gotta do a blog today...last one for 4 years !!

I'll only get one chance in 4 years to do a blog today...leap year blog 2-29-12...it's also that time to be VERY tired of political commercials..Our ragmuffin cat has allowed us to pet, handle & hold her (?)..the local gulls have taken a likeing to the 10AM feeding and are within 2' of us..we've got 1 more week of the island before we head to Bradenton,FL to see daughter Nicole..we'll hate to leave island time..we've walked down the road to the " Fish House " the last few days and listened to some great local music accompanied by some really cold beers..they have outdoor seating and you share the deck area with some seagulls waiting for a handout..did you know that seagulls have a "tooth" on their beaks that can snag ya?? It's amazing to watch them manuver a fish, of any size, to a heads down position and raise their beaks to swallow it whole ( they have to, to not choke)..been seeing a lot of mullets swimming under the drawbridge in schools of hundreds..we were on the drawbridge at sunset and observed some great "cloud pictures" enhanced by the pink of sunset, very relaxing..hope winter comes to a quick end for our Michigan friends who were pounded by a big snowstorm this week..REMEMBER..LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY.. Charlie & Heather

Getting ready for the weekend on the Island (Matlacha)

Whenever I need some inspiration to write this blog I read other blogs from  www.hitchitch.com  I bet if you go there you'll be inspired too..we find ourselves faced with our typical weekend dillema---what are we gonna do ?? HMMM..so we talked with our neighbors and drank a few refreshments and gathered around and came up with THE PLAN !!! Buy supplies.. pray to the weather Gods for good weather..fill LP tanks and check the BBQ supplies..let's have a cook out Sunday...yeah,yeah, that's the ticket !!..Now, what to cook??..Smoke some corned beef brisket--maybe some pulled pork BBQ--deep fry some battered veggies and onion rings--some salad and pasta...and DRINKS ( haven't had any margaritas in a while) ..we have music and bongos and friendly people (have we forgotten anything??) I'm sure there will be munchies too !!..OK now, let's quit worrying about the weekend ( What? Me worry?? )
Our ragmuffin cat came around today and ate and actually is starting to socialize with us!! He/she let us pet on her a little..we also had the gulls almost eating out of our hands this morning..had a snowy egret return for the 2nd morning and is gobbling down hot dogs..one of the locals says don't feed egrets by hand cause they'll stab your hand with their sharp beaks....HMM..wonder if that's true???
Heather and I got a little fishing in and she skunked me 2 to 0..but I don't know if the "puffer" fish & catfish counts...LOL..(but I did feed a lot of bait !! )..Isn't this a terrible way to waste away a winter?? all I need to do is cut my foot on a pop top !! Hope all of you are as relaxed as we are..REMEMBER..LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY...Charlie & Heather

Matlacha Island, FL Visitors from all over

Been havin' a good time here on Matlacha Island..one of the things we like to do is take note of the license plates on passing cars..I think almost every state in the union is represented here in Florida during the winter... the only state I can't remember seeing is Hawai :) and I bet if we look a little harder we'll see one soon..We've had another ragmuffin cat adopt us..she shows up 3 times a day and at first was people shy but is getting more brave every day..been feeding seagulls about 10AM every day and almost have them taking food out of my hand..It was a little windy here today so the currents have shifted and today there were a lot of dolphins playing by the bridge..it's fun watching them throwing fish into the air and breaching..also saw a couple manatees down by the dock..ya never know what the magical waters of Matlacha will present to ya...had a fish fry and had a dozen or so people attend, most brought a dish to pass and the fish were delicious..thanx to Bruce and Don for the fish...it was mainly ocean sheephead and was very tasty, had a few ocean trout that we cooked on the grill stuffed with fresh asparagus and garnished with orange...YUMMM...Today was a shrimp day...some peel and eat and some boiled..I usually check the weather back home in the morning, via internet, and saw that it was 3F this morning ..It made me run outside in my PJ's to warm up..LOL..Time is flying and we watch the days ticking away very quickly..Hope everyone back home is fine..REMEMBER..LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY..Charlie & Heather

That's The Way, ah ha ah ha, we like it!! More Matlacha Island

   We made our "corporate" decision !! We're gonna stay at Sea Isle Resort on Matlacha Island, FL for another month..We both like "island time", the weather, the people and the convenience of being able to walk to everything. Even though the temperature has dipped down to 58F it's supposed to get back up to 80F in 2 days..Got windy enough yesterday afternoon to make us take the awning  in before we went out for the evening..we usually do that when the wind gets near 20MPH to avoid problems with it in the middle of the night..We had to take it in 1 nite a couple years ago and that's no fun in the wind and rain.. 
   Got to see our friend, Daniel Cook, do his magic on the guitar at Bubba's Bar last night. He really puts on a great show. We took a cab there as it's only 2 miles east of us so we were able to kick back.
   We have a cat, Buddy, that has adopted us..started giving him some food so he's hanging around our rig. He visits every morning and when we open the windows he begs to come in..We slide the screen open and he jumps in and visits until we feed him and then jumps out. Kinda cute..
   Matlacha Island had it's art fair this weekend so the traffic has tripled. Glad we haven't needed to drive anywhere. Even with the cooler weather there's been a lot of walkers..people have been extremely friendly and happy..We keep hearing, over and over, " I visited a few years ago and never left "...HMMM, is there some kind of magic that keeps them here??  We've noticed a lot of out of state license plates on the roads here. Almost everyone is from up north, enjoying the lack of winter..
   I think everyone in the park decided that a cooler day meant stay in and cook...we made a pork roast stew and swapped some of it for homemade chili..won't have to cook for a few days now..a vendor drove in yesterday morning withh some fresh picked strawberries and some of the biggest beefsteak tomatoes I've ever seen..MMMMMM  good..
   Hope everyone is healthy and comfy..REMEMBER..LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY....Charlie & Heather 
   

Sea Isle RV Matlacha, FL 1 more week

Island Time flies by too fast ! We've only got 5 more days here. Hard to believe we've been here a month..The laid back daily routine is why we like it here so much. Everything is within walking distance, the dolphins and manatees are an everyday entertainment, fishing is productive, weather couldn't be any better ! Our neighbors all seem to be cordial. Most of the pubs here have entertainment. Restaurants have great Florida seafood entrees and so far have been really tasty. Got the feeling that we'll be back here in the future. I think we'll move up near Bradenton next but haven't really planned the move yet, don't want to think about that yet..LOL..Been putting ocean trout in the freezer for the last 2 weeks so we have enough for a fish dinner sometime this week..Glad to see our friends up in Michigan are haveing a light winter for a change. Maybe an early spring there ?? Last year, when we got home, we woke up the next day to an inch of snow. It was the last snow of the season, April 5th.  The owner, Glenn and Mgr Carl have made our stay here very pleasant. Hope everyone is happy and healthy, miss y'all. REMEMBER..LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY...Charlie & Heather