Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Fort Myers area

Corps of Engineer campground
Between this eye situation and the pathetic behavior of our elected officials in Washington D.C., it’s very hard to write about fun stuff that we are doing while traveling the beautiful state of Florida.   Let’s deal with this eye stuff first and then some fun stuff and we’ll finish up with all the frustrations of being kicked out of our paid up campsite because it happens to be a “government” facility.

Yes, the eye is somewhat better and I have had one appointment with a corneal specialist in Ft Myers.  I have another visit this Thursday and have again refilled the potent, pricey prescription eye drops.  Everywhere we go – so goes our little brown cooler with my precious little vials inside – keeping cool.  Watching TV at night with my big sunglasses on is a must!
our island home

Now here goes another SPFB – See Previous Florida Blogs - WP Franklin Lock and Dam Campground is THE biggest item on our Florida Bucket List each year!  If you’ve been with us all these years you know it is an Army Corps of Engineer Campground on an island in the middle of the Caloosahatchee River between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico. That is our “train” in the bottom right of H’s drone picture.

  The next photo is what we see right outside our door – the river, the dam and the locks on the far side.  Each year folks come from all over the United States to enjoy this little piece of paradise!  We keep renewing friendships from past years and making more new friends as we go – Ana and Mike from Miami and Sharon and Bill from Maryland!


Effects of the hurricane damage are still prevalent no matter where in Florida we travel.  Blue tarps still protect roofs of houses and all along the roadways are huge live oak trees pulled out of the ground by their roots and laid over to die.  Palm trees are snapped off like match sticks. And it doesn’t matter if they are standing alone or tucked away in the middle of a thick woods- some huge dark trees are still ripped from the life supporting earth.  Here in the park is an elderly tree, which has been stripped of most of her branches and leaves.  Giant ragged wounds have been sawed clean to heal.  And healing she is!  The stumps of her limbs are sealing up and millions of new thin green branches adorned with new leaves are bursting forth!!


Our Ft Myers To Do List has been modified but we’ve still managed to get a few done.  The Flea Masters Flea Market hasn’t changed any but I did manage to find the cute rubber shoes I promised to take home for my girls!   After the last eye appointment we HAD to have lunch at the Oasis Restaurant downtown!   A trip to Cape Coral and a stroll on the short lakeside park and fishing pier was pleasant but my eye sure felt the strain of the sun, even with my big ole’ sunglasses and baseball cap on.  I’m back to looking like Maxine again!!


The trolley ride out to Bowditch Park on Ft Myers Beach was another enjoyable but glaring afternoon!   We came upon a Hindu style wedding being preformed out on the beach with its airy chiffon canopy and beautiful long colorful dresses and saris.  Further along the beach the dead and decaying seaweed that had been thrown on the shore from previous waves and wind was the playground and dining hall for batches of tiny shorebirds out flitting thru the clutter!   Closer to the fishing pier the beach got crowded with sun umbrellas and a myriad of sunbathers who, like us, were tired of being cooped up by the lousy weather.  Out on the pier itself was the resident brown pelican, keeping watch for a
tidbit of fish to be snatched from an inattentive fisherman. 

The spoiled brats called politicians in Washington DC have shown their inability to get along and so our “government was shut down.  Even tho this campground is run by volunteers, is occupied by paid in full campers – the message was sent out that we had to evacuate our sites.  At first it was set for Friday at 11am, then Saturday at 11am and finally Monday at 11am.  Then noon!  WINK TV – Channel 11 in Ft Myers was out on Sunday and did a segment for their evening news.  As we were all packing up and preparing to evacuate on Monday, a delightful young reporter and her extremely steady (and cute!) cameraman came out to interview and video the mass exodus of all the angry and frustrated senior citizens.  H and I both vented and the camera was turned on us!!  A snippet of the video collection was seen on all the evening news segments!  H and I were featured on the 4pm and 7pm news!! Yep – me in my big dark sunglasses and white baseball cap!!  We were the next to the last RV unit to leave the island!   It was a strange and sad sight to turn around and see EVERY site empty and no one around except the TV reporter, her cameraman, the 2 camp volunteer couples and the ranger.  Luckily we found an overnight spot in the overflow area of a RV park in Labelle.  We heard that President Trump
signed the bill and we were allowed to move back in by noon on Tuesday.  As each of our neighbors backed their rigs back into their site that they had just pulled out of 24 hours before, we welcomed them back home!! 

Time for more eye drops, then a shower, then another pretty sunset!