Visit with Richard & Brenda

We took a couple of days to visit with Richard and Brenda, our friends from Recreationland. Their boat is docked in Cape Coral in a beautiful resort and marina.

Once again it was pretty cool, but we had a great time.

Dan's Visit to Florida

Dan & Mel from Calgary, were here for a visit in the first week of March. It was still pretty cold. This has been the coldest winter on record for South Florida.

We attended the Swamp Cabbage Festival in Labelle: The city of LaBelle holds an annual Festival celebrating the state tree, the cabbage palm. The festival includes activities throughout the town including a 5K walk/run, beauty pageant and rodeo among others with the peak of celebration existing at LaBelle's Barron Park. This year they had a bike show. We had swamp cabbage as well as deep fried gator meat.
They had armadillo races. It was hillarious!










Dan & Mel went for an air boat ride.





We spent a day on West Palm Beach.






We also took them to Fort Myers: Established in 1886, Fort Myers is the historical and governmental hub of Lee County. It is the gateway to the Southwest Florida region, which is a major tourist destination in Florida. The winter homes of Thomas Edison (Seminole Lodge) and Henry Ford (The Mangoes), which are both primary tourist attractions in the region, are located on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

On August 13, 2004, Fort Myers was hit hard by Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall north of the area. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck south of Naples, but caused extensive damage nonetheless in Fort Myers and its southern suburbs.

We saw the Fleamaster flea market, and we took in the Shell Factory.

On our way home we stopped at Manatee Park to view the manatees: Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They are noted for their friendly nature, up to 4 meter size, and paddle-like flippers. The name manatí comes from the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning "breast".















We had a terrific time

Seminole Indian Rodeo

We took in the Seminole Indian Rodeo in Brighton Florida. THe weather was great, and so was the rodeo. There was a huge selection of seminole indian crafts.

Here are a few pictures of our day.

Speckled Perch Festival, Okeechobee

We spent the last day of our daughter's visit taking in the Speckled Perch Festival in Okeechobee. Once again it was a cool day, but it was nice and sunny.

Lyne tried out the bungee event. It was a riot!

Lyne tried out the fried pickles, and the boiled peanuts, while Chantale enjoyed a tasty corn dog.

Okeechobee: As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,784. The Speckled Perch Festival is held annually in honor of the most famous fish of Lake Okeechobee. This area was the site of the worst effects of the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the first recorded Category 5 hurricane in the North Atlantic and still one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the US.