The new wi-fi card works!!

The internal wi-fi card in the computer went bad so it had to be replaced. As you can see the new plug-in one works great. I'm sitting in the Holiday Inn lounge learning how to use it. The picture is of Tom and Larry (I believe - I only saw the thumbnail before I uploaded it) on the beach. We're taking it easy. I'm still having trouble picking up after the dog on the beach - it's a new thing to be carrying a plastic bag whereever I go. Last night we went out to dinner exactly 3 1/2 miles away - it took 50 minutes to get there. There are too many people here - other people - not us! Today it is supposed to rain - but I just looked outside and it is sunny and hot again. We had a hit-and-run in our driveway the night before last. My investigative skills have determined that a frustrated driver in traffic turned into our driveway to turn around - when he left he took out our lamppost at the end of the driveway along with some shrubbery. I tried to file a police report but things are different down here - they made me write my own report and mail it to Tallahassee DMV - very strange. Hopefully sometime we will go out in the boat but none of the guests/family seem to be interested in it right now. Talk to you all later. Ken

Sunny & WINDY here in Fla!

Hello from Linda again- too windy to boat, but there has still been no rain- so beach walking is the main activity for us. Tom,Larry, and I walked about 4 miles yesterday. There were lots of shells, a few dead stingrays, and lots of dead hammerhead sharks to be seen!We've had several animated cribbage games (only a few Upwords games) and a trip to Best Buy (again, I'm surrounded by men!). Last night we went to dinner at a great seafood place on the waterfront.Ken bought a new wi-fi card and will work on getting that up & running today. If we got any more relaxed we'd be slugs! Cory hates the new crate, but tolerates it- but I LOVE the freedom of not having him constantly with us. Happy Vernal Equinox, everyone! Linda

Dave is here!!!

I don't know if I am able to get a photo onto this blog, but I am thrilled to report that Dave is here! We walked on the beach last pm, and Ken & Dave are walking on the beach as I am here in the library again! We got Cory a METAL crate yesterday, and we put his blanket inside it with a treat- but so far he is petrified of it. I really think he is smart enough to figure out that it's basically the same shape as his previous crate, and that means we may actually leave him alone in the house!!!! (Yay!)Well, there are 10 people waiting to use this computer, so I'll send more later- but we may be busy with Tom & Larry & Dave for the next few days! I'm surrounded by men:)Linda

At last! Linda gets to blog!

Thank you to everyone who is reading & posting- it's fun to know you're all in this with us! The trip down was very long, but thank God Ken did all the driving- Cory & I just navigated! I was in a McDonald's in SC where a woman noticed my Lake George shirt. We got to chatting- she has a place on Lake George- and I told her how LG is one of my favorite places on earth. She said, "Small world, isn't it?" And I said,"NO, actually, after you've been riding in a truck for 3 days!"
Once you see, feel, hear, and touch the Gulf of Mexico, the length of the trip just disappears....
Lanny & Barbara generously gave me an iPod Nano as a retirement gift- I LOVE it! Last pm I walked the beach at sunset (my favorite time there) accompanied by music that I selected.
Ken & I have been playing Upwords- and he's winning more than I- just like at home. Yesterday we launched the boat and Cory decided he'd like to try "swimming" for the first time at 9 years old!He was only in for about 10 seconds (he fell off the dock trying to get on the boat), but he did fine. I hosed him off with fresh water, and actually he went from being very hot to being cooled off! Maybe he was just trying to escape the heat!!!!
I've only been called "sir" once with my new haircut! Actually I'm thinking of going blonder & shorter before we take off for the trip North- it's fun not blow-drying my hair in this humidity!
Today Dave arrives for about 5-6 days.I'm really looking forward to spending some "hang out" time with him - and playing with Ken & him in the traditional miniature golf tournament!
I guess if I don't get to blog for a long time I have a lot to say! We still are blogging at the library, and you have to reserve time slots. Next time we will post a new photo, but for now we're off to the boat and then to pick up Dave! I wish you ALL were here, but the house only sleeps 9!! Love to all- Linda

The boat is Launched!!

The boat has been launched and we are pleased to say that everything seems to be working properly. We launched the boat and then immediately drove .2 miles to the marina where we parked it. We still have some outfitting to do and we need to learn the various systems. While Linda and I were working on the boat Cory decided to fall into the water. It was a big surprise for everyone - mostly Cory. It turns out he can swim... at least for 10 seconds until he was rescued. You'll notice one of the pictures is of Cory's fabric dog crate. We got that because it was light. Cory - AKA Cujo - made short work of the door - escaping with ease after gnawing thru the screen. We are off to get a more hardy cage. Also - we still have not been able to use our computer to get online - the wireless card is defective - it only works for about 10 minutes before is shuts itself off. That's just enough time to log on then bomb out. We are still using the library computer. Tomorrow will be Linda's first post - we reserved the library computer at 0900 hrs. Tomorrow Dave arrives and on Wednesday Tom and Larry arrive. I won't mention the temperature - you northerners are so touchy about that. See you tomorrow!

Latest news from FLORIIIIIDDDDAAAA!!!

There is supposed to be a blog entry from Linda here. Unfortunately I do not have MS-Word loaded on my computer. I saved her entry on MS-Works and brought it here to the Ft. Myers Library to upload. Guess what - I can't upload to their computer - and I didn't think t read her post to see what she said. So I will bring you up to date.
We arrived in Ft. Myers yesterday at about 1430 hrs. The weather is great and WARM and will be warming up to HOT in the next few days. I've enclosed three pictures: Linda's new haircut with highlites, the first sunset on the night we arrived, and a perspective of what I trailered for 4 days. Dave arrives on Tuesday and my brother and Larry arrive on Wednesday - this is going to be a busy upcoming week. Tomorrow night ZZ-Top is playing a free concert in the park right next door to our marina. Also tomorrow is the Shrimp Fest Parade on the island. Traffic is unbelievable no matter when you travel. Backups of 2-3 miles are the norm - and that is not during the rush hour. Linda will add her thoughts, hopefully tomorrow - possibly tonight if we can find a wi-fi area. Talk to you all later.

Just a quick note

Yes, we are alive. We are currently in Gainsville, FL - stopped for the night at a Best Western. We are 1250 miles into our 1550 mile trek. The boat and trailer are good and the truck is really working well. . We had a small glitch this morning when I noticed that the brakes were overheating on the trailer after just 10 miles of driving. After calls to Bob, Tim, the manfacturer and G&R Marine - I finally solved the problem myself. It only took 3 hours to find the stuck emergency breakaway brake release. We are treating ourselves to a Best Western after spending last night in an American's Best Inn - $39.00. It was horrendous! We hopefully will arrive in Fort Myers tomorrow afternoon. Cory has been great! Linda and I are getting used to being stuck for long times in a very small space. The boat is going to feel huge. Hello to all.

Ken and Linda