Friday, March 30, 2018

Friday, March 30, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken around Easter of 2005. We took Mattie to Bunnyland at Butler's Orchard in Maryland. Mattie loved going to this farm. In the fall, the farm did a wonderful pumpkin picking, tractor rides, and family festival. In the spring, they had an Easter egg hunt and other fun activities for the children. Mattie was all about running around, but he knew I always insisted on capturing the moment on camera. Fortunately he complied and now I am so glad we have these photos. 






Quote of the day: Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are. ~ George Eliot

Today we went to try something I never did before... a segway tour! I figured this would be a fun way to see Naples. The downtown area of Naples is charming.... from its cute shops, restaurants, and AMAZING homes. Huge homes but with architectural charm and character. 

In DC we have statues of elephants and donkeys, for the political climate. Here is Naples, their statues is the alligator! So Alli and I were holding hands in this photo!

If you have never been on a segway before, I would say it is an experience. An experience in balance. You need no upper body strength at all. All the motion is really with your body. We had great instructors today.... Brian and Taylor. 

Peter has been on several segway tours before. But for me this was novel, and since I am a risk averse person, I proceeded with caution. Peter shared this with the instructors and tour guides. One tour guide was literally with me the whole tour. Coaching me on the streets! It was helped tremendously. 

I haven't posted my training video that Peter took, but it was a riot. I guess I looked so serious, that the guide said to me.... remember you are on vacation and you are supposed to be having fun. I burst out with laughter and Peter's background commentary was priceless!















Taylor snapped a photo of us together! I admit I was the tail of the pack. Others did not mind zipping along! I went slightly slower, but still was able to keep up. 

I learned how to propel this thing forward, turn it, and break! Breaking was the hardest to get in my head. Because basically it involves the motion of trying to sit down in a chair!

For me, my goal was focusing on the segway itself. So I am not sure I took in all the sites like the average rider. But it worked and I would say it is a fun way to tour a flat town. We moved as fast as a bicycle, but did little physical work. 

Along our tour, we were able to take a break and walk the Naples pier. As you can see the beach was FILLED with people. 

After our hour tour, we went to eat along the water front. I just love the pelicans at the dock and all the boats. I am stunned how much Naples looks like Fort Lauderdale. On a smaller scale. It has water canals and a ton of boating. 

I took a photo of the yachts in the water. We are not talking small boats here!!!

Get the feeling...... lots of boats!

We ate at a restaurant pictured here called the Dock. Each day I have some sort of fish and the fish is incredibly fresh. 

After touring, we came back to the hotel. Behind the hotel is a .5 mile boardwalk that takes you to the beach (on the Gulf of Mexico). Walking the boardwalk is like taking a trail through a mangrove forest. 

This is what the beach looks like. You can't tell from this photo, but along the sand is wall to wall people. Not our scene! So we saw it and perhaps will try coming back out here after Easter. 

The Gulf!

Do you see that stepped down building on the right? That is our hotel.

On the hotel's property is a pond. Can you see the turtles basking in the sun? Mattie would have loved this!

However, check out what else lives in the pond.... a 6 foot alligator! Everything about today would have been thrilling to Mattie. From the Segway tour to the turtles and alligator!!!