Athena's Great Adventures

Jay of Plays With Sirens

Angela and I on our Everglades Tour

This weekend was chock-a-block full of activities.  Seriously, I took a nap today when Jay left. 

Okay.

Angela came down on Thursday night.  We went to the Sandy Parrot, my local watering hole, for some oldster sightings, dinner and beverages.  All were accomplished and then we headed back to my place for more talking then sleep.  Friday was all about the Everglades.  Angela had asked to go to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, but the park was closed on Friday, so we elected to head south to the Everglades and see what was going on.  We ended up at Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Wildlife Refuge.  Both were incredible, the sights are fabulous.  I highly recommend a tour down that way.  After a full day of merriment, I ended the day with her by taking her to Stan's Idle Hour Restaurant in Goodland, FL.  Stan's, as you may remember, is stuff of legend.  Angela was most impressed by the sights at Stan's and was absolutely shocked out of her mind by Flair Hair.  For the uninitiated, Flair Hair is fake hair, sewn onto a visor.  I laughed until my sides hurt.  Following Stan's -- where we were absolute babes despite smelling like wild hogs and looking like hags (but 30 years younger than the rest of the crowd) -- we grabbed some fast food and headed home.

On Saturday was our trip to Ding Darling, Sanibel and Captiva Islands.  We had a great day checking it all out, despite the preponderance of oldsters that I threated to take out repeatedly.  In an interesting note, I believe I sighted the woman who was the inspiration for the Maxine character in the Hallmark ads.  She had a purple sweatshirt, big glasses, poofy gray/white hair, khaki pants, surly attitude and a cigarette.

Maxine at Captiva Island.

Sunday was a little more relaxing, with the morning spent getting breakfast and a pedicure.  Our one good deed of the day was when we were looking for a pedicure place and happened upon an older gentleman who had fallen on the pavement -- cutting his head and ruining his glasses.  I stopped the car and we both leapt out, asking if he wanted us to call 911.  He did not, and fortunately, another gentleman came running up to us and this allowed me to get some napkins from my car, as well as a antibacterial wipe, to help clean him up.  He was pretty shook up (as we were after) and the gentleman that helped us assisted him into the sheriffs' station, which was in the building right behind us.  Although we did help him, I honestly don't know how people do this every day.  I was so shook up and sick to my stomach after, I'm not sure that I have ever been meant to do that line of work.  The gentleman was probably late 80s and clearly had fallen a few times before, as he told us: "sometimes he gets dizzy."   I may stop by the sheriffs' station to see what ever happened to him.

Following that, we went home and sat for a bit, waiting for the pedicure place to open.  After our pedi, it was time to meet Jay, as he arrived for his two day stay just as Angela was leaving.  We all went to Miller's Ale House in Gulf Coast Town Center for food, beverages and the Colts game.  Unfortunately, the place was "lousy with Jets fans" as Jay put it, so after I took Angela to the airport, Jay and I changed locations to the World Famous Cigar Bar in GCTC for the second half.  Our first impression of the place was a good one, as one of the guys was dressed in full Colts garb.  Turns out he was the marketing director for the WFCB and he was from Muncie, having moved to FL in 1996.  We each enjoyed a cigar as we drank a Presidente beer and cheered the Colts to victory.  It was a tremendous day.  After the game ended, we traveled to Mary and Lee's house so I could introduce Jay to them.  After all, they had gotten crabs for him, which they had passed to me, which were then to be passed from Jay to his wife, Jen. 

Stone Crabs, that is ;)

After some good convo at Mary and Lee's, we headed to the Sandy Parrot for dinner.  We managed to get in some of the Saints/Vikings game, then retired to my lanai for some Spotted Cow beer in our new beer mugs (Thanks Jay!) while he enjoyed another cigar. 

This morning was supposed to be golf, however, with thunderstorms in the forecast and lightening flashing, we elected to pursue other plans.  We had breakfast, went to the downtown FM marina, went to the original World Famous Cigar Bar location in downtown FM and met the owners.  Jay will soon be the proud owner of a signed Rocky Patel cigar box, which I will be retrieving from the GCTC location.  We also toured a couple of firehouses at Fort Myers Beach.  We attempted to ship home the stone crabs, but after looking at the prices, I sent him on his way with some dry ice and a cooler, for hauling on the plane.

After Jay left, I took a four hour nap.  I was exhausted (but in a good way). 

I think I've got to go back to work to get some rest.