Fort Myers and Port Charlotte, FL. April 14 – 19, 2013.

Our friends Susan and Peter just bought a new house in the Riverwood development of Port Charlotte.  They asked us to visit them.  We had this free week, and the airfares were reasonable, so here we are.  (I am actually typing this on the return RSW-EWR flight.)

First, we got upgraded in both directions.  Even though the first class cabins in the 737 are not that impressive, they are still nice.  And we get a free lunch on this trip.  Our late flight from EWR to RSW on Sunday served only snacks.  When we got to the Hertz counter, all they had left were huge SUVs, and we checked out the GMC Tahoe, a behemoth of a vehicle.  Luckily they had a Mazda 3 the next morning.  Turns out we only did limited driving during this trip anyway.

We stayed in Fort Myers for a couple of days.  We booked through hotwire and managed to get the Hyatt Place as the hotel.  My prior experiences with hotwire booking were usually disappointments, not this trip.

For the full day we were in Fort Myers, we visited our usual haunts: Cape Harbour, Sanibel Island, Manatee Park, and Marinetown.  We were surprised to see quite a few spoonbills at the Ding Darling Park, expecting them to have moved on north.

On Tuesday we drove to the Chius’ place.  Pastor Al and Miss Ruth were there already.  We had lunch at the Club House.  After whiling away the afternoon, including a trip to Millport Street so Peter could water the fruit trees he planted recently, we went to dinner at China Buffet, a short distance from Riverwood.  We saw Pastor Al and Miss Ruth off at about six to make sure they didn’t have to drive after dark.

We didn’t do a lot during our trip there but did visit a couple of beaches (Englewood and Gaspirella, for example.)  We also went fishing in El Jobean – predictably we didn’t catch anything.  For the record, Anne and I didn’t do any fishing as we didn’t have licenses, we only watched.  We ended up eating at the Club House many times: it was convenient, the food was okay, and the prices were reasonable.

The only “noteworthy” event was my jog in the neighborhood on Wednesday.  I started at around 7:30 pm, sunset was at 7:50.  At about 8 my hands began to swell up, and soon my tongue also started giving me problems: a first for me.  I believe I had a severe allergic reaction to the bites delivered by these tiny insects called no-see-ums.  I had been bitten by them before, and they constituted only a nuisance.  Most people have reactions that get worse as they are sensitized to the “toxin,” so now I have to worry.  Perhaps Florida during this time of the year isn’t for me.

There was a warning sign as we left the airport Sunday night that they expected the security lines to be long.  It was straightforward for us this morning.  Perhaps a case of someone throwing a tantrum because of the sequestration budget cut possibilities?

Overall, it was a relaxing week where we got to spend time with friends.  That I have an allergy to insect bites is a bit worrisome, though.

Some birds we saw on the trip:

 A pair of ospreys.

 A heron.

 A female anhinga.

Various shorebirds including many roseate spoonbills.