First Day in Naples

It was our first full day in Naples today. Howie and I woke up around 9:30 am. We took a shower. We went outside and tested the temperature and decided to wear shorts and sandles even though it was probably only around 50 degrees out. We hung around the house working on a Sudoku from the Naples Daily News. Howie is really good at them and loves doing them. Helena was working on a crossword, I worked on the Jumble and Howie worked on his Sudoku all on the same page at the same time. When Dad was ready we went out for breakfast to Skittles a very nice breakfast place. Got there around 11:30. Howie had a tall frosted glass of chocolate milk and 2 large chocolate chip pancakes which he ate most of one.

After breakfast we headed over to Target to buy Howie a new bathing suit, and Dad a new pair of jeans and maybe some frames for the pictures of the boys. Then we went to Publix to buy a few things, milk, cereal, ice cream, orange juice. Dad and Helena bought 2 giant bottles of mouthwash with coupons. Enough mouthwash for a year, yet 6 more weeks. We went on the 10 items or less line. The man in front of us in his Ohio baseball cap looked at us and said, this is the 10 or less line! Howie started counting how many items we had, Ten items, he said proudly. Is this one or two he asked showing me the two bottles of mouthwash attached to each other. That's one, I told him. Then we only have Nine! he said proudly to me and the man ahead of us. The woman ahead of the man and his wife gave them a very dirty look, mumbling to them she asked me to come to this aisle and she hugged her plastic shopping bags and walked away in a huff. The cashier rang him up and he told me about his grandson playing football for Ohio State and the fact that he was retired for over 20 years and outlived both his doctors who told him he better retire or he will die.

Then it was back to the condo to put the ice cream away and try on the new pants and try to go to the potty and then off to visit Bob and Mary. Helena was getting impatient as she had told Bob and Mary on her cell phone at the grocery store that we would stop on their way home, but we had ice cream to put away and Dad needed to make a pit stop so it took longer than it should have, but doesn't everything in Florida?

We visited with Bob and Mary for I think almost 2 hours just sitting in their living room and telling stories. Dad told his story about eating lunch with Mom at P&S Stationery when this guy walks in and says, "Give me all your money." Dad's first reply is "I don't have any money." Then Dad asks, "Where is your gun?" Then this woman comes up to the counter with her magazines and candy pushes the would be robber aside and asks for a pack of cigarettes. The man flabbergasts runs out of the store. Dad calls the police and follows him outside trying to see the getaway car? Dad says the man kept going down Broadway, robbing another store, the cleaners and then was caught robbing a liquor store. Dad had to go down to the police station and pick him out of a police line-up and he was also questioned in front of the Grand Jury and says he had the Grand Jury laughing as he told his story.

After Bob and Mary we went back to Target and returned Dad's Levi's which were way to big baggy - Dad's got no butt. We also found frames for the pictures - we measured back home, and Howie found a pair of Wranglers 34/29's which were perfect. Dad tried them on when we got back home, and he loves them.

The Howie, Dad and I went to the Naple's Peer for the sunset. A beautiful Gulf of Mexico sunset, the air cool as soon as the sun went down, Dad totally bundled up, it took me awhile to realize that he had his baseball cap on over his hood. I took a bunch of pictures, Dad makes the funniest faces... Then it was back home to pick up Helena and then we went off to Five Guys for burgers or hot dogs for dinner. My burger was really good, yummy, and fresh. Howie's hot dog was unfortunately split down the middle so he took one little mouse bite and didn't eat it. I forgot that was exactly what happened last year, so he basically didn't have dinner, but I had made him a grilled cheese sandwich before we went off to watch the sunset. After dinner we went to see Grandpa Jack, Carol, Matthew and Marni for dessert and to deliver all their Christmas presents. It was a really nice visit, Matt and Marni are such twins, always seeming to communicate without needing to talk, they all loved their presents, they love their sweatshirts and we made some tentative plans for Howie to sleep over on Friday and hopefully go boating on Saturday...

Now back home, Howie is doing another Sudoku, Helena is sitting in the living room reading, Dad is watching CNN about the terrible terrible terrible earthquake in Haiti. It's not really that far from here. It's awful, awful awful. Sometimes I feel either I don't want to know about it, or I need to do something to help. It's that transition thing I'm going through, if I don't have to work as much, how am I going to make my time more rewarding and more meaningful?

Now the t.v. is off and Grandpa is teaching Howie how to play Gin Rummy. Or basically I am trying to teach Howie through Grandpa if I can get him to understand my questions as he says, "I guess the whole Carribean is going to be underwater by this salami..."