Awake: 5:55am Temp 65 sleep 6+19 sunny overnight @ Punta Gorda, FL.
Friends from Ohio (Bub & Pat) arrive @ 7:50am for a short visit & a planned breakfast of: ham, spinach, & egg casserole, fresh fruit, & muffins. After that delicious start for the day, they hang out long enough to watch the shrinking of our bus (retracting the slides) & other preparations for our travel further south. B & P also stopped to visit Helen & Walt in Port Charlotte & will continue southeast & visit Judy & Jerry in Boca Raton; Bub's sisters. B & P served us a good meal @ their home many yrs ago so finally we have the opportunity to get even. We wish them safe travels & fun times; then continue our prep for moving out of our camping site.
Backing our bus out of our tight parking spot went smoothly with (6) sharp eyes watching closely. We leave the Gulf View RV Resort @ 10:32am traveling I-75 south to State Road-29....arriving @ the Everglades Isle RV Resort in Everglade City, Florida @ 12:32pm.
Today's travel: 101 miles 2+00 hrs 17 gal used 6 mpg 51 mph avg speed.
Bob, the resort host, greets us @ the entrance to Everglades Isle & suggests that we walk down the curved brick road, pick out a campsite & leave our motorhome parked where it is for now.
This campground just opened for business January 9, 2009; not all sites are finished but about (20) out of (60) are. After a careful sizing up, we select site-13 & easily pull in to the site. The Barron River is directly in front of us as we are parked. Airboats continually idle up & down this river taking customers for a tour of the Everglades; a very popular adventure. But what we find most amusing are the Pelican birds that literally fly & land on the airboats during their cruising & watch the customers watching them. Of course, we've seen some of the customers feeding those Pelicans & that most likely attracts them.
We are assigned Golf Cart # 17 as our transportation vehicle; the town of Everglade City (population 500) has no traffic lights & is easy to get around in. Bob suggested we take a tour of the town & when we return, he'll give us a tour of the clubhouse.
Exactly (1) hr later, we had ridden past the Catholic Church, City Hall, Rod & Gun Club, a small grocery store, several large hotels, gas station, K-thru 12 school, etc.
We park #17 in the garage for a recharge &, later, park it on our site under the Chickee Hut which was constructed by the Miccosukee Indians.
Inside the clubhouse, we are impressed with the attention to detail this place has: a wide ½ circle porch with chairs, huge bar with separate liquor & wine storage & (12) chairs to sit up to the bar; dining room with (4) circular tables & (1) large circular table; a pool table; workout room with (2) treadmills each with its own attached TV screen with controls alongside; & other workout units are lined around the room. There is a (14) seat theatre with a wide screen just around the corner & a hair & beauty salon next door.
Back in the dining room & bar area, Bob notifies us that there is a guy riding a bicycle outside, like he is looking for someone. We walk over toward the porch & sure enough, it's Mike D. Kathy gives her loud whistle & Mike joins us for a little libation at Bob's suggestion.
Mike invites us to have dinner with them @ the Camellia Street Grill, a (5) min Golf Cart ride; but before we leave for the Camellia, Mike & Denise give us a tour of their partially renovated home. They both have been diligently working on this house during the winter months for (3) yrs now & it is really looking good.
Dinner: K & I have a good sized salad topped with a delicious crab cake while enjoying plenty of gab time. Afterward, we retire to our respective homes.
Late movie: "2000 Women." The critics were a bit sniffy at the time of its release, but this is one of the jolliest films made during the war. It concerns a group of English women caught in France during World War II and interned in a posh hotel.
It's full of the sort of "There'll always be an England" stiff upper lip stuff that looks so kitch these days, and yet there's also a feeling of release for these women since there are no men around.
Sadly, some RAF men accidentally parachute into the camp and the women have to hide them from the Germans. The men are undercast and a bit dreary, but they wouldn't stand a chance against the cream of British character actresses anyway.
The rest of the film concerns the women's attempts to smuggle the men out of the camp. The plot however is irrelevant. What matters is the way these actresses work without having to compete for billing with any male star.
The film is fun, risqué and the best British romp before Tom Jones. 1944. Entertaining to say the least.
Lights out: 11:55pm
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