.

Lazy Lakes

Moon rise over Lazy Lakes

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: A beautiful morning. We headed out for Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Of the two, we really love Sanibel. The Ding Darling wildlife preserve takes up almost half of the island, so there is a lot of natural area to explore. Unlike Marco Island, this place hasn’t been over developed. Captiva seems a lot more congested and crowded. We stopped at the Ding Darling preserve and walked around for a while. Had lunch at the Mucky Duck on Captiva which is right on the beach. We lucked out and got a parking place right away—which is definitely a problem there. Next time we’ll have lunch at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grill on Sanibel. Doc Ford is a character in the really popular books by Randy Wayne White whose stories take place in lots of Florida locales. On the way back we stopped at the historic Sanibel village, but it was closed. Damn the luck! So we drove all over Sanibel and discovered there are a lot more natural areas than Ding Darling. We wished we’d had our bikes with us. There are bike paths everywhere. Left there at around 4:00 and stopped at a car wash in Ft. Myers and then headed back to W. P. Franklin—right in the middle of rush hour traffic (sigh). We leave tomorrow for the Keys for 3-1/2 months. YES!

Night Heron--Ding Darling Preserve

American Pelicans--Ding Darling Preserve

Christmas Tree on the beach at the Mucky Duck

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: This morning we put clean sheets on the bed and washed the other ones along with some other stuff. Mike emptied the grey water tanks into the tote and took it to the dump station and emptied. Then we cleaned the back of the RV and the living side. After cleaning up and putting everything away I took the rags over to the laundry and put them in the washer. Just hung them out to dry. Later in the afternoon I went for a long walk while Mike was talking with a couple two sites down who are in a camper/boat. I guess it’s really a boat, but they use it for camping as well. A beautiful day—low 80s. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. We’re planning on going to Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: Really cold this morning. Thought Ron and Jan would come over today or tomorrow but Jan wasn’t feeling real great so we went over there. Ron, Mike and I drove over to see some modular home models. They’re thinking of buying a beautiful three bedroom with a huge kitchen and also a large porch. We were going to order pizza when we got back but the Pizza Hut ovens were down and awaiting repair. Stopped at Publix on the way home to pick up some things. Left-overs for dinner. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.

Osprey

Everglades National Park

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: This morning was just plain cold! It was only 49 degrees inside. Of course I always have the bedroom window open. Needless to say, we had the heat on this morning. Mike didn’t even go out to deal with the slide until early afternoon when it warmed up a little. But, he was able to fix the thing—at least temporarily. And between the bolts Mike bought and the ones my brother, Ron, gave him, we have a good supply for a while. I only went outside once. The sun was warm, but the wind kept it pretty cool all day. We hung out inside. I made a big breakfast because we both woke up hungry. Fried up some potatoes with peppers and onions, along with eggs, sausage, and rolls. Tasted pretty good. We had two eagles out on the tree across the river from us this morning. It’s like an aviary here—all kinds of birds.

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: This morning dawned misty and chilly. Mike didn’t want to mess around with trying to fix the slide since he’d have to crawl under there in all the wetness. So, we took a load of laundry over to the laundry room and got that going. After the wash was done we put it in the dryer and went back and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Went back to get the clothes out of the dryer and someone had opened the door and then not shut it, so everything was still wet. Put more money in the dryer and then back to the parade. Finally dried the clothes, folded and put away. Started dinner around 1:00. We bought a turkey breast that was fully cooked and packaged in plastic. All I had to do was remove the outer plastic covering, put a slit in the inner covering so the steam would escape and then stick it in a pan in a 325 degree oven for an hour. It came out so good! It was really juicy. There was so much juice I made a nice gravy. So we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, and rolls. Stuffed ourselves. Watched TV for a while and then went for a walk since the sun finally came out. A really nice day.

White ibis hanging out in our site

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