Brewery & Buggies

First great idea of the day: ride bikes to the brewery!


Second great idea of the day: join friends at swamp buggy races!


Third great idea of the day: Frisbee fries (fresh-cut french fries, served on a Frisbee!)

These Jeeps have snorkels to keep the engine running while they completely submerge.  My video cut off before they got that deep, but it's still kind of cool to watch.

This race is for actual swamp buggies (homemade machines) that move really fast. Its a family thing, where the dad wins for years and then trains the son to keep up the tradition.

As crazy as it is for a place as fancy as Naples, the swamp buggy race is of those things that only happens a few times a year, and is guaranteed to be a good time.

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Kayak season celebration!

Part of my responsibilities at work are to oversee the ecotour program. There's no way it would be successful without the help of a really great group of volunteers. So each year, we organize a celebration and boat out to a barrier island in the Reserve at sunset. Everyone brings a dish to share and favorite libations. It's something we all look forward to after a long season!

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Pet birthdays!

Happy birthday Otis (14) and Maverick (13)!


O celebrated with Rosie and flower petals.


While M celebrated with Sister Sheba in the sunshine.  Love them!

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Monique's bday dinner

Celebrating Monique's 36th birthday at 21 Spices, the new Indian restaurant in town. It was so pretty inside!


The food was good, too! This was called Kohinoor of the Ocean, made with yogurt, chili, curry, cilantro, and mint over grilled seafood.

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Lanai makeover

Here is what it looked like before Handiman Richard pressure washed, took down pool cage, and modified gate. I had always thought I would rescreen the lanai, but it's quite a bit of work/pretty expensive, and after six years, I realized I really don't need the screen after all.


I guess I didn't realize how abandoned it looked out there until mom had the idea to renovate! (Her bedroom overlooks the lanai, so she made it happen!)


What a difference, already! I trimmed the crown of thorns back a bit so Richard could paint behind.


Then I stained the concrete. Pretty simple. Just one coat.


My girl is always by my side!


After 24 hours of dry time, Otis tried it out.


Then I gave it a quick rinse and moved the furniture back into place.


And tidied up the plants.


Added marble chips behind the chairs to cover that ugly pipe.


I even washed the window! And laundered the chair fabric. And finally, scrubbed the grill cover.


And returned the shelled ones back to their space, cozy in the sun.

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Dog park & Aunt Rose

Our dogs got to spend a little time together too, while Mike and Al were in town.


Sheba ran and ran after the ball! She and Pete are old pals now that he's not afraid of her wheels. Tired girl!


After the dog park, mom and I went to see Aunt Rose for her 95th birthday!


And we saw baby Kai!


And Kimmie and Meghan.


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Axe Women show

Mike is back in Florida, with Axe Woman girlfriend, Alyssa!
They performed at the Collier County fair.
Al is a real badass!

The old trivia team reunited and traveled to watch the show! There were 17 of us cheering for Alyssa as she chopped logs, threw axes, and log rolled!
And I got to ride the fun slide with Nina!  Never too old for the fun slide!

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